Chapter 69

Chapter 69

"Please board the return capsule immediately; the time machine countdown has begun: ten... nine..."

The production team's instructions came through their earpieces.

Luo Yiyuan and Su Xingyao's conversation came to an abrupt halt here.

The two stepped back into the time machine, were blindfolded by masked individuals, and were led back the way they had come.

While they remained silent, the live chat went wild.

"What did Luo Yiyuan mean by that just now?"

"Has Su Xingyao also been injured in a fire?"

"Why haven't we heard about this before? Any Su Xingyao fans who can explain? Did it happen during filming?"

"I'm clueless too, but if Luo Yiyuan's guess is right, I feel for Su."

"Luo Yiyuan's question was quite strange, but upon careful thought, if one hasn't experienced it, it's indeed hard to think of so much."

"The more I hear, the more curious I become..."

After some discussion, the viewers couldn't figure anything out and continued watching the live stream.

By the time the five guests returned via the time machine, daylight had broken over the doll town.

The streets were back to normal, with no sign of the NPCs from the night before.

The group didn't rush out but shared the clues they had found in the initial room.

After Luo Yiyuan shared his findings and Su Xingyao's theories, the others presented their collected data.

"We didn't uncover anything on Xiao Xi but did find details on five children."

Xie Jin laid out five personal files, stating, "These are all from the orphanage."

Su Xingyao took out the half-burnt photo that Luo Yiyuan had dug out from the fire and placed it next to the files.

Comparing them, the two boys in the photo matched the files exactly.

Gu Feiyang, surprised, remarked, "This girl must be Xiao Xi, right?"

Wu Ningning nodded. "The production team has been misleading us all along. I always thought she was a boy."

"The boys in the photo match the files; it's likely a group photo with others burned beyond recognition." Luo Yiyuan pointed to the remaining three files. "I believe these five children are the ones Xiao Xi protected."

After Luo Yiyuan spoke, Su Xingyao studied the photo intently.

After a pause, his eyes scanned the group.

"I have a theory..."

Su Xingyao looked down, opening the box from Xiao Xi's room.

"Could it be... that we are Xiao Xi's friends?"

After saying this, he handed the photo to Xie Jin.

"This is a camera for detectives."

Then he picked up the toy motorcycle and placed it in Luo Yiyuan's hand.

"Rebellious youth—essential for cool guys."

Wu Ningning suddenly understood and clipped a hairpin into her hair.

"So this is *my* princess hairpin?"

Su Xingyao nodded and took the doll jacket that belonged to him.

"This is my school uniform."

Gu Feiyang, still in women's clothing, picked up the last piece of fabric and examined it carefully. "So this is mine?"

After studying it for a few seconds, he glanced at the high-slit cheongsam he was wearing. "They gave me fabric—why not make me the tailor?"

Luo Yiyuan playfully held the fabric up against him.

"Maybe you are, and you made this cheongsam for yourself."

Gu Feiyang: ...

Each person took a small object representing themselves. After Su Xingyao's analysis, the plot became much clearer.

The five of them compared the children's information with their characters' genders and traits, piecing it together through guesses.

After organizing the information, Wu Ningning cradled Xiao Xi's medical record carefully. "So back then, Xiao Xi saved all five of us. But protecting us left her severely injured."

Luo Yiyuan snapped his fingers in agreement. "No wonder, after Xiao Xi disappeared, the five of us were sent to rescue her."

Gu Feiyang quickly got into character, fully immersed in the plot.

"Xiao Xi saved our lives, so we *have* to rescue her this time."

Xie Jin nodded. "True, but... where do we even start looking for her?"

Where to find her was indeed a problem.

"What if we start by investigating the fire?" Su Xingyao suggested when everyone was at a loss.

"A fire at an orphanage is a big deal. There must've been news reports about it. Let's look for those to see if we can find some clues."

"During our escape yesterday, I think I spotted a newspaper office."

Upon hearing this, Luo Yiyuan immediately widened his eyes. "*You* remember that?"

During the escape, he was just focused on running, but Su Xingyao actually noticed the surroundings!

What a legend!

As soon as Su Xingyao finished speaking, the program team's prompt came through the earpiece.

"Congratulations, players! You've unlocked the side quest 'Xiao Xi's Past.' Head to the town's newspaper office now."

