Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Deep Sea Creature 7

The warehouse had no windows, but light seeped in through the corroded wooden boards. Additionally, the weather was very clear, so the visibility was also very high, and there was no need for lighting tools.

A player was searching for the mission item in the warehouse, looking at the skeletons scattered on the ground without feeling fear, because compared to those ethereal ghosts, the skeletons paled in comparison.

He discovered a skeleton wearing luxurious clothing. Compared to the other skeletons whose clothes had faded or become tattered from the ravages of time, the material of this skeleton’s clothing was clearly much better, with the colors still vibrant. Could it be that the item he was supposed to find was this outfit? He thought to himself as he approached the skeleton.

This skeleton was leaning against a pillar, its skull tilted to the left. The player squatted down and carefully examined the clothes it was wearing.

As he gradually approached the skeleton, less than ten centimeters from its skull, the skeleton suddenly turned its head, staring directly at the player with its hollow eye sockets.

“Ah!”

The player let out a startled cry, his body recoiling backward until he fell onto the ground, his gaze frightened as he scooted backward.

Other players heard the commotion and saw that player sitting on the ground, retreating backward. Following his terrified gaze, they only saw a skeleton sitting there motionless.

There was nothing scary about that, the other players thought, feeling that the guy was just too timid to be so frightened by a mere skeleton.

Some were about to continue searching when they heard a jarring, coarse grinding sound.

“Ah ah ah, it moved! It really moved!” It was the same player, his voice quivering as he shouted loudly.

When the others turned their heads again, they witnessed an unbelievable sight. The skeleton that had just been sitting motionlessly on the ground was now trying to stand up, and at the same time, other skeletons in other areas were also stirring.

These skeletons, which had been carelessly scattered on the ground, shakily stood up. Some that were incomplete even gathered their scattered bones back together. Wearing tattered clothes, their blackened bony hands gripped broken swords as they walked towards the players in the warehouse.

Though the skeletons stood at about the same height as the players, without flesh to support them, they appeared unnaturally tall.

The players immediately turned and ran. At a glance, there were at least a dozen skeletons.

The skeletons silently watched the players, gripping the weapons in their hands that were either half-broken or just the hilt, taking one step after another towards the players. Their movements seemed slow, but their strides were large.

A few players who had walked too deep into the interior of the warehouse hadn’t even run a few steps before being blocked by skeletons in front of them.

The panicked players widened their eyes, the raised sword about to strike them reflected in their eyes. They instinctively dodged to the side.

The skeleton’s broken sword swung and missed. It quickly struck down again, but the player, looking towards the warehouse exit, steeled himself and charged through the skeleton in front of him.

These skeletons had no connecting flesh and blood. When the player forcefully rammed into one, it immediately scattered onto the ground, the skull rolling to one side while the other bones of its body shattered into pieces.

The player immediately mustered all his strength to run towards the warehouse exit. As he ran, he glanced back and saw that apart from the skeletons still chasing him with raised swords, the scattered skeleton was actually reassembling itself. The various bones seemed to be drawn together, gradually reuniting until the skull that had rolled far away came rolling back. It reached out with two hands, cradled its own head, and placed it back into position. The restored skeleton immediately picked up its sword and walked towards him again.

“Damn it!” The player cursed under his breath. What the hell were these ghostly things? They were unkillable.

The players rushed out of the warehouse, and the last player even remembered to replace the hatch cover.

The next moment, the cover began shaking with repeated impacts, but it seemed to have some use, as the skeletons inside couldn’t get out for the time being.

The frightened players stood on the deck, their faces grave as they stared at the trembling hatch cover.

This was their only refuge, yet the warehouse was filled with animated skeletons. If the hatch cover was broken through, they would have nowhere to hide.

So why were there so many moving skeletons in the warehouse? Some of the quicker-minded players immediately recalled that it was Wu Yu who had sent them to the warehouse.

Could it be that the guy was actually planning for them all to die?

This time, Wu Yu was wronged. He had no idea there were such things in the warehouse, and he was also in a precarious situation himself.

