Doll Survival Game - Chapter 134

As everything around him collapsed and disintegrated, Luo Yiran’s gaze lingered on the patch of roses by the window.

Then, as if sensing something, he turned his head and saw the gray-haired magician standing at his side.

The magician had taken off his coat and draped it over his arm. He stood straight in a slightly wrinkled white shirt and black trousers, his chin lifted as he looked upward.

His bandaged hand rested on the back of Luo Yiran’s head.

Feeling the touch beneath his hand, the magician finally lowered his head, meeting Luo Yiran’s eyes.

Luo Yiran looked at the reflection of himself in the magician’s eyes. “You’ve always been here.”

The magician withdrew his hand, glancing down at the patch of red roses below. “You saw them… That’s pretty good.”

“They haven’t withered.” Luo Yiran stood up.

The magician tilted his head slightly. “Because now they’re the same as me.”

But. The magician patted the bottomless pocket on his body. “The one I left yesterday was the last rose I had.”

Beautiful, vivid, and incongruous with him-the red rose.

Luo Yiran took one last look at the patch of roses, then raised his head to face the crumbling world before him. He gazed at the fissure splitting open in the sky above, from which thick, viscous green liquid poured down.

He didn’t know what it was, but he was certain it wasn’t something he’d imagined.

So.

“The illusion is broken.”

But why?

The viscous green liquid began to squeeze through the crack in the sky on a large scale, then dripped down into this world. Luo Yiran felt a sense of foreboding. “This… it’s been broken from the outside, hasn’t it?”

The magician’s eyelashes trembled. After a moment, he spoke. “…Young master, do you know about the item called [chance]?”

Luo Yiran was startled, then he heard a faint sound he’d never heard before. He looked in the direction of the sound, and as his body rapidly shrank, he saw the holographic display reappear beside him.

Before entering the first instance of [Eternal Night], Via found Xia Lang.

He was pulled into Via’s room, a little confused. “What is it?”

“That item called [chance], are you willing to sell it?” Via sat by the bed. “There’s a player I know who’s looking for it. The terms are that you can exchange it for another item, and he’ll let you pick, or you can do a two-for-one trade.”

Via looked at Xia Lang.

“You’re better suited for offensive items, right? [Chance] is a rare item, but it’s single-use.” Via tapped his holographic display, checking the details of [chance]. “I think you could trade it. Don’t worry, if you do, I’ll act as the intermediary and keep your information confidential.”

Xia Lang froze, hesitating for a moment. “Am I really suited for offensive items?”

Via blinked. “You’re very suited… But it’s up to you whether you want to trade.”

“I just thought I’d ask since you don’t have many items.”

Xia Lang looked at Via. “Then, what does that person want it for?”

“Well, [chance] is useful to him.” Via tilted his head, speaking slowly since it wasn’t urgent. “Let me give you an example.”

“Suppose the abilities we can normally use are only fifty percent of what we truly possess. As we train and acquire powerful skills or high-level items, we can push that to seventy or eighty percent.”

Via’s tone was casual. “And then, in rare cases-about as likely as a country being destroyed-someone can use one hundred percent of their ability.”

Xia Lang’s eyes widened slightly, as if he’d guessed something.

Via was pleased with Xia Lang’s expression and smiled. “Yes, [chance] lets you go beyond your potential.”

Xia Lang’s face showed how amazing he thought [chance] was.

“But at the same time,” Via’s tone shifted, “it comes at a price. Usually, it’s not a painful price… I’ve heard it could be three to five years of your lifespan, an item, or even a limb. Compared to your life, I think it’s worth it.”

So it’s not too painful.

Xia Lang shuddered, trying not to imagine losing a limb. Instead, he pointed at the sprite icon representing [chance] in his item Bar and asked, “So this just lets us boost our abilities… But why is it called ‘chance’?”

Via’s smile faded. “Because it has another ability we can choose.”

Xia Lang: “?”

“I’ve only heard about it, but few people use [chance] for that, or they’re already dead, so it’s not very reliable.”

Via lifted his eyes slightly. In truth, some of what he’d heard was information bought from other players-some players sold item info, though it was hard to sell.

Xia Lang moved closer and sat down. “What is it?”

Xia Lang recalled, “There was a high-difficulty punishment instance once. Fifty players went in, only one came out alive.”

He paused, instinctively glancing at his holographic display-chance?

“Right.” Via tilted his head, confirming Xia Lang’s guess. “It was [chance]. He traded something for ‘vitality.'”

“The other, and most important, ability of [chance] is to exchange for vitality.” Via raised his index finger. “Ability enhancement has its limits. At our core, we’re just ordinary humans. There’s only so much we can do and judge accurately. So even if your ability is boosted by two hundred percent, you could still die in the game.”

“But vitality is different. It gives you a chance to survive. No matter how strong or weak you are, the chance is equal.”

Via exhaled softly. “Although that player who survived the high-difficulty punishment instance didn’t live much longer afterward-I heard he died in reality.”

Xia Lang thought for a moment. “Maybe the price for vitality was losing ninety-nine percent of his lifespan.”

“No one knows. The item itself is extremely rare, and there are few clues.” Via shrugged. “But that person’s [chance] gave him vitality, let him live a while longer instead of dying in the game… In a way, it was worth it.”

Xia Lang nodded. “True.”

Via stretched his neck. “But if the situation isn’t so desperate, maybe you won’t have to pay such a terrible price.”

That’s the tempting part of the vitality from [chance]-it’s unpredictable, sometimes truly dangerous. That’s why he wanted Xia Lang to trade it, but strangely, he didn’t want to lie to Xia Lang…

Forget it.

Via looked at him. “So? Want to trade?”

If the situation isn’t so desperate… Xia Lang looked at Via, conflicted, wanting to complain about that line.

Via thought Xia Lang was hesitating over the trade, so he added, “Each has its own advantages. Maybe you’ll get a powerful item and never face a desperate situation… And [chance] is single-use, so it’s not very cost-effective.”

Xia Lang snapped out of it, pursing his lips. Then a thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly looked up and asked, “Can this item only be used on yourself?”

Via froze, then understood, hesitated for a few seconds, and answered honestly, “I’ve heard it can be used on someone else, but the price must be paid by the item’s owner.”

Xia Lang smiled, fine lines creasing his delicate face. “Of course.”

Via paused, then shrugged. “Fine, whatever… I’m not short on items, and I only plan to use [chance] for the ability boost.”

Xia Lang nodded and smiled, his gaze falling again on the sprite icon representing chance. He wondered idly-when you use [chance], will the sprite pop out?

Kind of cute.

……

“……”

Back then, he wanted to keep [chance], not for the possibility of helping Luo Yiran someday, but for himself-for the chance to keep Luo Yiran as a friend.

And also for the chance to keep the only family he had in this world.

……

So.

There’s nothing to be afraid of, right?

Limbs, lifespan… and more-he could give it all.