«NPC’s first awakening»
A certain person was gazing at the NPC before him. If one were to speak frankly, Zhu Yan’s appearance was indeed handsome, but in this city where everyone looked like top-tier celebrities, his looks were actually quite ordinary. Whether it was someone like Chong Xiao, whose unique personality added extra appeal to their appearance, or Yuan Zhiran, whose exquisite features stirred the imagination, both had a considerable gap in comparison to Zhu Yan’s.
Zhu Yan’s appearance wasn’t particularly outstanding. His cold and aloof demeanor seemed to make him indifferent to those around him, yet he would still show a unique care in his actions, never too sharp or obvious. This made He Fang develop a good impression of him.
For He Fang, Zhu Yan was more like a friend than an NPC.
He Fang was resolute in wanting to take on Zhu Yan’s task.
“What’s wrong? Isn’t it allowed?” He Fang wasn’t good at being forceful and didn’t know how to use his position as the City Lord to pressure others. At this moment, he was actually quite nervous, his fingers subtly gripping his clothes, trying hard to conceal his anxiety. “Can’t we use the lie detector?”
Zhu Yan finally lowered his eyes, as if he had lost in this silent confrontation of gazes.
After a moment, Zhu Yan raised his head again, pressing his lips into a smile. “Of course, City Lord. I don’t know how to refuse you.”
Even though he said this, He Fang couldn’t see any personal thoughts in Zhu Yan’s eyes, as if…
He was being forced.
He Fang choked, was he forcing Zhu Yan?
“Then I’ll go get the lie detector. City Lord, please wait here.” Zhu Yan placed the recorder down and carefully removed all the instruments detecting He Fang’s bodily data. Throughout the process, Zhu Yan never took off his gloves, which was unusual.
He Fang stared at the pair of white gloves. Usually, when Zhu Yan touched him, he would never wear gloves. His fingers were always warm, and when they made contact with He Fang and he felt a slight itch, Zhu Yan would laugh lightly to ease the awkwardness. But now, his fingers never touched He Fang, separated by the white gloves.
He Fang got dressed and watched Zhu Yan leave his lab.
Confusion filled He Fang’s mind. A strange feeling spread within him. He stood up from his chair, opened the lab door, and looked outside.
When he entered with Zhu Yan earlier, his attention was entirely focused on the question mark above Zhu Yan’s head, and he did not notice his surroundings. Usually, the lab was bustling with activity, but today it was eerily quiet. No attractive, well-dressed researchers in lab coats were loitering around Zhu Yan’s lab door. The corridor was unnervingly silent. Despite the sun being out, the shadows remained undisturbed.
He Fang swallowed nervously.
Why was this happening? Was it the task’s background? Could this be a supernatural mission?
“What are you doing standing here?” At that moment, Zhu Yan silently appeared behind He Fang, giving him a shock that made his scalp tingle. He quickly turned around and noticed Zhu Yan holding the lie detector.
“Just… looking around,” He Fang suppressed the strange feeling in his chest and returned to the lab. With the lab so deserted, could it be that Zhu Yan had been ostracized from the office?
The small lie detector was held in Zhu Yan’s hand who was still wearing the white gloves. He Fang watched as Zhu Yan walked to the center of the lab, stripping off his white uniform, which he had never removed before.
This was the first time He Fang had seen an NPC undress. Even though he knew that Zhu Yan was tall and had a good physique, knowing and seeing were two different things.
Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, fair skin—his legs were unexpectedly long. When the shirt inside his white uniform was casually folded and placed on a nearby chair, He Fang finally saw Zhu Yan take off his gloves.
The fingers… were slightly reddened.
There was an unnatural redness, the kind that looked like a deep purplish-red as if the blood had stopped circulating. He Fang, almost as if driven by some strange impulse, reached out and grabbed Zhu Yan’s fingers.
They were cold, like fingers that had lost their warmth, and He Fang tightened his grip. “Are you not feeling well? Did you get sick? Why are your hands so cold?”
“I don’t have any physiological illness. My body is in perfectly healthy condition,” Zhu Yan’s calm voice came through, and He Fang froze.