The players opened the chests one by one, still wanting to take them out. Wu Yu tried to stop them, but when he prevented one from doing so, another would pick up a chest and walk outside. Although these treasures were virtual and couldn’t be taken out of the game, the players were happily trying to claim them for themselves, as if they had truly discovered treasure.

Some people inside had also realized that when they touched these items, there was no reaction on their mission panel, indicating that these were not the items they were supposed to find. However, seeing everyone else scrambling to grab them, they didn’t want to miss out either.

The chest placed furthest inside was opened, and the player wearing various gold and silver jewelry was immediately startled by what was inside. They had been expecting some kind of treasure, but instead it was a skeleton frame.

The player immediately lost interest and turned towards the other chests.

The skeleton lay still and curled up inside the box. Its hand and foot bones were constantly moving, but the motion was too small for the players to notice. By the time they noticed the abnormality at the front, the skeleton had already emerged from the box.

The skeleton looked around in a humanlike manner, noticing the scattered chests and treasures all over. Its two hollow eye sockets shifted from the gold coins on the ground to the scrambling players. Although the skeleton couldn’t make facial expressions, some players sensed that this skeleton seemed to be angry.

The next moment, it suddenly charged towards the nearest player at a rapid speed. Just as the targeted player turned around to try and escape, the skeleton grabbed him from behind. It lifted the player high into the air and then threw him out, causing the player to crash into the wall. He nearly suffocated from the impact. This skeleton possessed immense strength, throwing with such force that in reality, the player would probably have coughed up a lot of blood.

However, the player didn’t notice that his life value displayed above his head had decreased by half from before, now approaching the warning level.

The skeleton then rushed towards the other players, grabbing and throwing one after another.

The players immediately scrambled to run outside, afraid of being the next one thrown.

From Room 101 to the corridor, the skeleton followed them out. From the corridor out to the exterior, the skeleton was still in relentless pursuit. Its speed was fast, and several players had already been thrown out.

A player searching for the mission item on the deck curiously watched everyone running out from the cabin. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he was grabbed by the shoulders from behind by the skeleton that had followed them.

The player looked dazedly at the skeleton, then felt a sudden spinning sensation as he was thrown off the ship!

The player splashed into the sea water, his face a mix of shock and bewilderment: What happened? Why was I thrown?

Once they realized the skeleton was indiscriminately throwing players, everyone felt endangered. The deck immediately became chaos.

After chasing the frantically running players around the ship three times, the skeleton suddenly stopped.

Everyone thought the skeleton was tired or that it would stop pursuing them after a certain time point. But then they saw the skeleton bending down, its bony claw scraping against the floor.

Several players’ expressions changed instantly. It was opening the hatch cover!

Before they could stop it, the incredibly strong skeleton had already opened the hatch.

The skeletons in the warehouse seemed to have been guarding the entrance. As soon as the hatch opened, they immediately poured out like a flood.

Over a dozen skeletons stood on the deck, their empty eye sockets gazing at the players. Even on a sunny day, they emanated an eerie chill. They raised their swords high and charged at the players.

Zhou Zhou, Xue Li, and Ke Li were crouched by the window, watching the chaotic scene outside. Xue Li’s mouth was agape in shock as she turned to ask Zhou Zhou beside her, “Didn’t you say there was no danger? Where did these skeletons come from?”

Zhou Zhou also looked at Xue Li, his expression troubled as he said, “I’m not sure either. Previously, these skeletons weren’t this lively; they hardly moved at all.”

Ke Li watched as the extremely powerful ghost on the deck caught up to a player in a few strides and threw him into the water. He silently commented to himself that this was more than just being “lively.”

“So what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because there are a lot of people on the ship now.”

A player ran into the captain’s quarters, intending to hide there. But that skeleton from Room 101 chased him in, dragging the player back out.

Xue Li clicked her tongue, suddenly realizing that it seemed no skeletons had come towards the wheelhouse, unsure if it was because they hadn’t noticed them or for some other reason.

