P.S. There’s a deeper reason why ML is the way he is, and that is one of the big reveals of this novel. The relationship between MC and ML does take longer than most novels to progress but soon you will see that they are the kind of couple who are willing to die for each other again and again. It’s really true love, I promise! ❤

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Although Xiao Tangqiu was brimming with curiosity, he could only silently swallow his questions back down his throat when he heard this. His teammates’ goodwill towards them was at an all time low, so he couldn’t afford to offend them.

Behind the wall was a shadowy space, without any light – deep and dark. At first glance, it reminded him of Shen Yuan, who was just as dark and bottomless, which made the heart tremble.

“Let’s go in.”

After Shen Yuan said this, he took the lead in walking towards the space behind the wall. Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian looked at each other and followed behind with fear and excitement.

Xiao Tangqiu had just passed through the “door” on the wall when he smelled a strange, unpleasant smell. There had obviously been no airflow for too long, so the air inside was stale and suffocating.

“Cough, cough!” Tang Mianmian choked on the musty air, coughing repeatedly. He quickly put his hand over his mouth and nose. “What’s with this smell…… It’s terrible!”

Xiao Tangqiu pinched his nose while he shone the flashlight with his other hand. The space behind the wall wasn’t large; it was narrow and messy. In the middle was an old wooden table, which looked like a workbench because there were many tools – various scissors, needles, wood chips, cloth, as well as several half-finished puppets.

The floor behind the worktable was filled with all kinds of puppets, some of which were only half finished, but there were also some finished ones. The puppets varied in size, ranging from palm-sized dolls to half the height of a person and even dolls as tall as a person.

Tang Mianmian was amazed by this sight. “It seems that Lippinobert really has a doll fetish. With so many dolls and puppets, this old uncle must have a little girl’s heart!”

Some of these dolls had really crude workmanship, while others were quite delicately made, especially the wooden puppets lying in the corner that were as tall as a person. At first glance, their facial features were lifelike, just like a human being’s. However, before he could make any obscene associations, his expression drastically changed. “Fuck! That puppet just moved! “

“Where?” Xiao Tangqiu immediately followed Tang Mianmian’s line of sight and as expected, saw a strange puppet in the corner.

The puppet slowly crawled out from under the pile of puppets. Its hair was long and untidy, spreading like tangled weeds, and its dress was tattered, like a rag doll that had been discarded a long time ago.

But its facial features were lifelike, so real that it looked terrifying. Under the illumination of the flashlight, it slowly crawled forwards on all fours, coldly staring at the foreign intruders who had broken into its secret chamber. Its eyes revealed an icy bitterness and hatred.

Compared with Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian, Shen Yuan and his team were much calmer. They were just as calm as they had been a moment ago, as if nothing had happened. Shen Yuan’s expression hadn’t even changed a bit. He looked at the puppet that was twisted and crawling, and said lightly, “That isn’t a puppet.”

Not a puppet?

Xiao Tangqiu looked perplexed. He stared at that unknown object and examined it carefully and soon found what was different about that “puppet” – it didn’t have any of those movable joints, only smooth and complete skin that stretched continuously.

“Is that a person then?” Frightened, he blurted out his question subconsciously, but then realized that something wasn’t right about that statement either. The secret chamber had obviously been sealed for a long time, and there wasn’t any other secret passageway. How could a living person live in a sealed chamber that had nothing? Even if it was a horror story, it would at the very least conform to that basic logic.

While Xiao Tangqiu remained distracted, that monster had crawled towards them, apparently ready to launch an attack. The next moment, Windbreaker Man pulled out a yellow talisman from his pocket, stuck it onto his scalpel, and threw the scalpel at the monster’s face.

This scene was really quite contradictory. Windbreaker Man was wearing a white windbreaker and gold-rimmed glasses so his entire being gave off the noble air of superiority. If he had taken out a black card from his pocket, it would still look normal, but it just so happened that he took out a yellow talisman instead…..

Xiao Tangqiu looked at Windbreaker Man’s series of actions with an astonished look, and then quickly turned to look at the monster. The scalpel was embedded right in the middle of the monster’s forehead, and then…. that was it…….

The monster wasn’t affected by the scalpel at all, and continued to rush towards them. The scalpel hadn’t caused any wounds; not even a drop of blood flowed out. Neither was the yellow talisman of any use. It stuck firmly to the monster’s forehead, but it wasn’t bothered by it.

It was rather awkward……

However, Windbreaker Man merely arched an eyebrow, as if it wasn’t at all surprising. He lifted his glasses and turned to Shen Yuan, “It doesn’t seem to be a ghost.”

Not a puppet, not a ghost, then what was that thing?!

Xiao Tangqiu was about to speak out when he found that the monster had rushed towards him first. Facts had long proved that not only human beings bullied on the weak. He jumped in shock and immediately turned to hide to the side. But who knew that this monster had set its sight on him? Clearly, there were many people beside him, but he just happened to be the one that the monster was set upon. Very quickly, it turned and lunged towards him!

