Doll Survival Game - Chapter 30 - The Vanished Mermaid (Part 23)

Idia admitted he was tempted, even experiencing a moment of disorientation-why hadn’t he thought of it before?

But-

“You are human.” Idia’s eyes were filled with distrust: “Humans are the best at lying.” Not worthy of trust.

“…” The doll fell into a strange silence for a moment, then raised his hands innocently, his ball-jointed fingers moving casually in the air: “But I’m not human.”

Idia was taken aback for a second, feeling numb, and insisted, “You are human.”

The doll shrugged, following the script, “Alright, I’m human.”

Idia: “…”

The doll tilted his head, touching the pearl: “Cooperation doesn’t necessarily require trust, right? I can help you get revenge on those you want to retaliate against, while preventing the mermaids from finding you…”

Idia interrupted him with a frown, “What do you want?”

The doll asked first, “Will Water City definitely be submerged?”

Idia squinted his eyes, “Definitely.”

Luo Yiran smiled slightly, “As long as a few of us survive, that’s all I want.”

Something flashed quickly in Idia’s eyes. He noticed the “few people” mentioned by Luo Yiran but didn’t pay much attention, only showing a subtly complex expression. He said, “I’m suddenly interested in cooperating.”

The doll raised an eyebrow.

Idia tilted his head, pointing to his earlobe, a smile appearing on his face: “But you need to pay a price, a small price to make me trust you… Cooperation requires at least basic trust, right?”

Luo Yiran also pointed to his earlobe, but his earlobe had a round, beautiful pearl.

“Let me turn you into a mermaid.” Idia said softly, his beautiful blue eyes darkening, as if covered by a layer of dust.

The doll paused: “You mean turning me into those already deceased, night-wandering mermaid monsters?”

“Not the same, I won’t let you die.” Idia scrutinized the doll: “Just make you no longer human…” He paused, worried the doll might say he wasn’t human to begin with, but the doll didn’t, so Idia continued, “Humans are exclusive; if you’re not human, you can’t integrate with them.”

The doll understood; Idia wanted to cut off any chance of him turning against and aiding Water City.

“Alright.” The doll extended his hand, seemingly trusting: “Among these factions, I dislike Water City, which represents humanity, the most.”

Thus, Idia approached the doll step by step.

The doll didn’t dodge or evade, seemingly relaxed and unguarded, allowing Idia to approach.

Idia stopped in front of the doll, watching as the magician took out a small knife: “What are you doing?”

“We need trust.” The doll, unfazed, manipulated the magician to raise the knife, using a tone as if coaxing a child: “Let me put the knife to your neck?”

“Oh right, as long as you’re in Artel’s body, hurting you would genuinely harm you, right?”

Idia’s face turned pale.

The magician’s bandages were pulled into a high arc due to his silent laughter.

The doll reassured, “It’s okay, this is trust. I trust you’ll turn me into a living monster as promised, and you’ll trust I’m merely placing the knife at your neck, right?”

“If you betray my trust…” The doll’s eyebrows lowered, showing a disappointed expression: “I’ll betray yours too.”

The magician’s smile froze: “Why does the young master always say such ambiguous things?”

The doll smacked the magician’s hand.

Idia stared at the doll intently, after a while, he reached out and grabbed the doll on the magic hat. Meanwhile, the magician’s knife was placed at Idia’s neck.

Near noon, close to the lower class area.

Li Qi Feng and Via stood on a rooftop overlooking the lower class area, the strong wind messing up Via’s curly hair.

He pressed the windproof goggles on his face, then looked at the lower class area and said to Li Qi Feng, “Is there infighting in the lower class area? It looks like they’re about to fight.”

“It’s not infighting.” Li Qi Feng also looked at the lower class area: “They’re not a unified group, so it’s not infighting.”

Via squinted at the lower class area: “Should we still go there?”

Li Qi Feng saw one of the two confronting figures fall, then a slender black cloaked man emerged from the right, walking towards the standing strong man.

Li Qi Feng’s gaze lingered on the black cloaked man’s figure for a moment, feeling a sense of familiarity: “No… If I’m not mistaken, they’re consolidating the lower class area, possibly due to the impending submersion of Water City.”

The lower class area is a forsaken place, and they are likely planning to consolidate everyone there, either to demand survival from Water City or to go down fighting.

The latter is more likely, as when they arrived, they saw most residents of Water City heading to the shelter, but entry requires registration, which the lower class area cannot do.

“What should we do then?” Via helplessly looked up at the sky: “And we can’t figure out who to kill, the prison or Idia. From what we know, it’s definitely Idia, so should we join the prison faction?”

