Chapter 49: Teaming Up to Board the Ship

The woman walked up to Duoduo and grabbed her by the clothes.

Startled, Duoduo turned pale, her small face draining of color.

"Grandma, let go of me!"

"Let go!" The woman smiled as she looked at the middle-aged woman.

Though a smile hung on her face, her tone carried a clear warning.

The middle-aged woman turned to look at her and said coldly, "What if I refuse?"

"Player, she has already boarded the shuttle bound for the Ghost Woods and is under its protection. If you lay a hand on her anywhere outside the instance, I will represent the Ghost Woods in eliminating you. Please be advised."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Unconvinced and testing the waters, the middle-aged woman sneered.

Smiling, the woman produced a *** gun and aimed it straight at the middle-aged woman's head.

"I'll let go, I won't touch her!"

Startled out of her wits, the middle-aged woman hurriedly released Duoduo's clothes.

Duoduo raised her tiny hand, gently smoothed down her clothes, and looked at the woman with gratitude.

"Thank you, Auntie."

"Don't thank me. I am merely upholding the rules of the Ghost Woods."

The woman remained all smiles.

It seemed that smiling was the only expression her face could form.

Soon, the shuttle was full.

The middle-aged woman sat beside Duoduo, while behind her sat a trendy young man with a tuft of white hair.

The trendy young man stared unblinkingly at Duoduo's back, as if deep in thought.

Before long, the shuttle stopped in front of the crowd.

Seeing Duoduo sitting on the shuttle, April widened her eyes in astonishment.

Dean Zhou had gone to look for Duoduo that afternoon, only to be turned away by the guard under the pretext that Duoduo was resting.

She simply had not believed it when she heard Duoduo was still alive.

Originally, she had enough points and did not need to participate in this instance.

Yet, wanting to find out whether Duoduo was truly alive, she had followed Dean Zhou here.

She really hadn't died!

Why was her life so tenacious? Could even a hell-difficulty instance not claim her?

April clenched her fists, her cheeks flushed with anger.

Under her furious gaze, Duoduo hugged her ugly doll and hopped down from the shuttle.

Seeing that Duoduo was still full of life and bouncing around, Dean Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

She hurried forward, stopping right in front of Duoduo.

"Duoduo, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Director Mommy..."

Seeing a familiar face, Duoduo pressed her lips together.

Dean Zhou smiled and nodded. "Duoduo, Gate Number 1 is dangerous. Why don't you come with me and April tonight and enter through Gate Number 4?"

"No!" Duoduo refused without a moment's hesitation.

Daddy and big brother were both waiting for her inside Gate Number 1. If she entered the wrong door, she wouldn't be able to see them!

"Duoduo, be a good girl. As long as you come with us through Gate Number 4, I will protect you with all my might!"

Dean Zhou looked at Duoduo, hoping to persuade her.

Gate Number 1 was a hell-difficulty instance. Even if she wasn't afraid of death, following Duoduo into a hell-instance meant that, given her abilities, she could not guarantee Duoduo's safety.

She had absolute confidence in the easy-difficulty instance behind Gate Number 4.

Therefore, even if Duoduo disagreed today, she was determined to drag her into Gate Number 4!

"The door is open!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

Duoduo's eyes lit up as she hugged her ugly doll and ran toward the black vortex.

This time, Dean Zhou abandoned April without a moment's hesitation and hurried after Duoduo.

However, when she followed Duoduo into the black vortex, she was dumbfounded.

Inside the Ghost Woods, the area was still shrouded in red fog.

The only difference was that there was now only a single door left inside.

"Why is there only one door?"

"There isn't even a number on the door. How are we supposed to know what difficulty this instance is?"

Everyone who entered was stunned by the sight.

April pushed her way through the crowd, staring at the sole door before her with horror in her eyes.

In her past life, she had encountered this exact situation.

The difficulty of the instance was not chosen by themselves; instead, it was randomly assigned after forming teams.

And forming teams was the first hurdle they had to face.

