Doll Survival Game

The magician wasn’t lying, so the skin beneath the bandage continued to crack, and blood kept flowing out.

He had only been to the real world once, not because he didn’t want to go again, but because he couldn’t easily leave that place before.

During that one visit, he didn’t pay much attention to Xia Lang; instead, he focused more on Luo Yiran.

When they select players, they leave a mark. After that, when the game starts, 2657 will follow the mark to find these potential players.

However, this mark doesn’t last forever, as some selected players die before the game begins, and those who end up in prison need to be excluded.

Excluding those who end up in prison is a preference of 2657.

2657 has many bodies, so he can select many people at once. He particularly likes those who have killed unintentionally, those forced to kill, those who killed in defiance of oppression… In short, he likes those who didn’t kill out of malice, so he selected quite a few of this type before and after the game started.

Sometimes, though, he also chooses those with extreme malice as a sort of balance. After all, differences among players make the game interesting.

But regardless of the reason, a killer is still a killer. Perhaps in a world like the game, where life is not respected, players might change.

After all, the line between good and evil becomes even more blurred for players.

…

In short, the selection of players is very subjective.

Besides the boss’s curiosity about the real world, there’s also the need for player diversity. 2657 often lends the pass to the boss.

However, few of the players selected in the past appear in the game now. Most are selected before and after the game starts.

The place where the magician was trapped is somewhere 2657 can enter and exit relatively easily. During an unexpected appearance, when the magician had a chance to leave, 2657 lent him the pass.

When he first arrived in the real world, the magician didn’t plan to select players. At that time, there was no notification about when “World Human” would officially start, and no one could predict what would happen to the selected players in the future, so the magician didn’t intend to waste his efforts.

He casually wandered around the real world, flying from one place to another, and didn’t find the real world as interesting as 2657 had described.

Then he saw Xia Lang and Luo Yiran.

He witnessed everything that happened to the two kids.

He watched everything unfold indifferently, and finally judged that only Xia Lang met the conditions to become a player. The magician, thinking of returning the favor for borrowing the pass from 2657, casually chose Xia Lang.

But at that time, the magician thought Xia Lang wouldn’t become a player; he thought Xia Lang would die before the game started.

…

Feeling the sudden change in the aura around the doll, the magician’s body trembled slightly, and he couldn’t help but laugh, “Are you angry, young master?”

“So happy.” Pain radiated from every part of his body, the blood soaking the bandage completely red, leaving no trace of white.

Yet the magician felt an odd sense of satisfaction, his voice sickly and sticky, “Even if it’s just anger… I only want your emotions, young master, emotions shown only to me, directed solely at me.”

Even knowing that to Luo Yiran, Xia Lang wasn’t particularly important, still-

He envied him.

And took pleasure in having casually selected Xia Lang back then, after all, seeing Xia Lang suffer wasn’t bad either.

“I am indeed angry.” The doll pressed a hand against the magician’s mouth, blood staining his hand, Luo Yiran frowned as he watched the magician’s hand fail to cover his mouth, “Can you stop laughing? It’ll attract the players.”

The magician choked, “…”

“And,” the doll’s face was dark, his tone dissatisfied, “When I can control you, your body belongs to me, why are you ruining it?”

“…”

Belonging to the doll.

Truly happy yet angry.

But-

“I said it on purpose,” the magician whispered, “Young master, do you know why?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know,” the doll tugged at the magician’s gray hair, the blood-soaked bandage making the magician look even more terrifying, but the doll wasn’t scared. He even nonchalantly wiped the blood from his hand onto the magician’s hair, “When warned, stop talking. I don’t want a puppet wrapped in filthy bandages.”

The magician was at a loss, after a moment he said, feeling conflicted, “…Oh.”

Central lobby.

Since the magician moved independently during the day, players watching Luo Yiran’s display panel in the lobby had been silent.

It was pure, overwhelming power, instantly severing all the trees in that area, causing the display panels of players in that area to light up, drawing considerable attention.

Even Little Red was forced back, but then the magician’s actions became even more terrifying.

“If Wang Xiaoming had left a minute later, he would have been snapped like those trees,” Tian Tang asserted, her gaze fervent as she looked at the magician wielding a giant scythe, “He’s so much like the Grim Reaper.”

Grim Reaper…

Indeed, he seemed like one.

The bandage-covered appearance was monstrous enough, and holding the scythe, it felt like he might burst through the screen at any moment to harvest lives.

Fang Jincheng crossed his arms, watching the magician kill Little Red repeatedly. Perhaps because they were both bosses, and Little Red was in a task, she revived almost instantly after being killed.

Then was killed again.

He said, “Isn’t the fact that the magician can move independently more terrifying?”

