He Fang was one hundred percent certain that there was something wrong with the NPCs currently lying here. After consecutively checking several intensive care units, he discovered that there were quite a number of these strange NPCs mixed in among them.
He Fang sat in the hospital corridor with his head lowered in thought. Was this due to a bug, or was it a sign of some large-scale event?
Without alerting the enemy, He Fang had Yuan Zhiran cooperate with Angel City’s management to compile a list of the current injured, while he himself went to see Yuan Sanjin.
Because Yuan Sanjin had been closer to the weapon than others, she was affected more severely and was now in the intensive care unit as well. Yuan Sanjin truly looked to be in pain. Her small face was as pale as paper. On the snow-white hospital bed, she appeared so fragile it was as if she would shatter at a touch. Beside her was a soldier.
He Fang glanced at that soldier. At this moment, the soldier sat there without looking left or right, staring straight at Yuan Sanjin. He wore no expression, maintaining a serious demeanor, completely like a background decoration NPC. He Fang checked and saw that he was an NPC from the main city, and didn’t give it much further thought.
He Fang asked Yuan Sanjin for some details about this recent attack. Even though she appeared to be in extreme pain, she still obediently recounted what she had noticed and paid attention to.
There weren’t any details particularly worth paying attention to, but the only thing He Fang found strange was—why were there seventy-nine planes? It almost seemed like there was one missing deliberately, as if it was meant to be exactly one short. Did that missing plane exist? Where was it? What was its purpose?
At the same time, the information compiled by Yuan Zhiran was already completed. He Fang looked over it and found that the current number of people lying here seemed to be correct. There weren’t significantly more or fewer people than expected.
So the number of NPCs lying here now should be the correct number of NPCs who were supposed to be injured in Angel City.
“Did something happen?” Yuan Zhiran asked in confusion.
Given Yuan Zhiran’s meticulousness, he had even used identity cards to pinpoint the exact current location of everyone and had arranged their positions accordingly.
He Fang entered one of the hospital rooms and sat down beside one of the NPCs, tilting his head slightly to look at them.
This was a man. His health bar was higher than that of the other injured people nearby. According to the records, he had been a border guard stationed at the frontier at the time. If he was a border guard, then it would be normal for his health bar to be higher than the others’. According to the description, Chong Xiao should have already distributed jammers to everyone back then—devices that could resist the reactions triggered by the weapon. But these people, they looked like they had been affected quite severely.
Because the mistake this time was simply too great, resulting in so many people being affected, at first, no one suspected that there was anything wrong with the current situation.
He Fang stared intently at this person. He was wearing the uniform of Angel City’s border guards—not armor, because the border was also within the barrier range. This clothing probably hadn’t been changed in time due to his physical condition, so there were still many obvious stains on it. And…
Was it just his illusion? He couldn’t shake the feeling that this uniform didn’t quite match the man’s body size—like… it was a bit small.
“Can you hear me?” He Fang spoke to the man.
The man was clearly in a very poor state. His complexion was terrible. As soon as he turned his head, he looked like he was about to vomit. He Fang was immediately pulled away by Chong Xiao, who grabbed him by the arm and lifted him to prevent the man’s filth from splashing onto him.
He Fang frowned. Was communication not possible?
He Fang tried to consult with another person, but this time he didn’t choose an NPC whose name couldn’t be seen—instead, he asked the person beside him, “What’s your name?”
After the person stated their name, He Fang confirmed that their attribute panel was correct, then asked another question: “Do you know who the person next to you is?”
The person struggled to open their eyes and glanced at the man in the hospital bed next to them, then said, “I don’t know.”
Among eight hundred thousand people, not knowing another individual was perfectly normal. But He Fang glanced again at that NPC whose name wasn’t showing on the attribute panel. He found his identity card—he clearly saw the name, but the attribute panel still wouldn’t display it.
Yuan Zhiran looked at their Creator, who had been frowning the entire time, as if utterly confused by the current situation.
“Yuan Zhiran, have Bai Fu take this man to the room next to the emergency room.” Although Yuan Zhiran didn’t understand what exactly the Creator was thinking, he still followed the order.
When Doctor Bai Fu stood next to Chong Xiao, they looked like two extremes—black and white. It was clear that Bai Fu still held some aversion toward Chong Xiao and stood a bit farther away.
