Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Nightmare City 7

Other players watched in horror as Zhou Zhou and Alvia were swallowed whole by the giant monster, without even having time to struggle.

This couldn’t possibly be a small octopus!

The giant octopus ate the two people cleanly and effortlessly, without even chewing, and then its massive pair of eyes suddenly turned towards the other players.

Realizing that the monster might want to eat them too, the players hiding in various places felt their hearts racing rapidly, but they didn’t dare breathe heavily.

Although they knew that being eaten wouldn’t actually kill them, only eliminate them from the instance, who would calmly let themselves be eaten by such a massive, terrifying monster? Run away!

The players turned and ran, and the giant red tentacles came chasing after them.

Since the players were hiding in different places, they scattered in different directions when fleeing, originally thinking that dispersing would at least prevent the monster from splitting its attention. However, the monster was an octopus, and it simultaneously sent multiple tentacles speeding towards players in different directions.

With only two legs, the players were naturally no match for the octopus’s tentacles that were several meters long, and they were caught in the blink of an eye.

This time, the octopus wrapped up three or four people at once with its tentacles covered in suckers, holding the struggling people high up like toys.

Then it stuffed them one by one into its mouth.

The screams and cries for help from those people right before their deaths still echoed in their ears, but they had already disappeared into the giant octopus’s mouth.

This monster showed no signs of stopping, its intertwined tentacles wriggling forward towards the remaining players.

The massive tentacles charged towards the players again, and one of the players took out a particle cannon, intending to use it to kill the monster. However, the giant octopus’s tentacles were too fast, instantly wrapping up the player along with the particle cannon mounted on his shoulder. Before the player could even call out for help from the others, he was eaten.

As if it had developed a taste for it, the monster seemed to regard the players as appetizers, happily eating them one by one.

Fewer and fewer players remained, and even those hiding in other caverns of the stone cave were dug out and eaten by the octopus’s agile tentacles.

Finally, only two players were left, and they ran towards the direction they had come from.

This cave was much smaller compared to the size of the octopus, and the path was very long. Even if the monster’s tentacles could reach into the cave, they couldn’t extend that far.

The two players didn’t dare look back, continuing to run forward until they reached the place where they had come ashore. Their movements startled the grayish-black fish in the water, which opened their mouths to blow bubbles before diving back into the sea.

“This distance should be enough, right?” There was no path ahead, only the water source connecting the stone cave to the sea floor.

One of the players cautiously looked around with the help of the crystal’s light source: “That octopus is so huge, it can’t possibly come in here.”

The height of this cave connected to the stone cave didn’t exceed three meters, so based on the octopus’s size, it couldn’t fit through.

They should be safe for now.

They really didn’t expect the ending of the instance to turn out like this. Not only did they fail to find an escape, but all their other companions were eaten by the monster too.

With the man-eating monster behind them and the life-draining sea ahead, the two remaining players were truly in a difficult situation.

They originally thought they could buy some time here, but suddenly, a noise came from behind them, that same rustling sound against the ground.

The two players’ hearts skipped a beat as they turned to look, only to find that the monster had actually squeezed its way into the cave!

The cave was clearly very narrow compared to the monster’s size.

But as a mollusk, the octopus had compacted itself into a ball and was now wedged into the cave entrance, squeezing itself in.

The first thing to come in was a tentacle, then a second, then a third…

As the octopus slanted and contracted its body to wriggle further in, the two players knew they were doomed.

Between being eaten by the monster and entering the sea to have their life reset to zero, the two players chose the latter, jumping into the water together.

Away from the light source of the crystals, the sea became even darker and more still. Without time or daring to take out any lighting tools, the two swam deeper based on their memory, heading towards a straight path at the very bottom that would lead them out of the undersea cave.

But they didn’t notice a large, black mass rapidly approaching them from behind.

