Doll Survival Game - Chapter 101 - Each to Their Own

“A high schooler? A kid?” Duan Miaomiao questioned, “Is a high schooler still considered a kid?”

Yuan Mo pointed at himself, “It’s mainly about the age difference.”

Miaomiao fell silent.

Zhang Mimi pondered for a moment, “Why does he come to your place for meals?”

Yuan Mo sighed, “The kid’s family is just him. His parents might come back once a month, if at all.”

The way he met the kid was actually quite awkward.

Yuan Mo was a homebody. Even with his brother’s encouragement, he only became slightly more outgoing, but he still avoided going out unless necessary. After his brother died in the game, he retreated into himself for a long time, surviving by ordering takeout on his phone daily.

Until one day, he entered the game and mustered the courage to visit his brother’s personal space. There, he saw the cozy little house, the vast blue sky and white clouds outside, and his brother’s translucent figure sitting quietly and confused by the window.

His brother seemed to be trapped in a world where only he existed, oblivious to everything outside, wandering alone in that space.

Yuan Mo sat there for a long time, and the next day, he donned a hat, mask, and sunglasses and ventured outside.

The early summer weather was already getting hot, and he looked suspicious wrapped up like that, drawing glances from many passersby.

Unable to bear it, he quickly bought groceries and took the path with the fewest people.

Living in a mountain city, the roads were never flat, and he was out of shape. Panting halfway up, he saw a boy in a school uniform standing outside the railing, seemingly about to jump.

Yuan Mo cherished life immensely, considering every moment alive a blessing. That boy was just a high schooler, with a long future ahead of him.

In a moment of impulsive concern, he rushed over, hugged the boy, and shouted-life is still beautiful, don’t commit suicide!

He listed all the wonderful things in life, only for the boy to turn around and say he was just trying to retrieve a notebook that had accidentally flown out and gotten stuck on the slope below.

Yuan Mo was instantly embarrassed enough to wish he could disappear on the spot.

…

“After learning he lived alone, I somehow felt guilty and invited him to eat together,” Yuan Mo recounted the incident, still embarrassed, “And now it’s been almost two months…”

The three fell silent, Zhang Mimi suppressed a smile, “It’s nice, an intergenerational friendship…”

Yuan Mo blinked, then looked at Zhang Mimi, his eyes saying-intergenerational friendship? Who?

Lin Ye kicked Zhang Mimi’s shin to make him behave, then spoke, “We aren’t sure what the outside world is like right now.”

He thought for a moment and offered comfort, “It’s possible we’re in a similar state to those who’ve passed away, forgotten by those outside.”

Zhang Mimi rubbed his shin, wondering, is that a good thing?

Duan Miaomiao’s eyes widened with realization, “I just thought, if there’s no reaction outside, does that mean I’ll be considered a missing person?”

She closed her eyes in anguish, “The boss won’t care if you’re missing; he’ll only notice if I show up for work. And if Eternal Night ends and we can go out again, I’ll definitely be fired… It’s terrifying.”

Zhang Mimi picked up a small mirror to check his hair. He had planned to get a haircut after leaving the game, but now he just trimmed it himself while looking at the mirror. “No worries, I can introduce you to a new job. Speaking of which, this game has only updated once in a year. Does that mean we’ll have to wait another year for the next update?”

“Not necessarily,” Lin Ye replied, looking up. “If the game doesn’t bring in new players, the second mode will definitely end within one to three weeks.”

The living room fell silent, and Yuan Mo quickly caught on. “Death.”

“Yes, every player must participate in an instance within a week, and most instances have a death rate of over fifty percent. At this rate, players will become ‘scarce.'”

Duan Miaomiao seemed indifferent as he listened. He took out the cross hanging around his neck, placed it in his palm, and clasped his hands together in a practiced, devout prayer. “If the third mode lets us out, I hope nothing has happened outside. If it doesn’t, then there’s nothing to say. Whatever.”

“……”

In Xia Lang’s personal space, Via and Li Qi Feng suddenly appeared.

The curly-haired boy with gray hair wrinkled his nose. “I’ve always found this rule annoying-‘If the visit request goes unanswered for an hour, you can enter the other person’s personal space by default’-but sometimes it’s quite handy.”

This visitation rule only applies if they’re teammates, and it so happened that Via and Xia Lang became teammates before entering the Fairy Tale Forest and haven’t undone it since.

Li Qi Feng wasn’t fond of this type of unannounced visit, but after Via sent messages to Xia Lang without receiving a reply, he awkwardly expressed the desire to check on Xia Lang.

Even though they all knew that once the instance ended, no matter how severe the injuries sustained, their bodies would instantly recover.

Via glanced at the holographic display upon returning to his personal space. It showed the time and date, which was quite useful. When the notification for the Eternal Night mode update arrived, the Fairy Tale Forest dramatically shifted from day to night.

At least this confirmed that Eternal Night lived up to its name, and the sun might never rise again.

The holographic display showing the date and time allowed them to discern whether it was day or night and how long they had spent in the game world.

Via navigated through the darkness to Xia Lang’s bedside. Once close enough, he could see Xia Lang’s face and bent down to check his condition.

