Chapter 51: Orphan Resentment (Part 11)

After Shen Qingqiu finished speaking, Huang Junfeng quickly gave Liu Pei a light kick under the table.

Shen Qingqiu’s retort rendered Liu Pei speechless. When he saw the people around him all giving him meaningful looks, he had no choice but to back down.

Zhang Yangfeng quickly showed his support, “I trust Miss Xiao. Besides the obvious information, I saw two pieces of information we didn’t know before in my progress log. Only one of them received points. The other piece, about the child, we heard from Miss Xiao.”

With Zhang Yangfeng’s statement, everyone else understood and had no choice but to believe it.

“Then may I be so bold as to ask what your information is about, Miss Shen? Could you give us a hint?” Huang Junfeng asked eagerly, smiling brightly.

“Muyu just mentioned we shouldn’t be suspicious or guarded with each other. I can certainly give you a hint. This information isn’t that crucial—only worth two points. It’s related to what you ate last night.” After lazily responding to Huang Junfeng’s question, she quirked a brow and glanced at Xiao Muyu.

She caught her gaze but ignored it. Instead, she addressed the others in a low voice. “While points are important, what’s most urgent right now is staying alive, not advancing our progress.”

Xiao Muyu’s words brought everyone’s fears to the surface. Even the usually happy-go-lucky and mirthful Huang Junfeng turned pale. Thinking back on what happened last night and Jia Wenlong’s departure, they all felt a chill run down their spines.

“Will that game resume tonight? Only six people got taken yesterday—what about tonight? And what are the triggering conditions?” Zhang Yangfeng tossed them all the questions he was most concerned about in one go. Almost everyone looked at Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu. Without realizing it, they had already begun to rely on Xiao Muyu.

“These are questions that everyone cares about, but unfortunately, based on the clues we have so far, I have no idea. And even if we were to figure out what triggers it today, deciding whether to act when the time comes will be a big question in itself.” Xiao Muyu reasoned with unsettling clarity, blocking this line of thinking.

Shen Qingqiu typically disliked participating in these group discussions that consisted of explanations and deductions. However, if it were to follow up on Xiao Muyu’s points, she wouldn’t hesitate to speak up.

So, as the group sat in contemplative silence, Shen Qingqiu spoke up: “Instead of thinking about how to dodge the game, why not focus on finding a way to clear it once and for all? Or do you truly believe that surviving last night’s game was just a stroke of luck, one of heaven’s whims?”

Of course, unlike Xiao Muyu’s objective calmness, Shen Qingqiu’s words weren’t nearly as pleasant to hear. Her tone was cold and scornful, clearly intended to irritate.

Despite their harshness, anyone with sense would take her words seriously.

“So you’re saying… you’ve figured something out?” Liu Pei asked, suspicious.

But then he shook his head before Shen Qingqiu could respond. “Even if you’ve drawn a conclusion from an observation, you’d still need to test it. Right now, we only have one example to work with. How would you verify your discovery? If there’s another game tonight, who among the chosen would dare risk their life to test a theory?”

Xiao Muyu glanced at him and replied coolly, “We’re just offering a hypothesis and reasoning. No one is forcing you to choose. If you’re selected and have a better solution, then there’s no need to risk your life to test anything.”

She didn’t look at Liu Pei again after speaking but instead focused on Shen Qingqiu. Last night, she had observed from the sidelines. Not only was she far away, but her angle was limited, so her observations weren’t as thorough as Shen Qingqiu’s.

Shen Qingqiu always looked as if nothing concerned her, projecting an air of indifference and nonchalance, yet she had a remarkably meticulous mind. Xiao Muyu might call her a fox, but it wasn’t just because of her looks. Her mind was as cunning as one.

“Well, I’m just here to add a few points. My Muyu sees things more clearly when it comes to everything else.” Her laziness was showing again, as she was unwilling to say more.

She leaned back against the chair, still cradling her injured right arm, looking aloof. Xiao Muyu kept a neutral expression, though internally, she couldn’t help but retort. Who is ‘your’ Muyu?

“What do you guys think? Was the first person selected for the game lucky or unlucky?” Xiao Muyu didn’t beat around the bush. She threw out a question that would seem obvious even to a dimwitted person.

“Of course, they were unlucky, incredibly unlucky. Isn’t that obvious?” Huang Junfeng replied immediately.

“And why is that?”

