What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C14.1

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Chp14. part1

Ning Ge said, “What it’s saying is, pay attention to the words filled in the boxes, the framed words are the important ones.”

Everyone looked at the sign with her.

The sales clerk girl grabbed Ning Ge’s arm, she understood what she meant. “That window up there! It looks like a frame!”

She was right.

Of the five characters, “Floating Life Grand Theater,” four were embedded in the exterior wall. Only one character was right in front of a small window on the second floor.

Judging by its location, that small window was directly above the theatre stage, an attic or something similar.

Most importantly, the small window was square, with a border around it, as if it had neatly framed the preceding character within a square.

That was the character “生” (life/birth).

The “生” in Floating Life Grand Theatre is also the “生” born from thought.

Green hair guy immediately raised his arm and scanned the character “生”.

The bracelet showed no mercy: [Not an anchor point, please keep trying.]

Granny grey hair slapped him. “What’s the rush? Wasting scan attempts. That’s only one character. Where are the other three?”

“I don’t know the other three characters,” Ning Ge said, “but I know where the other one is.”

She pointed to the small inn across the street.

At the entrance of Nianxin Inn on the first floor, hung an old sign that Ning Ge was intimately familiar with.

In Ning Ge’s memory, one character on the sign had fallen off and was later replaced, so it stood out, framed in red.

That was the “Nian” of Nianxin Inn.

Everyone looked at the inn’s sign across the street.

On the left side of the road was “Nian,” and on the right side was “Sheng.”

Born from thought.

Born from thought.

Thought gives birth.

Everyone fell silent.

The sales clerk girl in the suit asked softly, “But these two characters are separated, so far apart. How can we scan them? Should we take two pictures?”

Granny grey hair suggested, “Let’s walk a bit further away and see if we can find an angle that allows us to capture both signs simultaneously.”

No sooner said than done, he raised his wrist, aimed at the camera on his wristband, took a dozen steps back, and finally shook his head.

“The angles of these two signs are too tricky, we can’t capture them at the same time.”

Pei Han called to him, “Come back.”

Granny grey hair returned, bewildered. Pei Han then gestured to the ticket window, “Try this angle.”

The theatre’s ticket window was made of glass, and the reflection perfectly illuminated the Nianxin Hostel sign across the street.

Now “Nian” and “Sheng” were there too.

Granny grey hair found the right angle and pressed the scan button.

The wristband vibrated loudly:

[Anchor point successfully scanned]

Granny Grey’s hair guy eyes lit up, and just as he was about to say something, he vanished in a flash. “Scanned correctly, this really is the anchor point.”

The sales clerk raised her arm and sincerely said to Ning Ge and Pei Han, “Thank you both of you this time.”

Ning Ge smiled at her, and then she disappeared.

The little boy called out, “Sister Ning, Brother Pei…”

Pei Han reached out and ruffled his hair, “Don’t be afraid, keep going.”

The little boy also left.

One by one, they left the place, and Ning Ge was incredibly gratified.

The mission was exceeded, apart from the girl who collapsed in the convenience store at the beginning, only two players were lost, and the rest survived.

With a survival rate of 70 per cent, far exceeding the 50 per cent requirement for this test, this place was successfully preserved.

Owen also adjusted his bracelet and asked Ning Ge and Pei Han, “Aren’t you two leaving? I’m going first.”

He winked at Pei Han and teleported away as well.

Only Ning Ge and Pei Han remained. Pei Han looked down at Ning Ge. “You go first.”

Ning Ge firmly replied, “You go first.”

Thinking to herself, “First what? Of course I won’t scan the anchor point.”

She was an NPC in this place. No one knew what would happen if the anchor point was scanned.

An NPC certainly couldn’t be teleported to the real world as they did. Maybe after the scan, nothing would happen, and her NPC identity would be completely exposed to Pei Han.

Or there was an even more dangerous situation, the system might actually teleport her away, and once she left this place, she would disappear.

She had to wait for him to scan and teleport first, then remove her bracelet and revert to being an NPC.

Ning Ge didn’t move.

Time was of the essence. Seeing her unwavering determination, Pei Han didn’t argue further, raised his arm, and aimed at the anchor point.

Ning Ge followed his gaze towards the sign and suddenly saw something—

Behind the small, square window of the theatre’s attic, behind the sign with the character “生” (life/birth), there was a figure.

It was someone familiar.

Long hair, white clothes—it was the woman from poster 203.

How did she reappear?

