Chapter 255: The Marvel of Growing Big and Small
He saw a wall of brown fluff outside the RV, like a plush barrier had suddenly appeared.
He scratched his head in confusion. ’What is this thing?’ Seth’s recent words flashed through his mind.
He was shocked. "This can’t be... that little teddy bear from before, can it?" He scrambled over for a look, leaning his body out.
Holy cow. It was already twice the size of the RV, its belly bulging as if stuffed with countless fluffy clouds of cotton, yet its arms and legs remained stubby.
At this point, "cute" was no longer the right word. It was... immense.
Roman Rowe said urgently, "Stop, stop, stop! You don’t need to get any bigger!"
Sure enough, it stopped growing and maintained its current size.
Roman Rowe tested the waters. "Teddy?"
The teddy bear lifted a paw larger than a person and waved it back and forth, sending a gust of cold wind into the RV...
Lily Hart’s mouth fell open in amazement. "Whoa..."
Roman Rowe continued to test it. "Can you give me your paw?" He then looked up expectantly. After waiting a good while, the teddy bear finally turned its paw palm-up and offered it.
It was just a little lower than the tabletop. Roman Rowe looked at it, itching to try something.
Mustering his courage, he climbed onto the tabletop, then carefully shuffled onto the teddy bear’s paw. It was surprisingly springy. The paw was huge, big enough for three people to sit cross-legged without any problem.
"Alright, up we go. Take me to the sky." Despite his words, Roman Rowe clung tightly to an upright claw, terrified of falling.
Then, the paw rose bit by bit, slowly, as if taking Roman Rowe’s feelings into account.
Roman Rowe lay on the springy paw, watching Lily Hart shrink before his eyes. His altitude gradually surpassed the RV. ’Ah... so this is what the top of the RV looks like.’
Next, he came face-to-face with the teddy bear’s huge, shiny black plastic eyes. But they seemed more alive than before, as if he could see its emotions within them.
He called out softly, "Teddy?"
In that instant, Roman Rowe thought he saw a glint of light flash in its eyes, as if it were a real, living black bear!
He pointed in the direction of Central Command. "Let’s go that way." After speaking, he hugged a claw tightly.
Hearing the command, the teddy bear immediately started running. Its legs looked short, but it was surprisingly fast. With each step, it was like a small earthquake.
Roman Rowe bounced up and down on the paw. He shuffled to the side and found a better spot to stay put.
Just as he got comfortable, the main gate of Central Command appeared before him.
The teddy bear wasn’t quite big enough, still shorter than the perimeter wall. But the moment The Guardian Corps spotted it, they nearly jumped out of their skins. Their hands trembled, and they almost sounded the highest alert.
"Hey, hey, hey, not that way! Go another way," Roman Rowe hastily stopped it.
’Better not cause any trouble.’
The teddy bear was very obedient. Keeping its palm up in a carrying posture, it ran in the other direction Roman Rowe had pointed.
The teddy bear didn’t feel tired. It only felt happy when its master was happy. After running back and forth twice, Roman Rowe had had his fun and had it scamper back to the RV.
"Put me down, Teddy." Roman Rowe patted its springy palm, and the teddy bear obediently lowered its paw to the ground.
Roman Rowe nimbly rolled off, grinning from ear to ear.
Lily Hart asked curiously, "How was it?"
Roman Rowe’s smile grew even wider. "Teddy is so obedient! It goes wherever I tell it to, and it runs super fast. We won’t have to worry about escaping danger anymore. Teddy can fly us away!"
"Jinx, jinx, jinx," Frost Shaw suddenly piped up, startling Roman Rowe.
"Fine, fine, jinx, jinx, jinx," Roman Rowe jinxed it too.
Then he said to the teddy bear, "Shrink, shrink."
With a "POP..." sound, the enormous teddy bear instantly shrank without any warning, returning to its palm-sized height.
Roman Rowe felt that wasn’t enough. He wanted to carry it with him for convenience, so he said, "Smaller, smaller."
It finally shrank to the size of a drinking glass. Satisfied, Roman Rowe smoothed its fur and tucked it into his pocket with extreme care. He finally had his own reward.
Lily Hart, having witnessed the whole thing, couldn’t help but marvel at Roman Rowe’s childlike nature. But it wasn’t a bad thing; it was something none of the others had.
After watching this little episode, everyone went their separate ways. Roman Rowe even took the teddy bear out, put it on his bed, tucked it in, and went to sleep with it.
...
「The O’Malley Estate.」
Ash O’Malley was up bright and early. After getting dressed, he went to Frank O’Malley’s room and started pounding on the door—KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—shouting, "Get up! We’re going to apologize to Boss Hart!"
"..." Frank O’Malley pulled the covers over his head, pretending he didn’t hear.
With another BANG, Ash O’Malley kicked the door open and burst in. He ripped the blanket off, revealing Frank’s *Fruity Robo* cartoon pajamas.
He then hauled the boy up, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him back and forth. "Stop sleeping, stop sleeping, get up now!"
Frank O’Malley’s words were a jumbled mess. "Up, ah, I’m getting up. What for? I want to sleep!"
"Sleep? What sleep! Get up and come with me!" Ash O’Malley cut him off mid-sentence, catching his body as it was about to slide down. He grabbed a random set of clothes from the wardrobe and threw them at him.
He barked, "Put these on, and stop dawdling."
Under the tyranny of his older brother, Frank O’Malley could only put on the clothes reluctantly, his face a mask of misery. After he was done, he was finally a little more awake.
But then he noticed the pants and shirt didn’t match at all. He complained with a pained expression, "I don’t want to wear these pants!"
Ash O’Malley shot him a glare. "Find something yourself, and hurry up. I’ll be waiting outside." As he spoke, he didn’t forget to give him a kick.
The kick sent Frank O’Malley tumbling off the bed. His legs gave out, and he almost knelt on the floor, but Ash O’Malley caught him with quick reflexes. "You’re in such bad shape," Ash said with a sigh. "How are you so weak?"
"It’s because I’m not fully awake yet!" Frank O’Malley yelled.
Half an hour later, the two brothers emerged from the old estate.
Meanwhile, Lily Hart had just finished breakfast and was happily sipping soy milk. Watching the growing number of customers, she couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction. ’This feeling of just sitting back and collecting money is the best.’
She gazed into the distance and suddenly spotted Ash O’Malley, with Frank O’Malley trailing behind him. ’What are these two brothers doing here? Who are they trying to get even with this time?’
Ever since arriving at Central Command, Lily Hart had never deactivated her highest protection mechanism. Her twenty-meter safety perimeter was also constantly active.
This way, she could respond immediately if anything unexpected happened.
She watched the two brothers approach. They didn’t look like they were looking for trouble. Their leisurely pace made it seem more like they were just out for a stroll after a big meal.
But what Lily Hart didn’t know was that Ash O’Malley was quietly scolding Frank O’Malley. "Do you remember what you’re going to say later? Keep it in mind. Don’t embarrass our family again."
Frank O’Malley mumbled in agreement. "I’m clearly the victim here. Lily Hart is perfectly fine, isn’t she?"
"What did you say?" Ash O’Malley didn’t hear clearly and asked again.
"Nothing, nothing," Frank O’Malley denied hastily, jolted back to his senses.
Ash O’Malley nodded in satisfaction. The two brothers continued walking until they stopped in front of Lily Hart.
"Boss Hart, long time no see," Ash O’Malley said politely.