Doll Survival Game - Chapter 128

The system’s voice stuttered, and a bad premonition arose among the three of them, Luo Yiran included.

The crackling sound continued intermittently. Luo Yiran glanced at the magician, who was gazing at the sky. His pupils, beneath long lashes, were exceptionally calm, and his neck, wrapped in bandages, was slender.

Yuan Mo stood tall beside Zhang Mimi, a faint silver glow emanating from him–an unnoticed spirit serpent. He tugged at Zhang Mimi’s clothes, saying, “This isn’t good.”

Zhang Mimi furrowed his brows.

Luo Yiran watched as the magician turned his head, and amidst the crackling sound, their eyes met. But without context, Luo Yiran couldn’t decipher the meaning in the magician’s eyes.

About two minutes later, the crackling sound ceased, and the system’s voice resumed–

[System Notification.]

Notification? Everyone fell silent.

System: [Due to an attack during the operation of “World Human,” the game must temporarily close. All players will exit the game, and those still alive are considered to have cleared the game.]

[Players will be notified in advance when the game restarts.]

[Looking forward to our next meeting.]

“…?”

“Ha–”

Zhang Mimi was stunned, but he quickly checked the holographic display and found no notification of Xia Lang’s death. He laughed, “Who attacked? Was it a player? Well done!”

Yuan Mo also breathed a sigh of relief.

The Demon and Li Wei both frowned.

Luo Yiran ignored them, feeling a slight tugging sensation in his body, his red eyes fixed on the magician.

The magician seemed to smile slightly, for his eyes, like the night sky and the ocean, carried a faint hint of amusement.

He appeared unfazed by the temporary closure of the game until he spoke.

“Young master, there’s something I need to tell you.”

The doll’s gaze was intensely focused on the magician, looking into his eyes. “What is it?”

The magician’s bandages slowly lifted as he spoke, “No matter where you are, I will find you.”

“I will never let you leave.”

His voice sounded light, yet it carried a sense of certainty that he would fulfill his promise.

Luo Yiran’s eyes reflected the magician’s bandaged face, showing only his eyes. “…What do you mean?”

The magician’s smile widened, the bandages on his face twisting into an exaggerated and sickly grin, even his transparent eyes showed stubbornness. “It means, young master, wherever you go, I will find you again.”

This was a somewhat frightening… no, to most people, it would be a very frightening statement.

As if being watched intently, never able to escape.

But Luo Yiran merely smiled and responded with a sentence, then watched as everything before him turned black. The darkness lasted only a moment before the familiar dormitory ceiling appeared before his eyes.

Luo Yiran remained silent for a while, then picked up his phone, checking the display showing June 28th, midnight.

“…”

The time matched, but they hadn’t left the game all week… In reality, would they appear to have disappeared for a week to others?

If so, it would be hard to explain.

Luo Yiran sat up and looked across the room.

Moonlight streamed through the window, allowing Luo Yiran to see Xia Lang’s sleeping face.

Was Xia Lang asleep the whole time in the game?

Luo Yiran frowned slightly, then got out of bed and approached Xia Lang, observing him.

His breathing was steady, his complexion normal.

He was truly asleep.

Where did he go after disappearing? How could he sleep in the game… I’ll ask him tomorrow.

Luo Yiran returned to his bed, opened his phone, and tried to access the app, but it wouldn’t open.

A dialog box popped up, stating the system was under maintenance.

He tried uninstalling it, but it wouldn’t uninstall.

Luo Yiran set down his phone, thought for a moment, then closed his eyes–let nature take its course.

After all, there are only two outcomes: the game is fixed, or it completely crashes.

…

After a night of chaotic dreams, Luo Yiran opened his eyes, feeling unusually dazed by the strange dreams.

But even though he had just awoken, the contents of the dream were already forgotten, except for the words the magician said before exiting the game.

Those words appeared in the dream as well.

The impression was too deep… but it shouldn’t be that serious.

Luo Yiran glanced around the dormitory, sensing no odd presence–not likely, the magician said before that he couldn’t come out… and even if he could, it wouldn’t be this fast.

Xia Lang’s alarm went off at that moment, and he sat up abruptly to turn it off, then stared blankly at everything before him.

After a while, he widened his eyes and turned his head, looking at Luo Yiran with disbelief, “We…?”

“Weren’t we climbing the stairs?!”

Luo Yiran paused, then briefly explained the game’s closure.

Xia Lang blinked blankly, then felt a bit awkward, “…I missed it again.”

He found it hard to stay awake when exiting the game.

Luo Yiran looked at him, “Did you fall asleep in the game?”