The players outside weren’t entirely defenseless either, as the game had been running for some time and some players had purchased various items.

One player even took out a small particle cannon. This particle cannon was much smaller than those installed on ordinary mechas, and it took a long time to charge each shot. Ke Li was surprised that such a thing could be redeemed in the game, estimating that this weapon’s value must be higher than even resurrection items.

“Lure the skeletons to one spot, and let me deal with them!” The player shouldered the particle cannon and shouted loudly.

Although the other players were scattering in all directions, they all saw the particle cannon and immediately ran towards the front of that player.

Most of the skeletons were gathered in one area. The player took aim and opened fire directly at the clustered skeletons.

Blue light particles converged into a beam that instantly pierced through most of the skeletons. The skeletons damaged by the particle cannon scattered onto the ground, leaving only a few at the edges unscathed. But those few could still be handled by the players present.

The player with the particle cannon blew on the muzzle smugly, feeling that the expensive item purchase was worth it. The effect was great, able to instantly turn any ghost or monster to dust.

A player clinging to the mast and climbing up witnessed this scene. From his current position, he could clearly see all the movements on the deck, so he also saw the scattered, incomplete skeletons gradually reassembling themselves.

He shouted down loudly, “Run quickly, they can’t die, they’ll recover soon!” He was the same player who had rammed and scattered the skeleton in the warehouse earlier. These ghosts would quickly recover even if they were blown apart, making them impossible to kill.

Sure enough, the holes blasted through the skeletons gradually restored themselves, while the scattered bones also slowly gathered back together.

The player with the particle cannon was stunned in disbelief that his attack was ineffective!

At this moment, players hiding elsewhere shouted loudly at him, intending for him to fire again to delay the skeletons’ recovery or directly blast all of them to ashes.

The player looked troubled. The particle cannon took an hour to charge, meaning his next attack would be an hour later. Moreover, each attack consumed a lot of energy, which had to be purchased with points! His points weren’t earned easily. Knowing it was useless against the skeletons, the player immediately put away the particle cannon and fled.

It was unknown whether these skeleton NPCs also had aggro values, but after recovering, several of them actually chased after the player who had attacked them.

The players on the ship scattered in all directions again, including Wu Yu and Kou Li. When Kou Li was about to be caught by a skeleton, he suddenly grabbed a nearby player and flung him behind himself, using the player as a shield to aid his escape.

Fortunately, that player also had an item. When the skeleton swung its sword down, the player turned into a faint shadow and disappeared, reappearing elsewhere. He pointed at Kou Li and cursed while continuing to hide.

As Wu Yu was fleeing all over the ship, he caught a glimpse of a few heads peeking out from the wheelhouse window, it was Zhou Zhou and the others crouched there, observing outside.

Why weren’t the skeletons going towards them? Wu Yu suddenly realized that Zhou Zhou and the others were the first ones on the ship, so they probably knew about these skeletons early on but hadn’t told them. Additionally, the skeletons’ act of ignoring them also indicated that those two must have something that could conceal or control the skeletons.

With this thought, he abruptly changed directions and ran towards the wheelhouse. Kou Li immediately followed him towards the wheelhouse as well.

Xue Li: “There are players coming this way.”

Zhou Zhou nonchalantly answered with an “oh”, his gaze fixated on Kou Li behind Wu Yu, seemingly deep in thought.

Wu Yu and Kou Li rushed into the wheelhouse and immediately shut the door, warily watching outside. Sure enough, those skeletons no longer pursued them but went after the other players instead.

Gazing at the group inside who were unharmed and calmly staring back at them, Wu Yu caught his breath and forced a smile.

“Zhou Zhou, you guys are really inconsiderate. You knew the wheelhouse was safe but didn’t tell us. Look at how many players have been eliminated.” Wu Yu hadn’t directly addressed Alvia, partly because Alvia ignored him anyway, and partly because he was picking the softer target. Judging by appearance alone, the youthful and innocent Zhou Zhou was the softest target.

