Volume 1 - CH 6

“XXXX/XX/XX

Xiao-Chun has been missing for three days!

My wife says she could have already… No, no no no, how could anyone do that to xiao-Chun! She’s just six years old! She was going to start primary school sun. Daddy already bought a new schoolbag for her. Xiao-Chun was so happy…

Xiao-Chun, you will come back to daddy’s side, right?

XXXX/XX/XX

It has been a week

We already have posters all the way in the neighbouring cities, but there isn’t any news. As if the whole world has just forgotten about her. My wife is staying by the phone all the time now, she’s on leave from her work.

She told me again that xiao-Chun may have… Fuck! What does she know! How could xiao-Chun… Impossible!

A regular customer was here today for dolls, asking if I made any new ones recently. How would I even have the time… xiao-Chun, xiao-Chun, xiao-Chun. My daughter…

XXXX/XX/XX

My wife told me today, if I keep going like this, we might end up dead before ever finding her.

She’s right. I don’t even think I can live anymore. It has been a month. When xiao-Chun just went missing, I felt like the world was over. I couldn’t live any longer, but now, I am practically a living corpse. Still alive.

A customer who didn’t know about xiao-Chun going missing was here to order a doll today, joking that I was almost becoming a doll myself, stiff and rigid… Looking like I’m just trundling by every day.

I am thinking about my daughter… my xiao-Chun. What happened to her? Is she scared? Would she cry? But my xiao-Chun loved to smile. She is like a ball of pure joy, my angel…

Why would anyone ever hold ill-will against her?

XXXX/XX/XX

I had an argument with my wife.

She said we have to give up on looking for xiao-Chun… Or, at least, not searching for her madly like we have been doing.

She said, if this continued, we’d have to give up on the store.

She said, we are still young, we could still…

… She quit her job already to look for xiao-Chun, but why did she change now?

XXXX/XX/XX

Xü Beijin has pulled the camera of the stream closer to read the diary with the viewers.

Ponytail flips through it pretty quickly, but it’s enough for them to get a gist of what’s going on. Xü Beijin also feels like the audience might be taking screenshots like mad too.

There were some happy daily moments recorded in the front, but since the daughter has gone missing, the diary’s owner has become increasingly depressed. The words are filled with a father’s love and yearning for his daughter, and his own depression and misery.

The missing young daughter was a heavy blow to the couple. It seems the wife of the dollmaker got through it, but the father didn’t.

And the information Xü Beijin received indicated that the couple ended up divorced after the daughter went missing; a common end, perhaps for many couples that lost their children.

Meanwhile, the viewers of the stream are also discussing the information from the diary.

One of them, perhaps someone who’s into true-crime or detective novels, can no longer hold their imagination back, typing a whole passage of analysis on the comments.

“Such an interesting game! With all this attention to detail even in a diary!

… Sorry sorry I’m a bit worked up. Let me share my own two cents.

This game is clearly based around the case of a missing girl. Not a lot of info so far, nor many clues about the incident itself in the diary, but I can provide several examples for similar missing cases –

First, we have to consider those close of kin as suspects. Her parents, friends, relatives, even neighbours. Also, a possibility is that the girl ran away from home or just plain got lost.

She’s six, and kids this age already have a vague sense of ‘familiar’ and ‘unfamiliar’ people. Parents would usually have also reinforced that concept by that point. It’s unlikely she would have just left with a stranger. Those close to her are likely suspects.

Second, if it really is a stranger, kidnapping is also a possibility, but I am leaning more towards the former, because most importantly, this is a game. A game means that the scriptwriter is unlikely to just point his fingers randomly at an unknown, never-before-seen character to say that he is the perpetrator. Players will feel anti-climatic and even betrayed.

Therefore, the criminal must have been someone seen in-game. We haven’t explored all the scenes yet, therefore, we may not have seen the full cast of characters.

However, taking a step back from the game, considering that we are viewers here, we can spot something suspicious here.

In the analysis here, one factor has been conveniently left out.

That is——The host!”

Xü Beijin “?”

This viewer is obviously excited, convinced that they have found a perfect point for dissecting the whole thing.

“First, what is this game, really? I’m not sure yet, but this is likely some kind of mystery-solving, exploring kind of game, with parts from action-adventure.

Therefore, the problem is, what are the roles in play? Who are the players in this game? What is their objective for doing this? What is the game’s ultimate goal?

The players we’ve been observing seem to suggest their detectives or some kind of investigator, here to investigate the case of the dollmaker’s missing daughter.

