Doll Survival Game - Chapter 37 - Meeting

“Ranran, I’m here.” Xia Lang’s voice came from behind. Just a second before he entered the room, Luo Yiran put the photo into his school uniform pocket.

Xia Lang didn’t notice. He first looked at the mattress that had been moved: “Weren’t we supposed to do this together?”

“One person can do it if it’s moved,” Luo Yiran said, placing the other photos on the table.

Xia Lang glanced at them: “What’s that?”

Luo Yiran smiled: “Grandpa’s old photos, they’re a bit blurry. We’ll find a photo studio tomorrow to get them restored.”

“Okay.” Xia Lang agreed, then helped Luo Yiran move the mattress to the side of the bed, planning to put it outside to air tomorrow. He looked at the marks under the mattress: “Why did Grandpa Luo put photos under the bed? They could easily get damaged.”

Luo Yiran shook his head: “Probably forgot.”

“Once we’re done here, let’s go eat. We need to enter the game at nine.”

The word “game” pulled Xia Lang back from reality for a moment, his movements paused: “I really don’t want to enter the game.”

“I feel like I can’t adapt,” Xia Lang said, somewhat withdrawn, as he swept the dust from under the bed: “Ranran, you’re really amazing, always so calm.”

Even when becoming a doll, he seemed unfazed.

Luo Yiran lowered his head, wiping the edge of the bed. Xia Lang couldn’t see the smile that tugged at his lips: “Not really, I was quite surprised…”

“But if you can’t adapt, just treat ‘World Human’ as reality. After all, we have to…” Luo Yiran’s words trailed off as he remembered something.

Xia Lang didn’t hear the rest of Luo Yiran’s sentence, so he looked up in confusion, only to see Luo Yiran lost in thought again. He didn’t interrupt, just waited for Luo Yiran to come back to his senses.

“I think…” Luo Yiran smiled brightly: “I know why I scored 65.”

…

Nine o’clock in the evening.

In his personal space, Luo Yiran opened his eyes and found himself in the box room. He sat up from the bed, feeling numb as he realized he was wearing a fluffy dinosaur pajama.

He stared blankly for a moment, then noticed a glass of milk on the bedside table.

He didn’t reach for it but instead pulled out his phone from the pajamas and opened the World Human app, seeing a red dot on the connection.

Luo Yiran clicked on it, finding friend requests from Li Qi Feng and Via.

He accepted them, and Via quickly sent a message: [Ranran~ Long time no see, I missed you.]

Luo Yiran didn’t want to reply until Via sent another message: [We have a friend who wants to meet you. His name is Lin Ye, and he’s a special species.]

[He wants to talk to you.]

The doll’s fingers paused, but before he could react, the box suddenly opened, and soft light poured in. The doll looked up.

A magician in a blue suit looked down at him, his gray hair falling into the doll’s personal space: “Young master, you’re back.”

The doll got off the bed: “Did you change my clothes?”

The magician chuckled softly: “I didn’t dress you in women’s clothes… And waiting for you to return was really boring.”

Luo Yiran didn’t think much of it. After all, what was there to see in a doll’s body?

But-

“When did my body appear?”

The magician reached out and picked him up. Luo Yiran knew he couldn’t avoid it, so he let the magician lift him. The magician’s fingers lightly touched the doll’s black hair: “It’s always been here.”

Luo Yiran glanced at the magician.

The magician’s face came closer: “Young master, you’re really…” His words abruptly stopped because Luo Yiran had grabbed the bandage on his nose.

The magician’s voice was amused: “Young master… Are you curious about my appearance?”

Luo Yiran thought of something, smiled, and then let go: “No. I’m not curious. And I think when I uncover your bandage, I’ll know exactly who you are.”

“What a pity.”

Few people could understand Luo Yiran’s thoughts, so his actions made the magician wonder-when Luo Yiran’s hand was on his bandage, did he already suspect his identity?

“I need to visit someone else’s personal space,” Luo Yiran suddenly said, interrupting the magician’s thoughts.

The magician came back to his senses and smiled: “Then, we need to change into appropriate clothes for visiting.”

“Young master, how is your relationship with him?” the magician asked.

Sure enough, they needed to change clothes. Luo Yiran twitched his mouth: “I don’t know him yet.”

The magician happily took out a delicate blue suit: “This one.”

It was very exquisite, so much so that Luo Yiran couldn’t understand how to wear it. The white shirt with lace edges had no buttons, only some ribbons.

“I’ll dress you,” the magician half-kneeled and placed the doll on the table: “Is that okay?”

He used a requesting tone, but his actions had no request in them. He had already picked up the shirt.

Luo Yiran raised his eyebrows slightly but still opened his arms, letting the magician dress him.

The doll’s compliance made the magician pause. He instinctively asked: “Young master, are you plotting against me?”

Being so obedient was unusual.

The doll tilted his head, his red eyes cold, seemingly a bit impatient: “Dress me.”

The magician’s body trembled slightly, his mouth involuntarily curving into a smile. His slender fingers touched the doll’s body: “As you wish, my young master.”

The meeting place was set in Via’s personal space. After clicking on Via’s invitation, they found themselves in a colorful room when they opened their eyes.

