Chapter 71

Chapter 71

"Snort—hmm—"

A loud snore suddenly echoed in the quiet room. Ji Xinghai, sitting in his pencil case, turned to look at the bed—a massive bed with a hump-like shadow on it, from which came the scent of roast lamb.

Is this the owner of the room?

Judging by the size and specifications of the furniture, it seemed like a children's room, albeit somewhat monotonous, lacking the usual lively atmosphere of a child's bedroom.

The room was very clean, with items neatly arranged, showing a meticulous attention to detail.

But there were broken pens in the wastebasket and torn notebooks.

He also noticed scars on the corner of the desk made by a craft knife, and holes poked into the eraser in his pencil case with pencils.

All of this gave him an indescribable sense of contradiction.

Is this new scenario related to the owner of this room?

Dolls and children—are they adversaries or allies?

Ji Xinghai turned to see the luminous alarm clock on the bedside table, which showed the time as 5:31. He waited for two minutes, confirming that the child was sound asleep, before opening his task watch.

Student: Ji Xinghai

Credits: 24

Exam Theme: Everyone is a doll; when will we be free?

Exam Content: Survive and regain your freedom within seven days after the exam officially begins.

Exam Start Time: March 1st, 6 AM.

Participants: 289/289

Passing Criteria: Survive until the end, 60 points.

Excellence Criteria: Regain freedom.

Bonus Points: Not triggered.

Note: This scenario adds one rule and one hint every twenty-four hours.

Rule One: Do not stare. When you see your controller, you and it will be in different dimensions, and all damage to it will be ineffective.

Hint One: Killing the controller can help you escape your identity.

Carriable Items: 3 (not yet selected; choose before the exam starts, otherwise, it will be considered a waiver)

After the exam, the top ten students will receive high-score rewards of varying levels, and their scores will be converted into points for purchasing supplies in the post-exam 'Store.'

We hope students strive for excellence and achieve good results.

That's the entire content.

Compared to the previous scenario, there were two fewer participants this time. It's unclear whether they collapsed mentally or if another country fell outside.

Ji Xinghai guessed the latter, as the previous scenarios weren't so difficult as to cause mental breakdowns.

This is why students must avoid death—not just for themselves but also for their countries. If the homeland is lost, what remains?

He looked at the other task information.

The theme is 'Everyone is a doll; when will we be free?'

Does 'everyone' refer to the students, or is there a hidden meaning?

If 'everyone' refers to the students, then the exam content is clear—they need to survive and regain their freedom to win.

How do they regain their freedom?

Perhaps it's similar to the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, needing a specific item, such as 'true love's kiss,' to break the curse.

Or perhaps it's like the mermaid in The Little Mermaid, where killing the prince leads to freedom.

Considering his current state as a clown toy, Ji Xinghai guessed that other students were in a similar situation.

Thus, the controllers are likely the owners of the toys, either children or adults.

Most likely, they are children.

Toys and their owners should be in opposition in this world. Toys seek freedom, targeting their owners.

Students can escape or, more drastically, kill the toy owners.

The task list doesn't provide a clear process for 'regaining freedom' but gives a hint: killing the controller can help you escape your identity.

It sounds like the scenario has already told them the correct answer: killing the controller of their current identity will grant freedom.

However, this is the strangest part of the task information.

The Hungry Academy actually encourages students to actively kill NPCs? And it subtly implies that 'not killing the NPC will make it hard to survive.'

Ji Xinghai's brows furrowed into a W, and he saw the words 'something wrong' no matter how he looked at it.

These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the appetite he had developed due to the scent of roast lamb.

The seemingly reckless but cautious Ji Xinghai placed a question mark next to the option of 'eliminating the controller.'

Though the sheep may be fat, it might be poisonous.

Looking back at the first rule: Do not gaze. When you see your controller, you and it will exist in two different dimensions, rendering all harm to it ineffective.

This is an interesting rule. It seems to restrict students from using violence to kill NPCs, but it also leaves a huge loophole with "must gaze."

But what Ji Xinghai is more concerned about is the phrase "the two will exist in two different dimensions."

If because of these two dimensions, students cannot harm controllers, then similarly, when students look at NPCs, both existing in two different dimensions, can the NPC harm the student?

"Pending verification." He marked this rule with a question mark.

With little mission information, the analysis goes only so far. He looked up at his surroundings.

"Whooosh—"

The neighboring hill continued to emit sounds of deep sleep, but Ji Xinghai was in no rush to explore the nearby environment. He wanted to get familiar with his new body first.

It was his first time becoming a porcelain doll, and he found it very novel, yet he was also worried about becoming too fragile.

If he really became breakable porcelain, he would have to think more about how to protect himself from shattering during the scenario. If the porcelain was just an appearance and he remained himself, he could afford to be bolder.

So Ji Xinghai tried — he actually hit himself on his non-dominant hand with a heavy object.

"Hiss." It hurt, but he didn't shatter.

Putting down the large key in his hand, his mood visibly improved.

The porcelain was just an appearance; he was still himself. If the child on the bed really wanted to do something to him, he had the ability to fight back.

