Doll Survival Game

[Xia Lang can win.]

High up on a tree branch, Xia Lang half-closed his eyes as he read the message on the holographic display, with the serpent man lying on top of him. The serpent-like slender tongue touched his cheek, greedily whispering, “Don’t run.”

His voice was like sand grinding yet rhythmically strange.

Intense pain spread from his back, a result of being dragged earlier. Xia Lang paid it no mind, his eyes slowly widening as he stared at the words on the display.

“Serpent man.”

Surprisingly, there was no fear in Xia Lang’s voice. “Have you ever felt ‘trust’?”

The serpent man remained silent, opening his mouth wide to reveal his sharpest fangs as venom dripped onto the tree-perhaps this time injecting more, not letting the delicious prey escape…

“You surely haven’t,” Xia Lang said again, his eyelids covering the gleam in his eyes as he gently raised his hand. “You’ve never felt trust that feels almost like a threat.”

Xia Lang can win.

He couldn’t win; before Luo Yiran spoke those words, he felt he could die at any moment at the hands of the serpent man.

But now he must win.

Luo Yiran’s given trust, the spoken words, he had to bear them, not wanting them to become a lie.

It was a wonderfully terrifying threat.

But he liked this threat, like a line that couldn’t be cut, forcefully, firmly anchoring him to this world.

For someone who always sought permission before acting, this was happiness.

So, he had to do it. Xia Lang’s hand moved to his waist.

A sound like a hand plunging into snow suddenly echoed.

The serpent man’s pupils dilated slightly as he looked down to see the blade slipping through the gap between Xia Lang’s arm and body, then tenderly piercing into him.

There was no murderous intent… not even a hint of negative emotion in the attack, so it was hard to detect.

The pain made the serpent man’s tail curl, but in the next moment, the tail swung towards Xia Lang.

Xia Lang could only step back slightly, then the tail touched his body, and he reflexively raised the blade, stabbing into the serpent tail.

“Hiss-” the serpent man cried out in pain.

The blade stuck in the serpent tail prevented Xia Lang from being thrown off. His eyes were calm-he was very clear-headed about the vital points of a serpent, and of a human.

But his hands were shaking, as if he could barely hold onto the knife.

The serpent tail thrashed, and Xia Lang was finally thrown off, landing heavily on the ground. But he didn’t stop; instead, he ripped off his clothing and used a cloth strip to tie his hand to the knife handle.

Throughout this, his gaze remained fixed on the serpent man, eyeing him as if appraising a lifeless stone.

He feared killing, feared blood because life was too precious yet so fragile, and the bad could easily snatch it away.

But why, despite his fear, did he always imagine-how to kill it fastest whenever he saw a living being?

He was truly afraid of hurting others.

The serpent man grew furious, the green scales on his body darkening to nearly black, and his face became more serpent-like.

“Unforgivable!”

With a whooshing sound, the serpent tail lashed down from the tree.

Xia Lang gripped his knife tightly, his gaze fixed intently on the serpent man’s tail.

“Xia Lang-”

Via’s voice suddenly came from behind, causing Xia Lang to shudder.

“Xia Lang-duck-” Via continued without pause.

Instinctively, Xia Lang ducked, and then he heard a whooshing sound, followed by what seemed like the clanging of iron against iron coming from ahead.

…and the relentless crackling continued.

“…”

That was the sound of bullets colliding with the serpent man’s scales… right?

Xia Lang’s pupils trembled as he clung to himself in panic, not daring to lift his head. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he could feel the bullets as if they were grazing his scalp-What should he do now? Could he move? Or should he stay still?

Help!

“Get over here!” Via couldn’t contain himself and yelled again. Amid the gunfire, his voice was somewhat faint, but Xia Lang still heard it. He had completely lost his earlier composure and was utterly panicked-Go over there? How? Could the gunfire hit him?

The recoil of the gun was strong, but Via’s hands and body showed no tremor. He looked at Xia Lang in front of him: “Just don’t block the serpent man, and you can come over however you want! I won’t hit you!”

Although it was rare, he had also provided cover for Li Qi Feng. He was always the one to charge into battle, not because he couldn’t do anything else, but because Li Qi Feng was simply better.

The sound of gunfire was comforting to him, especially when moving with Li Qi Feng. As long as there was gunfire, he knew Li Qi Feng was there to protect him, and he could step into dangerous territories ahead.

But.

Via watched Xia Lang, who still kept his head down, afraid to move.

Xia Lang was different from him; their environments were different. To Xia Lang, the sound of gunfire was probably just dangerous and terrifying, and moreover, he wasn’t someone Xia Lang trusted.

So, for whatever reason, Xia Lang was afraid to stand and come over.

He might worry about getting hit by accident.

Via gritted his teeth, then he prepared to switch firearms and move forward to retrieve Xia Lang-mainly because the gun, although an item, had more bullets than a normal firearm, but it could also run out.

He had to rescue Xia Lang before the bullets were gone.

His fingers relaxed slightly, and the bullets paused for a moment, less than a second.

Via’s eyes widened slightly as he watched ahead, and then his body reflexively tightened its grip on the gun handle again.

