The Dollmaker

Looking at the dungeon boss who was clearly not right, Ye Shengge’s heart sank, his eyes filled with helplessness.

The dungeon boss in this state was obviously stimulated by him and had fallen into a manic state.

Just like before at the door of Zhou Yue’s dormitory.

A dungeon boss in a manic state was extremely dangerous; there was no telling if he would do something extreme and terrifying in the next second.

However, the system had said before completely losing contact that it was expected to take three minutes to finish repairs.

During these three minutes, he had to guard against the dungeon boss alone and could not fall for his traps, lest he be left in this dungeon forever.

But some things were not achievable just because Ye Shengge wanted them; under absolute martial suppression, whatever he did was in vain.

The man walked toward him step by step, holding him firmly in his arms, giving him no chance to leave.

Seductive words rang in Ye Shengge’s ear: “Stay here forever, alright? No matter what you want, I can give it to you, even eternal life.”

The man was confident; no one could refuse such a condition.

However, Ye Shengge refused without hesitation: “I don’t need it. I only want to leave.”

The word “leave” clearly triggered the dungeon boss.

A strange black vine tattoo, appearing like a living creature, suddenly emerged on the man’s neck and then spread along the side of his face toward more areas.

Along with the black vines, that strange black mist appeared as well.

The black mist circled around the man obediently, like a well-behaved child.

At this moment, the dungeon boss looked like an evil god or a demon, his entire body exuding an aura of wickedness.

He sighed helplessly, like he was coaxing a disobedient child, and said to the struggling Ye Shengge: “I’ve already told you, you cannot leave.”

By the sound of it, the dungeon boss was very calm, but only Ye Shengge knew just how much force the other party was using to hold his arms.

He only realized in hindsight that the reason the dungeon boss offered him conditions wasn’t out of lingering sanity or a desire to negotiate, but a strategy of “courtesy before force.”

The courtesy had been extended, but he hadn’t accepted.

If his guess was right, the next step for the dungeon boss would be a forced detention.

And the dungeon boss’s next move confirmed his guess perfectly.

As if he hadn’t heard the refusal, the dungeon boss said to himself: “It’s no matter. We just need to sign a contract.”

As for what the contract’s effect was, even if the man didn’t say it, it wasn’t hard to guess.

It was definitely a contract to keep him here forever.

Ye Shengge’s heart was in a panic. He wanted to say something, but he found he couldn’t make a sound.

Without a doubt, this was the dungeon boss’s doing.

The man, being glared at fiercely by the youth, slowly loosened his grip. His voice suddenly became incredibly soft, and he said with a bright smile: “Shh, you don’t need to speak.”

He had been fooled by the youth’s mouth too many times; he didn’t want to hear his voice right now.

He was afraid that if his heart softened, he really would be coaxed into letting the person leave.

As long as he didn’t hear it, he could pretend nothing happened and ruthlessly keep him here.

But just as he steeled his heart and planned to strike immediately, he was met with a full embrace from Ye Shengge.

In the next second, the warm touch on his lips caused him to freeze instantly.

Ye Shengge had kissed him again.

Because he had never done such a thing, his movements were clumsy and even awkward to the point of being uncomfortable, yet it instantly soothed the man’s restless heart. Even the splitting headache was slowly receding.

Looking at the youth clumsily kissing him, a trace of imperceptible helplessness appeared in the man’s eyes.

He knew what Ye Shengge was planning, and he knew the other party was using this method to vent the dissatisfaction in his heart. Yet he still lowered his head, responding forcefully to this incredibly bitter kiss.

The man didn’t know if his decision was right, but he knew that if he didn’t do it, he would definitely regret it later.

Although he was multitasking, making the speed of setting the array a bit slower, in less than half a minute, the eerie array lit up beneath their feet.

Seeing this, the youth tried hard to catch his breath while kissing the man even more forcefully.

He was indeed useless; at the critical moment, besides this trick, he really couldn’t think of any other way to stall the dungeon boss.

But thankfully, this trick worked.

Almost there.

Only ten seconds left until the three-minute repair time was up.

In ten seconds, he could be pulled out of the dungeon.

Ye Shengge counted down in his heart, the light of hope becoming brighter and brighter.

But at that moment, the man suddenly let go of him. He let the black mist, gathered into a blade, cut his index finger. Smiling, he moved the bleeding finger to the youth’s lips and said gently: “Come, drink this, and the blood contract will be complete.”

Ye Shengge’s eyes were full of resistance. He kept his moist, shimmering lips tightly shut, as if that could stop him from being fed the blood.

Three seconds left.

But as if the man had guessed what he was thinking, he forced his finger against his lips, attempting to pry open his teeth.

Though his movements were gentle, his strength was immense. With an undeniable attitude, he forced the youth’s jaw open.

Ye Shengge could clearly smell the scent and feel that finger with blood droplets burrowing into his mouth.

One second left.

Ye Shengge bit down hard.

A muffled groan rang out.

The finger pressed against his teeth also came to a stop.

Between the blood and the teeth, a brilliant light suddenly appeared, protecting the youth firmly within it.

The next second, the system announcement—which sounded like heavenly music to Ye Shengge—rang out: [System repair complete. Exiting dungeon…]

Looking at the stunned expression on the man’s face, Ye Shengge revealed a smile as brilliant as the light, softly saying two words: “Goodbye.”

