Doll Survival Game - Chapter 67 - Fairy Tale Forest (Part 4)

Rewind time a bit.

In the swamp.

Luo Yiran observed the bubbling surface of the swamp and the lush trees surrounding it. This swamp was different from what he had seen online; it exuded a vibrant life force.

Twisting his index finger, Luo Yiran squinted slightly-he was genuinely curious about how this forest was constructed. It seemed highly likely to be fictional or based on something fictional.

“Young master, should we cross over or go around?” the magician asked.

The doll opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly a scream came from the misty swamp on the other side.

This scream, echoing with others in the forest, made Luo Yiran think. He sighed deeply, “Why scream without shouting specifics?”

Like Via or Xia Lang, if they encountered something, they would definitely scream out specifics, like-“Help! Why is this vine moving?”

Of course, Via would do it deliberately, while Xia Lang would do it instinctively.

After all, a bare scream only adds to the atmosphere and serves no other purpose.

The doll manipulated the magician to bend down and pick up a stone.

The magician was puzzled, “Young master?”

The doll didn’t reply. He directly manipulated the magician to throw the stone.

The small stone flew silently through the mist and landed in the swamp. As it sank, the doll noticed the stone’s surface blackened slightly… as if corroded.

The doll was silent for a moment.

Judging from the earlier scream, crossing the swamp shouldn’t be too far, but…

Luo Yiran looked at the branches above the swamp, then at the tightly packed trees on both sides, making passage difficult-going around could take forever, so maybe crossing the swamp directly was better.

However…

The doll manipulated the magician to set down the small suitcase and then picked up a large stone, as big as three heads, covered in dirt.

The magician protested, “?”

Please be mindful of his clothes! He was wearing white today!

The large stone plunged into the swamp, and suddenly a toothy maw snapped it up, revealing a crocodile-like creature that surfaced, its vertical pupils staring at the doll and the magician.

“……”

He knew it. Swamps usually had something set up; mere weak corrosion was too low-risk.

His gaze shifted upward-only the branches above hadn’t been checked, but there was likely something there too.

The magician looked at his now dirty white shirt and sighed helplessly, “Young master, stop testing. There are snakes up there.”

The doll said, “…… So to summarize, there are crocodiles below, snakes above, and corrosive mist over the swamp.”

The magician still lamented over his shirt, “We could have handled it directly, young master’s curiosity…”

The doll smiled, “What’s wrong with my curiosity?”

The magician changed his tone, “It’s fine, it’s normal for a child to be curious.”

The doll replied, “…… If you get bitten by a snake or crocodile, you deserve it.”

Besides, his curiosity was only intense at times.

The magician chuckled, “As long as the young master isn’t deliberately trying to trouble me, I surely won’t get hurt.”

The doll had no interest in listening to the magician any longer. He shifted to the magician’s right shoulder, gripping the magician’s long gray hair with his left hand, while his right hand reached out.

In the dim light, the silver thread glimmered faintly.

The magician heard a jingling sound and glanced sideways at the silver thread coiled around the ball joint of the doll’s finger. The jingling came from a small bob at the end of the thread, something he had installed for the doll, with spares tucked away in that large fabric bag.

Watching the doll toss the silver thread, the magician asked, “Young master, you’re not planning to swing us across with that, are you?”

If that was the plan, it would mean the doll holding onto his hair and flying across. Terrifying.

“No,” the doll replied, puzzled by the magician’s assumption. “If we did that, your weight would tear off my arm, and we’d never make it across.”

The magician sighed in relief.

The doll looked at the swamp, his expression unchanged. “This is just a precaution. If you get caught by a crocodile or a snake, I can ditch you and use it to get across.”

The magician was taken aback. “…?”

Before he could protest, his body was already in motion.

With ease, he leaped to the treetops, where countless snakes slithered softly among the dark leaves and branches, intertwining in layers.

“…Young master, don’t you dare leave me here,” the magician whispered with a forced smile as he faced the snakes. “If you abandon me, I’ll definitely dress you in a white lace princess gown… and a golden crown.”

The doll, expressionless, maneuvered the magician to jump down from the tree, where a crocodile awaited with its jaws wide open.

The magician landed with his legs apart on the crocodile’s jaws. “…Young master, this isn’t a flattering pose…”

The doll sneered, continuing to manipulate the magician to leap upward. “White? Princess gown? Golden crown? Your offhand threat is quite specific, isn’t it?”

The magician, unperturbed, replied confidently, “That’s because the outfit is already made.”

“Heh.”

With a touch of petty revenge, the doll made the magician leap up and down continuously, each move becoming more awkward.

Occasionally, snakes would fall from the trees, only to be sliced in two by the doll’s swift actions.

Soon, they reached the other side of the swamp.

The doll glanced at the faint black spots on his skin, likely the result of corrosion.