At this moment, the man lying on the hospital bed was probably feeling dizzy—he kept tossing and turning, so uncomfortable that he didn’t even want to open his eyes. His complexion was as pale as paper, and though he tried to vomit, he couldn’t throw up anything anymore. The sight was truly pitiful.
He Fang closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the sympathy rising in his heart, and asked Chong Ying, who had been crying nonstop and still hadn’t recovered, “Are you carrying any weapons?”
Chong Ying whimpered and asked, “What kind of weapon?”
“A gun or something similar—something I can use.”
Chong Ying sniffled, then took out a small gun from his waist. It looked particularly cute. With a pitiful tone, he said, “This one has lower recoil. City Lord, you should be able to use it just fine.”
He Fang looked at the gun, asked how to use it, then suddenly aimed it at the shoulder of the Angel City NPC who was currently lying there with his eyes shut, still tossing restlessly.
Bai Fu was stunned for a moment and instinctively asked, “City Lord?”
“If anything goes wrong, push him straight into the emergency room and start treatment immediately!” He Fang looked up and asked Chong Ying, “Is there a spot I can hit that causes injury but won’t kill?”
Chong Ying reached out and gently pushed the muzzle of the gun just slightly aside, not by much. His eyes were red as he said, “This area won’t hit the bone or major arteries, but it will render someone unable to move.”
He Fang nodded, took a deep breath, opened the attribute panel, and suddenly pulled the trigger.
That tiny gun instantly unleashed firepower completely disproportionate to its size. Even so, He Fang felt a sharp numbness in his hand. The gun flew out of his grip and fell to the ground.
Chong Ying immediately held He Fang’s hand anxiously. “City Lord, how’s your hand?”
Doctor Bai Fu also immediately circled around the hospital bed to stand beside He Fang and examine his hand. On those delicate, fair fingers, there were clear marks left by the gun.
However, He Fang’s eyes were wide open as he stared at the attribute panel that had appeared above the patient’s body. After a long moment, he finally exclaimed, “What the—he’s turned red-named!”
In both online and offline games, there’s a commonly used plot device: spies. These spies blend into the crowd, and what the player has to do is question or injure them one by one. As long as the correct target is found, that person will immediately become red-named. This typically means a hostile force has been exposed.
He Fang had considered this possibility, which was why he decided to use this method to probe: by attacking an NPC in a way that wouldn’t cause severe harm. The outcome was clear: he had truly exposed a spy.
But then He Fang’s expression changed drastically. “Everyone, immediately return to the damaged border area and dig! Dig up the entire place!”
Yuan Zhiran still didn’t know the exact situation, but seeing He Fang’s expression, he knew it had to be something serious. He immediately turned and led the soldiers back to the area that had seen battle.
At the same time, He Fang pulled up the information Yuan Zhiran had gathered and marked all the hospital beds of those nameless NPCs one by one. He handed the list to Chong Xiao. “Get these people secretly transferred to the prison. They’re heavily injured due to the weapon and should have dulled reactions to their surroundings—it shouldn’t be a problem. Be careful not to let them die. Bai Fu, send some doctors and nurses to the prison to care for them. And you…”
He Fang turned to Bai Fu. The young, handsome doctor still looked confused, but an instinctive sense of unease had already begun to spread across his face, gradually turning it grim.
He Fang tilted his eyes slightly and said, “Stay on standby for now. But it’s possible… it’s possible…”
Bai Fu’s face turned increasingly pale from the strange tone in He Fang’s voice.
Four hours passed in the game. In those four hours, under the soft soil of the borderlands ravaged by the attack, they unearthed forty corpses—all stripped completely bare—along with piles of randomly discarded clothes.
Even though he had already anticipated this, He Fang still sucked in a sharp breath and turned his gaze away. Upon seeing the bodies, Bai Fu immediately stepped forward to check each of the forty people for signs of life, one by one, but it was meaningless. From the moment they were buried underground, none of them had survived.
He Fang had wondered from the very beginning why those planes had targeted only the border. Now he finally understood: only the border made it easier to smuggle people in. As long as the land was bombed and the ground broken, it became easier to bury bodies.
