Chapter 82: Limited-time Children's Experience Card Ends [VIP]

The player's eyes lit up again and again, and he happily took a bite of the marshmallow on the sword.

You know what, it’s quite delicious.

The first thing Nakahara Chuuya did when he woke up was to look for Player. He was relieved to see her sitting there happily eating marshmallows alone.

Then the next second, she raised the plastic-looking toy sword.

"Wait a minute!" the seven-year-old detective jumped over and hugged her arms, shouting, "Change us back before you do anything else!"

The player showed a confused look as if she was trying to think. Her eyes moved around unfocused, becoming even more confused.

"We took the medicine and became smaller, now we need to change back." The detective looked at her, but Player obviously didn't take it seriously. She tried to pull Ranpo away and went to play with the new toy she just got.

"I entrust you, Miss Player," Ranpo said word by word, his green eyes as bright as a lake, closely watching her every move. "Please change us back."

The expression in Player's eyes changed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Her original subtle impatience changed as she surveyed the void, as if she saw something of great interest, and the Player's eyes, which were detached from the world, saw him.

Obviously, she looked just like any other normal human child, and with the marshmallow crumbs on the corners of her mouth, she looked even more delicate and adorable.

But Player's eyes are different from anyone else's. She gives people a strange sense of detachment - like the expression of tourists when they watch rare animals through the glass in the zoo, which is both novel and condescending.

"Going on a mission?" She muttered with her head tilted, then looked into the void again, her expression becoming extremely determined.

"No," Ranpo suddenly said, "I don't want to be your subordinate or your dog!"

"There's no other way." Player said quickly, staring at him.

"I don't believe it! You must have other abilities, Ms. Player!" Ranpo pulled her arm.

"No." Player's eyes wandered for a moment, then he said firmly again.

Ranpo tightened his grip on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "You're lying."

The seven-year-old's voice was clear, yet carried a certainty beyond his years. "In your research paper at the New York Institute, your eyes would drift to the sides every time you felt guilty or lied."

The player was shocked: "? Let me see what paper it is."

Ranpo: "I can show it to you after I solve the problem."

"Huh?" Lin Chen complained, his tone drawn out. "The other method requires [Purification of Aura], which is quite troublesome and consumes skill points. [Taming] is quite simple."

She had just taken a closer look while the system was still, and there were two solutions.

One is to directly [Tame]. As the player's follower, you can directly open their board to modify the current status.

The other one is the [Purification of Aura] branching from the Spell Network, but it requires a lot of knowledge and skills to be unlocked, including [Principle of Energy Resonance], [Basic Energy Identification], [Touch of Light], [Exorcism Prayer], etc. Compared with the previous one, it is troublesome and wastes skill points.

Well, since there are so few spells in this world, or maybe none at all, players can't even find a place to steal some skills!

If you use skill points honestly, you will need about 3470, but the player currently has less than one twentieth of the skill points. Wouldn't it take forever to complete this task?

"Because 'Taming' sounds like being your dog." Seven-year-old Ranpo squatted opposite her, his brown cape dragging on the ground and stained with biscuit crumbs. "A great detective wouldn't want a bell around his neck."

"So please don't show that expression of disapproval that says 'Why are you guys being unreasonable again?' Okay? No one wants to be someone else's dog for no reason." Nakahara Chuuya said in an intolerable manner.

"He's a follower, not a dog." The player sternly corrected E, poking Chuuya's forehead with his sword. The plastic tip of the sword was sticky with a piece of pink candy. "Besides, Chuuya is already my sheep. In theory, he should support me unconditionally-"

"That was forced! And sheep and dogs are not the same thing at all!" Chuuya was furious, but the voice of a thin twelve-year-old child made the roar have no deterrent effect.

Yosano Akiko, who was squatting on the ground, trying to peel an apple with a miniature scalpel, looked up and added, "Strictly speaking, sheep and dogs are both social mammals. From the perspective of domestication—"

"Ms. Jingzi! Please don't add fuel to the fire!"

Edogawa Ranpo sat cross-legged on the worn carpet, his cheeks stuffed with cookies from the snack box, and interrupted the argument with a slurred voice, "You're missing the point! Miss Player's system authority is clearly higher than the basic laws of this world. What she calls 'taming' is essentially directly modifying our underlying data state through high-dimensional operations—"

"Speak human language." Chuuya and Akiko said in unison.

"What she means is that if she wanted, she could completely erase our self-awareness and just be her puppets." Ranpo licked the biscuit crumbs from his fingertips and opened his narrowed eyes slightly. "But the detective refused to be a puppet, so--"

He suddenly pounced on Lin Chen and hung on her arm like a koala, "Ms. Player! I apply to follow the formal E-rules mission process!"

"Rejected." Lin Chen tried to shake him off, but she found Ranpo tightly grasping the drawstring of her sweatshirt. "You just said in your dream that I was an idiot who needed to be saved like a baby!"