Ah… NPCs can’t get sick unless the plot requires it. But the task hasn’t even started yet.
He Fang scratched his head a little embarrassedly. For a brief moment, he hadn’t reacted in time.
“Do you need help?” He Fang asked.
Zhu Yan shook his head and placed the lie detector on his chest. When he was about to place the other part on the back of his neck, he suddenly spoke. “City Lord, the last time I used the lie detector on you, it was under the condition that you could refuse to answer any question. So, can I refuse to answer questions that I don’t want to?”
He Fang instinctively started to refuse. If Zhu Yan could refuse to answer his questions, then what was the point of asking for a lie detector if Zhu Yan refused to assign him a task?
But He Fang hesitated, scratching his head. He was the one who had brought up fairness. He couldn’t go back on his word first.
“Fine.”
He Fang watched as Zhu Yan attached the lie detector. He half-sat on the research desk, and under the desk’s light, he looked like a lonely, confused youth being studied, exuding an aura of rejection. Suddenly, He Fang felt like a mad scientist forcing ordinary people into illegal experiments.
Zhu Yan looked at He Fang with a gentle expression. “City Lord, I am ready.”
He Fang, almost instinctively, became nervous. To ease the tension, he decided to ask a few questions. “What’s your name?”
“Zhu Yan.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“What’s your identity?”
“Researcher at the institute, son of the institute’s director.”
“What’s your favorite food?”
“I don’t have any particular preferences.”
“What do you like to do most?”
“Research, watching City Lord.”
He Fang froze for a moment at that answer, then asked, “What is it that you want to do?”
“To research and create tools that can help City Lord achieve his dreams.” Zhu Yan answered every question without hesitation, and the lie detector never beeped. There wasn’t even a moment’s pause in his answers. His swift responses clearly indicated he had no intention of deceiving He Fang.
He Fang nervously swallowed, glanced at the red question mark above Zhu Yan’s head, and made up his mind to ask, “Is there something you really need my help with recently?”
However, this time, Zhu Yan didn’t answer. He simply stared silently at He Fang.
Zhu Yan’s skin, rarely exposed to sunlight, was very white—unlike Chong Xiao’s pallor, he resembled snow that would melt under the light, slowly dissolving under the white glow of the lamps.
He Fang’s question was a bit of a calculated move. If Zhu Yan answered “no” and the lie detector didn’t beep, then it truly meant there was nothing. But any other answer would mean there was something.
Zhu Yan fell silent, which confirmed there was indeed something—his task hadn’t disappeared, it existed and could be accepted. However, as long as Zhu Yan didn’t speak up, He Fang couldn’t take on the task.
Originally, He Fang had the intention to take on the task, but seeing Zhu Yan like this, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Since Zhu Yan wasn’t answering, He Fang decided to continue with the next question in a roundabout way. “Do you have any dissatisfaction with my first test flight?”
“I have no dissatisfaction,” Zhu Yan answered this time.
“Then do you feel there was something you didn’t do well in my first test flight?” He Fang continued.
Zhu Yan fell silent again.
At this point, He Fang had a rough guess about Zhu Yan’s NPC task. From their conversation, it seemed that Zhu Yan had been affected by the unsatisfactory results of the previous test flight.
He Fang sat on the chair, deep in thought. Although the test flight was technically a success, there had indeed been a mistake. Their planned flight path had deviated due to an unexpected incident, leading them into the Nightmare Beast Forest.
The outcome was successful, but the process was a failure. In reality, if something failed in certain aspects, someone had to take the blame. Was that someone going to be Zhu Yan?
He Fang thought of many possibilities: like taking responsibility for the entire office, or perhaps Zhu Yan’s pride as a researcher had been hurt by the failure. Worst-case scenario, maybe the failure would lead to Zhu Yan being sidelined in future research.
He Fang raised his head and looked around. This was Zhu Yan’s office, and there were many old, discarded items here, collected from the ruins of newly opened areas. The things were worn out and broken, but under Zhu Yan’s research and repairs, they gradually returned to their original forms. Despite the complexity and seeming uselessness of these items, Zhu Yan tirelessly repaired them.
