Chapter 23 - The Vanished Mermaid (Part 16)

The staff froze.

To be honest, among all these people, he felt the worst about this little doll. It wasn’t just because the doll controlled a powerful puppet, but also because the staff sensed something uncontrollable from him.

This kind of uncontrollable feeling was something he had only experienced once before, and that time, his underwater world was nearly destroyed.

“You’re not happy?” The doll manipulated the magician to walk back step by step, heading towards the staff: “Shouldn’t you be happy? You clearly said you’d be glad if we stayed.”

The staff lowered his head to look at the seventh question about the doll in his notebook-[Do you know where the mermaid will appear?]

He was silent for a moment before looking up at the doll perched atop the tall magic hat. He forced a smile: “I’m not unhappy… I hope we have a pleasant evening tonight.”

The magician’s fingers lightly curled.

The staff stepped aside: “Then please return to the entrance of the undersea tunnel and wait for me. I’m sure you don’t need me to accompany you there.”

Luo Yiran answered with action, manipulating the magician to move forward directly. As he passed the staff, the magician said in a low voice: “Sometimes, it’s better to think twice before speaking.”

The staff paused, bewildered.

Luo Yiran heard but didn’t care, moving straight through the players to stand before Artel.

Artel’s eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, his hat pressed down on his curls, with a few strands of golden hair sticking out on one side.

He stood straight.

Artel’s aura changed.

The doll’s slightly swaying legs stopped, then he sat cross-legged on the brim of the hat, asking: “Do you want to go out of the tunnel with me?”

Artel nodded slightly.

Watching Luo Yiran’s departing figure, Via bit his fingernail.

He Qingqing was puzzled by the scene: “Is it okay to stay in the underwater world?”

Via laughed, looking at He Qingqing with a mocking gaze: “You can try staying.”

He Qingqing: “…Forget it.”

Via withdrew his gaze, annoyedly looking at Li Qi Feng across from him.

Li Qi Feng shook his head slightly.

Both knew that Luo Yiran’s ten connected squares must have targeted something related to Artel or the mermaid. Perhaps Luo Yiran already knew where the mermaid was.

But Luo Yiran’s answer stopped there, meaning many would only notice the question he paused at-the doll’s task.

Just like the two players at the end were already wondering about the significance of Luo Yiran not revealing the task-whether the task itself was problematic…

But even if they noticed Luo Yiran had many more questions, it was of no use, because the staff hadn’t asked them. Unasked questions were left to speculation and imagination-whether the doll knew or not.

Via thought of the many questions the doll had yet to answer and felt the urge to bite his hand again-he knew so much…

The more he thought, the more he regretted not having the chance to ask…

“Next, Via.”

Near the entrance of the undersea tunnel, the doll manipulated the magician to follow behind Artel, his red eyes fixed on the back of Artel’s head.

Once out of the undersea tunnel, Artel turned around: “You’re staring too closely.”

The doll sat cross-legged, watching Artel remove his sunglasses, revealing clear blue eyes. The doll smiled: “Hello, Idia.”

Idia took off his hat: “You sound very certain.”

“Because I’m sure it’s you now.” Leaving Artel was also because he would sometimes turn into Idia. The doll tilted his head happily: “It was you who spoke with the puppet last night, and you who gave me the pearl in the water tank yesterday.”

“But you weren’t affected by the pearl.” Idia’s expression was serene to the point of holiness: “The worst thing about dolls is they don’t breathe, so you can’t tell if they’re asleep.”

“My choice was only you.” The doll’s eyes curved with a smile: “The mermaid, as the main character, can’t stay off stage forever.”

“And I’m sure the one who gave me the pearl in the water tank was a mermaid, so I just need to confirm you’re the same fish from the tank.”

Idia looked up, his demeanor too pure, making him seem like he was gazing at a deity when looking at Luo Yiran: “How did you confirm that?”

The doll’s smile paused for a moment, then he said: “Anyone can see it. After all, a face mixed with innocence, holiness, naivety, and innocence isn’t easy to mimic.”

“…” Idia’s expression twisted slightly.

“That’s much more lively.” Luo Yiran casually applauded him.

Idia’s fingers clicked and twisted: “You’re really annoying.”

The doll tilted his head: “You want to kill me? But you’re inside Artel’s body; can you really kill me?”

The magician chuckled: “Idia, you can try, because he’s not very skilled at controlling me.”

The clicking stopped, Idia looked at the doll: “Until just now, I really liked you, so I gave you the pearl, hoping you’d become my mermaid.”

After transforming into a mermaid monster, he could freely manipulate his favorite toy.

