Pen Spirit 4
Behind the black-haired girl, countless straw men twisted and came to life.
Their red scarves trembled slightly, straw hats shook violently, as if they would fall to the ground in the next second.
They moved their limbs and lunged toward the girl.
The scene was utterly terrifying.
Endless, dense straw men instantly “engulfed” her delicate, beautiful figure.
Those who had intended to compete for first place froze in place, staring in shock, hesitation creeping into their hearts.
Old Lei sighed, unable to bear seeing a girl like a budding flower die tragically.
In the next moment, Ying Yan turned her head and gave a faint glance.
Her eyes were bright, pupils jet black, emotions almost nonexistent.
Every straw man in sight stopped moving. Their black stone eyes fixed on her, full of malice.
Ying Yan didn’t delay. She stepped over the pure white track line and ran with full concentration.
She passed quickly and cautiously among clusters of straw men frozen in various poses.
At this point, her keen hearing became extremely useful.
The rustling sound came from all directions. Ying Yan immediately looked toward the source, causing the few moving straw men to freeze again.
Wind whistled past her ears, carrying a faint fragrance of locust flowers.
Two laps, three minutes—it would be enough.
The people retreating to the straw hut watched the blurry figure on the bright red track, their shock even greater than that caused by the sea of straw men.
Old Lei, mouth agape, voiced what everyone was thinking:
“This girl runs so fast… could she be on the national team?!”
This time, White Rose didn’t scold him. She touched her jade bracelet with slender fingers and added,
“I roughly calculated—one lap of the track is about 400 meters. If the prophet runs a minute per lap, and maintains that speed, she might be at national athlete level.”
She glanced at the others. “I can’t run that fast. Should we cooperate?”
Some faces lit up with the thought.
First place was already essentially decided. Surviving the straw men’s attack was the immediate priority.
Xiao Chen spoke up: “Cooperate? How? Explain!”
She had always failed in running since childhood. When it came time to run, she would surely fall behind.
Fu Ping didn’t join the discussion, focusing on observing the situation on the field.
She pressed her lips together, her inner conflict surfacing in her eyes, but she forced it back.
Fu Ping—real name Mu Xiang—thought to herself:
Mu Xiang, you can’t be wilful and weak anymore!
In the next instant, Mu Xiang stood firmly behind the track line, back to the straw men, and said,
“One, two, three, freeze!”
Then, she turned her head.
The straw men that had slightly moved instantly stiffened. Their black stone eyes turned toward Mu Xiang, flashing with malicious light.
It was as if they were about to skin their chosen prey alive and swallow it whole.
Though the straw men didn’t open their mouths, countless twisted words appeared in Mu Xiang’s ears, drilling into her brain:
“Humans, humans, slurp slurp~”
“I like you so much, I want to make you like us, stay here with us!”
“Foolish straws, someone’s going to win!”
“…”
Mu Xiang’s face went pale.
These voices gradually overlapped with countless murmurs from her memory.
“Save me~ someone save me!”
“Kill her, kill her, kill her…”
“She deserves to die! Die! Die…”
In that moment, she felt transported back to a dark little room many years ago.
Mu Xiang forced her thoughts away and sprinted along the red track.
Amid the faint scent of locust flowers, countless terrifying images appeared, disturbing her mind.
In the dusky evening light, human puppets hung from the ceiling, surrounding a coffin. Black plastic beads flowed with dark red blood.
When unsuspecting children stumbled in, all the puppets turned their heads, black beads reflecting a small, frightened shadow sitting on the ground…
Since then, Mu Xiang realized something dormant in her bloodline had awakened.
She could hear the faint complaints and bitter curses of the puppets.
Sometimes, even the malicious thoughts of strangers would intrude into her mind.
This situation didn’t end when her neurotic second uncle was arrested—it only intensified.
As she grew older, her fear and disgust of puppets became deeply ingrained.
Time suddenly felt long and arduous—until a voice sounded beside her.
Fu Ping woke with a start, realizing she had unknowingly stopped. A straw man lay in ambush just ahead.
“Fu Ping, watch out for the flower scent!”
When Ying Yan reached the final half lap, the fragrance of flowers in the air suddenly intensified.
Inhaling it unconsciously made her brain feel drowsy.
