Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Mirror World 12

Alvia’s voice was very low, and those words that almost faded into the wind made Zhou Zhou turn his head to look at him involuntarily.

Everything around them was crumbling, and the injured Al beside him seemed increasingly unreal. His expression was obscured by wounds and stains, only those blue eyes seemed to be the only light in the entire world.

Zhou Zhou opened his mouth, wanting to say that he hadn’t let go, but he just stared into those eyes fixed on him, sensing an inexplicable hint of pleading in them.

Even though his fingers had turned white from the other’s forceful grip, he still tried his best to tightly hold the other’s hand: “Okay!”

The entire world was collapsing, and one by one, unfamiliar scenes around them became disjointed and shattered. Finally, after an unknown length of time, the world returned to darkness.

At this moment, a mirror suddenly appeared in front of them. Zhou Zhou saw the drivers waving happily at him in the mirror, their mouths also continuously saying something. Although he couldn’t hear what they were saying, Zhou Zhou recognized from their lip movements that they were calling for him to hurry out.

Zhou Zhou looked at Al beside him, who still had the appearance of a twelve or thirteen-year-old, his body covered in wounds that would sometimes bleed due to his own occasional movements.

“Let’s go out together, it won’t hurt anymore once we’re out.”

Zhou Zhou held Al’s hand firmly, and they walked out from the mirror together.

“They’re out, I just said they would be fine.”

“It was my suggestion, thank goodness we let Zhou Zhou try it, otherwise we would have been in trouble.”

“As long as they’re out.”

As soon as they came out of the mirror, Zhou Zhou heard the drivers’ voices. Recalling Al’s wounds, he immediately turned to look at him.

Although their hands were still tightly clasped, Al had returned to his adult appearance, and all the wounds had disappeared. His demeanor was also very natural.

Sensing Zhou Zhou’s gaze, Alvia calmly looked back.

What’s wrong? The meaning in his eyes was very clear.

Zhou Zhou had originally wanted to ask if those illusions were events that had really happened in his childhood, but seeing Al’s composed demeanor, as if he didn’t remember at all, he suddenly didn’t want to ask anymore. Regardless of what had happened, it was good that nothing was wrong now.

“It’s nothing, do you want to eat some lamb skewers?” Zhou Zhou raised the skewer of lamb that Driver 2 had just stuffed into his other hand and asked.

The drivers still felt a bit intimidated by Alvia, after all, he had fallen into a deep illusion in their instance and had almost caused a big incident. Add to that the bruises around their eyes gifted by him, they didn’t dare approach him and talk to him for the time being. They could only gather around Zhou Zhou, with a hint of ingratiation in their manner.

Alvia didn’t speak, but looked at the meat skewer held in front of him and reached out to take one.

The drivers quickly invited the two of them to sit on chairs, eagerly ensuring they had enough to eat and drink.

Zhou Zhou felt that the drivers’ attitudes were a bit strange. Although they had been very warm towards him before, now they were even more solicitous, with the whole group surrounding him and Alvia. Even Driver 6, who was usually somewhat arrogant and insincere, had an unfamiliar smile on his face as he circled around them.

Although Alvia noticed this, and guessed what they wanted to do, he didn’t point it out, but slowly and calmly ate the meat skewers with Zhou Zhou.

Finally, the drivers could no longer hold back.

Driver 1 couldn’t help but rub his hands and say, “Um, Zhou Zhou, after you guys go out, could you not mention this incident?”

“What?” Zhou Zhou hadn’t yet realized what incident he was referring to.

“Just, just that your boyfriend fell into a deep illusion,” Driver 2 stammered as he spoke. Seeing that the two of them had been holding hands since coming out of the mirror and hadn’t let go, the drivers all assumed they were a couple.

My boyfriend?

Zhou Zhou blinked, glancing at Al who seemed oblivious as he continued eating the skewers, then looking at their still-joined hands.

Hmm…

His brow furrowed slightly as if contemplating something, but after a moment, Zhou Zhou neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he continued to ask Driver 2, “Why can’t I mention it?”

Driver 3’s face turned slightly red with embarrassment, “Because if there was an issue with the instance, it could very likely affect the subsequent scoring and settlement.”

“Oh.” So that was the reason. Zhou Zhou glanced at Al again, then asked the drivers gathered around him eagerly, “But what if someone else encounters the same problem? What if they don’t have any companions?”

