Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Deep Sea Creature 10

From the skeleton’s sword-wielding hand, it began to spread upwards, gradually covered by a layer of flesh and blood. The ancient bronze-colored skin was quite rough, and the faded scars crisscrossed on the back of the hand, enough to show that this skeleton had gone through many storms in its previous life.

From the fingers to the arms, and then to the whole body, even the skeletons behind also slowly recovered into human form.

The players who had stretched their necks to observe from the wheelhouse entrance also saw that the skeletons had indeed turned into human forms. Although the clothes they wore were still the same tattered appearance as before, these people seemed to have come to life, changing from a pile of white bones into the crew of the ship.

The one holding the sword at the front should be the captain, with a beer belly, ancient bronze-colored skin, and a scraggly beard, making it almost impossible to see what he looked like. The few closest to the captain behind him should be the crew members, with sun-tanned dark skin, but their spirits seemed quite good.

The rest should be the original passengers of this ship, with some thin and ordinary people, as well as some well-fed and arrogant-looking nobles.

The players stared at this scene with their mouths agape. Were these people cursed and turned into skeletons?

Some quick-reacting players even guessed that the sword the captain was holding might be the key to breaking the curse. Could this be an important plot point and clue for what was to come?

Zhou Zhou stared at this group of people, and then his gaze shifted to the sword in the captain’s hand. The other man stroked his beard, and then nimbly fastened the sword to his waist.

“Hello.” Zhou Zhou’s gaze moved to the captain again. Since the skeleton did not attack them, Zhou Zhou wanted to try to ask them for any clues.

But the captain seemed to not have heard him. After fastening the sword, he turned around with his beer belly protruding, walking back and forth while loudly scolding the few sailors behind him. Then he took big strides towards the wheelhouse with two sailors.

Because of his pacing, the captain avoided the positions of Zhou Zhou and Alvia. Zhou Zhou opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but eventually closed it and silently watched the captain and the others’ backs.

“Come here, come here.” The players crowding at the wheelhouse entrance quickly made way, although these skeletons did not do anything to Zhou Zhou and the other person, they might not be so fortunate. Who knows, if they saw them, the skeletons might regain their previous hostility.

There were too many players squeezed at the entrance. When the players in front wanted to retreat, they were blocked by those behind and could not move back. Seeing the fierce captain and the others about to reach the entrance, the players in front quickly jumped out of the way.

However, the players trapped in the middle were a bit slow. By the time the front cleared the way, the captain and the others had already reached them.

The players were startled and were about to apologize when they saw the captain and the others passing straight through their bodies.

“What’s going on with these people? How come we can’t touch them?” The captain and the others went straight through the players blocking the entrance. All the players who came into contact with the captain felt a chilling sensation invading their heart and lungs, shivering.

Watching the captain and the few sailors chatting idly while steering the helm, ignoring the players as if they were the transparent and illusory ones.

One player stared for a long while, slowly reaching out his hand towards the captain. When the hand touched the captain, it passed through his body. The captain’s figure slowly wavered, becoming blurred like a video with bad reception. When the player’s hand left, he returned to normal.

“No bones, can’t touch the whole person at all.” The player exclaimed in amazement. Theoretically, these skeletons should be physical entities since they were able to pick up and throw out many players not long ago. But now they couldn’t be touched, as if they had become a chilly gust of air.

The other players also reached out to try touching the other two sailors, and indeed, they were the same as the captain, untouchable.

Zhou Zhou and the others also noticed that aside from the captain and the two sailors, the other skeletons-turned-humans also walked towards various parts of the ship. A few sailors tidied the deck, while the other passengers either enjoyed the scenery on the deck or went straight back to their cabins. Facing the many players on the ship, they were focused only on their own business, as if they could not see the players at all, merely carrying out an ordinary sea voyage.

Seeing the captain passing through the players, Zhou Zhou also tried to touch the people on the deck, but still felt nothing.

Xue Li and Ke Li came out from the wheelhouse. The captain and the others still had no reaction. The other players quickly followed them out of the wheelhouse and headed towards Zhou Zhou and Alvia.

“What’s going on with these skeletons? They feel creepy, almost better when they were just skeletons.”

“It’s over, it’s really over this time. We can’t even touch that sword now, how are we supposed to get it from the captain?”

“Zhou Zhou, do you know what’s happening?”

Zhou Zhou shook his head, he wasn’t sure either.

Everyone discussed with mixed opinions. Some said it might be because the captain and they were in different spaces, while others said it was because the captain and crew were cursed. Zhou Zhou also pondered: “Could it be that they don’t know they’re already dead and think they’re still sailing on the ship?”

