Doll Survival Game

[Three months ago, on an extraordinarily ordinary morning, Li Wei was awakened by the sound of an explosion. She looked out the window at the smoke and fire, frantically grabbed her phone to call the police, but just as she touched the phone, the door was smashed open, and a monster wearing her parents’ clothes came towards her…]

[And outside the window, inhuman roars continued to echo.]

[Current game task: Please find a human in this world and deliver them to Baige Tower within three days.]

[Note: The team limit for this round is five people, and only one team member needs to complete the task.]

Luo Yiran did not kill the monster; he only wrapped the silver thread around its body. The scarecrow struggled, shedding debris continuously.

The doll ignored it, controlling the magician to come before him, then stepped on the magician’s black top hat, red eyes scanning the surroundings.

This was a city full of ruins, as if it had been ravaged by an earthquake. Most buildings had collapsed, stones and broken walls scattered everywhere.

Not far away, a grayish-blue sign read Changnan Street, with several dust-covered cars beneath it.

The doll glanced at the holographic display beside him, quickly checking it, finding only a green dot representing himself and the words Changnan Street marked on the map, with the rest blank.

It seemed exploration was necessary for more to appear.

The holographic display had clickable options for the map, group messages, and the first slot of property.

Luo Yiran carried the puppet thread with him, using [regeneration] on the silver thread, leaving only three items, and in the first slot was…

Yuan Mo: [Great! The team limit is five people; if we had two more, we’d have to split up!]

Luo Yiran had just looked over when the next message followed.

Zhang Mimi: [Oh my gosh!!! Lei Jing!!!]

Yuan Mo: [?]

Xia Lang: [!]

Luo Yiran paused slightly; it wasn’t surprising that Lei Jing was still in the game. Although her crimes were enough for a death sentence, the outcome required time.

She was rather lucky, just in time for the second mode where she couldn’t leave the game…

She should be quite pleased.

Luo Yiran’s lips curled slightly upward as he watched Yuan Mo ask in the group what was up with Lei Jing, replying: [Consider her an enemy.]

Yuan Mo decisively: [Want to kill?]

Luo Yiran dropped a word in the group, then happily squinted his eyes–

This time, let’s end her luck.

Zhang Mimi: [Hey, their hunters came with six people, and she’s acting alone.]

Yuan Mo: [Mimi, I see you!]

Zhang Mimi: [Then heal me up! I’m charging in!]

From not far away came the roar of some animal, and Luo Yiran shifted his gaze forward.

The magician’s chest bore a rose, vibrant and dripping. He raised his hand to grasp the flower, crushing it in his palm, his voice devoid of emotion: “Young master, what are you thinking?”

The doll glanced down at him: “Nothing.”

“Why not control me?”

The magician pressed the tail of his question, but the doll showed no displeasure. He looked up; the sky in this world remained pitch black, likely with no sun anywhere.

Yet the moon was exceptionally bright, like a giant lantern, illuminating the surroundings without a single star in sight.

“Because I’m certain you won’t harm me.”

Whether due to rules or so-called love, the result is all that matters.

And constantly dividing attention to control a puppet with self-awareness is quite tiring.

The magician was stunned, then felt the intense beating within his chest. He walked forward, the doll not holding him back.

Thus, the magician laughed: “Young master, are you planning something again?”

Luo Yiran chuckled softly, raising his right hand, looking at his finger without answering, instead saying, “Puppet, my first kill was in the game.”

The magician paused, but his steps did not falter. He climbed onto another pile of ruins, while behind, the scarecrow trapped by the silver thread was attacked by a monkey-like monster half its height.

Despite being mere straw, the monkey monster gnawed eagerly.

The doll merely glanced back indifferently, then withdrew the silver thread: “Before that, I hadn’t indirectly killed anyone; I merely ignored their actions.”

Just like what Xia Lang faced back then, he knew how things would unfold but allowed it.

He simply didn’t stop it, not that he pushed it forward.

So.

“I’m neither a special species nor should I be a player.” The doll’s tone rose, as if speaking with a smile.

The magician turned a corner at the intersection ahead, and a sign reading Beining Street lay atop a car.

The doll glanced down–the map lit up another section.

The magician’s progress lacked a definite purpose, seemingly just exploring the environment.

“Young master, I’m asking what you’re planning again.” The magician tilted his head slightly, the doll atop him swaying.

Luo Yiran raised an eyebrow, squinting his round red eyes as if he hadn’t heard, continuing to talk about entering the game: “I don’t meet the conditions to be a player, so why did 2657 pull me into the game?”

The magician anticipated what the doll was about to say, falling silent.

The doll asked with interest: “Is it because there’s already a mark on me?”

“Who made that mark?” Luo Yiran lowered his head, his lips curling, his tone carrying a hint of coaxing, as if speaking to a child: “Puppet, do you know?”

