Doll Survival Game

There was a subtle feeling that something was off.

Feng Bai frowned, casting a suspicious glance at the doll and the magician. However, he couldn’t discern anything unusual, and he was in a hurry to find players for his experiments. So, Feng Bai turned and left, but not before giving the magician a look-impressive that the doll didn’t seek revenge even after the magician was freed from its control.

Was it charisma? No, it wasn’t charisma. It was more like… compatibility. After all, they were both somewhat unconventional.

As Feng Bai departed, the magician was once again under the doll’s control, swiftly moving to stand before it. Lifting the doll, the magician observed the missing right arm. “The spirit serpent can’t heal something without flesh and blood.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the doll replied, directing the magician to place it on his shoulder. They quickly moved in the opposite direction of Feng Bai’s departure.

“If it really came down to a fight, the young master might not lose,” the magician’s voice was indistinct in the wind.

The doll, perched on the magician’s shoulder, scrolled through group messages with his left hand, showing none of the awkwardness he’d displayed earlier in front of Feng Bai. “The moment he saw me, he appeared by my side. It was teleportation.”

Luo Yiran showed no sadness over losing an arm. “Since the arm and horn were taken, fighting would just waste time. Better to send him away.”

The doll glanced at the magician’s profile. “Anyway, it’s good that you’re still here.”

No matter how much he considered temporarily giving up the treasure, the puppet was indispensable-too convenient to let go.

The magician made a peculiar sound, then cheerfully said, “Young master, you sure know how to sweet-talk.”

Luo Yiran: “…?”

The night wind tousled the doll’s hair, revealing a scar on his forehead from where the horn had been installed. But Luo Yiran paid it no mind, scrolling through group messages. He saw that those with free time were asking about his health bar and the treasure.

After some thought, Luo Yiran typed: [I’ve lost my right arm, and my health bar might not recover. But it won’t have much impact; I can use my left hand just fine.]

Finally, someone replied, and Lin Ye, who had been lurking, immediately chimed in: [How did you run into Feng Bai? And he’s in this instance too?] Feng Bai hadn’t appeared in any live broadcasts, but Lin Ye had briefly encountered him in another instance.

The system had already announced that the unicorn’s horn was taken by Feng Bai, so Lin Ye didn’t ask about that.

[He seemed to have come specifically for this.]

Luo Yiran briefly explained why Feng Bai had sought him out.

Via appeared: […What can I say, this guy’s pretty unlucky, haha!]

Duan Miaomiao asked in confusion: [So what about our plan? Who do I give the werewolf’s tooth to?]

[If I’d known, I wouldn’t have grabbed the treasure, sob sob. Now I have to give it away.]

Lin Ye: [It’s better to have it. At least they’re all in one place, making it easier to retrieve later. Plus, the game just started today, and it feels like the bosses’ abilities are suppressed. It might get harder to take treasures from them as time goes on.]

[But the problem now is that Feng Bai’s unexpected arrival disrupted our plan.] In a part of the no lord’s territory, Lin Ye sighed from her perch in a tree.

[It’s okay.] Luo Yiran lowered his eyes, then heard a child’s voice behind him, shouting his name loudly and angrily. The doll raised an eyebrow-quite fast indeed.

His fingers tapped on the holographic display: [We’ll split up to reclaim the treasures when the time comes.]

Wang Xiaoming and Feng Bai, players from Faction No. 1 and Faction No. 4, belonged to bosses who hadn’t lost their treasures. They wouldn’t flaunt their success in front of bosses who had lost theirs, so it was unlikely the treasures would end up back with the bosses.

As long as they didn’t present the treasures to the original bosses, the treasures should remain secure, allowing them to reclaim them later.

Initially, Wang Xiaoming was chosen to safeguard the treasures because they had a grudge against the hunter.

But now, with the troublesome Feng Bai in the mix…

The doll pondered deeply-did Feng Bai really despise him now?

Perhaps this could be used to their advantage?

The others also heard Feng Bai’s outburst. Lin Ye sighed again on the other end and sent a message: “Everyone, stay safe, and don’t stray too far from each other. Also, try to avoid the nearby boss territories, especially Luo Yiran and Via.”

Via didn’t respond, but Li Qi Feng replied on his behalf, “He just had a forced confrontation.”

The doll squinted at seeing his name alongside Via’s. He was silent for a moment-since when had he been on the same level as Via in this regard?

Never mind.

Luo Yiran replied in the group with a blank expression, then exited to check the map, focusing on one spot-if Feng Bai was looking for him… it was best to go there.

“Young master.”

Noticing the doll had finished the conversation, the magician spoke softly, “I suddenly feel like you’re testing me, young master.”

Luo Yiran knew what the magician meant. He paused, causing the magician’s body to sway slightly.

“Seems I guessed right,” the magician’s voice carried a light chuckle, but his emotions fluctuated significantly from the previous moment.

The trees loomed larger, then receded as they moved forward, the wind generated by their advance brushing past, creating a pleasant sensation.

The doll spoke softly, “I can’t understand why you saved me.”

“But that doesn’t matter,” Luo Yiran’s voice was icy, “The source isn’t important, but the result that affects me is.”

“I need to confirm whether you’re genuinely protecting me, caring for me-not because of my manipulation or threats, but from your own volition.”

The doll calmly articulated his thoughts, “Distracting Feng Bai was one reason, testing you was another. As you said, if it came to a fight, I might not lose, so if you exposed my lie, the consequence would merely be a confrontation with Feng Bai.”

