Doll Survival Game

“This has nothing to do with you,” the magician chuckled softly.

His words weren’t exactly a rebuttal, but they were enough to make Mr. Gardener clench his fists. He reminded the magician, “Your identity doesn’t even-”

[One hundred and fifty players have logged in!] The system’s voice interrupted Mr. Gardener’s unfinished sentence. [The game will officially begin in one and a half minutes. All players, please prepare!]

At the treetop, the doll watched as the system’s announcement faded. A new message popped up in the chat interface, sent by Lin Ye: [Luo Yiran, you don’t have to take the vine monster’s flower, but you must stay alive.]

Luo Yiran: “?”

Zhang Mimi explained: [We just got a notification. If the lord dies, we’ll be prohibited from using force for 12 hours. However, other triggered battles won’t be restricted, which means we’ll be sitting ducks during that time.]

The blue countdown timer hovered mid-air like a projection. The doll calmly replied: [I won’t die.]

The countdown ticked silently in the sky. The doll’s gaze remained fixed on the map. He noted a few key locations before lifting his eyes back to the timer.

The Fairy Tale Forest was eerily quiet now, but this silence didn’t mean safety. One hundred and fifty players were scattered throughout the forest, most of them enemies.

Thirty seconds left.

The doll narrowed his bright red eyes. He needed to send out at least ten invitations. He recalled a few names from the average score ranking list-players he had remembered for this instance. He sent the invitations to those individuals.

Judging by their appearances, they seemed like decent people. Hopefully, they wouldn’t accept-though, honestly, he wasn’t great at judging character by appearance.

Twenty seconds left. Luo Yiran frowned slightly. He felt a gaze fixed on him, and it wasn’t coming from below.

Three seconds left. A gust of wind swept through. Luo Yiran’s body tilted backward, and his ball-jointed hand grabbed onto a leaf. As his body arched upward, he found himself staring straight at the blue countdown in the sky, which ticked to zero before instantly resetting to an eight-hour timer.

At the same time, the system’s voice rang out-

[The game has officially begun!]

As the system’s voice faded, the doll hadn’t yet steadied himself. But then he heard the sound of wings flapping. Luo Yiran’s eyes sharpened, catching a glimpse of black wings and hearing an excited shout: “Lord No.7 is mine!”

He was seized and lifted into the air. After a few spins, the doll finally got a clear look at the player who had grabbed him.

The player seemed to be a special species. A pair of black wings sprouted from his back, black feathers covered parts of his face, and his lips resembled a bird’s beak.

“How do you kill a doll, anyway?” Black Wing muttered to himself, lifting a hand. “Twist its head off?”

Would Lin Ye end up like this too? Luo Yiran wondered, utterly unfazed by the danger. Then, as Black Wing’s hand reached for his neck, Luo Yiran frowned. He brushed his hand over the fabric bag on his body and pointed at Black Wing.

What’s he doing…? Black Wing didn’t understand. He only vaguely noticed something glinting in the sunlight, like the reflection off glass.

Then, a chill spread across his hand.

Black Wing froze for a moment, staring in disbelief as blood spurted from his fingers onto the doll. The delayed pain finally surged through him, and he let out a piercing scream.

The sound echoed through the air, drawing the attention of several players who instinctively looked up.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!” Black Wing roared, his fury reaching its peak. Two of his fingers were severed, and in his rage, he grabbed the doll’s head with his uninjured hand.

The grip plunged Luo Yiran into darkness. He didn’t panic, though. Instead, he swiftly raised his hand and struck toward the position he had memorized.

The silver thread was so fine it was nearly invisible, its tip weighted with a small pendant. The weight allowed it to resist the wind’s interference, making it more precise.

As soon as the silver thread wrapped around something, the doll’s lips curled into a faint smile. With a sharp tug of his arm, the thread tightened.

“Ahhh-!”

