Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 103

Chapter 103: The Real World 7

More and more players gathered at the entrance of the training room. They learned that the players who went in first were all driven out, not knowing whether they should envy them for seeing that person’s true appearance or laugh at their misfortune of being driven out.

“What did you see inside? Did you see that person?”

This game is called ‘Battle to the Top’, and the number one player in each different type of ranking is called a ‘Topper’. Until someone came out of nowhere and successfully topped all the rankings, after which the Topper became their exclusive title. Only the player who simultaneously tops all the rankings can be given this title, but so far, no one else has been able to do it.

What could the players say? They only saw a basic mech, they didn’t see the person at all!

And wasn’t it said that there were two people? That Topper, and the handsome young man suspected to be his son, why was there only one mech inside, and judging from the previously leaked video, that mech could perform all kinds of difficult movements, it must be undoubtedly that Topper, so where did his son go?

The unsatisfied players had no other choice but to wait outside the training room, even if they were just waiting, they wanted to wait for the person to come out.

Players who gathered information from all over rushed over here, and the vast area around the training room couldn’t even accommodate the ever-increasing number of players. The crowd surged like they were attending a grand feast.

Although this game has always been at the top of the game rankings in terms of player count, whenever a top player or an exciting match appears, the number of people gathered is absolutely a huge number.

But to rush over just because of an unconfirmed message, and there were even many well-known top players among them, such a situation was still extremely rare. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the people inside the training room to come out.

As time passed, there was still no movement from inside, but the number of people outside kept increasing.

The middle-aged man who had spread the news more than once regretted it, as it led to the current situation. He was being squeezed like a sardine can.

“I’m also being squeezed uncomfortably. Let’s wait a bit more. After all, that person has been missing for a long time. If I can get a glimpse of him today, I’ll die without regrets.” The player next to him was obviously a diehard fan of the Topper, and even though he was about to be squeezed into a different shape, his expression was still very excited.

The middle-aged man was right next to him, and he couldn’t leave no matter what. There were people everywhere, and even more people running over from other areas. Unless he logged out on the spot, he had to keep being squeezed.

The middle-aged man, who had once thought about logging out on the spot, suddenly thought as he looked at the players around him: “What if that person logs out on the spot? Wouldn’t we just be waiting in vain?”

The diehard fan froze, and with difficulty turned his head to look at the middle-aged man, his expression changing from excitement to coldness: “Which one of us hasn’t thought of that? We’re all holding on to the slim chance that if he hasn’t logged out, he might happen to come out. You’re so old, you should just log out and give others some space.”

The middle-aged man: “……” Why did everyone think he was old? He was the first one to see that person and his son, if he hadn’t posted the news on the forum, how would these people have known about this and rushed over here to fight him for space?

The middle-aged man sneered, he wasn’t going to leave.

At first glance, he thought it was a young master with a bodyguard, but after many people’s analysis on the forum, he was also convinced that the pair was father and son.

What was happening outside had no effect on the two people in the training room. Zhou Zhou’s learning ability was too fast, and Alvia was teaching him very attentively.

It’s just that there was still a certain gap between theory and practice. Although Zhou Zhou could now imitate his movements, in a real arena, all situations change in the blink of an eye, requiring him to make judgments on his own.

“Zhou Zhou, I think you’ve practiced enough. Do you want to try a real battle?”

“What real battle?”

“Like going to a competition.”

“Ah? I can also compete?”

Zhou Zhou was obviously a bit surprised. In his view, he had just started learning today, so he thought he would have to become very strong before he could compete.

“There’s a beginner’s training arena here, where the players are all just starting to learn mech piloting like you, so it won’t be too difficult.”

What Alvia didn’t say was that most of the people lurking in the beginner’s training ground were children. Battle to the Top didn’t have restrictions as strict as Nightmare City. As long as you were 12 years old, you could enter the game. So most of the people still in the beginner’s area were probably around 12 or 13 years old, young boys who had just started learning mechs.

Zhou Zhou nodded. After seeing that passionate competition, he also wanted to try it.

The two came out of the basic mech, and Alvia finally breathed a sigh of relief. The space inside was really too cramped. He had originally thought it would help deepen their relationship, but in the end, only he was emotionally agitated while Zhou Zhou didn’t react at all.

Alvia pursed his lips and looked down at his account, where he had accumulated a large amount of points.

Just like in Nightmare City, this game used points to purchase various weapons and equipment. Alvia had accumulated a large amount of points that he had never used before. He could use them to buy Zhou Zhou a mech.

