Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Yu Lingling was also trying to assess the situation downstairs. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any scouting items.
In the real world, she could have obtained real-time information through the internet, surveillance cameras, and other technology. Here, however, she had far too few resources at her disposal.
Still, that wasn’t her fault. The Four Dolls simply weren’t working hard enough.
Yu Lingling looked at the Four Dolls, who were huddled together reading a fairy-tale book. “You’ve raised so many little ghosts. Don’t just teach them to fight and kill. Teach them to clean, cook, and gather intelligence too.”
The Four Dolls looked up at Yu Lingling, staring blankly at her with their pitch-black eyes, which had no whites.
Yu Lingling solemnly drew up a study plan for them. “Studying needs to go on the schedule too. You can’t be this old and still be illiterate.”
The resentment emanating from the Four Dolls intensified. They had died such gruesome deaths and had even become aberrations, so why did they still have to study and work? Wasn’t being able to kill people and eat aberrations useful enough?
Yu Lingling ignored their displeasure. She dismantled some parts of the Princess Dollhouse and used them to make a simple tool. Fortunately, the miniature house was exquisitely furnished and contained quite a few mirrors.
Looking at the shard of mirror, which was smaller than her palm, Yu Lingling confirmed one thing: anything stored inside the Princess Dollhouse could be taken back out.
However, an item would come out in exactly the same condition it had been in when she put it inside.
The energy required to store something depended on the item’s type and size.
Taking items out also consumed energy, though much less. However, high-tech products such as cameras could not be used here, likely for the sake of so-called fairness.
Yu Lingling also tried storing objects from the horror instance. Putting those spoils inside and taking them back out cost her no energy whatsoever.
However, Yu Lingling couldn’t store something like the Red-Brick Building inside the Princess Dollhouse.
Or rather, she wasn’t strong enough to do so yet.
Yu Lingling rolled up the sturdiest cardboard she could find, then fixed the mirrors inside at forty-five-degree angles.
Contrary to what the viewers expected, she didn’t use the makeshift device to check the situation downstairs. Instead, she extended it upward toward the roof.
That was also why Yu Lingling had chosen the fourth floor.
It was the floor closest to the roof.
Before entering, Yu Lingling had already inspected the building and estimated how much usable material there was inside the Princess Dollhouse. It was just barely enough to reach the height she needed.
The Four Dolls watched as their home was dismantled, furious but too afraid to protest. In the end, they dragged the little ghosts out of their shadows and gave them a vicious beating. It was all these useless little ghosts’ fault. If they had been more capable, the great demon wouldn’t have needed to tear their house apart.
After thinking it over, the stingy Four Dolls still shared some of their resentment energy with the little ghosts.
Yu Lingling suddenly turned toward the room’s only window.
Unlike the windows in the previous rooms, this one was very large, and its glass was perfectly clean. Unfortunately, the room remained just as gloomy.
Yu Lingling rose, walked over to the window, and looked outside.
Before entering the building, Yu Lingling had observed that everything beyond the open area of the instance was shrouded in thick gray fog. Not only was it impossible to approach the fog, it was also impossible to see through it.
Now, however, several indistinct figures emerged from the fog. Their shadows stretched out far behind them. It was so dark that Yu Lingling couldn’t even make out their genders, the styles of their clothing, or what kind of shoes they wore.
That put Yu Lingling at a disadvantage. She disliked the feeling of not being in control.
The Four Dolls walked over to Yu Lingling and craned their necks curiously to look outside.
Some viewers had already left Yu Lingling’s Livestream Room, but others remained. Among them were recruiters from various guilds, who recorded every piece of information they observed about Yu Lingling.
“Does anyone else think those four don’t look like puppets?”
“They’re definitely not puppets. Judging by how they dealt with the other aberrations, they must be aberrations too. I wonder where this newcomer got them.”
“She’s really lucky. As far as I can tell, she’s relying on those four aberrations to clear the instance.”
While they were clearing out the fourth floor, Yu Lingling never lifted a finger. The viewers noticed that the four little entities were the ones dealing with the entity residents.
By now, the viewers were certain they were entities, not puppets of some kind. Every Horror Game player knew that only an entity could devour another entity.
“She probably relied on those four little entities to clear her first dungeon. I honestly can’t tell whether she’s lucky or unlucky.”
“Every player who tried keeping entities before ended up being torn apart by them. How long do you think she’ll last?”
“Her skill is probably something like summoning entities or forming contracts with them. But making deals with entities is no different from drinking poison to quench your thirst.”
“Still, she’s got an entity with storage capabilities. That’s extremely rare. Could it be an Exclusive Skill?”
“If it is an Exclusive Skill, she should survive a little longer.”
“Which guild do you think she’ll join after clearing her three rookie dungeons?”
After discovering that Yu Lingling had four reasonably powerful entities, no one thought she would fail to become a Full-fledged Player. Even if they believed her entities would turn on her sooner or later, everyone knew that if she wished, she was qualified to join even one of the highest-ranked guilds.
After all, players with skills like Yu Lingling’s were extremely powerful and useful in the early stages.
It would all come down to Yu Lingling’s final decision and the benefits each guild was willing to offer her.
Yu Lingling had no idea she had already become a hot commodity with one foot in the grave in the eyes of countless viewers. After seeing those eerie figures enter the building, she began using her makeshift device to monitor the rooftop.
Yu Lingling had checked the rooftop as soon as she finished making the device. Yet when she checked again, nothing had changed in the slightest.
But the lack of change was precisely what made it so strange.
By then, the Four Dolls had concealed themselves in the shadows, with two of them hanging above the doorway.
Yu Lingling held two cups connected by a length of string, pressing one to her ear while the other sat upside down on the floor.
It would have been easier to hear what was happening downstairs if she lay flat and pressed her ear directly to the ground, but that would restrict her field of vision and slow her reactions. In an environment like this, doing so would be dangerous.
The smallest doll crouched on the floor and held the cup firmly in place with one hand.
Yu Lingling listened carefully, trying to distinguish the sounds coming from below.
The footsteps were somewhat muddled and difficult to tell apart at first. However, Yu Lingling had already confirmed how many people had returned and picked up on some of their walking habits. As they climbed higher, the sounds grew clearer, allowing her to identify a few of them.
By the time they reached the second floor, two sets of footsteps had disappeared. Those two were probably residents of the first floor.
As for the people still coming upstairs, she could identify several types of footwear from the sounds they made.
The repeated slap-slap likely came from some kind of slippers.
The faint tap-tap belonged to sneakers.
Then there were the much more distinctive sounds of high heels and leather shoes.
No, there was something else too – a sound like something dragging itself across the floor.
The corridors were so cluttered with debris that the returning residents could only proceed single file, which actually made things easier for Yu Lingling.
She counted silently, categorizing the residents who had suddenly appeared based on their gaits and the sounds they made.
An adult man’s strides were longer, and his feet landed more heavily than the others. The person in leather shoes walked with particular care, probably because he treasured his shoes.
One set of footsteps was especially quick and occasionally accompanied by hopping. That one was probably a lively, perhaps even impatient, child.
The high heels belonged to a young woman. Judging by the state of this building, she was probably fairly bold and fashionable.
Another person’s steps were slow, their soles dragging against the floor. They were either elderly or had trouble walking.
There was also someone who sounded tall and heavy, putting more force into every step.
As for the one crawling along the floor, they likely had disabled legs and unusually strong arms.
But something was wrong.
The number of footsteps didn’t match the number of people Yu Lingling had seen enter the building.