NFM Chapter 81

Lin Huai opened his eyes and found himself back on the sofa in his personal space.

The room still maintained the same appearance as when he left. The pure white sofa, the ceiling, floor, and walls wrapped in white padding, resembled a room where high-risk psychiatric patients were confined… Opposite the sofa was a silver screen embedded in the wall, flickering with static.

“Congratulations on completing this instance,” the system’s mechanical voice monotonously echoed in the room. “I am glad to see you again.”

Its tone was flat, devoid of any hint of joy. Lin Huai crossed his legs and snapped his fingers. “Open the personal information panel.”

A light blue personal panel appeared on the screen.

Name: Lin Huai (Current)

Gender: Can’t you see for yourself?

Age: Still 20

Faction Evaluation: Good… Chaotic Good?

“What the hell…” Lin Huai complained. “Why is it ‘Good’? I kill, I rob, I cause trouble, but I’m a good boy?”

He shook his head and looked at the next line.

Current Identity: Junior Trial Challenger (Qualified)

Experience Points: 920/1000

Distance to Next Level: 80

Current Instances Cleared: 3

Instance 3 Jiang Village, Rating SS, Experience Points 450

(Note: Don’t play like this again in the future)

“What’s with this tsundere evaluation…” Lin Huai grumbled.

Next Mission: Unconventional Upgrade Mission

“Just one more mission to level up…” Lin Huai stroked his chin. “System, am I leveling up quickly?”

He didn’t expect the system to respond, but to his surprise, it answered, “You are the fastest among them.”

“Mission rated S or above grants a chance to draw a prize. Would you like to draw now?”

“Draw.”

Lin Huai snapped his fingers, and a white lottery platform slowly rose from the ground. He took a deep breath and spun the wheel.

“Single draw for a miracle, single draw for a miracle…” he chanted.

The wheel slowly spun, and Lin Huai’s eyes followed the pointer. After a rapid spin, it stopped at the green section.

[You have obtained the green skill—Repair Skills.]

[Some say we sell disposable products, others say our computers have never worked well—oh, my friend, when the computer is acting up, just give it a good whack!]

Skill Name: Repair Skills

Skill Description: In a person’s life, there are always some strange things that need temporary repairs, sometimes a television, sometimes a computer, and sometimes, your ex-boyfriend whose brain isn’t functioning well… When your mechanical device malfunctions, you can use it to give the machine a good whack to make it work again. Note: Only effective on products after the First Industrial Revolution; the strength of the hit will determine how long the mechanical device will work, with a maximum usage time of no more than half an hour.

“Give the machine a good whack…” Lin Huai looked at his newly acquired skill, his mouth twitching.

Despite his speechlessness, he equipped the skill. As the skill infused into him, he felt a surge of green light pouring into his head, and at that moment, he gained some new knowledge.

“I have to say, this method of equipping skills isn’t very aesthetic…” he muttered to himself.

The system’s voice echoed from above him: “I will pay attention next time.”

“Didn’t expect you to have a sense of humor,” Lin Huai replied casually.

The system fell silent. Then, Lin Huai took out all the equipment he had obtained from his bag and warehouse, lining them up on the ground.

When he pulled out the “Damage Gloves,” he deliberately placed a newspaper in between before laying it flat on the ground.

After three games, Lin Huai had indeed gained quite a bit. Now, he possessed the following items:

1. An invisible raincoat that can only conceal him on rainy nights, while revealing his face not covered by the fabric, leading to separate actions… a useless item among useless items.
2. Damage Gloves, which could be considered a purple legendary item, but so far, this thing had only harmed him and not any ghosts.
3. Repair Skills, which Lin Huai currently deemed the most practical item. However, the idea of giving a mechanical device a good whack always reminded him of the “Rage Against the Machine” trope, which might leave his teammates with the impression of a hot-headed disciple of the Wind Church…
4. A stack of cards obtained from Xia Xingye, totaling 22 cards, with the first one already claimed by Yan Xi, leaving 21 unclaimed.

As for the items exchanged before the game started, they had all been used up in the last game, even that red brick cruelly left behind.

At present, he lacked a suitable offensive item. Although Lin Huai himself had impressive combat power, he wasn’t prepared to face ghosts all day like Zheng Zha, flaunting a flamboyant face… As a male protagonist in Jinjiang, he still wanted to maintain a bit of elegance, ideally like a character from CLAMP, with cherry blossoms or feathers fluttering down while he killed…

The road ahead is long and has no ending; I will search high and low. He squatted down, troubled for a moment, and put both pieces of equipment back into his bag, while the gloves were kicked aside. Seeing that there were still two minutes before he would be transmitted out, he looked up at the screen and said, “System, can you recycle second-hand equipment like Su Ning?”