"This is two codes later, it glitters," Listen, if you use [Taming] to forcibly restore, it is equivalent to marking us with a permanent affiliation mark, and the ability priority is overwritten. But if you unlock [Purification Aura], the status will be lifted on the premise and restored to normal -"

So troublesome,

So, after all, [Taming] is easier with just a few clicks. Why don't you agree?!

"Then I'll choose [Taming]!" Sitting on the carpet, the seven-year-old's body was like a round glutinous rice dumpling, and the corner of his mouth said, "E won't hurt anyway!"

Edogawa Ranpo grabbed her sweatshirt hood tightly, practically hanging on her back. "I don't want to be your pet, the great detective! My freedom is priceless, and you clearly have other options!"

"It's gone now!" The player twisted his body and stretched his neck, trying to throw Ranpo off. "No, it's gone!"

"I see clearly, your eyes are saying, 'Even if there's a way, I don't want to use it!'" Ranpo's green eyes widened like a cat with its fur standing on end. "The detective sees right through you! You're so lazy you can't even lift a finger!"

"This is efficiency!" Lin Chen suddenly turned over and pressed Ranpo on the carpet, his knees against his stomach, and pulled out a translucent skill board from the void.

Ranpo's pupils suddenly contracted - he couldn't see the specific content, but he could feel the sudden and distorted ripples in the air.

"Anyway, E just needs to complete the task. The NPC's wishes are not important. I have communicated with you properly." Player muttered, his eyes scanning the void.

An unprecedented sense of crisis gripped his throat, his mouth was dry, his heart was pounding, and he saw noise and dizziness. He was like an animal meeting its natural enemy, and all the hair on his body stood up.

“No!” Ranpo’s eyes widened suddenly, but his struggle seemed useless in the hands of the player. “Akira! Chuuya! Help!”

Yosano Akiko rushed over and grabbed the player's arm. "Wait! At least explain what this skill does..."

"Have you finished explaining?" Lin Chen tilted his head to avoid Jingzi's grip and grabbed her wrist with one hand. "Become my follower and you can clear all negative statuses with a single click. You can also be resurrected and teleported to help at any time. If I run into danger, I can also summon you to my side. Even if you die, I can dig you out of your grave to work overtime! It's super cost-effective!"

"The last half of your sentence completely reveals your intentions!" Nakahara Chuuya grabbed the player's collar and tried to lift her over: "At least give me some time to think... Hey!"

The player suddenly slipped out of his hand like a loach and ran to the other end of the room in the blink of an eye.

She jumped onto the windowsill by the pile of building blocks and raised her hands against the light: "I declare! The first "Who will be tamed first" competition begins now--"

"There's no such competition at all!" Chuuya's roar and Ranpo's scream rang out at the same time.

"First!" The player pointed at Akiko, who was trying to lower her presence and approach Ranpo. Then she looked into the void and spoke confidently, "Contestant Yosano Akiko—"

Jingzi turned around to run, but bumped into an invisible wall of air.

A snake-like silver-white light burst out from Lin Chen's fingertips, and a chain-like light pattern instantly wrapped around Jingzi's wrist.

The wrist bones intertwine into an irregular circle, with a solid silver-white dot in the center. Surrounding the circle are forked lines of varying lengths, and the edges have irregular textures and surrounding lines. The overall shape is an extremely bold sun symbol.

"Huh?" The player tilted his head. Are [Taming]'s special effects really that cool? Why don't I remember it? Never mind. Maybe it's because I haven't used it much, so it's not a big deal!

Jingzi froze in place, her pupils gradually lost focus, dizziness and darkness came together, and she regained clarity a second later.

"Akira?" Ranpo's voice was trembling.

"...Here." Jingzi looked down at her hands and suddenly smiled with relief. "It seems...nothing has changed?"

"Of course! It's just an extra line of attribution code in the backend data!" The players clapped their hands happily. "See, it doesn't hurt at all, huh?"

Chuuya's fists clenched loudly. "Did you get her consent?"

"Whether you agree or not is irrelevant—" Lin Chen leaped from the windowsill, deliberately falling flat on his butt when he landed. Taking advantage of Chuuya's moment of distraction, he pounced on him and attacked his waist like an anti-aircraft gun. "Next is—" (glancing at the board) Oh, well-behaved and sensible Chuuya!"

Yes, Zhongye has been [tamed] by the player, but so what? [Taming] still works on him. Zhongye can be either an employee or a follower of the player.

"Don't use such disgusting names... Wait! Where are you touching?" Chuuya's face flushed red, and the red light of his supernatural power was about to light up when it was slapped away by the player's [Vector Manipulation].

She hung on him like a koala and began to click [Taming] frantically. Perhaps because of the foundation of the previous skill, [Taming] was very successful.

Silvery white lines stretched from the side of his neck to his ears. He stumbled back two steps, then suddenly fell to one knee, gasping for breath. Jingzi rushed over and supported him: "How do you feel?"

"...It feels like being put into a washing machine and spun around three times." Chuuya gritted his teeth and glared at the player, "You're definitely seeking revenge!"

