Charlie IX: The Bangkok Doll God

The DODO Adventure Team received a mysterious invitation from Bangkok. It was sent by Mr. Songchai, a celebrated local collector of antique dolls. He said that strange things had been happening to a batch of “celestial dolls” in his collection: their hair grew longer by itself in the dead of night, their heads silently turned toward the door, and the sound of children sobbing could sometimes be heard in the room. Even more bizarrely, everyone who had touched the dolls shared the same nightmare: a little girl dressed in traditional Thai clothing, slowly beckoning to them through the mist. Charlie flew to Bangkok with Duoduo and the others. As they made their way through bustling night markets and floating markets, they discovered that the situation was far more complicated than a haunting. A mysterious altar in an abandoned temple, miniature devices hidden in the dolls’ bases, and unusually expensive amulet deals... Every clue pointed to a dollmaker who had lived in seclusion for years. After his daughter went missing, he had thrown himself into making dolls, only to be manipulated into helping cover up an illegal deal. The “supernatural phenomena” were nothing more than tricks he had created with voice activation and glow-in-the-dark paint. When the truth came out, Charlie didn’t expose everything. Instead, he handed the dollmaker a faded missing-person poster. At last, the dollmaker burst into tears. It turned out that the daughter he had searched for so desperately had long since made a peaceful life for herself far away. The terror faded, leaving behind a Thai tale of waiting and letting go.