Just this patience alone made He Fang feel a deep respect.
He Fang pondered how to explain the concept of the “airwall” to Zhu Yan.
“This was an act of force majeure. No matter how many times we try, as long as we reach an altitude of 10,000 meters, this situation will occur.”
He Fang took the initiative to analyze the situation. Due to the limitations of NPCs, before they had even thought about opening a skyway, they didn’t even have the concept of airplanes. When they first opened the sky road, the 10,000-meter altitude had been written into the game’s data by He Fang, with a maximum possible altitude of 15,000 meters. This was within a range that NPCs could detect, but the airwall blocked it.
“Although there was an accident, I was the one controlling the plane. I steadied the aircraft, but I didn’t manage the distance well and ended up entering the Nightmare Beast Forest. If I had to say, I am one of the reasons why the accident happened this time,” He Fang scratched his head and continued, “And even though entering the Nightmare Beast Forest was an accident, we gained something we wouldn’t normally have gotten. I believe this was an opportunity that was bound to happen.”
— This is not a failure; it’s just a small detour on the road to success.
— We cannot fear failure. We must bravely face the storm.
Zhu Yan quietly watched their beloved Creator. The boy’s bright eyes carried their future and hope. This was their deity, the Creator they must protect with their lives.
Zhu Yan still remembered the scene, remembered the moment when He Fang’s plane suddenly veered off course and plunged straight into the Nightmare Beast Forest.
He had been so confident that nothing would go wrong. He had believed that with his own skills and abilities, he would never let the Creator encounter an accident. He had even rejected Yuan Zhiran’s request, stubbornly wanting to fulfill the Creator’s expectations.
But at that moment, he realized that Yuan Zhiran’s refusal had been correct. He had put the Creator in danger.
There were too many things in this world that they, as NPCs, could never understand. The Creator was their only guide.
After entering the Nightmare Beast Forest, all communication signals were lost. They had already conducted experiments and knew this would happen. The moment the city lost contact with the Creator, fear spread everywhere. The despair of losing direction and the central figure gripped his throat, making it impossible for him to breathe.
At that time, all the researchers in the institute were in utter chaos. He had no idea where a hand had come from, pushing him out with great force.
“Everyone, do your best to try and contact the test machine. Start preparing a second test machine immediately.”
“Set up all the drones with fixed flight paths and camera records, and send them into the Nightmare Beast Forest. Send them in densely, transmitting all the information inside the forest.”
“Immediately notify Yuan Zhiran and organize the civilians for rescue!”
Everyone was busy, but from start to finish, Zhu Yan was not given any orders, or perhaps he refused to follow any commands.
He stood quietly in the space, completely isolated from the urgency. No one made sarcastic remarks and no one reprimanded him. He stood on the edge.
Zhu Yan had never considered himself fragile; at least, he didn’t think anything could defeat him so completely.
Until that moment, he realized.
He couldn’t bear any blow to the Creator.
Not just himself—everyone was the same.
Right now, in his mind, there was no way to reach He Fang. Their ignorance of this world meant that once they lost contact with the Creator, they became like headless flies—utterly useless.
Any instructions, thoughts, or actions Zhu Yan calculated in his mind, he determined would all be futile.
They were powerless.
When their Creator reappeared before them, the surrounding atmosphere erupted in ecstasy.
Their Creator had saved them from their disgrace.
But Zhu Yan became even more acutely aware — they were just NPCs.
As an NPC, he had always followed certain principles, but it was as if those principles had shattered the moment they truly lost contact with the Creator.
He should have been like Yuan Zhiran, who didn’t follow the usual rules, not like a typical NPC who completely catered to the player’s wishes.
They existed in the world created by the Creator, and as NPCs, they lacked any power to create. They could only survive under the Creator’s protection, for only the Creator could create miracles.
They were just a string of data. The real them perhaps couldn’t help the Creator in the slightest.
