Doll Survival Game

Something felt off.

The surroundings were eerily silent, and Zhang Mimi shot a glance at Luo Yiran.

Luo Yiran remained silent, his expressionless gaze fixed on Yuan Mo, who kept his head down.

Under the weight of the silence, Yuan Mo finally couldn’t resist and looked up to meet the doll’s eyes.

Those eyes, like rubies, were incredibly clear. If they were under the sunlight, they would probably be even more beautiful.

He was momentarily entranced, but in just a moment, a deep killing intent enveloped him, causing Yuan Mo to take a step back. Standing on a branch, he stepped back and fell straight down.

After falling, he sat there for a moment, not crying out in pain, but slowly sitting up to look at the magician.

The killing intent had emanated from this person.

Was he disliked right away? Yuan Mo was bewildered-why? He had been sincere; he really hadn’t joined any other faction.

Zhang Mimi looked at the doll.

The doll crossed his legs, looking at Yuan Mo.

To be honest, upon learning someone had joined them and was located in the vine monster’s territory, Luo Yiran’s first thought was of Yuan Mo, whom they had encountered by the swamp.

He had a strong impression of Yuan Mo because when he first saw him on the average score ranking, the doll noticed that Yuan Mo left a distinct memory. Despite his tall and large appearance, his eyes were melancholic and carried a strange aura, as if he didn’t quite fit in with his surroundings.

So, he remembered him.

“You say, trust you.” The doll looked at Yuan Mo, who appeared much more frail than in the photos. “Why should we trust you?”

After all, they were only temporary teammates, and Yuan Mo still had the option to join other factions… Trust wasn’t necessary between them.

“Teammates are supposed to trust each other.” Yuan Mo’s expression was very sincere. “I want to be your teammate!”

Not your teammates, but your teammate.

That meant at least a significant part of his reason might be directed at him personally. The doll assessed internally.

But the moment Yuan Mo finished speaking, his body involuntarily shivered, and his gaze instantly shifted to the magician-the killing intent seemed to intensify.

Zhang Mimi didn’t grasp the underlying meaning of the words. He was simply puzzled when he heard that this temporary teammate wanted to place trust: “How old are you?”

“Thirty-six.”

Zhang Mimi: “…”

Zhang Mimi replied perfunctorily, “Oh, big brother, you know what? You’re already our teammate. You can see our location on the map, right? That’s proof.”

“It’s not quite the same.” Yuan Mo shook his head, crumpling the paper in his hand before quickly releasing it.

Zhang Mimi: “?”

“Your purpose,” the doll said, looking up from the map as the two fell silent.

His bright red eyes were half-lidded, casting a shadow over his gaze that made him seem a bit somber. “Why join the seventh faction, and why do you want to be my teammate?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “And just a heads-up, I can tell if you’re lying.”

“Don’t try to lie to test me. Once you lie, I won’t trust you again.”

Yuan Mo unconsciously shifted back a bit, frowning. “I hardly ever lie.”

“But the reason I joined you…” Yuan Mo hesitated, then looked at the doll and the magician, his eyes gradually heating up. “I want to draw you!”

“…?”

The magician immediately spoke, his tone chilling. “What did you say?”

Yuan Mo, confused, repeated, “I want to draw the doll…”

The magician interrupted with a smile, “Young master, did you see that? A corpse is talking.”

Yuan Mo: “Huh?”

The doll sighed, glancing at the paper and pen in Yuan Mo’s hands. “Are you an artist?”

Yuan Mo was taken aback, rubbing the pen between his hands. “An artist? Not really… I just draw online to make some money…”

“And, well,” Yuan Mo’s eyes shone as he looked at the doll, “I really like dolls. I have a lot of them myself, but you’re the most exquisite and beautiful one I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s because you’re alive.”

“Just looking at you gives me so much inspiration.” As he spoke, Yuan Mo’s words tumbled out rapidly. “Especially when you’re with that bandage-wrapped person… I can imagine so many scenes!”

The doll: “…”

The magician’s mood slightly improved. “Hmm… what kind of scenes?”

Yuan Mo grew excited, his smile exaggerated, eyes trembling with excitement, making him look somewhat eerie. “Darkness! Master and servant! Forbidden love, mystery, rebellion…”

“Stop.” Luo Yiran interrupted sternly-some strange words seemed to have slipped in.

Yuan Mo halted immediately, shrinking back. “I’m telling the truth…”

“Yes, but there’s another reason,” the doll said, expressionless.

Yuan Mo was quiet for a moment, then scratched his head. “Joining your faction doesn’t require submitting anything… Little Red, she wants me to draw her a picture. I met her in a previous instance, but I can’t draw it, I have no inspiration.”

The doll, not understanding art, didn’t comment, simply gesturing for him to continue.

Yuan Mo had to gather his thoughts. “There’s one more thing.”

He looked at Zhang Mimi.

Zhang Mimi seemed to realize that Yuan Mo’s joining the faction was secondary; the main goal was to connect with the doll. He frowned. “Show your loyalty, why are you looking at me?”

