IWOL Chapter 48: Doll

Seeing everyone staring at him solemnly, Lin Hangzhi was dumbfounded for a few seconds, before raising his hand to touch his face. “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

There was nothing on your face, but there was something behind you.

Cui Zuojing silently thought to himself but didn’t say it out loud. He was afraid that it would startle the ghost. It was so close that if it attacked Lin Hangzhi directly, he might not have enough time to save him.

Allen laughed dryly. “It’s okay. It’s just that I suddenly thought that you…you look very handsome.”

Meanwhile, he and Dong Linhai both desperately winked at Lin Hangzhi.

When Lin Hangzhi saw them winking at him and that even Dong Zheng had a solemn expression on his face, he felt a cold sweat.

Speaking of which, his shoulders seemed to feel a bit cold?

Lin Hangzhi squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying, and said to Allen, “Thank you, thank you. I think so too.”

The ghost behind him didn’t move, as if waiting for Lin Hangzhi to turn around, as if the moment he turned his head to acknowledge it, it would directly kill him.

“Then…then keep going forward?” Dong Linhai tentatively asked.

“Go…Go.” Ling Hangzhi’s legs began to tremble.

So the five people, one cat and one ghost continued to follow the path. Cui Zuojing’s pace was very slow, until after a while, he fell behind and ended up walking side by side with Lin Hang.

He clearly heard Lin Hangzhi’s “gudong” as he swallowed hard.

Then Cui Zuojing put his hand on the ghost’s shoulder.

The ghost turned its head. Its eyes glowed a sticky brownish yellow. Blood colored veins stretched out spider webs all over its face. Its lips seemed to have been cut off, revealing bloodied gums. It slowly grinned at Cui Zuojing.

Cui Zuojing smiled back. “Good evening, big brother.”

Now!

Lin Hangzhi seized the opportunity. Taking advantage of when the ghost and Cui Zuojing were looking at each other, he instantly accelerated forward. The ghost was distracted by Cui Zuojing and was unable to react in time. Lin Hangzhi successfully rushed into Allen’s arms.

The ghost immediately turned its head, wanting to chase after Allen. However, Cui Zuojing stepped over and blocked its path. His posture was relaxed and he stared at it with a smile.

Everyone was sweating as they stared at the ghost, ready to attack at any time.

The ghost was reflected in Victor’s amber eyes, and he let out a meow. Before he became a cat, his ability to purity would have an affect on ghosts. But now, he didn’t know if it was possible.
As time passed, no one made a rash move. After a stalemate that lasted for a minute, the ghost took a step back and its figure gradually disappeared.

Cui Zuojing breathed out a sigh of relief and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Dong Linhai said, “It dared not attack us?”

“It’s just one ghost. If we count Uncle, we have six people total. Even if it can pull someone into sharing its fate, it still wouldn’t be beneficial.”

Lin Hangzhi was shocked and asked, “But do we have a way to hurt it? Physical attacks against ghosts won’t work.”

Cui Zuojing said, “To hurt the ghost’s soul form, you must use a specific magic weapon or other spiritual means of attack.”

Dong Zheng asked, “At this moment, do you have a way to deal with that thing?”

“No. I once did. I had a dagger called Saravi that used to belong to the Countess Elizabeth Bathory of the 17th century. She killed 670 virgins with that knife and the grievances that had attached to it made it a very powerful cursed weapon that was extremely lethal to ghosts.”

“But I don’t know where Saravi is now . To be on the safe side, you should buy a magic weapon when you get out of the box, or take a look and see if you could find one in a box.”

“It’s said that the scariest things in the box are ghosts. After all, there is no way to harm them,” Allen said as he walked.

Victor interjected, “It depends on the situation. If there are magical instruments, many ghosts are like paper. If not, it will be very troublesome. However, most ghosts will not kill people in a direct encounter. After all, the box will not set up a mortally fatal situation. As long as you are calm and react quickly enough, you will have a chance to escape even if you encounter them.”

