The basement door began to tremble slightly. At the same time, a floating window unexpectedly appeared before Wei Xicheng’s eyes—something the system had never initiated on its own before.
Wei Xicheng initially thought only he could see the information on it, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Yu Beiyan staring blankly at the same blue glowing screen suspended in the air.
“You… can see this?” Wei Xicheng asked tentatively.
“Yes,” Yu Beiyan replied without further questions, though a hint of confusion and coldness flickered in his eyes.
[Host is about to leave this world. Transfer countdown: 10, 9, 8…]
“What does that mean?” Wei Xicheng was stunned. Ever since the system stopped assigning him tasks, it had seemed to lose its autonomy, becoming nothing more than an auxiliary tool. This was the first time it had actively issued a prompt since relinquishing control over him.
“Leave?” Yu Beiyan gripped Wei Xicheng’s hand tightly. Though he didn’t fully understand the floating screen, he clearly grasped the meaning of the word “leave.”
[…4, 3, 2…]
There was no time left. Wei Xicheng wanted to explain, but the moment was too rushed, and he didn’t know where to start. He could only grip the man’s hand firmly and kiss him on the chin. “Wait for me. I’ll come back for you.”
Yu Beiyan instinctively pulled him into his arms, but as the number “1” appeared on the screen, an unshakable panic gripped his heart. For the first time since he could remember, he felt the emotion called fear.
“Alright, alright, I’ll wait for you.” He spoke incoherently as the body in his arms gradually softened. The boy’s head and arms drooped limply.
Yu Beiyan held the boy tightly, sinking to the ground, his mind blank.
The noise outside grew louder, pulling his consciousness back slightly. Zombies had overtaken the base. Most people without abilities had become part of the zombie horde, advancing further into the base.
A few remaining ability-users had already fled, while a small group of ordinary people clung desperately to the last scrap of human territory, protecting the women and children who couldn’t escape. Lin Lei and Da Lei were among them.
“Da Lei! You go!” Lin Lei was already exhausted. The endless waves of zombies had drained his strength. At this point, they still had an underground tunnel that led directly out of the base.
The narrow entrance allowed only one person to pass at a time, and someone had to stay behind to guard it.
“Take Xiao Huan with you. Please look after her from now on!” Lin Lei’s eyes were bloodshot, and he didn’t dare to look back at his sister.
“Brother!” Lin Huan’s vision blurred with tears as Da Lei shoved her into the tunnel, only to turn back himself.
“Man, you can’t hold this alone. Let me help you!”
As soon as he said this, all the zombies stopped moving.
Seizing the moment, Da Lei and Lin Lei quickly killed a few zombies. But just as they prepared to continue, they noticed the zombies had all turned and were heading toward the leader’s apartment.
“What’s going on?” Da Lei was confused.
Lin Lei, however, made a quick decision. “Hurry, go!”
Yu Beiyan sat in the basement, holding the boy motionless, like a statue. Surrounding the basement, countless zombies gathered, their dull minds unable to determine who their true master was. While Lin Jianbai had summoned them, at this moment, Yu Beiyan’s command had become their only guiding rule.
Lin Lei, the last to enter the tunnel, glanced back on a whim.
“Boom!” A loud explosion shook loose some dust from the tunnel entrance.
Shaking his head, he stepped forward with Lin Huan and Da Lei, embarking on a new journey. The apocalypse was not over, but humanity’s spark had not been extinguished.
Everything would be okay.
Wei Xicheng stood in the system space, hurriedly investigating why he had been forcibly ejected from the world.
[System auto-upgrade. Auto-protection mode activated.]
Reading this notification aloud word by word, Wei Xicheng still didn’t understand why he had been forcibly ejected. He instinctively checked the auxiliary energy bar, only to be stunned.
The energy, which had been slowly increasing, was now completely depleted. Touching the energy bar no longer brought back any memories or emotions.
What’s going on?! Wei Xicheng carefully examined every part of the system for discrepancies. He soon discovered that not only was the auxiliary energy bar empty, but even the energy he used for teleportation was almost gone.
Wei Xicheng felt an overwhelming sense of anger and despair.
“Teleport!” He had promised to return to him immediately. Everything else could wait to be explored later.
As soon as Wei Xicheng opened his eyes, an arrow whistled through the air, heading straight for his face. He tried to dodge, but this body seemed far weaker than his previous one, moving even slower than the zombies from his last world.
So, Wei Xicheng could only watch as the arrow pierced through his forehead. Wait… through his forehead?!
There was no pain. Instead, his body fell to the ground, out of his control.
