PTYS Chapter 50

Two people quickly browsed through the text, feeling a bit at a loss for words when they saw it.

“Huh, it’s quite meticulous,” Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but mock. The names they didn’t know were replaced with asterisks. But what did the question mark next to the number of people mean?

They continued reading, and a symbol similar to an input marker skipped a few lines, finally revealing a line of text.

Xiao Jiao: A little girl who loves dolls, formerly an orphan at Ren’ai Orphanage, can sing “Caged Bird,” not human. Simple, loves to cry, loves to laugh.

After a blank space, another line appeared.

There are vengeful spirits in the orphanage, and eight ghost dolls will choose players to participate in the “Caged Bird” game. Players who fail will become dolls.

Both of their expressions changed after reading this. It mentioned that those who fail the game would become dolls, so was Jia Wenlong doomed?

At the same time, their panels each displayed a silent notification. Xiao Muyu saw that the system displayed:

Player Xiao Muyu discovered a major secret: Cute child Xiao Jiao is actually a ghost! Earned 5 points!

Player Xiao Muyu discovered the ghost doll event and the game “Caged Bird,” earning 10 points!

Main mission progress: 10%;

Xiao Muyu frowned at her panel. Over there, Shen Qingqiu said in a low voice, “How’s your progress? How many points do you have?”

Xiao Muyu displayed her interface for Shen Qingqiu to see. Shen Qingqiu was slightly stunned, then understood, saying, “So it’s calculated separately for each of us. We investigated similar content. What you have, I also have, but I didn’t get points for discovering Xiao Jiao is a ghost. I have points for the ghost dolls and the ‘Caged Bird’ game.”

Xiao Muyu thought for a moment, “So, as long as we know the key storyline, it will display on this paper, but the points depend on individual contributions.

You were confused by the singing and didn’t see Xiao Jiao when the game started, so if I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t know about it.

Now that I’ve told you, you know, so it shows up, but there’s no points. The ghost doll part wasn’t something I told you, so you still get points, right?”

Shen Qingqiu stared at her, smiling, which made Xiao Muyu a bit uncomfortable. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Shen Qingqiu lay back with a smile, propping her right cheek with her hand in a very seductive manner. “I can’t help but think, how are you so smart?”

Her posture and demeanor were extremely alluring, yet inexplicably charming. Xiao Muyu, not wanting to look at her, stared at the ceiling and said, “You knowing I guessed right means you’ve already confirmed the answer. Why praise me? You might as well praise yourself.”

Shen Qingqiu laughed, glanced at her panel, and said with a smile, “Because I got 12 points.”

This statement was somewhat puzzling, but Xiao Muyu quickly understood, turning to look at her, “Your content is more than mine?”

“See, isn’t that smart? Although I got two more points, it still seems to be key clues. We can see if you can activate it when we have lunch tomorrow.”

She looked at Xiao Muyu’s panel and points, then saw that she herself had an extra piece of content, confirming the scoring and exploration rules. However, Xiao Muyu deduced the answer immediately based on the shared content and point difference, showing her extraordinary perceptiveness.

Shen Qingqiu hadn’t told Xiao Muyu her discovery because if she did, Xiao Muyu would lose those two points. Since it wasn’t urgent, she decided to give a hint and let Xiao Muyu find it herself.

Xiao Muyu understood her intention. Lying in bed, she murmured, “The orphanage isn’t small, and the character storylines are obviously more complex. If we don’t cooperate, we’ll miss a lot. Or if we share blindly without understanding the rules, it might backfire.”

“So, let’s make everything clear first thing in the morning.”

“Yeah, it’s too late now, let’s sleep.” Xiao Muyu reached out to turn off the lantern, and the remaining bit of light suddenly vanished, plunging the room into darkness.

Despite just experiencing a bizarre and terrifying game, and feeling that she might be next, Shen Qingqiu was still calm.

The person next to her, whose outline she couldn’t even see clearly, had become a subconscious source of comfort.

This made Shen Qingqiu feel a bit lost. This wasn’t right, she shouldn’t truly immerse herself in the game.

With these chaotic thoughts, the two of them fell asleep, and the latter half of the night was uneventful.

But early in the morning, everyone was awakened by a man’s terrified and panicked scream.

“Ah!”

Xiao Muyu’s eyes snapped open, and after exchanging a glance with Shen Qingqiu, they quickly threw off their covers, grabbed their clothes, and rushed out the door.

There was no need to identify the source of the sound. They headed straight to the second room on their right, which was Jia Wenlong’s room.

Soon, everyone else came running from their rooms to find Hou Liang kneeling on the ground, staring at the bed with an expression of fear and anger.

The corner of the quilt on the bed was lifted, and the mattress was slightly raised, but the shape was not that of an adult man lying down.

Xiao Muyu was about to step forward, but Shen Qingqiu pulled her back and quickly lifted the quilt, pulling Xiao Muyu back two steps.

“Ah—” Behind them, there was a gasp of shock followed by the sound of someone drawing a sharp breath. Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu frowned at what they saw.

On the bed lay not Jia Wenlong, but a doll. Unlike the female dolls they had seen before, this one had short hair and was wearing an eye patch, clearly a one-eyed boy doll. The doll was dressed in the clothes Jia Wenlong had worn yesterday.

Shen Qingqiu examined the doll and saw that the bloody handprint on its right shoulder had turned black. She said in a low voice, “It should be Jia Wenlong. He’s really become a doll.”

