Ren Yifei was embarrassed for a second, but then he found a new way to understand: Saman really knows how to do business.
In just a few days, despite being geographically separated by vast distances and not even knowing each other in real life, they managed to have two exchanges. It must be because Saman's business network is so extensive.
As more and more paper animals appeared ahead, Ren Yifei and his companion sped up. They were almost in sight of the paper-cutting figure when the music on the loudspeaker abruptly stopped, and the charming female voice returned once more.
"Kids, isn't paper cutting fun? Did everyone receive a paper-cut gift from our staff? Hmm? It seems some of you don't really like this gift."
"Nonsense, who would like something so terrifying and insidious?" the players thought to themselves.
"It's okay, our staff will definitely choose a children's song that everyone likes~" The female voice on the radio was actually very cute, but listening to it in this kind of environment was a little scary.
"Now, let's continue the treasure hunt!"
It was such a pity, just a little bit short. Ren Yifei looked around and realized he had arrived at a small stage with many musical instruments on it: a drum set, an electronic keyboard, a guitar, an accordion, and so on.
He walked over, took a waist drum, a drum covered with cowhide, and slapped it with his hand, making a thumping sound.
"What do you need this for?" Saman asked, puzzled.
"Take it for now, and throw it away if you don't need it."
Ren Yifei doesn't like using props and skills; he didn't like them before, and he still doesn't.
The 'Great Villain System' also gave him tools, but Ren Yifei did not rely on them. He forced himself to survive in various desperate situations and unlocked his power layer by layer.
Finally, the Great Villain System disappeared, along with all the items and skills. Only the abilities he himself had comprehended remained.
Sometimes I think, if he had always relied on those items and skills that he could obtain effortlessly, would he still be able to so easily destroy the system?
He didn't know.
Therefore, no matter how much the people of the Wasteland admire items, skills, and ghost cards, he basically avoids using them if possible, trying not to develop a dependency on them.
Ultimately, all of this comes from the desolate corner, where the uncertainty is too great. Just like this time, when two infinite flow players clashed, the player's pile of items and skills were completely wasted, leaving them at a significant disadvantage.
The 'Ink Bone Fan' is the only exception.
Although it looks the same as other props, when you hold it in your hand, you can clearly feel that he has complete control over it. This is a gift that Crane-kun gave him through the hand of the desolate corner.
Therefore, the Ink Bone Fan is the only item without any restrictions, and it can be used normally even in this world.
Of course, there might be a second 'exception' now. Ren Yifei's gaze subtly swept over Saman's pocket; the replica in that jewel box was something else that the desolate corner couldn't control.
This item was almost given to Ren Yifei by its owner.
If it were anything else, he would have accepted it as a life-saving gift from Saman. But this was far too precious, so precious that he could no longer ignore the expectations placed upon it.
So many people have refused, why can't you harden your heart now?
Ren Yifei turned to look at Saman, but the man followed him with a smile, neither offering any advice nor leaving in disappointment, as if he would always be behind him whenever he turned around.
Yes, this person seemed to have been following him ever since he arrived at the desolate corner, and this unexpected turn of events brought them together again. Before he knew it, he had adapted.
During the breaks in the song, some players started looking for clues, and they were indeed looking for regions marked as European countries. But some others didn't look for anything; instead, they looked for other players.
Ren Yifei and Saman exchanged a glance, and then walked towards each other.
"Mr. X's clues, one for one, or in exchange for props." With just a few glances, they can find suitable trading partners. Ren Yifei and Saman both possess a special talent for this.
Sure enough, the man was intrigued: "What kind of props do you have?"
Saman, standing behind Ren Yifei, put his hands in his pockets. When he came out, he was holding four or five items. The player's eyes widened: "How do you have so many points?"
"I got the role with money; it's a rich second-generation character."
"You're really lucky. My character is a penniless guy, and I was stupid enough to sell a penny at the beginning to earn money for living expenses."
Ren Yifei: "..." The point you sold might be in the account of the person on the other side.