It was too dark in the sea to see anything, and the two could only feel their way forward blindly. Although they couldn’t see, that feeling of being watched, of something following their every move, was overwhelmingly obvious, as if the monster would appear right before their eyes at any moment.

The two swam faster.

In the darkness, a tentacle flashed swiftly through the sea, clearly reminding them that the ocean, rather than land, was the octopus monster’s perfect hunting ground.

When the tentacle wrapped around them, the two were filled with terror, struggling desperately. One of them, too panicked, instinctively took a breath, and seawater immediately rushed into his mouth and nose. He started coughing uncontrollably, only triggering a vicious cycle.

The octopus precisely caught the two and swallowed them whole.

With that, all the players who had entered the undersea cave were devoured by this giant octopus, leaving none behind.

“Cough cough~”

The player finally breathed in air, his chest feeling like it was about to explode, coughing continuously.

The other player grabbed his clothes to prevent him from choking again while coughing, staring around confusedly at the lake water, unable to understand what was going on.

Hadn’t they been eaten by the monster? How did they end up on the water’s surface again?

Was this inside the monster’s body? Or had they been eliminated and revived at the respawn point?

The player’s mind was full of question marks. Fortunately, he still had someone with him, otherwise he might have wondered if he had traveled through time and space.

“Hey~~ what are you guys still doing in the water? Hurry and come ashore.” Someone spoke not far away, and the player looked dazedly towards the source of the voice, his eyes widening.

The players who had been eaten by the monster were all on the shore!

He immediately swam towards them, not forgetting to bring along the player who had choked on seawater.

“Why were you guys so slow? We were wondering if you two had died halfway and wouldn’t show up here,” one of the players on the shore called out to them as they got closer.

By this time, the player who had been choked by the water had finally recovered somewhat. Seeing the people on the shore, he was also full of confusion: “Are we all at the same respawn point?”

“Hahaha~”

The other players were all amused by his words.

“Haven’t you realized yet? We’ve successfully cleared the instance!” The player on the shore said with a laugh. Their clothes were still wet, but their brows were relaxed and pleased, their voices light and breezy.

“Cleared it? But we…” That player still didn’t understand what had happened. Hadn’t they all been eaten by the monster?

The people on the shore reached out their hands to pull the two out of the water, explaining: “The octopus’s mouth was the escape exit for clearing the instance. The moment it swallowed us, we were directly transported to Colt Lake and cleared it successfully!”

“Cleared it? You mean we all cleared it?” The player who came out of the water asked in surprise, his eyes wide.

“Haha, just check your quest panel and you’ll know.”

The two players immediately opened their quest panels.

“50,000! I actually earned 50,000 points this time!” one of the players exclaimed.

“I have 48,000 points! How is it so high! My spiritual power also increased by 5 points!” the other player was also very surprised.

“Our points this time are all very high, probably related to the difficulty of the instance,” said one of the dozen or so players present. Apart from a small number who remained composed, the others were overjoyed. With such high points, they could buy several revival items, and even have leftover points to purchase other items. If there weren’t so many people around, they really felt like jumping up and down on the spot.

Zhou Zhou stood among the crowd, happy that everyone had gathered and made it back. His own points this time were 300,000, higher than everyone else’s and the highest he had earned so far.

However, his other stats hadn’t changed. Originally, he only cared about the increase in points, but later realized that the other values on the quest panel after the settlement were all related to spiritual power.

And spiritual power was a highly valued statistic in the outside world, but until now, his had always been zero, never changing.

The players excitedly exchanged contact information, chatting happily. Although they had encountered a few players with poor attitudes early on in the instance, everyone got along very well afterwards, and they could team up again in the future when they had time.

Doreen was also one of the first few to come out. She noticed that Zhou Zhou and Alvia’s auras had instantly disappeared after the octopus swallowed them, so she guessed there might be a hidden mechanism in the octopus’s mouth. As a result, she offered no resistance when the octopus attacked, and was successfully transported out.

