Doll Survival Game

Lin Na froze, her mind blank. Instinctively, she glanced at Tang Bai.

Tang Bai straightened up slightly, suspicion flickering in his eyes. He wondered if Luo Yiran had already figured something out.

Luo Yiran clasped his hands together earnestly, his face and eyes filled with apology. “I deeply regret hurting someone as kind as you. I’m truly sorry.”

Lin Na stiffened, her lips parted as if to speak, but in the end, her gaze shifted to Lin Luo.

Lin Luo casually lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Ran is genuinely apologizing.”

Lin Na hesitated. “…Is that all you have to say?”

Lin Luo pondered for a moment. “To be honest, I don’t dislike you as much as you think. My relationship with my family is pretty strained, as you know. I came out, and once I go to college, I’ll be leaving home. Your presence, to me, is just… disrupting the superficial harmony.”

“The real reason I dislike you is because Ran pays too much attention to you.” Lin Luo tilted his neck slightly. “Before we revealed our relationship, he was always overly focused on you. I thought he liked you.”

“So I told Ran I hated you,” Lin Luo said, wrinkling his nose. “I told him all the reasons you were awful.”

Lin Na’s hands trembled as she glared at Lin Luo, anger simmering in her eyes.

Lin Luo shrugged. “See? It’s all a misunderstanding. And Ran’s attitude toward you was heavily influenced by me… Now he’s apologizing so sincerely. You should forgive him.”

Lin Na glanced at Luo Yiran. He had his hands placed by his sides, his head lowered, looking utterly dejected, almost as if he were retreating into himself. Lin Na withdrew her gaze, choosing not to ask Lin Luo whether he had killed her. Instead, her eyes shifted directly to Xia Lang. “Your turn, younger sister.”

Xia Lang paused, retracting his critical gaze and turning to Lin Na.

Luo Yiran also lifted his head, his eyes fixed on Xia Lang.

Xia Lang seemed lost in thought. After a long moment, he finally spoke slowly. “I don’t understand…” He wanted to say he didn’t understand the role he was playing.

But the game required them to speak in character, so he stopped himself.

His sister had a diary, and through it, he had learned many things. Moreover, Lin Ye and Zhang Mimi had gathered additional information after arriving. Yet, the more he knew, the more he despised the character he was portraying.

What would happen if he refused to speak? Xia Lang glanced at Luo Yiran.

Luo Yiran’s crimson eyes stared at him unblinkingly.

Xia Lang hesitated, then understood. His gaze shifted upward slightly, landing on the bloodied wound on Lin Na’s neck. “You died, and I should be happy.”

“Because I might be the one who hates you the most here.”

Lin Na’s expression remained blank as she stared at him. “To this day, I still don’t understand why you hate me so much.”

Whether she truly didn’t know or was feigning ignorance remained unresolved. Her diary detailed everything thoroughly, yet even with all the information, Xia Lang couldn’t comprehend it.

“Maybe it’s because you comforted me, and I hated that,” Xia Lang said, relying on the diary’s account.

Lin Na froze in place.

“When my face broke out in an allergic reaction, I ran to the bathroom to hide and curse at people. I wasn’t targeting anyone in particular; I was just angry and venting. But you saw me.” Xia Lang’s expression twisted in discomfort as he tried to piece together why he had been bullied. Was it something as absurd as Lin Na’s situation?

“I lived in constant fear. I couldn’t allow someone like you to see me at my worst. I planned to either bribe you with money or threaten you. Then, the next day, I stayed home on leave and saw you were the last one to head to school.”

Xia Lang’s voice trembled slightly. “So, I thought about threatening you. But instead, you comforted me. You said having an allergic reaction was no big deal, that I was still beautiful, and that it would get better soon. You even asked if I needed you to help bring me some medicine.”

“And so, I began to hate you.”

“…”

Everyone was stunned. Duan Miaomiao tilted her head in disbelief. “Why? Where’s the logic in that?”

How would Xia Lang know? He was merely repeating what was written in the diary. That particular passage had left a deep impression on him. He repeated it again, “You stood at the doorway, dressed lightly. The flowers in the yard were in full bloom, and the sunlight was so bright and warm. And yet, I hated you.”

“Not dislike-hate.”

Lin Na’s eyes widened, her face full of confusion. In stark contrast, Xia Lang seemed detached, as if he were speaking from someone else’s perspective. “So, I became the one to lead the bullying against you.”

His gaze shifted upward. His delicate features were devoid of any expression as he recited, almost mechanically, “There was no real reason for it-I just hated you. If I had to give a reason, it might be because the flowers that day were blooming so brilliantly, so beautifully.”

That was exactly what the diary had said.

Lin Na was speechless. In fact, everyone was speechless.

By now, everyone understood what kind of story this instance was telling. Task five seemed to be about recounting the actions of the characters they had previously played. When they first realized this, many thought, “Whoever survives this instance must end up with a high score.”

But now, they were shaken by the increasingly clear and horrifying story unfolding before them.

They had known Xia Lang was the leader of the bullying, but they hadn’t known that the root of the bullying was something as absurd as flowers blooming too beautifully.

“Maybe it’s because the flowers were so beautiful, but your face was covered in an allergic reaction,” Lin Ye murmured softly.

Xia Lang didn’t respond. He was angry, his mind in chaos. The “sister” he was portraying was a despicable person. She didn’t like beautiful things or anything good in the world-unless those things belonged to her or were a part of her. Only then would she like them.

Lin Na stood up, staggering as she walked toward Xia Lang. She grabbed him by the collar, her tears falling in large drops. “You scum!”

Luo Yiran glanced at Tang Bai.