“Well… for one thing, no one knew what was going on in the first round. It came fast, and by the time we understood the rules, we were almost scared to death, much less ready to play. And the first person didn’t even have the chance to discuss why they were chosen or figure out what the doll behind them represented, like what we’re doing now. If they wanted to clear the game, they could only rely on sheer luck. But one chosen out of eight meant the odds of dying were almost one hundred percent!”

After Huang Junfeng finished in one breath, Xiao Muyu nodded and looked at the others. “So, you all think the first person was incredibly unlucky, practically sent to their death, right?”

Everyone nodded in agreement—everyone except Shen Qingqiu.

“And your reason?” Xiao Muyu’s three simple words made them pause. In that instant, they all remembered Jia Wenlong’s cries from the previous night. Why?

While the other five were still stunned, Yang Rui had caught on. She hesitated briefly before saying, “Miss Xiao, are you saying it doesn’t make sense? That it’s unfair to Jia Wenlong?”

“Exactly. While this game is cruel and often defies logic, it’s still a game. No matter how hard it is, it should at least leave a fighting chance. As I said before, the system set up a fundamental idea at the start: a clear mind is valuable even in a supernatural instance. So, surviving shouldn’t depend solely on luck. Also, while this game’s setup may be unfair to us, it should be fair to individual players. Regardless of who ends up here, if no special conditions are triggered, the first person chosen should be entirely blameless.”

She took a deep breath, her voice lowering a bit. “Yesterday, everyone acted unanimously. Nobody left any food behind. There was no reason Jia Wenlong should be marked for death. But since this game proceeds in turns, someone inevitably has to go first, which leads me to believe there was likely a hint for Jia Wenlong in last night’s game. However, he was too panicked to notice it. Furthermore, there was a reason he was chosen.”

She glanced briefly at Hou Liang and then concernedly at Shen Qingqiu.

“What hint?” The group was at the edge of their seats. Their minds raced back to the dolls they’d seen last night, but they couldn’t muster any leads.

Xiao Muyu shook her head. “I was too far away to observe certain details.”

When everyone sighed in disappointment, Shen Qingqiu interrupted, “I know it.”

“You know it? What is it?” Hou Liang’s face tensed, and he unconsciously leaned forward. Jia Wenlong’s death had deeply shaken him. Just hearing about this stirred up complex emotions; all he wanted was an answer.

Unaffected by his agitation, Shen Qingqiu glanced at him, then down at herself, before throwing out a completely unrelated question: “Have you thought about why the game specifically chose Jia Wenlong for the first round if no one did anything wrong? Or, to put it another way, why did it choose someone like him?”

Taking Shen Qingqiu’s glance, little gestures, and words into account, Hou Liang quickly pieced things together. He suddenly slumped back in his chair, his entire body restless, trembling uncontrollably.

“So, you’re saying… the three of us… we were all chosen last night?”

Shen Qingqiu nodded, acknowledging his deduction. Not bad, she thought. The ones who can make it through two instances are definitely smarter than the fools in beginner instances.

“So, last night, the doll behind Jia Wenlong had a problem with its eye. You three have unique physical characteristics that make it easy to match you with your corresponding dolls. That’s why you three were selected as the first batch of players for the game?” Huang Junfeng was dumbfounded. He quickly recalled Xiao Muyu’s words from dinner the previous night. Immediately, his hair stood on end.

“Right. Eight players, eight children, eight dolls—I believe even the slowest person would see the connection among these three. Not to mention, Muyu already pointed out that while injuries might lower combat effectiveness and make the game unfair, they make it easier to identify which child corresponds to whom based on visible traits. In a way, this makes the game somewhat fair.

“When Jia Wenlong participated in the game last night, the child he corresponded with wasn’t present. However, if you looked carefully under the streetlight, there was a blonde-haired doll in a pink dress directly across from him with its head tilted to the side. One of its eyes was bright, but the other was dull and lifeless. I also checked the other dolls; each had bright, shining eyes. Unfortunately, Jia Wenlong was too far away from me, and I couldn’t be certain. When that doll stopped to stand behind him, it was too late for me to speak up.”

Hou Liang’s expression froze. He knew there was something off about the eight dolls. Despite his terror, he had tried his best to observe each doll’s differences. But honestly, it was hard enough to observe living people in that environment, let alone dolls that looked almost identical at a glance. Plus, who would dare look closely at dolls with creepy expressions?

Liu Pei, who had been standing near Jia Wenlong, seemed uneasy. After a moment, he spoke in a subdued voice: “She’s right. I saw it too. But… I didn’t think much of it after taking a glance. Now that she mentions it, I realize it’s true.”

