Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Strange Shadows in the Villa

The pushed away Alvia stumbled a step to the side, but quickly regained his balance.

Zhou Zhou was originally standing next to him, unlike the others who had fled. Being pushed back from such a close distance, he didn’t have time to react. When he turned his head, he saw the ghost entering Zhou Zhou’s chest.

Even with spiritual power, it was too late. Alvia didn’t know how to describe the feeling, seeing Zhou Zhou standing dazed, he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you okay?”

Zhou Zhou seemed not to have heard him, his gaze was distant, mouth slightly open, blinking much slower than usual.

His porcelain white face slowly turned a flushed red, looking exceptionally alluring.

After a while, he slowly looked towards the wall and said unclearly, “Huh? I’m, fine.”

Alvia watched him wobble a step forward, with his unfocused gaze and flushed face, he looked like he was drunk.

Zhou Zhou now felt like his head was a muddled mess, seeing people in a blur with double vision.

But he didn’t forget to ask the person in front of him, “Al, are you, okay?”

“Al” didn’t respond to him. Zhou Zhou worriedly took a step forward, squinting hard to try to see clearly if he was okay or not.

But instead he walked straight into the wall.

Zhou Zhou held his forehead, the pain bringing tears to his eyes. He complained to the “Al” in front of him, “Why, did you, hit me?”

Alvia stood behind Zhou Zhou watching him complain for a while without getting a response. Forgetting the pain, Zhou Zhou felt the wall asking if it was okay.

At the door of a room on the other side of the hallway, several people peeked their heads out, looking this way. They had all run to this side when they saw the ghost. Now they didn’t know what had happened, so they could only hide there and observe the situation first.

Alvia looked Zhou Zhou up and down. Seeing his demeanor wasn’t feigned, he had likely been affected by the ghost’s possession. Moreover, Zhou Zhou’s speech and behavior after being possessed was completely different from the previous player’s.

“I’m over here.”

Seeing Zhou Zhou feeling the wall as he walked sideways, asking why it was so wide, Alvia called out.

Hearing the voice, Zhou Zhou slowly turned his head, staring at Alvia for a long time before recognizing him.

He opened his arms and ran towards Alvia, excitedly calling out, “Al!”

The two were less than two meters apart when Zhou Zhou stumbled into Alvia’s chest, grabbing onto the sides of his clothes and affectionately calling “Al” again.

More heads poked out from the doorway on the other side of the hallway, eyes wide as they watched the two.

“Let me see, what’s going on?”

“Don’t move, there’s no room.”

“How did they end up hugging? What happened before?”

“Heheh~ this is way more exciting than playing the game.”

Alvia’s brow furrowed deeply, wanting to push Zhou Zhou away but momentarily wondering if the person clinging to him was pretending to act this way on purpose.

Zhou Zhou nuzzled against Alvia’s chest, then stood on his tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “Let me tell you a secret.”

Alvia’s hand pushing Zhou Zhou away paused, his gaze deep and inscrutable. He looked at the innocently dazed Zhou Zhou and asked, “What secret?”

Zhou Zhou had been possessed by the ghost, his cognition seemingly affected. Perhaps he could take this chance to ask some important questions.

Letting go of Alvia’s clothes, Zhou Zhou cupped his hands around Alvia’s ear and softly said, “I like you.”

The warm breath tickled Alvia’s ear. He gave Zhou Zhou a meaningful look and chuckled lightly, his tone almost seductive, “I know you like me, but can you tell me who sent you here?”

Zhou Zhou’s muddled brain couldn’t comprehend that sentence, just tilting his head in puzzlement.

“Or tell me your purpose for entering the game, what are you here to do?”

This time Zhou Zhou understood two words.

Purpose!

Purpose, purpose, his purpose was of course to date, to date a lot.

Thinking it through, Zhou Zhou smiled foolishly. He rested his chin on Alvia’s shoulder and mumbled, “My purpose is…”

“Zhou Zhou, what are you doing!” A shocked voice interrupted Zhou Zhou’s words.

Zhou Zhou raised his head at the sound, looking at Qian Le down the hallway. He stared for a moment before finally remembering who he was.

“Qian Le~” Zhou Zhou waved happily at him from where he leaned on Al’s shoulder.

When Qian Le saw the ghost, he had run to the other side’s room with everyone else. He originally thought Zhou Zhou had also run off with them, but after being pushed into the room, he realized Zhou Zhou wasn’t there.

There were a bunch of people crowded by the doorway, he could barely squeeze out. As soon as he came out, he saw Zhou Zhou and Alvia intimately embracing.

Without thinking, he immediately called out Zhou Zhou’s name. Seeing Zhou Zhou looking out of it, he hurried over.

“Are you okay?” Qian Le pulled Zhou Zhou over and looked him up and down. Seeing he was unharmed, just abnormally flushed and with an unfocused gaze, he couldn’t help but suspiciously look at Alvia.

