NFM Chapter 88

“Struggling to survive in the greenhouse of sin, composing a tragic song of kindness with life and humanity, and I, as the gatekeeper, represent ‘him,’ to you, to old friends,”

At this point, it closed its eyes and revealed an expression of being immersed in happiness.

A terrifying doll like Annabelle showing the innocent expression of a young girl, like Big Bear and Little Bear hugging Gray Wolf and acting coquettishly—in the eyes of others, it was an eerie smile, horrifying to the extreme.

“Offer the most sincere blessings—”

With that, it took off its hat and bowed to Lin Huai again, snapped its fingers, and disappeared into the darkness.

At the same time, the cold voice of the system echoed in everyone’s minds.

“The Game will officially begin in five minutes. The worldview information will now be transmitted to all participants—three, two, one—”

“Intermediate Field Mission: Civilized World, commence. Examiner: Disguised Doll Freddy.”

“Mission content: Obtain as many voting tickets as possible within one month and secure a spot in the top four. Simultaneously, filling 70% of the reputation progress bar will fulfill the survival condition. The Fame System will be activated shortly.”

As the system’s voice faded, Lin Huai opened his eyes. In his field of vision, besides the familiar corridor, a strange blank progress bar appeared in the upper right corner. The progress cursor was stationary at the far left, at the zero point, while the right end was marked with a green “100,” indicating full capacity.

“The first exhibition will begin in one hour. Please prepare accordingly.”

“Being a good person will help increase the green fame value, while the opposite will decrease it…” the fat man muttered as he read the introduction to the Fame System, looking out through the glass window.

He saw that the other players also had a blank progress bar above their heads, with the values all stuck at “0.” The NPCs sitting in the glass cabinets also had identical progress bars above their heads. Their progress bars were filled with varying amounts of green, some at 5, some at 10.

“Fill the progress bar, do good deeds…” the fat man said, confused. “What does it mean to be a good person?”

“What exactly is this fame value?” the white-collar worker pondered, puzzled. “Did any of you understand what the system meant?”

As he spoke, he looked at the others. The rest of the group also shook their heads in confusion.

“…This is really baffling,” the fat man complained. “Accumulate fame value? How do we accumulate it? Dance in the glass cabinet? Perform talents? And what’s with this elimination system? It’s making my scalp tingle… What is this, a deathmatch version of Produce 101?”

He cracked a cold joke, but no one responded.

After a while, Zhao Jingtian said coldly, “There are only four spots in the top four.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Huai.

“…”

For a moment, no one spoke. Then, the Sunflower Girl chuckled softly, “And there are seven of us players.”

“Three people,” she said, her beautiful eyes blinking. “Three people will be eliminated. I wonder who those three will be?”

After saying this, which sounded more like a question, she hummed a tune and walked around the room a few times.

“Who knows?” Lin Huai also smiled and shrugged. “This kind of thing is like a skin returning to the store—you can’t know the result until the very last moment… But, I’m really annoyed…”

“Big Brother Lin, what’s wrong?” Lu Xiaotian asked.

“I have to dye this thing on my head green,” Lin Huai said, pointing to the progress bar above his head. “I hate green…”

“That’s not the point!! The point is the game content!” the fat man retorted. “Damn it, I’ve never been elected as a class monitor in my life, and now I have to compete in a popularity contest…”

As he spoke, he slumped to the ground, hugging his weak, fat, and helpless self. Seeing how sad he looked, Lin Huai kindly squatted beside him and tapped on the glass.

“You don’t have to be so sad,” Lin Huai said.

“How can I not be sad! You guys are either handsome or beautiful, can sing, dance, rap, and play games…” the fat man said, filled with indignation. “Damn it…”

“At least one good thing happened,” Lin Huai said.

“What good thing?”

The fat man poked his head out. Lin Huai said word by word, “At least your two bodyguards didn’t come in. If they had, your ranking would have dropped two more spots.”

Fat man: …

Lin Huai: “Don’t worry, when life closes a door, it always opens a window.”

The fat man said with a tearful face, “I just feel like life has sealed my doors and windows, opened a chimney, and stuffed me into the chimney…”

His own comfort seemed to make the fat man even more depressed. Lin Huai felt like he had done something wrong. He returned to the corner to rest for a while. Lu Xiaotian looked at the others who were resting and sneakily crawled over to Lin Huai.

“Big Brother Lin,” he whispered mysteriously, “what did that doll say to you just now?”

Lin Huai lifted one eyelid. Lu Xiaotian scratched his head, his youthful eyes sparkling with energy. He chuckled a few times and cooed, “Just tell me, I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Lin Huai said, “You really want to hear it?”

Lu Xiaotian: “Yes!”

Lin Huai glanced at the people around him and crooked his finger at him: “Come here.”

Lu Xiaotian obediently crawled over. Seeing him close, Lin Huai whispered in his ear, “Call me Daddy.”

“Huh?”

