Chapter 6 - The Escape of the Poacher (End)

“Your personal space is like your own home. You don’t have to log in to the game every day, but if you’re not participating in an instance, you’ll mostly just be hanging out in your personal space.”

The curly-haired boy swayed slightly, his curls bouncing along with his movements. He spoke earnestly to Luo Yiran, “If you don’t want to stay in your personal space, you can visit others-as long as you have them added as friends and they agree to it.”

Luo Yiran nodded and then asked, “How do you become friends? Is it just a verbal agreement? Should we become friends?”

The boy’s expression shifted, clearly showing reluctance, but he said, “I’d love to be friends with you, but it’s not just a verbal agreement. You have to clear the starter area and become an official player first. Only then will you get the game software that allows you to add friends.”

“Game software?”

The boy continued swaying, “It’s like a virus-it just appears on your phone. Official players can bring their phones into the game, but depending on the instance, there are different restrictions. In the last instance, I couldn’t even turn my phone on.”

“But there’s one good thing-even if your phone gets smashed to pieces in the game, it’ll be perfectly fine when you leave the game.” The boy squinted at the world upside down in front of him. “It’s just as inexplicable as how a player on the brink of death will instantly recover as long as they make it out of the instance.”

Luo Yiran seemed deep in thought.

The boy struggled a bit, causing his body to sway again. He was annoyed, “I’ve told you everything I know! Not a single lie, so can you please let me down now? If not, at least don’t hang me upside down-it’s uncomfortable!”

Having been hung upside down for a while, the boy’s face was flushed from the blood rushing to his head. He was clearly unhappy, “You’ve already taken all the medicine I had, and I didn’t even do anything to you in the end!”

“That’s why you’re still alive,” Luo Yiran said, sitting cross-legged.

The boy was speechless, not knowing how to respond.

“And if you want to run, you can try,” Luo Yiran said meaningfully, glancing at the boy’s shoes-he had a pair like that, with small knives hidden in the soles.

Run? How? He couldn’t cut the rope around his ankles. If he got down, he’d just end up hopping around for a bit before being caught again. The boy thought with a blank expression.

“When will he wake up?” Luo Yiran glanced at Xia Lang and then asked the curly-haired boy.

The magician was being controlled to check whether the tracksuit man nearby was dead. If not, he’d tie him lower to make it easier for the beasts to finish him off.

So Luo Yiran had no choice but to ask the curly-haired boy. Although he didn’t trust either of them, he could judge for himself whether their words were true.

Without being untied, the boy had grown lazy. He yawned, “I don’t know. It’s possible he might not wake up at all. The little bit of bandage I had could only stop the bleeding, nothing more.”

Luo Yiran’s eyes flickered.

The boy had seen that expression before-when the doll had robbed him. So he quickly understood what Luo Yiran was thinking and kindly advised, “In the starter area, everyone’s suddenly pulled in. Hardly anyone carries medicine with them. Most come empty-handed.”

Luo Yiran didn’t respond. Instead, he looked up at the full moon in the sky. After a couple of seconds, a mechanical voice rang out as expected: [Safe time has ended. 21 survivors remain.]

[Clue for the poacher: Those who harm the adorable rabbits will never earn the forest’s favor.]

As the cold voice faded, Luo Yiran’s vision blurred, and an invisible map appeared before him. Aside from two small blue dots, the other 19 red dots were scattered across the forest.

After a quick glance, the map disappeared. Luo Yiran turned back to the boy.

The boy showed no reaction, merely muttering, “So many died in just one round. People really are aggressive.”

It seemed the boy couldn’t see the map that had appeared before Luo Yiran. Luo Yiran averted his gaze-fine, he’d let him live.

By the time the magician returned, Xia Lang had also woken up. Pain and clarity hit him all at once. With tears in his eyes, Xia Lang used his only uninjured hand to tear off the vines slowly creeping up his body, then frantically searched for Luo Yiran.

