Doll Survival Game - Chapter 118 - Part 15

Watching Luo Yiran walk out the door, the magician lowered his eyes slightly, looking at his slender fingers.

This body and identity seemed to have been conjured out of thin air with Luo Yiran’s participation, as his setup included no family or friends, just a stranger who suddenly appeared as Luo Yiran’s neighbor.

Additionally, he became a new employee at this milk tea shop, and beyond that, his connection to this world was virtually nonexistent.

However, the timing of his entry into the small instance did not coincide with Luo Yiran’s; when he arrived, Qiu Qiu had not yet become Luo Yiran.

This was likely because the instance itself defaulted to admitting only one player, so his extra identity was randomly inserted.

Moreover, he no longer had any special abilities to use.

“……”

Everything else was fine, except.

The magician’s fingers twirled, the card on the counter flickering between his fingers, and he squinted slightly–unable to promptly learn about Luo Yiran’s situation, which was somewhat frustrating.

Hmm… Hopefully, he wouldn’t end up becoming a stalker of high school students because of this.

Although he no longer possessed superhuman abilities, there weren’t any additional restrictions either, and unlike Luo Yiran, he had no identity, so his behavior had to adapt to those around him…

“Ji.”

The magician paused, then turned around–

The shop manager waved at him, “If you’re not busy now, come over and I’ll teach you how to make other styles.”

The magician’s lips twitched slightly, and he walked over.

The shop manager glanced at him; the reason Ji Ming was hired was because of his outstanding appearance, which might attract more customers under the same conditions as other milk tea shops. However, judging by Ji Ming’s behavior towards that young man just now…

It seemed a bit off.

The shop manager looked at Ji Ming, then picked up a cup from the side, “That young man just now…”

The magician looked over.

The shop manager was quite serious, “You need to be mindful of boundaries; that kid looks like he’s still a minor…”

The magician: “……”

A special rhythm, huh…

Luo Yiran squatted at the milk tea shop entrance, holding the milk tea and watching the passersby thoughtfully.

Suddenly, he felt that what he was thinking might not be quite the same as what the magician had said.

Moreover, Luo Yiran tilted his head, looking through the window beside the door at the magician inside, who was working skillfully and quickly–when would he get off work?

He had just dashed out with the milk tea and then realized he didn’t know how to get “home.”

If the magician was his neighbor, he should know how to get back, right?

“……”

But the puppet was called Ji Ming here… and if he was human now, he should be treated more naturally.

After all, it was an equal status.

Luo Yiran bit the straw, shifting his gaze from the magician to the street–better to think about the Dead Woman.

First, she was definitely female, as the bones on the door to the small instance were indeed those of a female.

Then, her imagination must be very good.

Baige Tower and the small instance were enough to prove this, and she was very sensitive and meticulous.

The characters in this small instance were incredibly realistic, even the smallest details were perfect, but whether it was caution or something else, the Dead Woman was in no hurry to deal with him as a participant.

In this world, so far, he hadn’t felt any sense of crisis… although he had no clue about the key, the kind of danger that occasionally surged in other instances was completely absent in this small instance.

Peaceful to the point of being strange.

But maybe the boss’s net to capture him had already been set up, and he just hadn’t noticed.

Luo Yiran squinted slightly.

However, he didn’t seem to have any motivation.

The feeling conveyed by his whole body was as if he was in a very safe place, so he felt unusually relaxed.

Was it because this world was very similar to the real world…

Before he could finish the thought, Luo Yiran’s body suddenly froze, and he instinctively looked up.

When humans look at something moving very quickly, they see an afterimage, but the retina still can’t capture a clear picture.

So when that person fell beside Luo Yiran, he only saw a shadow swiftly pass before his eyes and then land beside him with an incredibly loud noise.

“……”

“Someone fell from the building–”

The screams around took a moment to erupt, and Luo Yiran looked down at the body beside him, which was like a pile of mud, then met the eyes that had been squeezed out of their sockets.

Already dead, probably. There were many floors above this milk tea shop; if he jumped from the highest point, there was no saving him… but was it really suicide?

Luo Yiran’s hand moved slightly, and just as he was about to step forward, someone from behind half-embraced his arm and waist, while a broad, warm hand covered his eyes.

“……Puppet… Ji Ming?”

The hand covering his eyes wasn’t wrapped in bandages, the touch was very clear, and the magician’s voice sounded above him, “No need to look, it was suicide.” The expressions of people who commit suicide are all different… although half of the face was twisted, the expression seemed rather peaceful, the corners of the mouth even slightly upturned.

Although this expression wasn’t quite normal, there was at least a seventy percent chance it was suicide.

Most of his body was covered by another’s warmth.

Indeed, there was a size difference between a young man and an adult. Luo Yiran raised his hand to grasp the magician’s wrist, signaling him to let go with a slight force.

The magician didn’t release him, lowering his head, his chin brushing against Luo Yiran’s hair, he reminded, “This is Qiu Qiu’s first direct encounter with death.”