Xia Lang felt even more embarrassed and scratched his head, “Probably… At that time, I didn’t know I disappeared; I thought you guys disappeared. Then I couldn’t reach the end of the staircase, and there were unfamiliar roars everywhere. Eventually, I got tired from running…”

“So, I guess, maybe… I fell asleep?”

Luo Yiran: “…”

Xia Lang’s eyes darted around, hesitating, “I feel like I ran for a long time…”

Luo Yiran thought of Zhang Mimi’s previous concern for Xia Lang and slightly lowered his head, “As long as you’re alive, go wash up. It’s Monday, and we have classes.”

Xia Lang glanced at the bright sky outside and said, “Alright!”

Even though it was just a week without seeing the sun, it felt like a long time had passed.

However, Xia Lang picked up his phone, hesitating–he couldn’t enter the game for now, so should he add Via as a friend?

Via had previously given him his contact information in reality.

Luo Yiran picked up his school uniform, his peripheral vision noting Xia Lang’s conflicted expression. He shook out the uniform and said, “After you disappeared, Zhang Mimi was really worried about you.”

Xia Lang was taken aback.

Luo Yiran didn’t look at Xia Lang, “If you have contact information, reach out.”

Xia Lang blinked, then smiled and leaned over, “Originally, everyone said if we could exit the game, we’d add each other as friends. But Ranran, you were always with the magician at that time… so we didn’t get to tell you.”

Luo Yiran nodded lightly, then said, “I don’t really want to contact them in reality.”

After all, the doll’s appearance in the game was a natural disguise. As long as no one saw him with Xia Lang in reality or knew his name, no one would recognize him as the doll.

Xia Lang hesitated, looking at his phone.

Luo Yiran casually brushed his hair and continued, “But now it doesn’t matter.”

Xia Lang widened his eyes, then chuckled, and quickly sent a friend request.

The thing Luo Yiran was slightly worried about didn’t happen. Their blank week spent in the game wasn’t absent from others’ memories.

In the eyes of classmates and teachers, they had been in the classroom every day.

Tsk.

Luo Yiran sat by the window, staring at the blackboard in a daze. Even if the game had issues, it could still affect the outside world?

Sunlight fell on the textbooks, familiar whispers of classmates filled the air, and Luo Yiran finally glanced at the “World Human” app on his phone–better focus on the lesson for now.

Afternoon.

Because some classmates were day students and didn’t attend evening self-study, the school gate would open at that time. Xia Lang, craving grilled cold noodles outside, dragged Luo Yiran out.

“If only we never had to enter the game again,” Xia Lang sighed as he received the grilled cold noodles.

Luo Yiran looked at the ground in front of him, saying nothing.

Xia Lang thought for a moment, “Ranran, do you actually quite like ‘World Human’?”

Luo Yiran shrugged slightly, “Doesn’t matter.” He just found the game’s existence interesting, but its absence wouldn’t affect him; life had other interesting things.

“Oh… But temporarily getting rid of the magician is nice.” Xia Lang casually mentioned the magician, his expression turning dissatisfied, “That guy is a pervert. Ranran, you’re a doll in the game, yet he still…”

Xia Lang didn’t finish, feeling indignant, “Pervert.”

Hopefully, they’ll never enter the game again, never meet the magician.

Luo Yiran was momentarily stunned, glanced down at himself, then fixed his gaze on the grilled cold noodles in Xia Lang’s hand.

Xia Lang was also a bit puzzled, following Luo Yiran’s gaze, his eyes landing on the grilled cold noodles in his hand. After a moment of confusion, he tentatively offered the noodles, “Do you want some? But this doesn’t have any spice, might be a bit bland for you.”

He knew Luo Yiran was a standard heavy-flavor enthusiast.

Luo Yiran didn’t take it; he bought his own and told the vendor, “Make it normal.”

Not into heavy flavors anymore? Xia Lang looked at Luo Yiran in confusion.

Soon, the phone in Xia Lang’s pocket vibrated. He took it out to check the message, while Luo Yiran received the grilled cold noodles from the vendor.

Xia Lang widened his eyes at the message, then quickly said, “Via created a group! Seems like everyone is there, and Mo-Ge seems to be in our city. Should I ask about meeting up… Ranran?”

Luo Yiran snapped back to reality at Xia Lang’s voice, collected his expression, then smiled, “Hmm, we can meet.”

Xia Lang hesitated with an “oh,” curiously glancing at Luo Yiran–Ranran’s expression just now… was strange?

It seemed like a mix of several emotions.

Luo Yiran’s smile remained unchanged, though it didn’t reach his eyes. He looked at the grilled cold noodles in his hand, his expression no longer shifting.