Tang Bai gave him a small smile, then spoke gently. “Na, come back. There’s still one more person to ask.”

Lin Na released Xia Lang and turned her gaze toward Wang Xing.

Wang Xing froze, swallowing nervously.

Lin Na’s dark eyes bore into her. “And you-why did you slander me?”

Wang Xing was so intimidated by Lin Na’s gaze that she trembled slightly, inching closer to Lin Xiaohai. “Because I… I liked Cheng Chen… but he liked you…”

As Wang Xing reached Lin Xiaohai’s side, she seemed to regain some composure. “Cheng Chen liked you too much. I couldn’t stand it. So, I went to Xia Lang. I wanted to join them in getting back at you.”

Lin Na remained motionless.

Wang Xing lowered her head, avoiding Lin Na’s eyes. “Then Xia Lang told me, ‘Aren’t you good at Photoshop?'”

Lin Na’s tears wouldn’t stop falling. “So, you used those fake photos to slander me, claiming I was disgusting, that I had relationships with many men…”

“And the most ridiculous part is that some people knew the photos were fake but didn’t care.” Lin Na crouched helplessly by the table, looking at Zhang Mimi. “In the end, I even got harassed by some thugs, and everything turned into ‘truth.'”

Zhang Mimi remained silent. Even though he knew this Lin Na was now just an NPC or a boss, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her the full truth-that the thugs had targeted her not just because of the rumors, but because the “younger sister” had wanted to solidify those rumors about Lin Na.

And the character he had played had agreed to such a thing for an equally ridiculous reason: he had a crush on the elder sister and wanted to use this as a way to get her contact information.

How absurd.

But maybe Lin Na already knew. After all, this Lin Na was no longer the original character.

“You are all guilty,” Lin Na said, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Her voice was sharp and venomous. “Bullying, indifference, emotional abuse… Why doesn’t the deity judge you? Why don’t you vile people just die?!”

“Na,” Tang Bai stood up, spreading his arms open. “Come here.”

Lin Na staggered to her feet and stumbled toward Tang Bai.

He scooped her up in a princess carry.

The blood staining her body smeared onto Tang Bai’s clothes, but he didn’t seem to care. He looked down at her with a surface-level gentleness, his voice soft yet chilling. “Do you want revenge?”

Lin Na curled up in his arms, her hollow eyes scanning the room. “I do.”

“Then let’s vote,” Tang Bai said decisively.

Lin Xiaohai froze. “But I haven’t even-” She wasn’t the only one; several others hadn’t spoken yet either.

Lin Na cut her off. “Vote.”

Almost immediately, the system’s voice, eerily similar to Lin Na’s, echoed through the room: [Players, please cast your vote for Lin Na’s killer in three minutes.]

This time, the voting countdown was three minutes. But instead of relief, a heavy tension filled the air. Duan Miaomiao glanced nervously at Lei Jing-perhaps they should vote for Lei Jing?

“Vote for yourself,” Luo Yiran sighed, turning to Xia Lang. “If you vote for someone else or-”

“If you want to die, then either abstain or vote for someone else,” Lin Luo interrupted.

Duan Miaomiao blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

Tang Bai’s face darkened. “Lin Luo!”

Even Luo Yiran, who rarely showed much emotion, looked at Lin Luo with a flicker of surprise.

Lin Luo smirked, his expression dripping with sarcasm. “You all think you can keep voting until you get it right, but the truth is, this round determines life and death.”

Tang Bai’s patience snapped. “Lin Luo, stop sabotaging my-”

“Shh,” Lin Luo said with a casual ease, his expression unbothered. “The game isn’t over yet.”

Tang Bai regretted ever letting the magician into this instance. But there was nothing he could do to stop Lin Luo from interfering with the task, because Lin Luo, like the rest of them, was also a player.

“This vote is entirely subject to Lin Na’s will,” Lin Luo explained. “If you abstain or vote for someone else, you’re done for.”

Lin Luo wasn’t trying to help the players. But if he didn’t speak up, Luo Yiran would. Luo Yiran would explain to Xia Lang that abstaining or voting for Lei Jing was not an option.

Because Luo Yiran would undoubtedly try to save Xia Lang. The magician glanced at the young man beside him, his expression turning icy for the first time in this instance.

But if Luo Yiran said those words, everything he had done for Lin Na up until now would be for nothing.

Her impression of him would plummet.

“So, voting for yourself guarantees we clear this instance?” Lin Ye asked, her gaze shifting between Tang Bai, whose face was ashen, and Lin Na, who seemed to have shut herself off from the world in Tang Bai’s arms.

“Not necessarily,” Lin Luo said, crossing one leg over the other. “But for someone like Lin Na, who chose to end her own life rather than take revenge on us, what she wants is for us to live with regret for the rest of our lives.”

“Abstaining represents avoidance. Voting for someone else means you still haven’t acknowledged your guilt.”

Which left only one choice: voting for yourself.

Lei Jing, hearing this, suddenly broke into a smile. Her mouth ached from the forced grin, but she couldn’t hide her smugness-she hadn’t hurt Lin Na! She could vote for someone else…

“Sure, vote for someone else if you want,” Lin Luo said, noticing her reaction. His gaze was filled with disdain, as if he were looking at a fool. “But being a bystander doesn’t make you innocent.”

Lei Jing’s expression shifted instantly.

Finally, Luo Yiran spoke, his tone devoid of any discernible emotion. “You’re so kindhearted.”

Lin Luo’s smile turned sheepish in an instant. He lowered his head, his thin lips brushing close to the little doll’s ear. His voice was so soft that even those nearby couldn’t hear. “Isn’t this… for you?”