Lin Ran was awakened by a voice calling almost right next to his ear.
“Master, look quickly.”
He forced open his sore eyes and stretched in a big yawn.
In his sight was Lim’s blushing face.
Lim was leaning beside him, her face turning bright red.
The pair of eyes that had been filled with innocence and liveliness just yesterday now radiated a hint of maternal glow.
She was hugging several soft little things in her arms, looking at him with anticipation.
Those little things were completely transparent, with blue cores inside, very small in size, blinking curiously.
They were several tiny slimes.
“What’s wrong, are these little slimes not feeling well?”
Lin Ran was a bit puzzled, not sure why Lim wanted to show him these little slimes.
But upon hearing this, Lim covered her mouth and giggled secretly.
“Master, look, these are your little babies.”
As she spoke, she shyly pushed the little slimes in her arms closer to Lin Ran.
“……”
Lin Ran’s brain went blank again.
Babies?
Mine?
Could it be that slimes are creatures that can produce offspring just by sleeping next to each other?!
Or did I do something across species unconsciously while sleeping?
No… I’m half a slime myself, so maybe it’s not even cross-species?
But no matter how you look at it, it’s just too surreal?!
His trembling hand was already reaching to open the system panel to see if there were any absurd achievement notifications.
Like [Slime Breeder], [Reproductive Isolation Invalid], or [Pervert Who Targets Lolis].
—Of course, the system was acting like a corpse at this moment, not making a single sound.
“Th-this… what’s going on?”
He suddenly sat up, looking down at the little slimes and then at Lim, his whole mind in chaos.
Lim’s cheeks turned even redder, and her small hand unconsciously pushed towards Lin Ran.
“Master, last night was such an intense night.”
Hearing this, Lin Ran couldn’t even muster the energy to complain, his mind had turned into a complete mess.
The entire world seemed to spin along with his thoughts—
In the next moment, Lin Ran opened his eyes again.
This time, there was no Lim to wake him, nor any little babies.
The dormitory was dim, with only a faint sunlight filtering in from the window.
Dawn was approaching.
He turned his head—Lim was still asleep.
In the corner, the pile of slimes was also sleeping soundly.
“Hu…”
Lin Ran let out a long breath, his back already soaked in cold sweat.
It was a dream.
Thank goodness, at least the system wouldn’t brand him as a pervert now.
Still, the dream was just too real…
Was it a case of daydreaming about what you think at night?
No, no, I’m a proper person.
Why would I think of such things during the day? I must just be too tired.
Lin Ran shook his head, trying to shake the ridiculous dream from his mind.
He got up, picked up his phone, and checked the time.
Today was already the second day of the apocalypse.
With the air wall’s influence, water and power outages were only a matter of time.
While the phone still worked, it had to be put to good use.
The instant the screen lit up, messages from the freshman group popped up.
[Second wave monsters: Dolls, ]
[Dolls will attack endlessly, and their strength increases exponentially. Please prepare accordingly.]
[Once again, we wish you all, good fortune in battle.]
As expected, the second wave of enemies had arrived.
Lin Ran’s heart tightened.
But… dolls?
Aren’t these things more common in ghost stories? Are they really that strong as combatants?
Also… isn’t exponential growth a bit too scary?!
The only issue was…
It seemed like something more could be written after dolls?
He flipped off the bed and walked to Lim, gently pushing her shoulder.
“Lim, wake up. Something’s happening.”
Lim’s body swayed, and she slowly opened her eyes.
But she didn’t immediately cling to him as usual, only letting out a weak “gulu” sound.
She rubbed her eyes and stood up.
“Good morning, Master.”
A very dull sentence, with none of the girl’s liveliness nor Lim’s usual warmth.
Still not awake?
Something was off.
Lin Ran hurried to the corner to check the little slimes.
The situation was the same—each one was listless and unresponsive to his touch.
What was going on?
It seemed only one way to verify.
Lin Ran patted Lim’s head.
No reaction.
He pulled her into his arms—
Still no reaction, like a soulless doll.
A sense of foreboding rose.
Lin Ran’s face reddened as he faced the youthful girl before him, taking a deep breath.
“If even this doesn’t get a response, then something is really wrong.”
Then—he kissed her.
This time, Lim’s body gave off a faint pink glow, but it vanished instantly.
As expected, his guess was correct.
Lim’s state was off.
If it were before, this little thing would’ve already turned into pink slime water.
If he wasn’t wrong, there were two possibilities.
Either Lim had been switched out last night.
But considering the difficulty and necessity of such a switch, the chances were slim.
Or it was due to the effects of the second wave assault.
Hypnosis? Negative status? Mental damage?
He didn’t know.
But what he did know was—
Outside the dorm door, a “ka-ka-” sound echoed.
The enemy had arrived!!
“Lim, I don’t know what’s wrong with you now.”
“But, fight with me!”
Sure enough, as he said this, the slimes transformed into human forms, and Lim adopted a battle stance.
Though their eyes were dull, they still instinctively protected themselves.
No… maybe not just instinct.
It felt more like a programmed action—the sense of dissonance was strong.
“Ka-ka-“
The sound grew louder, finally stopping outside his door.
Then came the “ss… ss…” of scratching.
They were scratching at the door.
Lin Ran didn’t act rashly.
Instead, he turned into a slime and slipped out through the crack under the door.
Half an eye peeked out, observing the scene outside.
In front of every dorm room, there were several girls in doll dresses, their bodies moving mechanically like machines.
Their faces were expressionless, only mindlessly scratching at the doors.
[Love Detection Eye], activate!
[Doll: (very ordinary)]
[Love Potential: 0 (She cannot develop feelings of love)]
Yep, definitely dolls.
The system wasn’t of any help right now either.
But… can’t even break down a door… is that a bit too weak?
Lin Ran slithered up to the top of the door, half his body slipping out.
Then—he sprayed corrosive fluid at them.
The instant the dolls came into contact with the corrosive liquid, black smoke billowed, and their outfits dissolved instantly.
Their true forms—wooden bodies hidden under the clothes—blackened rapidly under the corrosive fluid, losing mobility in moments.
“Is that it?”
The strength of the first wave of dolls was much lower than expected.
Lin Ran hid in the crack of the door, glancing around, uncertain when the next wave of dolls would arrive.
Yet, just as this thought crossed his mind, the “ka-ka-” sound erupted beneath him again.
The dolls rose from the floor in a bizarre posture… no, it was more like they were being dragged up.
Like puppets controlled by invisible strings, they were forcibly hauled up from the ground.
Whether it was the corroded bodies or the tattered clothing, both restored to their original state at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The wooden bodies turned dark red, and the once lifeless eyes now glowed red.
Most crucially, a sharp fire axe appeared in their hands.
Lin Ran activated the Love Detection Eye again.
[Doll: (Strengthened Stage 1)]
[Love Potential: 0 (She doesn’t understand what love is)]
Lin Ran looked at the other dorm doors.
The dolls at each door transformed into their strengthened versions almost simultaneously.
Exponential growth… huh…
Looks like… this is going to be a tough battle.