"What? I've never been [tamed], so how do I know everyone feels differently?" Lin Chen confidently put his hands on his hips, "Now the only one left is (takes a look at the hundred names), Ranpo——"

The seven-year-old detective was lying on the floor in a state of complete despair.

He stared at something in the void and suddenly said, "The range of your skills is within your sight." His green eyes turned to the player who was staring at him with interest.

"If I break through the window and jump out now..."

"Hahaha," the player laughed, "You can try it."

Her fingertips tapped lightly on the bookcase next to her. Akiko and Nakata stood behind her, and the faint silver light seemed like some kind of silent deterrent.

Akiko twirled the scalpel between her fingers and smiled, "You have to trust your companions' judgment sometimes, Mr. Ranpo."

"You two traitors!"

"I just suddenly figured it out." Chuuya put his hands in his pockets, the tips of his ears still tinged with red. "E's resistance is useless anyway, so we might as well end this farce as soon as possible."

Ranpo let out a very loud "tsk".

"I demand negotiation!"

"Please go ahead." The player nodded very humanely.

"You must agree to at least three conditions! First, you are not allowed to modify my mind! Second, you must provide five boxes of snacks every week! Third..." His emerald eyes suddenly narrowed, "Don't order us to do anything against our will."

"Sure," the player agreed easily. "There's no need to modify your mindset, right?"

The player used [Tame] again.

A silvery-white streak of light shot past at a rapid speed, almost like the burst of a scattered bullet. Afterwards, the famous detective sat up with a messy head of hair, his expression looking as if he had eaten ten sour lemons.

"How do you feel?" Jingzi held back her laughter and handed him a hundred mirrors.

Ranpo in the mirror remained unchanged—except for a faint silver sun pattern on his forehead. He stared at it for a long moment, then suddenly jumped up, pointed at the player, and shouted, "Is this a children's sticker? How childish!"

Players were shocked: "Where is that? It's so handsome, okay? Is your taste for bright red and green?"

"Please help us change our age back..." Jingzi called out the name of the person who suddenly appeared in her mind, "Ms. Lin Chen?"

"Okay." Lin Chen casually brought up the dependents column, selected the [Rejuvenation] status, and cleared it with one click.

Yosano Akiko's body stretched rapidly, as if inflated. The fifteen-year-old girl groped her suddenly lengthened hair in bewilderment. Her clothes, thanks to the player's help—meaning selecting and adding them to the equipment slot—had become, counterintuitively, fitted to her figure.

Sixteen-year-old Edogawa Ranpo yawned slowly, his oversized detective uniform drooping on his shoulders, revealing half of his collarbone.

It was soon adapted to the players' body shape.

"How's that? Pretty impressive, right?" the player exclaimed triumphantly. "By the way, your bodies are now locked in optimal condition, right? Even if you live to be 200, you won't develop osteoporosis!"

Jingzi was tidying up her messy hair. Upon hearing this, she looked up and said, "This ability..."

"Perfect for being a battlefield medic, right?" The player nodded as he looked at Jingzi's board. "Even if you're blown to pieces, I can still revive you with a single click!"

Not even the right to choose death? The future is bleak.

Nakahara Chuuya's thoughts drifted away in silence.

Of course, he didn't say this out loud. It was obvious that if he said it, Player would just look puzzled and ask, "Where is the darkness?"

Is this a mercy from the gods or a joke, the reckless bestowal of eternal youth upon those who don't desire it?

Ranpo suddenly grabbed the player's wrist.

The sixteen-year-old boy looked up, his moist green eyes like a forest after rain: "One last question - after becoming a family, are we still considered human?"

The sun shone through the window, and the player's red pupils beneath his eyelashes shone with a cold, inorganic light from his perspective. She tilted her head and thought for three seconds, then smiled a ridiculous smile.

"Why isn't it human? It's just that its physical condition has improved. That doesn't make it human. You're underestimating the human species, aren't you? If you insist on saying it's different from humans—" She poked Ranpo's chest, "There's an extra 'Player's Property' label here."

"So—" Ranpo threw the soda bottle into the air, "are we immortal?"

"Unless I delete the game," the player said with a cheerful expression, "you won't die until the heat death of the universe."

Akiko chuckled slowly, "Sounds like it's cursed."

"It's clearly a blessing!" the player retorted, hands on his hips in dissatisfaction. "How many people spend their entire lives trying to find immortality, eternal youth, and rejuvenation, and yet you've just so effortlessly obtained it?"

As the player thought about it, he felt more and more that this was the case. He couldn't help but feel justified and showed an expression that said, "Don't put the blame on me."

"It was you who just forced three minors, wasn't it?" Jingzi said quietly.

"I'm only seven years old," the player said calmly. "What are you talking about? (Glancing at the board) Jingzi-sister?"

"That change was too quick! How shameless!"

"Hehe, you can't escape from my grasp anymore! Now—" she smiled an extremely evil smile, "you'll all be growing potatoes for me forever!"

"...Has she always been like this?" Relieved, Jingzi took off her fan filter and asked calmly.

"I can't help it. Maybe it's... innate."