Anyone who failed to successfully form a team within the allotted time would be eliminated by the Ghost Woods.

Now that she was a child, forming a team offered her no advantages whatsoever.

To survive the team-forming phase, she had to cling tightly to Dean Zhou and make sure she didn't choose Duoduo!

"Dean Mommy, you're walking so fast, I couldn't keep up!"

April hurried forward and grabbed tightly onto Dean Zhou's hand.

Duoduo looked at them, then turned her gaze back to the door in front of her.

Her home was gone; would she still be able to see her daddy and big brother?

No, Daddy had said he would come looking for her next time.

As long as she walked inside, she would get to see Daddy!

With that thought, Duoduo walked up to the door without hesitation.

The door was ajar and swung open with a gentle push.

Seeing Duoduo walk inside, Dean Zhou quickly followed.

Fear and excitement churned in April's heart, her pulse racing wildly.

It was almost time; Duoduo was about to die.

As long as no one chose her during the team formation shortly, she would be wiped out by the Ghost Woods.

April curved the corners of her lips, her eyes brimming with anticipation.

This time, she would get to watch Duoduo die right before her eyes!

Once inside the Ghost Woods, there was no turning back.

Either enter the instance or wait to be purged by the Ghost Woods.

Even without knowing what level of difficulty awaited them behind the door, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk in.

After all, if they fought for it, there might still be a chance of survival!

Inside the door lay a pitch-black night.

A red moon hung in the night sky.

The moon emitted a dull glow, looking as though it were made of painted paper.

Duoduo stood at the shore, before her loomed a massive cruise ship.

"Wow, it's so big!"

Duoduo tilted her head back to look at the cruise ship towering over her.

She had only ever seen such things on television; this was her very first time seeing a real ship with her own eyes!

"What kind of trick is this?"

Surely the Ghost Woods didn't pull out a cruise ship this big just to invite us on a vacation, did they?

Someone in the crowd made a joking remark.

The moment his voice trailed off, the cruise ship suddenly let out a blaring horn.

As the horn faded, a voice slowly echoed from the ship.

"Good evening, passengers. In light of everyone's support for the Ghost Woods, it has been decided to organize a team-building trip for you all. Over the next five days and six nights, you will spend a wonderful time aboard this cruise ship. But before that, please find your travel partner to kick off this wonderful journey. Please note, you have only five minutes. You must find your travel partner within five minutes. Once you have formed pairs, board the ship together."

"A journey? As if!"

"I think there's more to this team formation; it might just be the key to clearing the instance!"

The trendy young man stood in the crowd, his eyes darting craftily.

After the previous game of death hide-and-seek, he fully understood the importance of teammates.

To clear the instance, he had to find someone strong and capable.

Thinking this, the trendy young man scanned the crowd with his eyes.

Soon, locking onto a target, he hurried over and pitched his idea to the man.

The two hit it off immediately and successfully formed a team.

Seeing others successfully pairing up, the rest could no longer stay calm and eagerly began searching for their preferred teammates.

Dean Zhou looked at Duoduo, and seeing her searching for something in the crowd, she moved to walk in Duoduo's direction.

"Dean Mommy, let's team up, okay?"

April grabbed her hand, preventing her from going to Duoduo.

Dean Zhou looked down at her, hesitated for a moment, and nodded.

"Alright, let's go find Duoduo and board the ship together."

"But the person just said we have to form pairs. Dean Mommy, you can only choose between Duoduo and me!"

April looked up at her with a pitiful expression.

"Dean Mommy, you'll choose me, won't you?"

"April, I..."

Words of rejection failed Dean Zhou.

She reached out, intending to gently brush April's hand away.

However, April gripped her tightly, refusing to let go no matter what.

"Dean Mommy, Duoduo hates you; she won't team up with you. The only person you can choose is me!"

"April, you..."

Dean Zhou furrowed her brow, staring at April in disbelief.

Could those words really come out of the mouth of a five-year-old child?

"Dean Mommy, there are many people who like Duoduo, and she has plenty of choices. But we only have each other, so please choose me, okay?"