Alvia now only felt regret. He was just about to find out when he was interrupted. Had he not already investigated Qian Le’s background, he would have thought the two were in cahoots.

“He’s been possessed.” There was no way to continue asking now, he would have to find another opportunity later.

“What?” Qian Le’s face paled, seeing Zhou Zhou swaying unsteadily, he immediately went to support him. “Zhou Zhou, are you okay? How do you feel? Is your body abnormal at all?”

In Qian Le’s barrage of questions, Zhou Zhou only understood the “are you okay” part. He straightened up and replied, “I’m okay!”

The next moment he went limp like a noodle, almost falling to the ground before Qian Le caught him again.

Seeing nothing happened after Qian Le went over, the others also came over to ask Alvia what had just occurred.

Alvia only said that Zhou Zhou had been possessed. A few people retreated in fright, while some players saw Zhou Zhou acting drunk but not dead, thinking ghost possession didn’t necessarily mean death, there might be some limitations.

This was relatively good news for them, but the gloom still hadn’t lifted from their hearts. How had Luna died? On the second floor with so many people, yet she had disappeared and died silently.

It was similar to the cause of death for the first bespectacled player, they must have seen the same thing.

There were two possessing ghosts on the first floor, they weren’t clear what was on the second floor, but it was all dangerous regardless.

No wonder this main mission included the added challenge of surviving 24 hours. Not even an hour in and three were already dead, without them even knowing what was going on.

After that, no one split into groups anymore. The big group searched the rooms together, while the possessed Zhou Zhou was quietly ostracized.

The ghost on him was like a ticking time bomb, that could explode and kill him or others at any moment.

Qian Le noticed the ostracization too. He had come in with Zhou Zhou, he absolutely wouldn’t abandon him.

Though Heya didn’t speak, he stayed close behind the two of them, his stance also clear.

Alvia and Heya stood together, their gazes meeting briefly before looking away. During the search they used gestures only they understood to communicate.

Alvia signaled Heya to separate Qian Le and Zhou Zhou. Heya naturally obeyed the order.

Qian Le supported Zhou Zhou, unable to search, and he noticed the ostracization. He took Zhou Zhou to stand by the door, away from the others. If Zhou Zhou really turned into a ghost, or the ghost Luna appeared, he would lure it away.

By now Zhou Zhou had already forgotten about Alvia, smiling foolishly as he looked at Qian Le. Then he suddenly leaned in to whisper, “Let me tell you a secret.”

Qian Le knew Zhou Zhou wasn’t lucid, so he casually asked in the same tone, “What secret?” while keeping an eye on the others searching the room.

“I like you.”

Qian Le whipped his head around, staring at Zhou Zhou’s flawless face up close. His heart suddenly raced and his face flushed red, unable to tell whose face was redder in that moment.

“You you, you’re talking nonsense. You, you’re not lucid yet.” Qian Le shyly averted his eyes like a little wife, stuttering his words.

It was unclear if Zhou Zhou understood or not, just continuing to grin foolishly at Qian Le.

Qian Le knew Zhou Zhou only said that because he wasn’t lucid, but what if, what if that was really Zhou Zhou’s true feelings? Did that mean he would stop being single?

No no no, he couldn’t take advantage of the situation. Zhou Zhou still had lingering feelings for his ex, he might have mistaken Qian Le for someone else.

Qian Le kept his head down, his mind whirling like a storm had blown through. After a long while he still hadn’t figured out what to do.

Just as he was about to ask Zhou Zhou again, the person he was supporting suddenly disappeared.

“You’ve been supporting him for so long, you must be tired. Let me help.” Heya casually held Zhou Zhou up by the back of his collar, smiling at Qian Le.

Zhou Zhou hung limply like a kitten caught by the scruff, neck scrunched up.

He didn’t seem to realize what was happening, tilting his head to look up at the tall Heya. After a moment, he said clearly, “Heya!”

“Hmm? You recognize me now.” Heya smiled down at Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou grinned foolishly at him, then said, “Let me tell you a secret?”

“Oh? What secret?” Heya hadn’t heard Zhou Zhou’s earlier comments to Alvia and Qian Le, so he was quite interested now.

“Aaaahhhh ahhh ahhhh~”

Qian Le had wanted to rescue Zhou Zhou, being carried like that must be uncomfortable. But hearing that familiar line, he immediately wailed to try to cut Zhou Zhou off.

Zhou Zhou was indeed interrupted, looking down toward the source of the odd sound, then waving at Qian Le again.

Heya carried Zhou Zhou out of the room, setting him down in the hallway. Bending down, he asked, “What secret were you about to say?”

Set down, Zhou Zhou wobbled unsteadily on his feet, looking around dazedly. Then his gaze suddenly locked onto the railing in the middle of the hallway.

The next moment, while Heya wasn’t paying attention, he dashed toward the railing.

“Earthquake! The second floor is shaking, I’m going to the first floor!”