Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Nightmare City 21

Zhou Zhou’s face was tense, his expression very serious, and even Zeus, who had originally been anticipating the chance to show off in front of Alvia, gradually restrained his smile.

He looked at Zhou Zhou, whose brow was furrowed and seemed hesitant to speak, and finally realized that this secret must be very important to Zhou Zhou.

“I’m actually not human.” Zhou Zhou finally said it.

Zeus: ????

Zeus’s expression became strange for a moment: “Zhou Zhou, did you do something bad? Why would you… insult yourself?”

Interrupted by Zeus like this, the serious atmosphere Zhou Zhou had built up dissipated instantly.

He curved the corners of his mouth slightly, then continued: “I come from a game called Love Academy, and I’m an NPC in it.”

Zeus’s mouth gradually opened wide: “Huh?”

He looked at Zhou Zhou in a daze, seemingly unable to process what he had said.

“I stayed in the game for a very long time, but there was only me there until Xue Li and Ke Li entered the game. I followed them doing missions, and then I was able to leave the instance.”

“Impossible!” After Zhou Zhou finished speaking, Zeus immediately refuted: “Your data is fine, you’re clearly a player, how could you be an NPC?”

The Nightmare City game could be said to have been created by Zeus, so if Zhou Zhou was an NPC, he should definitely have noticed an anomaly. But based on Zhou Zhou’s data, he was just a player. When Zeus first discovered Zhou Zhou, he had checked, and there was clearly no problem.

“And…” Zeus looked at Zhou Zhou and said seriously: “The Love Academy instance wasn’t designed by players, but automatically generated by the system. In other words, this instance was made by me. I remember very clearly that there were no humanoid NPCs inside, Zhou Zhou, did you get it wrong?”

The boss of that instance was just an animated dormitory building monster, and there were also players turned into ghosts, but there were definitely no NPCs that looked human.

Zhou Zhou was taken aback, not expecting his admission of his identity to be met with doubt.

“I really was inside there the whole time, but the Love Academy scenery I was in before was very beautiful. I was familiar with every place, until the day Xue Li and the others came in, and suddenly many places in the school changed.”

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhou also remembered something else that could prove his identity: “Zeus, can you see my mission panel?”

Zeus nodded, and then Zhou Zhou opened his mission panel, flipped to the exit button at the very bottom, and clicked it right in front of Zeus.

The white exit button on the light screen flickered slightly, but Zhou Zhou remained where he was, not logging out or leaving.

Zeus looked at Zhou Zhou’s light screen in shock, then tried clicking it himself in disbelief. He could see and touch every player’s mission panel, but when he clicked it, Zhou Zhou still remained in place.

Zeus: !!!

Something major happened!

There’s a BUG!

Zhou Zhou can’t log out!

No wonder ever since discovering Zhou Zhou, he had been staying in the game all the time and had never logged off. Zeus had thought he wanted to become a professional player, so he had moved his daily life into the full-dive game. But now it seemed Zhou Zhou really couldn’t get out.

No, it wasn’t that he couldn’t get out, he really was an NPC. Where would he log out from?

Looking up at the calm Zhou Zhou, then down at the unresponsive mission panel, the facts were clear before his eyes, and he had no choice but to believe it.

But how did Zhou Zhou appear in his game? The Love Academy instance was very normal, and there were no humanoid NPCs, so where did Zhou Zhou come from?

Zeus stood in place, but his avatar quickly went to the Love Academy instance and carefully inspected the entire thing again, but there was no problem at all.

Suddenly, Zeus recalled that on the day he discovered Zhou Zhou, because he had found a virus, he had rescanned and rechecked the Love Academy instance. Although at first he had also noticed Zhou Zhou’s anomaly, Zhou Zhou’s data quickly returned to normal, and he had thought it was a problem with the instance causing the player’s account to show an anomaly. But now it seemed the problem was actually with Zhou Zhou himself.

The Love Academy instance…

Could it be a problem with the instance? Zhou Zhou said he had been in the instance for a very long time, but the game had only been live for a short while. Surely he couldn’t have been here before that?

Moreover, this instance was one he had created based on ancient Earth culture from thousands of years ago. Recently, humans had excavated things from ancient Earth from thousands of years ago, including obsolete cellphones, computers, and memory chips. After restoring these things, Zeus found a lot of interesting content inside, including various novels and games. Many of the system scenes and layouts in Nightmare City were directly copied from the scenes in those games.

