Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Nightmare City 17

Zhou Zhou’s half sentence piqued Zeus’s curiosity, but Zhou Zhou seemed unwilling to continue. Instead, he went to see what they would be eating that night.

“Zhou Zhou, I know a lot of things, and I can answer any question you ask,” Zeus pestered around Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou put down the food in his hand, thought for a moment, and then asked him, “Do you know about things related to love?”

Zeus: …He never expected such a topic. Although he had lived for a long time and possessed a great deal of knowledge, he had never been interested in human romance and love. This topic was a bit out of his domain.

Seeing Zhou Zhou’s expression that seemed to say, “See, I told you that you don’t know,” Zeus’s fighting spirit was aroused. Zhou Zhou had finally asked him a question, so how could he let it go? Even if he wasn’t interested, he knew quite a bit about the relevant laws.

If Zhou Zhou’s question was too difficult, he could search the Starnet for the answer right now. Someone was bound to know.

“You ask your question first, and I’ll see if I can answer it,” Zeus said cautiously.

Recalling what Al had asked him in the car, Zhou Zhou asked Zeus, “Why can’t you date multiple people at the same time?”

This question was so simple.

Zeus: “Of course you can. Why not? You can only marry one person, otherwise, it’s a violation of the law. But there’s no such requirement for dating.”

But Al and the driver’s attitudes weren’t like that. Zhou Zhou lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and then stated the crux of the matter: “I’m not thinking about marriage. I mean, can you date multiple people simultaneously? Is that okay?”

Zeus’s mouth fell open: “Ah?”

Although he was just an AI without any interest in human romance and love, he was accustomed to human views on love and morality. Zhou Zhou’s words were quite shocking to him.

“It’s not okay?” Zhou Zhou asked.

Zeus scratched his head and said with some difficulty, “Although there’s no law that says you have to be exclusive when dating, people who do that…”

He thought about the terms used on the Starnet for such behavior, “…are generally called scumbags, playboys, or two-timers. It’s considered highly unethical. There are a lot of discussions about this on the Starnet, and it’s been a hot topic since ancient times with endless popularity. Whenever such a topic comes up, people always condemn it harshly.”

Although Zeus was not interested in human romance and love, he did enjoy joining in on heated discussions. When such a popular topic arose, he would still take a look.

And if Zhou Zhou needed it, he could immediately find thousands of examples.

Scumbag? Playboy? Two-timer? Being condemned?

He had done the same thing before, but everyone praised him then. Why would the same action be condemned in this world?

He didn’t understand, but he was shocked.

So that’s why Al and the driver reacted so strangely when he shared his perspective?

Does this mean that in this world, he could only date one person at a time? He couldn’t date everyone together? Zhou Zhou opened the contact list on his communication device and looked at the dozens of contacts, unable to choose just one person.

“Alas~” Zhou Zhou sighed dejectedly.

“Alas~” The little octopus on his shoulder mimicked his sigh.

“Zhou Zhou?” Zeus asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Zhou shook his head: “Nothing.”

Although he had said before that he wanted to integrate into this world, he had already met so many people and wanted to stay together with everyone. But now, he was faced with a difficult choice, it was really hard to choose.

For the first time, the usually decisive Zhou Zhou became a procrastinator. Forget it, he would deal with this issue later. For now, eating was the most important thing.

After eating, Xue Li and Ke Li sent Zhou Zhou messages, inviting him to come out and play in the game. Since they had to work during the day, they could only go online in the evenings or on weekends.

Now that they were off work, they contacted Zhou Zhou.

Seeing their invitations, Zhou Zhou found himself in a dilemma. Before, he didn’t know that what he was doing was wrong, so it was fine. But now that he knew, facing Xue Li and Ke Li became quite difficult. These two were the first people he met in this world, and without them, he would still be alone in the Love Academy.

So they held a special significance for him. Additionally, Xue Li and Ke Li had been very supportive of him, and Zhou Zhou enjoyed doing instances with them. But now, what should he do? Should he lose them?