Also note that, this is a multiplayer game. What would be an important element of any multiplayer game? The stances of different characters! Therefore, it stands to reason that there must be competition (TL: Or cooperation, for that matter) between the players. Or there would be no fun in playing.

Next question, why has the host, the streamer themselves, not appeared up to this point? Not even speaking? He changed the camera view just now, so it means he must be right here, and not afking.

This means that he must be playing this game as well. Why won’t he at least greet us? It must mean that something is going on on his side! Something that might even potentially affect the entire game progression and even spoil the plot for the audience! For a stream, it is obviously something to be avoided at all costs.

So, a new problem, what is that situation?

I couldn’t figure it out at first, and I was even mulling over it when I made comments earlier… But I’ve got it now. Or rather, I stumbled upon it. The problem of the roles of the players.

What if this game, needed someone to act as the criminal? What if the host, is the criminal?

He cannot change the camera over to him, because he has the missing girl there! He does not even dare to connect his sound because the girl’s cries could be in the background!

I’m not sure yet what the dolls chasing the players are about, or why that doll of a little girl is looking for eyes, why the stairs to the second floor are blocked off… But, one thing is for sure.

The host, is the kidnapper here!”

The whole dump of analysis makes the other viewers applaud in turn.

“i got it, i understand! the proof is in the pudding!”

“nice bro, i bet the host is now shaking behind the scene he got busted immediately!”

“Haha, thank you, you praise me too much. It is just my personal opinion. For reference only, you know. Of course, I still think what I said is highly likely the case.”

“i completely agree! its well reasoned! no other way the host wont appear”

“yeah the host must be the one behind all this!”

Xü Beijin “…”

His jaws are on the floor.

No wait, bro! Your very premise is wrong!

A wrong premise, leading to a wrong conclusion.

Even though his logic was pretty sensible!

Xü Beijin can’t even defend himself here, because the Server would never allow him to talk about himself merely ‘acting’ his role. Not to mention that even if he did tell them he’s acting… that detective here could clearly just say that that proves he’s acting as the criminal!

He’s slightly depressed at this point.

The viewer, confident with his own reasoning, ends up even more confident when five minute passes and the doll strikes again for the Nightmare to restart, during which the host never makes an appearance.

He declares confidently, “the host must be the kidnapper!”

The heck you so harsh on him about!

Xü Beijin retorts in his mind, as harshly as he can.

Before he can think of some way to deal with this bunch of silly viewers in his stream, the door to the bookstore is pushed open. Three people walk in, Ponytail, Quarrelsome and Lin Qin.

Xü Beijin pauses, while thinking that it seems like the dolls are after Glasses first on its fifth run.

The camera is still fixed on Glasses right now, so it’s a good thing he’s the one chased by the doors… At least, it means Xü Beijin wouldn’t be exposed to the viewers just yet.

And the moment they stand in front of Xü Beijin, he suddenly receives some additional information from the Server.

It’s the first time he has ever experienced such a development. It is slightly surprising for him.

As Missiontakers explore the Nightmare more, the Actors would also receive more information in turn to support their acting. The question here is, Xü Beijin is just an extra in this. He shouldn’t have to possess so much information.

Then he gets it.

Normally, these Missiontakers should have tried to wake up the owner of the Dollmaker’s, yet perhaps they’ve been misled by previous Missiontakers to assume Xü Beijin is the only NPC to provide information in the Nightmare.

They have already explored the requisite amount, but they wouldn’t go to the appropriate NPC. Therefore, the Server had to deal with this flexibly, allowing Xü Beijin to receive extra information even as an extra in this Nightmare.

It’s slightly exciting for Xü Beijin too, since——It really is his first time ever participating in a Nightmare properly.

His usual roles as extras were usually the corpse on the ground or a simple background NPC in a store. It was unbelievably boring; at least he can talk to the Missiontakers now and spy on their mission progress through the streaming system…

Colour is coming into his life.

Xü Beijin thinks, while standing up, showing a friendly smile to the Missiontakers——Even though the annoying Lin Qin is among them.

He asks, “hello, can I help you?”

Ponytail is about to talk when she suddenly knits her brows and examines Xü Beijin with narrowed eyes, then suddenly asks, “laoban, have you ever run into the daughter of the owner of the store next door?” (TL: The raws are more ‘have you ever had contact with the daughter’ which feels misleading in English so I changed it. I hope this is closer to the actual meaning)

Xü Beijin “…”

Really really really? Can she also be suspecting that he is the kidnapper?!

Xü Beijin’s smile slowly fades away.