Actually, he could choose to hide at this point, but Ji Xinghai had a premonition that such evasive behavior would be useless. The Hungry Academy would find ways to incite conflict. Besides, with his current height of a few centimeters, he couldn't run far anyway.

Of course, before doing anything else, he needed to fill his equipment slots.

In three equipment slots, he placed an Equipment Expansion Card, a Game Backpack, and a Surprise Chocolate.

Among these, the Game Backpack was the most useful, the Equipment Expansion Card served future needs, and as for the Surprise Chocolate, it was a personal indulgence.

Or one could call it: whimsy.

At six o'clock in the exam time, all students logged in on schedule.

"Eh? Eh?"

Viewers saw various anthropomorphic dolls appearing on their screens, their foreheads creased with a big question mark: Where are our students? Where are our big students?

The white screen disappeared, revealing either dimly lit bedrooms or shelves labeled with prices, but no students were seen.

The only commonality was the presence of one or more toy dolls, some of which were even moving.

Abnormal beings? "Wait, don't you guys feel like that clown doll in the pencil case looks a bit like..."

Everyone stared at the clown doll lying quietly in the pencil case, its face painted with thick makeup, and fell silent.

Other dolls on other screens moved around to show their presence, but the clown doll remained motionless with wide-open eyes, making it hard to tell if it was alive.

"Is it real? Is this clown doll Brother Hai?"

The small, exquisite clown costume adorned with shiny beads, its colors chaotic yet harmonious, with an exaggerated ruff collar supporting the tiny head.

The curly green hair was neatly combed back, giving the impression of a thick layer of gel, but it also revealed the entire delicate and outstanding face.

However, this face was covered with thick makeup, white as its base, with dark green eyeshadow creating a smoky effect, a golden star on the left cheek, and a red tear drop on the right, the red makeup painting a laughing mouth, and his eyebrows raised high.

Eccentric, comical, yet exquisite.

This was once a popular type of articulated doll, usually with a charming or slightly eerie appearance. Humans projected their pursuit of beauty onto them and also poured their emotions into them.

Now, due to the ease with which these dolls could transform into abnormal beings, they gradually faded from view. Seeing them now, people felt a mix of admiration for their intricacy and an indescribable sense of horror.

"Cough." Actually, it's quite good-looking.

Soon, viewers in other live streams discovered the true identities of those toys—they were all students.

The situation was clear; this scenario was of a different type than usual.

All students had turned into toys, ranging from stuffed animals to Transformers, of all types. Some were alone in a room, while others were neatly arranged on shelves.

Students who were alone in rooms were relatively calm, mostly examining their environments individually.

Those gathered together had already started chatting, providing outsiders with much task information. For example, their ultimate task was to survive until the end and ideally regain their freedom by escaping their doll forms.

In between, there was a rule and a hint added each day, one of which suggested that killing a controller could help escape their identity.

"A new rule and hint added each day. This note is quite intriguing."

Members of the Analysis Group pondered over the terms "rule" and "hint": "A rule is a constraint, something that did not exist before but is now added. A hint, on the contrary, is something that has always existed but is now pointed out."

"If following the Hunger Academy's stated principle of fairness, the rule and hint should balance each other—one increasing the students' chances of survival, the other decreasing it, to maintain equilibrium.

"Now we know the first rule and hint. Which one do you think benefits the students, and which one misleads them?"

Everyone fell into deep thought.

Outside observers continued to scrutinize the scenario's background.

Due to the mostly dim indoor settings, many details were unclear, but the overall environment was evident: children's bedrooms and toy stores.

Speaking of toy stores, the children's bedrooms often contained enormous 'children' sleeping inside.

"Human beings became toys, and toys became human beings."

Indeed, these 'children' are all toys scaled up to the size of human children—stuffed ones, rubber ones, those for girls and boys. What was once cute in miniature now exudes an indescribable eeriness when enlarged.

These 'children' are still asleep, but when they wake up...

"I remember some horror stories where humans were livestock, raised en masse for their meat, milk, and hides, while the livestock became human."

The reversal of roles easily brings such stories to mind. At first glance, it doesn’t seem alarming, but upon reflection, it is utterly terrifying—humans have never been particularly kind to other forms of life, especially not to disposable items like toys.

"Aren't the trainees in there quite dangerous?"

As if on cue, just as they were discussing the possible directions of the scenario, the large 'children' inside suddenly stirred.

"Ah!" They sprang up almost instantaneously, their eyes glowing with an eerie green light in the darkness. Many of the trainees, who had been exploring their surroundings, were startled by these giants and nearly screamed in fright.

Fortunately, having already experienced two scenarios, the trainees were no longer novices. Those who reacted quickly stopped moving immediately, while the slower ones froze in place.

Some of the trainees, observing the massive dolls, chose not to resort to violence right away. Instead, they decided to wait and see.

Only a few, unable to withstand the pressure, either chose to strike preemptively or turned to flee.

Seeing the trainees who were running away from them, the 'children's' faces twisted into unsettling smiles.

"Where are you going?"