Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 121

Chapter 121: The Real World 19

The movement of the Mo tribe finally attracted the attention of the mercenary group. These people had never seen the Mo tribe before. A group of people suddenly appeared in the darkness, which certainly gave the mercenaries a big fright. However, their first reaction was to shield Zhou Zhou, Heya, and others behind them, looking warily at those strangers.

They did not take out their weapons immediately or show any reflexive reaction. Zhou Zhou was a bit surprised by their disciplined training. However, they were too tall, and he was blocked behind them, unable to see anything.

Zhou Zhou stood on tiptoe, stretching his neck to look through the gap towards that side. Among those pale and bizarre faces, he immediately saw Mo Lan.

“Mo Lan!” Zhou Zhou waved hard.

When Mo Lan saw a hand waving from behind the tall crowd, the familiar voice finally made her let down her guard. It seemed these people were not their enemies.

Mo Lan said a few words to the tribesmen around her, words that did not belong to the interstellar common language, probably a language used only by the Mo tribe.

The surrounding Mo tribe members looked at each other, and soon disappeared into the darkness.

The originally tense mercenaries also breathed a sigh of relief. These people came and went without a trace, suddenly appearing and then disappearing in the darkness, which made them feel a bit creepy.

“What kind of people are they?”

“Natives, I guess. Haven’t you heard the legends about this planet?”

“So what’s up with these natives? Just here to watch the fun?”

“Never mind, as long as we don’t bother them, they probably won’t attack us for no reason.”

These mercenaries were on guard against any movement around them, while chatting softly. However, they were used to being free, and sometimes their voices grew louder without realizing it, until their companions frowned and gave them a reminder, only then remembering that the Imperial Emperor was here, and their voices immediately lowered again.

The topic also changed from the natives to the Imperial Emperor. They were just following their leader on a mission, never expecting to actually come to rescue the Imperial Emperor. Their leader didn’t mention what they were going to do before setting out. When they saw Alvia here, their jaws almost dropped.

Zhou Zhou slowly lowered his hand and turned to ask Alvia, “Why did Mo Lan and the others leave?”

When there were outsiders around, Alvia always maintained a stern and solemn appearance, making the whispering mercenaries not even dare to approach and say a word to him. However, Alvia’s mood was actually quite good at this moment.

The matter of suspecting Zhou Zhou’s identity and dispatching people to monitor him was now in the past, and Zhou Zhou didn’t seem too angry about it. In Zhou Zhou’s view, it was understandable, since his identity was indeed quite suspicious at that time.

More importantly, Alvia was now holding Zhou Zhou’s hand, and the two stood side by side, shoulders touching. To others, they just appeared to be standing close, but in reality, they were holding hands.

Although these people’s spiritual power was much better than ordinary people, they still could not reach the ability to see in the dark, so no one noticed their little action.

The current Zhou Zhou was not a physical body, so the feeling in Alvia’s hand was icy cold, and he could not even grip it tightly. An energy form had no shape, and if gripped too tightly, he might even flatten Zhou Zhou’s hand. Therefore, Alvia only held it lightly, but he was already very satisfied with this.

“They brought the people they captured.”

With Alvia’s simple explanation, Zhou Zhou understood.

Previously, those people had split into eight teams to search for their trail. In fact, the remaining seven teams had all been captured by the Mo tribe. So Mo Lan and the others went to bring those people back?

Although Alvia seemed indifferent to everything, like a young boy in his first love, only caring about holding hands and being in love, his gradually recovering spiritual power extended far and wide, able to see everyone’s every move.

After the mercenaries cleared out the remaining forces on the spaceship and took stock of the weapons and equipment, the Mo tribe finally arrived in droves.

Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the Mo tribe did not come in great numbers. Instead, there were more of Alan’s subordinates who had been captured, with over a hundred people tied up by green branch-like vines, strung together and walking towards this place.

It was unknown what these people had experienced, but although they all looked fierce and strong, at this moment they appeared to have been drained of their vigor, pale and dejected as they followed the people in front.

Most of the mercenary group were outside the spaceship, while the unconscious Heya had been placed on a simple bed. After examination, it was confirmed that he had no major issues, so his subordinates could only make sure their boss was lying comfortably.

