Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 106

Chapter 106: Nightmare City 24

【Battle to the Top】

Outside the beginner’s training ground in this game, there was a particularly eye-catching piece of land.

Although there was nothing special in the surrounding area, and even the scenery was quite ordinary, it was abnormally crowded with players.

The players seemed lazy and scattered, with some leaving and others immediately replenishing, turning this ordinary area into an extraordinary liveliness.

Did the person come today?

This was the most frequently asked question among the players gathered here.

They were waiting for that Topper to come again.

The person’s departure yesterday was too regrettable. They were just about to encounter that person, but at the last moment, they could only watch helplessly as the legendary figure left.

Many were not resigned and ran here to camp, hoping to catch the person coming again.

When the game first went online, players would appear in specific areas, but after that, each time they logged in, there were only two places they could appear: one was the initial point, which was the place where the player first logged in, like a personal space, the other was wherever they were when they logged off, they would appear there again when they logged in again.

Of course, these two options were chosen by the players themselves. No one knew where that person would choose to log in, but at least those camping here still had a fifty percent chance of seeing the person.

The legendary figure who had not logged in for many years, since they had come for the first time, would definitely have a second time. After all, their son had reached the appropriate age and would definitely be more interested in this game.

Last night, the game world was celebrating everywhere. Even if there were newcomers who did not understand the achievements of that Topper, there would naturally be players who would spread the word again.

The videos and merits from many years ago were dug out, and the glory that had faded with time was once again spread throughout the entire game.

The handsome young man who was originally suspected to be the son of the Topper, after being passed down layer by layer by countless players, was somehow firmly believed to be his son.

More and more players then camped at the place where the Topper had last left.

If the person did not log in for a day, they would wait for a day. If they did not log in for two days, they would wait for two days!

In terms of patience compared to the game’s hardcore fans, they had plenty! They had waited for so many years, what was one or two more days?

There were not a few people who thought this way, and many small teams even took turns camping, with shift schedules arranged.

Even more extreme were those who quarreled over a spot closer to the center, with such situations occurring frequently.

However, the players camping here were doomed to be disappointed.

Because Alvia and Zhou Zhou did not choose to log in at their original location.

Due to the special nature of Zhou Zhou’s identity, Alvia needed to make adjustments for him to log in each time, so they always logged in from their personal space.

Moreover, their goal today was not the beginner’s training ground.

Zhou Zhou had already passed the beginner stage, and Alvia was going to take him to the intermediate arena.

The intermediate arena was not far from the beginner’s training ground. Zhou Zhou saw the crowd of people from afar, and his eyes flickered with curiosity.

He pointed at the area packed with players and asked Alvia, “Al, what are they doing over there?”

Alvia also noticed the abnormality there. After not logging in for so many years and not checking the forums, he naturally did not know what the crowd was gathering for. Seeing Zhou Zhou’s interest, he asked, “Do you want to go take a look?”

Zhou Zhou looked at the dense crowd, considering the possibility of them squeezing in.

“Never mind, there are too many people.” The situation of being squeezed into a pancake by a large group of people yesterday was still fresh in his mind, so although curious, Zhou Zhou did not want to experience that again.

“Okay, let’s go for the competition first. Today’s competition might be more difficult, but I think you’ll be able to grasp it quickly.” Alvia had no interest in being squeezed into a crowd either. While explaining the precautions to Zhou Zhou, they headed towards the building.

So the Topper that the players were waiting for so eagerly just marched into the distant building.

The players: Craning their necks in anticipation, straining their eyes.

When will the Topper appear?

Unaware of the players’ deep yearning outside, Alvia was explaining the details of real combat to Zhou Zhou.

Yesterday, Zhou Zhou was in the beginner’s arena, where most people had just started with mechs, so they could not defeat Zhou Zhou with his exceptional memory.

However, the intermediate arena was probably the most uneven in terms of skill levels, with both newcomers who had just been promoted and experienced veterans who had been around for a long time. So it was still unknown whether Zhou Zhou could defeat his opponents.

“Regardless of winning or losing, as long as you can remember your opponent’s moves and characteristics, and recognize your own existing problems, this competition will be considered fruitful,” Alvia said.

Although Zhou Zhou did not seem too concerned about winning or losing yesterday, Alvia still tried his best to make Zhou Zhou not focus too much on winning and losing, as there were many things that needed to be accumulated through experience since he had only learned about mechs for a day.

“Let’s take it step by step. Ten matches today will be enough, and then we’ll go to other areas.”

Zhou Zhou obediently nodded, looking like a good student accepting his teacher’s guidance.

Zhou Zhou released his mech, and Alvia helped him check for any damage to the mech, as damaged mechs in the game required spending points to repair.