From his new perspective on the ground, he noticed a depleted red health bar and some white text floating above his previous position: .
…
He struggled to turn his head slightly in the direction the arrow had come from. A man and a woman, dressed in simple rough clothing, stood holding bows.
Above their heads were health bars and blue text: <Rookie: Lin Wan’er> and <Rookie: Oldest and Most Handsome>.
This scene felt oddly familiar. Wei Xicheng lay there, watching his body slowly turn transparent and fade away. Just as he completely disappeared, his vision went white, and he reappeared not far from the two players.
Around him were several other , who occasionally waved their large swords and growled, “Our boss is not to be trifled with!”
Wei Xicheng glanced at the word “Leader” above his head. The role wasn’t bad, actually.
The main difference between the bandit leader and the regular bandits was that Wei Xicheng had a shirt, while the others were shirtless, proudly showing off their chest hair and muscles. Wei Xicheng turned away in disgust.
It was clear this was a game environment, but Wei Xicheng couldn’t figure out why he had become an NPC. This had never happened before. Normally, NPCs were subject to numerous restrictions, not just the rules of the current world but also those imposed by the game itself.
Lin Wan’er and Oldest and Most Handsome came running toward him again. Wei Xicheng didn’t bother running this time, instead standing there to receive the storyline—and another arrow.
The bandit leader’s health was ridiculously low; he could be one-shot by new players fresh out of the beginner village. How was this even balanced?! Wei Xicheng silently complained.
Another white flash, and Wei Xicheng was back near the players. This time, when an arrow struck him, his body merely staggered. Wait… he didn’t die?
He glanced at his health bar and saw it was only halfway down.
The two players looked confused. The female player, Lin Wan’er, slapped the man’s arm. “Look, we hit the wrong target. This one’s just a Nanshan Bandit now.”
Hearing this, Wei Xicheng checked again. Sure enough, his title had changed. What a sophisticated game—it even allowed NPCs to level up.
Watching the two players walk away, Wei Xicheng greeted a few other , only to be met with, “Our boss is not to be trifled with!”
Great. His subordinates didn’t recognize him anymore.
The game’s setting was a peaceful era where people lived prosperous lives. To meet their entertainment needs, the gaming industry had flourished. The invention of immersive technology had elevated this industry to new heights.
A leading company, armed with this technology, collaborated with top developers to create this fully immersive online game. The game’s launch was an immediate success, earning the company massive profits and widespread acclaim.
In this world of peace, nothing terrible seemed to happen. The protagonist’s storyline revolved around romance, which Wei Xicheng skimmed briefly before losing interest. What could an NPC possibly do?
Now, he could only pray his lover could afford a VR headset.
Wei Xicheng picked up his large sword and walked to the back of the mountain, determined not to be killed over and over. He also wanted to test the game’s restrictions on him—specifically, how far he could move.
The journey was smooth until he encountered some familiar faces
He greeted them one by one, only to receive a cheerful, “You’re dead meat, kid!”
Clearly, NPCs varied in intelligence. Wei Xicheng sighed, sat by a small river, and stared at the reflection of a burly man in the water. Taking a deep breath, he muttered, “When will I become the leader?”
Suddenly, a white flash engulfed him. Glancing at his title, he saw it had indeed changed .
What’s going on? Standing up, he realized the upgrade was unmistakable. Now, he could definitely dodge those two players’ arrows—and even make them lose some health.
“One more level up!” Wei Xicheng said with a smile.
Nothing happened. No flash, no change.
…What exactly triggered his upgrades?
Earlier, when he approached the river, he had felt a strange resistance, making every step difficult. After leveling up, the restriction disappeared completely. Wei Xicheng understood this meant his range of movement had expanded.
He walked downstream along the river, and before he knew it, the “Nanshan” above his head changed to “Wandering.”
“System, link to the network of this world.” Wei Xicheng nodded. In the game world, he wasn’t in danger and didn’t need to enhance his physical abilities. He could save that energy to help find his partner’s whereabouts.
But now, the energy in the auxiliary energy bar had completely disappeared, leaving him unsure of what to do next.
[Sorry, insufficient energy, connection failed.]
——————————————————————————————————————
Author’s Note: I’m not sure if this is the strongest NPC ever, but I’m certain that Wei Xicheng is the freest NPC! [Wei Xicheng is wandering around]
I wonder what happened to the system and Yu Beiyan? 🤔 also isn’t Lin lei of the other world nice? There aren’t many brothers like him!
poor MC, seems like he won’t be able to get much help from the system this time!