When He Fang stepped off the plane, Zhu Yan saw He Fang’s pale face with his own eyes. He Fang quickly disappeared. Zhu Yan’s gaze shifted to Chong Xiao, who had been following He Fang all along.
Had Chong Xiao helped the Creator?
The surveillance footage inside the cabin replayed for everyone to see. When He Fang unhesitatingly decided to press the self-destruct button, Zhu Yan’s heart tightened, a sharp pain seizing him.
But when He Fang noticed there were NPCs nearby, he quickly regained his composure, began to plan, and created a miracle. Zhu Yan suddenly understood clearly—they were important to their Creator.
However, in all of this, Chong Xiao did not help the Creator.
Chong Xiao’s presence only brought another problem to the Creator, something even Chong Xiao was unaware of.
This was unequal.
They valued the Creator, but they couldn’t offer any true help to the Creator.
The Creator valued them and gave them protection, direction, growth, peaceful daily life, and hope. Everything they had received from the Creator, as NPCs, they could not give He Fang a complete repayment in return.
How could they help their Creator?
Zhu Yan couldn’t find an answer to that question.
They would continue living according to the NPC trajectory, and because of his own mistake, the same dissatisfaction had been planted in the hearts of other NPCs.
He had stubbornly made He Fang the pilot for the first test flight. He was bound to bear the consequences of being excluded. That brief moment of despair, though now gone, had indeed existed.
Zhu Yan didn’t care.
He only realized that his thinking had malfunctioned.
“Zhu Yan,” the real boy, the god in their eyes, stood before him, trying to say something to lift his spirits. “Even if you made some mistakes, please absolutely believe me. I can find a way to turn the situation around. I am the Lord of the City, I’m always more capable than you all.”
Zhu Yan gazed at their Creator, fragile as if it would shatter with a single touch, yet representing hope and miracles for them.
The Creator spoke confidently, always claiming to be more capable than the NPCs.
Was this not telling him that what they truly needed to do was simply to be an NPC?
“Zhu Yan, are you listening?” He Fang felt something was off with Zhu Yan. It seemed like he was listening to him, yet also as if he wasn’t.
But as soon as He Fang finished speaking, he suddenly saw that the question mark had turned into a gray exclamation mark!
He had received a mission!
He Fang didn’t understand what exactly he had said that triggered the mission, but he eagerly opened his task list.
“Zhu Yan’s Mission: Please engage in conversations with different characters within the research institute (0/4).”
He Fang quickly grabbed Zhu Yan’s white uniform from the chair and shoved it into Zhu Yan’s arms. “Quick, put on your clothes. Don’t catch a cold! I’ll be back soon.”
With that, He Fang eagerly dashed out, searching for other NPCs within the institute. The mission had been received! The mission had been received! He could finally start the task!
Zhu Yan’s colleagues: “Zhu Yan? City Lord, Zhu Yan made a very failed flight plan. He should take responsibility for this failure. You, as the center of our city, placing you in a dangerous situation is a sin!”
Director of the Institute: “City Lord, please don’t spoil my son too much. He was unprepared and took on a major responsibility suddenly; his inability to perform is his own issue. After this painful experience, he will certainly try harder in the future. If you spoil him too much, he won’t improve.”
Institute Gatekeeper: “Zhu Yan’s way of thinking is always a bit different from others. He used to study some strange things. I heard the researchers say his mind is sharp but too self-centered. It was Zhu Yan who insisted on making you the test pilot. Since there was a problem, he surely has to take responsibility for it.”
Knowledgeable Female in the Institute: “Zhu Yan is a detailed thinker, but his thinking doesn’t always align with ours. He’s smart, and indeed he has done many excellent experiments, but we just don’t understand the point of many of his experiments. We didn’t agree to let you do the test flight, but Zhu Yan kept showing us your simulation results, so in the end, we agreed. Maybe there’s usually nothing wrong, but putting you in such a dangerous situation—of course, we have some objections.”
Four individuals, each giving a somewhat similar evaluation of Zhu Yan. Once the task was completed, He Fang immediately returned to Zhu Yan’s side to report the task. Zhu Yan was already dressed and standing beside the test platform, clearly in the posture of an NPC waiting for the player to deliver the task.
