Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Strange Shadows in the Villa

Fortunately, Heya was tall and long-legged, catching Zhou Zhou in his arms.

Not feeling comfortable with the two being alone, Qian Le came out and only saw Zhou Zhou struggling desperately while Heya was trying hard to keep him from leaving.

“What are you doing! Let go!”

Heya couldn’t be bothered to respond to Qian Le. He thought he could hear some secret, but this kid ran quite fast. If it weren’t for his quick eyes and hands, he would have really jumped from the second floor.

“What’s wrong with him? Why is he acting like a drunk throwing a tantrum?”

Zhou Zhou’s strength was no match for Heya’s, and after struggling in his hands for a while, he still couldn’t break free. Qian Le, who hadn’t seen Zhou Zhou rush towards the railing, thought Heya was going to do something improper to Zhou Zhou, and tried desperately to pry his hands open.

Alvia came out and saw Heya bullying the two “kids” like a ruffian. He couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on?”

“This kid suddenly wanted to jump downstairs for some reason.”

Alvia looked at Zhou Zhou’s flushed face and his unclear state of mind, then at the railing. This was probably still the effect of possession. Possessed players would try to die in various ways, but if they could stop them in time, would the possession be lifted?

“Stop him from any abnormal behavior.”

“Yes.”

If Qian Le wasn’t so focused on rescuing Zhou Zhou right now, he would have found the conversation between the two suspicious. Unfortunately, he was entirely focused on Zhou Zhou and didn’t notice anything else.

The noisy commotion outside also attracted the players in the room. A male player with neon green hair stood at the door, hesitating to ask, “Do you need any help?”

Heya was too tall and intimidating, even though the three of them had entered the instance together. The current scene could easily lead to misunderstandings.

Zhou Zhou struggled for a while before suddenly stopping, and a white patch slowly appeared on his chest.

Alvia immediately told everyone to stop. He didn’t know why, but even though it was the first time they had seen Al, Qian Le also stopped instinctively upon hearing his words.

They had thought that after everyone let go, Zhou Zhou would continue struggling. But instead, he stood still, and the white patch on his chest revealed itself to be the ghost Luna.

“Can a ghost come out by itself without the person dying?” The neon green-haired guy at the door exclaimed in surprise, and the other players in the room also came out after hearing the commotion.

Ten minutes.

Alvia realized that from the ghost entering Zhou Zhou’s chest to coming out, it took exactly ten minutes. So if they could prevent the possessed person from dying within those ten minutes, the possession would be lifted.

The ghost slowly floated out of Zhou Zhou’s chest, calling out “Give me back my life.” Its hollow eyes stared at the players present, as if searching for its next target, scaring the players at the door into retreating.

After the ghost’s final part separated from Zhou Zhou’s chest, it fixed its gaze on Alvia, floating towards him with its semi-transparent hair trailing behind, exuding an intimidating aura as it headed straight for Alvia.

The next second, the previously motionless Zhou Zhou suddenly reached out and grabbed the bottom of the ghost’s trailing hair.

The ghost Luna looked down, then was yanked downwards in a flash.

Zhou Zhou felt dizzy, and when he came to, he opened his eyes to see a ghost floating in front of him. His first reaction was to grab it.

The previously arrogant ghost was now being pulled around like a balloon, struggling to escape but unable to break free.

Zhou Zhou looked at the ghost in his hand with satisfaction, feeling the familiar sensation.

Turning his head, he saw everyone staring at him and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”

Qian Le immediately shook his head, “Nothing, nothing.”

The neon green-haired player looked at him with admiration, “Impressive.”

Heya looked at the innocent-looking Zhou Zhou, knowing he had regained consciousness. It seemed he couldn’t hear the secret from before.

Alvia didn’t say anything but studied Zhou Zhou, who was holding the ghost. It seemed that players who had been possessed once couldn’t be possessed again, or perhaps the ghost could only possess by entering the chest, and its current position being held prevented it from possessing anyone else.

The other players wanted to take a closer look but were also afraid of being possessed, so they stood at a distance, full of admiration. This guy dared to grab the thing with his bare hands.

Afterward, the group searched each room for an exit, accompanied by the ghost’s pitiful cries of “Give me back my life,” but unfortunately found nothing out of the ordinary.

Qian Le avoided the side where Zhou Zhou held the ghost and stood on his other side, looking at him with an indescribable expression, as if he wanted to say something.

“Qian Le, what’s wrong with you?” Zhou Zhou noticed Qian Le’s strange look, as if he had something to say.

“Zhou Zhou, do you remember what you said when the ghost possessed you?” Qian Le asked expectantly.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Zhou couldn’t recall and curiously asked, “I don’t remember. What did I say?”

He doesn’t remember. Qian Le sighed with disappointment, looking into Zhou Zhou’s pure and clear eyes, “Nothing, you didn’t say anything.”

If there was nothing unusual on the second floor, then only the first floor remained.

The players stood in front of the railing, looking at the two ghosts wandering below and then at Zhou Zhou, who had caught the vicious ghost with his bare hands and was treating it like a toy. They gave him an ingratiating smile, “Heh heh heh.”

Zhou Zhou: ?

“Brother, can you help catch those two down there as well?”

“Yeah, if you can catch one, you can catch three. Wouldn’t it look better with all three together?”

What do they mean by three looking better together? None of them look good. They just want to trick someone into going down there. Since Qian Le knew Zhou Zhou had spoken unintentionally, he didn’t dwell on it anymore. But hearing those people’s words infuriated him, “Why don’t you guys go down yourselves?”

“Isn’t that like serving ourselves up on a platter?”

“Right, and if we add another ghost, it’ll be even more troublesome.”

Qian Le wanted to argue with them, but Zhou Zhou stopped him, “I think I can do it.”