The lively discussion fell silent after those words. Everyone looked at Zhou Zhou, then turned to the skeletons around them. Although it appeared to be a scene of busy sailors and leisurely passengers, Zhou Zhou’s words sent a chill down the players’ spines.

Those words were extremely unsettling. Some timid players were initially relieved that this instance wasn’t too horrifying, but Zhou Zhou’s words made them huddle closer to the other players.

“It probably won’t be like that, right?” One player kept looking around uneasily.

“It’s also possible it’s not.” Zhou Zhou frowned, his expression serious as he considered another possibility: “Maybe it’s the passengers’ final memories before death, and since everyone died, their souls are trapped in an endless loop of their last moments.”

The players: “……”

Wasn’t it almost the same thing? And according to these two theories, the people on this ship were ghosts!

After hearing Zhou Zhou’s words and seeing these skeletons again, the players felt there was something off about their expressions and gaits. Their laughter also seemed strange, why would they laugh at the open sea when there was nothing there?

“After they died, their souls remained on the ship. Could they be looking for vessels?” One player said in horror. “My last instance was like that, the ghosts kept seeking vessels. Once they found one, they would use all kinds of methods to kill the player, then absorb their ghost, eventually becoming the big boss of the instance.”

“I don’t think so. These are just passengers on the ship, not ghosts. It should be fine since they can’t touch us, and we can’t touch them either,” another player reassured.

True, they couldn’t make contact with each other. It should, it should be fine, right?

Just as everyone became unsettled by Zhou Zhou’s speculations, a sudden scream rang out, startling the already on-edge players.

“Ahhhh, help!”

The voice came from above them. The players touched their rapidly beating hearts from the fright and looked up.

Ah…It was that player still hanging from the mast.

One of the players below, startled by the scream, shouted impatiently: “Why are you still up there? Hurry and climb down!”

“I can’t get down, my hands are numb!”

“Just slide down the pole!”

“I was holding on too tightly earlier, my feet are also numb!”

“…..Then just hang there for now.”

After that, the players fell silent. They really didn’t know what to say, especially since the passengers were talking and laughing but without a single sound, as if performing a silent play, making it feel extremely eerie.

The player on the mast eventually slid down slowly. Seeing that everyone was silent and just looking at each other, he couldn’t help but ask curiously: “What are you guys doing?”

“Ahem, right, what about those players?”

“Yeah, yeah, what do we do about those players?”

“Didn’t we say throw them into the sea?”

The players had previously said they would throw those guys overboard, they had almost forgotten because of the skeleton incident.

The group headed towards the wheelhouse again, but this time, everyone carefully avoided the sailors and passengers while walking. Even at the wheelhouse entrance, they hesitated to go in. What if the captain was inside waiting for them? When they entered, what they might see could be the captain and sailors in a horrifying state of death, or the three of them might turn pale and pounce over, wanting to kill them to possess their bodies.

Nightmare City’s instances had some normal ones, but more often contained suddenly appearing ghosts and spirits. After going through multiple instance games, the players could even imagine all sorts of horrific and eerie scenes in their minds. The player in front was startled by the scene he imagined, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he silently looked back at the others.

Why don’t you guys go in first? The implication in his eyes was obvious.

The players behind him smiled sheepishly, pretending not to understand, and shifted to the side.

Zhou Zhou and Al were in the middle of the crowd. Seeing that everyone had stopped at the entrance, Zhou Zhou stood on his toes to look forward and asked what was wrong.

“Zhou Zhou, right? Zhou Zhou, can you go in first? You have a good relationship with the skeleton captain, he probably won’t hit you if you’re the first one in.” The player said flatteringly.

Zhou Zhou didn’t expect his speculation earlier to have left such a shadow on everyone present. Seeing the people in front making way for him, he could only step forward and knock on the door.

Naturally, there was no response from inside. When Zhou Zhou entered, he saw the captain steering the helm with his belly protruding, looking full of vigor. Although his beard was unkempt, his stance at the helm did give off a commanding aura. Zhou Zhou pondered while glancing back at Alvia, but Alvia was still more handsome. When Alvia was at the helm earlier, he looked nonchalant, but his figure and bearing were more impressive than the captain’s, regardless.

After comparing them, Zhou Zhou looked towards the corner where a group of players was tied up. Coincidentally, a sailor was busying around their area, passing through the players’ bodies. If it weren’t for the fact that neither side could make contact, this scene would definitely leave a haunting impression on both parties.