Although Zhou Zhou’s matches yesterday were still relatively easy for him, Alvia was proficient in mech maintenance and meticulously checked each part, to prevent any unexpected situations from occurring during Zhou Zhou’s matches.

While Alvia was checking, Zhou Zhou stood below, looking up.

Alvia was still using that generic face, but in Zhou Zhou’s eyes, it seemed as if he could see through that forgettable, system-set face and catch a glimpse of Alvia’s true appearance.

Especially when the other had a serious expression, it was like the unapproachable snowy mountain peak, making one helplessly fall for him just by looking at him.

But now, the lofty summit that was unattainable in everyone else’s eyes was sporting an uncle face while climbing up and down to repair Zhou Zhou’s mech.

Zhou Zhou: It felt kind of strange, in a way he couldn’t quite describe.

If it was Ryan standing here, he might be very familiar with this feeling, the regret and contrast of a lofty flower falling into the mundane.

“There’s no problem.” Alvia came down from the mech.

Zhou Zhou ignored that strange feeling and looked at his mech. Suddenly, he said to Alvia, “I noticed that the color of the mech is similar to your eyes.”

You just noticed? That’s why he bought it.

“It looks nice, this color looks nice.” After saying that, Zhou Zhou went up to prepare for the competition.

Leaving Alvia stunned in place. It wasn’t until Zhou Zhou’s match started that Alvia covered his forehead and began watching.

He found that Zhou Zhou always managed to tug at his nerves with a single sentence, and this time there was surprisingly no follow-up blow.

It was precisely because of this that Alvia always had a sense of unreality.

If only Zhou Zhou could say these things to him every day, Alvia secretly wished.

However, thinking that Zhou Zhou’s words were always sweet talk in the first half followed by a head-on blow in the second half, inflicting more damage than not saying anything, Alvia still hesitated.

But he soon came up with a good idea. Since Zhou Zhou’s damage was doubled, what would the effect be if he said those words?

Alvia thought it was worth a try.

Alvia’s mind was in turmoil below the stage, while Zhou Zhou’s fighting spirit was intense on the stage.

Piloting the tall and imposing mech, Zhou Zhou’s eyes blazed like a torch, his movements like phantoms, suppressing his opponent from all angles.

Although he was a peaceful dating game NPC, due to various coincidences, he appeared in a combat game and even dominated players in battle, an extraordinary situation that anyone would find bizarre. However, considering that this dating game NPC had already designed instances in horror games, combat almost seemed insignificant.

Zhou Zhou won the first match, but it took a long time, as his opponent was not like the beginner players yesterday who would fall with a single punch. The opponent had their own combat experience and methods, and although they could barely escape Zhou Zhou’s extremely fast reactions, in the end, Zhou Zhou started imitating their movements, learning all their moves and executing them even better than the original.

This poor combatant felt that their opponent later seemed to have become their own 2.0 version, unable to win no matter what method they used, and could only admit defeat.

After his victory, Zhou Zhou piloted his mech towards where Alvia was.

Looking at the victorious Zhou Zhou waiting for his evaluation, Alvia could almost imagine those amber eyes shining brightly at him.

“Well done. You can continue using this method until you fail.”

The method Alvia referred to was Zhou Zhou imitating others’ movements. Zhou Zhou had only just been exposed to mechs, so imitating different players’ movements would allow him to grasp a large number of techniques in the shortest time possible, easier than figuring them out himself.

Of course, this method was only applicable to players like Zhou Zhou with exceptional memory who could instantly memorize their opponents’ movements.

The icy-blue mech nodded, moving just like Zhou Zhou usually did. Despite being a cold and formidable mech, it somehow exuded a hint of obedience.

Alvia: It feels… kind of cute. This was the first time he found a mech cute.

Sure enough, in the subsequent matches, Zhou Zhou began imitating the movements of every player. At first, his imitation was quite mechanical, but gradually, Zhou Zhou started to integrate and could apply the skills learned from the previous match to deal with the next opponent.

All the players who faced him exclaimed that this guy was too devious, actually using their own moves against them, and the key was that they still lost.

Was this a mech competition? This was clearly psychological warfare, first stealing their techniques, then openly using the movements and skills they had just learned, and finally taking advantage of their distracted state to launch a sneak attack. Who wouldn’t lose?

So devious!

If you’re good, fight fair and square!

Zhou Zhou couldn’t hear the players’ righteous indignation as he was focused on dealing with his current opponent.

Unlike the match he lost yesterday due to improper operation, Zhou Zhou found this match extremely difficult.

He imitated his opponent’s moves, but the opponent responded calmly, he used the moves from previous opponents, but the opponent remained unruffled, as if all the moves were ineffective.

Zhou Zhou lost.

This was also his tenth match.