So could it be that Zhou Zhou had existed in the original Love Academy game from long ago, and was copied over along with the original data?

As an NPC in the game, Zhou Zhou may have developed self-awareness a very long time ago, but because the Love Academy game had disappeared along with the changing times, he was stuck in the game with nowhere to go. It was only after Zeus imported the data into the instance that he was able to run from the instance to other parts of the game through the starnet.

No, that still doesn’t make sense. If that were the case, why would he have a player account? Logically speaking, if the data developed self-awareness, he should have noticed right away. This point still seems inexplicable no matter how you look at it.

“Zeus? Zeus?” Zhou Zhou interrupted Zeus’s thoughts. “Do you have any other questions?”

Looking at Zhou Zhou’s slightly anxious expression, Zeus knew there was no way Zhou Zhou could know the answer to this question either. He would have to investigate it himself.

Zeus shook his head: “No more questions. I have a general idea of how you ended up in Nightmare City.”

After telling Zhou Zhou his guess, Zhou Zhou also felt it made sense. Previously in Love Academy, he could not leave at all and could only wander around the school grounds. It was precisely when Xue Li and the others came that day, which was also the official launch date of the game, that the players from the outside world entered the instance, effectively opening a passage between the instance and the outside world. This was what finally gave Zhou Zhou an opportunity to get out.

Zeus’s main body was essentially also a string of data, with an identity similar to Zhou Zhou the NPC, making them essentially of the same kind.

And this person happened to be his favorite, Zhou Zhou.

Zeus put aside the issue of Zhou Zhou’s player identity and felt a secret thrill, thinking that Alvia having a small bouquet of wildflowers was nothing compared to the extraordinary relationship he had with Zhou Zhou.

At this moment, he looked Zhou Zhou up and down. He had already found Zhou Zhou very pleasing to the eye, and now with the added identity of being of the same kind, Zhou Zhou seemed to radiate a brilliant light in his eyes.

Seeing Zeus’s smiling face, as if thinking of something pleasant, Zhou Zhou suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

He had been carefully hiding his identity, worried and anxious, even having to lie to his friends because of it. Now that he had told Zeus about this matter, and judging from Zeus’s expression, he was accepting of it well. Zhou Zhou felt that the heavy stone weighing on his heart had suddenly disappeared.

“Zeus, can you help me keep this a secret?”

Zeus: “Of course!”

Zhou Zhou must really trust him to have told him about this, and with Zhou Zhou’s identity clarified, he wouldn’t pose a threat to the Empire, so naturally there was no problem helping him keep it secret.

“Rest assured, I won’t tell anyone.” Zeus smiled happily.

Zhou Zhou was completely reassured, after all, he also knew that Zeus was not human, so his level of acceptance was naturally very high.

“Zeus, there’s one more thing I want to ask you.”

“What is it? Go ahead.”

“Do you have a way for me to leave the game? I want to know what the outside world is like.” This was also one of the reasons that prompted Zhou Zhou to reveal his identity to Zeus.

Zeus nodded without hesitation: “Of course I can.” Since Zhou Zhou’s main body was also just a string of data like him, it would be much simpler for him to operate on.

“Although the range you can go outside will be very limited, I can also take you to other games to play.”

The games under Zeus’s control weren’t limited to just Nightmare City – there were other official games too, all made by him. As long as there was the starnet network, he could go anywhere, and since Zhou Zhou’s main body was also data, he could go too.

“It’s fine, as long as I can go somewhere else and take a look.” Zhou Zhou was a bit excited. “Zeus, you’re so amazing.”

He never imagined that the problem that had been troubling him could be so easily solved by Zeus. Telling Zeus his identity really was the right choice.

“But I need to do some preparations first, find your original data, and then based on your original data, create a player identity for you in other games as well. And if we’re going outside, we temporarily can’t go too far either.”

In reality, the only place he could project a human form was the Imperial Palace. Although it was fine for Zhou Zhou to stay at the palace, that was Alvia’s territory, and it wouldn’t be good if he was discovered there. So Zeus would use this time to set up projection equipment in some scenic areas with few people around, so that Zhou Zhou could see the outside world without anyone discovering his identity.

“It’s okay, as long as I can go out, anytime is fine.”

Seeing Zhou Zhou’s excited, admiring gaze, Zeus felt tremendously inflated. Finding Zhou Zhou’s original data wouldn’t be too difficult, and he could use other methods to project Zhou Zhou into reality as well.