“…No,” the system replied.

“You need to improve your service; after all, you are a large company catering to hundreds or thousands of people…”

“But you can trade with others in the game.”

“Trading in the game?”

“As long as they take out the equipment, it can be traded. It’s the same as trading outside.”

“Oh…” Lin Huai suddenly understood, “But if they take it out, I could just steal it directly. Why trade?”

System: …

“Only one minute left,” the system coldly stated. “Once you go out, leave quickly.”

It said this without context, and Lin Huai didn’t take it to heart. As he saw the countdown on the screen drop to one minute, Lin Huai squinted and softly asked, “System, are all the rooms connected?”

The system did not respond. With 40 seconds left, he continued, “If I open that door hidden by the padding, will it lead to someone else’s room? Or…”

“…Will it lead to somewhere else?” he whispered. “Who am I really? Am I Lin Huai?”

Just as he finished speaking, a heavy crash came from behind him, followed by a dizzying spin. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in Chu Tianshu’s villa.

“What the hell…” he rubbed his sore tailbone and got up from the ground. “Wasn’t there still 30 seconds left?”

He was certain he had been kicked out… and it was by the system, kicked out.

He didn’t know whether to complain about the system actually having a kick or to complain about it kicking him out… But after thinking it over, the fact that the system had a kick was more shocking, as it was more normal for someone to want to kick him.

“Speaking of which… what was that one minute about?” He stood up, looking around in confusion.

He was still standing where he entered the instance, surrounded by the empty interior of the villa.

“Could something dangerous fall from the sky?” he thought.

Just after this moment of hesitation, he finally understood the source of the system’s warm reminder…

A body fell heavily from the sky, landing squarely on Lin Huai, causing him to see stars. Clearly, if the system had gently kicked him out, then the person being thrown down now was likely violently tossed out by the system.

…It seemed they were both not favored by the system, Lin Huai thought humorously.

He struggled to push Chu Tianshu, who was still burning with fever and had a flushed face, aside. Thinking of the wounds on Chu Tianshu’s body, Lin Huai’s heart suddenly filled with worry.

“…What if he accuses me of giving him that arrow wound? What should I do?” he thought anxiously. “I need to check the situation first. If he dies here, I won’t be able to clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River, and besides…”

Besides, this person… cooks quite well.

With that in mind, Lin Huai emotionlessly moved the feverish patient to the sofa and opened his shirt. Upon seeing the smooth skin beneath the checkered shirt, Lin Huai breathed a sigh of relief.

“…So he really has pneumonia.” He felt amazed and couldn’t help but reach out to touch the smooth abdomen of the other. “It seems there are really no signs of injury; this is too miraculous…”

…To an outsider, the scene of him touching the other might indeed look like a pervert. Although he himself was merely filled with a strong and pure research interest.

After touching the other’s abdomen, he patted the other’s face and said, “Alright, you’re quite fun, but now I need to get back to school. As a reward for taking care of me in the game, I’ll call an ambulance for you and accompany you to the hospital… um, that’s it.”

Just as he was about to turn to grab his phone, he was suddenly gripped tightly by a pair of hands.

“Corvid,” the person murmured in a daze by his ear, “don’t go…”

Lin Huai: …??

Just as he was puzzled about whether he had stumbled upon some shocking secret or fallen from the male protagonist of an infinite flow novel to the male protagonist of a substitute novel, he heard Chu Tianshu’s next words: “You still owe me a lot of money…”

Lin Huai: …

In that moment, the melodramatic literature turned into a legal drama. He suddenly felt a surge of curiosity and turned around, holding Chu Tianshu’s hand, and asked gently, “How did we meet?”

“You borrowed money from me,” Chu Tianshu said.

Lin Huai’s eyelids twitched. “How much did I borrow from you?”

“Two million,” Chu Tianshu replied without blinking.

Originally intending to pretend to be Corvid to extract information, Lin Huai said, “Sorry, I’m really not Corvid.”

“Then… twenty thousand?” Chu Tianshu shook his head. “I can’t remember.”

“…Then why did I borrow money from you?” Lin Huai continued to inquire.