Wu Yu watched as the group of players clustered around Zhou Zhou entering from outside, with a victor’s demeanor. He inwardly resented it, but the circumstances forced his hand, and he had to lower his head: “There’s no way to complete the main quest now, so the conflicts between us no longer exist. There may even be situations later that require everyone to work together, could you give us another chance?”

His tone was very earnest, his kind-looking face making such an expression was indeed easy to deceive others.

Zhou Zhou was not affected at all. He had never judged people solely by their appearances, otherwise how could he have become friends with Resentful Woman? So facing Wu Yu’s false kindness, his attitude was very firm: “There’s no chance.”

Kou Li, who hadn’t said much, realized from Zhou Zhou’s attitude that Wu Yu had completely offended him and couldn’t be relied on anymore.

“Everything I did was under Wu Yu’s instructions. I was also just being deceived by him. And all the players here only attacked you because they were incited by him. We’re just playing a game, only wanting to clear it smoothly. There’s no need to be so ruthless, right?” Kou Li’s appearance wasn’t as kind as Wu Yu’s, even his voice carried a cold harshness. But his words successfully swayed the other players who were tied up together, and the others also began to repent and apologize.

The other people looked to each other, unsure of how to deal with this situation. It was better to leave it to Zhou Zhou and the others. After all, it was Zhou Zhou’s group’s belongings that were stolen, and they were the ones who resolved the fight. How to handle these people had nothing to do with the others.

Zhou Zhou looked at Kou Li and suddenly said: “I know you.”

Kou Li was originally thinking of how to rally the others to make Zhou Zhou soften his stance, since these were all Zhou Zhou’s followers. The female player with the highest combat power and Al didn’t say much, leaving all the decisions to Zhou Zhou. This young kid looked like a child from some noble family, so playing the victim should soften up this kind of naive person.

But Zhou Zhou’s sudden words did leave him a bit confused. He squinted, studying Zhou Zhou carefully, certain that he had never met the other person before, so how could Zhou Zhou know him?

“In the dorm building of Love Academy.”  Zhou Zhou calmly said.

Xue Li and Ke Li, hearing the familiar instance name, looked at Kou Li’s weather-beaten face. They had been with Zhou Zhou all along, how had they never seen this person before?

Ke Li suddenly recalled something and stepped forward to ask Zhou Zhou: “Is he the one who pushed you over?”

“Yeah!” Zhou Zhou forcefully answered, then said to Kou Li: “We agreed to beat you up.”

Xue Li also remembered, squeezing to the front to scrutinize Kou Li, her eyes narrowing: “Ah, so it’s you!”

Kou Li also remembered, but looking at Zhou Zhou, he still found him unfamiliar. It was too dark at the time, and he was being closely chased by monsters, only sparing a glance at the other person’s attire. Back then, he just thought the other person must be wealthy, but he didn’t get a clear look at his appearance. So how did Zhou Zhou recognize him? There were billions of players in the game, unless they formed a team, the chances of encountering each other again were minuscule. This was precisely why they were able to act so rampantly in the game, since whatever they did to players in instances, they would never meet them again and didn’t have to worry about retaliation. Yet it had only been a few days, and not only did they encounter Zhou Zhou again, they had offended him a second time.

Xue Li was already rolling up her sleeves. Back then, they had even helped Zhou Zhou curse Kou Li together. But today, they ended up crossing paths and attacking Zhou Zhou’s group directly. This was truly the wheel of karma turning.

Zhou Zhou didn’t intend to beat up Kou Li. After all, he didn’t feel angry at the time, and even less so now. But he had promised Xue Li and the others.

Moreover, in the Doll’s House instance, he had promised Xue Li that if they encountered bad people, they should be cautious and not retaliate with kindness. Whatever the other party did to him, he would do the same back to them. His memory was good, he recognized Kou Li at first sight, so he had been wary of him and Wu Yu.

And Alvia had probably also recognized Kou Li, since the three of them were on the same floor at the time.

“Xue Li, no need to hit him. Let’s just put them back into the sea.” Zhou Zhou pulled back the cursing Xue Li and calmly said.

Put them back into the sea? The female player raised her eyebrows slightly, the corners of her mouth quirking up. Indeed, put them back into the sea, since they were the ones Zhou Zhou had rescued. Although some players had items that allowed them to board the ship at the time, Zhou Zhou took the initiative to lower the rope ladder, changing the nature of the situation.

“Okay, okay, I’ll help too.” One player said enthusiastically. He was the one Kou Li had pulled to block the skeletons earlier, and had been dissatisfied with these two from the start. Putting them back into the sea was a task he would definitely have no problem with.

He would make sure they made a splashy return to the sea.