On He Fang’s border, in order to ensure that no ill-intentioned person could get through, nearly every border checkpoint was equipped with a lie detector. Trying to sneak in by deception was impossible.
So if other cities wanted to plant spies here, they might as well go all-in and launch a blatant attack. Then, amidst the chaos, they could swap in their own people.
There were only about seven to eight hundred border guards in Angel City, and the only person who had delivered oral resistance medicine to them was Chong Xiao. After Chong Xiao left, these people were killed and replaced. But during the attack, they had close contact with Chong Ying’s body-destructive weapon. Because the weapon exploded in the air, they didn’t die on the spot. Instead, they were thrown into a severely negative state and were treated as wounded from Angel City and brought to the hospital.
If it hadn’t been for the anomaly in their attribute panels being discovered, these people would have completely and successfully infiltrated.
Now, looking at these corpses on the ground, their blood already drained dry, He Fang’s expression was complicated.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Ruins Without Restart”, wasn’t this supposed to be a perfectly fine base-building game? Why the hell did it have to pull this kind of crazy twist?
“I remember Hope City set up a cemetery in one of its areas,” He Fang recalled the land that had been specially designated for burying the dead. “Clear that out and turn it into a public cemetery. These people died defending Angel City. They can be awarded the title of Martyr, and their families should receive compensation.”
He Fang bent down, wanting to touch the body of one of the border soldiers now covered entirely in dirt. But his hand stopped in midair. In the end, he pulled it back.
“Make sure they’re all properly cleaned up. Dress them nicely.”
When Yuan Sanjin learned that someone had actually been successfully ambushed and killed during this round of defense, he was stunned for several seconds. Afterward, however, he let out a sigh, as if he had already accepted this fact, but his condition looked quite poor.
He Fang didn’t say much more and instead returned to the main city and headed to the research institute.
The aircraft that Chong Xiao had specially restrained was undergoing data analysis at the research institute. He Fang wanted to obtain some useful information from Zhu Yan.
But as soon as he entered the research institute, he suddenly met Zhu Yan’s eyes.
He Fang was taken aback. “Why are you looking at me like that? Were you waiting for me?”
“Mhm.” Zhu Yan turned his head slightly, then pulled out a chair. “Come sit down, City Lord.”
He Fang sat down with some confusion and said while sitting, “I came to ask you about the situation with that aircraft. Were you able to find any important information?”
But just as He Fang finished speaking, a pair of slightly cool hands suddenly covered his eyes. The abrupt darkness and silence startled He Fang. He reached out, trying to pry those cold hands away, but then heard Zhu Yan say, “City Lord, relax.”
He Fang, who had always liked this NPC, followed his words and quieted down. His vision was blocked, and everything fell into darkness. However, even after he was released again, He Fang still couldn’t open his eyes, because Zhu Yan had used a device to block his sight.
He Fang had no idea what was happening. At that moment, a familiar scent wafted through the air. It was the smell of hot chocolate. The sweet aroma filled the space, and then a familiar touch landed in his hand: it was a cup of hot chocolate, the kind he usually bought online.
“Drink it, City Lord.” Zhu Yan’s voice was unusually and unreservedly gentle, and his hands gently massaged He Fang. He Fang skillfully found the straw. The sweet taste lingered on his tongue, and that delicate flavor made He Fang subconsciously relax his nerves. Half-reclining against the chair back, he suddenly felt himself gradually unwinding.
“Did you add a calming agent to the drink?” He Fang suddenly felt very tired. Only after relaxing under Zhu Yan’s massage did he realize that his body had been tense the whole time.
“Yes, City Lord.” Zhu Yan slowed his tone, like a gentle psychological counselor carefully giving He Fang all the massages that could bring him comfort. “You’re too nervous. Relax.”
“I didn’t expect myself to be this nervous.” He Fang only realized after relaxing that his previous state had actually been quite bad. Now he felt much more comfortable all over.
“This is not your fault, and you don’t need to worry.” Zhu Yan’s massage pressure was very soothing. He Fang felt as if he was floating on air because of him. “Yuan Ziran has already replaced all the border guards with soldiers from the main city, and has also set up anti-air weapons. There won’t be a next time.”
He Fang was completely limp in the chair, feeling much more comfortable. “Looks like I need to expand the main city again. There are still too few people in the main city.”
