Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 128

Chapter 128: New Love Academy 6

Zhou Zhou didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all. After eating his fill, he said to Alvia and Zeus, “Let’s go too.”

“Do you know where the treasure chest is?” Alvia asked.

Zhou Zhou shook his head, “The location of the treasure chest changes randomly every time, it could appear anywhere, so I don’t know where it will show up this time either.”

Zeus raised his hand high, “I know! I’ll take you to find it.” The sooner they found it, the sooner they could leave.

Alvia saw through Zeus’s plan at a glance, “No need, we’ll take our time finding it.”

While other players were running around searching for the treasure chest, the three of them strolled leisurely around the campus.

Suddenly, a golden light shone from the top floor of one of the school buildings, its dazzling glow like a beacon at night, attracting all the nearby players.

Not far away, Alvia looked at the blinding golden light on the rooftop as if worried others wouldn’t be able to see it, feeling speechless. This was the “guidance” the clown mentioned?

It was indeed guidance, and the kind that everyone could see at the same time.

The dazzling light soon disappeared, leaving behind a golden arrow pointing towards the rooftop, standing out prominently in the darkness.

Quite a few players had already followed the arrow’s guidance and were heading towards the target.

The three of them followed behind the other players, walking towards that school building.

More and more people were attracted, as players all wanted to be the first to find the treasure chest. Seeing some players running ahead, they immediately quickened their pace and ran frantically.

But they weren’t alone, as each player had their own NPC with them, and these NPCs seemed to have no interest in finding the treasure chest, even holding them back.

“The building is too tall, I can’t walk that far.”

“I don’t want to go to the school building, why are you taking me there in the middle of the night?”

“Why are you walking so fast, are you doing it on purpose?”

Faced with the NPCs’ unreasonable tantrums, the players were flustered, but could only coax them gently, as the first piece of information on the quest panel was not to let the NPCs out of sight, and every single one of the game’s prompts could not be ignored.

However, the NPCs who were throwing little fits seemed to be there specifically to hold them back, with some even turning around and walking in the opposite direction in a huff.

“Hey hey, don’t walk away, oh my ancestors.”

“Look, everyone else is heading up there, we’re going to find the treasure chest, there’s a prize.”

One player turned to look at his NPC who was about to walk away, then looked at the arrow on the rooftop, feeling anxious. He ran over, grabbed his NPC and ran towards the top.

He would get the treasure chest first, then deal with everything else.

The NPC struggled for a while, but realizing he couldn’t break free, immediately grew angry, and the favorability meter above his head began to decrease continuously.

“Hey, bro, don’t run anymore, your favorability is dropping,” someone shouted at the running player, but he paid no heed and focused solely on running upstairs.

Some players followed his lead, dragging their protesting NPCs along as they ran.

As long as they ran fast enough, even if their favorability dropped, it wouldn’t drop too much, and with the 30% increase after finding the treasure chest, they would definitely be able to clear the instance.

Zhou Zhou belatedly remembered that he was also an NPC in this instance, and had to play his role properly. He imitated the other NPCs’ behavior and complained to Alvia, “I don’t want to go up, the building is too tall and it hurts my feet to walk.”

Zeus looked up at the four-story school building, blinked, and didn’t say a word. What Zhou Zhou said was right!

Alvia didn’t say much, but walked over to Zhou Zhou and carried him horizontally.

“Hey? What are you doing?”

“You said your feet hurt, right? I’ll carry you up, so you don’t have to walk.”

Being carried like a child made Zhou Zhou feel a little embarrassed.

“Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”

Alvia was very calm, as if he had already anticipated Zhou Zhou’s reaction, “Aren’t we lovers?” Previously, Zhou Zhou had taken the initiative, and even made Alvia blush and feel embarrassed in front of him, making him reflect countless times on how poor his performance had been back then.

So these past few days, in between handling work, he had also studied a lot about how couples should interact, and if given another chance, he would definitely not be nervous.

That’s right, they were lovers now, so this was very normal and nothing to be concerned about. With this clear understanding, Zhou Zhou contentedly let himself be princess-carried, and even said to Alvia, “Next time, I’ll carry you.”

Zeus: “Pfft.”

Just imagining Alvia being princess-carried by Zhou Zhou, that would truly be a world-famous painting.

Alvia’s expression showed some struggle, but he soon agreed, “…Okay.”

Even though it was just a dating sim instance, the players who could see and hear these two felt like they had eaten too much dog food and were a little stuffed. How were these two acting as if it were real? Did they really need to be so invested?

However, this did seem to be a good solution that could make the grumbling NPCs stay silent, while not affecting their speed in finding the treasure chest.

Lesson learned.

One player gazed lovingly at his NPC, “Darling, let me carry you up, otherwise if your feet hurt, I’ll be heartbroken.”

The NPC, who had just been complaining about not wanting to go upstairs, showed a look of disgust, “Ugh~ You’re so cheesy.”

Affection -1.

Player: Wait, this isn’t right. It’s the same process, why am I being looked down upon by the NPC?

Unconvinced, he turned to look at the two who had already entered the building. Even their backs looked exceptionally attractive compared to others.