Hearing this, everyone stared at Su Xingyao in awe.

Gu Feiyang: "Su Su, you're the golden ticket the program team sent to save us!"

With this clue, everyone didn’t say much and immediately ran outside.

The town had returned to normal during the day, with people bustling about and shops open as usual, as if the strange events from the night before had never occurred.

Su Xingyao, relying on his memory, guided everyone toward the left side of town.

However, because they had passed through too many small streets, the exact location wasn’t entirely clear.

With no street signs around, they had no choice but to ask passersby for directions.

Gu Feiyang eyed the NPCs on the street, who looked just like regular people. Remembering how they’d chased him earlier, he nervously clutched his skirt. “I’m scared they’ll suddenly turn into monsters and bite me.”

Luo Yiyuan gave him a reassuring nod. “Don’t worry, from what I’ve observed, they’re normal during the day and only mutate at night.”

As the others chatted, Wu Ningning grew more and more anxious.

She held out her arm, and the device on her wrist flashed—80% progress.

“I feel like I’m going to be done for tonight…”

Xie Jin wrapped an arm around her, comforting her, “We’ll figure this out before nightfall.”

As soon as Xie Jin finished speaking, an announcement echoed in the town.

“Nightfall in ten minutes.”

Xie Jin: …

Wu Ningning: ?????

One second they were planning to solve it by day, and the next, the countdown to nightfall had started…

Wu Ningning glared at a camera, hands on her hips. “Are you seriously messing with me?!”

“This is ridiculous!!!”

Frustrated with the show, Wu Ningning stomped her foot hard, venting her anger.

The audience laughed as she called out the show’s producers, but she quickly gave up and started frantically asking for directions.

“Miss, do you know where the newspaper office is?”

“Sir, where’s the town’s newspaper office?”

The audience was confused.

After asking NPCs for directions, the guests finally neared the newspaper office.

At a crossroads, just as Xie Jin thanked the old lady who had pointed the way for them, the sky suddenly turned dark.

A full moon hung in the sky.

At the same time, the old lady’s smile vanished, her face now blank.

The actors’ performances were spot-on—their faces were blank, but their wide, bulging eyes were terrifying.

“She’s turned! Run!”

Xie Jin sensed danger and yanked Wu Ningning into a sprint.

The guests had barely taken a few steps when the people around them, who had seemed normal during the day, also mutated and started chasing them.

The full moon cast long shadows, and apart from the terrifying roars of the NPCs, creepy "jiejiejie" sounds continuously echoed from both sides of the street.

Su Xingyao took a quick glance around and noticed that many puppets had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, some charging at them with mouths wide open.

Luo Yiyuan was nearly scared to death.

"Ahhhhhhh! Are these puppets trying to eat us?!"

Fortunately, the newspaper office was close by, and after running about a hundred meters, the five of them finally got inside.

However, the NPCs tonight seemed unnaturally strong. Even locked out, they had no intention of leaving and kept banging on the door violently.

The flimsy door looked like it could give way any moment.

In desperation, Gu Feiyang and Luo Yiyuan quickly pushed a bookshelf and a table against the door to hold it temporarily.

"That freaked me out."

"I feel like I'm not going to make it out of here..."

Before they could recover, the door made a loud bang again.

The NPCs were ramming the door once more.

The weirder the NPCs acted, the more it meant they were on the right track.

Su Xingyao glanced at the increasing number of NPCs outside and reminded everyone, "Hurry and find the clues. This door won't last much longer."

The guests nodded and, ignoring the NPCs, began searching the newspaper office by the moonlight.

The moonlight tonight was much brighter than usual, making it slightly easier to see.

But finding clues in the room was still quite challenging.

"The production team is really sneaky. The lights are actually busted."

Luo Yiyuan tried the lights, but they didn't work and couldn't help but complain.

Hearing Luo Yiyuan mention the lights, Xie Jin quickly asked Wu Ningning.

"Ningning, where's your Kuromi nightlight? Bring it out to light up the place."

Wu Ningning hurriedly took out her little nightlight and pressed its head with her finger.

But no matter how much she pressed, it didn't turn on.

Wu Ningning felt a bit embarrassed: "Hmm... the battery's dead. I used it up last night because I was too excited..."