“D-doll?” A panicked voice came from the side. A dispirited young man, with hair partially obscuring his eyes, stumbled back a few steps before tripping over the underbrush.

The doll and the magician turned to look.

Meeting eyes as red as glass, the eerie sensation pressed down on the dispirited young man, his pupils dilating slightly-

In the World Human realm, there were many astonishing beings, as the entire game was essentially a vast realm of fantasy.

And the Fairy Tale Forest was a place where fantasy dominated, much like the unicorns and elves mentioned in this task.

Yet the dispirited young man felt that the scene before him could rival all the other mysteries and fantasies within this forest.

The mist rose from the black swamp, enveloping the area in darkness. Even the lush leaves seemed to be stained with an inky hue. Amidst this setting, the magician stood tall and slender, his simple attire lending him the air of an elegant nobleman despite the dirt and disorder. Yet, the bandages wrapped around his entire body pulled him into a unique atmosphere.

Especially with the blood-stained, animated doll perched on his shoulder.

The dispirited young man felt an urge to capture this scene in a drawing.

But as he unconsciously stared at the doll, his heart tightened slightly-sometimes, things that are excessively exquisite and beautiful can evoke a sense of fear.

No wonder he was Lord No.7.

…

Wait? Lord?!

The dispirited young man slowly realized, his expression turning frantic as he scrambled away, using both hands and feet. After running for a while, he glanced back and saw that the bandaged man and the doll on his shoulders hadn’t moved an inch.

The man stopped, reached into his pocket, and slowly pulled out a crumpled invitation-the invitation from Lord No.7.

Luo Yiran recognized the man who had fled. He hadn’t expected this person to look at him as if he were a boss, stare in shock for a moment, and then run away at lightning speed.

But fortunately, he didn’t need anyone else to join him, so it was better that the man ran off.

Turning his attention back to the present, the doll’s translucent red eyes observed the thick trees, wrapped in numerous vines that hung down in large swathes between the branches and leaves.

With the magician’s height, a few steps forward would bring him into contact with some of them.

Hmm… could these be vine monsters? Just not sure which one.

“Help, help me…”

A faint cry for help suddenly came from the upper right of the trees, and the doll turned its head.

It was the densest part of the trees, with branches crowded together and leaves pressed so tightly that the branches above were almost invisible.

And in the middle of the densest area, a black head hung upside down.

Hanging there as if dead.

No more cries for help. Could they already be dead?

The doll maneuvered the magician to stand beneath the head, unexpectedly coming face to face with an incredibly alluring visage.

The face was so beautiful it was hard to distinguish gender, with long eyelashes and flawless skin. Even with the half-length hair hanging down and the forehead fully exposed, it remained stunningly beautiful.

However, the lips were strikingly red, and the slightly upturned corners of the mouth and eyes added a touch of allure to the pure beauty.

The leaves wrapped tightly around him, and the doll could only glimpse a bit of the person’s shoulder through the gaps, fair and smooth, though it seemed… they weren’t wearing clothes.

“Help me!” The beautiful person suddenly opened their eyes, which were also black, though not purely so. The beauty’s eyes were filled with tears: “I’m trapped by the vine monster on the tree, please help me.”

“I’ll give you anything, items or money! Whatever you want! Please save me!”

The beauty’s tears were truly heart-wrenching.

Especially with a reward on the line.

The magician felt a surge of displeasure and sneered, “Young master, I trust you’re not one to be swayed by appearances…”

“What items do you have? And how much money can you offer?” The doll asked with utmost seriousness.

The beauty was taken aback, then smiled, their voice tinged with a hint of seduction: “Pull me down first, and I’ll show you the items I have, okay?”

The doll blinked gently, as if genuinely intrigued, and asked, “How do I pull you down?”

The magician: “…”

Hiss-

The sound of something crawling over the leaves echoed around Xia Lang, leaving him a bit dazed. He tried to discern where the person was, but… he couldn’t.

Ah, why was he so unlucky! Xia Lang internally screamed in frustration-he’d only taken a few steps, and now he’d encountered the serpent man!

And those with the red line tattoos on their arms, they must be from the hunter organization, right?

Yes! Right?

Recalling Lei Jing’s crazed demeanor from the last game, Xia Lang shivered, then thought of the half-snake body that had just slithered past the leaves. Xia Lang fell silent, clasping his hands together as he looked at the map on the holographic display-

He prayed that Li Qi Feng and Via would hurry up and arrive!

After his prayer, Xia Lang cautiously peeked back, seeing nothing, which allowed him to breathe a slight sigh of relief-if he couldn’t see them, they must still be a fair distance away, right?

“…”

Wait, where was the crawling sound?

Hiss-

Just as he thought that, the sound of something hard scraping against the rough tree bark suddenly came from above. Xia Lang’s mind went blank as he instinctively withdrew his head and turned, meeting a pair of cold, vertical pupils.