Chapter 1 - Welcome

“A pearl milk tea, full sugar.”

The young man tapped his fingers on the counter, making a slight sound. The girl at the milk tea shop, drowsy from the summer afternoon, suddenly jolted awake. Out of professional habit, she straightened up and mechanically replied, “Okay.”

The young man in front of her was momentarily taken aback, then he curved his eyes into a soft, gentle smile.

He was wearing a blue and white uniform, his skin fair, his eyes bright, and his features as delicate as if they had been painted. Yet, there was no sharpness to him-only an overwhelming softness.

He looked like the kind of good student who was well-behaved and always willing to help.

Finally getting a clear look at the person in front of her and being rewarded with a sweet smile, the girl’s face instantly flushed. She quickly lowered her head, “Would you like it iced?”

It was summer, so most people opted for iced drinks.

The girl had already reached for the ice, but then she heard the young man say earnestly, “I’d like it hot.”

Holding the steaming cup of milk tea, the young man slowly walked along the sidewalk. It was the hottest part of summer, and the sun’s rays felt like they were stinging the skin with every moment they lingered. But the young man seemed unfazed as he walked under the sun.

After a while, his phone rang from his pocket. He tossed the empty milk tea cup into a trash bin and pulled out his phone to answer, “Hello.”

“Ranran~”

The young man promptly hung up.

A moment later, the phone rang again, and he answered once more.

“Ran-Ge¹…” The voice on the other end sounded pitiful.

“Yeah,” the young man responded cheerfully, “What’s up?”

“Are you coming back tonight?” Xia Lang’s voice was excited, “Can you bring me some grilled cold noodles² from the school gate?”

Luo Yiran kicked a small pebble at his feet, “I only took the afternoon off, so of course, I’ll be back in the dormitory tonight. Grilled cold noodles, no cilantro, extra spicy, right?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Xia Lang replied gleefully.

Luo Yiran caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and said to Xia Lang, “Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’m going to hang up now.”

Before Xia Lang could even say goodbye, Luo Yiran had already ended the call. He then looked at the dessert shop not far away and jogged over.

Love and sweets should never be neglected; taking half a day off just to explore the surrounding area would be a waste if he didn’t try everything.

The scorching weather had the transparent sliding door at the entrance of the dessert shop closed. As Luo Yiran approached, the door automatically opened, and a cheerful “Welcome” greeted him.

The sweet aroma wafted toward him, and Luo Yiran couldn’t help but smile. He lifted one foot and stepped inside.

And then, in the next second, he vanished.

The staff at the dessert shop looked up in confusion at the still-open door, then turned to her colleague and asked, “Where did that student go?”

Her colleague glanced up, “What student? No one came in. The door must be broken.”

The staff paused, and the confusion on her face suddenly faded. She looked at the now-closed door and nodded, “I’ll let the shop manager know when he wakes up.”

“Mm,” the colleague replied, pulling their hat lower. Then, their lips curled into a grin, “Make sure you tell him.”

The staff froze for a moment, then bent down to grab a sticky note, muttering softly, “I’d better write it down. It wouldn’t be good to forget… The shop manager really should hire more staff. This location gets decent foot traffic, and I’m often overwhelmed on my own…”

The colleague stopped listening, instead scratching their neck. Their fingers pushed aside the collar of their shirt, revealing a string of black numbers-2657-etched into their skin.

“It’s so itchy! So annoying!” the colleague complained loudly, then impatiently walked past the cash register and through the sliding door, stepping into the sunlight. “I need to catch another one. So annoying!”

The dessert shop staff remained oblivious, focused on placing the sticky note in a visible spot. In her memory, this small dessert shop had always been staffed by her alone.

In just an instant, the scenery before Luo Yiran’s eyes changed completely.

He blinked in confusion, staring at the enormous full moon that seemed to hang right in front of him-where was this?

Before he could even turn to look around, a clear male voice suddenly rang out, “Welcome, new player! Now, we’re just one player away from starting the game.”

Luo Yiran tilted his head, his clear eyes locking onto the “person” who had spoken.

The figure sat cross-legged on a tree branch, dressed in a brown suit, with pale skin and shoulder-length, dark green hair. Incredibly, the ends of his hair were adorned with fresh, vibrant green leaves. Meeting Luo Yiran’s gaze, he smiled, “Hello, I’m the regulator for the starter area. You can call me Mr. Gardener.”

Luo Yiran was silent for a moment, then asked earnestly, “Is it just me, or do you seem… really big?”

Mr. Gardener raised an eyebrow slightly, “Kids really do say the darndest things.”

Luo Yiran: “…?”

Mr. Gardener pointed a pale, slender finger at Luo Yiran, “Look down at yourself.”

A sense of foreboding crept into Luo Yiran’s heart, and that feeling solidified when he looked down at himself.

Though he was still wearing the same blue and white uniform, the hands extending from the sleeves were no longer human.

Each joint was connected by spherical parts, smooth and delicate in texture, but lacking the feel of human skin.

“…”

A doll.

The thought flashed through Luo Yiran’s mind instinctively.

Mr. Gardener asked, “Why aren’t you surprised?”

Luo Yiran lowered his hand. Now that he had become a little doll, he naturally understood that it wasn’t Mr. Gardener who was big-it was he who had shrunk.

“I’m extremely surprised,” Luo Yiran replied.

