Doll Survival Game

Lei Jing fell silent for a moment, then burst into a forced laugh, her expression grotesque and terrifying due to her mouth being tightly gagged.

Luo Yiran added fuel to the fire: “Yikes, that’s really scary. It’s probably best to just throw her out. After all, she’s almost against all of us.”

Lei Jing remained silent.

If her mouth hadn’t been gagged, she would have cursed him to death!

“It was just a joke,” Luo Yiran diverted his gaze, becoming serious. “The reason I’m not the one, as Lin Luo has already mentioned, let me now talk about my suspects.”

Everyone was startled.

Luo Yiran was the first to name suspects, unlike Tang Bai and Cheng Chen, the others had not identified specific individuals.

“Perhaps Tang Bai or Cheng Chen,” Luo Yiran said easily and without hesitation.

Everyone instinctively looked at Cheng Chen and Tang Bai, then erupted in surprise.

Duan Miaomiao, sitting beside Xia Lang, was facing Lin Na, so she saw Luo Yiran name these two. She blinked, unsure if it was just her eyes playing tricks.

Via, although seated next to Duan Miaomiao, didn’t notice Lin Na’s reaction. He was too busy leaning forward in surprise, even knocking on the table, his face full of confusion.

The doll pointed at Cheng Chen and Tang Bai: “Does the boss need to breathe?” The magician, his whole body tightly wrapped in bandages, the mermaid left with only a head could still live, and even Idia, missing most of his lower body.

Even he, a player, didn’t need to breathe.

So, why should it be assumed that Tang Bai and Cheng Chen, not breathing, were dead?

After he finished, Zhang Mimi and Wang Xing, sitting next to Tang Bai and Cheng Chen, immediately looked at their sides.

Wang Xing didn’t dare to touch, but Mimi immediately reached out, pressing on Cheng Chen’s chest, then frowned and shook his head.

Luo Yiran was also frowning, but his frown was directed at Mimi. The doll’s beautiful red eyes filled with doubt: “Of course, there wouldn’t be a heartbeat anyway.” Otherwise, it’d be too fake.

Mimi gestured frantically, and although Luo Yiran couldn’t understand, he could guess what he was trying to say. He sat cross-legged, eyes fixed on Cheng Chen and Tang Bai.

“I initially suggested burning, not just to kill myself,” the doll said softly, lifting his head. His hair, very straight, easily fell into his eyes, but luckily, even if it poked his eyes, the doll felt no discomfort. “The boss’s death is somewhat different from us players.”

Like in the forest, when the magician was shot, his body didn’t bleed a drop. The body structure of a hard-to-kill boss couldn’t be the same as a human.

“I think he wouldn’t choose to die too early or in front of us to avoid exposing his traits,” the doll continued, a bit of hair falling into his eyes. He didn’t brush it away, just lowered his head and continued: “Therefore, I can rule out Li Qi Feng, Via, Lin Xiaohai, and Wang Xing.” Because they died relatively early, and Luo Yiran had seen their post-mortem state.

Lin Luo gently brushed away the hair that fell into the doll’s eyes.

Then he heard the doll say, “And I also have to rule out Lin Luo, whom I watched die.”

Lin Luo paused, then a gentle smile spread across his face.

The doll didn’t turn back, so he didn’t see this smile.

But his remarks about Lin Luo weren’t exactly a lie.

He did watch Lin Luo die, but it was not a normal death; he was burned like a piece of wood.

But Lin Luo wasn’t a non-player character in this instance, which Lin Luo hadn’t lied to him about.

No one could lie to him face-to-face without him being able to discern it.

Luo Yiran, without turning back, said, “At that time, only Cheng Chen and Tang Bai chose to die by fire, and they went to the first floor, a place we couldn’t see.”

“I lean more towards them not having died but having left the house,” Luo Yiran slightly sped up his speech. “Because their bodies had no external injuries.”

“Lin Na woke up and we watched her commit suicide, her neck had a knife wound, but Tang Bai and Cheng Chen had no wounds, it’s very likely they died in the fictional space… after Lin Na woke up.”

A hush fell over everyone, their breathing seemed to lighten.

Luo Yiran’s gaze rarely left Cheng Chen and Tang Bai, he clearly hadn’t finished speaking, but time was up.

The doll felt no disappointment, instead, he revealed a faint smile.

Next was Xia Lang.

Xia Lang was stunned for a moment, then sheepishly lowered his head, “I… I died a bit early, I don’t understand much, so I don’t have much to say.”

“But I think what Ranran said makes sense,” Xia Lang spoke softly. “With so many of us still alive, the boss seems quite…” he paused, searching for the right word, “quite sadistic. He probably wants to see us struggle to survive, so he must be staying in the fictional space until everyone has left.”

After Xia Lang finished, recalling his own performance, he suddenly felt that from the boss’s point of view, he must have pleased the boss quite a bit.

After agreeing with Luo Yiran, Xia Lang briefly explained why it wasn’t him, his ears turning slightly red: “I died too early, the boss probably doesn’t like a disgrace.”

Everyone: “……”

Though brief, his words were unexpectedly trustworthy.

Because from any angle, the first to leave the fictional space is unlikely to be a non-player.

Especially now, as everyone’s suspicions towards Cheng Chen and Tang Bai were deepened by Luo Yiran’s words.