Ning Ge suddenly understood.

She had thought of her during the first act on stage, and in a flash, created her again.

However, she wasn’t on stage, but in the attic directly above it. This position was extremely malicious, perfectly positioned for Ning Ge and her team to see when they scanned the correct anchor point.

They had finally made it to the end, only to have the big boss appear and deliver another blow.

The woman in white was staring intently at Ning Ge.

She wore a white dress, standing by the second-floor window, Ning Ge wore a red dress, standing on the street below.

The battle between red and white had begun again.

Ning Ge’s neck tightened suddenly, her heart was once again gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

The woman in white was on the second floor, it was impossible to kill her with electricity now.

But this place wouldn’t create an unsolvable dead end.

Pei Han’s words echoed in her mind, “If you could have shifted your attention and stopped thinking about her, maybe you would have been fine.” This might very well be the solution here.

Shifting your attention when your neck is being choked is easier said than done.

However, Ning Ge wasn’t afraid. She had another unconventional method that no other player had—

Remove the bracelet and become an NPC.

Becoming an NPC would probably stop the woman in white from focusing on her.

Her heart ached, and her vision blurred. Ning Ge struggled to remove the bracelet from her wrist. However, with her consciousness fading, even simple actions became incredibly difficult.

At the same time, Pei Han also saw the woman in white in the theatre window. Turning his head, he saw Ning Ge falling and reached out to catch her.

The woman in white was in the attic on the second floor of the theatre. Pei Han couldn’t fly, and there was no way he could immediately reach her and kill her.

He also thought of a solution.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand and pressed down on the back of Ning Ge’s head.

In a daze, Ning Ge saw his face rapidly approaching.

A soft object pressed against her lips.

He actually kissed her.

Ning Ge: ?!

A warm touch came over her lips. He held her close, his beautiful eyes very close, gazing at her, lost in thought.

Ning Ge’s mind went blank.

This time, her attention truly shifted, and the pressure on her neck and heart suddenly eased.

Ning Ge pushed him away, took a deep breath, and looked past his shoulder to see the woman in white at the window again.

Damn it, here we go again.

Once again, she was being choked.

Pei Han knew something was wrong. He grabbed her hands that were pushing against his chest, pulled them down, and firmly pressed her into his embrace.

This time, he was ruthless, breaking through her defences and kissing her deeply.

The unfamiliar yet powerful intrusion stimulated Ning Ge’s senses, his tongue traced hers, sending a jolt of electricity through her.

The pressure on her neck disappeared.

Just as Ning Ge reached for her bracelet during his passionate kiss, he pulled her wrist away, the one with the bracelet on.

Ning Ge: ??

Afraid she would lose focus again, he tried to deepen the kiss, giving her fresh stimulation, while simultaneously and decisively grabbing her wrist with the bracelet.

He swiped to the interface for scanning anchor points, aimed at a distant sign, and clicked it for her.

Ning Ge’s mind was no longer on the woman in white, only fury remained—

Why did you click scan? Can NPCs leave this place? What if something goes wrong and she is completely gone? Pei Han, aren’t you just messing with me?!

The bracelet gave a long jolt.

Ning Ge’s consciousness flickered for a moment, then cleared again.

She was still alive.

This was no longer the familiar little street, but a spacious hall. Various directional signs hung overhead, exuding a familiar yet strange feeling—

It resembled a train station waiting hall.

Like a train station, even though it was clean and somewhat new, it made her heart pound, and she was unable to settle down. She knew this wasn’t where she came from, nor where she was going.

People came and went all around, everyone hurrying along, their faces weary. Some trembled, some looked solemn, and some seemed indifferent, as if their fate was in the hands of anyone.

It was a portrait of humanity under the unpredictability of life and death.

Someone gently nudged her from behind. “Excuse me.”

Ning Ge turned around and realised she was standing in a square area marked out in white paint, with the words “Arrival Area” painted in the same white.

People would occasionally appear out of nowhere.

She stood there, stunned, blocking the path of the people who appeared behind her.

Their faces all wore expressions of relief at escaping death.

Ning Ge quickly moved a few steps to the side. Just as she left the square area on the ground, she saw Pei Han appear as well.

“This is the system’s transit station.”

Pei Han immediately saw the helplessness hidden beneath her calm expression.

“After leaving the dungeon, you’ll transit here first. You can exchange points for some items, or go straight home.”

Pei Han pointed to the escalator carrying people up and down not far away, “Go downstairs from there, and through the door on the first floor, you’ll be back in the real world.”