It looked like a child’s birthday party room, filled with balloons on the ceiling, colorful balloon walls, and cute cartoon drawings. Even the tables and chairs were in pastel colors, with soft cotton wrapped around the edges.

As if to prevent children from bumping into them.

Via was looking out the window at the NPCs passing by. Hearing the noise, he turned around: “Ranran, you’re here… Uh… Are you guys wearing father-son outfits?”

Luo Yiran: “…Who are you calling the son?”

Magician: “This is clearly couple’s attire!”

“…”

Via was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

The laughter drew the attention of the other two people in the kitchen.

Via’s room easily made people lower their guard, which was why they chose to meet here.

The doll didn’t immediately notice the other two. He first looked out the window: “There are people outside your window.”

“Everyone’s view is different,” Via said, taking a few steps closer: “Uncle’s personal space is a forest.”

“It looks like it could be haunted at night,” Luo Yiran said expressionlessly, then turned his gaze to the other two. He paused when he saw them clearly.

Via pointed at Li Qi Feng: “No need to introduce Uncle.” Then he pointed at the man next to him: “This is Lin Ye. I don’t know much about him either. We just added him as a friend through a mutual acquaintance today.”

If it weren’t for the benefits, he wouldn’t have been willing to act as a go-between.

Luo Yiran looked at the man named Lin Ye, noticing his black eyeshadow, purple lips, and fluffy red hair.

He remembered seeing this style in Youshun Town when he was a child. Luo Yiran met his gaze: “Hello.”

“Hello,” Lin Ye replied.

“Sit, sit, sit,” Via said cheerfully, heading towards the fridge: “Want Coke or Sprite?”

Li Qi Feng pulled him back: “Sit down, we’ll just have water.”

Via pouted.

Lin Ye kept his eyes on the doll, briefly glancing at the magician. His second sentence made the surroundings fall silent for a moment: “Won’t there be any issues if he’s not being controlled?”

“…”

In the silence, the doll sitting on the magician’s arm looked up and asked the magician: “Will you do anything bad?”

The magician laughed: “Of course not. Personal spaces prohibit killing.”

The doll then looked away, expressionless: “There won’t be any issues.”

Via dragged his chair a bit further from the doll, smiling: “Friendly meeting, friendly meeting.”

The magician chuckled softly, standing up and placing the doll on the table: “I’ll leave now, so as not to disturb your conversation.”

With that, he left the room.

The doll didn’t stop him.

Lin Ye chuckled softly, placing his hand on the table. His thin fingers were adorned with several silver rings: “Since I invited you, you can ask any questions you’re curious about first.”

The doll also smiled, using his usual gentle smile, though Luo Yiran didn’t realize it looked eerie on the doll: “No need for a back-and-forth questioning format. Let’s just chat.”

Lin Ye turned his ring: “That works too…”

Luo Yiran’s smile widened: “Mr. Lin, did you watch our live broadcast?”

“I did,” Lin Ye tapped the table: “I mostly watched your display panel.”

Luo Yiran’s expression didn’t change.

“The broadcast stopped when you got on the bus,” Lin Ye glanced at Via: “He cursed at you for a long time while floating on the water.”

Via was stunned, jumping up: “What the heck! Is it appropriate to reveal my secrets in my personal space?”

The atmosphere relaxed. Lin Ye shrugged at Via, then turned to the doll: “I apologize in advance. My next words might offend you.”

Lin Ye continued without pause: “When I first saw you, I was curious about one thing. Special species in the game are generally stronger than ordinary people, but the doll isn’t stronger than regular players… Although you have a puppet, the puppet isn’t you.”

Luo Yiran twirled his finger: “So?”

Lin Ye leaned forward slightly: “Special species in the game are rare. I’ve had the fortune to meet a few. After confirming with them, we found that special species entered the game without directly killing anyone, but their actions still led to someone’s death.”

Lin Ye didn’t like talking about reality, so he quickly moved on: “The condition for becoming a special species is like that, but you’re different because you’re inherently weak. The doll special species doesn’t give you any advantages.”

“That’s true,” Luo Yiran naturally continued.

“So I’m curious,” Lin Ye looked at the doll: “Curious if there was anything different about your entry into the game compared to ours.”

Luo Yiran tilted his head: “How did you normally first enter the game?”

Via raised his hand to speak for ordinary players: “We just pushed open the door and walked in, very suddenly.”

“Special species were notified in advance,” Lin Ye continued, raising his phone: “I asked around, and other special species had similar experiences… I noticed someone following me. When I discovered him, he called me from a distance, congratulating me on joining World Human.”

“Something like that,” Lin Ye recalled: “I have no memory of that person, except for the string of numbers on his neck.”

The doll paused, then looked at Via and Li Qi Feng.

Via blinked: “What’s wrong?”

“My experience is similar to yours,” the doll said softly: “I entered the game after pushing open the dessert shop door.”

“The only difference,” the doll looked at Lin Ye: “There were two people in the dessert shop at the time, but when I left the game, I only saw one.”

The four fell silent. After a while, Via suddenly realized: “Could it be that person was following you, but you never noticed, and he got annoyed and let you enter the game like us?”

The doll looked up, smiling: “Are you implying you’re stupid or I’m stupid?”

“…”

Via clicked his tongue: “It can’t be that he didn’t dare to follow you, right?”