Chapter 2

"Why aren't you answering? You're not a mute, are you?" The group saw that Zheng Chen didn't react at all and couldn't help but mutter.

"Who knows," one of them said, pursing his lips, "Why don't we try to take him out?"

A glint of low light flashed in Zheng Chen's eyes as he looked around. The threat from this group in front of him wasn't significant, even if they each held weapons.

He just couldn't understand who these people were. They seemed ordinary, yet why would they say such things, and not as a joke? As for NPCs...

Some documents in the wasteland also recorded that they were interactive entities in the game, generally fixed AI programs. At least in that prosperous era, there was no development of the 'artificial intelligence' described in the documents, the kind that resembles humans.

"Shut up!" Another player shot a glare at the one who spoke, "Have you forgotten the game's introduction to NPCs?"

"Tch, aren't they almost indistinguishable from real people... It's just for promotion, do you really believe it?"

"Even so, don't be like that. Doesn't it feel strange to encounter an NPC with no information at all? There should be some information, right?"

This player's words made the others look at Zheng Chen again. Indeed, they couldn't see any information, as if the young man in front of them was just a rock.

"This is really strange. Could there be some special quest?"

"Have you received any quests?" A player joked.

"What is this place?" After these 'players' showed signs of impatience, especially when the one who suggested taking him out started to act, Zheng Chen finally spoke.

"Oh! You can talk!"

These players were somewhat surprised. The other was about to say more but then seemed distracted. After a while, he muttered, "Really, even a beta game is so picky, and there's a time limit for being online."

"Hehe, if you don't like it, don't play," the other players teased, "No other game is as realistic. It's truly the second world; I can't tell the difference from reality. Time to log out!"

"Wait, let me take a picture first. This is the first time I've met an NPC with no attributes."

"Good idea."

Under Zheng Chen's gaze, these players just glanced at him and then disappeared from where they stood, which was quite bizarre.

Is this what they mean by logging out?

He observed where they disappeared, finding no trace, as if they had never been there. Their reactions were also strange; they were very interested in him at first but then suddenly lost interest.

And the reality they mentioned, is this place fake?

He scratched his finger, feeling the pain without any deviation. It's not fake.

After some thought, Zheng Chen decided to stay and observe. These suddenly disappearing people were the first he had encountered, and they seemed to know a lot. This was better than blindly going elsewhere.

He looked up at the sky; those who disappeared would reappear.

As Zheng Chen thought, after the first night, the next day, those people reappeared. When they saw Zheng Chen, they were quite surprised, "Look, this NPC is still here!"

"..."

"This NPC seems to have given me a glare...?" The surprised player said, puzzled.

"Maybe there's something to trigger?"

"Forget it, we don't have time. Let's hurry and do our own things."

"What about this NPC?"

Zheng Chen raised his eyebrows slightly. Being called an NPC repeatedly was indeed uncomfortable, especially with their tone, treating him as if he wasn't a person.

In their eyes, he was just a program?

He tugged at the corner of his mouth. He had never played games and didn't understand the mindset of these players, so... he was quite unhappy.

"Since we're not dealing with him, let's just take him out. Maybe we can get something good."

Zheng Chen's body immediately tensed. However, the player with higher status looked at Zheng Chen strangely and shook his head slightly, "This NPC is strange. Don't do anything strange."

"But we can't just leave him, right?"

The other players were not very satisfied with this. They had only been in the beta for a short time, but they deeply understood the differences between this special game and other conventional games.

The NPCs in this game were too unique! Each one was like a real person, some even more so, and unlike traditional online games where you could get quests from anyone with a big yellow exclamation mark on their head...

To get quests, you had to discover them yourself, and what you could get was uncertain. You could gain experience, but there were no endless monsters to kill. There were many ways to gain experience, and training was a good choice...

If it weren't for the game interface, this game would be indistinguishable from the real world.

This was basically the same as the promotion. Regardless of the game's quality, this was their world's first 'virtual online game,' far surpassing all previous games. Don't want to play? Fine, go back to traditional online games!

"Let's take him with us. We're so many, and he's just one. He can't do much."

A more moderate approach. Zheng Chen didn't react much, though he didn't know what these players relied on. If they really attacked, he didn't think he would lose.

"But we also need to see if he cares. It's just a game, why so many precautions..." The player who wanted to deal with Zheng Chen muttered, a bit annoyed. When he looked at Zheng Chen, he noticed the other was expressionless, which made him uneasy.

"Shut up! Haven't you suffered from such thoughts before?" The leading player also noticed Zheng Chen's reaction, which made him a bit uneasy.

The other looked much younger than them but was too calm, so calm that it made them uneasy. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't bring himself to say much.

After pulling the other team members to a distance, he continued, "What we're doing is a bit risky. Dying in this game has serious consequences. Taking this NPC as a scout is fine."

"That's a good idea, but how do we convince him?"

"Maybe try money?"

"..."

Zheng Chen glanced at the players muttering not far away. They seemed to always ignore him, as if it was a habit. What a bad habit.

He raised his arm slightly and looked at himself. He was dressed differently from them, yet they didn't seem surprised?

After a while, they seemed to have reached an agreement. One of the players approached Zheng Chen and spoke frankly. They were going to a place and asked if Zheng Chen wanted to go with them.

"Is it dangerous?"

"Uh... a bit." The player negotiating with Zheng Chen scratched his head, hesitated, and then nodded, "But we can give you money."

After the beta, all private property would disappear, except for a few special items that could be retained as a benefit for beta players.

"Give me a weapon, any type."

Without hesitation, Zheng Chen spoke directly. He wanted to understand what was happening here, but this couldn't be rushed. Living in the wasteland for years, Zheng Chen knew the importance of money.

With money, you're a big shot in the settlement; without it, finding a safe place to rest is hard.

Similarly, money was also essential here.

"Alright." The player negotiating with Zheng Chen shrugged and pulled out a short knife from his waist, handing it to Zheng Chen.

How... cute.

After silently putting away the short knife with a good feel, Zheng Chen couldn't help but think about how they gave him a weapon without hesitation.

Looking at the other players, they didn't react much to this player's action, as if he was just holding a piece of wood. Was this naivety or cute foolishness?

"Always feel like he agreed too quickly, there's a plot?" On the way, the players in front couldn't help but look at Zheng Chen and whisper.

"So what? We're almost ten, why fear one person? Just keep an eye on him. Let Lao Si go and probe further."

Zheng Chen looked calmly at the player called Lao Si who approached, with a playful smile, trying to put his hand on Zheng Chen's shoulder.

"Uh, want a cigarette?" After Zheng Chen subtly avoided the hand, Lao Si wasn't embarrassed and took out a pack of cigarettes from his inner pocket.

Seeing this, Zheng Chen's eyebrows raised slightly. He didn't like the smell of cigarettes, but in the wasteland, they were a rare luxury, especially favored by important figures, sometimes more effective than money in certain situations.

"No interest." Zheng Chen shook his head.

"That's a pity, NP... cough, friend, I'm Si Hai Gui Yi, what about you?" Si Hai Gui Yi shook his head, took out a match, lit a cigarette, and asked with curiosity.

Si Hai Gui Yi... is this a name?

Shaking his head, Zheng Chen avoided the drifting smoke, walking silently forward. Si Hai Gui Yi scratched his head; this NPC was also quite unique, very quiet.

Page AD starts

Page AD ends