Chapter 4 - The Escape of the Poacher (Part 3)

He would never wear that little dress. Absolutely not.

Luo Yiran controlled the magician to throw away the little red dress, then cursed, “Pervert.”

The magician pouted, “I just wanted to change the young master’s clothes.” With that, he reached out to pick up the red dress again.

Luo Yiran quickly manipulated the magician once more, making him stop in his tracks.

The magician wasn’t angry; instead, he smiled and said, “Yes, just like that. If you don’t want me to do things you dislike, just keep controlling me.”

The connection from his index finger was unmistakably real. Luo Yiran was certain he could control this bizarre puppet. But he had to keep controlling him; otherwise, the magician could act on his own.

This was too mentally draining. The slightest lapse in attention could lead to relaxation.

And perhaps one day, this puppet might break free from his control.

There were too many variables that could lead to unforeseen changes. Luo Yiran once again felt the urge to discard his finger.

The magician suddenly spoke, “Young master, I really like you.”

A chill ran down Luo Yiran’s spine.

“So,” the magician said gently, “I will always follow you.” Even if he threw away his finger again, he would find it and bring it back to the doll, personally reattaching it.

But next time, before reattaching the finger, he would dress the doll in clothes he liked.

Instantly understanding the magician’s implication, Luo Yiran thought, “…”

“Damn it, slippery as an eel! Dodging around is so annoying!” Hidden in the dense foliage of a tree, the man in the black tracksuit cursed, “This gun is really fucking useless.”

He quickly reloaded the magazine, then raised the gun again, aiming at the young man in the school uniform not far away. The young man wasn’t completely hidden; a small part of his body was still exposed. The tracksuit man licked his lips, staring at the school uniformed young man, his finger on the trigger-this time, he’d aim for the shoulder.

But as he thought this, his finger couldn’t pull the trigger.

He felt a lack of strength, and a cold sensation quickly flashed through his finger. The tracksuit man looked down in confusion, only to see the finger that had been on the trigger fall off, the cut incredibly smooth.

Blood instantly gushed out, and the man let out a scream, almost dropping the gun, “Who’s there?”

The branch he was on slightly sank. The man, clutching his hand, immediately looked beside him, only to meet a face wrapped in bandages.

The bandaged man was dressed in a black suit, the hem of his jacket torn for some reason, yet he still didn’t look the least bit disheveled. On the brim of his tall magic hat sat a blood-stained doll.

The man stared at this bizarre scene, momentarily stunned, almost thinking this instance had taken a turn into the supernatural.

The doll finally spoke, “A friendly reminder: killing is illegal.”

The tracksuit man: “???”

“Are you players?” The man’s expression instantly changed. He clutched his bleeding finger, his face twisted with pain and anger.

The doll tilted its head, an innocent gesture that, coming from the bloodstained doll, felt deeply unsettling. “I am.” Even if he denied it, the magician would most likely expose him anyway.

The magician, on the other hand, spoke with a cheerful tone, “I’m not. I’m just a puppet. You can call me the Magician.”

The two figures before him were far too bizarre. The tracksuit man tightened his grip on the gun-he hadn’t noticed anyone approaching before his finger was cut. These two were undoubtedly stronger than him.

If it came to a fight, he might not win.

Reaching this conclusion, the man’s eyes shifted slightly. “You two don’t think I’m the poacher, do you?” He immediately felt this was a strong possibility. Why else would they suddenly attack him?

So, he furrowed his brows and quickly added, “I’m not the poacher. The player I was just tailing is. I saw him being chased by a docile fanged rabbit-he’s definitely the poacher!”

Luo Yiran watched him calmly-so, Xia Lang had been exposed as the poacher.

He guessed his small size and the fact that Xia Lang had shielded him tightly meant he hadn’t been spotted by this man.

“I didn’t cut off your finger because I thought you were the poacher,” the doll said, standing up. It perched on the brim of the magician’s hat, the silver thread on its hand faintly visible.

The tracksuit man’s eyes immediately caught the faint red traces on the silver thread.

It was blood.

His blood.

The man’s hand trembled slightly-he had assumed it was the bandaged man, who looked far more dangerous, who had cut off his finger.

The doll smiled. “I have no intention of killing you. Don’t be afraid.”

Luo Yiran pulled open his school uniform jacket, revealing the items strapped to his waist to the tracksuit man. “Even though this isn’t the real world, I still think killing is unacceptable.”

The man stared at the ropes, knives, and even a beautiful rose tied to the doll’s body.

Honestly, these items didn’t make him feel threatened. Even if he stood still, something the size of a fingernail couldn’t hurt him too deeply.

But there was a sense of danger.