Mr. Gardener didn’t like people like Luo Yiran, who were so calm it was as if they had already experienced countless battles in this game. He preferred pure newcomers, the kind who would scream in fear and panic at the sight of him.

But it was clear that Luo Yiran wasn’t the type Mr. Gardener favored, so he responded with little enthusiasm: “Welcome to World Human.”

“This is the Fairy Tale Mountains. You are one of mother rabbit’s children. The night is deep, so please make your way home before the moon reaches its peak.”

Mr. Gardener delivered the explanation in a monotone, then stood up to leave.

“Wait,” Luo Yiran called out to him.

Mr. Gardener paused.

After stopping him, Luo Yiran politely smiled, though the doll’s overly delicate features made the expression seem somewhat eerie. “What happens if I don’t make it home?”

He didn’t question whether this was all a dream, nor did he protest or resist. Instead, he was already thinking about following the sudden rules.

Strange. Extremely strange.

Mr. Gardener’s guard went up.

When Luo Yiran didn’t receive an answer, he asked again in a pleasant tone.

Mr. Gardener’s lips curled into a grin, and a long, bloody split suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth. “The forest at night is very dangerous, especially for fragile and helpless little rabbits.”

Luo Yiran merely frowned, unfazed by Mr. Gardener’s sudden transformation, and nodded. “Got it.”

Mr. Gardener’s smile faded, and he pursed his lips. “Boring. I’m leaving.”

“One more question,” Luo Yiran spoke up again, still in that polite tone.

Mr. Gardener was growing impatient. “Before you ask, I should tell you that game NPCs like me aren’t always truthful.”

Luo Yiran blinked his ruby-like eyes. “That’s fine. I just wanted to ask-are all the players dolls?”

Mr. Gardener chuckled. “No.”

Luo Yiran’s smile faded. “Then isn’t that unfair to me?”

Mr. Gardener’s expression darkened. “The game treats all equally.”

“But my body is only the size of a palm. Doing anything would be inconvenient.”

Mr. Gardener paused, then suddenly leaned in close, the leaves at the ends of his hair brushing against the doll’s clothes. “You’re testing me.”

Luo Yiran didn’t admit to it. “It’s just a question born out of a sense of unfairness.”

Mr. Gardener scoffed and stepped back. “Use your puppet, and you’ll be no different from anyone else.”

Afraid Luo Yiran might ask more questions, he vanished on the spot.

“…” At least tell me where the puppet is! How do I use it!

Luo Yiran stood up speechlessly-only to hear a shrill scream from not far away the next second: “Where is this?!”

At the same time, a peculiar voice, as if murmured by countless people, echoed in Luo Yiran’s mind: [Welcome, new player, to World Human.]

[Here, we will forever cherish rules, blood, screams, despair, destruction, and revenge.]

[And your deaths.]

The voice faded, and then Mr. Gardener’s voice emerged again. Though he wasn’t visible, his voice sounded steady and clear in Luo Yiran’s ear: “Now that the initial greetings are over, it’s time for our game to officially begin.”

“All you adorable little rabbits, start running. Mother Rabbit has prepared six sets of cutlery, waiting for you to come home~”

Luo-barely the size of a palm and still trapped high up in a tree-Yiran: “…”

Just as Luo Yiran was feeling troubled, a slightly hoarse voice came from below: “Jump down.”

Luo Yiran looked down and saw a shadowy figure that had appeared beneath the tree without him noticing. The moonlight was so bright that he could clearly make out the person’s appearance.

The figure was dressed in an almost wrinkle-free black suit, with a black magic hat on his head. Every inch of his skin that should have been exposed was wrapped in bandages, leaving no trace of his facial features visible.

Only his long, gray hair cascaded smoothly down.

The magician seemed to be looking up at him.

Luo Yiran didn’t jump: “A puppet?”

“Yes,” the magician replied, his voice cool but laced with amusement. He casually gave Luo Yiran a title: “Jump down, young master. Time is running out.”

“From this height, even if you catch me, I’ll be shattered into pieces,” Luo Yiran said seriously. “And since you’re my puppet, my property, shouldn’t you be calling me ‘master’?”

The magician’s voice grew even colder: “No need to worry, young master. I can piece you back together. Go ahead and jump.”

Luo Yiran still didn’t move: “I don’t think you’ll catch me.”

The magician let out a soft laugh: “It’s not me catching you. It’s you catching yourself.”

In that instant, Luo Yiran understood. He looked down at the ball joint on his index finger and felt a strange, pulling sensation connecting him to the puppet below. With a thought, the magician below raised his hands high.

“I see. You’re just a talking shell.”

The magician didn’t respond.

“But you have your own consciousness, and you dislike me because I can control your body?” Luo Yiran smiled, sitting back down and curling the corner of his lips slightly. “Come on, climb up the tree and get me down. Hurry up, I’m in a rush.”

He crossed his legs, tilted his chin up, and glanced at the magician with just a hint of his gaze, exuding an air of extreme arrogance.

Like a very mischievous cat.

Footnote:

1. 1. -Ge(-哥): In Chinese, using “xx哥” to address someone is quite common, especially in Mainland China and other Chinese-speaking communities. This way of addressing typically carries a sense of affection and friendliness, indicating respect and amiability towards the person.

1. 1. Grilled Cold Noodles(烤冷面):Grilled cold noodles is a popular Chinese street food dish made from pan-fried wheat noodles, often topped with egg, vegetables, and a savory sauce. Despite the name, the noodles are cooked and served hot.