Li Qi Feng walked to the window.

Everyone’s personal space was unique, but the room’s decor or the view outside the window could slightly reflect the resident’s true essence.

He reached out to pull open the curtains and window, and a chill swept over him, causing Li Qi Feng to pause.

Via finished his inspection and straightened up. “Nothing’s wrong, he’s just asleep… Uncle?”

Xia Lang’s room was pitch black with the curtains drawn, but once Li Qi Feng opened them, faint light seeped in.

Via approached. “Uncle, why are you spacing out? I’m calling you.”

He reached the window, and upon seeing the view outside, his eyes widened. His voice rose slightly. “What is this?”

Via was incredulous, and he leaned out the window, scanning the surroundings. “It’s magnificent.”

Li Qi Feng pulled Via back. “Be careful not to fall.”

Xia Lang’s personal space was situated in a rather terrifying location.

Outside the window, there was no place to stand; all he could see was emptiness and far below… the sea.

Via pulled his head back, shivering slightly from the thrill. “About twenty floors high, the house is supported by stone pillars that three people could barely encircle with their arms, rising from the sea.”

Stone pillars that three people could encircle meant there was no place to set foot outside the house.

What did this kind of room represent?

The two exchanged a glance, and Via scratched his head. “We should head back.”

Li Qi Feng took another look outside. The thick clouds in the sky had scattered a bit, revealing the moon, and the endless sea was bathed in silver light. “Alright, let’s go…”

“Via… and Li Qi Feng-Ge?”

Xia Lang’s voice came from behind, followed by a thud as he hit the ground. “Ow! That hurt!”

The lights came on, and Via turned to see Xia Lang had fallen off the bed onto the floor.

Xia Lang rubbed his head in confusion, glancing around. “My personal space? How did I end up here? Is the instance over?”

“It’s been over for a little more than an hour,” Via said, squatting down in front of Xia Lang. “We came to check if anything happened to you because you weren’t responding to messages.”

“And don’t take advantage of me; call Li Qi Feng uncle.”

Still a bit dazed, Xia Lang didn’t catch the last part and instinctively asked, “Why worry about me?”

Via paused, then propped his chin up, the flesh on his round cheeks bunching into a small mound. “I can’t help Luo Yiran, so I figured I’d help you.”

Xia Lang was even more puzzled.

Via blinked. “Payback. Didn’t he tell us how to score high?” Although everyone pretty much knew by now, they still owed him thanks.

Xia Lang gradually came to his senses, recalling Via’s help during the serpent man’s defeat, and smiled. “Thanks, I really needed the help.”

Via remained silent, watching Xia Lang with a slight frown.

Xia Lang: “Hmm?”

Via’s brows relaxed. “You look really tired. You should keep resting.”

Xia Lang stood up, supporting himself on the bed. “I’m fine. We took turns resting for quite a while in the game.”

“But you really do look exhausted,” Via said, standing up as well. He stared into Xia Lang’s eyes.

Xia Lang froze for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m not…”

His voice cut off abruptly, his eyes widening. Via instinctively followed his gaze, thinking something was wrong, but only saw Li Qi Feng standing stiffly behind him. He turned back. “What’s wrong?”

It startled him.

Xia Lang blinked rapidly, finally realizing as he looked out the window. “Why are we in personal space? Aren’t we supposed to exit the game?”

Previously, whenever an instance ended, they would exit the game!

Li Qi Feng walked over, “You were asleep at the time, so you wouldn’t know.”

He paused, recalling the moment in Fairy Tale Forest when he caught a glimpse of the bandage-covered magician snapping his fingers, causing the sky to instantly darken. Although there was no concrete evidence, he suspected that the game’s update was somehow linked to the magician, especially since he vaguely heard the doll and Little Red discussing the magician and the update within the ice wall.

Li Qi Feng didn’t mention this, he simply said, “The game has been updated.”

Xia Lang perked up his ears, but Li Qi Feng didn’t continue, prompting Via to roll his eyes in annoyance and speak up himself, “All we know so far is that we’re stuck in this Eternal Night mode from the World Human update, unable to exit the game… And it seems the sun won’t rise anymore, but we’ll have to wait until five or six o’clock to be sure.”

Xia Lang was bewildered again-an update? Right, the game did notify about an update on June 21st last week, and based on the timing, they finished the instance right at midnight on the 21st…

But what does being unable to exit the game mean? Xia Lang’s mind was a jumble-unable to exit means…

“Xia Lang.”

As he was lost in thought, Luo Yiran’s voice suddenly came from the right.

Via and Li Qi Feng were both startled, immediately looking towards the source of the voice, while Xia Lang reflexively checked the holographic display-had Ranran sent him a visit request too?

Looking at the empty space to the right, Via blinked in confusion, “Huh? Did we hear wrong? There’s no one there.”

“…Down here.”

Luo Yiran’s voice sounded again.

This time, all three simultaneously looked down.

“…”

The eerie silence didn’t affect Luo Yiran’s expression in the slightest as he stood on the ground. He calmly tugged at the hem of his floor-length dress, his gaze as still as a dead pond as he looked at them, “What a coincidence, you’re here too.”