PTYS Chapter 63

Xiao Muyu’s heart was racing. She had always thought that she was indifferent to the life and death of others. Her past experiences had taught her that excessive emotions were just a human’s way of seeking trouble. Whatever you care about, once you lose it, the more it will hurt. It was better to be a cold-hearted person.

However, after entering the game instance, Xiao Muyu found that she couldn’t truly follow through on this belief. Especially when it came to Shen Qingqiu, this woman seemed to constantly dance on her nerves.

Now, not only was she worried about Shen Qingqiu, but seeing living people sentenced to death also made her feel uncomfortable.

Even though Liu Pei and Hou Liang were not close to her, she felt inexplicably uneasy. They were actually innocent, and this increased her dislike for the system.

When the answers were revealed and Hou Liang and Liu Pei saw the big red X’s, their emotions collapsed. They opened their eyes wide, their expressions uncontrollable. “Impossible, how could it be wrong? Are we the only ones who got it wrong?”

Liu Pei’s eyes widened in horror. The giant dolls all stared at him and Hou Liang with an undisguised expression, like a cat toying with a mouse.

“What happens if we get it wrong? Will we be made into dolls?”

Hou Liang’s face was filled with fear, his trembling voice full of despair. He retreated in panic, stumbling to the ground.

Although Shen Qingqiu and her group answered correctly, they felt no relief. They watched Hou Liang and Liu Pei, without sympathy, only sadness and fear, unsure of what would happen next.

“Make into dolls, make into dolls.” Among the eight dolls, Xiao Yi and Xiao San were the happiest. They stared at Hou Liang and Liu Pei, chanting incessantly.

Xiao Muyu noticed that Xiao Yi and Xiao San were linked to Hou Liang and Liu Pei, but she wasn’t sure how exactly.

At this moment, Xiao Yi grinned, its doll lips tightening slightly due to the smile. Xiao Muyu noticed a detail: the dolls had fair skin, but the area around Xiao Yi’s lips was slightly different in color, as if worn from constant rubbing. It wasn’t obvious unless viewed from a certain angle under the light.

Among the eight dolls, Xiao Si had plump upper lips, reminding Xiao Muyu of a joke they made when trying to match the dolls. Someone had said Liu Pei might correspond to Xiao Si because he had plump lips. Could it be that Liu Pei chose Xiao Si?

But the current scene didn’t allow Xiao Muyu much time to think. Under the pressure, Hou Liang and Liu Pei had reached their breaking point. Hou Liang took out the ink marker given by Jia Wenlong, and Liu Pei held up an eight-trigram mirror.

“I will not be turned into a doll. I will destroy you first!”

Liu Pei shouted through gritted teeth, raising the mirror towards Xiao San. The doll’s large figure appeared fully in the eight-trigram mirror.

Xiao San screamed, covering its face with chubby hands, and toppled forward like a small hill, crashing heavily.

Shen Qingqiu moved quickly, sliding out of the chaos caused by the dolls. Zhang Yangfeng and the others, fearing they would be caught up, also scrambled to avoid them.

After Xiao San fell, Xiao Yi became furious. It screamed, its doll face twisted, and it stood up, holding a large pair of scissors that appeared out of nowhere.

“I will cut you all into pieces and sew you into dolls!”

Hou Liang, unable to move quickly, dodged Xiao San’s grasping hands, but then saw Xiao Yi’s large scissors coming at his head.

He swung the ink marker, sending a line of ink towards Xiao Yi’s neck, while his left hand pulled out a talisman and slapped it onto Xiao Yi’s arm.

Xiao Yi, afraid of the ink line, had to dodge, but the talisman stuck to its arm exploded, blowing its left hand into pieces, sending fragments flying everywhere, looking both strange and disgusting.

“Ah!” Xiao Yi screamed like a child gone mad, its voice so loud that the entire room shook. Yang Rui almost fell, nearly being hit by the doll.

Zhang Yangfeng pulled her away, dodging the chaos.

Xiao Yi and Xiao San’s predicament angered the other dolls. They all moved, and soon the eight dolls were acting in the bathroom, leaving Shen Qingqiu and her group nowhere to escape.

“They’re not obeying the rules, kill them all! They’re not obeying the rules, kill them all!”

Xiao Qi muttered, starting to look for targets. Shen Qingqiu, who had been watching it closely, snorted coldly.

