Today, I Have Yet to Become a Doll

The mention of the frog seemed to bring the conversation to a standstill.

For a while, no one spoke, and the cave was silent.

Even in silence, time was still passing. Soon the golden ball would appear and tell them that the next round of the game was about to begin, their lives hanging in the balance once more.

During the silence, Hui Ge sized up Shen Mo and Tan Xiao, suspicion gradually creeping into his eyes. "Say, you two aren't chickening out, are you?"

"Why don't you go if you're so brave?!" Tan Xiao glared at him coldly.

Hui Ge was momentarily speechless.

He quickly recovered and let out a light snort.

"I'd love to," he said, glancing at Shen Mo. "Too bad I don't have the skills of some people."

Among them, only Shen Mo could inflict substantial damage on the frog.

"The capable ones shoulder more responsibility, buddy. Looks like you're stuck being our hero again next round." A roguish smile played on Hui Ge's lips as he spoke, his words laced with a sense of entitlement.

Tan Xiao despised Hui Ge's attitude, but right now, besides Shen Mo, there was really no one else they could count on.

So, he patted Shen Mo's shoulder righteously. "I'll help you next round!"

Shen Mo's face remained expressionless.

He held the small knife, wiping away the mucus with muddy water. The damp, fishy smell spread, no different from an ordinary frog.

"The frog's skin is thin, easy to wound, but its muscles are thick. The depth a knife can penetrate is very limited. If we want to buy time by injuring it, we'll probably need to find another weakness."

He finished speaking and raised his dark eyes, a certain pressure in their depths that inexplicably made people want to obey. It was the authority his profession bestowed upon him.

"Same as last time, we move as soon as the ball stops. Those who are afraid can stay in their snails, but I'm also warning you, the snails won't protect you forever."

Everyone's faces darkened.

"What if the frog does that again…" someone muttered under their breath.

This was what terrified them the most. The frog's sudden appearance left no time for warning. One snap of its jaws and a person was swallowed whole, no time to even escape, let alone find the ball.

"It won't."

An abrupt voice broke the silence.

Everyone recognized the voice as Zhang Hua's. They turned to look, but found him still inside his snail shell, seemingly unwilling to come out. He spoke slowly from within, "The frog didn't eat any bugs last round, it's hungry. This round it'll be even more eager than before. As for next time…"

He paused, as if counting silently. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "There are fewer people, so it won't happen next time."

His explanation was unsettling, yet it made a strange kind of sense.

Teacher Cheng spoke up again, "I also think the frog won't suddenly appear like that again. It's injured, its agility will definitely be affected, maybe it won't even appear next round! Everyone, don't be discouraged by one setback! We should keep moving forward, we must keep moving forward!"

The teacher's words were always met with scorn, yet they couldn't help but spark a glimmer of hope.

That's right.

The frog was injured, maybe it was too scared to come out again?

No matter how big it was, it was still just a timid frog.

Hui Ge spat on the ground and said through gritted teeth, "Damn it, let's try again! I don't believe it, it's just a stupid ball, how hard can it be to find?!"

The others' expressions varied, some showing a look of determination, while others still hesitated.

Bai Youwei looked at the snail shell where Zhang Hua was hiding, lost in thought.

Zhang Hua wasn't a warm-hearted person, why would he help Shen Mo persuade everyone to find the ball? Was it just because he couldn't stand the indifference and selfishness of these people, so he spoke up out of righteousness?

…No, if he was truly righteous, he would have told them how to clear the game.

But he didn't say anything.

Of course, neither did she.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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