Wu Ningning regretted it deeply.

If only she hadn't wasted so much electricity last night!

"Wuwuwu, I was wrong..."

Just as Wu Ningning was filled with regret, she suddenly noticed a light source out of the corner of her eye.

Doraemon Su somehow managed to pull out a small flashlight.

He handed the flashlight to Wu Ningning, "Here you go."

Seeing the flashlight that Su Xingyao suddenly produced, the most surprised wasn’t the guest, but the director watching the monitor.

Director: What the...!!!!!

How did he still have a flashlight on him!!!!

Not only did Su Xingyao hide one, but he even hid two.

After giving the small flashlight to Wu Ningning, he pulled up his sleeve and pulled out another flashlight from inside.

The audience was blown away by this move again.

"?????"

"He was searched, yet he still managed to hide two flashlights in his sleeves!!"

"Su Xingyao, are you a magician? Hiding so many light sources!"

"Haha, director, didn’t see that coming, huh?"

"I can’t stop laughing at Mr. Su, how scared of the dark is he?"

Luo Yiyuan quickly moved closer to Su Xingyao, sniffing around his clothes like a big dog.

"Su Su, you’re amazing, how do your clothes fit so much stuff?"

Su Xingyao opened his sleeve, revealing the tape inside, "Taped on."

The director, listening intently while on oxygen: "Did you hear that! Next time, search thoroughly!! Search thoroughly!!!"

Su Xingyao handed the second small flashlight to Luo Yiyuan, "You and Brother Gu can take this one."

Luo Yiyuan took the flashlight, "And you?"

Su Xingyao casually pulled out a phone from his pocket.

"I’ve got this."

After saying that, he turned on the phone’s flashlight, instantly illuminating the surroundings.

The phone Su Xingyao was holding was the one Xiao Xi had given them earlier.

Back then, everyone glanced at the picture and didn’t think much of it, but who would have thought that Su Xingyao had kept the phone with him all along.

"Su Xingyao is so thorough, haha."

"Honestly, at that time I was only focused on checking out the evidence and finding clues, I never thought the phone could be used for lighting at night."

"Mr. Su, you’re the best!"

Now that everyone had a light source, finding clues got a lot easier.

Everything went smoothly; even the props the production team had hidden here for fixing the lights weren’t needed.

Su Xingyao spotted a computer in the corner of the first-floor hall.

He tried turning it on and, to his surprise, it worked.

"It still has internet access."

Su Xingyao sat in front of the computer, smiling softly as he connected his phone using a data cable.

Luo Yiyuan, who was frantically flipping through newspapers beside him, noticed he had suddenly stopped moving and turned to ask, "Su Su, is your phone dead?"

The computer light lit up Su Xingyao's face.

"No."

As he spoke, he clicked the mouse to download software, and then his long, pale fingers quickly typed out lines of code.

"What the...??"

"Su Xingyao knows how to code??"

"What on earth is he doing!!"

"Wow, Mr. Su, do you know way too much!!"

"Nonsense, my Su only knows a little bit."

After quickly finishing the code and waiting for the data to restore, Su Xingyao explained to Luo Yiyuan.

"Yesterday, I checked Xiao Xi's WeChat messages and found that they didn't match her contact list."

"She sent messages to eight people, but there are nine WeChat contacts."

"One of them, with the nickname 'God', has a blank chat history with her."

As Su Xingyao spoke, the phone data was restored.

Su Xingyao clicked on the pop-up, and sure enough, two additional messages appeared in the chat interface of the WeChat friend named "God".

The guests heard the noise from Su Xingyao and all crowded around.

Thus, everyone saw the two messages Xiao Xi deleted from the chat history.

Xiao Xi: Dear God, those five people also made wishes to you.

Xiao Xi: My wish is almost coming true!

The two lines of text were clearly displayed before them, and the live stream viewers were blown away by Su Xingyao's skills.

"Wow wow wow"

"666666666666"

"The chat records were really deleted!!!"

"Such a detail was actually noticed by him!!!"

"And then he recovered it on the spot..."

"Mr. Su, the god of variety shows, remains unshaken"

"Kneeling to the tycoon!"

"Mr. Su is forever the best!!!"