Lin Hangzhi didn’t dare stay at the end this time and stood close to Dong Zheng in case there were other ghosts.

They walked for another five to six minutes before they saw a clearing at the end of the path. There was a small wooden house standing in it, alone, as if to indicate some unfortunate fate.

Everyone was shocked and sped up.

However, at this moment, as if alarmed by the presence of uninvited guests, heavy footsteps suddenly sounded. A huge Western doll emerged from the forest and, like a guard, blocked their only way forward.

This doll was similar to the one Dong Zheng and Cui Zuojing had encountered in the school building. However, she was much bigger. Although the doll’s dress was stained with dust and was very shabby, the style was very delicate. Her blond hair was tied in two thin braids. The joints of her lower jaw were loose, causing her mouth to gape open, as if laughing.

“Damn, she’s too big…” Allen couldn’t help muttering to himself. He took a step back and looked up to get a full view of the doll.

From Victor’s height, only a section of the doll’s lower calf could be seen.

The doll looked at the people in front of her. Her azure blue plastic eyeballs turned and finally froze on the object in Dong Zheng’s hands. It was the worn-out teddy bear whose arm was half-opened.

By the time Dong Zheng realized that this doll was Agatha’s friend, it was already too late. A mournful roar emitted from the doll’s mouth, the sound making their eardrums felt pained. Her stiff face was expressionless, but everyone was clearly aware that she was angry and sorrowful.

With a wave of her fleshy hand, she fiercely cut through the air toward Dong Zheng.

Dong Zheng had just enough time to jump back, barely dolging the blow. The doll swept her palm back but before the next blow could land, he scrambled back up and placed some distance between himself and the doll.

Cui Zuojing and Victor hid far away, prepared to watch the show and leaving them this excellent opportunity for exercise.

Dong Zheng originally thought that since the doll was huge and cumbersome, its speed would certainly be very slow. But, against everyone’s expectations, she stared at Dong Zheng and quickly ran after him. In only a few steps, she managed to directly land a kick.

This kick on Dong Zheng’s shoulder nearly made him spit out blood. He staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Seeing that the doll was about to step on Dong Zheng, Allen appeared next to Dong Zheng in an instant, grabbed hold of his arm, and pulled him away with all his strength!

“Throw the bear away!” Dong Linhai shouted.

Dong Zheng had long wanted to do this, but he was never given the opportunity. He gritted his teeth and threw the teddy bear into the woods nearby.

The doll’s eyes followed the teddy bear as it fell into the darkness of the woods, but to everyone’s surprise, she did not follow. Her hatred was still attached by Dong Zheng, who was holding the injured teddy bear at the beginning. Focusing on the enemy in front of her, she let out another cry and tried to step on him again!

Allen hurriedly used his ability to take Dong Zheng away to avoid the fatal blow. His awakening ability was only half a month old. Even if he’d been trained by Victor, his control was still not very good, and he was only using it within reason. But now that he had to take Dong Zheng along, it already felt extremely exhausting after only a few steps.

“Hey! Look at me! I’m here!” Dong Linhai picked up a few stones and threw them at the doll’s back, trying to attract her attention. But, the doll rushed after Dong Zheng, even landing another kick and completely ignored him.

Dong Zheng was kicked hard once again, and his chest ached. He clutched his chest and coughed a few times. Hearing Allen’s gradually laborious breathing in his ear, he took out a small jasmine flower from his pocket without hesitation and tossed it behind the doll.

The moment the white flower fell on the soil, roots grew out of the calyx and pierced into the earth. After a few breaths, it grew into a half-meter-high jasmine plant. The white flowers bloomed one after another from the green leaves, emitting a strong fragrance.

The doll seemed to be attracted by the fragrance. Her foot stopped in mid-air, and she wasn’t as fierce as before. She turned her head past 180 degrees and saw the plant a few meters away behind her. She immediately gave up on Dong Zheng and ran towards the flowers.

[Name: Little Jasmine]
Function: Attract the enemy’s attention for a short time.
Remarks: What a beautiful jasmine flower, with branches full of fragrant beauty. It’s sweet scent will make anyone praise it.