Zhu Yan smiled at him after accepting the mission, as usual, but it seemed a little stiff. “I can understand their rejection of me. This time, I really did go too far. If I had not been so stubborn and had listened to everyone’s advice, perhaps this accident wouldn’t have happened.”
He Fang was stunned for a moment. “Is that so? But I actually think this accident turned out pretty well. In fact, I’m even grateful that it happened.”
After all, he had learned how to unlock the map to the Nightmare Beast Forest because of it.
“Whether it’s a blessing in disguise or not, the fact remains that my calculations failed. That is an undeniable truth,” Zhu Yan said.
Then He Fang received a new task.
“Failure is not scary. What’s scary is not reflecting on failure. Please, Lord of the City, gather information and accurately criticize Zhu Yan for his mistakes. Criticism sentences (0/4).”
He Fang: “…”
Was the game pushing him to establish authority in front of NPCs? There was no need for that, really.
He Fang looked at the words “gather information” in the task. Was he supposed to find the precise criticism sentences by using the words from their earlier conversation?
Was the “Ruins Without Restart” NPC side mission really a step-by-step guide on how to scold a wronged NPC?
Moreover, He Fang didn’t think Zhu Yan had made a mistake. This was just an accident, after all. Who could possibly succeed on their first try? Every experiment builds on countless failures, learning from each step to finally reach the right result.
He Fang, with a frustrated expression, opened the information for the previous task and began to summarize it.
The first evaluation should be: As a researcher, how could one make such a huge mistake? (Completed)
He Fang saw the task progress updated to (1/4).
The second one: Why couldn’t you think through the problem comprehensively? (Completed)
The third one: Don’t be too unconventional in your behavior. (Completed)
The fourth one: Don’t be so stubborn in your actions. (Completed)
He Fang had summarized four “scolding sentences”, but the more he looked at them, the more uncomfortable he felt.
It was really, really hard to bear.
He looked up at Zhu Yan.
Why was this NPC given such a harsh task? Why did it seem necessary to scold him for no reason?
Now, Zhu Yan, the NPC, was standing right in front of him. All he needed to do was speak to him and deliver the four scolding sentences he had summarized. That should complete this cycle of the task.
What would the next cycle be? He Fang didn’t know.
But he had a strong feeling it definitely wouldn’t be a good task.
“I’m really sorry, City Lord. My abilities are too poor, and I couldn’t provide you with the best answer. If possible, I’m willing to bear all the consequences, even leaving the institute. I’m sorry, City Lord.”
He Fang watched as Zhu Yan apologized to him twice in a row.
Zhu Yan’s eyes were fixed on him as if waiting for his scolding.
He Fang glanced at the task.
Then he looked at Zhu Yan, whose face was full of regret, and suddenly couldn’t bring himself to say a single word.
He didn’t believe that Zhu Yan’s reluctance to take on the task earlier was because he didn’t want to bear the consequences of failure.
The task seemed more like it was intended to make him reintroduce Zhu Yan to his failure and mistakes, to help him truly solidify the direction the future would take.
It was as if he was meant to suppress any potential from Zhu Yan.
He Fang glanced at the task again.
Then he hesitated, looking at Zhu Yan.
What kind of ridiculous task was this?
Looking at the few “scolding” lines, He Fang’s mind wandered. What if he could just say the key phrases and complete the task?
“I think you really, really need to hear me say a few things, about your ‘failure behavior’ this time.” He Fang said, then secretly observed Zhu Yan’s expression. At that moment, Zhu Yan had already lowered his head, ready to humbly accept He Fang’s guidance.
He Fang cleared his throat and spoke loudly.
“As a researcher, how could you make such a huge mistake? Don’t you know that all success is built on countless failures? If you can’t face failure, how can you ever make progress?” As soon as He Fang finished speaking, Zhu Yan’s body suddenly stiffened.
