My Notoriety Spreads Throughout the World-Chapter 392 - 336: Dolls, Treasure, and Treasure Chests

The players continued to push northward, barely seeing any guards along the way. Occasionally, a few patrolling guards would spot them, but before they could raise an alarm, Yueyue had already slit their throats with a swing of her hatchet.

The players in the group watched in silence as the pink-haired girl, full of inexplicable resentment, walked ahead of them. No one dared to say a word or inquire about the situation.

They were still counting on this female killer to cover them.

There was clearly a disparity among the new players, and this pink-haired girl was evidently the one who adapted the quickest and was the first to reveal her fangs.

It's important to note that those who could access the Oasis were mostly young aristocrats who grew up in privileged environments. Most of them had never even killed a chicken by hand and would feel repulsed at the sight of bright red blood, even in a game. It's one thing to fight zombies, but to hack at people as relentlessly as the girl did—they couldn't manage that.

Just the thought that someone among them might be like this pink-haired girl, appearing shy and innocent in everyday life but unleashing their true self in the game, revealing the madness hidden deep inside, left them unsettled.

This game was just too real, they sighed.

...

Meanwhile, in the nursery, the Law Enforcer was still searching above, smashing everything in sight, cursing with harsh words, looking as though he would not stop until he turned the place upside down.

The man with a bullet wound in his chest and abdomen slightly lifted the hatch of the cellar, and once he confirmed no Law Enforcers were wandering near the kitchen, he breathed a sigh of relief and silently closed the hatch.

This temporary refuge in the nursery was specially built by Miss Elia. When one day the infected broke through the front line, and disaster unexpectedly struck this small nursery, the caretakers could bring the children to this little place to await rescue.

No one expected this refuge to be used in such a way, not because of the infected, but to evade humans.

Benjamin occasionally felt cold sweat creeping over him, the numbness nearly engulfing his entire body. He was hit by stray bullets during the escape, and now the bullets were lodged in his abdomen, his blood flowing continuously. Perhaps the pain would come once the adrenaline faded, or perhaps before then, his heart would stop beating.

Looking at the anxious and cautious eyes in the dark, Benjamin had many things he wanted to say but couldn't, fearing the children might hear his weakness in his words.

The irony of reality often forces the naturally timid to take up arms and resist. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Benjamin slowly slid down to the ground against the wall, leaving bloodstains like a cloth had been wiped across it, his dim eyes like a candle about to be blown out by the wind.

"Are you alright?" Owl, noticing the man's weakness, stepped out from the shadows.

The man got shot while protecting them. In reality, a regular person should lose the ability to move the moment they're struck by a bullet. Yet at that moment, the man had burst forth with unprecedented energy, stubbornly holding on and leading them to this cellar.

"I'm fine...!" Benjamin forced a strained smile, as if afraid his safety was a concern, trying to stand to prove himself, but his body wouldn't grant him the opportunity to explain himself. "I'm fine..."

Attempting to stand up again and again, each time unwillingly falling.

This only brought more confused, fearful, and uncomprehending looks from the children, and his face grew paler.

"Alright, I might need to rest a bit to stand up." Benjamin exhaled a deep breath.

What exactly drove him to do a series of bold things, daring to take in several wayward children, knock out a fierce Law Enforcer, and lead the children through a storm of bullets? Clearly, these didn't fit his personality. He was supposed to be a very timid person.

Before today, he was supposed to be nothing more than an ordinary editor-in-chief of a publishing house. Perhaps at this moment, he should be enjoying afternoon tea in a viewing carriage, eating intensely flavored honey pancakes and colorful macarons, drinking rich coffee and milk.

Maybe he should return to the publishing house to finish the mountain of work, then try writing a few pages of fairy tales at his desk, even if he couldn't come up with anything. His imaginative world was rich; he could think while returning home, while having afternoon tea, or while lying in bed with his eyes closed, roaming in dreams.

Then one day, he would tell them to the children at the nursery, listening to their exclamations of praise and admiring looks. Clearly, such would be enough. He simply enjoyed seeing the children's smiling faces and hearing their cheerful voices.

He just...

...

Just...

He just wanted a little more blue sky in his unchanging life.

Just hoped the warm sun would linger a bit longer in his dull life.

Just didn't want these scarred children to be bullied anymore.

For these,

He could do so much more,

He could memorize and recite those seemingly childish and naive fairy tales silently within his heart.

He could keep his clothes immaculately tidy.

He could smile at every person passing by him.

Alright, maybe these aren't anything remarkable.

Because he is just a regular person.

The only thing worth boasting about in this lifetime is using his life's savings to establish Three-legged Bird Publishing House; as chief editor of the publishing house, he could print the world in his mind and publish it, allowing more people to see it.

Even though in this era, people don't really need such pure innocence and beauty at the beginning.

The poor need bread, food, and water if they don't have warm clothes and a home, they numb themselves with grievances.

The wealthy prefer discussing politics, being keen on philosophy and the future, using theories and more profound terminology as their behavioral guidelines. If the guideline isn't tight enough, they remain stuck and fall into an endless void.

He didn't want the sorrow of adults,

To become the sorrow of the children.

So,

What drove him?

Benjamin wondered about this.

Should he stand up,

Like a hero, rush out with fanfare, defeat all the villains, and then fall magnificently, moving those who knew his life's course?

But he truly couldn't stand up anymore.

He had no courage to face those stern-eyed Law Enforcers again.

He wasn't a hero,

He was just an ordinary person,

Unaware if his living world was real.

The bullet grazing him by chance was enough to take his life.

The ideal self was an unattainable shore.

Even if a miracle occurred and his wounds healed, he couldn't escape the Law Enforcers' judgment.

His blood had nearly all drained,

Leaving him to ponder these questions in the ebbs and flows of consciousness, recalling his ordinary life.

Truly,

Truly,

So unwilling...

Under the anxious gaze of the children, Benjamin's body fell heavily to the ground with a thud.

"Are you alright?"

Owl approached the fallen man, her voice trembling uncontrollably. At that moment, she fully realized the man wanted to take them in and never intended to hand them to those Law Enforcers.

Perhaps initially, when the man heard their news from the transport team, he felt joy and pride, his eyes lively, but now, the clear lake blue was obscured by thick gray.

She wanted to apologize for her initial misunderstanding of the man, lightly pushing his shoulder, tears sliding from her eyes, uttering apologies, and crying out for him to hold on a little longer, but it was all meaningless.

Benjamin couldn't hear or see.

She saw a book fall from the man's embrace,

Chen Pu's book cover stained with blood, shining faintly in the dark.

-- "Collection of Fairy Tales"

What drove him,

To carry out a series of unreasonable acts?

In his life's final moments, Benjamin finally found the answer to this question, in a treasure chest filled with dolls and treasures.

He murmured, his voice faint and sorrowful.

"I thought... I would become a proud father."