A stick figure was drawn on the paper.
Wen Xishu understood everything at this moment. He picked up the paper and the gloves, heading towards 4-26.
Soon, with the gloves in his hands, Wen Xishu also saw patterns of hands appear above his head.
When all the items assembled at 4-26, the patterns floating above everyone’s heads finally formed a hexagon.
The stick figure’s head was a simple circle, and its body was a somewhat narrow hexagon. The white paper with the stick figure began to emit a golden glow.
Wen Xishu noticed that the double-foot pattern above Lei Yihong’s head disappeared.
Or rather, it had not disappeared, but transferred to the white paper. The extremely simple legs of the stick figure soon had many intricate details.
Next were the double-hand patterns from the gloves, also transferring to the white paper. Just like before, the stick figure’s hands quickly gained numerous details, no longer crude, as if they were real hands.
Moving onwards, the stick figure gained a mouth. The first facial feature appeared within the round head.
In that moment, everyone noticed that the picture on the white paper could no longer be described as a "stick figure."
It was becoming increasingly vivid.
Its body became richer in details due to the enhancements of the hands and feet.
Soon, a nose and ears appeared as well. The face started showing details familiar to people like Granny Wu:
Lele cheered:
"It’s Brother Ding Dong, is Brother Ding Dong coming back?"
Everyone thought the same, but disappointingly, the pipe grew longer. This was a lie.
Ding Dong would not come back, and what returned wasn’t Ding Dong in the original sense.
Wen Xishu patiently waited; the painting had one last step remaining. The final touch.
The eye patterns finally appeared on the painting. Wen Xishu didn’t look at the painting but at the gloves.
Each feature—eyes, ears, mouth, and feet—had a corresponding person, but why was there no one for the crucial hands?
The stick figure on the paper had become enriched through the "ritual." The figure in the painting was Ding Dong. As the eyes appeared, all the glows gradually faded away.
Not long after, everything in the room returned to normal. After a brief silence, someone spoke:
"What... what exactly happened? Airplane, can you explain?" The speaker was Mo Yuan.
Xiuyang stroked his chin:
"Is there some connection between this painting and the gloves?"
Wen Xishu nodded:
"I think this is what Ding Dong left for you to protect you."
Lei Yihong seemed puzzled:
"But how should it be used? I’ve seen these gloves before; Ding Dong used them when making things. Do you remember? He always wore these gloves. He didn’t even take them off while sleeping."
The others nodded. Mo Yuan also remembered a time she wanted to hold Ding Dong’s hand, but the touch felt like leather gloves.
Wen Xishu shook his head:
"It’s not the gloves themselves; their ability is also important. I suspect the gloves are a switch, but the truly powerful item is this sheet of paper."
Wen Xishu finished speaking and fell into thought again. He pondered, if he were Ding Dong, what kind of item would he design?
Firstly, in an apocalyptic world with monsters everywhere and strange rules, no item could guarantee 100% protection for people like Granny Wu.
Ding Dong’s items were somewhat buggy, and his abilities were undeniably powerful.
The most terrifying aspect of an inventor is not any single invention but their imagination and creativity.
With this in mind, Wen Xishu looked at the paper again:
"This is a portrait of Ding Dong. Initially, it was merely a ’skeleton,’ but with each of you contributing something, it gained flesh and spirit. The only powerful aspect I can imagine about this item is summoning Ding Dong."
Everyone was astonished, then smiles appeared on each face. Mo Yuan quickly asked:
"Summon Ding Dong? Is Ding Dong... still alive? Does it mean... this paper can bring Ding Dong back?"
Wen Xishu shook his head. His hand was already touching the gloves, preparing to wear them to see if he could "activate" this portrait of Ding Dong.
"I think the Ding Dong in the painting will give us the answer."
As Wen Xishu spoke, both hands were already gloved. When Ding Dong’s gloves touched the portrait of Ding Dong...
Five star-like symbols appeared on the gloves, and the surrounding air began to distort. Everyone’s vision seemed blurred as if looking through several layers of autumn water.
In the twisting space, Wen Xishu felt the gloves rejecting him. Meanwhile, the Scorpio’s cheating knife suddenly started to tremble.
Wen Xishu felt like the two items were battling each other. What surprised Wen Xishu even more was a message appearing in his mind.
[You can always find those hidden, unnoticed cheating-level items. But this item does not belong to you, it belongs to those five people who were meant to be swallowed by the apocalypse.]
[In the harsh apocalyptic environment, not loving, not believing, not helping, not defending, not nurturing, is the true survival rule. Although they are qualified, it seems they won’t live long.]
[But now, you have a chance to change all of this. Kill them, and you can seize ownership of the gloves. Only the owner of the gloves can become the master of the portrait. Anyway, their fate remains unchanged. Or you can choose to abandon this great miracle, and return everything to them?]