Netizens were on the edge of their seats, and the director watching the monitor was completely floored.

They worried the guests might miss the phone clue, so they hid a bottle of memory-restoring liquid on the second floor of the newspaper office.

As per his plan, after the guests found it, they'd have to brave going back to find the phone, and after using this item, they would be prompted to go to the backyard to find the two deleted messages.

But who knew Su Xingyao could code and solve the problem directly from the source...

The director wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

This wasn't just a guest; it was a total game-changer!

In the room, the guests were thrilled to see the two recovered messages, and Luo Yiyuan even gave Su Xingyao a big hug.

"Su Su, you're a genius, you're my hero!! Let me latch onto your coattails!"

Though the messages were brief, the clues were too clear, and the guests almost all reacted.

"So Xiao Xi wasn't really missing; she knew we'd show up."

Gu Feiyang analyzed excitedly, "And the wish she talked about."

After speaking, he placed the newspaper he had just found on the table.

"Check out this report—it mentions a doll god in the doll town, and if you make a wish to him, any wish can come true."

Xie Jin also took out another report she had just found.

"Exactly, it also mentions that every year, a group of tourists visits the doll town, but none of them ever come back."

She kept leafing through the newspaper, "These are all missing person reports and search notices from the families, and the messages all show that the last place their families were seen was here."

After Xie Jin finished speaking, Wu Ningning's gaze stayed on the last newspaper.

"Isn't this the girl I just asked for directions?"

Then she flipped the newspaper forward again, "And that creepy old lady..."

Luo Yiyuan took a deep breath.

"So, they likely came here to make a wish, and then..."

Luo Yiyuan paused, "and then they got turned into dolls and stuck here forever."

Hearing this, Wu Ningning hugged her arms, getting goosebumps.

Because she saw Su Xingyao also take out a newspaper.

It had the follow-up reports on the fire from back then.

Xiao Xi was badly hurt in the fire and vanished a few years later.

The five people she saved were all adopted after the fire.

But in the follow-up interviews, they didn't say a word of thanks to Xiao Xi, and they didn't even want to go back to the orphanage to see her, none of them wanted to mention her, saying they were afraid to see this disfigured monster.

Because of this, these ungrateful kids faced retribution in the years that followed.

One was disfigured, one suffered long-term school bullying, and the rest didn't live well either.

So they each made their wishes.

The one with disfigurement wished to become as beautiful as a princess.

The one who was bullied at school wished to become strong, so no one would dare to mess with them.

The one who was blind wished to regain their sight and become a detective in the future...

The one who lost their hands wished to fulfill their dream of becoming a tailor, making many, many of their favorite cheongsams.

And the child who was rejected by their adoptive parents due to serious mental health issues wished to become a normal, ordinary person.

After reading these wishes, Su Xingyao softly said, "So we didn’t come here to rescue Xiao Xi; we came because we all made wishes to the Doll God."

"Similarly, Xiao Xi also made a wish to the Doll God."

Wu Ningning's eyes were filled with sorrow. "Her wish was likely for all our wishes—the five of us who were ungrateful and hurt her—to come true."

She whispered, "After all, once they’re granted, we’ll turn into dolls..."

Finally learning the truth, Gu Feiyang felt a heavy weight in his heart. "What do we do now?"

"If we escape now, the mission will fail, but if we stay... how do we save Xiao Xi?" He raised his wrist and looked at the progress bar. "And once tonight’s over, we’ll all turn into dolls."

The guests started to feel uneasy.

No matter how they looked at it, the mission seemed impossible.

Moonlight bathed everyone’s faces, and outside, the mutated dolls kept pounding on the door.

Inside, though, it was eerily quiet.

"Let’s go look for Xiao Xi."

Su Xingyao's voice was exceptionally calm in the darkness.

"She deserves a formal and heartfelt apology."

He looked at everyone, his eyes steady and resolute.

"We messed up, so we owe her an apology."

Hearing Su Xingyao’s words, the guests, previously unsure, suddenly calmed down.

Clearly, everyone was on board with Su Xingyao’s idea.

Luo Yiyuan nodded. "Yeah, we owe her an apology. She saved us, and we hurt her."

"Right, this time we won’t disappoint her again."