“…”

How to put it?

The magician looked ahead-he wasn’t surprised by what the doll said.

But.

“Young master, you’re truly cold,” the magician’s voice shifted from aggrieved to sinister, “Toying with me like this, I might just retaliate.”

“Kill me?” the doll’s voice grew cheerful, “I suddenly believe you love me, while also hating me enough to want to kill me.”

Perhaps, to the magician, he only evoked two extreme emotions.

Because the occasional murderous intent was real, loving him… well, nine times out of ten, that was true too.

“After all, I can never feel bored or annoyed with you,” the magician said with a low laugh, “I can’t harbor any of those emotions towards you.”

“But young master, does possessiveness count as an emotion?” the magician asked, gazing towards the horizon.

At the break of dawn, Xia Lang and Via were the first to reunite. Via lunged forward, embracing Xia Lang, his blood-stained face rubbing against Xia’s clothes: “Yo! First one I see is Xia Lang! Not bad at all.”

Luckily, Xia Lang wasn’t very clean himself, so he just let Via hug him: “Isn’t Li Qi Feng brother with you?”

Via stepped back a bit, pleased, and said, “Call him uncle, otherwise our seniority gets messed up.”

Xia Lang acknowledged with an “Oh.”

Via continued, “Uncle just got spotted so he went off to fight. It hasn’t been easy for him, this night he’s been spotted three times already.”

“After the treasure was sent out, we’ve had fewer people troubling us,” Xia Lang observed the map, noting that it only showed tracking blips without revealing who they belonged to.

Via wasn’t looking at the map; he was checking group messages: “Haha! Miaomiao hasn’t even sent out the werewolf’s teeth yet!”

“Must hurt to pull out teeth, huh? Should we call her Miaomiao-Jie?” Xia Lang said earnestly, then with a troubled expression, he added, “Which one is Ranran?”

He couldn’t find him.

Via paused, then looked at Xia Lang.

Xia’s clothes were torn and tattered due to a previous encounter with a serpent man.

His body was also covered in blood, but most of it was concentrated on his hands, as if he had cleanly and decisively killed someone from behind, causing the blood to splatter only there.

“Xia Lang,” Via called out.

Xia Lang looked up: “What is it?”

Via’s smile was faint: “Could it be that you, too, are enjoying the act of killing?”

Xia Lang’s pupils trembled: “…What?”

“No, no!” he started to panic: “I’m actually afraid of killing…”

“Hey…” Via reached out, brushing the hair from Xia Lang’s forehead, looking directly into his eyes: “But your eyes are full of excitement.”

Xia Lang suddenly fell backwards, gasping: “No, I… I really am scared.”

Via raised an eyebrow, his curly grey-white hair softly hanging in front of his forehead, he realized something: “Could this have something to do with Luo Yiran?”

Xia Lang’s breathing hitched, and then as if on reflex, he blurted out: “He allowed it!”

After saying this, Xia Lang’s expression changed, he timidly lowered his head: “…But I really didn’t enjoy killing.”

I see. Via squatted down and patted his head: “Got it.”

A tired feeling.

Xia Lang’s vision blurred, his eyes warming up-he really didn’t enjoy… the act of killing. His excitement was from feeling helpful.

It had always been Ranran helping him, and being able to help Ranran… just the thought of it made him happy.

Everyone has secrets, and Via often received negative feedback from others for being offensive and tactless.

But that was intentional; he didn’t need others to like him, though he wouldn’t use his skills against his teammates.

Via stood up, his gaze fixed on the faint gray light at the horizon, a telltale sign of dawn approaching. Ahead of the forest, a thick fog began to rise. Comparing it to the map, he realized the fog was emanating from the unicorn’s territory.

And on the map, a tracking blip had just entered the unicorn’s territory-one of their teammates.

Watching the blip cross into the territory, Via let out a sharp whistle. “Xia Lang, how about a little bet?”

Xia Lang looked up. “Huh?”

Via grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I bet the teammate who just entered the unicorn’s territory is Ranran. You bet it’s not.”

“Betting’s not a good habit,” Xia Lang muttered, lowering his head. Earlier, while dodging enemies, their teammates had scattered, some ending up near the edges of other bosses’ territories. Lin Ye had only reminded them to be careful before falling silent again.

In this no lord’s territory, the nearby bosses’ territories included the serpent man, the unicorn, and Little Red.

Comparatively, the unicorn seemed the least hostile, so Xia Lang had previously lingered near its borders.

But now, as they were regrouping, someone had ventured into the unicorn’s territory.

Why?

The answer was obvious-someone was being hunted.

The doll darted into the thick fog, his face devoid of emotion. Behind him, hastily laid silver threads were being ripped apart one by one by Feng Bai.

“Doll! I’m going to tear you to pieces!”

The childish voice screamed with raw fury, but the doll, feeling a twinge of pity, glanced back briefly and gave a thumbs-up, his tone sincere. “Good luck with that.”

“But-”

Controlling the magician’s body, the doll suddenly veered sharply to the right, narrowly avoiding a blue robot that had emerged from the fog. His smile remained innocent, almost childlike. “You might want to deal with the unicorn’s ‘curse’ first.”

Feng Bai froze in place, his advance halted. His eyes widened in confusion as countless mechanical chains surged toward him from the fog. For a moment, his expression was blank-what on earth was this?