Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Nightmare City 23

After returning home, Zhou Zhou started designing the instance, but the first step in designing an instance was the name and setting of the instance.

The villa, doll house, ship, castle, etc. that Zhou Zhou encountered in the instance all belonged to the instance setting. In order to create an instance, the setting must be determined first. Afterward, all the content involved in this instance would revolve around the setting, so this item was very important.

Because he attached great importance to the first instance, Zhou Zhou thought of many settings but was not satisfied with any of them.

Setting… what kind of setting would make everyone feel scared?

Particularly dark? Or extremely quiet?

Sitting in the study with his head down deep in thought, the tightly closed door slowly opened, and under Zhou Zhou’s gaze, the study door opened a gap of two feet wide, then stopped motionless, as if some eerie force had opened this door.

A subtle rustling sound arose at the doorway, tugging at the soul. If it weren’t for his exceptional hearing, he would not have been able to capture the source of this sound.

Zhou Zhou stood up slightly, watching the little octopus crawl in from outside on the ground with its tentacles, dragging a wet trail behind it. This little guy had been soaking in the aquarium for a while and came to find him.

Recalling the little octopus opening the door just now, Zhou Zhou suddenly thought of what kind of setting he should use for his first instance.

Alvia was handling state affairs in the palace. The work that would normally take a whole day to complete, he finished in just half a day.

Yesterday they only went to two games, and there were many more they hadn’t gone to. He had already identified several games that were safe and suitable for Zhou Zhou, and he thought Zhou Zhou would like them.

Alvia’s ice-blue eyes seemed to contain frost and snow, yet his face revealed a hint of warmth. Although they had been together in the Nightmare City instance, there were often various people or things that would disturb Zhou Zhou’s line of sight.

But now that he knew Zhou Zhou’s secret and could bring him out, the two of them could go to a place without others interfering, and subtly let Zhou Zhou get used to his company.

After dealing with the last few things for the day, Alvia hurried to the bedchamber, wanting to call Zhou Zhou out from the game.

Although he still appeared to be the aloof and icy emperor on the surface, Ryan still noticed the emperor’s abnormality during this period.

“Your Majesty, why have you been running to the bedchamber so often lately?”

Previously, he would spend most of his time handling state affairs every day, even processing documents that did not require his personal approval. Except for the few days when he was busy during the founding ceremony, it seemed that he had been staying in the bedchamber most of the time this month.

“Is Your Majesty unwell?” Ryan immediately thought of this reason. However, he soon denied it, as the imperial medical team would regularly examine the emperor. If there were any issues, there was no way they could hide it from him, the captain of the Imperial Guard.

Originally, this should have been the emperor’s private matter, but upholding his loyalty to the emperor and the close relationship they had since childhood, Ryan still asked.

Alvia looked at Ryan, who was following behind him. He could not let others know about Zhou Zhou’s matter yet, as the emergence of a second artificial intelligence would be enough to shake the entire empire, and many with ulterior motives would also make an issue out of it. So before making all the preparations, Alvia did not intend to reveal Zhou Zhou’s identity to others, including Ryan.

However, he remembered that Ryan seemed to have experience in matters of romance.

Alvia slowed his pace and looked at the other thoughtfully.

“Your Majesty, are you saying you want to know how to pursue someone?!”

Even for someone as experienced as Ryan, he could not help but be shocked by this news and raise his voice. Fortunately, there was no one else around in their current location, so he did not have to worry about this news, which could shake the entire empire, from being spread.

Alvia nodded calmly. He was indeed not good at this, so he did not know how to approach the oblivious Zhou Zhou and had to seek outside help. He remembered Ryan had been the subject of many scandals, so he should be skilled in this area.

Unaware that his image in the emperor’s mind had become that of a scandalous person, Ryan was being consulted by the emperor on this matter for the first time. Despite his surprise, he did not forget to offer advice to Alvia.

“Does the person know Your Majesty’s identity?”

“Yes.”

“Have they seen Your Majesty’s true appearance?”

“Yes.”

“Has Your Majesty expressed your intentions clearly?”

Alvia nodded.

“And the person’s attitude was…”

Alvia paused: “He said he wants to be my brother.”

Ryan: !!!

Ryan simply could not believe what he had heard. After knowing the emperor’s identity and true appearance, there was still someone who could reject him? What kind of person could do such a thing?

Out of respect for the emperor, Ryan did not ask about that person’s name and identity, but he could not understand why anyone would reject the emperor, who was at the top in terms of status, power, and appearance.

“Could it be that he already has someone he likes?” Apart from this, Ryan could not think of any other reason.

Recalling Zhou Zhou’s past romantic partners… Alvia gave a small nod, but he still subconsciously spoke up for Zhou Zhou: “He used to not understand romance very well and got confused between friends and lovers, but now he understands that they are different.”

Ryan heard the implied meaning, that person had had multiple romantic partners in the past? And on top of that, he rejected the emperor?

If the emperor had not rarely sought his advice, he would have wanted to disrespectfully shake the emperor awake, this person is trouble!