This time, her points were over 100,000. Being able to clear this instance was all thanks to the existence of a certain person.

Doreen walked through the crowd towards Zhou Zhou. Although she had just emerged from the water like everyone else, Doreen didn’t look disheveled at all, her long hair draped over one shoulder, making her appear even more gentle and beautiful. “Didn’t you say you wanted to add me as a friend before?”

Under the envious gazes of the other players, Zhou Zhou and Doreen added each other as friends.

This beautiful female player glanced at Alvia, who was still standing beside Zhou Zhou, then looked back at Zhou Zhou with a smile, saying they should keep in touch, before logging off decisively.

The other players who had been eager to add Doreen’s contact could only inwardly curse themselves for being too slow.

Among the dozen or so players present, there were two other females as well. They were companions who had entered the instance together. The two of them now approached Zhou Zhou together.

One was gentle and quiet, the other lively and animated. Holding hands as they stood together, they certainly made a pleasing sight.

“We didn’t get to thank you before in the instance for lending us clothes. Let us transfer the points for the clothes to you,” said the two girls, both wearing the hoodies Zhou Zhou had given the female players in the instance. The oversized clothes looked even baggier on these two girls of average height.

“No need, the clothes didn’t really fit you two properly anyway, just something for you to wear in an emergency. I can’t accept your points for the clothes, that would be too much,” Zhou Zhou hurriedly declined with a wave of his hand. He had originally intended to just let everyone borrow the clothes, without expecting to get them back or have the girls pay him with points. If he accepted their points now, he would really feel embarrassed.

The two girls glanced at each other, unable to hold back their laughter.

“But you helped us and lent us clothes. If we don’t give you points, we’d feel bad too,” said one of the lively-eyed players jokingly.

“Ah?” Zhou Zhou hadn’t thought of it that way, but thinking about it, it did make sense. If he had been helped by others, he would also want to do something in return. Thinking of this, he subconsciously glanced at Al beside him.

“How about this, we’ll add each other as friends, you transfer the points to me, and then I’ll treat you both to a meal. That way, we’ll be even,” Zhou Zhou proposed.

The two girls were delighted: “Okay, we were planning to ask for your contact info anyway, and now we’re even getting a free meal out of it.”

As Zhou Zhou added the two girls as friends, he said, “No problem, I don’t like eating alone. It’s more lively when we all eat together, so in that case, I’m the one benefiting.”

“Well, we have a few other sisters too. Can they come along next time? We can’t let you foot the bill alone either. How about going Dutch? What do you think?” they asked.

“Of course they can.”

The gentle-featured girl smiled with crescent eyes, while the other girl beamed, her two dimples particularly evident.

The male players who were originally exchanging contact information glanced at Zhou Zhou, then at the two giggling girls, their expressions a mix of bewilderment and realization, admiration tinged with a hint of shock.

Wait, they had clearly come to transfer points for the clothes to Zhou Zhou, but why did it end up becoming his personal social gathering? This was too impressive. Zhou Zhou, you’re actually this kind of Zhou Zhou!

After adding the two female players as friends and receiving their point transfers, Zhou Zhou efficiently accepted them. He made an appointment to discuss the time and location for their gathering later, and the two girls left as well.

They didn’t add any other players’ contact information.

The male players gazed at their departing figures, their eyes gradually shifting to the last remaining female player present.

Xue Li belatedly realized that many people were looking at her and scowled: “What are you looking at?”

Male players: “……”

For some reason, they suddenly felt like they had lost at that moment.

“Uh, let’s just continue with our own thing.” One of the male players said.

The others immediately agreed. They hadn’t finished adding each other’s contact information yet. Whether it was self-consolation or self-hypnosis, the male players chatted and exchanged contacts, appearing extremely happy.

“Ah, it’s really unfortunate for Ah Jiang. If his life value had been a little higher, he could have cleared the instance with us,” said one player as he added the others’ contact information. “I don’t even know how to contact him.”