When they noticed the natives bringing Alan’s subordinates, the mercenaries all revealed looks of disbelief.

Among the captives were many wanted criminals, some even with heinous crimes and brutal methods. Even if they faced such a group, it would have been impossible to come out unscathed. So what method did these natives use to capture them?

“I told you not to provoke the natives. These people are formidable.”

“How did they manage to capture these people? Too powerful.”

“There are several with very high bounties. Tsk, if we had captured them, we’d be rich.”

“These people look terrible. It seems like they’ve suffered some kind of torture.”

These mercenaries were full of curiosity about the Mo tribe. Originally they thought the natives just had a strange appearance, but now it seemed their combat prowess was not low either, actually able to capture all these people alive. They were indeed formidable.

When they realized the natives were going to hand the captives over to them, the mercenaries were both surprised and delighted, immediately refusing.

“Hey, hey, there are many wanted criminals here, with hefty bounties. If you hand these people over to the neighboring planet, you could get a huge reward.”

Although these mercenaries loved money, they still had principles.

The natives did not know that these people could be exchanged for bounties, and they could not take advantage of others.

They could be exchanged for money? Mo Zhu from the group immediately went to inquire. Although she was also from the Mo tribe, her speaking speed was similar to ordinary humans, making communication easier. And how could she let an opportunity to make money pass by?

In the end, they negotiated with the mercenaries. The mercenaries would take these people to collect the bounties, then split it, with the natives taking seven-tenths and the mercenary group taking three-tenths.

This was such a great deal, like a pie falling from the sky. The mercenaries were all smiles.

This trip had been truly worthwhile. With zero casualties, they could gain a huge bounty for free. It should be known that the bounties for over a hundred people here were not a small sum, even three-tenths was a massive amount.

As they received these captives, the mercenaries, in their elated mood, looked at them with eager eyes. These were walking bounties, after all.

At the same time, their feelings towards the natives of this planet greatly improved. These people were truly too kind, practically giving them money for free.

The Mo tribe members felt extremely uncomfortable with the unusually enthusiastic attitude of the mercenaries. They were not a very hospitable race, and were more defensive towards strangers. But these people looked at them as if they were some rare treasure, like they were looking at priceless gems. After handing over the captives, the Mo tribe members hurriedly left.

“Why did they leave? I still wanted to ask how they managed to capture these people,” a mercenary said regretfully, watching the Mo tribe disappear into the night.

The departure of the Mo tribe had a sense of fleeing disarray, leaving only Mo Lan and Mo Zhu behind.

“Mo Lan, Mo Lan!” Zhou Zhou finally had a chance to talk to Mo Lan and jogged over to her side.

Alvia watched the hand Zhou Zhou had pulled away from him, then looked at Zhou Zhou smiling happily at Mo Lan.

Weren’t they on the same wavelength?

Zhou Zhou didn’t care what Alvia was thinking. He had been worried about Mo Lan getting hurt, and now that he saw her, he had to ask clearly.

Mo Lan also wanted to ask what exactly was going on, so the two of them began communicating, oblivious to their surroundings.

Alvia looked at them resentfully for a while, but Zhou Zhou didn’t notice at all, still listening to Mo Lan describe how they had captured those people.

Mo Lan spoke slowly, but Zhou Zhou was very patient, which led to their conversation dragging on for a long time without ending.

Originally, Alvia had brought Zhou Zhou here wanting him to meet Mo Lan, but now he realized this was a mistake. They were talking for too long!

Alvia silently walked a few steps forward and stood beside Zhou Zhou.

But Zhou Zhou was still intently listening to Mo Lan describe how they had scared those people until they wet themselves, as well as the various traps they had set on the planet. Even when he noticed Alvia approach, he didn’t give him a glance.

“Later~ we~ dragged away~ the weapons~ dropped by those people…”

“Then, taking advantage of their confusion, we first dragged away the leaders and those organizing the attacks using underground pits. With the remaining people losing their leadership and scared witless, it was very easy to defeat them one by one.”

The latter part was said by Alvia. Although interrupting others was rude, if he waited for Mo Lan to finish, it would probably be daybreak, so Alvia described the rest in the most concise way.

