The Deadly Playground

“Not everyone is meant to survive?”

Bai Wanwan’s brow furrowed. Could this be one of those strange realms that demanded the sacrifice of some for the escape of others?

Or perhaps… while many entered each time, the number of survivors was always destined to be limited?

The intel was vague, but that seemed to be the implication. It did, however, stress one point: games were the only way through.

“There are five games in total, played in a random order with random rules. But despite the variations, the core remains the same. The five games are: Cat’s Cradle, Hopscotch, Shuttlecock, Dodgeball, and Jump Rope.”

“They’re all children’s games.”

Bai Wanwan murmured to herself, her eyes fixed on the report.

“Special warning! Failure in Cat’s Cradle will result in the loss of your fingers.”

“Failure in Hopscotch will cause you to fall into a deep pit filled with blades.”

“During Shuttlecock, if the shuttlecock hits the ground, so does your head.”

“During Dodgeball, anyone hit by the sandbag will die instantly.”

“During Jump Rope, singing the nursery rhyme incorrectly will cause the rope to turn faster and faster. While failing to jump won’t be fatal—you can simply start over—if the rope’s speed becomes too fast to keep up with, you could be whipped to death.”

“Possible apparitions within the realm: a wind-up frog, an embroidered sandbag.”

The report ended there.

A chill crept up Bai Wanwan’s spine. A realm like this, though it had clear rules, was still fraught with peril.

Still, she wasn’t overly concerned. Her primary objective on this trip was to earn her commission.

She just needed to find the child. As for the strange realm itself, she would avoid it if she could.

She was only reviewing the intel as a precaution, just in case.

“Wanwan…”

As Bai Wanwan closed her laptop, she realized Liu Hanzhi and Shi Xiangning had sat down beside her at some point.

“What are you reading? You look so serious… The stream is over, it’s time for bed.”

Liu Hanzhi noticed that Bai Wanwan seemed a little off.

“What’s wrong? We earned almost ten thousand yuan tonight, you know.”

She excitedly recounted the triumphs of their livestream for Bai Wanwan.

“I contributed the most to that, thank you very much.”

Shi Xiangning pouted, annoyed. ‘This little ghost is quick to take all the credit,’ she thought.

“It’s nothing. I accepted a commission. The client is offering one million to help them find a child.”

“One million!”

Both Shi Xiangning and Liu Hanzhi gasped.

A million yuan wasn’t an astronomical sum, but it certainly wasn’t small, either.

They were just starting out, and money was what they needed most right now.

“Finding a child should be simple, right?”

Liu Hanzhi’s face was full of confidence.

Bai Wanwan shot her a look before explaining her concerns and the details about Fengmen Village.

“There’s a high probability the child wandered into a strange realm.”

Bai Wanwan had tried a divination but had found no information regarding the child’s whereabouts.

That left only one possibility… the child must have entered a strange realm.

These realms were unique domains belonging to a specific vengeful spirit. Outside of their territory, a spirit might be powerless—like the gentle nurse, Shi Xiangning.

But within their realm, everyone had to obey its rules.

As the saying goes, even a mighty dragon cannot crush a local snake. So long as the master of the realm was clever enough, they were practically invincible within their own domain, for they controlled the rules themselves.

The countermeasure was simple: just don’t enter.

But was it truly that easy? Both Chu Annian and Shi Xiangning had told her the same thing…

When it came to entering strange realms, it was a choice between zero times and countless times. No matter how much Bai Wanwan tried to hide, she would inevitably be drawn into other realms in all sorts of ways.

It was like her debt. Rather than run and hide, it was better to face it head-on.

The apparitions from these realms were her best weapons for dealing with future encounters. To improve her chances of survival, she had to acquire more of them.

“Pack your things. We leave for Fengmen Village first thing tomorrow morning.”