Doll Survival Game - Chapter 83 - Fairy Tale Forest (Part 20)

The blood slowly seeped through the magician’s bandages.

Luo Yiran had seen this scene before.

The magician had broken the rules.

The reason… it was probably what the magician had mentioned earlier: he couldn’t directly intervene to help. Yet, the current situation clearly showed that the magician had taken action on his own.

But why?

The doll couldn’t understand. He stared at the magician, who seemed to be in a precarious state, feeling that if he didn’t do something, the magician might take further action.

What should he do? The doll’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, masking the light in his eyes.

Oh right, the magician had said to control him.

Controlling him was something he could do.

Luo Yiran raised his hand slightly, the connection through his index finger felt incredibly real. The fierce aura around the magician suddenly subsided, and the doll could feel the magician’s gaze fixed intently on him, scrutinizing him from head to toe. “It’s really fortunate that the young master is a doll.”

The doll immediately looked at the green liquid on the ground.

“That’s a poison targeting creatures with flesh and blood. The young master need not worry,” the magician said, still scrutinizing him. When his gaze fell on the doll’s lips, he seemed to think of something and chuckled, “Young master, I truly dislike it when I can’t see you.”

There was a subtle feeling, but before the doll could ponder it further, Little Red spoke up with disdain, “Ugh, so gross.”

The doll controlled the magician to place him back on his shoulder. He quickly scanned the surroundings-Wang Xiaoming was nowhere to be seen, and he wondered which direction the magician’s suitcase was in.

Little Red, seeing the two ignoring her, hugged the blood-stained rabbit head tightly and pouted, “What are you looking for? That guy ran off the moment things looked bad…”

“Young master, I suggest we leave. She’s waiting for the Demon to arrive,” the magician said openly, without lowering his voice, right in front of Little Red.

The doll glanced at the rabbit head, “Alright.”

Little Red was taken aback, then stomped her foot in place, “That’s so mean!!”

The magician looked at her, “Then you can try to stop us.”

Little Red: “…Hmph!!!”

Luo Yiran controlled the magician to turn and leave, his fingertips manipulating the silver thread with a sense of vigilance, but Little Red indeed made no move to stop them.

The doll paused, then glanced sideways at the magician, “What did you do to her?”

The magician thought for a moment, then replied with a tone full of amusement, “She’s just a brat, needed a bit of discipline.”

“Oh.” The doll’s gaze fell on the magician’s face, where the bandages were heavily stained with blood. After a few steps back into the no lord’s territory, the doll suddenly asked, “How’s the wound? Do you have spare bandages?”

The magician paused, suddenly feeling a desire to meet the Demon, because he couldn’t tell if the doll’s words were sincere or a façade.

Hearing no reply, the doll prompted, “Puppet?”

The magician looked in a direction, “The suitcase is that way… but most of it contains clothes prepared for the young master.”

The doll: “That’s not what I asked.”

“…No. But my bandages are quite special,” the magician said, the bandages on his face smoothing out, as if he was a bit helpless, “They’re meant for healing.”

The sky darkened, and the already dim forest became pitch black, but fortunately, the moonlight was strong enough.

The blue countdown above had ended, and only two players were eliminated for not joining a faction.

At the same time, new rules appeared.

“The rules are too long, I don’t feel like reading them,” Via said nonchalantly. “Anyway, we just fight when we get a battle notification, right?”

Lin Ye, who was communicating with the doll, quickly turned back. “I’ll explain it to you later.”

Via protested, “Hey-”

“You have to listen,” Lin Ye insisted, turning back again. His wings were now retracted, but his clothes were torn at the back, so he wore a small black cape.

The cape’s collar had an adorable embroidery of a rabbit holding a heart.

…It was borrowed from Duan Miaomiao.

“Is there anything else besides that poison?”

Having been subtly educated since their reunion during the day, the doll felt relieved that Lin Ye finally started paying attention to what he had encountered. “No, I just passed through the edge of Little Red’s territory. After escaping from that flower, I left quickly.”

He didn’t mention what the magician had done for him, and no one questioned the blood seeping from the magician’s bandages.

“Being able to escape is good enough,” Lin Ye said, resting his hand on his chin. He looked at everyone; it was too dark to see clearly, but they chose not to light a fire for fear of attracting other players’ attention.

He suggested to the doll, “Just a suggestion. From now on, I think we shouldn’t spread out too much.”

They now had four treasures, making them prime targets.

It was even possible that other players might team up to seize them.

“But even so, it will be quite difficult to guard these, especially since today is only the first day,” the doll suddenly said. When Lin Ye looked over, he flashed a very pleased smile. “So I have a proposal.”

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow slightly. “…What a coincidence, I have an idea too.”

…

“What are they talking about? Their voices suddenly got quieter,” Via said, shaking his leg as he watched Lin Ye and the doll conversing in the distance.

Li Qi Feng seemed to catch a bit of it, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Nothing, just some mischievous ideas.”