Ning Ge understood, So she was still in the system, only she had left the dungeon and arrived at this place called the transit station.

No wonder she was still alive.

Pei Han stood opposite Ning Ge, hands in his pockets, looking down at her amidst the flowing crowd.

He pursed his lips slightly.

Ning Ge immediately recalled the forceful, aggressive kiss from earlier.

Ning Ge understood that he had initially intended only to touch her to grab her attention, but, from his perspective, the subsequent actions were purely due to the circumstances, he had no other choice.

“Thank you for saving me,” Ning Ge said.

Being frank would make things less awkward.

Thanking him was appropriate, he had indeed helped her. Ning Ge herself wasn’t entirely confident she could remove the bracelet before losing consciousness.

Pei Han replied casually, “You’re welcome. Forgot you pulled me back from the brink of death?”

Suddenly, they were speechless again.

The two who had just kissed became awkward again.

Pei Han lowered his head, raised his wrist, and tapped the bracelet’s screen, as if typing something.

“What are you doing?” Ning Ge asked.

“Oh. Reporting a bug,” he said.

Ning Ge’s heart skipped a beat.

“Did you notice?” Pei Han said, “There was an NPC in the theater dungeon who kept going in circles and couldn’t get out.”

So that’s it.

He’d been busy with quests and finding anchor points, yet he still had the leisure to notice a bug in the dungeon.

He finished quickly, looked up at Ning Ge again, paused for a second as if searching for the right words, and finally gestured towards the escalator, “Want to go out together? I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Ning Ge glanced at the escalator. Forget it, I’m not going out this time, not even if you beat me.

Pei Han also looked in that direction, quickly looked away, and stared at Ning Ge.

“Don’t want to go out?” he asked.

Ning Ge’s heart skipped a beat, but her face remained unchanged.

He was too perceptive, it seemed he was already suspicious.

“You go first. I have something to do, I want to exchange some points for something.”

“Do you know where to exchange them? I’ll take you,” Pei Han said.

“No need,” Ning Ge immediately refused.

Of course, she couldn’t go with him, he would still ask her out later.

The refusal was decisive, leaving no room for negotiation. Pei Han hummed in response, said nothing more, lowered his eyes, and swiped his bracelet again.

Suddenly, he took two steps forward and extended his wrist.

The two bracelets lightly touched. A fleeting touch, like a light kiss.

Ning Ge felt the bracelet vibrate.

“Add me as a friend,” Pei Han said casually.

He raised his hand, waved as if to say goodbye, and without saying anything more, turned and walked towards the escalator.

Can this thing add friends?

Ning Ge was puzzled. She looked down at the bracelet, flipping it over several times, but couldn’t find the “add friend” option.

When she looked up again, Pei Han had disappeared.

The bracelet vibrated again, a new message appearing:

[Dungeon Experience Points: +1

Lambda Experience Points: +1 [Basic Lambda Permission Successfully Unlocked.]

A green “λ” appeared on the screen, then flew off like a bird and disappeared.

Ning Ge:?

Basic Lambda Permission?

Ning Ge flipped through the pages and finally found the flying icon again in the corner of the last page. She clicked it.

A message appeared: [Functions cannot be enabled outside the dungeon.]

She didn’t know what it was, but it was unusable now.

Ning Ge stood there, sorting out her thoughts.

This NPC had actually escaped from the dungeon world. Luckily, this was a transit station, within the system, and she was alive and well.

The problem was, what to do now?

Outside was the real world, going out was impossible. She couldn’t stay in the transit station forever, wondering what to eat and drink.

Perhaps she should go back to the familiar Nianxin Inn.

But how could she get back?

There were so many people, she could just ask.

Three minutes later, following everyone’s directions, Ning Ge crossed the hall and arrived at an information desk marked with a large yellow exclamation mark.

The young lady at the information desk was very enthusiastic towards the new player, answering all her questions.

“How long can I stay in the transit station? There’s no limit, but only seven days, because after seven days you’ll have to go to another dungeon, it’s mandatory.”

“You get points for clearing dungeons, and those points can be exchanged for various items.”

“Food and lodging? We provide free food and lodging in the station’s rest area, just swipe your bracelet.”

Free food and lodging! Ning Ge’s eyes lit up. Was it really that good?

Ning Ge continued, “Can I choose which dungeon to run?”

If she could, she could go back to Nianxin Inn, after all, it was a familiar world, and her brother was there.