The moment the school uniform was pulled open, an overwhelming sense of danger emanated from the tiny doll. It felt eerily similar to the time he accidentally crossed paths with the boss in the last instance.

The man’s fingers trembled even more violently, blood continuously seeping through his fingers and dripping onto the branch beneath him.

He stared at the array of items strapped to the doll’s waist and the silver thread, feeling both fear and resentment. “Can special species really bring real-world items into the game?” After all, there were no roses in this forest.

“Perhaps only I can. After all, a magician can’t perform without props,” Luo Yiran said nonchalantly.

He was a magician himself, though now the abilities of some of his props had been amplified. For instance, when he used the playing cards to start a fire, the amount of material on the cards was the same as usual, but the flames burned much larger.

And the silver thread in his hand had also become more durable and could extend further.

Perhaps it was because his special species ability enhanced these items that the game allowed him to keep them.

The tracksuit man glanced at the bandaged man, gritting his teeth-there was also this puppet who looked incredibly powerful. Special species were indeed favored by the game!

The magician didn’t mind the man looking at him like he was some kind of commodity. He spoke to the doll in a syrupy tone, “So you’re a magician too. We’re truly a match made in heaven.”

“Shut up,” Luo Yiran said, disgusted by the magician’s tone. He didn’t want to talk anymore, so he decisively raised the hand holding the silver thread.

The tracksuit man didn’t see anything, but a chill ran down his spine, and he instinctively tried to jump off the tree.

Luo Yiran reacted faster. He leaped off the magic hat, simultaneously manipulating the magician to grab the silver thread he had released and move toward the tracksuit man, completely unconcerned that the thread might cut the magician’s hand.

The magician moved too quickly, directly stopping the tracksuit man’s attempt to jump down. The man could only raise his gun and aim it at the magician. His hand was trembling from the pain and the inexplicable fear he’d felt earlier, but the distance was close enough that he managed to shoot the magician in the chest.

As he was about to hit the ground, Luo Yiran’s eyes flickered slightly. He watched the magician without blinking-there was no attempt to dodge, nor any sense of losing control. It seemed that when he was being manipulated, the magician truly couldn’t control his own body.

But… would a puppet die if shot?

His body stopped just a few centimeters above the ground. Luo Yiran looked up and let out a soft laugh.

The magician had one end of the silver thread wrapped around Luo Yiran’s hand and the other end looped around the tracksuit man’s neck. He smiled gently and said, “Don’t move. This is very sharp.”

The man didn’t dare move. He even slowed his breathing, terrified that the silver thread might slice his neck.

The man still held the gun, his eyes darting to the bullet hole in the magician’s chest. There was no blood, and the bullet passing through hadn’t affected his movements in the slightest.

“I told you, I’m just a puppet,” the magician said with a grin. “A puppet has no flesh and blood, no hesitation, no injuries. If you want to kill me, the best way is to kill…” He paused deliberately, leaving a hint of ambiguity, “my master.”

Hearing this, Luo Yiran’s face darkened as he looked up again-there was no doubt these words were directed at him, meant to tell him that the only way to get rid of the magician was to kill himself. Thus, he had no choice but to keep the magician. And he shouldn’t try to send the magician to his death for no reason, since he couldn’t die anyway.

What a shame. He had been planning to test other methods.

But he had just confirmed that his control over the magician’s body was stronger than the magician’s own. For now, he decided to keep the magician, so perhaps there was no need to test further.

Using the magician, Luo Yiran tied the tracksuit man to the tree branch. He looked up and realized the branch was wide enough that unless someone climbed up, no one would notice there was a person there.

The location was hidden. Now, it was time to silence him.

He manipulated the magician to pull him up, but before he could act, the magician tilted his head and asked in a curious tone, “If you were going to come back up, why did you jump down in the first place, young master?”

Noticing the magician’s movement, Luo Yiran immediately realized he had let his guard down. He regained control of the magician, then pulled out a roll of duct tape and stepped onto the tracksuit man’s body, speaking with complete composure, “Naturally, I was worried he might attack me. After all, I’m just a fragile little doll.”

The magician: “…”

The “fragile little doll” used the duct tape to seal the tracksuit man’s mouth, then pulled out a small knife and walked over to the man’s hand. The doll placed the knife against the man’s finger, smiling gently as he asked, “How many shots did you fire just now?”

The man, whose mouth was taped shut: “…”

Luo Yiran lowered his eyes, his long lashes covering most of his round, beautiful red eyes. He pressed down the corner of his mouth and said, “Since you won’t say, I’ll just cut off the remaining nine fingers.”

The man: “…” How about you untie the tape first, damn it!