Via was taken aback, then crossed his legs, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. “Uncle, did you get along with your former teammates like this too?”

“Not quite, since that wasn’t in a game,” Li Qi Feng replied, standing up and ruffling Via’s hair with some force. “And our team didn’t have any strange people.”

Plus, the level of trust was different.

Strange people. Via chuckled. “Didn’t your team have strange people too, Uncle…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. “Are you guys done talking?”

Lin Ye and the doll walked over, and Via noticed the doll glancing at Xia Lang, who was still asleep.

Yuan Mo seemed to be paying attention to the doll as well, so almost the moment the doll looked over, he said, “The spirit serpent inside him has already reached the end of its lifespan… so he should wake up soon.”

The serpent man’s poison primarily affected the brain, and Xia Lang had also been bitten several times, which slowed things down considerably.

The doll smiled. “Hmm.”

“Let’s discuss the rules first,” Lin Ye continued after the doll, glancing at Via. “We need to understand the rules.”

“Okay~” Via replied, dragging out his words.

Duan Miaomiao examined the rules carefully. “It’s basically about sight. If you see another player, it automatically triggers a challenge.”

“But it’s one-sided,” Lin Ye crouched down nearby. “This rule is unfair; it favors the one who sees the other first.”

Zhang Mimi opened the screen to check the rules, squinting his eyes. “Let me give an example, Lin Ye, see if I got this right.”

“For instance, if Via isn’t my teammate and he’s fifty meters away, and I happen to spot him from a high place, the battle begins. This counts as me initiating the challenge… and if I defeat him, I get ten minutes of safe time. During this period, whether I see other players or they see me, no further battles occur, right?”

“Correct,” Lin Ye replied, giving Via a meaningful look.

Via protested, “I’m just too lazy to read, not that I don’t understand! I’m smart, okay!!” Besides, as long as you win, the rules don’t matter, right?

“And how does the player being seen know they’ve been challenged?” Via asked.

“The rules don’t say,” the doll paused, then smiled. “But there will be a notification, don’t worry.”

Via nodded, “That’s fine then.”

Yuan Mo raised his hand, a habit of his to avoid startling others due to his low presence. He asked the doll, “How do you know?”

“Oh, that,” the doll replied nonchalantly. “Because someone saw me. I guess we were all seen, but I was the first.”

“So the system notified me of the challenge.”

Everyone fell silent.

Zhang Mimi’s expression was hard to describe. “Doll, I’ll give you a fortune-changing talisman after this instance, free of charge.”

Fortune-changing talisman? The doll remembered something and pulled out a yellow talisman from his fabric bag. “Lin Ye gave me this, and I haven’t used it yet.”

Via, with sharp eyes, exclaimed, “I used mine. If not for it, I’d have lost both arms.”

The doll calmly handed the talisman over, and the magician caught it, placing it on Xia Lang. “Xia Lang needs it more.”

“Such camaraderie,” Duan Miaomiao clasped her face, blinking her eyes. “But doll, do you remember being targeted?”

“Yes,” the doll pointed to a spot. “I’ll head over there. Lin Ye, please tell everyone what we discussed.”

Lin Ye made an okay gesture. “Don’t go too far. The rules limit us to one-on-one, so it doesn’t matter much.”

“Got it,” the doll’s mood visibly dropped, his expression turning wooden.

Zhang Mimi found it odd. “Are you scared? It can’t be that bad.”

Luo Yiran pointed to his own lifeless face. “Does this look like fear to you?”

Duan Miaomiao laughed. “That’s the face of someone about to lose something precious.”

“Exactly. Because I said if I kill someone, I’d have to go vegetarian for a week,” the doll sighed. “So this game’s rule is really annoying.”

“What’s that supposed to-haha… huh?” Via’s laughter halted as he looked around, his smile fading. “I’ve been challenged.”

Li Qi Feng patted Via. “Stay safe, and remember, this time I’m not covering your back…”

He stopped mid-sentence, scratching his head helplessly. “I’ve been challenged too.”

Zhang Mimi was about to offer comfort when his expression changed. “…I’ve been challenged as well.”

Duan Miaomiao quickly covered Xia Lang with the invisibility cloth, hiding in the grass under a tree, her voice full of spirit. “Lin Ye, Yuan Mo, and I will be cheering for you!”

Lin Ye’s gaze was serious. “I’ve been challenged too.”

Yuan Mo raised his hand in confusion. “Me too…”

Duan Miaomiao was bewildered. “…???”

The doll walked away, his voice carrying a clear hint of amusement. “Looks like we’ve all been targeted, probably surrounded.”

No one seemed too worried. Zhang Mimi even rotated his arms, speaking lightly. “Miaomiao, you’re the only one left.”

Duan Miaomiao’s half-face peeked through the grass. “What’s with that ‘you’re next’ tone?!”

The doll maneuvered his puppet onto a tree root, hearing the unnatural wind approaching. He turned back with a smile. “I’m off.”

“Be back in a minute.”

A minute was more than enough.