Although his main city’s NPCs already numbered seventy thousand, not all of these NPCs had the talent for being soldiers. Moreover, many of them had different tags, so the number of ultra-high attribute NPCs he could deploy was really too small.
“Mm.” Zhu Yan replied gently.
“With so many aircraft to confuse vision and others sneaking in quietly, judging by the resources of other mobile cities now, it definitely couldn’t be a small city,” He Fang half-reclined in the chair. Though relaxed, his thoughts were clearer because of it.
“Mm,” Zhu Yan answered.
“It’s probably because we blocked their way. It was expected that we’d get hit with underhanded tactics. I don’t know whether it’s more likely they’re targeting Angel City or Arrival City, but it doesn’t matter. Since they dare mess with us, we naturally won’t let them off easily.” No player would accept failure and stagnation. All players would keep looking for the reasons for failure and keep improving.
“Mm.”
He Fang realized he had unknowingly finished the hot chocolate and simply took off the blindfold that had been covering his eyes. “Can I speak now? I think my mind is quite clear now.”
At this moment, Zhu Yan smiled faintly. He Fang looked at that smile, somewhat dazed. Suddenly seeing again from the darkness, at first glance, it was like seeing the fragmented sunlight spilling through the leaves in the early morning—fresh and comfortable, even making one want to face the sun directly.
He Fang unconsciously sighed, feeling as if he had returned to the fresh mornings of elementary school when he used to walk to school.
For a moment, He Fang fully relaxed. That uncomfortable feeling in his mind surged up. He curled his lips, finally showing an unhappy expression.
He Fang was displeased.
He was very displeased.
Where did these wild NPCs even come from, daring to set their sights on him?
“I’ve been working hard to build the perfect city. Up until now, my city hasn’t had a single unnatural death case. War deaths are unavoidable, but what’s the difference between being killed by a sneak attack and by crime?!” He Fang gritted his teeth, getting angrier the more he thought about it. “If you have the guts, fight me directly! What kind of skill is sneaking around?!”
The NPCs of Angel City themselves were not good at fighting. After the last casualties, he spent a large amount of resources saving those soldiers who had been on the battlefield. And now this! Now this!
“I already sent out patrol squads, and yet they still came from the air, from the air! Didn’t they say all mobile cities have already abandoned aerial routes? This violates the peace treaty!” He Fang had just learned of the peace treaty and said this purely to vent his anger.
At first, He Fang thought that since this is a game, it’s normal for people to die, so he felt his anger was somewhat unfounded.
But thinking carefully, there are people who get so angry at games that they smash their computers and keyboards!
He can kill others, but others can’t kill him—this is a double standard.
But what’s wrong with double standards?! He never went looking for trouble without reason, right?
When He Fang saw the people lying neatly on the ground, completely silent, the intense sense of realism brought by the sensory pod made him feel for a moment that he couldn’t breathe. At the time, he wanted to reach out and touch those corpses, but he was also very afraid.
He was afraid that the overly realistic sensation of touching the corpses would affect his mental state in the three-dimensional world. His instincts were telling him not to touch.
And originally, he had thought that he was feeling pretty calm, clearly he had been doing just fine, but now that he had relaxed, his whole body felt uncomfortable!
“Did you do it on purpose?” He Fang looked darkly at Zhu Yan, who was standing in front of him. At first, everything had been fine; it was just—just that one smile, that one smile of his, made He Fang feel a sense of being understood and embraced. In that instant, he couldn’t think of anything else, and his rage suddenly exploded.
Exploded in a way that made him miserable!
“Mm.” At this moment, Zhu Yan revealed a thoroughly infuriating expression. “Yes, City Lord, I did it on purpose.”
“Do you think it’s funny watching me get angry and be double-standarded?” He Fang felt like this was exactly that damned researcher’s twisted sense of humor.
“Of course not. I just hope that City Lord, at the very least, you can be a little more honest. You don’t have to deliberately keep calm and desperately think about countermeasures. You are the city lord, and we are the ones responsible for assisting you. If you’re too strong all the time, then we’ll be completely useless.”
He Fang kept a stiff face and didn’t say a word.