After making this decision, they prepared to go find Xiao Xi together.

But as they were about to leave, it hit them: "Where would Xiao Xi be?"

Su Xingyao glanced toward the museum. "Remember the museum with the clues? She’s probably there."

Since Su Xingyao had proven himself earlier, the guests now trusted him completely.

When he said to go there to find Xiao Xi, no one had any objections.

However, as soon as they reached the door, Wu Ningning's arm went numb with a tingling sensation.

Immediately, a notification sounded in their earpieces.

"Wu Ningning's transformation level has reached 100%, turning her into a doll."

After the notification, Wu Ningning was taken away by a masked person.

The dolls at the door then tightly surrounded the remaining few.

"Are we about to face another life-or-death situation?"

Gu Feiyang flexed his fingers, making a gesture as if ready to fight these dolls to the death.

However, Su Xingyao stopped them.

He lifted the hem of his shirt and took out a lighter and a candle taped to his shirt.

Su Xingyao calmly lit the candle.

"Dolls should be scared of fire, right..."

Watching Su Xingyao's composed actions.

Audience: Here we go again, huh?

Director: I'm not even surprised, what's happening...

Luo Yiyuan chuckled and immediately took the lit candle in his hand.

He opened the door and warned the dolls, "Don't come any closer, or I won't be nice."

The actors playing the dolls were stunned and whispered to the director, "Director, what should we do?"

The director slumped in his chair, weakly waving his hand: "Let them pass, let them pass..."

So, under the protection of Luo Yiyuan's candle, the group successfully reached the museum.

Inside the museum, it was completely dark.

The smiling curator, already cloaked in black, was waiting for them.

"My dear friends, you've finally come."

She looked at everyone and casually asked, "Have you thought of any wishes? I can help you fulfill them all."

In the candlelight, she removed her mask, revealing the terrifying face scarred by fire beneath.

Only after seeing her true face did everyone realize that the doll museum's curator was Xiao Xi herself.

Su Xingyao showed no surprise but instead met her gaze and softly asked, "Xiao Xi, what wish did you make?"

Xiao Xi laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke.

"Of course, it's to have you all join me in death..."

She smiled and gestured to the surrounding dolls.

"We promised to be good friends forever, and by staying here as dolls, you can remain with me forever."

After Xiao Xi finished speaking, she slowly moved closer to the group, step by step.

The actor's performance was spot-on, and combined with the tense atmosphere, the live stream audience was glued to their screens, hearts racing.

Soon, Xiao Xi stood in front of the group.

She raised her hand as if about to do something.

But just then, Xie Jin bravely stepped forward, opened her arms, and gently hugged her.

"Xiao Xi, I'm sorry."

Xie Jin rested her head on Xiao Xi's shoulder and said sincerely, "I'm sorry for how we hurt you in the past."

Su Xingyao and the other two stepped closer, gently placing their hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you for being so brave when it mattered most."

"I'm really sorry."

As the group continued to apologize sincerely, the museum lights flickered back on.

Then, Wu Ningning, who had been declared "dead," miraculously revived.

She too walked over to Xiao Xi and hugged her, her voice trembling with emotion.

"Xiao Xi never meant to hurt us, not from the very beginning."

"I'm sorry, our dearest friend in the whole world."

The little girl, surrounded by their embraces, finally heard the apology she'd been waiting for.

She closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek.

"You should go now."

She gently pushed them away, smiled, and waved her hand in farewell.

"It's time for me to go, too."

As soon as Xiao Xi finished speaking, thick smoke filled the room.

When the smoke cleared, all that was left was a worn-out doll and a faded childhood photo of the six of them.

"Congratulations, players. You've successfully escaped."

As the system voice announced their success, the live stream audience was on the verge of tears.

"Wuwuwu, I never expected the truth to be like this."

"Xiao Xi is so kind-hearted."

"I feel like crying—what's happening?"

"Xiao Xi must have waited so long to finally hear this apology."

The ending left many people deeply unsettled for a long time.

Among the many viewers was Fu Qingyan, who had tuned into the live stream after seeing the trending topic #Su Xingyao experienced a fire#. He, too, was unable to stay calm.

Only one wild thought raced through his mind.

When did Su Xingyao get burned?

How could he... not have known at all?