Xue Li scoffed coldly, “What do you mean by that? Zhou Zhou and the others were fine on the ship, but as soon as you guys came, trouble started. Don’t you think about what wrongdoing you might have committed?”

Although Xue Li also didn’t know what they had done to provoke these skeletons, it definitely had nothing to do with Zhou Zhou. Did he think she was blind for trying to shift the blame onto Zhou Zhou?

Zhou Zhou gazed at Xue Li’s cold, frowning expression, subtly shifting closer to her, his arm brushing against her shoulder. Xue Li gave him a reassuring look, appearing very much the doting girlfriend, causing Zhou Zhou to smile slightly.

Ke Li: “……”

Ke Li watched their little interaction and rubbed his eyes, feeling like their roles were somehow reversed. He instinctively glanced at Al standing by the helm. At some point, Al had turned around, his gaze darkly fixed on Xue Li.

Ke Li shuddered and suddenly stepped in front of Xue Li, shouting loudly at Wu Yu, “Instead of shifting blame, you should think about how to stop these skeletons. And you guys couldn’t have messed with something you shouldn’t have, provoking the skeletons?”

The smile froze on Wu Yu’s face as he recalled in the cabin how players had eaten steak, put on clothes, and even taken treasures. That fastest skeleton had appeared from the room where the treasures were kept.

Ke Li keenly sensed the other’s abnormality and continued, “Right? So hurry and put the stuff back, maybe the skeletons will stop then.”

While Ke Li and the others were conversing, some players outside had also noticed Wu Yu and the others entering the wheelhouse, and those skeletons hadn’t pursued them.

Realizing the wheelhouse might be a safe zone, everyone ran towards it.

The first player, then the second, ran inside. The skeletons that had been relentlessly chasing them suddenly stopped pursuing and went after other people instead.

The remaining players on the deck exchanged glances, then all ran towards the wheelhouse.

From the original thirty or forty people, only around twenty remained, all crammed into the tiny wheelhouse. Fortunately, it contained no excess objects inside, so the twenty-plus people fit.

Outside, the skeletons had lost their targets and aimlessly took a few steps on the deck. When they reached the last remaining mast on the ship, they suddenly looked up, fixating on the player hanging in the middle of the mast.

Player: He had originally thought his position was well-chosen. While others were fleeing for their lives, he could comfortably watch from above. But now… help!

The players in the wheelhouse were all panting to catch their breaths. Someone noticed Wu Yu and immediately questioned why he hadn’t told everyone the wheelhouse was a safe zone.

Ironically, it was almost the same question he had asked Zhou Zhou earlier. Wu Yu had no response, only able to say that they had also just arrived on the ship later, while those two had been on board from the start before them.

The attention turned to the indicated Zhou Zhou and Alvia.

Alvia leaned expressionlessly against the helm, his sharp features casually scanning the crowd, giving off an unapproachable aura.

The other youth appeared fresh and clean, with a rather pampered, aristocratic air of being sheltered from worldly matters. Some players had recognized him as the one who had lowered the rope ladder for them to board the ship last night and given clothes to the female players.

After being chased by a group of skeletons for so long, resentment had built up in the players’ hearts. They coldly mocked Wu Yu, “So you were the ones whose ship capsized last night. The way you acted, you really thought you owned this ship.”

Most people had been misled by Wu Yu’s attitude last night into thinking they were originally on this ship. So when he assigned them to search for the mission item, they didn’t object much, as they were the newcomers. But after all this trouble, it turned out that those two were also newcomers whose ship had capsized, just like them.

Wu Yu was irritated that these players were turning on him. Just last night, he had consoled them for so long, and they had all seemed grateful. Now that trouble arose, they were changing their tune.

Noticing that many players’ gazes towards him had changed, Wu Yu knew he would become the target if this continued. He immediately pointed at Zhou Zhou and said, “They were on the ship from the very start, so they must have known about the skeletons early on. Maybe they even know where the mission item is.”