After getting off the stage, Zhou Zhou walked towards Alvia with some bewilderment, as he didn’t quite understand why he lost this match.

Was the opponent too strong? But it didn’t feel like they used any formidable moves.

Were those moves useless? But they had defeated so many people before.

Seeing Zhou Zhou’s silent demeanor, Alvia couldn’t help but want to reach out and ruffle his little curls.

And he actually did just that.

“Do you know why you lost?”

Zhou Zhou looked up at Alvia pitifully with the hand on his head, “I don’t know.”

His curls were ruffled again.

“It’s because your opponent has more experience. They’re probably a military academy student from one of the universities, and their foundations from studying at school are very solid. All the moves you imitated were actually widely circulated at schools or in society, and they all have counterattack methods. They just have extremely solid basics, so you felt like they predicted all your moves, but they weren’t predicting, they already knew what you would do.”

Those players Zhou Zhou had learned from earlier also naturally knew the subsequent moves, but their speed and reaction couldn’t keep up with Zhou Zhou, so they couldn’t defend against the 2.0 version of the moves.

Seeing Zhou Zhou looking dejected, Alvia originally wanted to discuss some key points of Zhou Zhou’s failure, but in a flash of inspiration, he suddenly realized.

This was a really good opportunity!

“Zhou Zhou.” Alvia’s expression turned serious. “You’ve done very well. Being able to perform at this level in the intermediate mech battles on just your second day of learning mechs is proof of your exceptional talent and promising future.”

Why does it feel like a leader encouraging a subordinate?

“I’m glad to have witnessed your growth, and if possible, I hope I can continue to accompany you as you grow.”

That line was quite nice.

Alvia nodded in satisfaction to himself.

Zhou Zhou’s expression changed slightly, but when he looked up to say something, seeing Alvia’s benevolent, slightly plump, ordinary middle-aged appearance, that strange feeling in his heart instantly vanished without a trace.

No one could harbor any ulterior thoughts towards such a “benevolent” face.

Benevolence and growth combined made it seem more like an elder’s earnest hope for a younger family member.

“I’m glad too, I’ll keep working hard.”

See, such a perfect junior-like response.

Although Zhou Zhou’s answer didn’t meet Alvia’s expectations, he didn’t actually have high hopes, since Zhou Zhou’s thought process was different from ordinary people’s. Any slight response would suffice.

And so, Alvia’s first attempt at flirting turned into a profound familial bond.

Both parties were quite satisfied.

Afterwards, Alvia took Zhou Zhou to the starship area, where Zhou Zhou was also interested in piloting ships, but this required a lot of prior theoretical knowledge, so Zhou Zhou would need to study the specialized knowledge beforehand to practice.

In other words, he had to read a lot of books.

Zhou Zhou didn’t have time since he needed to design instances soon, so it had to be postponed.

With Zhou Zhou preoccupied with submitting his instance for review, Alvia thoughtfully logged off early to check the review results with him.

Before logging off, as they passed by the mech area, Zhou Zhou noticed that there were still many people there. Despite them spending a long time in both the mech and starship areas, those people didn’t seem to need to log off or go home to eat. They had been waiting there the whole time.

Their outing this time wasn’t noticed by any players, as in the short span of just ten or so hours from yesterday to today, there had already been several batches of people impersonating the Topper and his son.

The generic face was the system template, good looks could be customized, and many players knew the Topper used a system generic face and imitated it, all of which added significant difficulty in finding the real person.

No one ever expected that the real Topper would brazenly roam around right under their noses.

When Zhou Zhou and Alvia logged off, the players waited with strained eyes.

When will the Topper appear?

Back in Nightmare City, Zhou Zhou discovered that his instance had been approved for release!

So fast! He had prepared for it to potentially take several days for the review, but it came out so quickly.

Moreover, with Alvia and Mo Lan’s adjustments as intermediate players, there were no issues with the review.

“Next, I’ll start building the instance!” Zhou Zhou was delighted.

They were back at Zhou Zhou’s home now. Seeing Zhou Zhou’s joyful demeanor, Alvia was also infected by his mood.

“I’ll accompany you.”

Zhou Zhou blinked, “But you haven’t leveled up yet.”

Alvia paused, realizing that was indeed the case. He was still a beginner player, and it seemed that beginner players couldn’t participate in designing instances.

“Let me ask Zeus.”

Alvia searched for Zeus, who had run off to celebrate somewhere. They had a special way of contacting each other that allowed them to find each other at any time.

However, contrary to usual, Zeus didn’t immediately return when Alvia looked for him today. Instead, he only sent Alvia a message.

“I’m busy, don’t bother me. And those rules are clearly stated in the latest game version’s instructions, go check it yourself! Hmph!”

