One car after another left the service area and merged onto the highway.

The scouting convoy led by Tan Xiao and Hui Ge drove at the front of the vehicle column.

Tan Xiao rode his beloved motorcycle, weaving nimbly between several cars. Full of energy, he observed the road conditions ahead while keeping an eye on those thugs from yesterday.

Whether it was his surveillance that worked or those guys had been beaten into fear by Shen Mo, they were surprisingly well-behaved, causing no incidents along the entire route.

The vehicles traveled for about an hour. As they approached Zhenjiang, clusters of human figures appeared on the road ahead.

Hui Ge’s car was in front, so he saw them first.

“…Looks like dolls.”

“It’s probably that gang from the food processing factory again, right? The same old tricks over and over. I think those people are just bored!”

“We did steal their food. They’re probably holding a grudge.”

“Forget it, just drive right through!”

“Will something happen…”

“Tsk! This is the only road we can take. Even if something happens, we have to push through! What’s there to be afraid of? We’ve got a whole bunch of people behind us to take the fall!”

After a few quick exchanges, they didn’t slow down but accelerated instead.

The human-shaped dolls on the road were immediately smashed to pieces, then tumbled in the wind, leaving a mess everywhere.

Shen Mo sensed something abnormal and reduced his speed, waving at the nearby motorcycle and asking: “What’s going on?”

His voice carried over mixed with the wind.

Tan Xiao slowed down, maintaining parallel speed with the SUV, shouting loudly to Shen Mo: “More dolls! Probably done by that gang from the food processing factory! That factory is right around here!”

Shen Mo frowned, looking at the fallen dolls by the roadside, feeling an indescribable sense of wrongness.

The movements and expressions of these dolls were very off, as if they were being driven by something.

Bai Youwei in the back seat saw them too.

She furrowed her brow but said nothing.

Just then, Tan Xiao suddenly burst out with a curse—

“Holy crap!”

The motorcycle suddenly accelerated, charging toward a doll wearing a white apron!

“I know this auntie! She cursed at me yesterday when we were stealing their sausages! How did she turn into a doll?!”

Tan Xiao’s face changed dramatically. He hurriedly checked several other dolls, then suddenly reversed direction! Speeding in the wrong direction on the highway!

“Everyone from the food processing factory has turned into dolls! Don’t drive forward anymore! Everyone stop! Stop!!—”

One car after another came to a halt, people’s faces filled with both confusion and panic.

“What happened?”

“…Seems like they said dolls appeared up ahead.”

“So what do we do?… Should we drive back?”

Back?

Back to where?

They had nowhere left to go.

After notifying the last car, Tan Xiao stopped his motorcycle and looked back toward the front of the convoy, thinking they would probably need to arrange for the vehicles to drive separately now. Otherwise, all gathered together, accidents would happen too easily.

Fortunately, they noticed in time this time. If they had kept charging forward, the consequences would truly be unthinkable.

Just as he was feeling relieved, a strange voice reached his ears—

“Ding! Welcome to the Doll Game! The theme of this game is ‘The Frog’s Golden Ball.’ 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!…”

“What the hell?” Tan Xiao looked around in surprise. “Where’s that voice coming from?”

This familiar narration also rang in Bai Youwei’s and Shen Mo’s ears simultaneously.

Blinding white mist and light shone down, forcing them to close their eyes. When they opened them again, the world had changed once more.

This time, what greeted them was a gloomy cave, foul-smelling mud, and an extremely stuffy atmosphere.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!…” A string of curses. Tan Xiao jumped up from the mud, furious and flustered. “What the hell kind of trap is this?!”

“This isn’t a trap, this is a game.” The bespectacled man sat in the mud, his face showing helpless and desperate expression. “Don’t you know? This place… is the Doll Game.”