“Find Luo Yiran.” Li Qi Feng recalled Luo Yiran’s performance at the ten connected squares yesterday and suddenly spoke: “He might know where the mermaids are.”

Via hissed, feeling a bit toothache: “Is he still alive? Well, he doesn’t seem easy to kill… But should we really look for him? I thought our cooperation fell apart at the ten connected squares yesterday.” After all, yesterday felt like the remaining ones were banding together.

Li Qi Feng remained expressionless: “You go, just be thick-skinned and it’ll be fine.”

Via: “…???”

Via: “No! Together! Otherwise, I won’t speak!”

“Alright.” Li Qi Feng agreed, having only teased Via, then took a final look at the lower class area. As his gaze returned, he paused-wasn’t the person passing through the two low houses just now the puppet of the doll?

The doll had already left the underwater world?

Via was preparing to go downstairs, but his peripheral vision suddenly caught a countdown appearing next to the option on his holo-panel. He incredulously exclaimed, then hurriedly shouted to Li Qi Feng, who was still standing, “Uncle, hurry up! The option has a countdown!”

Li Qi Feng stared at the holo-panel in silence for a moment: “Then we should go to the lower class area first.”

“Hmm? Not the underwater world?”

Li Qi Feng: “The doll should be in the lower class area now.”

If he wasn’t mistaken.

A panicked strong man dared not move, with a slender black cloaked man gripping his hair with one hand and holding a blood-red long sword across his neck with the other.

The black cloaked man’s hand trembled, seemingly unable to exert force.

Yet the panicked strong man dared not move, he looked up, eyes fixed on the gleaming blade at his neck, voice trembling: “I-I surrender.”

Recently, the lower class area had been trying to unite to retaliate against Water City. They didn’t want to enter the shelter, nor could they, as the shelter’s surroundings were surely well-guarded.

So they planned to retaliate, taking advantage of Water City’s weakened defenses to retaliate against the remaining people in Water City.

Having been oppressed and insulted, looked down upon by everyone outside the lower class area, in the final moments before Water City submerges, what they wanted most was to turn those condescending gazes into fear and pleas before them.

But who would lead them?

The lower class area was too mixed, and having a leader would make them more unified.

The panicked strong man briefly became the leader, but the black cloaked man quickly pulled him down.

The black cloaked man wasn’t particularly strong, his fighting moves were even clumsy and chaotic, as if he hadn’t fought in a long time.

But he was fearless.

He could take a blow to the shoulder and still charge straight ahead to strike back, like a madman.

The sword didn’t leave the panicked strong man’s neck, and the black cloaked man’s hoarse voice sounded: “Anyone else want to try?”

The black cloaked man was trembling all over, seemingly afraid, but no one dared to step forward, all watching the trembling blade sway in front of the panicked strong man’s neck, as if it would slice him open the next second, blood spraying out.

Everyone, including the panicked strong man, knew the black cloaked man’s killing intent was real. They were ultimately different from someone who had truly killed.

No one stepped forward.

The black cloaked man’s gaze fell on the sword-just a little inward, just a little, and this person would die.

The panicked strong man’s back felt cold, just as he thought the sword would fall, the black cloaked man released him.

The strong man instantly distanced himself several steps from the black cloaked man, eyes filled with fear and confusion-when did the lower class area get a murderer, shouldn’t he be in prison?

“Then.” The black cloaked man’s voice was hoarse and unpleasant: “It’s me.”

No voice of opposition arose.

So the black cloaked man raised his head slightly, his somewhat inexperienced and numb face emerging from the cloak, looking in a direction, his hollow eyes gaining some vitality, as if he had successfully accomplished something.

Meanwhile, outside Water City’s shelter, Fang Jincheng and his companions were trying every means to sneak in, Li Qi Feng and Via were heading to the lower class area, and Guan Cheng, who was clueless about how he ended up in the shelter, and-

The doll, sitting on the magician’s shoulder, curiously fiddling with his fish tail, heard the system’s voice.

[System notification, option four added, please choose carefully.]

All other players stared at the blurred mosaic behind option four, only Luo Yiran smiled knowingly at the holo-panel.

On his holo-panel, option four was followed by five unobstructed words-Xia Lang (lower class area).

And not far from the doll, the black cloaked man who had just become the leader of the lower class area slowly shifted his gaze to the holo-panel beside him, where option four had automatically been selected for him.

Xia Lang slowly placed his hand on his chest, a somewhat stiff smile appearing on his face. Here lay the scorched poker he had picked up not long ago.