Although Zhou Zhou’s personality was gentle, he wasn’t a brainless martyr. Additionally, he had entered Al’s illusion and knew how painful it was for the young Al. Having people’s deepest fears and pains excavated, forcing them to relive their past experiences, this instance itself had a problem.

Although the Nightmare City instances didn’t seem terrifying to him, many people would scream in fright. He had seen it on the forums, with many players saying they were cowards who got scared in every instance, but they would still enter the instances next time. Some did it to earn money and improve their spiritual power, but most people just enjoyed playing. Even if they said they would never play again after being scared, they would be back in a couple of days, many of them self-mockingly calling themselves cowards who loved the game.

It was the same principle as loving to watch horror movies. Despite being afraid, they couldn’t resist their curiosity and would continue watching the next time.

But this kind of temporary horror was different from the horror buried in people’s memories.

One was meant to scare, the other was to reopen old wounds.

What if the next player encountered this situation and fell into an illusion they couldn’t escape from? Would they have to be forcibly awakened? Wasn’t it said that this method could have an impact on people?

The drivers were at a loss for words. This situation with Zhou Zhou’s “boyfriend” was extremely rare, as most people would not experience it. But the fact that it had already occurred proved there were still loopholes in the instance’s design.

“Just forget it.” Driver 6 couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his companions, then took big strides toward Alvia and stopped in front of the man. As Alvia’s cold gaze turned toward him, he suddenly felt a dull ache in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, the issue with the instance was our fault. We will submit a request to reset it, and if you experience any physical or other discomfort, we will absolutely compensate you.”

Driver 6 was used to speaking bluntly, so he felt awkward saying these kinds of words. And this man hadn’t been very talkative, so if it weren’t for his powerful presence intimidating them into silence, they wouldn’t have put so much effort into appealing to Zhou Zhou.

The other drivers exchanged glances and also came to apologize to Alvia.

Alvia put down the meat skewer in his hand and looked at the remorseful drivers, “No need.”

“You mean you won’t pursue it?” Driver 5’s eyes lit up as he asked cautiously.

“I accept your apology, but as for the issue with the instance, even if we don’t mention it, do you think you can hide it from Zeus?”

The entire game was under Zeus’s control, and every instance was also within his monitoring range. Especially since he and Zhou Zhou were in this instance, how could Zeus not pay attention to it?

He could almost imagine Zeus secretly observing through some means what he and Zhou Zhou were doing.

Zeus would absolutely prioritize and address any problematic instances immediately. He estimated that after they exited this instance, Zeus would likely send a notice to these drivers to handle it.

These drivers were stunned. They belonged to a minority race, their planet located in a remote region of the Empire.

Although they had become Imperial citizens a hundred years ago, their living conditions had hardly changed at all, with the technology and networks they used still being very outdated equipment.

It was only in recent years, with the support of various Imperial policies, that they began using new optics and other new devices. Although they had heard of Zeus’s reputation, they had always felt it had nothing to do with them. Only after hearing what Alvia said did they realize that Nightmare City was managed by the artificial intelligence Zeus, so their actions had likely already been reported.

These were generally law-abiding people, and the thought of “bribing” players right under Zeus’s watch to keep quiet made their faces flush red with shame.

Alvia continued, “But since nothing serious has happened, as long as the relevant plots are redesigned, the subsequent punishment shouldn’t be too severe.”

Alvia’s words were very convincing, and the drivers all breathed a sigh of relief.

Afterwards, they continued to urge Zhou Zhou and Alvia to eat and drink.

However, Zhou Zhou wanted to hurry up and clear the instance, while Alvia appeared outwardly calm, but it was unclear if he would have any aftereffects, so it was best to find a doctor to examine him.

After telling the drivers his thoughts, they finally remembered that these two players had come to clear the instance.

“Although we’d like to open a backdoor for you to just exit directly, the instance design process still has to be followed. The final challenge is actually quite simple. Find the driver who originally brought you here and have him take you back to Xuan Le Street, and you’ll be considered to have successfully cleared it,” Driver 4 said.

So that’s why there were six identical drivers here?

Zhou Zhou looked at them. Although these drivers had different personalities, in reality, he wasn’t very familiar with the one who had driven them either. In terms of personality, Driver 6 was the closest, but the others were also possibilities.

Zhou Zhou stared at them carefully, looking several times but still not finding any differences besides their personalities, since even their voices were the same.