"Mr. X hates fire because he lives with paper," the man said after selecting the item he wanted.
"It's true." Ren Yifei and Saman made this judgment. They had been observing him and spending these few minutes establishing a baseline for his lies.
Most player-to-player transactions are one-for-one, which is fair and reasonable.
Of course, there may be lies involved, and everyone needs to judge for themselves.
Afterwards, they contacted several other people, three of whom exchanged information with them: Mr. X likes animals. Mr. X collects doll heads. Mr. X takes stock of his toys every day.
This Mr. X is strange. His collection of doll heads reminds Ren Yifei of the heads of players in sacks, and his living with paper and liking animals reminds him of those paper animals.
Most players exchange items.
The information is used to find Mr. X, and subsequently, to find the ghost. The props are used for self-defense.
These players lack confidence. Although they are all high-level players, they only want items to protect themselves.
"Many of them are seriously injured." This can only be seen upon closer inspection. These players pretend to be fine, but occasional stiff movements betray their true condition.
This is also why these people choose props; survival is the prerequisite for everything.
This is not hard to understand. Saman almost died, and Ke Bei from the Top Ten has not yet appeared. It is unknown whether he has not arrived yet or has already died.
"Oh." Just as Ren Yifei finished saying the name, a disheveled player emerged from a pink princess pavilion. He reeked of poppy fruit and blood, clutching his abdomen, his pale face making the whip marks on his face appear even redder.
"The marks were left by a horsewhip," Ren Yifei concluded.
Ke Bei spotted the players, and immediately stood up straight. Although his face still bore marks, his expression had become remarkably calm. Like the other players, he pretended that nothing had happened.
"Dot, dot, dot the beans, dot, dot, dot the beans." The children's song on the radio began. Except for the newcomer Ke Bei, all the other players instantly prepared to fight: who knows what kind of trouble this damn children's song is up to now.
Ren Yifei and Saman walked to the acting area and stood there. Ren Yifei put down his waist drum and took a wooden shield and a wooden sword from the prop shop in the acting area.
Ke Bei followed them in. He was a smart man, and even if he didn't know the situation, he wouldn't expose himself to danger.
The three of them occupied two corners. Ke Bei's face was pale, but he was still holding on, clutching a rapier in his hand.
Ren Yifei suddenly felt that Ke Bei might be even more unlucky than him. If he had arrived a few minutes earlier, he could have been healed by the Archangel. If he had arrived a few minutes later, he could have avoided the nursery rhyme.
But now, neither too early nor too late, the nursery rhyme begins.
Thinking of this, Ren Yifei decided to stay further away from Ke Bei: Ke Bei was so unlucky, he might drag him down with him.
"Dot, dot, dot the beans~" The children's voices came from the playground, not just one or two, not just three or four, but a mixture of many, many children's voices.
Following the footsteps, the players looked over and saw a vortex-like door burst open in the direction of the stage, from which 'children' dressed in brightly colored clothes walked out.
She had a round, white face with a pair of even blushes on both sides, her eyes were thin, dark slits, and her mouth was a curved line.
Players never imagined that such a realistic depiction of a traditional Chinese doll would be so terrifying in real life.
Nine dolls emerged in a row, and the vortex behind them vanished without a trace.
These days, the children wear little braids, dressed in red or green, carrying baskets, singing songs, and enthusiastically throwing a handful of beans at any player they see.
"Drop, drop, drop the beans, whoever you drop will bloom, bloom!"
Players hit by the beans were instantly blown apart; their hands, feet, and cheeks were blasted open, revealing the white bones beneath.
The doll was very happy to see the 'flowers blooming' and chased after the player.
"Find cover. These beans will only explode when they come into contact with human skin." The players sprang into action, searching for shield-like objects.
Some people tried to retaliate by hitting the dolls on the head with playground stools. The dolls were sent flying, but as soon as they landed, they ran back over laughing and joking.
Ren Yifei and Saman walked into the role-playing area. Ren Yifei remembered that there were some good things there: "Look, a full-body mascot costume."