Seeing Ryan’s conflicted expression, Alvia suddenly felt that his desire to seek advice might have been a bit too rash after all. After all, Ryan was mired in scandals but still did not have a proper romantic partner until now, just like himself being single.

Ryan stabilized his emotions, wavering between giving advice to the emperor and separating the two, but ultimately chose loyalty.

“Your Majesty, I think you can first choose to…”

It was as if Ryan’s heart was bleeding, but he still sincerely expressed his thoughts and suggestions. This speech made Alvia ponder a lot. His previous self was indeed too passive. Zhou Zhou is not human, and is much more indifferent to romance than ordinary people. Although he is a dating NPC, he essentially has no understanding of romance, so Alvia must take the initiative to approach him.

Even though many of Ryan’s suggestions seemed very unfamiliar to Alvia, if they continued like this, they might remain in this state for a very long time.

After understanding these things, Alvia hurried back to the bedchamber and went online.

Zhou Zhou’s instance had largely taken shape. As a player who had experienced many instances, he was very clear about the instance process. Apart from struggling a bit when choosing the setting, the later stages went very smoothly.

Looking at the filled content on the quest panel, the next step was to show it to Mo Lan and the others to see if there were any problems before submitting it for review.

The general process was for the player to design all the instance-related content and then submit it to the system for review. If there were any issues, it would be sent back for revision.

For those without issues, construction could begin by selecting a location. After building the instance setting and all the necessary things, another review would be conducted to ensure perfection in various aspects of the instance data and player safety.

Once approved, it would be uploaded to the system for players to choose from.

Zhou Zhou was still reviewing his instance design for any issues when he received a message from Alvia.

It turned out that Alvia was asking when he would go to other games.

Zhou Zhou really wanted to go, but his instance was not ready yet, and he hadn’t shown it to Mo Lan and the others. He wanted to go play after submitting it for review.

Thinking about this, Zhou Zhou suddenly had an idea. He could first tell Alvia about the relevant instance design and see if Alvia had any suggestions.

After all, Alvia had also participated in many instances, and he might be able to find many issues that Zhou Zhou had missed from a player’s perspective.

So when Alvia received Zhou Zhou’s reply, he saw something that surprised him greatly, Zhou Zhou was actually asking if he wanted to come to his house.

Alvia had learned about this from Zeus’s boasting, that Zhou Zhou had bought a house in the game as his own home, but he hadn’t told anyone else about it.

Although he had long wanted to see it, he had been waiting until Zhou Zhou took the initiative to bring it up.

If patient waiting could still be rewarded, Zhou Zhou had finally invited him. Not knowing if the other party just needed a tool person, Alvia brought some small gifts in accordance with basic visiting etiquette.

Players invited to a personal space would be transported using the address provided by the other party. When a crisp, slow knocking sounded at the door, Zhou Zhou knew it was Alvia.

His mood immediately brightened, and Zhou Zhou went to open the door for Alvia with a small run. But when the door opened, what greeted him was not Alvia, but a bunch of fiery red roses.

Beneath Alvia’s expressionless face was a hint of embarrassment. This was the first time he had given someone a gift, let alone a bouquet of fresh flowers. But remembering what Ryan had said about paying attention to details and being as considerate and attentive as possible, he still raised the flowers towards Zhou Zhou.

“A housewarming gift.”

If Ryan had been present, he might have sighed and covered his face. This was clearly the most appropriate moment to say sweet nothings and express love, but Alvia had turned it into a gesture of deepening friendship, a housewarming gift!

Sure enough, Zhou Zhou didn’t think too much about it since he didn’t know that there was no concept of housewarming gifts in the interstellar era, and even if there were, roses would not be given.

“Thank you.”

He was still very happy to receive the gift. Taking the large, gorgeous bunch of roses, Zhou Zhou hugged the hefty bouquet and considered where to put it.

Alvia walked in and scanned the layout of the entire room with his gaze. After all, this house was very small for the emperor who possessed an entire palace.

But he felt it was just right. If it were for two people living together, this layout and size would be perfect. No matter where one person was in the room or what they were doing, the other person could see them with just a glance.

Zhou Zhou beckoned for Alvia to come in, then carried the flowers and placed them on the table.

Each blooming rose was in its best form. Zhou Zhou lowered his head and gently brushed the rose petals with his hand. This seemed to be the first time someone had given him flowers, especially roses.

Zhou Zhou had completely forgotten that yesterday in another dating game, a short-lived elf girl had tried to give him flowers but was intercepted by Alvia.

As a dating game NPC, he was naturally most familiar with the meaning of rose flowers. Looking up at Alvia’s natural expression, he suddenly felt that the other party might not know the underlying meaning of roses. After all, the outside world was different from the world he used to be in, so giving flowers had changed from its original special meaning to a housewarming gift now?

Zhou Zhou felt regretful. It seemed he also needed to learn the common sense of the outside world quickly, because the things he knew often differed greatly from the outside. If some strange misunderstanding arose due to this difference, it wouldn’t be good.