In reality, locust flowers have cooling, hemostatic, liver-clearing, and anti-inflammatory effects—but they are not hypnotic.
This was normal. In this strange space, things that looked real were often not.
Like “One, Two, Three, Freeze.”
To resist the inexplicable drowsiness, Ying Yan slightly slowed her pace and noticed Fu Ping.
From her body language, Fu Ping didn’t appear sleepy, but rather seemed trapped in some hallucination.
This flower trick was quite effective!
In reality, Ying Yan took only a few seconds to consider this.
Following the principle of “rescue as many as you can,” she immediately warned Fu Ping.
The effect was unseen.
No sooner had she spoken than she dashed across the track line.
Eight hundred meters, completed in exactly two minutes and fifty seconds.
Slightly slower than her school fitness record, but the threatening straw men were entirely rendered ineffective.
Running 800 meters at full speed still affected Ying Yan.
Her face flushed, lips pale, sweat soaking her clothes, heart pounding fiercely.
But she hadn’t caught her breath when her vision flickered—countless unfamiliar scenes appeared.
Blue sky, white clouds, dim sunlight. The same playground—but no straw men.
Several teenagers sat on the artificial grass, looking up toward the basketball court.
One red-haired girl had a cute, doll-like face. She tilted her head, her red scarf slipping off her shoulder, revealing two dimples as she smiled:
“Hey, which ones do you like? Tell me, I promise I won’t compete with you.”
Up to this point, the scene was normal.
Though a few teenagers discussing favorites felt slightly surreal to Ying Yan.
These children appeared unusually mature.
Then the scene shifted to the basketball court.
A dozen boys in black sportswear with white numbers practiced, throwing “basketballs” into each other’s hoops with fierce determination.
At first glance, the balls seemed ordinary.
But on closer inspection, they weren’t balls—they were human heads, with tightly shut eyes faintly visible.
Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
Small blood-covered circles appeared on the court.
As the boys passed the “balls” around, the circles multiplied, expanded, and merged.
Dark red blood, mixed with yellowish-white matter, gradually covered the entire ground…
“Hey, why aren’t you answering me?”
The camera returned to the grass.
Seemingly ignored, the red-haired girl pouted, pretending to be upset:
“Xiaoxiao, what do you think?”
A brown-haired girl looked up, her black eyes fixed. Staring too long, a creepy feeling arose.
She moved her arms, producing a clicking sound, whispering:
“Pick whoever you want, my straw transformation isn’t complete yet!”
Meanwhile, a panicked boy watched the basketball court and said:
“I…I’m fine with any!”
After a while, seeing the red-haired girl wasn’t angry, he cautiously asked:
“Number one, can I have it?”
The red-haired girl smiled, dimples full of innocence:
“Of course you can.”
The scene ended there. Ying Yan felt her pocket grow heavy.
Calmly, she reached in and touched it, her expression flickering.
Not only that, a two-meter semi-circular passage appeared on the wall ahead.
Ying Yan looked up. Fu Ping had completed one lap; the other players were standing in small groups.
White Rose, Old Lei, and Xiao Chen together.
The twins and Apple and Orange together.
The teacher alone, hesitating between the two teams.
None of them seemed to notice the sudden passage, still discussing cooperation.
Ying Yan didn’t rush. She listened quietly for a while.
Their plan was simple: divide the 800-meter “fitness test” into sections for a relay.
First, one person ran while another stayed and shouted “One, Two, Three, Freeze!” to control the straw men.
Then they switched: the runner rested, the other controlled, continuing in turns until everyone completed their lap.
If no one could run 800 meters straight, this guaranteed a chance to survive.
Not long after, Ying Yan was noticed.
Everyone except Fu Ping gathered, asking about the clues she had obtained.
She generously described what she saw, neutrally.
Finally, she reminded them:
“Pay attention to the locust flower scent—it currently causes drowsiness and hallucinations. Effects may vary by person.”
According to the pen spirit, at least six people needed to survive to answer six questions and pass the game.
If too many died in the first round, later rounds couldn’t be played.
Thus, most people would restrain selfish impulses at the start, trying to survive themselves and others.
After speaking, Ying Yan headed straight for the newly appeared passage.
She had a strong premonition:
Winning “One, Two, Three, Freeze” but lingering on the playground would lead to something bad.
Right or wrong, it was safer to leave.