“Damn it, what a garbage game. It’s outrageous, just taking lives like this. Why, why?!”

Hou Liang covered his face, shouting hysterically. A grown man was actually in tears.

**Xiao Muyu’s expression was slightly complicated as she looked at the other bed beside Jia Wenlong’s. “Did you come back last night?”

Hou Liang glanced at her, his expression far from good. With red-rimmed eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, “He was already so pitiful. Leaving him alone in the room to wait… to wait for death was too cruel. I thought about it for a long time and came back.”

Thinking of Jia Wenlong’s unbelievable state last night and the scene of him choking up and repeatedly saying thank you before bed, Hou Liang felt a pang of heartache.

“When I woke up this morning, I felt something was off with his bed. When I lifted the cover, I found… I found he had turned into a doll.” Hou Liang couldn’t continue, burying his head in his hands.

Shen Qingqiu looked at Hou Liang with some surprise. Everyone knew there was something strange about Jia Wenlong last night, but she hadn’t expected this ordinary-looking man to brave his fear and stay with him out of camaraderie.

Not only Shen Qingqiu, but Zhang Yangfeng and the others were also taken aback.

Xiao Muyu’s sharp eyes noticed a card under the pillow at Hou Liang’s bedside. She picked it up and was stunned when she saw it.

“What’s that?” Hu Shun and Huang Junfeng noticed it too, their hearts skipping a beat. So Hou Liang came back for this…

Xiao Muyu glanced at the two, then at Hou Liang, who seemed unaware of her discovery.

Xiao Muyu walked over, handed him the card, and patted his shoulder. “This should be from him.”

Hou Liang looked at the card in Xiao Muyu’s hand and was stunned. After a moment, he turned to look at the doll on the bed, tears streaming down his face. Clutching the ink line tool card from Jia Wenlong, his shoulders shook silently.

Everyone fell silent, their feelings a mix of sorrow, astonishment, and admiration, leaving them with a complex, indescribable emotion.

After a long while, everyone left, leaving Hou Liang alone in the room.

Outside, Shen Qingqiu clicked her tongue. “I didn’t expect those two to have such a bond. Hou Liang’s courage and loyalty to stay with Jia Wenlong are remarkable.

But Jia Wenlong giving his tool to Hou Liang in advance shows he knew he couldn’t escape. People are kind at the end of their lives. These two are quite special.”

Xiao Muyu looked back, listening to Shen Qingqiu’s words, and said blandly, “The world is full of indifferent people, especially in this game. Many couldn’t care less unless it concerns them, and some are selfish and harmful. It’s not surprising to occasionally find a few who have a bit of humanity.”

Her tone was strange, a mix of melancholy and coldness, reminding Shen Qingqiu of what she said in the Renpi Mountain Villa dungeon and her claim to be cold-hearted.

Watching her for a long time, Shen Qingqiu quickened her pace and sidled up to her. “Do you think I have any humanity?”

Xiao Muyu glanced at her, then indifferently looked ahead. “I don’t know about humanity, but the fox scent is undeniable.”

Shen Qingqiu was stunned by her words, blinking before bursting into laughter. “Are you saying I’m seductive?”

Just then, Zhang Yangfeng and Yang Rui, preparing to go downstairs, exchanged awkward glances.

Shen Qingqiu’s smile disappeared, replaced by a cold, aloof look. She glanced at them before heading downstairs with an air of indifference.

Yang Rui couldn’t help but whisper, “Those two really have double faces.”

Thinking of Xiao Muyu, who bravely fought the ghost last night, Yang Rui admired her despite her expressionless face.

Downstairs, Xiao Muyu glanced at the duty room on the first floor. Through the window’s crack, she saw it was empty; Old Sang must have gone out.

The rain that stopped last night had started again, drizzling softly. It seemed like the next few days would be rainy.

It was now seven o’clock, and they could hear the noise from the third floor—children waking up.

The group tacitly agreed not to disturb the children on the third floor and instead gathered in the lobby after composing themselves.

Shen Qingqiu leaned back in her chair, clearly not planning to speak first. Considering the time, Xiao Muyu got straight to the point. “Everyone should have a rough understanding of the current situation. The task has been assigned, and each of you should know your progress.

One thing to note: based on our observations, points and exploration progress are directly related. However, it doesn’t mean that the first person to discover something prevents others from earning points. Therefore, don’t be overly guarded against others.

Unless absolutely necessary, don’t share your discoveries casually. If you find out from someone else rather than discovering it yourself, your progress will increase but not your points. You should understand what I mean.”

Everyone’s expressions changed subtly. So that’s how it was. Clearing the dungeon required 70 points. Knowing secrets was important, but points were equally crucial.

“Are you sure?” Liu Pei, who had been silent, suddenly spoke from the corner.

“Yes.”

“What’s your reasoning?”

Before Xiao Muyu could answer, Shen Qingqiu interjected cheekily, “Because I’m her teammate, so I can see her control panel. She told us something, and I didn’t get points. It should be the same for you. Plus, I discovered something you all haven’t. If you don’t believe me, I can tell you right now?”

Author’s Note: Xiao Shen got teased again, haha. Double-standard protective Shen is online.

To outsiders, she’s as ruthless as the autumn wind sweeping away leaves; to her wife, she’s dutiful and takes the teasing in stride.

Current Xiao Muyu: No humanity, all fox scent.

Future Xiao Muyu: You smell nice.