Seeing that Zhou Zhou seemed to really like the bouquet of flowers, Alvia felt that Ryan’s words were indeed effective.

“Alvia, can you help me with something?” Zhou Zhou finally stated his purpose this time.

“Of course.” Without even asking what it was, Alvia agreed readily.

Only Zhou Zhou could see the quest panel, but for intermediate and higher quests, they could also be seen with the host’s permission.

Alvia looked at the instance content written by Zhou Zhou, his expression serious.

“What’s wrong, is there a problem with the instance I designed?” Seeing Alvia’s expression, Zhou Zhou asked anxiously.

Alvia raised his head and said seriously, “Zhou Zhou, do you still remember what kind of game this is?”

“A challenge game.”

“…Nightmare City should belong to the horror genre. Although overly bloody and violent content is not advocated, your instance does not highlight a sense of horror.”

Alvia’s evaluation of the instance was not perfunctory at all. He truly felt that if this instance were put into use, the effect would not be very good.

“However, I think the theme and concept are very good.”

Alvia said justly, “After the instance is put into use, we can participate as players.”

Zhou Zhou was still struggling with the issue of his instance not being scary enough. He himself did not have much fear, so he naturally could not grasp what things players would find frightening.

What seemed ordinary to him might scare many people, so this was also Zhou Zhou’s biggest problem in designing instances.

As the one who raised the issue, Alvia could not just watch Zhou Zhou worry, so he acted as a qualified assistant and offered some suggestions.

The two discussed and revised the instance, and several hours quickly passed.

Looking at the revised content, Zhou Zhou once again marveled at how amazing Alvia was. Although the changes didn’t seem major, the effect was amplified many times over.

“Alvia, can you wait here for a bit? I’ll show the instance design to Mo Lan and the others.”

Zhou Zhou’s enthusiasm for designing instances was extremely high. He wanted to wait until after the instance entered review before going out to play with Alvia.

Alvia agreed to wait there.

As the emperor of the empire, he naturally knew where Zhou Zhou was going to find the resentful woman. That place was the territory of intermediate players. Although he could also go with the help of Zeus, he would not actively break the rules until his score reached the requirement for upgrading.

Today, he discussed the instance with Zhou Zhou because after the game version update, the matter of intermediate players was no longer a prohibited topic. In the future, more people would successfully upgrade, so he didn’t have to worry about being muted or forced offline.

After Zhou Zhou left, Alvia got up and looked at the little octopus in the aquarium. This time, Zhou Zhou had left in a hurry, and the little octopus didn’t have a chance to go with him, so it could only lie limply in the aquarium and stare at Alvia.

Although he didn’t want to bother with such a small creature, thinking that it, like Zeus, could live in Zhou Zhou’s house while he was only a temporary guest, Alvia’s gaze became more oppressive.

Little octopus: shivers

Although Zhou Zhou’s house had two rooms, one was a study, so there was only one bedroom. So where did Zeus usually live?

According to Zhou Zhou’s character, he wouldn’t let Zeus sleep on the sofa, so… Alvia stared at the foldable bed in the study.

If Zeus really did occupy Zhou Zhou’s bedroom and made Zhou Zhou sleep in the study, then it was time for solitary confinement.

Alvia originally thought that Zhou Zhou would be gone for a long time since he would need to continue revising the instance based on others’ opinions. However, Zhou Zhou came back very quickly.

“Why are you back so soon?”

Zhou Zhou was quite happy, “Because everyone said my instance was great and didn’t need any changes. They even gave me a lot of stuff and said they could let their characters be NPCs in the instance if needed.”

Alvia naturally knew that the instance settings would be simulated and constructed by the system, but all the various props, items, and NPCs needed to be customized and purchased or rented.

These also required spending points. If renting real human NPCs with special abilities, not only did one need to obtain their consent, but also pay a high number of points or share profits from the instance.

One reason Mo Lan reminded Zhou Zhou to choose instances with real human NPCs was that these instances could earn more points. The other was in hopes that Zhou Zhou could make more friends, who would become resources for designing instances after upgrading.

As Alvia was thinking that Zhou Zhou indeed had some very good friends, he heard Zhou Zhou continue, “And you’re still here, I didn’t want you to wait too long.”

Alvia: !!!

This, this is finally…

Just as Alvia’s entire being was stirred by Zhou Zhou’s words, Zhou Zhou casually finished the last sentence.

“Weren’t we going to other games to play?”

His restless heart felt like it had been doused with a bucket of ice water. Expressionless, Alvia thought this was indeed Zhou Zhou’s way of doing things.

Always delivering a critical blow at the most crucial moment.

“Oh, right, Alvia, thank you for the flowers, I really like them.”

Expressionless, Alvia coldly said, “I’m glad you like them. What other types of games did you want to go to?”

After Mo Lan and the others looked it over, Zhou Zhou had submitted it. Now he was just waiting for the result.

Apparently, there was no set time for when the instance result would come out, it could be a few hours or it could take several days. Zhou Zhou felt he needed to keep an eye on it frequently, so he couldn’t stay in other games for too long. He might as well continue practicing mech.