But when he saw Luo Yiran, he also saw the magician and the gray-haired curly-haired boy hanging upside down. Xia Lang’s breath caught, and he nearly fainted again-why was there another person?

The boy heard the commotion and turned his head. Seeing Xia Lang awake, he swayed cheerfully, “Hi.”

Xia Lang’s voice trembled, “Ran-Ge, he…” Who was he?

Luo Yiran answered, “I borrowed some medicine from him.”

The boy was furious, “That’s a lie! You robbed me!”

Luo Yiran ignored him. He had the magician place him back on the hat, then said to the boy, “Do me a favor.” As he made the request, he manipulated the magician to reveal the tip of a small knife from his sleeve, aiming it at the boy.

The threat was blatant, and the boy had no choice but to reluctantly agree, “Fine.”

The magician let out a low chuckle, “How generous of you.”

The boy: “…”

After wrapping the young man’s neck with a silver thread, Luo Yiran finally let him down. Once the young man was on the ground, Luo Yiran carefully secured the other end of the thread and placed it in Xia Lang’s hand.

Xia Lang: “?”

Luo Yiran first looked at the young man: “I’ll need you to carry him to the edge of the forest.”

Then he turned to Xia Lang: “If he doesn’t behave, just pull this thread. It’s sharp enough to slice through a neck with ease.”

“…”

After a long silence, the young man exhaled and spat out bitterly, “You must be a murderer in real life!”

Luo Yiran smiled gently, “No, I’m a merit student.”

The young man’s face clearly said, You’re lying through your teeth.

Xia Lang, weak and pale, chimed in, “He really is. He’s even an outstanding student representative.”

“…”

Xia Lang didn’t ask Luo Yiran what he was planning to do. He obediently gritted his teeth against the pain, climbed onto the young man’s back, and they left.

The magician spoke vaguely, “Very obedient, isn’t he?”

Luo Yiran thought for a moment, then replied, “It’s trust. We grew up together.”

The moment Luo Yiran spoke, the magician’s fingers twitched. When he spoke again, his voice carried an inexplicable, suppressed emotion, “I’m so jealous that he got to grow up with the young master.”

Luo Yiran didn’t pay it much mind. He manipulated the magician to walk deeper into the forest. When they stopped at a spot to gather dry branches, he casually asked, “Have you always lived here?”

The magician’s lips curled into a smile, “Young master, a sense of mystery helps nurture feelings.”

Luo Yiran: “…”

He pressed on, “Aren’t you curious about what a merit student is?”

“There are plenty of players in the game,” the magician said, dodging the question with a grin. “We’ve learned a bit about your world.”

Luo Yiran paused, then asked, “What do you think of me?”

Without hesitation, the magician replied, “Exquisite, beautiful. I like you very much.”

Luo Yiran wasn’t surprised. In fact, his tone carried a hint of lightheartedness as he confirmed, “Really?”

The magician hesitated for a moment, then his voice became thick with syrupy affection. He spoke softly, almost poetically, “I truly, deeply like you.” Each word dripped with emotion, as if Luo Yiran had already become his one and only.

Luo Yiran smiled that gentle smile again, though it looked slightly eerie on the doll’s face. His voice was soft, “Then, I’ll give you a gift.”

The malice in his tone was almost palpable, but the magician, oddly enough, seemed thrilled. He suppressed his excitement, making his voice even huskier, “I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Some time later, the mechanical voice rang out again. The second round of safe time had ended. Fifteen people remained in the forest, and the new clue about the poacher was a significant height difference.

At the same time, Luo Yiran confirmed the locations of the other players and noted that Xia Lang had already reached the edge of the forest.

Everything was ready.

Luo Yiran wiped the ash from his face and glanced at the magician, who was finally looking a bit disheveled. He said, “It’s summer now. That’s really great.”

The magician, already aware of what Luo Yiran was planning, flashed a bright smile, the bandages stretching exaggeratedly across his face. “Yes, it’s really great.”

