Mr. Dolly's Game III

Gazing out at the glistening coastline and distant skyscrapers, a long-forgotten name came to Ardelia's mind — Siesta, a volcanic city wrapped in warm memories.

But, this was La Fantoma — the gem of Band, the gilded city of Talos-II.

As a renowned geologist, Ardelia was invited to speak at a major academic forum on "Order in the New Geological Ecology of Talos-II." She had only planned to deliver a standard presentation, but to her surprise, her speech caused quite a stir.

Corporate representatives quickly surrounded her, sharing blueprints for a new industrial park and asking for her thoughts. Senior researchers eagerly shared their latest findings, hoping to spark potential collaborations with Ardelia. Even government officials brought thick binders and invited her to join their next major project.

Just like that, a quiet field researcher had become the star of the show.

What began as simple handshakes soon turned into warm compliments — "You're an inspiration to us all." In the elevator, someone stopped Ardelia with a notebook, asking for an autograph to hang in his lab. At crosswalks, kids would shout, "I wanna be a scientist too!" Even a street vendor handed her a soda, saying, "My nephew loves geology — got any book recommendations?"

At first, Ardelia found it moving. She nodded politely to every earnest face, patiently answered each well-meaning question. But slowly, exhaustion crept in. She didn't resent these people, nor did she dislike their attention. It was just... she wasn't ready to be "known".

After a grueling three-hour roundtable, she pushed open the door and ran. She passed a giant poster of herself labeled "Young Female Scientist Role Model" and vanished into the crowd.

That's when she realized: Mr. Dolly was gone.

No one knew what it was or where it had gone. In a shopping mall, a woman screamed about "something fluffy" bumping into her. On a rooftop, a flower bed was trampled flat by "something pink." Someone even posted a blurry photo of "something round" darting over the ticket gate — carrying a bag of cotton candy.

Ardelia tracked these clues and searched half of the city. Her shoes wore thin, mud clung to her skirt, and headache crept over her.

Nearly out of breath, she stumbled out of a side alley and stopped.

It was a patch of untouched wilderness at the city's edge — untamed, bursting with wildflowers. The sea breeze carried their fragrance in gentle waves. And there, lay Mr. Dolly, sprawled at the heart of it all, motionless as the earth itself.

"What are you even doing here?" Ardelia asked, half-frustrated, half-amused. Mr. Dolly didn't answer. He just rolled over lazily.

Ardelia walked over and sat beside him. Then, she switched off her handyterm. The meetings, the obligations — all of it could wait.

After all, nothing suits a geologist better than the open wild.

Chinese Version:

【多利先生的游戏·三】

眺望着远处闪光的海岸和高楼，艾尔黛拉忽然想起了一个遥远的名字：汐斯塔。那座带着热情回忆的火山城市。

不过，这里是菈梵朵玛——环带的明珠，塔卫二的镀金之城。

作为表现杰出的地质学者，艾尔黛拉被邀请参加一场隆重的学术论坛——主题是“新地质生态中的塔卫二秩序”。她一开始只是答应做个普通的报告，没料到这场演讲引起了轰动。

企业代表热情介绍新工业园的规划，希望她“多提宝贵意见”；学界宿耆兴奋地与她分享最新的研究成果，提议共同展开科研攻关；行政部门送上厚厚的资料册，诚意十足地邀请她加入下一个协作项目。

一个专注于观测和研究大自然的学者，却一夜之间成为了这座城市的焦点。

原本只是打个照面的握手，最后都会被附带一句“你是大家的榜样”；有人在电梯里攥着笔记本请她签名，说是要贴在实验室门口鼓励同事；在十字路口，孩子们追着她喊“姐姐我也想当科学家”；街边的摊主不容拒绝地把汽水塞到她手里，然后话题转向了“我的侄子也喜欢地质学，你能不能推荐几本书”……

艾尔黛拉一开始觉得温暖。她对每一张真诚的脸点头致意，对每一个好意的提问耐心回应。但渐渐地，疲惫开始爬了上来。她并不反感这些人，也不讨厌这些事。只是她……还没有准备好成为“名人”。

终于，一场持续三个小时的圆桌对谈结束后，她转身推开门，跑过印着自己“年轻女性科学家代表”面孔的巨幅海报，像脱逃一样钻进人群。

就是那个时候——多利先生不见了。

没人知道它是什么，自然也没人知道它去了哪儿。摩登女郎在商场里尖叫“什么东西撞我”，写字楼后巷的花坛被“粉色不明物”踩得稀烂，还有人在车站拍到一团模糊的影子从闸机上蹿了过去，带走了一袋棉花糖。

艾尔黛拉追着这些踪迹，跑遍了大半个城区。裙角沾上泥点，鞋跟磨破，太阳穴隐隐作痛。

直到她气喘吁吁地从一条偏僻小巷跑出，眼前豁然开朗。

那是城市边缘一块未被建筑覆盖的荒地，开满了鲜花，海风一吹，飘来阵阵花草的味道。多利先生正悠闲地卧在中央，一动不动。

“你跑来这儿干什么？”艾尔黛拉有点气恼，又有点好笑。多利先生没有回答，只翻了个身，打了个滚。

艾尔黛拉走过去，靠着它坐下。她关掉了通信器，让那些不忍失礼、不想拒绝的日程，统统错过了时间。

毕竟，还是野外更适合一个地质学者。