His researcher was very smart—had always been ridiculously smart. Always knew everything, always had a way, always broke through all sorts of possibilities and turned the impossible into the possible.
So even now, his researcher still had that calm and effortless look.
That smoldering anger finally subsided. He Fang slumped straight into the chair, glancing sideways at Zhu Yan: “What kind of solutions do you all have?”
The algorithms in this game are precise to the point where even NPCs can come up with ideas.
Thinking back carefully, it seems that many times it was the NPCs who suggested what to do. He Fang had always thought that this was just part of the game’s guidance, but now that he thought about it, perhaps this time it was also part of the guidance. If he acted on his own and did many things differently from the intended guidance, there was a chance he might mess everything up.
“All the data inside the aircraft has already been analyzed.” This time, Zhu Yan didn’t let He Fang relax. Instead, he directly opened the operation panel and showed it to He Fang. “It contains all the currently obtainable information—flight trajectory, in-flight recordings, aircraft data. I’ve also dismantled the plane: internal component lifespan, usage frequency, information about the pilot, and so on. Everything has been fully compiled.”
A very complete research report had already appeared on He Fang’s screen, annotated in a very clear and easy-to-understand way.
He Fang noticed the very first starting point: all of these aircraft had been put into use directly, without ever undergoing test flights, and they had stayed for a long time at their initial departure point.
He Fang opened his own system map and could see that a city icon had once lingered in that location. Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell from the system map alone which city it actually was.
“As long as we have access to external information, we can deduce which city stayed here during that specific time,” Zhu Yan said, his pale finger tapping on the coordinates. “Afterward, they followed a route and arrived here. Although the movement was minimal, judging by the speed, we can confirm it was a mobile city, and they remained in this mobile city for a long time.”
He Fang nodded.
Zhu Yan continued, “There are two possible theories. First, the initial city is the mastermind behind this attack. Second, the first city is merely the manufacturer, responsible only for selling, while the real attacker is the second city.”
“Indeed.” He Fang looked at the positions of the two cities. “If someone is sent to investigate now, can we determine the information about these two cities? What if the mobile cities move and throw off the location data?”
“We can go. As long as we bring a researcher, that’ll be enough. Our researchers won’t overlook even the tiniest clues. They will definitely find the city that stayed here.” Zhu Yan was very confident about this point.
“But isn’t this distance a bit too far from us?” He Fang measured the distance on the system map. At this range, there were bound to be a number of mobile cities scattered in between, which might make it easier to determine the route.
“Yes, it is quite far. Even if someone really intended to do something to Angel City, this distance is truly baffling,” Zhu Yan confirmed.
“But this second city is much closer to us now,” He Fang pointed to the second city. He opened the system map and saw that the second city was slowly moving in the direction of their own city. He Fang frowned. Was this an indication of a direct confrontation?
Right now, the most important task is to determine which two cities the aircraft had stayed in. This was the information they needed to obtain first and foremost.
“Let’s use aircraft. Stealth aircraft. We’d better identify these cities as soon as possible,” He Fang gritted his teeth. “We can’t let them lead us by the nose.”
He Fang and Zhu Yan discussed many aspects of this attack, and Zhu Yan’s analysis was even more detailed than He Fang’s. He Fang listened attentively.
After leaving the research institute, He Fang headed for the military department, planning to ask Yuan Zhiran how many people could be mobilized this time. However, just as he stepped inside, he witnessed a rather strange scene.
Chong Xiao and Chong Ying… were undergoing some bizarre training.
Chong Xiao was doing a handstand—not an ordinary one. One of his arms was tucked behind his back, and there was a huge round stone strapped to his legs, constantly pulling him downward. With his other hand, he held a nail, and he was using its sharp tip to press into the ground. At the same time, strange mechanisms were repeatedly launching attacks at him. Chong Xiao had his eyes covered and ears plugged, dodging continuously.
Chong Ying was practicing shooting. His eyes and ears were also covered, and he was shooting purely based on instinct at the incoming needle-like points. If he wasn’t absolutely focused, he’d be pierced through like a sieve.
He Fang was dumbfounded.
Is this how you superhumans usually train?
He Fang felt like he was watching a fantasy film. The first person to notice him was Yuan Zhiran.