He had never been so glad to have good teeth.

As the words fell, the white light enveloping Ye Shengge became increasingly bright and dazzling, making it impossible to look at directly.

Ye Shengge closed his eyes, no longer looking at the dungeon boss who was stubbornly staring at him, allowing the warm, water-like halo to pull his consciousness away.

…

[Ding-dong, dungeon exit successful.]

[Congratulations to the player for completing an A-rank dungeon! Rewards have been settled, please check them!]

When Ye Shengge opened his eyes again, he found himself in a completely strange room that was decorated very warmly, with every item matching his tastes.

He asked the system in surprise: [Why am I here?]

The system had said before that after completing a dungeon task, players would be transported to a plaza full of players, and warned him to watch out for bad people.

But now, why did he appear in someone else’s room?

[This is a compensation issued to you. Do you like it?] The system replied quickly.

Ye Shengge’s eyes lit up: “I like it!”

Although the system didn’t say, he could guess that for a newcomer to buy a house in a place like this must be very, very difficult and costly.

This was indeed a very practical compensation, not flashy at all.

[The dungeon rewards have arrived, a total of 80,000 points.] Seeing that he was satisfied, the system spoke of other matters: [You can rest here for a few days before entering a new dungeon.]

Hearing this, Ye Shengge shook his head: [Going late or going early is all the same. I want to go to a new dungeon now.]

He was too embarrassed to say the second half of the sentence.

The influence the previous dungeon boss had on him was too great; he wanted to try “fighting fire with fire.”

The system was somewhat surprised; it thought that after leaving the dungeon, Ye Shengge would choose to rest for a few days to recover from the fright of the last one.

However, the longer one lingered in the Central Plaza, the higher the probability of drawing a high-difficulty dungeon.

Entering a dungeon early was indeed not a bad thing for Ye Shengge.

Thinking of this, the system agreed: [Okay.]

The familiar warm light enveloped Ye Shengge again.

In the next second, Ye Shengge felt the world spinning.

At the same time, the system’s voice broadcasting the plot rang out.

[Welcome, Player, to the A-rank dungeon “The Fickle Dollmaker”!] [Live stream comments have been hidden.] [Dungeon plot loading—]

[You are an exquisitely beautiful dollmaker. Your family is wealthy and you do not lack money. You create these dolls only to satisfy a hobby you are too ashamed to speak of.] [You are fickle; after growing tired of old dolls, you lock them in the cupboard and create new ones.] [But you do not know that the dolls you created have all gained their own consciousness…]

[Clearance condition: Without violating the character setting, successfully suppress the terrifying dolls who have blackened after being abandoned.] [Task duration: Unlimited.]

…

Ye Shengge opened his eyes and found himself lying in a dimly lit room.

He subconsciously looked around.

The room was large, with European-style decor, and the items placed inside were valuable; it was clear he was from a wealthy family.

However, the several curtains in the room were all drawn tightly, letting in not even a sliver of light, making it impossible to tell if it was day or night.

After observing the surroundings, Ye Shengge subconsciously wanted to get out of bed, but as soon as he moved slightly, he pressed against a cold body.

Besides the body, he also discovered that his waist seemed to have been restrained by something since entering the dungeon.

Ye Shengge’s body stiffened.

He didn’t dare turn his head to look, fearing he would see something terrifying, but he also knew this was something he couldn’t avoid. After psyching himself up for a while, he gritted his teeth and turned around, coming face to face with a face that was as handsome as a mannequin.

The owner of that face was lying on his side, looking at him motionlessly.

Ye Shengge had never slept in the same bed with someone before. His entire face flushed deep red with shame. He hurriedly shifted to the side, suddenly slapped away the hands resting on his waist, and then bounced up into a sitting position.

But after sitting up, he discovered another problem.

He wasn’t wearing clothes!

Realizing this, Ye Shengge’s face turned even redder. Fearing he would be seen by the other person lying on the bed, he hurriedly pulled over the quilt to cover himself. Due to the overwhelming shame, a layer of mist filled his eyes, making him look incredibly pitiful.

But after he did all this, he didn’t hear the handsome man lying on the bed move, nor did he hear him speak.

Realizing something was wrong, Ye Shengge raised his watery eyes and looked timidly at the man beside him.

[Do not be afraid, it is a doll you made. It will not hurt you at this time,] the system suddenly spoke.

Hearing the system’s words, Ye Shengge’s panic vanished instantly. He couldn’t help but curiously examine the high-visual-score doll lying on the bed.

Even though it was a doll, at first glance, besides the fact that its eyes wouldn’t close, it was no different from a real person!

It was truly amazing.

Ye Shengge marveled in his heart.

But soon, he lost the mood to continue marveling, because he heard the system’s next sentence.

The system’s voice was very cold: [To satisfy the dungeon condition of maintaining the character setting, please perform the task the character did not have time to finish on the doll.]

Ye Shengge froze: [What unfinished task?]

The system said word by word: [Kiss it, hug it, and confess your love to it.]

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but Ye Shengge felt that when the system said this, there was a hint of gritted teeth in its tone—its reaction was even greater than his own.