Although the basic mech could also be used, a better mech would allow him to perform better. Alvia wanted Zhou Zhou to have the best.

After secretly purchasing a mech that other players would consider beautiful, Alvia transferred it to Zhou Zhou.

It was an ice-blue mech, shining with a frosty glow, sharp and steady. Even though he didn’t understand mechs at all, he could sense that this mech was extraordinary.

Gazing at the sleek lines and exquisite equipment of the ice-blue mech, Zhou Zhou was obviously very fond of it.

“I happened to have some spare points, so you can pilot this mech in the competition.”

Zhou Zhou circled the mech a few times, touching it, the affection in his eyes very apparent: “I will definitely win.”

Alvia was also very satisfied. He logged out of the training room directly, preparing to go to the beginner’s competition area with Zhou Zhou.

But as soon as they came out, they were overwhelmed by the people outside.

The normal way to leave the training room is to instantly appear outside the training room door from inside. But now, there wasn’t even a place to stand outside the training ground. The clueless Zhou Zhou and Alvia were immediately swept away by the crowd as soon as they came out.

“They’re out! They’re out!”

“The training room has stopped being used, so they must be out.”

“Quick, find them!”

“I can’t see, there are too many people here.”

The originally somewhat orderly crowd suddenly began to surge, like cold water being added to a boiling pot of oil, it exploded open all at once.

Fortunately, Alvia sensed something was wrong the moment they came out and quickly held Zhou Zhou, otherwise the two would have been separated by the crowd and squeezed to who knows where.

“What happened?” Zhou Zhou was well-protected, he opened his eyes wide in surprise, looking around curiously.

“I don’t know.” Alvia, who hadn’t entered the game for a long time, had no idea that all of this was because of his appearance. He thought there had been some important event or rule change in the training area.

He didn’t care about any of this at all, only wanting to quickly leave with Zhou Zhou.

But the crowd surged, and unless they logged out immediately or punched people away, they couldn’t get out.

Alvia looked at the increasingly crowded crowd. If they logged out now, it would take a lot of time to log back in with Zhou Zhou, so Alvia looked up.

“Hold on tight.”

Before Zhou Zhou could react, he was pulled up into the air along with Alvia.

Alvia had actually released a small mech in mid-air, and in a matter of seconds, brought Zhou Zhou into the mech and flew away.

This small mech was a reward he had won from a previous competition. Rather than calling it a mech, it was more like an aircraft that could transform into a mech form for defense, suitable for aerial battles in complex terrains.

Alvia had collected all the mechs and spaceships in the game, some of which were even limited editions that could only be obtained by winning competitions and couldn’t be bought anywhere else.

So when this mech appeared, many diehard fans recognized it as the spoils the Topper had won from a competition years ago.

But before they could get excited, they watched the limited-edition small mech fly away.

The players: “……”

“Quick, chase after them!”

No one knew who shouted, but the crowd of players who had been staring dumbly as the mech flew away finally reacted and ran in the direction the mech had flown.

It wasn’t that they didn’t have mechs, but there were too many people here and they couldn’t deploy their mechs. Only a portion of players with flight-capable mechs followed Alvia’s lead and deployed their mechs to give chase.

“Don’t climb on my mech.”

A player who was about to leave was speechless. He didn’t know what the players around him were thinking, actually trying to climb onto his mech. It’s not public transportation!

As a result, because he was too slow, his mech was swarmed by players, and now he couldn’t leave.

Other players who reacted quickly deployed their mechs and gave chase immediately, but the limited-edition mech looked small but was far faster than ordinary mechs. Even though this was a model from years ago, most players still couldn’t keep up.

Another large group of players was left behind.

Only some of the latest high-speed mechs that players had purchased at high prices could keep up with Alvia.

All of these were well-known players in the game, having played for many years and grown from clueless beginners into top-tier experts. Because they had witnessed the Topper’s rise in person, their admiration for him was even greater than ordinary people’s.

But why was the legend in their eyes running so fast!

Idol, don’t go! I just want an autograph, or let’s have a match, no ill intentions!

Unfortunately, their idol couldn’t hear their innermost thoughts.

Alvia noticed the players following behind. Although he didn’t know what they wanted, how could he possibly let irrelevant people disturb him and Zhou Zhou? So he immediately sped up, circled around, and then retracted the mech from the players’ blind spot.

By the time the players caught up, they couldn’t find anyone…

Not to mention the countless people howling and cheering excitedly on the forum. Alvia was unhappy about people constantly trying to disturb them. When he brought Zhou Zhou into the beginner’s training arena, he was slightly relieved to see that it wasn’t very lively here.