“Why can’t you think things through comprehensively? Why is failure so unacceptable? Who says it’s not acceptable? I’ve been saying from the beginning that there was a chance of failure, so why am I up here? I’m so confident, and yet you don’t trust me. Are you not giving me face?”
Zhu Yan slowly lifted his head. He Fang saw those eyes filled with astonishment.
“Don’t be too unconventional in your behavior, but it’s okay to be a little unconventional. Genius and madness are only one step apart, so why not be a genius who’s a little unconventional? I’ve heard from the researchers that your mind works well, and any experiment you participate in tends to succeed. That proves you must be more outstanding than others. A little bit of unconventionality might even help you gain more recognition from others!”
He Fang felt his words made so much sense. After all, wasn’t he the one who played “Ruins Without Restart” in such an unconventional way? No player would stick to being cautious and never do anything out of the ordinary, right?! He’d done it. He still believed that the small city he built in “Ruins Without Restart” was the best.
“Don’t be so stubborn in your actions. Try discussing things with others. Look at you, so set on thinking you’re the one at fault. Why not listen to others’ opinions? What, just because you think something is true, it’s the only truth? Doesn’t anyone else’s opinion count? I don’t think this is a failure. What’s the matter? You want to argue with me?”
He Fang didn’t plan anything in advance; he just said whatever came to his mind. His words were a bit muddled, but hadn’t he said every one of the scolding phrases? Language was such a profound art—look at how he’d turned something negative into something positive.
The only concern now was whether the NPC could understand his heartfelt words.
At that moment, He Fang saw Zhu Yan still stunned, with no reply for a long time. He Fang’s heart skipped a beat. Was this not the right way to do it?
He Fang looked up at the exclamation mark above Zhu Yan’s head. Had he successfully completed his task?
It was as if Zhu Yan had heard something sprouting.
He wanted to be scolded.
As an NPC, he had developed thoughts that should not have existed. He hoped that He Fang would suppress these thoughts before they even took root.
He shouldn’t be thinking on such a deeper level, even though he clearly understood that everything they were doing, every piece of knowledge, was guided by the Creator.
So, Zhu Yan believed that he needed to calm down and return to being an NPC.
He needed the Creator’s scolding to sever the wild thoughts growing inside him like vines.
He was ready for everything.
But he never expected the Creator to pour a bucket of water onto the wild vines, wishing them to grow quickly!
Zhu Yan’s mind froze.
He didn’t know how to respond.
He Fang was extremely nervous at this moment, his eyes fixed tightly on the exclamation mark, his heart sinking—could it be… that saying it this way wasn’t correct? Did he have to say all these scolding words without adding anything extra?
Why was it so strict when it was an intelligent NPC?!
“City Lord, were you afraid when you entered the Nightmare Beast Forest?” Suddenly, He Fang heard Zhu Yan ask.
Afraid? What’s there to be afraid of? Afraid of the Nightmare Beast Forest? He Fang rubbed his cheek.
If he had to say there was something he was afraid of, it would have been the moment when he was preparing to self-destruct. He was afraid of the pain, of the feeling of dying. But he had no fear of the Nightmare Beast Forest; he didn’t believe he would simply vanish like that.
“I’m not afraid,” He Fang said.
“Ruins Without Restart” was a fully open-world game with no main storyline.
Such a game represented a very high degree of freedom and the richest choices for players.
He Fang found it fascinating.
For a fun game, even if it were a horror game, he’d completed it 100%. So how could he be afraid of “Ruins Without Restart”, a game focused on base-building?
He Fang’s eyes shone brightly, with not a trace of resentment.
“Don’t be so down, I still want to praise you. The airplane you made was really good.” He Fang said earnestly, thinking of the little map he’d unlocked, feeling that the future was full of promise. “Once it’s perfected, it will be really useful!”
Then He Fang suddenly noticed that the exclamation mark above Zhu Yan’s head had disappeared!
The task was completed!
Oh, this task was so simple!
So now what? Now what?
He Fang eagerly looked at Zhu Yan, waiting for the next round of tasks or some kind of reward for completing the task.