“City Lord!” Yuan Zhiran stood in his black military uniform, saluting He Fang with respect. But it was clear that his whole body was tense.
“What are they doing?” He Fang pointed at the terrifying actions of the Chong brothers.
“They’re training,” Yuan Zhiran said with a glance.
“Do they normally go through such terrifying training?”
“Due to their special physical constitution, their training has always been diverse. The specifics aren’t arranged by me. This is training they requested themselves.” Yuan Zhiran’s gaze dimmed slightly, and his mental state didn’t look great either. He seemed rather listless. “Because we made a serious mistake this time.”
He Fang’s mood had improved a lot after talking with Zhu Yan, so he was no longer as indignant as before.
To be fair, although Yuan Zhiran and the others had indeed made a mess this time, they had accidentally exposed the spies. And those spies were still in disarray even now, so in a way, it was a stroke of luck amid failure.
“Can we pause for a moment?” He Fang said tentatively to Yuan Zhiran.
Yuan Zhiran nodded, walked to the side, and pressed a switch. Instantly, all the attacking mechanisms stopped.
He Fang watched as the two brothers came to a halt. At that moment, both of them turned to look in He Fang’s direction. His heart skipped a beat.
What’s going on? Both of them had their eyes and ears covered. How could they still know where he was?
He Fang looked toward Chong Xiao. The hand holding the nail had already been marked with a clear indentation from gripping it too tightly—red and raw, just looking at it hurt. The tall man had a sturdy, powerful build, and the black form-fitting military uniform accentuated his flawless, incomparably perfect physique with striking clarity. He reached out and removed the soundproof ear covers. The black cloth that covered his eyes slipped down, revealing a pair of dark, emotionless eyes.
The moment He Fang saw those eyes, a chill crept up in his heart. At times like this, he would instinctively turn to Chong Ying for help. But unexpectedly, today, Chong Ying didn’t run up to him like usual, cheerfully calling out “City Lord!” in his sweet voice. Instead, he stayed quietly in place, his eyes lowered, his hands still wrapped with the black blindfold cloth.
He Fang unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva. At this point, he realized that this incident had indeed placed immense pressure on his two strongest NPCs.
He glanced at Yuan Zhiran, whose gaze flickered as he looked away slightly.
Suddenly, He Fang felt fortunate that he had vented his anger at Zhu Yan earlier and released some pressure. Now, he once again felt like the sharp and wise City Lord he was meant to be.
“Come here,” He Fang said.
Chong Xiao stepped forward without hesitation. If it weren’t for the fact that his usually dark eyes seemed even more downcast than usual, He Fang would’ve thought he didn’t care at all. Chong Ying, on the other hand, showed his unease to the fullest. He clung to Chong Xiao from behind, only half his body peeking out, looking timid and nervous.
“Don’t take it too hard. All those people are already locked up in prison now. The fact that nothing worse happened in the end is the best outcome we could ask for,” He Fang said. He didn’t have much experience in comforting people. He wanted to say “it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” but this really wasn’t something that could be brushed off lightly.
“Brother said it’s his fault. He should’ve been able to tell someone had been replaced,” Chong Ying murmured quietly from the side, then cautiously grabbed the corner of Chong Xiao’s clothes. “I didn’t confirm anything either. I’m also at fault.”
He Fang looked at the two of them. It was clear they had already come to a deep understanding of their own shortcomings. Right now, they truly did look pitiful.
Back at the research institute, Zhu Yan had said something: “City Lord, do you remember what I once told you about the impression Min Zhizhou gave us? At the time, I said Min Zhizhou made us feel like… ants. That’s how I felt. And for people as strong as Chong Xiao and Chong Ying, I imagine that feeling was even stronger. A human doesn’t care whether one ant has been swapped for another. That may very well be why they overlooked it.”
He Fang felt the analogy was quite fitting. After all, he himself wouldn’t care whether an ant was wearing a skirt or had put on a mask. When they were all clustered together in a dense swarm, you wouldn’t pay that much attention anyway.
“We must have made City Lord sad,” Chong Ying said softly. Compared to Chong Xiao, he was much shorter. The way he quietly hid himself looked pitiful. “We failed to protect the people City Lord wanted to protect. City Lord must be very disappointed.”