Yuan Mo shrank back, sighed, then pointed at Zhang Mimi. “It’s like this, everyone with a brain will gradually forget me.”

“Forgetfulness and neglect depend on how well they know me. I’ve met and spoken with Zhang Mimi once or twice, but it’s been less than a month, and he’s already completely forgotten me.”

“……”

Zhang Mimi was stunned, then widened his eyes. “Impossible, if I spoke to you or met you within a month, I wouldn’t forget you.” Especially someone so peculiar!

Yuan Mo nervously rubbed his hands. “It’s not your problem, it’s mine. I have the ability to make people not remember me well, to easily overlook and forget me.”

He spread out the painting beside him for the doll and the others to see. “The only consolation is that my drawings aren’t affected.”

The doll’s gaze fell on the painting, depicting the scene in the swamp where he and the magician stood. Even as a rough sketch, the image was striking, mysterious, and filled with fantasy.

It was well-drawn… But was this how outsiders perceived him and the puppet?

However.

“You mostly showcase your art in reality, right? Even if your drawings in the game are affected, it shouldn’t matter.”

Yuan Mo stiffened. “No… What I mean is, even in reality, I’m being strangely forgotten.”

Both of them paused, and the magician chuckled softly.

“It’s not too severe yet, but I am indeed being forgotten. My neighbor even jokes about how my presence seems to be fading; sometimes he forgets what I look like.”

“It’s as if anything I do goes unnoticed, and people tend to forget things that don’t leave a strong impression,” Yuan Mo bit his nail, puzzled. “But I’m not a special species, and I haven’t used any strange items.”

Zhang Mimi felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively glanced at the other player present.

Luo Yiran remained expressionless.

The eerie feeling vanished instantly as Zhang Mimi waved a hand in front of him. “Doll?”

Luo Yiran’s face showed little change, but his gaze on Yuan Mo was somewhat dangerous. “So why are you looking for me?”

Yuan Mo silently retreated a bit before speaking again. “As far as I know, no one can completely remember everything about me. The most common reaction is, ‘There seems to be such a person,’ but what I’ve done or what I look like gradually fades from memory. But I don’t want to be forgotten. If no one in the world remembers me, living or dying would make no difference.”

“Then I started wondering if the game has set something on me, and the human brain responds with a ‘no need to remember’ feedback…”

The doll understood, and his expression cracked.

Sensing the doll’s anger, Yuan Mo retreated further, adopting a defensive stance as he cautiously asked, “Doll, you don’t have a brain, right?”

Zhang Mimi: “…Pfft.”

Central lobby.

Those who noticed the doll’s display panel fell silent, especially Tian Tang and the others.

“…Is this the game invading reality?” Tian Tang was dumbfounded.

“Not quite. If the game were invading reality, it wouldn’t just be him. Even if others were involved, it wouldn’t be right. For now, we can only say there’s a slight interaction between the game and reality.”

“If it’s an invasion, it would mean entities from the game entering reality,” Wei Lianlian remarked calmly. “This situation has been around from the start.”

“Exactly,” Fang Jincheng nodded. “For instance, players who die in the game have their existence erased in reality. This is the game’s impact on reality.”

Just like he remembered his friends Li Zhi and Qing, but in reality, Li Zhi and Qing’s families-those ordinary people who didn’t participate in the game-had already forgotten Li Zhi and Qing, as if they had never lived or been part of their families.

Wei Lianlian crossed her arms, maintaining a calm demeanor. “But right now, we can’t even tell people in the real world about what’s happening in the game.”

“So if the game really intends to invade reality, this rule might need to be broken first,” Guan Cheng suggested.

Tian Tang swung her legs. “Exactly. My brother has always tried to tell people in the real world about the game, but he’s never succeeded.”

Wei Lianlian glanced at her.

Tian Tang seemed lost in thought. “He must be watching the live broadcast too. Now he’ll be even more determined to tell people in the real world.”

Fang Jincheng asked, “Why?”

“He’s a police officer,” Tian Tang tilted her head. “World Human can affect reality, even erase someone’s existence easily. It’s very dangerous, so my brother wants to see if there’s a way to do something about it.”

The mention of a police officer made everyone pause.

Tian Tang chuckled at their reaction. “Don’t worry, because of his role as a police officer in reality, the game’s restrictions on him are very strict. Once he leaves the game, he can’t remember the names and faces of people in it. He has to return to the game to recall them… huh?”

Tian Tang was taken aback, lifting her head. “Isn’t Yuan Mo quite similar to my brother?”

Both involve forgetting-one forgets others, while the other is forgotten by others.

“Then let’s see if Yuan Mo has some special aspect in reality or if there’s something else about him,” Wei Lianlian said softly. “Or maybe he inadvertently did something in the game, leading to this rule being set for him.”

Guan Cheng chuckled casually, “Like accidentally uncovering the secrets of World Human without realizing it…”

The three of them fell silent.

Guan Cheng looked puzzled. “…?!”