Please don't question multi-week players

Chapter 169. The Strategist Enters the Game Personally.
"How is this going?"

"How did the fortune teller die?"

"Someone from outside has entered the building!"

"Who killed her?"

……

In Yin Qingyue's room, the white paper strips hanging from the ceiling rustled loudly amidst the rising and falling screams.

The cramped space was packed with residents who had rushed over after hearing the news. Everyone stared intently at the headless corpse on the ground, and their horrified chatter almost lifted the ceiling.

Across the street is Chi Lichuan's residence.

Masaharu Kondo pushed the door open a crack and coldly observed the commotion in the opposite room.

Through the throng of people, he noticed several residents frequently turning back to look—these were the indigenous people who were eyeing him covetously, waiting for nightfall to come knocking on his door with knives.

His gaze shifted to the teru teru bozu (a Japanese doll-shaped ornament) floating beside him.

This doll, which is much larger than others of its kind, is made of snow-white fabric with an exquisite blue bow and lace trim around its neck.

It always wore an exaggerated smile, its rosy cheeks standing out starkly against the pale white fabric.

A sinister smile curled at the corner of Kondo Masaharu's lips.

"It's time to eat."

The delicate teru teru bozu (Japanese teru bozu doll) swayed slightly, its voice high-pitched and choked as if it were being strangled:

"Didn't you say...we were going to wait until tonight?"

Kondo Masaharu chuckled, a cruel glint of pleasure flashing in his eyes: "Let's start with this building as an appetizer. There are plenty of other buildings in this residential area, enough for you to have your fill."

The smile on the teru teru bozu's face suddenly twisted, her mouth stretching almost to her ears.

The next second, its figure vanished instantly—

"what--!!"

A piercing scream suddenly rang out.

In the center of the crowd, the heads of several residents vanished into thin air, leaving only headless bodies that swayed twice before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Blood splattered on the faces of those around them, and fear spread like a plague.

"Crunch, crunch—"

The teru teru bozu floated in mid-air, making a chilling chewing sound, as if it were biting into hard, crunchy candies.

Three or four human heads turned into pieces of flesh and blood in its mouth, which it greedily swallowed.

As it swallowed, its body suddenly swelled, the fabric stretched almost transparent, and the lace trim snapped.

The teru teru bozu (sunny doll) let out a piercing laugh and pounced on the crowd again—this time, its mouth was split even wider.

Blood splattered on the wall like ink, and the terrified crowd scattered like startled fish.

Masaharu Kondo leaned against the door frame and waved his hand.

"Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-"

Several white figures flashed across the corridor like lightning, and a dozen small teru teru bozu dolls blocked the stairwell.

They grinned with scarlet mouths, and a chilling "clucking" sound came from beneath the fabric.

Before the man who rushed to the stairwell could react, three dolls simultaneously bit his neck, wrist, and knee.

"Help……"

His cries for help abruptly ceased, and his entire body rapidly withered away as if drained of all its energy.

The babies chewed on the minced meat, their bellies bulging, and then, still not satisfied, pounced on their next prey.

Masaharu Kondo stood at the doorway, watching the lavish feast with satisfaction.

When the last scream abruptly ceased, only headless corpses lay scattered in Yin Qingyue's room, while a dozen or so blood-stained teru teru bozu (Japanese teru bozu dolls) floated listlessly in the air.

He waved his hand, and the largest teru teru bozu (Japanese teru bozu doll) opened its gaping maw, and the other dolls, as if summoned, screamed as they were sucked into its black hole-like mouth.

With a "gulp," its body suddenly swelled up, and the snow-white fabric bulged like an inflating balloon, filling the entire corridor in the blink of an eye.

The lace trim was stretched taut, and the blue bow creaked under the strain.

Masaharu Kondo chuckled and patted its thick white cloth, the dull "thump" echoing in the empty hallway.

“Come on, my good boy,” he whispered.

"Let's go to the other floors and see if there are any survivors."

……

At this moment, in the room across the street.

Chu Zhibai was talking to A Yu when Jiang Jianxin stood at the window, looking out with his back to the two of them. His gaze was drawn to the scarlet bloodstains splattered on the opposite glass.

In her room across the way, the entire window was filled with a bulging white, the fabric pressing against the window frame to create wrinkles, like some kind of living thing slowly wriggling.

Jiang Jianxin blinked and subconsciously took half a step forward, wanting to see more clearly.

At that very moment—

The fabric suddenly shifted, revealing a dark line, and a huge, smiling eye pressed against the glass.

His eyes were closed, and he didn't look in her direction, but Jiang Jianxin felt the oppressive force emanating from that thing. She couldn't help but call out to Chu Zhibai:

"Look at that thing over there."

Chu Zhibai got up and walked over, looking at the spot where Jiang Jianxin's gaze lingered, and also noticed the enormous white creature.

She wasn't particularly surprised, she simply said:
"It is Masaharu Kondo's companion doll."

"Companion doll?"

Jiang Jianxin asked.

She recognized the taut lace on the white cloth; it was the one Kondo Masaharu was wearing on his back when she first met him on the subway.

Jiang Jianxin had overlooked the existence of the doll because he hadn't seen it make a move during their last night's fight.

"Yes, that's Kondo Masaharu's most powerful doll, and it's also a manifestation of his combat power. There are rumors that as long as that doll doesn't die, Kondo Masaharu can be resurrected indefinitely."

Chu Zhibai explained.

“When I fought him last time, I didn’t see the companion doll make a move.”

Jiang Jianxin told the truth.

"That should be in a dormant period. His companion doll will go into a dormant period after each major battle. Only by feeding it human heads can it wake up faster."

Chu Zhibai added.

Jiang Jianxin was vaguely aware of what was happening.

She saw Masaharu Kondo in the subway car. If he had just destroyed the previous station, then the first few days in the Happiness Lane neighborhood were indeed during his cooling-off period.

Jiang Jianxin glanced at Chu Zhibai and asked curiously:
"If you were to fight Masaharu Kondo's companion doll—who would win?"

"It's hard to say... He's in the Dreamer sequence, and so am I."

Chu Zhibai shrugged expressionlessly.

“Most dreamers hate facing other dreamers, so he doesn’t fight me, and I’ve never fought him head-on.”

Jiang Jianxin smiled, about to say something, when a sudden, urgent intuitive warning popped into his mind:
It's getting dark.

Before the writing had faded, the distant horizon suddenly distorted.

The inky darkness surged in like a tidal wave, instantly swallowing the last ray of light.

Jiang Jianxin hadn't expected it to get dark so quickly. While she was still in a daze, she suddenly heard a loud bang from the other side:

"boom--!!!"

A deafening crash ripped through the silence. The walls of the building opposite shattered amidst the violent tremors, the reinforced concrete collapsing layer by layer like fragile building blocks.

Amidst the billowing dust, a colossal object, as tall as a fifteen-story building, burst forth from the ground—

It was a terribly inflated teru teru bozu (a Japanese doll made of teru teru bozu), its white cloth stretched to almost transparent, the once neat lace trim now twisted and deformed.

As it slowly turned this way, its gaping maw resembled an abyss, revealing countless sharp teeth.

Jiang Jianxin stared silently at the enormous white figure that was fixed on them, and instinctively told his mind:

This is not good. It seems the thugs targeted this building first.

Intuition paused for a moment, then replied:
【Hey, you don't understand, do you? This is called a strategist putting himself in the game—】

[It's coming! It's coming! Run!]

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