“As expected, they’re trying to break the rules and find scapegoats.” Shen Qingqiu pushed Xiao Muyu behind her. She saw that not only Xiao Qi but also Xiao Er, who corresponded to her, were searching in the chaos.

“Don’t hide, our priority is to escape. The game should end and let us go, but these dolls are so vicious they don’t plan on letting us go. We need to strike first while they’re distracted!”

Xiao Muyu realized the dolls’ intentions and shouted. The game rules stated that the losers must die, so they needed to deal with Hou Liang and Liu Pei first. This meant that until they were dealt with, the dolls couldn’t harm them, otherwise the rules would be meaningless.

It sounded cruel, but it was a fact they couldn’t change. Using them as distractions was their only chance.

Sure enough, after Xiao Muyu spoke, Xiao Qi turned to her but didn’t attack.

Right now, the dolls were following the game rules, hunting the two who failed.

Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu knew that Hou Liang and Liu Pei had almost no chance of survival.

Although this was still a B-level instance, at certain moments players were powerless against the ghosts. For example, when the game required them to close their eyes, Xiao Muyu’s vision was completely blocked.

Similarly, when six people were forced into the game, Xiao Qi threw Xiao Muyu out while Shen Qingqiu couldn’t move.

But as long as it didn’t involve fundamental principles, players had a lot of initiative. Unless they touched the death conditions, the system wouldn’t interfere.

Shen Qingqiu could hit Xiao Qi’s head and it couldn’t fix her, just as Xiao Wu could only break Shen Qingqiu’s arm because her right arm was already broken upon entering the instance. Anything beyond that had to be done through skill.

After thinking through these things, Xiao Muyu realized her guesses were subjective and lacked evidence, but she felt an inexplicable familiarity with these settings, even though she had no memory of seeing them before.

This sudden doubt made Xiao Muyu uneasy, and her words stirred up turmoil in Yang Rui and the others. They watched the chaotic scene, hesitating about whether to act.

They weren’t facing humans but ghosts. If they provoked them, even if they won the game, the ghost dolls would retaliate.

A piercing scream drew everyone’s attention—it was Hou Liang. He had used up all the items accumulated in two game instances. Already hindered in movement, he was now held by dolls Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu, unable to resist.

Xiao Yi, with one arm cut off by Hou Liang, was filled with hatred. Its large scissors opened, and like cutting a rag doll, it severed Hou Liang’s left hand, bones and all.

The scene was gruesome. Hou Liang twisted and screamed in pain, but this torture had no end. Xiao Yi giggled, attaching Hou Liang’s arm to its own body before dismembering him completely.

The smell of blood filled the air, and the survivors watched in horror, trembling uncontrollably. Yang Rui turned her head away, pale and covering her mouth.

Hou Liang’s brutal death drove Liu Pei to desperation. He ran towards Shen Qingqiu, screaming, “Save me, save me, I don’t want to die!”

Xiao San, whose face now looked charred from Liu Pei’s attack, was terrifying, with molten liquid dripping from its face. It quickly moved behind Liu Pei, grabbing his neck tightly.

Liu Pei’s face turned red, his eyes bulging. The sound of his neck being strained and torn was audible, and blood began to seep from the wounds.

Shen Qingqiu’s expression changed—they were getting excited by the killing!

Xiao Muyu had already squeezed to the door in the chaos, but it was locked tight. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn’t open. “The door won’t open! We can’t get out!” she shouted.

Shen Qingqiu glanced back at Xiao Muyu, seeing Liu Pei about to be finished off and Xiao Qi eyeing Xiao Muyu.

She grabbed the collar of her coat with her left hand and tore it off, buttons flying everywhere. The quiet snap was almost lost in the chaos, but it signaled a different kind of fight.

Xiao Muyu kept an eye on Shen Qingqiu, worried about her. She saw Shen Qingqiu quickly remove her left sleeve, wrap the coat around her body, and secure her right hand.

This series of actions was so smooth it only took seconds, impressing Yang Rui and the others. Xiao Muyu’s heart skipped a beat—what was this lunatic going to do now?

With her right hand fixed, Shen Qingqiu stepped forward, jumped onto the edge of the sink, and leaped onto the doll Xiao San, which was still pulling at Liu Pei.

The doll’s body was more elastic than expected. Shen Qingqiu bent her body, and instead of attacking Xiao San, she used it as a springboard to leap towards Xiao Qi, who had turned towards Xiao Muyu.

