Chapter 3  

The restaurant was enveloped in a sea of blooming flowers.  

Lin En stopped at an intersection just before the restaurant and asked, “Mi Mi, will you be okay on your own?”  

“I’ll be fine.” Knowing he would be late if he didn’t leave soon, You Mi hopped off the back seat and waved. “Hurry to work… We’ll have a meal together later.”  

Lin En chuckled and waved a tentacle before swiftly riding away.  

You Mi adjusted his wind-tousled clothes. Today, he wore a white shirt—one that had once belonged to a child’s doll, adorned with lace and frills that children loved. There was even a white bow on the back… But no matter what, it was still a white shirt, You Mi’s only formal attire.  

Before crossing over, You Mi had just turned eighteen. It was summer vacation, and he had found a part-time job, but before he could start, the apocalypse descended. Now, faced with such a peculiar job, it was impossible not to feel nervous. Taking a deep breath, You Mi straightened his posture and strode resolutely toward the restaurant.  

The exterior of the restaurant featured a sunken mini garden. You Mi had to pass through this small garden to enter the dining area.  

The stone steps leading down from the street to the garden were perfectly comfortable for Snarans, but You Mi wasn’t a Snaran—he was far too small.  

A moment later, when the people inside the restaurant unconsciously glanced up and their gazes landed on the figure outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows, they froze at first, then collectively held their breaths.  

It was a boy so tiny he could have been the finest specimen from a doll shop. He was much shorter than the average Snaran, yet this smallness didn’t evoke pity—his proportions were as impeccable as a model’s, with slender limbs, a delicate frame, and an agile lightness that made him seem incredibly nimble.  

And nimble he was. Descending the steps, he moved like a little springbok, his toes barely touching the ground before he hopped away, skipping and bouncing until he reached the flat surface.  

Though no footsteps could be heard, everyone’s minds filled in the sound—like the crisp chime of wind chimes.  

The manager was still staring in a daze when the automatic sensor doors slid open.  

The tiny springbok—no! The tiny, doll-like Snaran, wearing a mask, stepped up to him and asked, “Excuse me… Is this place hiring music box dancer models?”  

The manager was dumbfounded.  

Thinking his voice might have been too soft, You Mi repeated, “Excuse me—”  

“Yes! Yes, we are!” The manager snapped back to reality, taking a step back and rubbing his eyes vigorously before scrutinizing the small Snaran before him. Though half his face was hidden behind the mask, it was clearly not a child’s. Still, he couldn’t help asking, “Are… are you an adult?”  

“I’m already eighteen. You can check my Alarm Bracelet—it has my personal information.”  

Two seconds of silence passed before the manager hurriedly activated his Optical Brain.  

A blue beam of light enveloped You Mi, who stood perfectly still, watching him curiously.  

Then, a voice emitted from the Optical Brain: “Measurement complete. Height: 170 centimeters.”  

“…”  

Instantly, the entire restaurant erupted in excitement. Even the few customers present couldn’t resist gathering around to gawk.  

“Is this for real? Is this some kind of prank the restaurant is pulling?”  

“He’s definitely a synthetic android! Look, he’s not even moving!”  

You Mi quickly raised a hand to touch his mask.  

“Whoa… He moved!”

“Of course it’s moving, it’s a real person, how could it not move!”

“I really want to touch it… I’ve never seen such a tiny Sina Star Person outside of movies and shows…”

You Mi, afraid they might grow suspicious, quickly repeated his usual lie: “I-I’m from the Black Miasma Wasteland…”

At this explanation, the crowd immediately understood.

Sina Star People living outside the main urban areas grew up in different environments, resulting in all sorts of appearances. The Black Miasma Wasteland was known for its extremely harsh conditions—rumor had it hardly any Sina Star People lived there anymore.

“Please return to your seats, everyone. This is our job applicant…” The manager smiled as he dispersed the crowd, then immediately led You Mi to the staff rest area without delay.

The rest area was equally bright and tidy. In the farthest corner stood a massive antique music box—massive from You Mi’s perspective. The music box had a rose-covered top and stood about two meters tall at its center.

“We’ll conduct the interview here,” the manager said kindly. “May I ask your name?”

“Hello, I’m You Mi.” He clasped his hands in front of him, trying to appear as professional as possible.

“You Mi? Got it.” The manager chuckled. “Normally there’d be a weight measurement since the music box has load-bearing standards… but someone your size definitely doesn’t need that! If the music box can’t even handle your weight, it must be defective.” His gaze then drifted to You Mi’s mask. “Is your… imperfection around the mouth area?”

You Mi nodded immediately, instinctively touching his mask.

This mask was sewn from free fabric scraps he’d gotten from the furniture factory. He’d made many during his free time for daily changes and better breathability… Once his horns grew in, he wouldn’t need masks anymore.

So far, no one here had tried to touch his mask. On Sina Star, human standards were considered the beauty ideal, so covering imperfections was akin to wearing makeup. Removing his mask without permission would be like forcibly wiping off his makeup—extremely rude behavior.

Naturally, the manager wouldn’t touch his mask.

Having interviewed countless two-meter-tall Sina Star People, the manager was practically beside himself with excitement upon seeing tiny You Mi. With filming starting tomorrow and no dancer found for the music box yet, no one knew how desperate he’d been!

Who could have imagined this turn of events… It felt like a dream?!