“Giving you the power to become a mermaid, but unfortunately, you’ve been resisting.” Idia seemed regretful; without dying, how could one become a mermaid?

The doll touched the pearl on his earlobe: “So you’ve given up?” The pearl hadn’t made a sound for a long time.

“No.” Idia smiled as he approached, the doll manipulated the magician without dodging, watching Idia come before him and make a grabbing motion.

Thus, the magician drew a knife.

Idia stopped: “I don’t need to act; you’ll die tonight.”

The doll blinked lightly.

Idia’s clear blue eyes suddenly darkened, the hatred erupting from them severing him from his previous holiness: “Why come to Water City? It’s such a sinful place; if we hadn’t met here, I wouldn’t harm you.”

Luo Yiran was silent for a moment, then his expression turned indescribable: “Is being a boss that tiring? Having to perform the plot so diligently.”

Idia’s expression froze.

The doll rarely felt a sense of morality in reality, showing a surprised expression: “Water City is a sinful place? Why? Did it hurt you?”

Idia: “…”

The magician’s voice was clearly trying to suppress laughter: “Someone found you; you should respond.”

…Why was Luo Yiran the first to find him…

Idia’s expression lost its hatred and holiness, becoming numb as he played along: “Humans are sinful; they’re greedy, shameless, blinded by lust and profit, a mixture of the world’s malice.”

Luo Yiran frowned, critiquing: “Add some emotion.”

Idia looked up, his eyes still holding remnants of hatred. Luo Yiran knew that although it was an act, at least part of his hatred for Water City was real.

“Young master.” The magician suddenly spoke, seemingly aware of what Luo Yiran was thinking, so he laughed: “It’s very likely he’s simply hating you now.”

“…” Luo Yiran punched the magician’s hat, then looked at Idia: “Being angry won’t help; you actually can’t harm me now, can you?”

“This place or this time has rules…” Luo Yiran stared intently at Idia, watching all his micro-expressions: “Is it time, because it’s daytime? Or because it’s the second day of the game…”

None of those.

The doll paused for a moment, watching Idia slowly smile, then he smiled too, pointing at his ear: “There’s another possibility; you’ve already attacked me, and this attack hasn’t ended, so you can’t act now.”

Idia’s barely visible change in expression confirmed the doll’s thought. The doll touched the pearl on his earlobe: “Quite honorable.”

The mermaid’s pearl probably couldn’t protect him forever, maybe just during this daytime.

Idia was ready to leave; he felt he hadn’t done or said anything, yet the doll already knew quite a bit.

And throughout this brief interaction, he had been constantly ridiculed.

“Don’t rush off; can I ask you a question?” The doll was sincere: “Was it your mermaid monster causing trouble in the underwater world last night…”

Before he finished asking, Idia left, and Artel collapsed to the ground.

“Not much information given.” The doll stretched out his legs-he hadn’t even finished his question, very curious about how Idia could control Artel.

If it was just that simple, it would be quite boring.

The magician couldn’t help but laugh: “Young master, because he doesn’t like you in the setting.”

The doll paused, then tilted his head: “Because I’m ‘the most outstanding employee,’ an excellent person receives not only affection.” But also dislike.

The magician didn’t hear the doll’s words; as soon as he spoke, mechanical warnings kept ringing in his ears, and because it was the second warning, the magician was punished, his body began to heat up, the sensation of burning spreading over him.

The magician let out a low, sickly laugh: “I was merely stating what the young master already knows…”

Luo Yiran frowned, grabbing the brim of the hat to look down.

The magician’s body trembled slightly, but his voice still carried a smile: “Young master, don’t look; it might be… scary.”

The bandage’s color suddenly deepened, dark red blood seeping from it, gradually staining it red.

The doll frowned: “You’re breaking.”

“I won’t break.”

The punishment was already underway, the magician simply said: “Young master, excellent people are also more likely to get opportunities.”

The warning sounded for a second and then stopped, because the magician’s words weren’t straightforward.

“I know.” The doll said, because last night Artel acted as his doorman, which was an opportunity, and he seized it.

The doll straightened his body: “You just violated your rules.”

Blood continued to seep, the heat and pain reminding the magician of a past event, a fire appeared before his eyes, everything in the fire being slowly destroyed.

“Young master…”

The magician murmured with deep emotion.

The doll didn’t speak, waiting to see if his puppet could still function normally after the punishment.

“I really want… really want… to kill you.”

The doll listened to the magician’s sincere words, remaining motionless, as indifferent as an ordinary lifeless doll in a display case.

Except this doll was placed on a painfully bleeding puppet.

“Mutual.” The doll finally spoke: “But right now, you’re the one close to dying.”