Duan Miaomiao’s reasoning was basically the same as Xia Lang’s, using the opportunity of the crowd, she directly pointed at Lei Jing: “She killed me really fast, if later I don’t vote for Cheng Chen or Tang Bai, I’ll vote for her.”

Being killed by a player makes it even less likely to be a non-player, so Duan Miaomiao’s suspicion was as low as Xia Lang’s.

Next was Via.

Via had been holding back for a long time, and now he could finally speak. He slammed the table forcefully, but as force is mutual, not only did his hand hurt, but his curly hair shook as well.

Li Qi Feng slapped him, signaling him to stop messing around and speak up.

Via then pointed at Cheng Chen: “It’s him! Before we died, I saw Cheng Chen pulling Tang Bai downstairs.”

Luo Yiran raised his eyebrows slightly, as if a bit surprised.

Via blurted out rapidly: “Come to think of it, when Cheng Chen came out, I thought he was some simpleton, even saying something like being in the same instance as us was fate, doesn’t it seem like he was trying to cozy up to us?”

“Early on, he subtly indicated that he had watched the live broadcast, definitely wanting us to let our guard down, thinking he’s a player!”

Via’s words seemed reasonable, but…

Li Qi Feng unabashedly covered his ears-could you not keep repeating the same point over and over? It makes it seem like that’s all you noticed.

After Via finished, only Li Qi Feng, Lei Jing, and Lin Ye were left, but they didn’t introduce any new terms. Li Qi Feng’s mind was still filled with Via’s blabbering, and he struggled to add reasons why it wasn’t him and Via-they had killed each other, and Luo Yiran could testify to their state after death.

Lei Jing had sawed the rope halfway before Lin Ye saw and tied her up again, so during Lei Jing’s turn, everyone silently spent the time with her.

Although Lei Jing was not calm, she was fuming. Luo Yiran was sure if Lei Jing was released now, the first she would kill would be Lin Ye and him.

Lin Ye spoke slowly, indicating he was temporarily reserving his suspicions, then explained why it wasn’t him and Zhang Mimi-after all, Mimi had spoken too briefly before.

“We died in my room, the window shattered, and we were OOC,” Lin Ye placed his hands together near his nose, inhaling the scent of smoke on his fingertips. “Zhang Mimi and I arrived in this space almost simultaneously. If a non-player is among us, then their behavior would be very strange.”

“Because it would be too easy for us to recognize each other, it’s more likely that a non-player is among those who are not familiar with each other.”

“And as someone mentioned before, the non-player is very likely to stay in the fictional space, watching us make fools of ourselves.”

Lin Ye wasn’t very concerned about this round of voting, as there were others with heavier suspicions than him, so he casually spoke, his gaze constantly on Lin Na kneeling at the center of the table.

After he finished, it was Lin Na’s turn.

Lin Na turned her gaze to Luo Yiran, their eyes meeting.

Lin Na said, “Whoever you vote for, I will vote for.”

Luo Yiran furrowed his brows-not directly suspecting him?

After Lin Na spoke, she remained silent, just tilting her head and continuing to stare at Luo Yiran with a weird smile.

Her speaking time lasted five minutes, so she spent it staring at Luo Yiran with that eerie smile.

After five minutes, the system spoke: “[Round of speeches complete, now begins 15 minutes of free discussion time.]”

As the system’s voice fell, Duan Miaomiao, due to Lin Na’s strange speech just now, thought of something earlier and was the first to speak: “Is it possible that Lin Na is a non-player? She has always seemed much like the original character!”

“No, she was restricted,” the doll answered, glancing at Lin Ye. “She has always been herself, just unable to control her own body… Oh right, now she isn’t herself anymore, because Lin Na is already dead.”

Wang Xing also spoke: “And the second task target should be related to her, so it’s probably not likely that she’s the non-player we need to vote for this round.”

“Alright,” Duan Miaomiao frowned slightly. “Then I don’t know, I’ll follow your votes… Wait a minute!”

Everyone looked over.

Duan Miaomiao looked at Lin Na: “When the doll said he suspected Tang Bai and Cheng Chen, Lin Na seemed to move! She hasn’t moved at other times!”

“Hmm…” Lin Luo smiled slightly. “It seems their suspicion is increasing.”

Via eagerly raised his hand: “I vote for Cheng Chen.”

Wang Xing also wanted to vote for Cheng Chen or Tang Bai, but…

She looked at Luo Yiran: “Can a dead person really be a non-player?”

Luo Yiran slightly raised his eyebrows: “Have you ever seen a boss who was a normal living person?”

Wang Xing thought back, then blankly stated: “You’re right, a boss without breath or heartbeat isn’t out of the ordinary.”

Zhang Mimi also made up his mind, clasping his hands in prayer toward Tang Bai and Cheng Chen: “Sorry, I’ll have to vote for one of you… Anyway, you’re already dead, so it doesn’t matter if I’m wrong, haha.”

Lin Ye lightly tapped on the table, his gaze briefly on Lei Jing, then he smiled at the doll: “Not voting for her now?”

The doll tilted his head innocently: “I can’t maliciously vote for her.”

Everyone: “……”

The doll spoke truthfully: “Let’s keep her for now. We’ll vote for her in the next round related to Lin Na, since it’s our first time voting, we’re mostly unsure, so it might be better to keep her for another round to extend the game.”

Everyone nodded in understanding: “Indeed!”

Lei Jing: “……”

Get lost! All of you, heartless creatures!!!