Her eyes were cold. “Do you think you can take her as a substitute without knowing your own strength?”

Before Xiao Qi could react, Shen Qingqiu’s dagger slashed across its neck.

Her dagger, made of special materials, was designed to kill ghosts. Even with her left hand, she didn’t falter. Using the momentum from her fall, the dagger sliced through Xiao Qi’s neck.

From Xiao Qi’s perspective, Xiao Muyu suddenly spun, and its view turned upside down.

At the same time, Xiao San tore off Liu Pei’s head.

Yang Rui, Zhang Yangfeng, and Huang Junfeng were horrified. On one side, their teammate Liu Pei was gruesomely killed. On the other, Shen Qingqiu had decapitated Xiao Qi with a single stroke. Their already fantastical world had crumbled further.

The two-meter-tall doll and Shen Qingqiu, with her broken arm, fell. Xiao Muyu cursed, “Lunatic!” She rushed past another doll to catch Shen Qingqiu, protecting her right arm.

Though Shen Qingqiu was slender, she was still heavy, and falling from such a height had a significant impact. Xiao Muyu was knocked to the ground, her injured back aching. She groaned, her body stiffening.

Shen Qingqiu was initially pleased Xiao Muyu caught her, but hearing her groan, she immediately stopped smiling and sat up, supporting herself with her left hand.

Learning her lesson, Xiao Muyu let go after catching her and pushed her away, as if touching something dirty.

“Are you okay?” Shen Qingqiu, understanding her thoughts, wanted to laugh but asked softly.

“Think about whether you’re okay,” Xiao Muyu replied, eyeing the dolls still watching Shen Qingqiu. She held a ready lantern in her hand.

Xiao Qi, now decapitated, fell heavily. Its head rolled to Xiao Er’s feet.

The remaining dolls screamed in fear, shrinking down to ordinary doll size like deflated balloons.

Shen Qingqiu tightened her grip on the dagger. “The game is over. The losers have been dealt with. If you try anything else, your fate will be worse than Xiao Qi’s.

“To the one who broke my arm, I’ll assume it was meant to be. But if you try to mimic Xiao Qi, I’ll tear you apart just like those two.”

Yang Rui, Zhang Yangfeng, and Huang Junfeng, clutching their items, were equally resolute, glaring at the remaining dolls. The dolls, silent, faced off against the humans.

Xiao Muyu, managing her pain, said, “You were originally the dolls of those eight children, corrupted by their resentment. But your actions today go beyond that. I suggest you figure out who your real enemies are. Those eight are the ones you should be dealing with. Let us go.”

Upon hearing Xiao Muyu’s words, Xiao Er’s expression shifted multiple times before it finally moved its head slightly, causing the bathroom door to suddenly open.

Light streamed in from outside, but it was still the dim, gloomy light of a rainy afternoon, offering little hope and instead adding a somber tone to the scene.

Cautiously, the five survivors stepped out of the blood-soaked room, leaving Hou Liang and Liu Pei lying silently inside. The door closed slowly behind them, with Shen Qingqiu being the last to leave. She felt a gaze on her back, prompting her to turn around. Xiao Er’s eyes were fixed on her, a faint smile on its lips. At the same time, Shen Qingqiu noticed that the decapitated Xiao Qi had risen, its head replaced with Liu Pei’s, slowly turning to look outside.

Bang, the door shut. Even Shen Qingqiu, who was usually unafraid of ghosts, felt her heart race at this eerie sight, shivering involuntarily.

“What’s wrong?” someone asked.

Shen Qingqiu hesitated before whispering, “Liu Pei… his head was taken by Xiao Qi.”

Zhang Yangfeng and the others turned pale again, their newly regained composure shattered by this grotesque revelation. It was all too horrific.

The author has a note: Xiao Xiao, having been teased by Xiao Shen for holding on too tightly in the last instance, now pushes her away immediately after catching her.

The relationship between the two develops from curiosity to suspicion, then admiration, and finally to a sense of familiar affection before they fall for each other. However, falling in love inside these instances is hardly ideal—perhaps they should wait until they’re out?

Xiao Shen: Every instance has only one goal—to catch ghosts for my wife.

Acknowledgments: Ling Ling Qixian, Qing Banxia, Lu Wugui (2 each); 50280159, Ziyu, L, Bai Fan Liang Wan, Hua, MineAgaki (1 each).