After sitting in silence at home for a moment, Zhou Zhou still went out. Regardless of anything else, he needed to clarify things in person. He could ask Xue Li and Ke Li for their opinions and see what they thought.

Staying alone would not provide any good solutions. Since he now knew he had made a mistake, he needed to stop the damage immediately and not continue down the wrong path.

The nighttime in Nightmare City was bustling with dazzling lights, even more lively than during the day. Players meeting for quests, enjoying themselves in the holographic world, or gathering to chat all radiated bright smiles. Zhou Zhou wore a beige scarf, hiding half his face beneath it, but the melancholic aura he exuded clashed with the surrounding crowd.

Although he was meeting friends in the game, his steps were heavy, as if he were not going to a gathering but to serve a sentence.

After sighing several times, he finally arrived at the appointed meeting place.

This was a famous scenic spot in Nightmare City, located on a low mountain.

The city area of Nightmare City was vast, but no matter how vast, it had boundaries. The entire city not only contained numerous large and small lakes and seas but also high mountains and basins. Very far away, at the outermost region of Nightmare City, stood a city wall enclosing the entire expansive city area.

Few players went to see the remote city wall, and no one had ever gone beyond it.

There were discussions on the game forums about it, after all. Since the game was called Nightmare City, which was the beginner’s village for the entire game, perhaps the areas outside those city walls would eventually have more maps developed. But for now, there were still many unexplored areas within the beginner’s village, so most players’ interests remained focused within the city.

The low mountain was not far from where Zhou Zhou lived. Additionally, since he wanted to delay a bit, he walked there directly. It took about twenty minutes to walk from the base to the top of the mountain, and there were no particularly scenic views along the way, just a barren patch. Yet, players crowded the entire mountain.

Zhou Zhou had to squeeze through the crowd to find the meeting spot he had arranged with Xue Li and the others.

However, the lively surroundings dispelled some of the melancholy. Everyone looked very happy, occasionally glancing up at the sky.

Zhou Zhou also looked up, but the sky was pitch black with nothing visible.

“Zhou Zhou!” Xue Li stood on a high place, waving excitedly at Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou heard her and looked over. Xue Li and Ke Li were both standing there, so he walked towards them.

“Zhou Zhou, come over quickly! I saw on the Starnet that the sky here is especially beautiful every Monday night,” Xue Li said, pulling the slowly approaching Zhou Zhou to her side. There were too many people around, so it was better to stay together in case they got separated later.

Zhou Zhou’s face was half-buried in his scarf, his large eyes peering at Xue Li and Ke Li, making him look very small. However, the two he was staring at were already looking up at the sky, occasionally checking the time.

“It’s starting! Zhou Zhou, look quickly!” Xue Li shouted excitedly, pointing at the sky.

Zhou Zhou looked up, and the pitch-black sky was occupied by a magnificent meteor shower. Silvery lights streaked across the sky, leaving trails of short but dazzling brilliance.

The surrounding crowd also let out exclamations of wonder. The scenery in the sky was different every week, so players always looked forward to it. Indeed, today’s meteor shower did not disappoint everyone’s expectations. It lasted for half an hour before gradually fading away. During this time, Zhou Zhou, Xue Li, and the others were solely focused on gazing at the sky, not even bothering to talk.

Until the last meteor, which almost illuminated half the night sky, dragged its reddish glow and disappeared into the horizon, Xue Li finally said excitedly to Zhou Zhou, “How was it? Isn’t it beautiful? I’ve been wanting to come and see it. Ke Li thought it was too much trouble and wanted to do an instance instead. Instances will always be there, but you can’t see scenery like this anytime. You men really don’t understand life.”

Ke Li: “In the end, you still dragged me here. And isn’t this a weekly occurrence?”

Xue Li snorted: “It’s different every week. Next week won’t be a meteor shower. Zhou Zhou, what did you think? Wasn’t it beautiful?”

