Doll Survival Game - Chapter 72 - Fairy Tale Forest (Part 9)

“Wow! But where did you get so much silver thread?” Zhang Mimi exclaimed with excitement, eyeing the fabric bag on the doll. “That can’t hold much, can it?”

Luo Yiran raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled, “The bag has a lot of space.”

Zhang Mimi’s eyes widened. “Is it a space item?”

Space items aren’t exactly rare, but if the space is large, then it becomes rare. Judging by the amount of silver thread the doll is using, this space seems to be of medium size.

The doll just smiled.

The two of them quickly ran towards the edge of the vine monster’s territory. Zhang Mimi didn’t bother asking where the fabric bag came from; he just expressed a bit of concern, “It’ll take some time to get out. If only Lin Ye were here, we could fly out with him.”

The doll thought of Lin Ye’s wings and looked down at himself. “As fellow special species, the gap between us is quite significant.”

Zhang Mimi reassured him, “Actually, bird special species are quite common among special species. And even though you’re not very mobile, you’re still strong. The puppet and silver thread are both gifts from being a special species, right?”

The doll pondered for a moment and then said, “The puppet is indeed useful.”

The previously silent magician suddenly spoke in a low voice, “I’m truly hurt. The young master only sees me as an item. No wonder he always calls me a puppet…”

The doll patted the magician’s cheek in a comforting manner, his smile superficial. “Well, I still don’t know your name.”

Zhang Mimi was taken aback-does a boss’s name even matter? Some bosses only have titles, and calling them by their title is enough.

However.

“Why does he call you young master?” Zhang Mimi glanced ahead. His features didn’t really give off a delinquent vibe, but with that blond hair and strange tattoos on his face, he somehow exuded an unreliable, roguish aura. He scratched his head, puzzled, “That title is odd, and the way he calls you gives me the impression that you’re the boss and he’s your servant…”

“…”

Hearing no response, Zhang Mimi instinctively turned his head to look at the doll. “Why aren’t you…”

His voice stopped abruptly.

On the magician’s shoulder, the doll was staring at him with a terrifying gaze. Those red eyes had turned a deep, dark shade, like a sea stained with blood under the night sky, mysterious and instilling fear.

Zhang Mimi was startled, nearly stumbling. “Doll?”

The doll withdrew his gaze and quickly put on a gentle smile. “Sorry, I was just lost in some memories.”

Zhang Mimi replied, “…Oh, it’s okay…”

The magician seemed to have sensed something, his lips curling up, the bandage forming an equally exaggerated arc.

The doll quickly regained his composure, following closely behind Zhang Mimi.

Leaving the damaged area, the three of them re-entered the dense forest. Zhang Mimi knew that the boss was temporarily under the doll’s control, so he chose to smash through obstacles and take the direct path.

As long as it didn’t attract the boss, it was fine.

Luo Yiran pondered something and then looked at his palm. “The doll isn’t bad. For instance, the vine monster’s vine net has to shrink its holes significantly to affect me.”

But his silver thread net didn’t need such small holes.

“Exactly!” Zhang Mimi agreed, then glanced back. The trees had once again obscured their view, and the doll’s silver thread net was completely out of sight. “Let’s hope the boss only catches up after we leave the vine monster’s territory.”

The doll paused. “I severed its neck, so it shouldn’t catch up quickly.” It probably wasn’t dead; if it were, the system would have sent a notification.

But since its neck was cut, it should take some time to repair, right?

“Oh, oh…” Zhang Mimi nodded absentmindedly while focusing on the path. Then, a second later, he froze, turning with shock. “Did you just say you severed… what? Whose neck?”

“The vine monster’s.” As the magician moved, the doll’s body shook along with the magician’s shoulders, occasionally lifting off the ground. “I took advantage of their shock from the silver thread net to ambush with the silver thread.”

Zhang Mimi was stunned, feeling a slight itch as leaves brushed his face. He squinted, trying to scrutinize the doll’s surroundings. “Do you have the silver thread with you now?”

The doll nodded.

“Hmm-” Zhang Mimi stared for a moment, then shook his head. “I can’t see it at all. No wonder you could ambush successfully…”

The doll moved his fingers, and Zhang Mimi saw a thin silver thread. “I see it!”

“This is made of about a dozen intertwined strands,” the doll explained, then dispersed the silver thread again. “The thinnest ones are only noticeable under close inspection in the light.”

Zhang Mimi: “…It can kill and is hard to break. Is this really silver thread?”

The doll paused, not answering.

After crossing a rough patch, the path ahead was relatively smooth. Zhang Mimi ran while checking the notifications on the holographic display. “Injuries heal faster during the day… That’s pretty neat.”

“But what’s this about Miaomiao? Moonlight Warrior? How embarrassing, does it mean transforming into a wolf under the moon?”

The doll paused, then looked at the map. It showed Lin Ye and Duan Miaomiao quickly heading toward the serpent man’s territory, where two people were nearby, and another was farther away.

The distant one was likely Xia Lang.

Luo Yiran’s gaze moved across the map, and his finger trembled slightly.

“…”

“Zhang Mimi, let’s head right.”

Zhang Mimi was taken aback, looking at the map. “Going right is a detour, isn’t it… Huh? Why is there an extra person on the map?! And they’re in the vine monster’s territory too!”

