Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: The Real World 3

Alvia tapped the table lightly. Although his face was very handsome, it still seemed a bit unfamiliar to Zhou Zhou. Additionally, Alvia’s current expression and actions exuded an oppressive aura, causing Zhou Zhou to involuntarily sit up straight. He placed both hands on the edge of the table, and his expression also gradually became serious.

However, their demeanors were completely different. Zhou Zhou’s seriousness only manifested in his pursed lips and blinking eyes, making him look more like an obedient student waiting for the headmaster to speak, his eyes eagerly awaiting the final judgment.

Silence…

Gradually, Zhou Zhou noticed that Al seemed a bit nervous. The speed at which he tapped his fingers on the table gradually increased, his eyes slightly lowered, as if contemplating some very important issues.

Zhou Zhou couldn’t guess what Al was nervous about or why he remained silent. Finally, he couldn’t help but speak up.

“Al, have you already discovered my identity?”

Alvia raised his eyes slightly. “Hmm.”

Zhou Zhou couldn’t understand. “When did you find out? Did I slip up somewhere?”

Alvia didn’t mention that they had already suspected Zhou Zhou’s identity from the very beginning. In the Empire, a person without any background identity suddenly appearing in a game controlled by Zeus would naturally be closely monitored, especially when all his information in the real world couldn’t be found.

Since Zhou Zhou first appeared in the same instance as him, at that time, Alvia even thought that the other party had deliberately approached him with ulterior motives, as he had seen such tricks many times before.

However, gradually, he found that Zhou Zhou was very innocent, oblivious to others’ emotional changes, and completely unaffected by others’ malicious intent. But sometimes, he would appear timely when needed the most, providing the greatest comfort to others.

Earnest in his actions, earnest in his interactions with others, possessing a unique way of thinking, able to catch others off guard in the most unexpected situations. Apart from being a bit flirtatious, whether in terms of appearance or personality, he perfectly matched Alvia’s tastes.

Or perhaps it was because he was Zhou Zhou, so every little spark about him was just right.

From initially trying to lure him out, it became a case of self-entrapment. From thinking that the other party was deliberately approaching him, it changed to him unconsciously getting closer himself.

And the realization that Zhou Zhou wasn’t human, but an AI, began when Zeus said he felt Zhou Zhou had no issues and liked him very much.

As the Empire’s AI, although Zeus possessed human emotions, he rarely directly expressed liking someone. Before meeting Zhou Zhou, the only human Zeus had shown goodwill towards was Alvia himself, and it was precisely because of Zeus’s help that he was able to overcome numerous difficulties and become the Emperor of the Empire.

Prior to that, although praised as the first and only artificial intelligence with human emotions, Zeus rarely interacted with humans, only doing his job within his area of responsibility.

It wasn’t until after Zeus chose and actively approached him that he began appearing in the Imperial Palace in the form of a child, and Zhou Zhou was the second person Zeus made an exception for. Previously, Zeus had never doubted Zhou Zhou’s identity and even took the initiative to befriend him. Alvia guessed that this was because, subconsciously, Zeus discovered that the other party was of the same kind and acted out of protective instinct.

In addition, Zhou Zhou’s complete lack of understanding of common sense questions, his unnatural expressions when asked about real-life experiences and his past, all verified Alvia’s conjecture.

It wasn’t until he saw all of Zhou Zhou’s data from the instances in Nightmare City that he finally confirmed his suspicions. The settlement data of each instance in Nightmare City reflected the player’s changes in spiritual power, brain wave fluctuations, emotional fluctuations, and so on. All of Zhou Zhou’s data changes were extremely small, and his spiritual power had remained at zero throughout.

Humans in the Interstellar Age were born with different levels of spiritual power, and those with absolutely no spiritual power were almost non-existent. While it was possible for a very small portion of people to lack spiritual power due to various reasons, these individuals would be unable to use holographic devices. Yet Zhou Zhou had no such concerns and had been in the game without ever leaving since their first encounter.

So the various abnormal details, when put together, pointed to the smallest possibility: Zhou Zhou was the second artificial intelligence with human thoughts and emotions after Zeus. Moreover, he possessed emotions that were even more attuned to humans than Zeus, which was why no one who interacted with him noticed any abnormalities.

Of course, Alvia couldn’t reveal everything to Zhou Zhou. He only listed the details of Zhou Zhou’s unusual behavior on a daily basis, as well as his instance data, and mentioned that this was how he had guessed Zhou Zhou’s true identity.

Zhou Zhou: “…” He thought he had disguised himself pretty well, but his true identity was discovered so early?

“Since you already know my true identity, why didn’t you tell me?”

Alvia said, “Because I noticed that you’ve been avoiding this matter, so I thought you didn’t want others to know.” Whose fault was it? Wasn’t it because you had previously threatened to destroy me if I was discovered?

Recalling the days when he was terrified, Zhou Zhou said to Alvia with a tinge of grievance, “Actually, a long time ago, when I realized I was an NPC, I wanted to tell you my identity, on the day I confessed my feelings to you.”

Alvia was taken aback, recalling the words he had said that day, and fell silent. At that time, he had never considered the possibility that Zhou Zhou might be an NPC with human thoughts. He had thought Zhou Zhou was being coerced into doing something unwillingly. So those probing words were actually an attempt to reveal his true identity?