“Right now, we need to tackle two things,” Xiao Muyu summarized neatly. “One: identify the distinguishing features of each doll, which requires everyone to describe clearly what they observed. Two: find the doll that corresponds to each of you.”

Everyone turned to look at Shen Qingqiu and Hou Liang. Zhang Yangfeng added, “So that means, for Hou Liang and Miss Shen, it’s the simplest. They should have nothing to worry about as long as they carefully observe when chosen for a game.”

Hou Liang’s previously anxious expression relaxed. There was even a glimmer in his eyes—until Shen Qingqiu shattered his dream with a single remark.

“Sounds easy enough. But if it were that simple, wouldn’t this round be excessively easy for the two of us? And what would that make of Jia Wenlong’s situation?” Her gaze darkened as she continued coldly, “Following the principle of fairness, we’re the ones with the most information. So, if anyone is to be sent out tonight, the likelihood is highest for the two of us. Even if there are hints, they won’t be as obvious as the one Jia Wenlong received.”

Her words made Hou Liang’s fingers shake. He swallowed nervously and his face stiffened. After a long moment, he stammered, “Then… if we’re sent out, and we don’t get a clear hint, what are we supposed to do?”

Xiao Muyu absentmindedly fiddled with her fingers as she interjected, “The sudden appearance of eight dolls in the orphanage is strange enough. Speaking of dolls, so far, we’ve only seen the one that Xiao Jiao is holding. If I remember correctly, that doll has flaxen hair. Think back—was it among the eight dolls you saw last night?”

Huang Junfeng, Zhang Yangfeng, and Liu Pei exchanged bewildered looks, then said in unison, “What color is flaxen?”

Huang Junfeng scratched his head, saying, “To me, it was either yellow or brown. What’s this ‘flaxen’ business?”

The women present fell silent in unspoken understanding. Sure enough, unless a hair color was unusual, in the eyes of these men, there were only three types: yellow, brown, and black.

“Okay, so let’s just call it brown. You all had a closer view in the circle—did any of the dolls fit this color?” Xiao Muyu avoided describing the doll in detail, not wanting to influence anyone else’s judgment.

Those who had seen the doll in Xiao Jiao’s arms—Yang Rui, Zhang Yangfeng, Liu Pei, and Huang Junfeng—strained to recall.

“There were three with brown hair, all dressed the same. Even the shoe color was identical. All the dolls had the same pale faces with rosy little mouths, big eyes, and long lashes. They looked exactly alike. Besides, that doll almost scared us to death; who could remember what it looked like exactly?”

Zhang Yangfeng, who had remained silent with a furrowed brow, finally spoke hesitantly: “Actually, I got a decent look. That doll’s clothes were dirty, but its face was very clean. Its hair was a bit messy and even knotted.”

“Was there a strand twisted up near the left ear?” Shen Qingqiu quickly cut in.

Zhang Yangfeng gestured to indicate the direction and replied confidently, “No, it was on the right side.”

As everyone’s hopes rose and fell with each comment, Shen Qingqiu laughed. “Yes, there was one with tangled hair, and it was on the right side.”

“Are you messing with us for fun?” Liu Pei couldn’t help but complain.

Xiao Muyu shot him a glance. “When people are looking for reassurance or desperately trying to confirm certain conclusions, even their memory can unconsciously alter—let alone rationalize blurry details. But here, any incorrect information could cost you your life.” She explained that Shen Qingqiu had intentionally mentioned the wrong side to ensure that Zhang Yangfeng’s memory was accurate.

“Wait, why are we back to talking about Xiao Jiao’s doll? Do you know who corresponds to Xiao Jiao?” Huang Junfeng asked, now even more confused.

“No, we don’t,” Xiao Muyu answered bluntly, which left Huang Junfeng momentarily speechless. She quickly added, “Xiao Jiao’s doll helps us verify an important conclusion: it could get dirty and its hair tangled, which indicates that these eight dolls in Charity Orphanage aren’t just ghost dolls the instance had generated randomly. They existed in the real world, likely as actual children’s toys. Having dolls in the orphanage is a logical setup, and their human-like appearance makes it plausible that they would carry people’s resentments.”

“So, we need to locate the eight dolls and match them with their owners?” Yang Rui, who rarely spoke, asked excitedly, her eyes bright as she looked eagerly at Xiao Muyu.

---

Author had something to say:

Xiao Xiao has been protecting Xiao Shen. She just doesn’t know it.
Love happens unwittingly. Before you realize it, you’re already knee-deep in the mud.