He dodged awkwardly a few times and was about to breathe a sigh of relief because he found that although the monster looked strange and horrible, its movements weren’t too fast. However, in the next second, the monster’s face suddenly zoomed in!

The monster stood still all of a sudden. It looked at Xiao Tangqiu with a bitter gaze. At that moment, its long dark hair floated into the air, dancing and fluttering wildly. Then, it turned into a flock of black birds!

It laughed coldly, and in an instant, the flock of black birds rushed towards Xiao Tangqiu. Their sharp beaks and claws gleamed with a cold light, as they violently pecked at him. Xiao Tangqiu desperately waved his flashlight to drive the birds away but they weren’t at all like the birds in the real world. They weren’t afraid of people and didn’t flee when attacked. Instead, the more he fought them, the more courageous these birds got. It seemed like they wouldn’t stop unless Xiao Tangqiu was dead.

“Qiuqiu! I’ll save you!”

Tang Mianmian gnashed his teeth, grabbed the big scissors on the workbench and rushed into battle. He shook his arm madly and swung the big scissors, almost turning them into windmills with his rapid movement.

Yet, even if the birds were hurt by the scissors, they still refused to leave, and became even more fierce. Soon, Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian had more bloody cuts on their bodies and their clothes were torn off in several parts.

Seeing that the birds were attacking more and more ferociously, Xiao Tangqiu knew that this wasn’t working. Although a bird had low combat efficacy and couldn’t compare to a human being, when so many birds launched a group attack together, they would eventually pin him and Tang Mianmian to the ground. They must turn the tide!

To win a war, one had to overthrow the Emperor! They had to throw caution to the wind!

After making up his mind, he covered his face with his hand and waved a flashlight at the monster. Perhaps by a stroke of luck, he really actually managed to throw the monster to the ground on his first try.

But when Xiao Tangqiu tackled the monster, he was immediately besieged by more frantic birds. The black birds crowded around him like a hornet’s nest, their sharp beaks pecking at him crazily. He endured severe pain all over his body and grabbed the monster’s neck.

Despite knowing that this might be futile, he had no other choice but to do so. The harder the birds pecked at him, the harder he squeezed.

As he strangled the monster, he realized that there was something off about it. This monster was clearly not a living thing, but the skin under his touch had the unique temperature of the living and the monster seemed to be breathing!

Before Xiao Tangqiu could recover from his shock, the monster, that had its neck tightly choked by him, suddenly gave a shrill and ugly scream, and struggled violently at the same time. He subconsciously grabbed onto something. And under its fierce struggle, he had somehow managed to smash that thing down onto it.

“Ahhh!” The monster instantly issued an even more ear-piercing scream. Xiao Tangqiu  instinctively covered his ears and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, the monster had disappeared.

Xiao Tangqiu looked at the place where the monster had been and turned around to look at those birds. Sure enough, the black birds had also disappeared. They left no trace behind, not even part of a feather.

Tang Mianmian was still frantically swinging his scissors with his eyes closed. Xiao Tangqiu stopped him at once. “Stop! It’s gone! The birds are gone!”

Tang Mianmian waved his arm a few more times due to inertia, then stopped and opened his eyes. “Huh? They’re gone?”

“They’re all gone!” Xiao Tangqiu breathed a sigh of relief, revealing the relaxed smile of a survivor, but after glancing at Shen Yuan and the others from the corner of his eye, he tensed up again.

Earlier when he and Tang Mianmian were in that bitter fight – one that actually threatened their lives – no one else had stepped out to help them. He knew logically that this was normal. In the real world, there wouldn’t necessarily be anyone to help them, much less in this crisis-ridden world of horror games. No one had the obligation to help him or to save him…… Although he knew that very well, he still found it somewhat difficult to emotionally accept the fact.

Compared with Xiao Tangqiu, Tang Mianmian obviously wasn’t thinking so much. He let out a heavy sigh of relief and sat down on the floor, his face filled with horror. “That nearly scared me to death! I almost thought that this was the end!”

Xiao Tangqiu was silent for a moment, only giving a wry smile. He suddenly realized that he wasn’t lost because Shen Yuan and his team hadn’t rescued him. Because he was the same as Tang Mianmian; they both knew that they weren’t Shen Yuan’s proper teammates and weren’t worthy of their rescue. In fact, there was only one person’s disregard that he couldn’t let go of………

But why couldn’’t he let go?

Shen Yuan only looked like Meng Xinghe. He wasn’t Meng Xinghe. If it had been Meng Xinghe who abandoned him, then it was fine if he felt hurt, kept those feelings inside or even found it impossible to let go. But Shen Yuan wasn’t Meng Xinghe…..

He wasn’t Meng Xinghe.

Xiao Tangqiu reminded himself in his heart once more.