And his response… No wonder Zhou Zhou looked so frightened. What could have been an opportunity for both of them to confide in each other had turned into Alvia scaring Zhou Zhou into silence due to his misunderstanding.

“I’m sorry.” Now, all Alvia could do was apologize.

Zhou Zhou waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine, and this is actually the best outcome for me now.” Having his identity discovered meant he no longer had to worry about being destroyed or killed. Instead, it fulfilled his long-held wish, which was far better than any of the best-case scenarios he had imagined before.

After his identity was revealed, Zhou Zhou visibly became more relaxed. He studied Alvia’s bedroom, which, although much smaller than the other palaces, was still truly massive, larger than his own home in Nightmare City. So this was where Al returned after logging off, finally arriving in the real world.

In contrast to the completely relaxed Zhou Zhou, Alvia behaved uncharacteristically. While Zhou Zhou observed the surroundings, he remained silent, his long eyelashes veiling the expression in his eyes, his fingers once again tapping on the table.

The tapping sound drew Zhou Zhou’s attention back. He looked at Al, blinking in puzzlement. What was wrong with Al?

Finally, Alvia clenched his fist, as if having made a firm decision. “Although we’ve spent a long time together in the game, you may not actually know me that well. Let me introduce myself first.”

He raised his eyes slightly, his not-quite-human face as cold as ice, exuding even more oppressiveness than usual.

Zhou Zhou immediately nodded. He had thought Alvia had been hesitating because he had something very important to tell him, causing him to worry for a long time. But it turned out to be this.

“My real name is Alvia. My current occupation is Emperor of the Empire. I’m 27 years old this year, with no other relatives or bad habits. My spiritual power level is 3S, and I have no romantic history.”

Ah, so Al had never been in a relationship before!

Zhou Zhou studied Alvia with fresh eyes. Even for him, who had never had a clear grasp of beauty, he couldn’t deny that Al’s face was exquisitely handsome. He found himself unable to stop glancing at the other party’s face. So was Al’s lack of romantic experience due to a lack of interest?

No wonder he had been rejected when he confessed his feelings. Zhou Zhou realized.

Zhou Zhou had already known Al’s real name since the Mirror World, when the amnesiac child Al had said his name was Alvia. Although Zhou Zhou remembered the name, he had grown accustomed to calling him Al and never changed it back.

After Al’s brief introduction, Zhou Zhou waited a long time but received no further information, belatedly realizing that Al had finished speaking and was now waiting for his own self-introduction.

“My name is Zhou Zhou. I’m an NPC from a game called Love Academy. I don’t know how I ended up here, but I’m 19 years old this year! I like to talk… no, I like doing missions with everyone.”

Alvia nodded, then asked, “Zhou Zhou, are you and Ke Li and the others still…”

Zhou Zhou instantly understood Al’s unfinished meaning and immediately shook his head. “No, we’ve broken up. We’re just friends now.”

After saying that, Zhou Zhou felt that the current atmosphere was a bit strange. Al was his most familiar person, yet the two of them, who usually got along so well together, now felt like they were in a job interview of some sort.

Al was the interviewer, and he was the interviewee.

Al nodded, his cold blue eyes fixed on Zhou Zhou. Those eyes seemed to contain intense emotions that Zhou Zhou, as a non-human, could not fully comprehend. He only instinctively knew that what Al said next would be very important.

“Zhou Zhou, do you like the real world? Do you like it here?”

“I like it!” Not only was it because this was a brand-new world, but more importantly, it had many people who were very important to him.

“Then would you be willing to live here with me? Or we can always stay in the game together, doing missions. If we get bored, we can go to other games. If you want to come out to the real world, I’ll take you to other planets. Through projection, you can see the scenery of various planets. The Empire is also researching related technologies, so it may not be long before you and Zeus can have physical bodies just like humans and freely move between the virtual world and the real world.”

This was Alvia’s first confession. The psychological trauma from his childhood had made him extremely averse to things like romance and marriage. He couldn’t accept being in close, intimate contact with others and had never had the thought of spending his life with someone else.

But no one could predict what the future would hold. The fact that he had developed feelings for a game NPC, and even a dating sim NPC at that, meant there was a good chance he would have to engage in a Platonic romance for the rest of his life. But it didn’t matter. From the moment Zhou Zhou had saved him from falling into a deep illusion in the Mirror World, he had already completely surrendered.

One could say that his attention had been focused on Zhou Zhou ever since he started following him into instances.

Alvia’s heart pounded with trepidation, but his expression grew even colder. He tentatively extended his hand towards Zhou Zhou, but to his surprise, Zhou Zhou immediately placed his hand on top of it.

Not only that, Zhou Zhou even eagerly grasped Alvia’s outstretched hand tightly with both of his hands.

“Yes.”

Alvia’s expression softened slightly, and a dazzling smile gradually appeared on his face, which had been stiff due to his nervousness.

“Al, I never expected you’d be willing to let me live with you and even do so much for me. I don’t know how to repay you. You really are my best friend!”

Zhou Zhou was so touched. He immediately wanted to become sworn brothers with Al, forever solidifying their platonic bond!

Alvia: “…”

Alvia could no longer smile.