The bullets couldn’t severely damage the serpent man’s enhanced scales, but they were useful in stopping its advance.

Via’s lips curled into a smile as he watched Xia Lang’s expression filled with utter panic, as if he was charging towards death. The broad grin on his round face suddenly became wildly uninhibited: “What are you afraid of! If I harm a hair on you, I’ll cut off my own limbs!”

No, no, no! Tears streamed down Xia Lang’s face-Please, just don’t jinx it!!!

The serpent man itself planned to retreat and hide behind a tree for cover. Although several bullets hitting the same spot were needed to break its scales, it was painful, and once the scales were broken, the next bullet hitting that spot would wound its flesh.

But then, its delicious prey had fled.

The serpent man almost instantly realized this, and it thought to hide behind its food, since that person wouldn’t kill the food, hiding behind it might be safe…

The bullets ran out for a moment, and then, in the next instant, a bullet headed straight for its eye. The serpent man quickly shut his eyes, scales covering his eyelids.

“Ha ha ha!” Via held his gun aloft and laughed wildly, his gray curly hair shaking madly: “Trying to hide behind Xia Lang, do you think you can make it?”

Hide behind him? Xia Lang shivered, then quickly moved his feet, praying silently in his heart-God help us… I hope Via isn’t jinxing us!

As he reached Via’s side, Xia Lang collapsed to the ground, with Via accidentally bumping his shin: “Why are you sitting down? Let’s go, we need to lure this thing to the valley.”

Xia Lang paused, hearing the loud gunfire around him, then looked up at Via after a brief silence: “No, I want to kill him here.”

Via stopped what he was doing and stared incredulously as the serpent man hid behind a tree: “What did you say?”

Xia Lang thought for a moment, then found an excuse: “The situation in the valley is evenly matched right now. If the serpent man goes there, it could disrupt the balance…”

Via frowned: “If we don’t disrupt the balance, we can’t make our move.”

Xia Lang’s pupils quivered slightly, then his gaze unconsciously shifted downward to the right, following this trajectory to the map on the holographic display. He paused, then pointed at the map: “That Faction No. 2 player near Ranran is heading to the valley. She must be strong if she can leave from Ranran’s area. Let her disrupt it? Plus, she will definitely target Wang Xiaoming!”

Because the werewolf’s teeth are with Wang Xiaoming.

“That’s not the point!” Via threw up his hands: “The point is, can you kill the serpent man?”

“I can.” Xia Lang’s voice was soft but resolute as he looked back at Via: “Help me.”

“…”

Facing Xia Lang’s unwavering eyes, Via’s mouth twitched-teammates, they can really be a handful!

Via switched weapons, then he handed Xia Lang an item from his second slot: “I’ll cover you.”

He said it casually, but Via’s expression was particularly grim. Xia Lang shrank his shoulders weakly and defended himself: “Anyway, according to our plan, we have to kill the serpent man…”

Via smiled: “Oh.”

But the plan never said they had to face it alone!

Navigating through the obstacle-filled forest, if an ordinary person were watching, they might only see a blur.

The doll had released the magician, and now the magician was moving forward on his own.

As the magician put it, it was a return favor.

Luo Yiran’s body wasn’t human, so the raging wind couldn’t alter his face, nor could it force his eyes shut, only making it easier for him to be blown away.

Securing himself firmly onto the magician, Luo Yiran glanced at the triangular spike secretly fastened at the magician’s waist: “Is this any good?”

“The weapons on that woman are all quite decent,” the magician cheerfully said. “But a weapon is only as strong as its user. A powerful user makes the weapon even more powerful.”

“But I am pleased that the young master gave me a gift.”

The doll didn’t catch the magician’s last words; instead, he was caught up in the first part-the weapons are decent?

That’s impressive, considering she has a lot of weapons on her… That woman seems to be called something, I’ve seen it on the average score ranking, but I can’t quite remember her name.

Her ranking isn’t high, probably one of those who just focuses on passing through.

But her expression was quite twisted when she left, definitely vowing revenge, yet still choosing to quickly move away with the weapons… it indicates the werewolf is in a dangerous situation.

“Young master, we are approaching the place you mentioned.”

As the magician’s unique voice fell, the doll looked at the map, then slightly raised his eyebrows: “That was quick.”

The magician, standing tall at 1.9 meters, landed on a tree branch without making a sound. He looked at a spot where the night’s darkness was pierced by light and smiled, asking, “Shall we go straight there?”

The doll looked down at the silver thread on his finger, then raised his head with a smile: “Yes, let’s go directly. That will really surprise her.”

The magician’s mouth curved in a smile.

As the doll’s voice fell, the scenery around them rapidly receded, and in an instant, the moonlight fell on the two of them, leaving the dark forest behind.

The magician lightly stopped in this open space, Luo Yiran’s smile unchanged as he stared directly ahead at the girl in red standing on the shaggy monster, still unresponsive, as dozens of newly woven silver threads with a fine whistling sound headed towards her.

The doll’s lips parted, his eyes and brows curved-

“Surprise~”