Most of these items were prepared for children, and they searched for a long time before finding two that barely fit.
"Quick!" Just then, the two dolls ran in, and their narrow black eyes widened slightly when they saw the two people in the toy room. Samantha immediately closed the door and the window.
The door was pounded on loudly, and with each knock, the wooden door shook. After a few knocks, the nails on the latch were knocked off the wooden board.
These dolls may look small, but they are surprisingly strong.
This door can't protect them. Saman quickly began putting on his white, long-eared rabbit costume.
At this moment, Ren Yifei had already put on the military green Tyrannosaurus Rex mascot costume. Through the dinosaur's open mouth, he saw the head of the somewhat sinister-looking doll on the window, which had lost its smile.
It stretched out its stalk-like arms and slapped the glass, shattering it instantly, followed by the beans.
Ren Yifei turned to the side, trying to shield Saman behind him with his back. He wasn't sure if Saman was dressed properly. Saman, however, reached his hand in front of Ren Yifei's mouth, trying to block the bean that might enter the Tyrannosaurus Rex's mouth.
They faced left and right respectively, and Saman's arms, through the thick mascot costume, embraced Ren Yifei tightly.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex's short arms swayed up and down, then slowly, slowly stopped moving.
Beans fell like raindrops.
The white rabbit's head was pressed against the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head, and Saman's heart was pounding.
The crackling explosions outside faded into the distance, and the world became very quiet, so quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat.
They had also had close encounters in Scarlet Witch's world, and in Gu Xingye's world, but those were different. That was when Ren Yifei was impersonating someone else, and for the sake of the character, he chose not to refuse.
This time the situation was different. Now everyone here was a player; if Ren Yifei didn't like his proximity, he could have simply pushed him away. But he didn't.
"They've all left."
"Huh?" Samantha snapped out of his daze and realized that the dolls had all left, and he didn't even know when these strange things had gone.
"Cough." Saman's face was burning; in this critical moment, he was still thinking about irrelevant things.
Luckily, the mascot costume was there to hide it, otherwise her true feelings—the eagerness to put herself in a gift box and give her away—would have been easily seen through.
Ren Yifei suddenly stood up and started to walk out.
Where are you going?
"Go over to the stage," Ren Yifei explained to him. "Remember that clue? Mr. X stayed with the paper and took inventory of his dolls every day. I suspect these dolls live with Mr. X."
Samantha understood his meaning; he was prepared to take a risk for riches: "You want to follow these dolls into that vortex?"
"Yes, every game has a probability of being cracked successfully; games that can't be cracked won't appear here. But we can't find Mr. X. So, is it possible that he's in some special place where he can observe all the rooms and control the game, and that we can find that place?"
"Let's do it together."
Ren Yifei shook his head: "I still have three lives. I can afford to lose."
Samantha thought to himself that it was different; he couldn't bear to watch Ren Yifei venture in alone. Even if Ren Yifei's guess was wrong and they would die if they went in, Samantha still wanted to try: "I'm scared to stay here alone."
Ren Yifei fell silent.
Samantha's face was completely humiliated by its owner. Through the mascot costume, he let loose: "I'm afraid of the dark, it's very dark inside the mascot, can you hold my hand?"
With a somewhat subtle feeling, like having eaten boiled fish and drunk wine at the same time, Ren Yifei nodded slightly: "I haven't used this amulet yet, give it to him."
In the amusement park, the dolls chased the players, who ran around and jumped up and down. Ke Bei, who had been staying under one roof, had his hand blown off.
A Tyrannosaurus Rex, holding the hand of a white rabbit, swaggered across the plastic walkway covered with beans.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex walked in front, its little arm holding an iron hook, waving away any doll that came near. The white rabbit walked behind, its head down.
Just because they glanced at it, a player who had just climbed to the second floor slipped and tumbled down the slide.
"...grass (a type of plant)."
Author's Note: Samantha (shameless): I'm afraid of the dark.
Ah Fei (pretending to believe): Lead me!