Originally, there were only seven dots on the map, but now there was an additional one.

The doll wasn’t surprised and explained to Zhang Mimi, “Because someone joined our faction.”

Central Lobby.

“Who joined the doll’s faction?” Tian Tang’s eyes darted around frantically, searching.

“…On the lower left display panel…” a voice came from behind Tian Tang and Wei Lianlian. “It’s the man Ran encountered in the swamp.”

Both Tian Tang and Wei Lianlian paused, then turned to look behind them.

Three rows back, two men were seated-one a young man in a black shirt, the other a slightly chubby middle-aged man.

Wei Lianlian’s memory was sharp. “It’s Guan Cheng and Fang Jincheng from the mermaid instance.”

Fang Jincheng paused. “Your memory’s good too.”

Too?

Wei Lianlian recalled how the doll had remembered the players on the bus in front of Fang Jincheng. “I don’t remember as well as he does… But his way of remembering, he discards unimportant things over time to make room for new memories.”

Otherwise, keeping such detailed memories would be painful.

Fang Jincheng shrugged, not responding.

Tian Tang didn’t care about memory; she found the display panel Guan Cheng mentioned. After watching for a while, she said, “This person looks familiar.”

Guan Cheng hesitated, scratching his head, unsure whether to speak.

Wei Lianlian noticed his hesitation, paused, then turned to focus on the scruffy man with bangs covering his eyes on the display panel. She recognized him too.

She turned back to Guan Cheng. “You should tell her.”

Tian Tang was puzzled. “Huh? What are you talking about? Don’t keep me in the dark!”

Guan Cheng leaned forward slightly. “Well, this person is the free player who cleared The Arena instance…”

Tian Tang froze, whipping her head back to the display panel, staring at the scruffy man. “It’s him?!”

The Arena instance was where Tian Tang had clashed with the Hunter, the very instance that made the Hunter famous.

The instance had reached halfway when the boss ended the game, allowing the surviving players to clear it naturally.

Besides the seven from the Hunter’s group, the only others who cleared it were her and another unaligned free player.

But!

Tian Tang distinctly remembered that free player, though not very noticeable, didn’t look like this, right?

She remembered him being quite muscular.

Wei Lianlian tapped the display panel with her finger, her tone certain. “It’s him. And he’s ranked quite high on the average score ranking, but oddly, his presence has become even weaker, almost unnaturally so. It might be due to his ability or an item.”

“And his appearance, build, and aura have all changed,” Guan Cheng added, trying to smooth things over. “The instance was chaotic back then, and even as an onlooker, it took me a while to recognize him.”

Tian Tang agreed, crossing her legs. “Maybe he’s been clearing each level by being so unnoticeable that even the boss doesn’t see him.”

“I told you not to generalize,” Wei Lianlian sighed, though she remained upright, never slouching. “Even with a weak presence, he can still be noticed unless he blends into a group… Besides, as the instance progresses, he still has tasks to complete, and a weak presence won’t help him with that.”

Fang Jincheng, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke up, “His name is Yuan Mo. About a month ago, I went through an instance with him. Since that instance didn’t involve any fighting, we teamed up.”

“He’s an oddball, often scribbling with whatever he can find around him, but his presence is indeed low,” Fang Jincheng frowned. “I can’t even remember what he did in that instance.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Lianlian and Guan Cheng both paused, exchanging glances.

Wei Lianlian asked, “Do you also not remember what Yuan Mo did in that live broadcast instance?”

Guan Cheng nodded, frowning.

He distinctly remembered watching Yuan Mo’s live broadcast replay, yet he couldn’t recall what Yuan Mo had done.

Tian Tang’s impression of Yuan Mo was limited to a tall man beside him at the end. She sighed with mock maturity, “What a great ability.”

Whether it was an item or a special species’ feedback, it was undoubtedly a great ability to avoid being noticed by others.

Guan Cheng nodded in agreement, “Indeed.”

Tian Tang waved her hand, “Why don’t you guys come over here? It’s tiring to talk like this.”

The two hesitated, and Fang Jincheng looked around, “Can we sit over there?” When the instance started, Tian Tang had threatened not to let other players get too close to them.

Tian Tang raised her thin eyebrows, glancing at the red armor standing in the aisle, “Why not? It’s free seating here, right? If you disrupt the order, they’ll kick you out, won’t they?”

Guan Cheng and Fang Jincheng were speechless. But you only verbally threatened us.

“Come on over,” Tian Tang said, swinging her leg. “We just don’t want those with ulterior motives sitting near us. You guys aren’t like that.”

Well, although she did want to learn a bit about the doll from these two.

Guan Cheng and Fang Jincheng exchanged a look, then got up and moved forward.

Wei Lianlian was watching a holographic display. As the two approached a spot not far from their diagonal rear, she suddenly spoke, “I remember, Guan Cheng, you’re on good terms with Xia Lang, right?”

“Yes, he’s a really good kid…” Guan Cheng unconsciously smiled warmly, his gaze shifting to Xia Lang’s display panel, and then his smile vanished instantly.

Fang Jincheng looked over and his expression changed too.

Tian Tang stopped swinging her leg in surprise, “Is Via and Li Qi Feng already dead? How did the serpent man end up with Xia Lang?”

Wei Lianlian frowned slightly, “And he’s already being devoured.”