Another blood-curdling scream tore through the air. The hand gripping the doll’s head released him abruptly, and light flooded back into Luo Yiran’s vision. Blood splattered across him, soaking his clothes. Black Wing, now missing one of his wings, spiraled downward in a chaotic freefall, his screams trailing behind him.

The doll, too, began to plummet. He blinked hard, forcing out the blood that had splashed into his eyes.

On the holographic display visible only to him, Via’s voice rang out in astonishment: [Did you hear that? They’re already fighting! Tsk, tsk, tsk, listen to those screams.]

Li Qi Feng chimed in: [Doll, stay alert. Those screams are coming from the vine monster’s territory.]

The wind howled past, whipping at his clothes. The doll’s expression remained stoic as he gazed at the sky.

Though his descent wasn’t as rapid as Black Wing’s, it was still fast enough. The ground-or rather, the trees-was approaching quickly.

Just as he was about to crash into the branches, a figure emerged from the dense foliage. The newcomer’s gray hair was tangled with leaves, his skin wrapped in bandages, and his left hand held a small suitcase with a tied-up umbrella attached.

The doll twisted mid-air, locking eyes with the magician. A moment later, he landed squarely in the magician’s right palm.

“Young master, could you value me a bit more? I had to weave through all these trees, and my clothes nearly got torn,” the magician said with a teasing smile, holding the doll close to his chest to shield him from the wind. “Though, it seems your outfit fared even worse.”

The doll let out a faint chuckle.

The magician landed lightly on a tree branch but didn’t pause. With a quick push off the branch, he propelled himself forward again.

Luo Yiran took the brief moment to reply with a simple “Got it” in the group chat.

The magician, displeased by the lack of response to his earlier comment, continued, “I’m glad you controlled me in time, young master. A moment later, and I’d have been caught by those people.”

He was likely referring to the other players. The doll replied calmly, “Even if you were caught, I’d just take you back.”

“…” The magician fell silent, though a shiver ran down his spine. Overwhelmed by a strange sense of gratitude, he declared, “To spare you any trouble, I’ll make sure no one lays a hand on me.”

The doll raised an eyebrow. “?”

“Move!” he suddenly shouted.

The warning wasn’t necessary-after all, the magician was under his control-but Luo Yiran’s reflexes made him yell anyway.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the doll leapt from the magician’s hand, freeing him to act. The magician spun around and struck back without hesitation.

White bandages unfurled, intertwining with the silver thread. From his sleeve, the magician flicked a playing card toward a shadowy figure. A scream and the sound of a body hitting the ground followed.

The magician’s movements were fluid, a seamless blend of precision and grace. He came to a halt, his wrist flicking upward. The doll, still mid-fall, was pulled back into the air and landed steadily on the magician’s shoulder.

The silver thread connecting the magician’s wrist to the doll’s glimmered faintly in the dim light.

“Your body is quite useful,” the doll remarked in a flat tone, offering rare praise.

The magician inhaled sharply, clearly flustered by the straightforward compliment. “It’s an honor, young master. Though, next time, perhaps don’t hold back so much.”

“It’s fine. In this forest, being half-crippled is as good as dead,” the doll replied matter-of-factly. After all, there were plenty of players willing to finish the job. And while he wasn’t particularly keen on breaking his own rules, he’d see if he could clear this without killing anyone.

Luo Yiran glanced around-these players were surprisingly bold. Even after witnessing Black Wing lose one of its wings, they still dared to approach. Were they overly confident?

Confident enough to think they could kill him, a doll?

Leaping swiftly and silently between the trees, the doll occasionally tightened his grip on the magician’s hair, savoring the fleeting sensation of being airborne. At the same time, his gaze darted between the map and his surroundings, constantly comparing the two. Finally, he directed the magician to stop.

The magician lifted his eyes slightly, taking in the swamp before them. “Young master, what are we doing here?”

The doll narrowed his eyes, surveying the area. “Naturally, we’re here to meet the vine monster.”