“City Lord?” Zhu Yan’s mind was still slow to process, even more confused than He Fang’s.
No reward? He Fang was dumbfounded.
He had been so determined to take on the task, and it turned out there was no special reward?! Even the poor Min Zhizhou had given him a few coins back then!
Was this it? This was it?
He Fang let out a low sound and lay down, suddenly feeling very sleepy after finishing the task.
It was already late at night when he logged in, planning to finish the task and log off. After having a full meal, he became drowsy. With his mind blanking, he immediately fell asleep.
He Fang fell asleep inside the game. Because of this, he didn’t log out. Zhu Yan picked He Fang up and walked to the door.
The door opened, and his colleagues, who had clearly known they were probably caught by Zhu Yan, stood there helplessly.
“Though we’re angry, the Creator’s words aren’t without merit.” The colleagues, who had once been very resistant to him, seemed to take in all of He Fang’s encouragement. They couldn’t help but reconsider whether their hostility towards Zhu Yan was also an inappropriate form of ‘stubbornness’.
“You need to work hard and live up to the Creator’s expectations.” Zhu Yan’s father, the head of the institute, patted Zhu Yan on the shoulder and then extended his hand. “Give the Creator to me, let him sleep directly on the full-body massage bed in my office. It’s really comfortable there.”
Zhu Yan expressionlessly walked past the excited colleagues who wanted to take He Fang from him and went straight to his dormitory.
When He Fang woke up, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar place. He suddenly sat up, staring in shock at his surroundings.
The room, filled with signs of obsessive cleanliness and compulsive orderliness, clearly wasn’t his own room. His somewhat confused brain made He Fang wonder if he had somehow crossed over into another world.
But after a moment, He Fang realized he must have forgotten to log out before going to sleep.
Well…
He must have slept through the night.
A lot of days must have passed in the game by now. If he hadn’t woken up or eaten, would the NPCs think he had died?
But the place didn’t look like a morgue. He hadn’t been given any glucose, so he must still be safe.
He Fang sat up. After a while, he suddenly heard someone opening the door. He instinctively looked up, meeting Zhu Yan’s gaze.
“City Lord, you’re awake.” Zhu Yan smiled as he sat down beside He Fang’s bed. “You woke up just in time. Are you feeling clear-headed now? I have a plan for crossing the Nightmare Beast Forest that you can take a look at.”
He Fang, still dazed, took the plan and tried to think it through with his gradually clearing mind.
Because the Nightmare Beast Forest couldn’t receive signals, it wasn’t possible to use the airplane for travel. However, a fixed path could be established and roads could be built to go out.
Since the Nightmare Beast Forest needed to act as a barrier, the road should be built as close as possible to where the Revival Nightmare Plants were concentrated. Before that, research on how the Revival Nightmare Plants formed could be done.
A ‘light curtain’ could be set up at the border between the forest and the city to prevent the Nightmare Beast seeds from entering the city.
Since neither the Revival Nightmare Plants nor the Nightmare Beast seeds could parasitize them, they could begin to choose and cultivate the Revival Nightmare Plants, turning them into weapons that they could freely use.
He Fang stared in shock at this plan, something he had never even considered.
This…
This…
This setting…
Isn’t this a train?!
Huh? Why didn’t he think of using a train before and insist on choosing an airplane instead?!
Oh right, right, it was because he didn’t want to damage the Nightmare Beast Forest and wanted to seek its protection.
But… but… but! This was all based on the idea of not fighting the Revival Nightmare Plants, right?!
He Fang trembled as he pointed at a line on the plan, saying, “This… is this the idea you came up with for cultivating the Revival Nightmare Plants?”
“I think it might be feasible, as long as we have Mr. Min’s help,” Zhu Yan said, flashing a very sinister smile.
He Fang’s eyes instantly widened!
Wow!
So this was the reward for Zhu Yan’s NPC task!
A completely new, never-before-tested, and highly implementable plan!
His NPC was so impressive! It always surpassed his expectations!
Just let this MF be the ML 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
For reallll. He’s so cool and not weird the mr. Golden statue.