He was going to be furious to death, this was blatant discrimination!

After entering the building, Zhou Zhou kept making excuses to try and get down, wanting to leave, but each time Alvia stopped him with a few words, and he could only obediently stay carried up the stairs.

When they passed the second floor, one player who had already entered was talking to himself in the hallway, even though he was the only one there. Yet his gestures, expressions, and words made it seem as if there were a group of people around him.

The player would occasionally look hesitant, glancing left and right, appearing to be mumbling to himself.

Alvia didn’t stop, continuing upstairs.

At this point, Zhou Zhou’s attitude about wanting to go down was very resolute, so Alvia had no choice but to put him down, his expression suggesting he was still reluctant.

As soon as he landed, Zhou Zhou turned like a startled rabbit and ran towards the hallway, waving his hand as he ran and shouting, “I’m going to the restroom.”

Alvia: “There are no restrooms in the game.” Couldn’t even be bothered to find an excuse?

For some reason, Zeus didn’t follow Zhou Zhou, but stood by Alvia’s side, blindly defending, “If Zhou Zhou says there is, then there is. You don’t understand, so don’t talk nonsense. In horror games, the restroom is often a hotspot for terrifying events. Your lack of knowledge just shows how little experience you have.”

After saying that, he looked at Alvia with a disdainful and smug gaze.

It was a talent to be able to make such a punchable expression with such a cute face.

This time, without Zhou Zhou around, Alvia placed his palm on Zeus’s head, “You’ve been here too long, haven’t you, always coming to disturb me?”

Zeus shook his head, trying to break free from Alvia’s grasp, “None of your business, I came with Zhou Zhou.”

“Go to work.”

“No!”

“Children shouldn’t meddle in adult matters.”

“I’m older than you, I’m not a child!”

“You seem to have had issues with me lately?”

“Hmph!”

Seeing that Zeus only huffed a few times without rebutting, Alvia squatted in front of him and asked in an unprecedentedly gentle tone, “When we first met, you said I was the only human you liked. Now you’ve started to dislike me?”

Zeus brushed his hair and rolled his eyes at Alvia’s words.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting bored so easily? I didn’t expect an AI to also catch humans’ bad habits.”

“I haven’t!” Zeus glared in rebuttal, “I don’t have humans’ bad habits.”

“So you mean you don’t dislike me?”

Zeus pouted in silence for a moment before saying, “I liked Zhou Zhou first, you’re only second. But if you two are together, then I’m left alone.”

Zeus sounded pitiful. Alvia patted his head, “Or you could look at it another way. If we’re together, you can always move around and go anywhere with the two of us, without any other people you don’t know or like intruding.”

It sounded somewhat reasonable, and Zeus was moved.

“If I was with someone you didn’t know, or if Zhou Zhou was with another stranger, then the time we spent together would definitely decrease greatly. But now, whether you’re on the Starnet or in the palace, you can see both of us at the same time. There are no other strangers you dislike around, isn’t that good?”

It did seem to be the case. Zeus was convinced.

“So you’ll always take me along to play?”

“Of course.”

Zeus finally cheered up, no longer making that punchable expression towards Alvia.

Alvia stood up. Although he was usually quiet, it didn’t mean he couldn’t be persuasive. After all, being in the royal family, he was already well-versed in various psychological tactics.

Even though Zeus had existed for over a thousand years, knew vast amounts of knowledge, and had seen countless humans, his mind was indeed that of a child’s. He couldn’t hide what he was thinking, showing it on his face and in his actions.

If he was allowed to continue causing trouble like this, it would indeed affect his relationship with Zhou Zhou.

So he had to resolve Zeus’s troubles first.

Seeing how quickly Zeus recovered, Alvia couldn’t help but ruffle his little curls again. He really was just a little kid.

Not long after, Zhou Zhou finally returned. The school building was U-shaped overall, and if you entered from the front, there were blind spots on both sides. Zhou Zhou had just entered the hallway on the right, so no one could see where he went or what he did.

Zeus: I know, but I won’t say.

“Alright, let’s continue upstairs, Alvia, Zeus.”

Zeus didn’t move, and Alvia didn’t move either.

Zhou Zhou tilted his head in confusion, “You’re… not going to the rooftop?”

Zeus didn’t speak. He had only come to watch the commotion. The real participant in the instance was Alvia. Even though they had reconciled, he wouldn’t help Alvia, and even wanted to see him made a fool of.

Such double standards.

Alvia remained calm, “You’re not the real Zhou Zhou.”

As soon as he finished speaking, another Zhou Zhou came running out from the corner of the hallway, rushing over while frantically shouting, “Everyone, don’t believe him, he’s the fake one.”

Now there were two identical Zhou Zhou standing in front of Zeus and Alvia. Not only could they both see the invisible Zeus, but their mannerisms, appearances, and voices were exactly the same. Both claimed to be the real Zhou Zhou.

Alvia remained unmoved, “Neither of you are the real Zhou Zhou.”

Right after he said that, a whole group of Zhou Zhou suddenly came running out from around the corner.

Alvia: “……”