“What if you get possessed again?” Qian Le asked anxiously.

“Then you can call my name, and I’ll definitely come up when I hear it.” Zhou Zhou’s expression was relaxed, his eyes filled with trust in Qian Le.

Qian Le nodded vigorously, “Don’t worry, if you get possessed and don’t respond when I call you, I’ll rush down to save you. We’ll die together if we have to.”

Alvia glanced at the excited Qian Le but didn’t say anything.

The other players looked back and forth between Qian Le and Alvia. Wait, weren’t those two hugging just now? How did these two start making such vows? What’s the relationship between these three?

Heya scoffed. It’s just a game, yet they’re acting like they’ll really die. Kids these days sure know how to play.

Zhou Zhou pulled the ghost downstairs, and everyone craned their necks to watch.

As soon as one foot touched the ground after descending the spiral staircase, the two ghosts simultaneously turned towards Zhou Zhou and floated towards him.

“Give me back my life!”

The players watching from upstairs panicked.

“It’s no use, it seems.”

“Brother, come back up quickly.”

“Hurry, hurry, they’re floating over.”

Downstairs, Zhou Zhou paid no heed, making no move as the two ghosts floated towards him.

Qian Le was so anxious he felt like jumping up and down, wishing he could go down and pull Zhou Zhou back up.

Finally, the two ghosts floated in front of Zhou Zhou and headed towards his chest.

The players upstairs exclaimed, thinking they would witness another possession scene. But the next moment, the scene changed.

Instead of possession, the two ghosts rubbed against Zhou Zhou’s chest, as if trying to find a way in but unable to, almost like… they were acting spoiled?

Zhou Zhou’s chest felt itchy from the rubbing, and he couldn’t help but laugh out loud, making the ghosts seem even more spoiled.

The players upstairs didn’t know what to say anymore. They could tell it was because Zhou Zhou had been possessed before, so the ghosts couldn’t possess the same player twice. But the terrifying ghosts that had previously chased them relentlessly were now behaving like this? Tsk tsk tsk, how embarrassing for the ghosts.

The two rubbing ghosts were expertly caught by Zhou Zhou, successfully joining the ghost Luna, with all three ghosts floating in his hand.

With the danger of possession resolved, the others came downstairs, looking at Zhou Zhou with admiration.

The two human-shaped mosaics were still on the first floor. A few players glanced at the featureless mosaics on the ground, then at the three ghosts swaying in Zhou Zhou’s hand, and couldn’t help but lament, “In the game, no matter what, you mustn’t die. Not only do you turn into a mosaic, but you also get played with like a balloon. You really lose all face.”

Several others nodded in agreement.

The players searched the first floor together, while Zhou Zhou was asked to sit on the sofa and not participate in the search, only needing to firmly hold onto the ghosts.

With nothing else to do, he continued playing with his ghosts.

Squeezing them round, then flattening them, stretching them long, then smacking them flat. Of the three ghosts, only the one that looked exactly like Luna escaped unscathed. Although the ghosts had no sentience, that particular ghost resembled a girl, so it was better to leave it as is.

The other two weren’t so lucky.

“Give me… my lifeee~”

The players searching for clues would occasionally glance back at him, their expressions complex. They never expected this seemingly innocent and harmless player to be so brutal, they even felt sorry for the ghosts.

And really, is it that fun?

A few players looked on enviously, but ultimately gave up the thought. After all, they weren’t Zhou Zhou, getting too close would lead to possession, and if they died by mistake, they might end up getting squeezed and smacked around too. Not worth it.

While Zhou Zhou played with the ghosts, the others found nothing on the first floor. This place looked like an ordinary two-story villa, with simple and elegant decor, and nowhere that could serve as an exit.

Time in the game passed faster than in reality. They had already spent about half a day searching for the exit but found nothing, unsure where else the exit could be.

The neon green-haired player, seeing everyone in silence, voiced his guess, “Could it be on the roof or somewhere underground, or does opening the exit require certain conditions?”

Another player seemed to remember something, “Last time I cleared it, I had to complete the main quest first. This time, the system hasn’t issued the main quest yet.”

“That’s right, last time I found a key to unlock the door and clear it.”

The experiences of these few players made everyone realize they might be missing something to clear this instance.

Since they couldn’t find the exit, they should look for clues first. Currently, the most suspicious thing was the creature that snatched Luna away on the second floor, no one had seen what it was. This could be one of the clues needed to clear the instance.

While squeezing a ghost in one hand, Zhou Zhou suddenly said, “Where did Luna go?”

Alvia looked at Zhou Zhou, who seemed focused on playing with the ghosts, yet could immediately point out something everyone else had overlooked, indeed showing meticulous thinking.

Qian Le turned around bewildered, looking at the ghosts in his hand, “Isn’t she right here…”

Before he could finish, Qian Le’s expression changed. Wait, where did Luna’s body go? After the first two players died, there were human-shaped mosaics left behind, meaning the player’s body doesn’t disappear upon death. But Luna was only a soul, so where was her body?

The others also realized this issue. It seemed their search hadn’t been thorough enough, there must still be undiscovered places in this house.

Looks like they needed to search again.

As they discussed how to proceed, Zhou Zhou suddenly gathered the three ghosts back into his hand, looked up at everyone, and said, “It’s time.”

What time?

Before anyone could react, the light outside suddenly dimmed, and the room grew dark.

“What happened? Why can’t we see anything?”

“What time is it?”

“It’s night time! It actually reached this time point.”

“Someone use a light item.”

“What the hell is that thing!”

As the room grew darker, a neon green semicircular object appeared in the middle of the players. The unsuspecting players caught a glimpse of this strange thing and nearly jumped on the spot.