“Beautiful,” Zhou Zhou nodded. It really was beautiful. He hadn’t been to many places in the game, so every location and every scene was a new experience for him.

Xue Li was a girl, after all, and immediately noticed that Zhou Zhou seemed a bit off today. Usually, Zhou Zhou would have been excited by such scenery, but today he was exceptionally quiet, as if in a bad mood.

“Zhou Zhou, do you have something on your mind today?” Xue Li asked.

Ke Li also looked over with concern.

Zhou Zhou had initially wanted to delay a bit longer, but Xue Li had already noticed something was amiss. He shrank his neck deeper into his scarf, seemingly wanting to bury his head in the sand and avoid talking.

After a long while, he finally said slowly, “Xue Li, Ke Li, if we can’t be lovers, can we still do instances together?”

Zhou Zhou didn’t explicitly state it but shrank his neck, revealing only his large, hopeful eyes as he looked at the two of them.

???

What did that mean?

Xue Li and Ke Li exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in each other’s eyes.

Xue Li felt a bit guilty. Had Zhou Zhou noticed her wanting to take him home? Was that why he asked? But who wouldn’t want to take such a cute boy home?

Ke Li found it strange, his thoughts also wandering. Had Xue Li confessed to Zhou Zhou at some point, saying they couldn’t be friends if they couldn’t be lovers? So that scared Zhou Zhou, making him urgently want to know if they could still remain friends?

He eyed his sister suspiciously, and seeing her averting her gaze guiltily, he knew something was up!

Even though Zhou Zhou had a simple personality and wasn’t the worldly or smooth-talking type, she still wanted to force him to make a choice. Even if Xue Li was his beloved sister, he would definitely not take her side this time.

Ke Li stepped forward and said seriously to the anxious Zhou Zhou, “I’ve always regarded you as a brother. From now on, we’ll be brothers, and we can do instances together anytime.”

Zhou Zhou was younger than him, and they already had such a good relationship, so didn’t that make them brothers?

Brothers?

Seeing Ke Li glare at her, Xue Li also said guiltily, “Aren’t we good friends now? Whether as friends, lovers, or siblings, we can all play games together. Lovers are just friends whose relationship has gone a little beyond the friendship boundary…” Cough cough cough.

Wanting to secretly promote the idea that being lovers wasn’t so bad, she was glared at again by Ke Li. Xue Li quickly coughed a few times, pretending she hadn’t said that last sentence.

“So you’re saying that in order to play together, it doesn’t have to be as lovers, but can also be siblings or friends?” Zhou Zhou worked to understand their words.

Xue Li and Ke Li both nodded vigorously.

Ke Li noticed that Zhou Zhou still seemed hesitant about something. Was he afraid of ruining their previous relationship? Hurting Xue Li’s feelings?

“In fact, the relationship between friends and brothers is often stronger than that of lovers. After all, lovers who are too intimate often have disagreements and arguments, whereas friends maintain a certain distance, making their relationship better.”

He didn’t mention that friends and brothers also have arguments. Ke Li just wanted to relieve Zhou Zhou’s pressure.

Zhou Zhou: “Can you have many friends at the same time?”

Xue Li: “Of course you can.”

Hearing their words, Zhou Zhou’s expression brightened. Wasn’t the issue that having many lovers was problematic? Then in that case, he wouldn’t pursue romantic relationships anymore. He would just be friends with others or have sibling-like relationships instead. That way, even if he was with many people, there wouldn’t be any problem.

The previous melancholy dissipated. Zhou Zhou peeked his whole face out from the scarf, his eyes curved in delight as he said, “Then we won’t be lovers anymore. From now on, we’ll have a brother relationship.”

Seeing Zhou Zhou return to normal, Ke Li and Xue Li both breathed a sigh of relief. Whether as friends or siblings, it didn’t affect their feelings for each other.

Just like that, without any awareness of going from being lovers to being broken up with, the two were unhesitatingly dumped by Zhou Zhou.

And it was based on their own earnest persuasion.