This was a prop Dong Zheng had taken out from a secret realm within the Labyrinth of Time. There were a total of six flowers. He’d taken two while Allen had four. However, he didn’t expect that he would be using it so soon.

Allen put Dong Zheng down and sat down to rest. He was too tired. But once the doll reached the jasmine flowers in a few steps, she became enraged. Tugging left and right, she pulled out the entire plant in a few moves. Then, she threw it on the ground and frantically stomped on it, quickly ruining the jasmine’s appearance.

But this still gave everyone a bit of time to breathe. It’d also successfully diverted her attention from Dong Zheng. After destroying the jasmine, the doll turned her head and looked at Dong Linhai, who was closest to her.

Being stared at by those fake, lifeless eyes, it gave one the frightening sense that there’s nowhere once could hide. Dong Linhai took a deep breath, inwarding reminding himself to remain calm and cool-headed. He slowly crouched a little, lowering his center of gravity, and gripped the knife in his hand as he stared intently at the overwhelmingly tall and strong enemy in front of him.

The doll waved her hands and rushed toward him.

Dong Linhai paid attention to the timing and jumped up when the doll’s hand was about to slap him. He grabbed her arm with one hand and hung on it as he plunged the knife down with all his strength.

Whoosh–

There was a harsh scraping sound, accompanied by sparks. But the blade was unable to cut through the doll’s plastic body and was only able to leave behind a shallow, surface scratch.

Dong Linhai was shocked. The doll was irritated by his action and suddenly flapped her arm, flinging Dong Linhai’s entire body over her head and right toward the tree!

“Watch out!”

Dong Linhai’s excellent reflex saved his life. At the moment when he was lifted to the highest point, he released his hold on her arm, stepped on her shoulder, and took advantage of her movements to jump onto the ground. After landing, he rolled to minimize the impact. Although it was quite thrilling, he managed to escape unscathed.

“That thing is too thick! It can’t be injured!” he shouted.

Allen wailed, “Impossible! Then what should we do?!”

This whole time, Lin Hangzhi was walking around, looking for the doll’s weakness. Just now, the doll had put too much effort into trying to throw Dong Linhai. The large movement caused the zipping on the back of her skirt to slightly open and Lin Hangzhi saw the battery cover on the doll’s back, hidden under her dress.

Unlike the ordinary covers that could be slid out at will, this battery cover had a long display screen and nine input keys in the shape of a square. It turned out to be a combination lock!

“There’s a battery cover behind her! A password is needed!” Lin Hangzhi immediately said loudly, “My guess is that we can stop her if we take out the battery. Does anyone know the password?!”

Dong Zheng gathered his thoughts and shouted, “Linhai, give me that manual!”

Dong Linhai was chased by the doll and fled in embarrassment. Hearing the shout, he took out the manual from his pocket and threw it to Dong Zheng. Then, he continued to run around the woods in a panic, trying to take advantage of the terrain and the doll’s size to deal with her.

The manual landed near Dong Zheng’s feet. He picked it up and turned to the second page that was full of numbers. He scanned it quickly and said to Allen, “Allen, help contain it and give me some time.”

Allen had already slowly come over. He nodded and ran to help Dong Linhai and Lin Hangzhi. The three of them may not be able to beat the doll together, but they could stall for time.

The numbers on the second page had nine rows and nine columns, adding to a total of eighty-one numbers, showing a square distribution:

6 1 2 7 3 5 9 4 8
8 7 4 2 5 6 1 3 5
9 5 8 8 4 1 2 6 7
7 3 8 9 6 4 7 2 1
1 6 9 3 2 7 8 3 4
4 2 7 1 5 4 3 9 6
3 4 1 5 7 2 1 8 9
7 9 5 6 8 3 4 1 2
2 8 6 4 1 9 5 7 3

Dong Zheng roughly glanced at it and had a vague guess in his heart. He shouted, “How many digits is the password code?”

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