Going back after awakening might present various problems, Ning Ge hadn’t yet weighed the pros and cons, so she decided to find out more first.

The young woman laughed, “Of course you can’t choose the dungeon yourself. There are countless dungeons here, they’re all randomly drawn…”

Halfway through her sentence, Ning Ge suddenly heard a heart-wrenching scream beside her—

“Aaaaaah, Mommy!!”

The scream came from a chubby man in his thirties. He seemed to have come to the information desk to ask something, but upon seeing Ning Ge, he screamed repeatedly as if he’d seen a ghost.

His companion was puzzled, “Fatty, what’s wrong?”

The chubby man looked at Ning Ge in terror, pointing at her and trembling.

“She… it’s her…that hairstyle, the bangs, that red dress… it’s the one who ate oden last time…”

Ning Ge: “…”

The fat man’s voice trembled, and even his face was shaking. “She insisted on eating oden, but wouldn’t say what she wanted, making us buy it for her again and again…we only got a hint after each purchase, and when the countdown stopped, someone would randomly die. We died four times before we finally bought her the few things she wanted…”

The fat man was rambling incoherently. His companion patted him, “Stop messing around, she’s a player.”

“But that’s what she looks like…that black hair…that red dress…”

The fat man stared at Ning Ge, his eyes wide, “So many kinds of oden, a whole bunch of them, even a god couldn’t guess what she wanted. She’s just a scheming NPC trying to kill people!”

Ning Ge gave him a calm look.

“I’ve been to that dungeon,” Ning Ge said.

“If you look closely, you’ll notice five empty skewers left in the NPC’s cup after she finished eating…”

She habitually brought the empty skewers and cups to the inn to throw them in the trash.

Ning Ge continued, “…She wanted five kinds, which means she only bought one of each. She’s hinting that you’ll have exactly fifteen yuan, right?”

“Fifteen yuan” was the phrase the subtitles sent to Ning Ge’s mind.

The fat man could only nod.

Ning Ge continued, “Okay. Although there are twelve kinds of oden, buying five different kinds and having a total price of exactly fifteen yuan isn’t actually that many combinations.”

“Oden costs four yuan, two yuan eight, two yuan fifty, two yuan, and one yuan eight. You absolutely must have the two four-yuan items: scallop skewers and rice cake, otherwise you won’t have fifteen yuan.” “Since we have the four-yuan option, there won’t be the one-and-a-half-yuan or two-and-a-half-yuan options, because it won’t round up. That leaves two options for two out of three: meatballs, fish balls, and radish; and two options for one: bamboo shoots and seaweed. There are only six possible combinations.”

“To determine the correct combination, look at the skewers left over by the NPCs.”

“The skewers for oden are slightly different. The meatball skewers are the same as the scallop skewers, but with a wider handle. There’s only one such wide skewer in the cup. Since there’s definitely a scallop skewer, there’s no meatball. So, the two-out-of-three choice should be fish balls and radish.”

“The two-yuan bamboo shoots and seaweed skewers have the same design on the skewer head, both with a small flower printed on them. There’s only one skewer with the flower printed on it. Since there’s radish, there’s definitely no seaweed. The correct choice should be bamboo shoots.”

Ning Ge concludes, “Therefore, the correct combination should be radish, bamboo shoots, fish balls, scallop skewers, and a rice cake. It’s a simple elementary school problem.” “

The fat man was stunned by Ning Ge’s barrage of questions.

He choked for a while before stammering, “Time was so tight back then, the countdown was on, just a few minutes left, and people were dying, who could have come up with so many things?”

Ning Ge’s mind flashed to Pei Han’s thoughtful expression.

“Someone could,” Ning Ge said.

“That dungeon was nice, and the NPC’s dress was nice too, so I bought one,” Ning Ge continued.

Now the fat man was uncertain, “So…you deliberately dressed like an NPC in a dungeon? Isn’t that scary? What were you trying to achieve?” Ning Ge smiled at him, thinking, “I can’t wear this red dress anymore.”

“This place is full of players. Even if there are a lot of dungeons, someone must have seen her before.”

“She’s like a fugitive prisoner, an obvious bug. The system might spot her wrong and eliminate her.”

“I can keep my canvas shoes on, but I have to change the red dress.”

“Ignoring the fat man, she asked the lady at the information desk, ‘Where’s the place to exchange points?'”

The convenience store where points were redeemed wasn’t far, just in another corner of the lobby, with a red “Convenience Store” sign.