At ten in the morning, the selected people boarded the ship on time.

This was a small tour boat. Inside the cabin were two rows of seats—each row could seat twelve people. Including the bow and stern, it could hold quite a few people.

According to reports, in the past when the base selected people, one batch could have over thirty people. Add in luggage of all sizes, and the boat could be packed full.

Now the boat only seated eighteen people, appearing somewhat empty.

Bai Youwei sat in her wheelchair. Being confined anywhere in the cabin felt awkward, so she simply stayed at the stern with Shen Mo.

People were both in the cabin and on deck, so the two weren’t convenient to talk, and thus remained silent while watching the scenery.

In the distance were green mountains and lakes, white clouds and blue sky. Nearby was green water rippling with glittering waves. It was hard to imagine what kind of crisis might lurk in such serene mountains and water.

From Three Mountain Island to West Mountain Island, the distance was very close. If going to the ancient Mingyue Bay village on West Mountain Island, it was only four kilometers.

But Uncle Zhao didn’t dock at Mingyue Bay. Instead, he chose to go in the opposite direction, circling more than ten kilometers until near Dasheng Bay before starting to dock.

Everyone disembarked one after another.

There wasn’t a single person on shore. The surroundings were so quiet there wasn’t even a bird call. Everyone couldn’t help but look at each other.

“Uncle Zhao, where are the base’s staff?” Wu Lili gripped a tree branch as a crutch, limping at the back of the group. “Uncle Zhao, can you have the staff drive a car over? My leg really can’t walk anymore.”

Old Zhao walked at the very front with vigorous strides. Hearing this, he didn’t even turn his head back. “Persevere a bit more. We’ll be there soon.”

Zhang Qi called out again, “Why is there no one on shore? Where are the people from the safe base?!”

“Up ahead.” Old Zhao’s voice remained flat, his feet not stopping. “We’ll be there soon.”

Everyone felt it was strange, but since they’d already come this far, they could only continue forward.

After walking a while, they came to a hillside. On the slope were stone steps. Everyone dragged their luggage, carrying bags large and small, following Uncle Zhao, walking with increasing difficulty.

After Uncle Zhao climbed to the top of the slope, his figure quickly disappeared on the other side of the hill. By the time everyone struggled up, Uncle Zhao’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s going on?”

Someone was confused.

Without Uncle Zhao, they were like a ship without direction.

Eighteen people stood at the top of the slope, looking down. They could see large tracts of village houses and trees, but no matter how they looked, they couldn’t find Old Zhao’s figure!

At this moment, the scene before their eyes suddenly trembled!

—The hillside beneath their feet seemed to become a thick, heavy carpet. After trembling, it rippled outward, then at an extremely fast speed changed from gray-green to emerald green!

The entire hillside was covered with lush, luxuriant green grass, extending all the way to the distance! The village houses completely disappeared!

“Ding! Welcome to the Doll Game! The theme of this game is ‘A Gathering of Friends.’ The rules are as follows:

One, refuse the game and become a doll!

Two, fail the game and become a doll!

Three, clear the game and win a doll!”

As this familiar narration sounded, everyone on the hillside changed their expressions!

“It’s a Doll Game!” Someone shouted in terror. “Why is there a Doll Game here?!”

“Don’t Doll Games only appear in places with dolls?”

Those who had experienced games were all panic-stricken. Those who hadn’t experienced games had also heard of them, their faces showing pallor.

“Where’s Uncle Zhao? Why did Uncle Zhao bring us to this kind of place!”

Wu Lili cried loudly, threw away her crutch, and rushed at Zhang Qi to beat him. “You’ve killed me! I wanted to go to the safe base! I don’t want to enter a game!!!”

Zhang Qi’s face looked extremely ugly. He turned to look at Shen Mo and Bai Youwei, just about to question them, when a cool, gentle male voice sounded from behind—

“Oh, this young lady, please stop. The game is about to begin. Attacking players is a violation.”

Everyone turned at the sound and saw a man slowly walking up the hillside.

When they clearly saw the man’s appearance, they all gasped!