“Then, let’s go.” Luo Yiran had had enough of this instance. He hoped this method would bring it to an end.

Luo Yiran pulled out a deck of playing cards and a small bag of powder from his pocket. The cards inexplicably caught fire in his hand, and before the flames could die out, the doll tossed them into a pile of dry branches with an almost innocent smile.

The fire, fueled by the powder, shot up to half the height of the trees and stubbornly began to spread in all directions.

“Next.”

As soon as this spot was lit, Luo Yiran hurried to the next location.

The piles of dry branches weren’t far apart, intentionally placed to make it easier for the fire to spread. After all, setting a forest ablaze quickly wasn’t easy. Luo Yiran had essentially used every flammable item he and the magician had on them.

Fortunately, the ground was littered with dry branches, and it was summer. As Luo Yiran moved from one spot to the next, lighting the fires, he turned back and saw the flames already leaping into the sky. He frowned slightly-he hadn’t even added more fuel yet… The fire was spreading too fast. Would it burn down the entire forest?

The speed of the fire made it seem as though it was feeding on nothing but dry wood, allowing it to spread so rapidly.

Before he could figure it out, someone came rushing out of the forest in a panic. Luo Yiran glanced over and recognized them as a player. Since he wasn’t out to kill anyone, he had left some room for escape. The fire had started from the inside, so it wasn’t too close to the players, giving them enough time to run.

After a quick look, Luo Yiran was about to turn away and start making his own escape when a group of creatures burst out of the forest. His peripheral vision caught them, and he froze-what the hell were those things???

On the side of the fleeing players, a horde of bizarre creatures came pouring out. There was a centaur in a suit, a tentacle monster with vines whipping around, and a panicked corpse flower with its mouth wide open. The slower ones were swallowed by the flames, letting out agonized screams.

The leader was a beautiful little girl wearing a little red dress and a red hat. The moment Luo Yiran’s gaze landed on her, she noticed. Her eyes shifted to the doll and the magician, and then a surge of intense hatred erupted from her.

Luo Yiran: “…”

It seemed he’d earned the hatred of either an NPC or a boss in the game.

“If we don’t leave now, we’ll be burned too,” the magician suddenly spoke up, reminding Luo Yiran.

Luo Yiran averted his gaze and then manipulated the magician to move toward Xia Lang’s location. As they ran, Luo Yiran wiped himself clean, erasing any traces that he was the arsonist.

He was currently seated in the crook of the magician’s arm, so the magician had a clear view of him tidying himself up. Watching Luo Yiran clean himself, the magician said blatantly, “If you don’t wipe me down, I’ll be discovered too.”

“You don’t need it,” Luo Yiran looked up. The firelight was bright, casting deep shadows on the doll’s face. He flashed a radiant smile.

The magician was momentarily stunned, then felt his controlled body come to a halt.

The doll’s smile didn’t waver in the slightest. He turned his head to look at Xia Lang and the curly-haired boy standing by a long river at the edge of the forest, then jumped down from the magician’s arm.

When his legs touched the ground, they twisted unnaturally, folding in half. Luo Yiran sat up without changing his expression and straightened them himself.

Then he waved at the magician, “Enjoy the gift I’ve prepared for you. It’s bound to be quite warm.”

Not far away, Xia Lang anxiously used a silver thread to threaten the curly-haired boy into coming over to pick up Luo Yiran.

Luo Yiran threw himself into the curly-haired boy’s embrace, then turned back to look at the magician. Although his eyes were also wrapped in bandages, Luo Yiran could clearly feel that he and the magician were locking gazes.

The fire engulfed the magician’s back. Luo Yiran watched intently, and then he heard the magician let out a maniacal laugh, “Young master, see you soon!”

He absolutely, absolutely would not let the doll escape.

The flames swallowed the magician whole. Luo Yiran’s eyes darkened-it seemed even fire couldn’t kill him.