Alvia: “……” So what exactly was Zeus doing? He had numerous avatars that could handle all his affairs, so how could he possibly be busy?

Could he still be holding a grudge over being put in the little black room for ten minutes yesterday?

However, Alvia couldn’t fully comprehend Zeus’ strange thoughts, as kids tended to have their own ideas as they grew up.

From the quest panel, Alvia found the instructions for the new version, which indeed explained this aspect.

Alvia quickly read through these instructions.

“New instances must be built in the intermediate player city.” Alvia found the relevant instructions, meaning he truly couldn’t participate in building the instance with Zhou Zhou.

“However, after the designed instance passes the final review, up to three beginner players can be invited for testing.”

He could participate in this part.

Since that was the case, Zhou Zhou would have to go to the small town outside the beginner village to design the instance, while Alvia…

“Al, don’t you want to rest first? It’s already quite late.” Zhou Zhou asked. He planned to rest after building the instance, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to rest well with it on his mind.

But Alvia was different, he should rest properly on time.

Alvia agreed on the surface, but after leaving Zhou Zhou’s home, he immediately went to do instance quests alone.

Zhou Zhou’s thoughts were clearly focused on designing the instance. If Alvia remained a beginner player, he often wouldn’t even be able to stay with Zhou Zhou, so he had to level up first.

Alvia, who had been coasting along, finally started taking it seriously.

Moreover, without Zhou Zhou in this instance, he had to complete it swiftly.

The instance scenes submitted would be simulated and generated by the system, and all of these generated scenes would appear in the small town for the designer to make adjustments at any time. However, when the instance went into use, the scenes would be deployed in the beginner village.

As for the various mechanisms, trigger items, and so on inside, those would be manually created by the designer.

The first instance scene that Zhou Zhou designed was small, but he put a lot of effort into it, and he also had various props given to him by other intermediate players.

These were all gifts from everyone for Zhou Zhou to build instances, and Zhou Zhou decided to use everything he could, not wanting to disappoint their good intentions.

After a whole night of hard work, Alvia completed two instances and earned a significant amount of points, but it would still take some time before he could level up.

Alvia: …I shouldn’t have coasted if I had known.

Zhou Zhou’s instance was also mostly done, but it seemed like something was still missing…

Looking at the lively crowd in the small town, with the strange-looking races present, Zhou Zhou finally realized he was missing some NPCs!

An instance without NPCs wouldn’t be as fun.

And this intermediate player town was the most convenient place to find NPCs.

Another day passed, and Zhou Zhou’s instance passed the final review.

He first invited Alvia to help him test it.

At this point, the instance had not yet been deployed to the beginner village. Alvia stood outside the instance’s entrance, needing only to push the door open to immediately enter.

“Al, good luck!” Zhou Zhou cheered Alvia on from the side.

Although he already knew the general flow of this instance and had provided some modification suggestions, he didn’t actually participate in the practical construction of the instance. He was really curious about what kind of instance Zhou Zhou had designed.

After pushing the door open, Alvia slowly walked in.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhou waited outside.

Of course, he still had to monitor the various data changes in the instance backend. If there were any inappropriate areas, he would need to make adjustments.

These were originally things players would have to figure out on their own after leveling up, but with Mo Lan’s help, Zhou Zhou was basically told all the areas and key points to watch out for.

Combined with Zhou Zhou’s strong learning ability, he had grasped everything in just a few days, without needing to figure it out himself. According to the instance backend data, he made continuous adjustments, his small face tense and focused.

Players with backend access were just that efficient.

The data looked normal, and the completion progress was also quite fast. It seemed that the various mechanisms and storylines he designed didn’t stump Alvia.

Zhou Zhou silently praised him, completely free of any dismay that his instance had been solved so quickly.

In his view, his first instance was just an ordinary small one that could be completed with some effort, without any difficulty at all.

Successful completion!

That door opened once more, and Alvia calmly walked out.

Zhou Zhou immediately went over: “How was it, how was it? Al, how was my instance?”

Alvia looked at Zhou Zhou’s wide, anxious amber eyes fixed on him and remained silent for a moment.

“Are you really going to deploy this instance to the beginner village?” Alvia suddenly asked.

“Of course, if there’s no problem, it can be deployed today.”

Zhou Zhou saw the complexity in Alvia’s gaze and anxiously asked, “Is there a problem?” Was something inappropriate? But the backend looked normal.

Alvia sighed, “No, no problem.”

Zhou Zhou also felt there was no problem, but seeing Alvia’s strange demeanor, he became a little uneasy.

“Let me have Xue Li and Ke Li come and test it too.”

As Zhou Zhou was about to message them, Alvia stopped him.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. If you let them test it, you might lose two friends.” Alvia held Zhou Zhou’s hand, sincerely advising him.

Zhou Zhou: ???