“Our appearances are all modeled through the mirror, so it’s impossible to identify us by our appearances,” Driver 3 grinned.

Unable to tell them apart, Zhou Zhou turned to ask Al, “Which one do you think it is?”

Alvia shook his head, “I don’t know.”

Alright, it seemed they would have to rely on him. Zhou Zhou sighed, feeling a heavy responsibility, wondering if he would fail to clear the instance if he guessed wrong.

Staring at these drivers for ten minutes, they still obligingly turned around to let Zhou Zhou examine them from every angle.

Zhou Zhou rubbed his eyes, muttering, “I feel like none of you are him.”

The drivers’ expressions froze, and Alvia knew Zhou Zhou had guessed correctly.

“How did you know?” Driver 6 asked.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhou directly blurted out, “A feeling.”

The drivers: “……”

Well, this feeling was indeed quite accurate.

“Since none of you are him, then how are we supposed to get back to Xuan Le Street?” Zhou Zhou hadn’t forgotten the clearance method they had mentioned earlier.

“Over there, you can just go find the person directly. The driver is hiding there, and once you find him, he’ll take you to Xuan Le Street.” Driver 1 pointed to a sunken area not far from the base of the mountain, obscured layer upon layer by the lush overgrown grass, making it impossible to see if anything was there.

“The car is there too,” Driver 6 added.

After thanking these drivers, Zhou Zhou and Alvia headed in the direction they had indicated.

It wasn’t far, probably only about a hundred meters. Whether they had forgotten or didn’t want to point it out, at this moment their hands were still tightly clasped together.

Zhou Zhou didn’t mind. After all, he had already confessed to Al, only to be rejected.

Now that they were still holding hands, did that make them a couple?

Zhou Zhou didn’t know. If they weren’t a couple, was it inappropriate to hold hands? But recalling that it was Al who had initiated the hand-holding and wouldn’t let him let go, they could probably be considered a couple, give or take.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhou’s eyes curved in a smile as he pursed his lips.

That expression, like a little mouse who had stolen some oil and was gleefully relishing his ill-gotten gains, looked adorable.

Alvia would glance at him from time to time, memories deeply buried in his mind surging forth, some were events that had truly occurred, while others had happened in the illusion. The dark memories didn’t seem quite as repulsive with Zhou Zhou’s intrusion.

He recalled those memories he had long put out of his mind, momentarily distracted, but his footsteps followed Zhou Zhou’s, moving forward.

Passing through the grassy area, Zhou Zhou did indeed see the car behind it—the same old, dilapidated car, proving they had never been in an accident and the car was fine.

But where was the driver?

Zhou Zhou looked around but saw no sign of the driver, only a flock of sheep grazing nearby.

Sheep?

Zhou Zhou suddenly fixed his gaze on the sheep, carefully observing each one. The flock didn’t seem afraid of them, leisurely grazing in their vicinity.

He suddenly led Alvia toward a certain area, finally stopping beside one of the sheep.

“Hello, can you take us to Xuan Le Street?” Zhou Zhou stared at the sheep and spoke.

The sheep, which had been lowering its head to graze, abruptly transformed back into the driver’s appearance and stared at Zhou Zhou in disbelief, “How did you know?”

Zhou Zhou: “The other sheep were grazing, but you were opening your mouth without eating. And the cracker crumbs on your chest were too obvious.”

The driver choked, realizing that as he wasn’t an actual sheep, he couldn’t possibly eat grass and had only been pretending. Looking down, there were indeed several cracker crumbs on his chest. What kind of sharp eyes could spot such a small detail?

Zhou Zhou didn’t mention that when the driver had gone to catch the sheep, the one who returned wasn’t him, but Driver 6, and the sheep brought back was the real driver. He had already noticed the cookie crumbs clinging to that sheep when it was in the trunk.

He just hadn’t pointed it out at the time before they fell off the cliff.

“Alright, you’ve passed. Let’s go!”

The driver waved his hand and got into the car first.

Zhou Zhou also quickly pulled Alvia into the car.

There had been a whole carload of people when they came, but now it was just the two of them.

Zhou Zhou and Alvia sat side by side in the car. Seeing their still-joined hands, Zhou Zhou happily said, “So we’re dating now, right?”

Alvia was still sorting through his memories and hadn’t fully recovered, reflexively asking at those words, “Dating? Since when?”