“You Mi, you’re hired.” The manager announced with remarkable restraint. “Start tomorrow. You must know about that wildly popular reality show ‘Trading Lives’—the production is only filming in our restaurant for three days. Headquarters wanted to recreate the music box element from when our restaurant was first established, hence this idea… You’ll just need to work inside the music box. We’ve already recorded your body measurements and will have appropriate uniforms and a nicer mask custom-made overnight!”

You Mi: “The daily wage…”

The manager hurriedly said, “Two thousand Star Coins per day, is that acceptable?” He then looked somewhat guilty, as if thinking that someone with such a rare physique and elegant human form must have endured great hardships and invested tremendous effort into their appearance.

…Two thousand Star Coins?

You Mi stared at him in astonishment.

The shop owner grew even more nervous under his gaze and hurriedly added, “This is already the highest budget allocated by headquarters. During your work period, we’ll provide you with the best meals to ensure your energy and mood. There will be dedicated transportation daily, and if you don’t want to disclose your private address, we can just reimburse your travel expenses instead. After completing three days of work, you’ll also receive a 200 Star Coin shopping card and a one-month Bathhouse Ticket. Since you’re a temporary worker, these are the only benefits we can offer…”

You Mi’s eyes widened. “Bathhouse Ticket?”

“Yes,” the shop owner, thinking he was dissatisfied, smiled and opened the Optical Brain map to explain. “It’s definitely not an ordinary bathhouse. It’s located here—the largest and most luxurious bathhouse in our capital city, which has some cooperation with our headquarters. Besides basic bathing and massage, the ticket also includes beauty treatments, hairstyling, and various humanoid body care services.”

You Mi had been wanting to change his hairstyle for a while, but the salons here were all very expensive…

He took the work manual handed to him by the shop owner and nodded earnestly. “I’ll do my best.”

…

In the private chambers of the Holy Temple Palace in the main city of Snar Star.

From a dimly lit, humid corner came the unsettling sound of tearing.

Had someone entered at that moment, they would have seen a massive monster sitting there. Its head bore two terrifying demonic horns, while the enormous wings on its back and the black scales covering its body exuded a corrosive, sinister aura. Its claws were as sharp as blades, shredding a handsome human skin suit into pieces.

“Hah… hah…”

The monster let out a hoarse, low growl, its golden eyes swirling with intense killing intent as it glared menacingly at the screen in front of it.

The screen was replaying a variety show called *Switched Lives*.

The guests were nobles and commoners.

This episode featured the empire’s young prince, Joseph, swapping lives with a worker from a furniture factory.

The worker got to enjoy the prince’s life, while Prince Joseph clumsily struggled with assembly line work.

At that moment, Joseph was smiling at the camera. “Though these tasks seem simple, doing them makes you realize how troublesome they really are. They require a lot of patience and skill… In this light, having a humanoid form is truly important. Only with dexterous fingers can one perform such work, right?”

The monster let out another hoarse “hah hah,” as if sneering.

The next moment, its sharp claws rose, poised to shatter the screen—when suddenly, a tiny figure holding a cardboard box jumped past the camera on the screen!

“……”

The monster froze.

At the same time, the barrage of comments praising Joseph on the screen all changed:

[???]

[Ahhh! What was that just now? A doll?]

[Since when do dolls carry cardboard boxes? That’s clearly a person. Does this factory employ child labor?]

[That was even smaller than a child!]

[Why did the camera move away? Let me see what that thing was!]

[It looked so cute…]

…

Just then, a servant entered with a bowl of medicinal soup.

The moment they stepped into the room, the sound of the variety show startled them, sending chills down their spine!

Ever since Crown Prince Anshus was severely injured in an interstellar battle a year ago, his mind seemed to have developed issues. Once merely cold and aloof, he had now become bizarre and dangerous—sometimes even more unbearable than a vengeful ghost…

At first, the Emperor and Empress would come to inquire after his well-being, but after Anshus’s repeated acts of madness, they gradually became too frightened to visit.  

After his severe injury, Crown Prince Anshus rarely went out, only donning the Humanoid Skin Suit for major imperial occasions that required the Crown Prince’s presence. Once away from the crowds, he would swiftly revert to that violent and terrifying monster…  

Yet the crucial issue now was—after his injury, Crown Prince Anshus never watched television! In fact, he despised it!  

Just as the servant had suspected, something was terribly wrong with Anshus at this moment. His golden pupils constricted sharply, fixed unblinkingly on the images on the screen.  

The servant immediately recalled Prince Joseph, who had visited not long ago before leaving… Clearly, that foolish prince was using this idiotic method to provoke his elder brother!  

Terrified out of his wits, the servant feared that in the blink of an eye, the entire palace chamber would be obliterated by the enraged monster’s power. Without another thought, he lunged to shut off the screen—  

Just an inch away from the screen, he heard the Crown Prince’s voice, calm for the first time in ages.  

“What… is that?”  

The servant froze.  

Dumbfounded, he turned around, confirming it was indeed the Crown Prince who had spoken, then slowly looked back.  

The image on the screen had been rewound and paused by Anshus.  

At the center of the frozen frame was the small figure of someone holding a cardboard box from behind.  

The servant muttered in confusion, “Th-this is just a doll, isn’t it?”  

From the corner came a raspy, eerie sound—*kachi kachi*—and the servant knew Anshus was growing furious. Nearly collapsing in fear, he hastily corrected himself, “O-or is it a person? Your Highness, don’t worry! I’ll send someone to that factory to investigate at once!”