After all, most people had gone to watch the commotion, leaving only true beginners who didn’t understand the game rules and were still unfamiliar with operating mechs, so they naturally wouldn’t bother with other matters.

Zhou Zhou entered the arena with his ice-blue mech. His matched opponent was using a basic mech.

After the match began, Zhou Zhou stood ready, solemnly staring at his opponent.

One minute passed, and neither of them moved.

Zhou Zhou wouldn’t attack first. He had planned to defend when the opponent tried to attack him, but after waiting for a long time, the opponent still didn’t move.

He tentatively moved his mech forward, but the opponent remained motionless. Even when Zhou Zhou walked right up to him, the mech still didn’t move.

Zhou Zhou thought for a moment, then slowly extended his fist and gently tapped the opponent’s head.

The motionless basic mech toppled backward and crashed to the ground with a thud.

Zhou Zhou wins!

Zhou Zhou: “……” That felt completely unsatisfying.

The downed basic mech suddenly emitted a voice, a nasally male voice angrily saying, “Don’t think you’re so great, I just don’t know how to operate a mech very well yet. I’ll definitely beat you next time.”

Zhou Zhou looked at the fallen basic mech and realized, “You came to compete without even knowing how to activate the mech?”

This blunt remark caused the pride of the young boy to crumble, and he cried out, “You just wait!”

Afterwards, the defeated player slowly disappeared from the arena.

Alvia sighed and rubbed his forehead. Who could have imagined that Zhou Zhou’s first match would be like child’s play, winning without doing anything?

Zhou Zhou was immediately matched with his next opponent.

His next opponent seemed quite formidable, though this formidability was mainly reflected in the mech, because that glittering golden mech looked extremely valuable.

Zhou Zhou watched the opponent’s flashy movements with some confusion. Why wasn’t he attacking yet?

The shiny golden mech was approaching while performing all sorts of meaningless movements. It seemed dazzling as if trying to obstruct vision, but was actually completely useless.

Zhou Zhou just watched as the opponent approached, then suddenly punched out, fiercely slamming into the opponent’s face and sending the glittering golden mech flying out of the ring.

Zhou Zhou wins!

Zhou Zhou: “……” Still no sense of accomplishment at all.

Alvia didn’t know what to say either. Back then in the beginner’s area, there were many players with very solid foundations. During matches, you could learn a lot from your opponents. How did it become all complete newbies here?

Zhou Zhou turned to look at Alvia below. Although Alvia only saw the icy mech, he could still sense Zhou Zhou’s dejection.

He waved to Zhou Zhou, and the towering mech piloted by Zhou Zhou immediately came over.

“The system probably detected that you just registered today, so it matched you with very simple opponents. Win a few more matches, and once your win rate goes up, the difficulty will increase.”

Zhou Zhou obediently nodded and returned to the center of the arena.

In the subsequent matches, Zhou Zhou was still one-punch KOing his opponents.

Compared to the inexperienced new players, Zhou Zhou was simply too skilled. His punching speed was also extremely fast. Many newbies who got punched away thought he was just a bored player coming to bully them, and they kept shouting about the unfairness.

Zhou Zhou didn’t care at all. After finishing one match, he would quickly match with the next. As expected, as his wins increased, the opponents he was matched with were no longer ones he could defeat with one punch.

At first, Zhou Zhou was still able to win, but later the match times started to get longer. In one match, Zhou Zhou finally lost.

After losing, Zhou Zhou was transported out of the arena. He wasn’t dejected at all. Instead, his little face flushed red as he ran excitedly towards Alvia, “I lost!”

“You’re so happy about losing?”

Zhou Zhou nodded, “Because he was really strong, and I also know why I lost, so I definitely won’t make the same mistake next time.”

Alvia nodded. He had originally wanted to tell Zhou Zhou that losing in games wasn’t scary, as long as he found the problem and corrected it. But in real life, losing could mean losing everything.

In the end, though, he didn’t say it. He also didn’t want Zhou Zhou to be tainted by such things, it was better to leave it to him.

“Al, can we go back?” Zhou Zhou suddenly asked.

“What’s wrong, don’t want to play anymore?”

Zhou Zhou nodded, then shook his head, “I still want to play, but I haven’t fed the little octopus yet.”

The octopus Zhou Zhou raised in Nightmare City? He had originally wanted to say it wouldn’t die if not fed, but seeing Zhou Zhou’s serious expression, he didn’t say it in the end.