Although he wasn’t there in person, he could completely “see” what happened elsewhere with his spiritual power.

“I see, you Mo Lans are amazing,” Zhou Zhou’s attention was drawn away.

Mo Lan: “…” She disliked this guy.

It was really hard to swallow all her desire to express herself.

Mo Lan’s jet-black eyes looked resentfully at Alvia, suddenly asking, “What~ is your~ relationship?”

She had never heard that the Imperial Emperor had any close acquaintances.

Alvia was startled and turned to Zhou Zhou, “What did you say our relationship is?”

Unexpectedly, this question stumped Zhou Zhou. He hesitated and said, “Friends?”

Alvia: “Friends!?”

Seeing Alvia’s rare expression of surprise, Zhou Zhou asked puzzledly, “Isn’t it?” Not minding the other onlookers around them, Alvia looked straight at Zhou Zhou, “Didn’t you ask me before if I liked you?”

“Yes, but you never answered me,” Zhou Zhou blinked innocently.

Alvia had thought his actions meant they had an unspoken understanding, but Zhou Zhou actually didn’t acknowledge it!

Alvia had never directly brought up this matter before. His previous subtle probes had all been deflected by the oblivious Zhou Zhou.

He was not adept at expressing emotions and would never easily reveal his likes and dislikes. Perhaps subconsciously, he was afraid of being rejected by Zhou Zhou, which was why he had been expressing himself in an indirect way, wanting Zhou Zhou to know and say it first.

Although he now possessed unrivaled wealth and power, he had not actually shed the shadow of his childhood.

He had not shed that weak and timid self, abandoned and despised by everyone.

What he liked, he could not possess. What he desired, he never obtained.

But now, what he liked and desired was right before his eyes, within reach.

“Zhou Zhou, I like you.”

Hearing the words he wanted to hear, the smile in Zhou Zhou’s eyes could not be concealed.

“I like you too.” Zhou Zhou thought for a moment, then corrected himself, “No, I like you the most.”

There were many people he liked, but right now, the person he liked the most was Al.

“Then we’re now…” Alvia tentatively asked.

“We’re now lovers!” Zhou Zhou declared.

What did lovers do again? Zhou Zhou suddenly remembered this. Previously, although he had been brief lovers with Xue Li and Ke Li, it was only later that he learned merely playing together did not count as being lovers. And the scenes he had seen in those dating sims…

The distance between them was already very close. Suddenly, Zhou Zhou reached out and hugged Alvia’s waist.

Before Alvia could process this unexpected delight, Zhou Zhou stood on tiptoe and leaned up, wanting to kiss him.

Alvia’s ice-blue eyes widened, his heart pounding. This was progressing too quickly!

Mo Lan, standing beside them, reflected: She should not have been standing there, and she had only wanted to ask what the relationship between these two was, not for them to demonstrate it right then and there.

At some point, the surroundings had fallen silent. Not only the mercenaries, but even the captured prisoners were quietly pricking up their ears to listen to the two of them speak.

What would happen to them now that they were captured? Oh well, that wasn’t important. This was gossip about the Imperial Emperor. It should be known that Alvia as the emperor was utterly boring, without a shred of gossip or scandal.

The previous few emperors had scandals galore, all sorts of moral wars and palace intrigues, as well as all kinds of messy gossip that had the people feasting until they were stuffed. But aside from being questioned over the legitimacy of his claim to the throne and his overly brutal handling of matters when he first took over, there had been no gossip whatsoever.

This was simply not normal.

An Imperial Emperor who did nothing but wage wars, never going out, not interested in romance, and without any particular hobbies.

Some even suspected this emperor was an AI impersonator, but later found that actual AIs were more “lively” than the Imperial Emperor, so no one ever brought it up again.

Now, being able to witness such an explosive scene, they felt they could be recorded in the annals of history.

Aside from the disheartened Mo Lan, the money-calculating Mo Zhu, and the still unconscious Heya, everyone else present was staring fixedly at the two.

At this moment, whether mercenary or captive, the silent cry in their hearts was the same:

Hurry up! Kiss already!