Lynn maintained his composure and said, "If that's the case, I suspect you ate something wrong. What you ate was probably your doll's arm."
The girl's smile froze instantly. But the doll's laughter continued uninterrupted: "Doll loves Mommy! Mommy loves Doll! Hehehehe!"
Lynn looked up, his eyes dull and lifeless, and asked, "Have you had any stomach discomfort lately?"
The girl's voice was rigid: "My stomach rumbles… feels like something's tickling inside."
Lynn nodded, jotted it down in his notebook, and said casually, "That confirms it. It seems it hasn't digested yet. Do you want surgery or physical therapy?"
"H-How does each work…?" the girl stammered, still stiff.
Clang—
Lynn slammed the blood-stained boning knife down on the counter. "I'll cut open your stomach, take out your doll's arm, and stitch you back up."
In an instant, the doll's laughter cut off abruptly. A cold shiver ran from the girl's feet to the top of her head.
"W-What about physical therapy?"
Lynn stood up, grabbed gloves and a mask from the counter, and stared at her calmly. "That's simple—no incision needed. I can fish it out from the top or the bottom, whichever you prefer. And it's cheaper."
Girl: "!!!"
Doll: "!!!"
[Girl's Sanity: -20]
The girl stared blankly: "T-Top… the top…"
"Good." Lynn pushed the items on the counter aside, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "You're small, so no need for the operating room. We can do it here. But you have to hold on—don't bite off my arm."
Under the girl's terrified gaze, Lynn's tall shadow loomed over her. Masked and gloved, his eyes held a steady, unwavering light. The girl shrank back on her stool, clutching her doll tightly.
"C-Can I not watch?"
Lynn's voice was flat: "No. My master said—once you step into this shop, you get treated. Otherwise, you'll have to leave something behind."
The girl trembled uncontrollably, then finally conceded weakly: "O-Okay…"
She forced her mouth open.
"Wider!"
Rip—
The girl stretched her lips back to her ears, revealing a gaping maw filled with blood. A putrid stench washed over Lynn.
Unfazed, he grabbed a retractor from the counter and clamped it between her upper and lower jaws to prevent any sudden movements. He rolled his shoulders, then plunged his arm into her mouth.
Squelch—
It went all the way in—deep down her throat.
The girl's eyes widened in shock.
"Mmph—mmph—"
"Don't move," Lynn said sternly, probing carefully inside her stomach. "It'll be over soon. If you don't want your doll to stay broken, hold still."
[Ding! You obtained 50x Hair.]
[Ding! You obtained 2x Unknown Ears.]
[Ding! You obtained 5x Rotting Flesh.]
[Ding! You obtained 1x Comb.]
Under the doll's horrified stare on the counter, Lynn patiently pulled out one grotesque, slimy object after another from the girl's stomach. The girl stared wide-eyed, her mouth agape, whimpering in fear.
"Found it!" Lynn thought.
His fingers touched a wriggling mass.
[Ding! You obtained 1x Wriggling Arm.]
Rip—
Amidst the girl and doll's extreme terror, Lynn pulled a small, slimy arm from her stomach—it was exactly the doll's missing arm.
He calmly rinsed the arm and placed it on the counter. "This must be it. You were starving last night and unconsciously ate your doll's arm. She didn't stop you because she saw how hungry you were."
"But be more careful next time. Don't eat random things—they're hard to digest."
The girl, still clamped open by the retractor, couldn't say a word.
"Physical therapy is 10 Skull Coins, and stitching costs 30," Lynn said, pulling out hemp thread and a sharp, glinting needle from under his mask. "Shall we do the stitching now?"
The doll in her arms burst into tears and flailed wildly, trying to escape.
"N-Now… d-do it… now…" the girl mumbled, her mouth still pried open.
Lynn put on his gloves and said flatly, "Good. Hold her down for me, and I'll start stitching."
The girl stared in terror, pinning the wriggling doll to the counter. The doll's eyes reflected the cold glint in Lynn's eyes, and it screamed uncontrollably.
"Here we go."
Shush-shush-shush—
Shush-shush-shush—
[Ding! +1 Elementary Surgery XP.]
[Ding! +1 Elementary Surgery XP.]
[Ding! +1 Elementary Surgery XP.]
Half an hour later, as the doll's bloodcurdling screams faded, Lynn took out scissors and cut the thread. "Done. I'll apply some potion—once a day, and the arm will be back to normal in a week."
He grabbed a bottle of greenish liquid from the counter, uncorked it, and poured it over the stitched wound. The doll let out a shrill shriek of agony.
"I-Is… is it over…?" the girl whispered, still dazed.
Lynn clapped his hands clean. "All done. Time to pay. 10 for physical therapy, 30 for stitching, 10 per potion—seven bottles total. That's 110 Skull Coins. Thank you, and come again soon."
The doll scrambled into the girl's arms, trembling as it stared at Lynn in terror—clearly, he'd left an indelible trauma in its mind.
The girl fumbled around her body for a long while, then pulled out 20 coins and placed them shakily on the counter. "I-I only have twenty…"
Lynn's tone was indifferent: "That's fine. You owe 90. Which part of you do you want to use as collateral? I'll cut it off for free."
He lifted the boning knife as he spoke. The girl's face contorted in horror (ΩДΩ), and she took a step back—the stench of blood on the knife was more terrifying than she was.
"T-Ten more coins!" She fished out ten more coins from her clothes and added them to the counter.
"Still 80 short," Lynn said.
The girl set down six of the potions, panic evident (ΩДΩ). "I-I'll come back for these later."
Lynn retrieved the potions. "Now you owe 20."
The girl trembled: "C-Can I get credit?"
Lynn walked toward her with the knife. "Small business—no credit. I don't make the rules. But 20 isn't much. Leave one of your eyes, and I'll give you the potions plus 40 Skull Coins in change."
The girl hugged the doll tightly, stepped back, and covered her eyes. "C-Can I pay with something else?"
"Name it, and I'll appraise it," Lynn said flatly.
The girl swallowed hard, her voice trembling to a whisper, eyes glistening with terror. "I-I'll let you… do whatever you want to me… W-Will you wipe out the whole bill?"