“Hey~ Hey~” Suddenly, someone descended from a flight vehicle not far from them and ran over, waving his hand.

“Who’s that?”

The players looked puzzled, but quickly recognized the face as the person approached.

“Ah Jiang!”

“Where did you come from? Weren’t you dead?”

The few players familiar with Ah Jiang happily gathered around him, their previously unbalanced moods instantly dissipating.

“Haha, I respawned at the revival point and hurried over here, afraid you guys would leave right after clearing the instance.”

Although Ah Jiang didn’t successfully clear the instance, he had been exploring, chatting, and searching for clues with the other players throughout, developing a good rapport. Since he couldn’t add friends in the instance, and he didn’t tell anyone his ID, he could only wait by the lake.  Fortunately, he made it in time before everyone left.

“We thought you would turn into a ghost after dying, but we never saw you either.”

Ah Jiang laughed: “It was my first time dying. Turns out, after you die, there’s an option to become a ghost. If you choose to become a ghost, you can earn points by scaring or eliminating players, although not much. You can also watch videos of how other players clear the instance. But we’re such good friends, how could I become a ghost to scare you all? Of course I refused. Now quickly tell me how you guys managed to clear it.”

The player closest with Ah Jiang patted his shoulder: “Good buddy, you know how messed up the early part of this instance was. But did you know? The way to clear it in the end was even more messed up! I’ve never seen such a messed up instance before.”

The player repeated the word “messed up” several times with an indignant tone, feeling that if not for Zhou Zhou’s presence, no one would have been able to clear this instance. So who was behind designing such a messed up instance?

“Ahem!”

“You know, after we entered the cave…”

“Ahem ahem!”

As the two were discussing what happened after entering the cave, an elderly fisherman wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat by Colt Lake started coughing heavily, his voice growing louder.

There were many players around Colt Lake, and it was common to see fishermen or idlers, but this elderly man’s coughing grew increasingly loud, attracting the attention of several people.

“Are you okay?” Zhou Zhou, still by the lake, was adding other players’ contact information when he heard the old man’s incessant coughing and expressed concern.

But upon seeing the man’s appearance, Zhou Zhou blinked and pointed at him: “Ah! You’re the one who sold us boats.”

Before entering the instance, they had bought two small boats for 1,000 points each based on the map’s instructions to go to the center of Colt Lake.

But the boats were destroyed after entering the instance.

The person selling small boats by the lake back then was this same straw hat-wearing man.

The boat-selling old man put down his fishing rod, holding it in one hand and a bucket in the other, walking towards Zhou Zhou and the others. The straw hat obscured half of his face, only revealing the lower half with a full beard.

The player who had been describing the messed up events after the later part of the instance to Ah Jiang seemed to have been harboring resentment, interjecting with insults like “inhuman” and “messed up.”

The bearded man stood behind the two, looking a bit awkward as he said, “That, um, the Deep Sea Creature instance was designed by me.”

This statement shocked everyone present. What did he mean, he designed the instance?

The bearded man took off his straw hat, and Zhou Zhou looked at his face with some bewilderment: “Captain?”

This was indeed the face of the skeletal captain from the ghost ship in the Deep Sea Creature instance.

Some players instantly recalled the repeatedly floating corpses in the blue sea area. Back then, the captain was one of the most memorable figures, not least because of that impressive beard that not just anyone could grow. The weathered and rugged captain’s pale face, wide eyes, and expression full of resentment had been particularly striking, almost immediately etched into their minds.

Several people couldn’t help but take a few steps back, feeling that the captain’s appearance outside of the instance was incredibly eerie.

Could what they were seeing be the captain’s soul? Or were they still in the instance and this was just a scene conjured by their imaginations?

The players were dazed and disoriented, unsure of their surroundings.

Zhou Zhou didn’t have these doubts. He noticed a familiar little octopus crawling out of the bucket the captain was holding.