Anyway, besides his bedchambers, the underground palace, and training areas, Alvia rarely went to other parts of the palace. The palace was so large, Zeus was sure Alvia wouldn’t know if they went to some remote areas. Since Zhou Zhou wanted to go out, why not take him for a tour of the palace first?

Thinking about what preparations needed to be made, Zeus said firmly to Zhou Zhou: “Zhou Zhou, I can take you out tomorrow.”

Zhou Zhou’s eyes widened: “You mean we can go to the outside world tomorrow?”

“Yeah! But you’ll still need to enter an instance. Your current identity is as a player, and although I don’t know what happened, your player account is basically no different from other people’s accounts. I need to go through the changes in your data after you enter an instance to find your original data, and then I can make the preparations. You do one instance today, and tomorrow we can go out.”

Now, whatever Zeus said, Zhou Zhou would not object. He nodded: “Okay, I’ll go now.”

Just about to pick an instance himself, Zhou Zhou thought again and opened up the list of players he had previously contacted. Of the messages he sent out, besides those who couldn’t make it, most of the less familiar players hadn’t responded.

But now, one person had replied.

A female player named Lan Ya had responded, saying she had time and was available to do an instance anytime.

Lan Ya? Zhou Zhou thought for a moment, she was the female player they had met in the Deep Sea Creature instance, quiet and didn’t talk much. He and the female player and her friends had even eaten together before.

Without much hesitation, Zhou Zhou sent Lan Ya a message that he was about to enter an instance now.

Lan Ya replied very quickly, she was shopping in Nightmare City and asked Zhou Zhou where he was, she could come over right away.

Zhou Zhou gave her his location and asked Lan Ya to wait there for a bit. Then he put the little octopus back in the tank and said to Zeus: “I’m going to do an instance now, I’ll be back in the afternoon.”

Since Zeus needed to observe Zhou Zhou’s data to find the original data, he would naturally need to follow Zhou Zhou, so there was no problem.

Based on the address Lan Ya had sent, Zhou Zhou quickly met up with her.

He had thought Lan Ya would be shopping with another female player named Yue Ling, but when he arrived, he found Lan Ya was alone.

Lan Ya was dressed in athletic wear convenient for movement. When she saw Zhou Zhou, she seemed a bit shy. Noticing Zhou Zhou glancing around her, she immediately guessed his thoughts and said softly: “Yue Ling went to watch a live stream. She’s still online discussing what happened at the founding ceremony, so she’s not playing today. I just finished watching and logged on. I was planning on shopping around here, but then I saw your message.”

Lan Ya’s voice got quieter and quieter, and her face turned a bit red. Zhou Zhou had to lean in close to hear her last sentence.

“It’s fine, the two of us can go together.” Of all his contacts, only Lan Ya had time to do a mission with him. Although he wasn’t as familiar with Lan Ya as with Xue Li and the others, they would get more familiar by spending time together. After all, that’s how he had become friends with the others too.

“Let me create a party first. The two of us can team up, some instances will separate each player, but if we’re in a party, there’s a high chance we’ll be together.”

Zhou Zhou was also an “experienced” player having been through several instances, so he was quite familiar with some of the characteristics of instances. Lan Ya hadn’t done many instances, and had even been eliminated once in the middle. Previously, she had always played with her friend Yue Ling, so this was her first time doing an instance with another male player.

After adding the two of them to the same party, Zhou Zhou lingered on the instance selection screen without clicking. He pursed his lips, stubbornly going back to the contacts list on his mission panel to look through it again.

Even Lan Ya behind him noticed Zhou Zhou seeming hesitant about something and was about to ask when she saw Zhou Zhou’s eyes light up. He suddenly beamed at her and said: “Lan Ya, can we add one more person to our party?”

“Huh? Yeah, we can.” Lan Ya was taken aback but immediately agreed, wondering who this person Zhou Zhou seemed so pleased about was.

After waiting a few minutes, they saw a man walking over from not too far away. Lan Ya suddenly understood.

It was him.

This person was none other than Alvia, who had been at the founding ceremony not long ago. At the ceremony, he had guessed that Zhou Zhou might have gone to do an instance. After the ceremony ended, he hurriedly logged on, and now looking at it, if he had come any later, Zhou Zhou would have gone to do the mission instance with just the female player.