Lu Xiaotian began to doubt his ears. He said with a bitter smile, “Bro, don’t joke around. I’m serious.”

Lin Huai: “Call me Daddy.”

Lu Xiaotian: …

He struggled for a long time, but his desire for knowledge finally overcame his shame. After a while, he said awkwardly, “Daddy.”

Lin Huai: “Good boy.”

After saying this, Lin Huai tilted his head and fell asleep.

“Hey, hey—” Lu Xiaotian was furious, “You said you’d tell me if I called you Daddy! You liar—”

As he shouted, footsteps came from outside the wooden door in the corridor.

“…Director, the works brought by the doctor have all been placed in this exhibition hall,” a man said as he pushed open the wooden door. “After the long journey, their mental state was indeed a bit sluggish at first—but don’t worry, after two days of recuperation, they are now fully ready for exhibition. The ticket price for the ‘Eden’ Pavilion has also risen to 200 star coins per ticket—”

“Very good, this exhibition period will last for three months,” the middle-aged man said. “During this time, I don’t want any mishaps to occur, do you understand?”

“Of course,” the man said with a yellow-toothed smile. “You know, the tickets for the Capital Museum of the Greenhouse have been selling poorly for a long time. Everyone is addicted to the internet and doesn’t like to go out—but now, to participate in this feast, they’re all rushing over. We’ve also opened an online live streaming channel, where VIP members get free tickets. Of course, one online ticket is only equivalent to half a ticket here—all of this is thanks to Dr. Lucifer’s help…”

“I’m just practicing my beliefs,” another man said. “Getting society to accept the existence of potential criminals has always been something I’ve wanted to do…”

As they spoke, they walked into the exhibition hall.

The man at the front looked exactly like the person Lin Huai had seen on the poster, with emerald green eyes, brown hair, and gold-rimmed glasses that sparkled with intelligence. What attracted Lin Huai more than his striking appearance was the progress bar above his head—almost completely dyed green.

99—a full 99!

The assistant beside him, wearing a mask, had a progress bar of only 60. The museum staff leading them had a pitiful 30 on their green bar. Under his guidance, Dr. Lucifer, with his hands behind his back, inspected all his creations. He carefully observed the state of the exhibits in the glass cabinets, as if they were some modernist oil paintings.

As he approached, almost all the listless exhibits showed signs of shrinking back.

These people, when facing the exhibits in the glass cabinets, had a natural, condescending attitude. They looked at the people in the glass cabinets as if they were some lower life forms. Lucifer tapped on this cabinet, then that one, and as he passed the 91st cabinet, something unusual happened.

Inside the 91st display cabinet lay a red-haired girl. She had been sitting listlessly on the bed, holding a doll in her arms.

Red hair is often associated with a fiery temper, so even though this girl was very delicate, it wasn’t surprising that she was considered a potential criminal. Her eyes were so listless, as if nothing in the world could spark her interest. Lucifer squatted down and looked at her for a while, then suddenly asked the person beside him, “Where is her sister? I remember they were twins.”

“Her sister jumped off a building during treatment due to a mental breakdown,” the secretary beside him said. “The new intern accidentally increased the current of the aversion therapy—”

“Ahhh—”

A scream suddenly came from the 91st room. The once docile and helpless girl threw the doll in her hands and threw herself at the glass. It seemed like she had heard something that greatly stimulated her, and her previously muddled mind became frenzied.

The aggressive posture frightened the people in front of the glass. “Electrocute her!” the secretary shouted. “Electrocute her!”

A strong electric current traveled from the collar, up the nerves, and into the girl’s brain. She let out a wail and fell to the ground, convulsing continuously, while the tattered doll fell at her feet.

The director and the others, who had almost been attacked, were still in shock, but Dr. Lucifer, as if accustomed to such scenes, showed no surprise. “Another mentally unstable failure. Dispose of her,” he said, clapping his hands.

The guards nodded in understanding, opened the glass window, and were about to drag the girl out. But at that moment, a loud bang came from deep within the corridor.

Bang, bang, bang.

The sound of the crash was accompanied by strange cracking noises. Everyone looked at each other and stopped what they were doing. The director and the others signaled to put the girl back in the cage, close the glass door, and hurriedly made their way to the depths of the corridor.

“What’s going on?” the director asked the guard. “Didn’t we use the best shatterproof glass?”

“I don’t know, Director. That glass can stop bullets. It’s the latest model. Even a dozen AK-47s firing at it wouldn’t leave a mark…” the guard said, wiping his sweat.

The electronic alarm indicated that the sound came from the 81st cabinet. They didn’t take long to reach the scene of the accident and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the intact glass.

“You mother—” the guard was about to curse, but Dr. Lucifer stopped him.

Beside the glass of the 81st room sat a pale, frail, but handsome young man. He had one leg crossed and the other bent in front of him. Seeing everyone arrive, he grinned and laughed at them shamelessly.