“No restrictions?” Fang Jincheng squinted slightly, “Why would such a powerful boss become a puppet’s puppet? And even as a puppet, there’s no limitation on his mobility.”

“Maybe the magician’s independent action is the limitation,” Wei Lianlian frowned slightly, “Controlling a powerful being with self-awareness is a double-edged sword. If it gets out of control, the doll is done for… That’s what I initially thought.”

“But it seems the rules directly restrict the magician from harming the doll.”

“There’s no need for the magician to retaliate. Once people get used to the magician’s power, they’ll rely more on controlling him,” Guan Cheng pondered, “Then, at some dangerous moment, when he can’t be controlled, if the magician does nothing, the controller is finished.”

“But the point is, the magician is now controlling his own body to save the doll, right?” Tian Tang pointed out, “If that’s possible, this puppet magician is too overpowered, completely unfair!”

“And the doll himself, even when losing limbs, doesn’t seem to feel anything… Oh no, even now, besides fire, I don’t know what other ways he can die.”

“Unless,” Wei Lianlian thought of something, “When forgetting or unable to control, which is supposedly when the magician can act independently, there’s no rule preventing him from killing the doll, he just doesn’t want to…”

Wei Lianlian felt something odd as she spoke, so she stopped.

“It’s not entirely impossible,” Fang Jincheng glanced at the display panels of Lin Ye and the others. “If Lin Ye and the others can’t see the doll’s location, it might mean that the doll inside the corpse flower is in a shielded state, which would also mean the magician can’t be controlled.”

“So, the magician is rescuing the doll on his own.”

“…But why?”

Why indeed?

After this question was raised, the four of them watched as the magician rescued the doll, and then they heard Little Red shout that line.

“……”

Guan Cheng’s hand trembled. “It shouldn’t be…”

“It shouldn’t be…”

Tian Tang’s pupils quivered. “Does a boss falling for a doll count as an interspecies romance?”

That’s not the point!

The doll is essentially a player, and the magician is essentially a boss. Players and bosses are supposed to be enemies.

Wei Lianlian calmly stated, “Even if it is love, a boss’s love is twisted. He might kill the doll out of love in the next second.”

“After all, bosses aren’t human.”

Tian Tang shrugged. “Whatever, I just want to see a fight.”

She then watched as Lin Ye and the others were about to catch the doll. “Luo Yiran probably won’t fight for now, unless other players come after them.”

“But,” Tian Tang’s face remained expressionless, “given the strength of the players in Faction No. 7, there aren’t many left who can fight.”

Wei Lianlian warned, “Better safe than sorry. Some players are already gathering to ambush them tonight.”

Tian Tang looked over, watching those players plan their night-time ambush. Since battles are mandatory at night, they don’t have to worry about the doll and the others running away.

“Overthinking it,” Tian Tang scoffed, then waved her hand. “I’ll wait to watch the ambush tonight. For now, I’m going to sleep. In reality, I’ve already stayed up until dawn, right?”

Wei Lianlian, not feeling sleepy, replied, “Go ahead and sleep.”

Tian Tang snuggled up to her, pouting, “Then wake me up when the fight starts, Master~”

Wei Lianlian stiffened, then looked away. “…Got it.”

Tian Tang leaned comfortably against Wei Lianlian’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

Fang Jincheng glanced over, then turned to watch the display panels of Lin Ye and the doll merge. After a moment, a smile tugged at his lips. “Feels kind of satisfying.”

“I get it,” Guan Cheng stifled a laugh. “Luo Yiran’s expression of not wanting to hear a lecture but obediently staying to listen… it’s actually quite funny.”

“That’s how it is in a team,” Wei Lianlian didn’t laugh. She recalled past experiences of teaming up, and her expression grew somber. “It’s terrifying.”

“……”

……

When Tian Tang was woken up, she was met with Wei Lianlian’s cool face. She blinked in confusion, then hugged Wei Lianlian’s arm, her voice hoarse, “Master~”

Wei Lianlian’s arm moved slightly. “Sorry, I called you a bit late.”

Huh? What does that mean?

Tian Tang instinctively looked at the doll’s display panel. She stared for a moment, sensing something was off.

Guan Cheng helpfully reminded, “There’s no sound at all now. His display panel has been muted. He must be saying something we’re not supposed to hear.”

“A familiar scene…” Tian Tang stretched lazily. “But what do you mean by late?”

Wei Lianlian nodded slightly. “Take a look at Zhang Mimi.”

Tian Tang’s gaze shifted-

Zhang Mimi? Oh, the Shamate with abilities similar to mine…

“……Huh?”

“Where’s the flower on the vine monster above his head?”