Yuan Zhiran pressed his lips together. Hearing Chong Ying’s words, the image of their Creator’s expression flashed through his mind—when He Fang saw that long row of lifeless corpses.
Their great Creator was heartbroken for every soul that shouldn’t have died.
When he saw their Creator reaching out, wanting to touch those already cold bodies, Yuan Zhiran felt as if his own heart would break.
“I was indeed a bit upset,” He Fang admitted, scratching his head. Just as Zhu Yan had said, he could afford to be a little more honest with his NPCs. “But being sad won’t change anything. We need to find out why this attack happened and prevent the next one. We can’t just sit around grieving and wait for doom to come. Their deaths are a warning to us. Their sacrifice definitely wasn’t meaningless.”
Yuan Zhiran turned his head slightly. “City Lord, what do we need to do?”
“City Lord, please give the order,” Chong Ying said.
The two sentences overlapped, but carried completely different tones.
If Yuan Zhiran was seeking He Fang’s input, then Chong Ying sounded like a machine awaiting instructions from its operator.
He Fang paused for a moment, shifting his gaze from Yuan Zhiran to the Chong brothers.
Chong Ying had already stepped out from behind Chong Xiao, but he was completely different from his usual self.
Black—that had always been He Fang’s impression of Chong Xiao. But he had never once been afraid of that blackness. It always felt like a normal color, something that just naturally existed in the world.
However, now it suddenly felt different. On these two brothers, He Fang seemed to see a deep, intense black. The sweet, ever-smiling expression that had always been on the young Chong Ying’s face was gone—no more mischief, no more playfulness. What remained was a chilling calm. As He Fang looked at them, it was as if he saw a pair of twining black vines, born of the same root, growing together in a dark and sinister forest of despair, creeping upward. Massive black leaves blocked out the sky, casting everything in darkness, with not a trace of light.
At that moment, above the heads of the Chong brothers, a bright red question mark suddenly appeared.
He Fang recognized it instantly. It was the same question mark that had once appeared above Zhu Yan’s head. This was an NPC mission!
He Fang jolted in surprise. The Chong brothers had been hit with such a shock that they’d triggered an NPC mission?
As a player who aimed to clear the entire map, how could he possibly miss a rare NPC mission like this? With a snap, He Fang tried to accept the quest.
But just like last time with Zhu Yan’s mission, he failed to trigger the acceptance condition.
He Fang stared at the vivid red question mark, conflicted. Last time, he had struggled for a long time before he finally managed to accept it—was it going to be the same this time?
He recalled what Chong Ying had said right before the mission appeared. Could it be a clue?
“City Lord, please give the order.”
Was there something unusual about that sentence?
It sounded completely normal.
He Fang frowned.
Tentatively, he said, “Then now, I will give you your orders.”
And right then, He Fang watched with his own eyes as the bright red question mark turned gray.
He Fang let out a breath of relief. As expected of the Chong brothers, they weren’t as troublesome as the deep-thinking Zhu Yan.
Looking at the brothers standing before him, it was clear that they were now in an NPC mission state. Their usual liveliness and expressiveness had vanished, and above their heads, a line of mission text appeared.
“War is fraught with danger at every turn. As the strongest weapons who have undergone professional training, Chong Xiao / Chong Ying allowed their personal thoughts and desires to interfere, resulting in unexpected complications in the mission. For a weapon, the greatest taboo is to possess personal feelings. Please issue punishment orders for Chong Xiao / Chong Ying. (0/2)”
“Having committed serious errors during the mission, the strongest weapons Chong Xiao / Chong Ying must complete additional missions to make up for the losses caused. Please issue orders sufficient to atone for their mistakes—these may include punitive tasks. No restriction on the nature of orders. (0/2)”
(This is a two-choice mission. Please ensure your orders have sufficient punitive effect to reconstruct the strongest weapons, Chong Xiao / Chong Ying, back to their sharpest and most perfect state as they begin to develop unwanted thoughts.)
He Fang looked at this mission, which was completely different from Zhu Yan’s, yet his gaze kept returning to one particular phrase.
Strongest weapons?
These two NPCs… were defined as weapons?
![You’re Causing Chaos Again [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/1sMqC2JNjIep8Ov.jpg "You’re Causing Chaos Again [e-sports]")