“Al!” Zhou Zhou excitedly waved at Alvia.

Seeing the person had arrived, he immediately added Alvia to their party as well, and then unhesitatingly selected an instance.

The system randomly assigned the Dark Forest in Nightmare City as the instance location.

The trees in the Dark Forest were extremely dense, and the plants and trees were all very tall, most even taller than the players themselves. Many people felt it was like a world for giants. And after entering the forest, the sky would turn dark, no daylight, only perpetual night. But as soon as you left the boundaries of the Dark Forest, the sky would return to normal.

This was all information Lan Ya told Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou was a bit curious how Lan Ya knew so much. Lan Ya shyly said in a small voice: “Yue Ling likes browsing forums, and sometimes when she sees something interesting, she shares it with me. I only know this much.”

Zhou Zhou: “Knowing this much is already impressive. I haven’t even heard of this place before.”

The praised Lan Ya hung her head lower and lower, her ears turning completely red.

Alvia watched the two interact with a cold gaze, not speaking. Instead, he quickened his pace to insert himself between them.

The pushed aside Zhou Zhou: ?

Zhou Zhou was in an exceptionally good mood today, and even though Alvia pushed between them, he still gave him a big smile.

Alvia noticed Zhou Zhou was in a very good mood today, but seeing the girl beside him, he wasn’t quite sure what the reason for Zhou Zhou’s good mood actually was.

Following the map, the three of them soon arrived at the edge of the Dark Forest. Just as Lan Ya had said, not to mention that the trees they could see were basically all dozens of meters tall, even the flowers and grasses looked taller than them.

And the location shown on the map was deep inside the Dark Forest.

“How are we supposed to get in?” Lan Ya spoke softly, looking at the obstructing plants. These plants were not only tall, they were also densely clustered together, with no space for them to even set foot.

Zhou Zhou also didn’t know. He took a few steps forward, wanting to see if he could push aside the plants to go in. But as soon as he approached, the towering plants automatically parted.

Tentatively taking a few more steps forward, the plants behind him also seemed to become self-aware, parting to the sides and leaving a narrow path just wide enough for one person.

Lan Ya also tried walking further in, and the parted path didn’t close up again. Following Zhou Zhou’s footsteps, Lan Ya continued forward, with Alvia at the back.

There were still many idle players wandering nearby. Seeing the three of them easily enter the Dark Forest, they also wanted to follow the small path in and look around. But as soon as they set one foot in, the plants on either side rapidly closed up. If the players hadn’t run quickly, they might have been stuck right there.

Grumbling and complaining, the players angrily left the forest area, feeling unfairly discriminated against. Why could those three enter, but they were denied?

Watching from a distance, the plants were too tall to see the three players anymore.

At this moment, a few more players came and headed straight for the Dark Forest.

The unlucky player waited eagerly for them to be denied entry too. But as they approached, the plants parted again, and their forms disappeared into the lush foliage.

The unlucky player: ……These plants really were discriminating against him.

After entering the Dark Forest, the sky darkened as expected, but the visibility was still decent. Lan Ya could see the path without needing any illumination tools.

After walking for quite a while, still a short distance from the location on the map, it suddenly started raining.

From a light drizzle at first, it quickly became a torrential downpour. None of them had an umbrella, so they could only fold a large leaf from some unknown plant to shield their heads.

These leaves were very large, a single one could completely cover their heads with room to spare. Although they didn’t need to worry about getting wet, the water droplets from the surrounding plants still dampened their clothes.

In this situation, even their voices were drowned out by the howling wind and rain. The three of them silently quickened their pace.

Finally, amidst the lightning and thunderstorm, they reached their destination shown on the map.

An ancient castle stood abruptly in the depths of the forest, surrounded by plants taller than a person. But around the castle itself was a barren wasteland, the muddy black soil blending almost seamlessly with the color of the outer castle walls. The majestic castle had weathered the ravages of time, covered in frost and cracks.

A flash of lightning tore across the sky, briefly illuminating the castle. On the pitch-black castle were a few scattered small square windows, overgrown with moss and vines. The black stone bricks riddled with obvious cracks gave off an ominous aura, making it seem as if the castle had been abandoned for a very long time.

“Boom!”

Accompanied by a deafening thunderclap, the mission panel finally updated.

【Instance Name: Night Castle】

【Mission Content: Be a guest in the castle for three days】

A guest? Shouldn’t it be to find the exit to clear the instance?