They had indeed been out for a long time, it was time to go back.

After all, the time in Battle to the Top was the same as the outside world, so it could be said that Zhou Zhou had been playing in the game for a day and a night, it was time for him to rest.

At the same moment the two logged out, the players who had found their trail again rushed over frantically, but they were destined to have no connection with the two, watching helplessly as they logged out on the spot and disappeared.

“No!!!”

The player in the front let out a shrill cry, reaching out his hand as if to stop the two.

But he was still too late.

Alvia and Zhou Zhou had returned to their palace. At the moment of logging out, Zhou Zhou saw many players running in their direction, their gazes also fixed intently on them.

“There’s probably some event going on recently,” Alvia said casually. After encountering large groups of players several times, he had already guessed. He just didn’t expect that even after so many years, there were still people who remembered him, being unaware that he had already become a legend.

“Can we play again tomorrow?” Zhou Zhou asked expectantly.

“Of course, there are many other games we can try slowly.” Alvia’s expression was gentle, having reverted to his original appearance of an ice-blue gem that only bloomed its most dazzling and captivating side to certain people.

Once again, Zhou Zhou couldn’t help but stare at Alvia’s face. It really was very handsome.

At this inopportune moment, Zeus appeared.

“Zhou Zhou, did you have fun playing?”

Distracted by Zeus’s sudden appearance, Zhou Zhou immediately smiled, “Very fun!”

“What game did you guys go play?” Zeus asked curiously.

Alvia glanced at him. Didn’t he know better than anyone where they had gone?

“We went to Battle to the Top, and I learned how to pilot a mech. Oh, and there was also a dating sim game.”

From the tone and sequence of Zhou Zhou’s words, one could hear his different attitudes towards the two games.

Zeus said with feigned innocence, “Is that so? It seems you weren’t happy in the dating sim. If you had gone with me, there definitely wouldn’t have been such a misunderstanding. The company that made that dating sim used to make mediocre dating games that were neither hot nor cold, so they went the opposite way and made such a deceptive game. But unexpectedly, quite a lot of people ended up playing it. Most players even got the highest score and recommended it to their friends. Alas, truly one troll after another.”

As he said this, he secretly glanced at a certain person, “Whoever recommended that game to you had ill intentions.”

Zhou Zhou couldn’t help but laugh wryly. After all, even Alvia hadn’t expected the dating sim to turn into an all-bad ending.

But this couldn’t be considered a real dating sim. A true dating sim is supposed to end with the couple together, alive and together.

Alvia was about to give Zeus a lesson on “the education of love”, but Zeus was already prepared and changed the subject.

“Zhou Zhou, I updated Nightmare City while you were gone.”

Zhou Zhou was stunned. Updated? How was it updated?

“Since you’re the first player to reach one million points in the game, there needs to be a server-wide announcement. Do you want to change your nickname?”

He was the first? That couldn’t be right, Mo Lan, Locke, and the others were already intermediate players, shouldn’t they be the first?

It was only when Zhou Zhou asked that he learned from Zeus that because Mo Lan and the others had leveled up during the beta test, they couldn’t be counted. Moreover, they could only participate in instance design now, unable to do instance missions like normal players. More precisely, they were now considered semi-employees of Nightmare City.

Unlike Zhou Zhou, who reached the conditions after the official launch, Zhou Zhou could both do missions and design his own instances for other players to participate in, with more freedom.

Moreover, in the future instances designed by Zhou Zhou, the designer’s name would also be attached to them, allowing players to freely choose.

So the name Zhou Zhou chose would be known to all players.

“Can’t I just keep using Zhou Zhou?” Zhou Zhou didn’t think there was any problem with everyone knowing his name, he didn’t want to choose another nickname.

“You can.” In Zeus’s view, it was an insignificant matter.

“Alright then, I’ll send out the announcement now.”

This was originally predetermined. After a player reached one million points, the game’s new gameplay would be synchronized to all players, and at the same time, the name of this first player to level up after the official launch would be made known to everyone.

Nightmare City.

Whether it was players idling about or struggling in horrific instances, they all received the message at the same time.

That day on the Nightmare City forum, one of the most discussed topics was about the new gameplay being opened, and the other was a certain player’s name.

This player named Zhou Zhou, for exceeding one million points, successfully leveled up to become an intermediate player, unlocking the game designer section to design his own instances.

One million points!

While most players were still struggling with elimination and negative scores, there was actually a player who reached one million points!

Is this even human?

Could this great sage please impart some wisdom, how does one avoid being eliminated?