Chu Tianshu fell silent for a moment before saying, “If you pay me back, I’ll tell you.”

Lin Huai: … Unable to communicate.

For some reason, he was very interested in the man with the codename Corvid, and this man in front of him… clearly wasn’t just a simple acquaintance of Corvid.

What was the connection between his entanglement, the secrets of this body, the truth of his existence as a Nether Being, and Corvid…?

Could it be that the body he had taken over was Corvid’s body?

…Or could it be that he himself was truly Corvid?

A terrifying thought emerged in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

“How could it be so coincidental…” he told himself. “And if this body really is Corvid’s, then someone would have recognized me by now. After all, entering the ultimate gate while being live-streamed as a werewolf isn’t common in this world.”

“Why do you always cling to me?” Lin Huai asked in a coaxing tone. “Is it because you suspect I’m a ghost?”

Chu Tianshu replied without hesitation, “Because I’m Pigsy.”

“Huh? Pigsy?” Lin Huai was somewhat taken aback. “Are you trying to say you’re doubly expensive?”

“No… Pigsy.” Chu Tianshu shook his head earnestly. “I can also spray pig silk.”

…It took Lin Huai a full five minutes to realize that the other was saying Spider-Man, not Pigsy.

“I must be crazy to want to have a normal conversation with him while he’s burning up…” His eyelids twitched. “Even when he’s not feverish, I can’t have a normal conversation with him…”

At that moment, he suddenly realized that all the information he wanted to obtain was given voluntarily by Chu Tianshu. In other words—if Chu Tianshu was unwilling, no matter what method he used, he couldn’t extract more information from him.

However…

“Why don’t I forget you?” Lin Huai asked. “Logically, I should forget your appearance after leaving the instance…”

“Because we’ve already met in reality,” Chu Tianshu said. “People who have known each other in reality won’t lose their memories related to each other in the game after entering and exiting… Achoo.”

Chu Tianshu spoke again: “I feel so uncomfortable.”

“Oh,” Lin Huai said. “Drink more hot water.”

Chu Tianshu paused again and said, “I still feel very uncomfortable.”

“How about some goji berries…?”

“Can you show me a little sympathy…?”

“Can’t,” Lin Huai said coldly. “Who told you to go and block arrows on your own…”

“Waa waa waa.” Chu Tianshu climbed up from the sofa. “Forget it, I’ll go make it myself.”

Then, he struggled to support himself and got up from the sofa. Seeing his pitiful appearance, Lin Huai’s conscience, which had never hurt before, finally felt a little touched. He sighed and said, “I’ll go make it for you.”

“Okay.” Chu Tianshu quickly slumped back onto the sofa. “Red dates, goji berries, hot water, plus two slices of lemon…”

Lin Huai: “…I now feel like I was just played by you.”

Chu Tianshu covered his face with a blanket, leaving only his eyes exposed: “Muah muah.”

Lin Huai resignedly went to the kitchen to boil water. Halfway through, he suddenly remembered his original intention—

Wasn’t he planning to call an ambulance and then run away??

Why was he now in the kitchen boiling water for him??

“It seems not only this person has a fever, but I’ve also gone crazy…” He weakly held his head and brought a cup of hot water back to the living room. However, the other had already lain down on the sofa and fallen asleep.

Lin Huai: …

Naturally, he had no tender feelings in his heart. The only thought was, “I boiled you hot water, and even if you fell asleep, you have to drink it all.”

As he rolled up his sleeves, there was a knock on the door downstairs.

The knocking was neither fast nor slow, but it continued persistently. Lin Huai initially wanted to ignore it, but he really couldn’t, so he had to go downstairs.

“Who is it?” he asked.

There was a pause on the other side of the door, and a deep male voice coldly replied, “Aren’t you Chu Tianshu?”

“Who are you?”

The male voice paused again: “I am his friend.”

“I don’t know you,” Lin Huai said. “Give it up; I won’t open the door.”

“Are you new here?” the person asked.

“Uh… sort of,” Lin Huai looked up at the sky.

“I had an appointment to meet him today; please let him know,” the visitor said.

“So who exactly are you?” Lin Huai weakly asked. “Don’t make me ask a third time.”

Finally, the person spoke.

“I am Chen Liexue,” he said.

 

The author has something to say: I will revise the middle part of the Wuling Village instance when I have time; the state of the study abroad and school opening defenses is too poor.

Happy National Day, and I will write the fourth instance well.