The magician took off his hat and placed it on his chest, the doll mimicking his movement, his red eyes shifting from a downward gaze to an upward one. Luo Yiran watched the magician, his smile widening as he deliberately said, “Why aren’t you speaking?”

“I know what the young master is thinking, but it’s really not me,” the magician said, his gray hair hanging in front of the doll. His thumb brushed against the doll’s cheek. “I’ve only been to that world once.”

The doll’s eyes flashed, and suddenly he reached out to grab the magician’s hair, stopping the magician’s intended upright movement.

“How long did you stay that time?”

The bandage on the magician’s face lifted as he removed the bandage from his eyes, those beautiful eyes staring at the doll–

“Then why doesn’t the young master answer me first about what you intend to do?”

When the magician removed the bandage, the doll’s movement visibly paused. His gaze shifted before meeting those eyes again.

Luo Yiran released the magician’s hair, saying nothing.

The magician didn’t press further, his eyes curved as he continued forward with light steps.

There were fewer monsters around here, and the doll hadn’t seen any other monsters, nor had he seen other players.

However, the places lit up on the map were increasing.

The doll watched the magician circling outward on the map. He seemed to ponder something, his face expressionless as he spoke first, “Does giving you the maximum freedom necessarily mean I intend to do something?”

The magician lightly jumped onto a slanted wall, the night wind lifting his hair as he squinted his eyes in comfort. “Young master, you’ve misunderstood.”

“Hmm?”

The magician opened his eyes, looking at a point of light ahead, behind which was a monster resembling a frog but with skin covered in mucus. He turned his gaze away in disgust. “The point is, I changed twenty dresses for the young master.”

So, no matter how you think about it, this “normal” reaction is quite off unless the doll has already planned his revenge.

Luo Yiran: “…Don’t mention dresses unless you want to end up in a monster’s belly.”

The magician couldn’t help but laugh.

Luo Yiran ignored him and continued, “I’m just trying to understand you.”

“…”

That statement was frightening. The magician’s hand trembled, and the hat in his hand briefly flew into the air.

As the hat soared, the doll flew out as well.

Unexpectedly, the magician’s leisurely pace still managed to fling him out, but Luo Yiran quickly reacted by extending a silver thread. However, the magician was even quicker, catching him.

He said, “Young master, don’t scare me.”

Doll: “…”

This was a case of the villain accusing first.

Regardless of whether the doll’s words were true or not, he had answered. So the magician replied, “A very short time… but by then, the young master already had a mark.”

Already had…

The doll’s eyes slightly drooped, concealing the understanding within.

The magician’s fingers gripped him tightly, and Luo Yiran could feel the pressure, but it wasn’t painful, so he said nothing. The magician released him, then put the hat back on, placing the doll on top.

“Then I hope the young master can understand me,” the magician continued forward.

The doll didn’t respond, sitting cross-legged with his hand on his chin, appearing relaxed, though his thoughts were scattered–staring into the magician’s eyes was quite… stimulating.

People say eyes are the windows to the soul, and Luo Yiran had always agreed. When he tried to glimpse into people’s thoughts, he would look into their eyes.

But last time, the initial impression was too stunning, so he dared not look closely.

This time, however, he looked carefully.

But how to put it–the doll tilted his head slightly–if he only looked into those eyes, only being gazed at like that, he could see that it felt like he was being loved correctly and tenderly.

That was very strange.

“Ran away.” Zhang Mimi wiped the dust off his face. “It’s too dirty here; if Lin Ye comes, he’ll be annoyed.”

Yuan Mo climbed over the wall. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” Zhang Mimi glanced at him. “Your spirit serpent is really impressive.”

Yuan Mo paused, lowering his head. “My brother gave it to me.”

“Mimi-Ge! Yuan Mo-Ge!” Xia Lang called in a lowered voice, his shirt collar hung on a steel bar above, his whole body swaying slightly, his expression filled with sorrow. “Get me down first…”

He was too unlucky.

Lei Jing had directly targeted him with their team’s item blacklist.

And when Lei Jing arrived, he happened to encounter a monster as large as a hill, and while blocking the monster’s attack, he was sent flying and hung up there.

If Zhang Mimi and Yuan Mo hadn’t followed Lei Jing closely, he would have been a fish on the chopping block.

The two of them got him down, Zhang Mimi ruffling Xia Lang’s hair. “Lucky you didn’t hit the steel bar directly.”

Imagining that scene, Xia Lang stiffened.

Yuan Mo said seriously, “Indeed, I once saw a news report where someone fell from the third floor and was impaled on a railing, dying.”

Xia Lang’s pupils trembled as he clutched his chest.

Zhang Mimi was about to say not to worry, that their current bodies probably wouldn’t die from a third-floor fall, but he heard a sound first, instantly looking towards the source. “Who’s there?!”

Xia Lang gripped his knife tightly, then followed his gaze.

A girl crawled out from the ruins not far away, her hair covering most of her face, so even in the bright moonlight, her features remained indistinct.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then approached them.