Luo Yiran paused, then lowered his hand, silently, as if frightened, stiffening his body in the magician’s embrace.

Magician looked at the shop manager. The shop manager was already stunned; only after meeting the magician’s gaze did he snap back to reality, then, trembling, he took out his phone to call the police.

With his eyes covered, the surrounding sounds became even clearer. Yiran heard, besides the shop manager calling the police, the voices of the other people–

“Why would someone jump off a building? Looks so young…”

“Probably just a recent graduate who ran into something they couldn’t handle. It’s normal. These days, most people are under a lot of pressure. Once something heavy happens, it’s easy to collapse.”

“Didn’t someone jump into the river last week?”

“That one was rescued, right? If you ask me, that kid never really wanted to die. Otherwise, why pick a time when so many people were around to jump…”

“Pfft, true.”

“But the reason was even more bizarre! Do you know why she jumped? Because she got scolded for not finishing her homework, hahahaha!”

“Let’s just hope this jumper didn’t do it for some trivial reason…”

“Why bother with that? But I bet that kid who saw it all up close will have a big psychological shadow.”

“If it was just a bit off, he would have been hit. Really don’t know if that counts as luck or misfortune.”

“…”

The noise kept rising, voices overlapping, and Yiran even heard the sound of someone taking photos.

The next moment, the magician pulled him inward, seemingly shielding him from the cameras. Yiran didn’t pay attention; as he listened to those voices, a strange yet somehow familiar emotion welled up inside him. He froze, so much that he didn’t hear what the magician whispered in his ear–only vaguely sensed that the magician was saying something.

“What did you say? I didn’t catch it just now,” Yiran asked into the darkness before him.

But the magician didn’t speak again. He simply placed his other hand on Yiran’s arm. “Let’s go in.”

Obediently, Yiran followed him into the milk tea shop. The shop manager and some staff had gone into the restroom to vomit; others were either gathered at the entrance or hurriedly leaving. For a moment, the lobby of the shop was left only to the two of them.

The magician released Yiran.

With nobody else around, Yiran curled up slightly, sitting down on a chair nearby. “That was terrifying.”

The magician froze–was it Qiu Qiu… or Yiran who was scared?

“And,” Yiran’s eyes drooped, hand clutching his chest, honestly describing how he felt: “It hurts a lot inside.”

The magician fell silent.

“Don’t look so serious,” Yiran reached out, as if to touch the magician, but his fingertips trembled with fear and sorrow. “I’m Luo Yiran. The real one.”

The magician leaned closer, his face nearing Yiran’s hand. Yiran smiled, affirming, “I felt fear, because someone died right in front of me; and I felt sadness, because someone died, but all most people around showed was malice.”

Strange.

So strange.

If he’s afraid, if he’s sad, why is he smiling?

As if understanding the magician’s confusion, Yiran whispered, “Because I’m happy to be able to feel these things.”

At the same time, he roughly understood where the danger of this small instance lay.

The magician looked at him. After a while, he said, “I was wrong. Maybe this instance is very dangerous for you.”

Yiran pulled back his hand and nodded with a smile. Then, after a moment’s thought, he added, “Probably dangerous for a lot of people, right?”

But as for his words… it was up to his own choices. Yet, so far, he really liked this little instance.

Imagination can become reality–as long as one believes it subjectively, then even the most easily pierced illusions can deceive oneself.

The magician turned his head, looking at the crowd growing outside the shop. “Humans are truly scary creatures sometimes.”

Yiran remained silent. After that brief smile, his expression shifted in an instant to Qiu Qiu’s reaction–his manner dazed, his gaze unfocused.

The magician knew it was just a facade. He looked away and asked Yiran, “Do you think I’m scary?”

Yiran’s voice was tinged with fragility: “Never.”

“Then I’ve really failed,” the magician’s expression softened. He smiled gently, “Why don’t we try interacting differently, here in this small instance?”

“After all, you’re planning to ‘become someone else’ here, aren’t you?”

Yiran said nothing more. He was somewhat moved by the magician’s expression–for he wasn’t the only one wearing a mask.

But whoever it is, people always conceal parts of themselves for all sorts of reasons.

The sound of sirens blared outside. Amidst the chaos, Yiran showed the magician an expression he had never shown before and asked, “What should I call you?”

The magician stood up and came to his side. “I heard Qiu Qiu is a polite kid.”

As if reaching some unspoken understanding, in that instant, both of their demeanors subtly shifted.

After a moment, Qiu Qiu rested his head against Ji Ming’s waist, his voice uncertain as he called out, “Ji Ming…Ge.”

–This small instance is extremely dangerous for Luo Yiran, because the emotional turbulence doesn’t belong to him, yet he’s the one feeling it.

The best thing to do would be to separate what isn’t his own… but he loves these intense surges of emotion, so he will knowingly, joyfully, throw himself into this danger.