The magician paused briefly, then chuckled. “Are you certain the vine monster is here, young master?”

The doll shook his head. “Not certain, but it’s possible.”

The map indicated several locations within the vine monster’s territory that appeared particularly dangerous or unusual. The doll had decided to investigate these spots first, starting with the nearest one-the swamp.

Speaking of which, would the vine monster, true to its name, actually be made of vines?

Central Square.

“That doll’s got some serious luck! The vine monster is right across the swamp in front of them,” a twin-tailed girl exclaimed, crunching down on her lollipop. She had just spotted the vine monster on someone else’s display panel. “Though, maybe it’s just to make up for how unlucky they were at the start.”

Beside her stood a woman with an air of cool elegance. Her hair was sleek and straight, her makeup understated, and her voice was exceptionally pleasant. “It’s not just luck. He came straight to this spot.”

“Probably narrowed down a few places where the vine monster might be,” the twin-tailed girl mused.

“Not bad,” she added with a playful lilt. Then, crossing her legs and narrowing her upturned round eyes in delight, she teased, “But, master, I’m even better than him. So, praise me more!”

Wei Lianlian sighed softly. “Tian Tang, I’m not your master.”

Tian Tang ignored her, pulling another lollipop from the oversized pocket of her dress and unwrapping it. She changed the subject. “Master, how confident are you that you can figure out how the doll will score high in this live broadcast?”

Unable to dissuade her, Wei Lianlian let it go for now. Resting her fair fingers against her chin, she replied, “This round doesn’t involve much background exploration. The scoring will likely be based on performance.”

Tian Tang fiddled idly with the bow on her dress. “What a shame.”

Wei Lianlian shook her head. “It’s still an opportunity to assess their skills.”

Tian Tang pouted. “What’s there to see? Hardly anyone’s better than me, let alone you, master.”

Wei Lianlian frowned slightly.

Tian Tang opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. After a moment, she muttered under her breath, “I’m just stating the truth…”

Wei Lianlian pressed her temples, clearly exasperated. “Tian Tang, you have your own faction. You should spend time with your teammates. Always sticking with me is bound to cause misunderstandings.”

“It’s fine! My faction members are thrilled that I’m hanging out with you, Master. Although, to be honest, they’re hoping I’ll recruit you into the faction… But don’t worry, Master, I know you don’t like joining factions!” Tian Tang’s twin ponytails swayed as she spoke. “I won’t force you into it, promise!”

Not reassuring at all. Wei Lianlian’s headache only worsened.

“Hey, look at that!” Tian Tang suddenly exclaimed, her gaze locking onto one of the display panels. Her expression turned cold in an instant. “That group of maggots has joined the serpent man’s faction.”

Wei Lianlian paused and shifted her attention to the panel Tian Tang was referring to. Several display panels had merged into one, showing a group of people, most of them wearing short sleeves. On the inner side of their arms, red tattoo-like lines ran from their wrists all the way up.

“The leader of the Hunters isn’t there,” Wei Lianlian observed. “The second-in-command is the one in charge right now.”

“Hunters, my foot!” Tian Tang snapped, her voice dripping with disdain. She had been tricked by the Hunters before and clearly hadn’t let it go. She kicked her leg in frustration. “What kind of garbage name is that? Are they trying to say we’re all prey or something?”

Wei Lianlian didn’t respond, her eyes fixed on the Hunters’ members. They were slicing off pieces of their own flesh and offering them to something in the trees above. The dense foliage obscured the serpent man’s form, but beneath one of the branches, a thick snake tail, about as wide as a human, dangled ominously.

“Master, look at that Xia… uh, what’s his name again? The doll’s teammate. From the way he’s moving, isn’t he about to run straight into those maggots?” Tian Tang asked, her tone sharp.

Wei Lianlian glanced at the panel and nodded. “He is.” Her gaze then shifted to the doll’s display panel. “And Luo Yiran is about to encounter the vine monster as well.”