Chapter 104.2: More NPCs, Richer Gameplay Styles Pt.2

This_lord_is_arrogant_what_can_you_do was still as arrogant as his name. He ran away immediately after taunting everyone and no matter how people pinged him, he just wouldn't show up

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Whatever it was, he was a well-known troll in the forum, so, no one really cared about him and went back to the original topic.

Garbage: Boss White, I am a newbie. Can I use credit if I have no money?

Old White: Nope, we are just workers. The majority of the shares belong to the shelter. But it doesn't matter if you have no money, we welcome you to visit the brick factory. We suddenly have a bunch of NPCs here, which is quite interesting.

Night Ten: Indeed, if you get a prey for them, they will not only say thank you to you but also immediately set up a big pot. They will stew the prey, give you the best meat contained in the thighs of the beast, and the first bowl of broth. These NPCs are like real people. Hey, I have played so many games, but only in this game, the interactions between the players and the NPCs are the best I’ve ever experienced!

Garbage: Seriously? Is it that detailed? Wait, are those NPCs in your brick factories the ones we rescued from marauders?

Ample Time: Yes.

Construction Boy: Dayum! So it's all connected!

Escaping Mole: I'm so envious! We are still doing quests for NPCs, but you have started to use NPCs!

Athlete Foot: Not fair! I don’t care, we have to have NPCs in our steel plant as well! Otherwise, it's not fair! (Frustrated!)

Mosquito: Discrimination! Goblin Technology also needs NPC!

Night Ten: Get lost. Why do you need an NPC? Use them as suicide bombers? I advise you to be a kind person.

Ample Time: Ah, in fact, it's not as exaggerated as you think. Most of these NPCs can't be interacted with. They will only say 'Thank you', 'Yes', 'Okay', and 'Brick Maker' or something like that. I took a closer look and found that only NPCs wearing VM devices can be interacted with, and the rest don't look very smart.

Escaping Mole: Mhm, that's the same as I thought. This is more reasonable. If all NPCs could interact with us, the server would be really incredible.

Now there were only a few people, and it was just a brick factory. When the number of players increased in the later stages, even if the ratio of NPC to players was 1:10, it was enough for the server to crash.

Gale: ...I think just the virtual reality technology alone is already incredible enough.

Escaping Mole: Let's stop talking about this. Have you tried to communicate with that interactive NPC? Did you trigger any special dialogue? Or any hidden tasks?

Ample Time: ... Hidden task?

Escaping Mole: Yes! Normally, those NPCs with rich text content generally have hidden tasks to do. Aren't all those virtual reality online game novels written like that?! Haven't you tried it?

Ample Time was silent for a long time before replying to a post.

- ... Uh, of course I tried it, but it didn't seem to trigger any tasks. They just make bricks. The task the administrator gave us is for them to repair the brick kilns.

Escaping Mole: Sigh, you still lack imagination! In an MMORPG like this, let alone the role of the foreman, even an old hen at the entrance of the Novice Village may be a hidden boss if the sound it makes is different from others. Forget it! It’s useless to tell you so much. I’ll go online later and try it myself.

Ample Time: ... I'm warning you, don’t mess around. If it affects the production of our brick factory, it will be a big problem!

Escaping Mole Haha, don't worry man. I'll just talk to them! I promise not to touch your NPCs!

Tail: Oh, that sounds interesting, bring me with you!

Sisi: Me too!

......

Ever since he was thrown into the underground cell by marauders that day, Zhao Rat had never thought that there would be a day he would emerge alive.

To be honest, his current life seemed like a dream.

He had a comfortable bed, a warm brazier, and ample food. All they needed to do was work 16 hours a day, and they could do whatever they wanted the rest of the time.

Moreover, those very capable blue coats could occasionally catch a prey or two and would feed them well.

To be honest, Zhao Rat felt flattered every time he received prey from those shelter residents.

They had seen how cruel those people were.

Even the marauders were as obedient as little chicks in front of them, not daring to take a breath. It was the first time Zhao Rat saw those fierce evil spirits with such a scared expression on their faces.

From what he knew, marauders were already at the top of the food chain.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Zhao Rat immediately stopped when he heard a shelter resident talking to him, glanced at the VM on his left arm expertly, and said with a non-standard pronunciation.

"Hello, my name is Zhao Rat. I am the foreman here. What can I do for you?"

The strange language was taught to him by Luca the other day. It was not difficult to learn the pronunciation of each phonetic symbol, but it was a bit confusing to use.

Hearing his words, the surrounding shelter residents were instantly excited.

"He can talk!"

"Sure enough, we can interact with them!"

"Dude, can you say 'This is fucking awesome!' Please?!"

"Get lost! Don't listen to him. Do you have any difficulties? Tell me. We will help you solve all your problems!"

Zhao Rat looked confused.

His VM did not respond. It neither told him what these people were saying nor did it tell him how to answer.

He remained silent at the instruction of the Administrator, but those shelter residents surrounded him, babbling non-stop. Clearly, they didn't want to give up.

Zhao Rat panicked a little.

He was worried that his behavior of ignoring these people would anger them, or it would lead to his death.

After all, they were in an age where life was worth less than paper.

He didn't think his life was more expensive than those speaking to him.

At this moment, Zhao Rat suddenly remembered another sentence that the administrator said to him before he left.

If those shelter residents refused to leave him alone, he could click the gray circle button in the upper right corner of the screen and pronounce the pinyin line displayed on the screen.

Not daring to hesitate, Zhao Rat immediately complied.

After swallowing, he said stiffly. "My worker brothers are hungry, we need a fish, can you help us?"

Hearing him give them a task, the players surrounding him were so excited that they almost cheered out loudly.

"Yeah! We did it!"

"Is the keyword "task"? Mhm, I should try another sentence next time to see if I can trigger a similar effect."

"Does the task require a fish? Okay!"

"It's displayed on the VM! I'll accept it. What the hell! Why is the reward only five copper coins?"

"Maybe part of the reward is favorability? Is it a loss to sell a fish for five copper coins? Have any of you sold fish before?"

"Screw it. I'll accept the task. Any fish will do, right? Let's steal one from the fisherman at the lakeside!"

"Go go go!"

Zhao Rat didn't know what they meant, and he didn't understand the players' answers. But it didn't take long for him to get a fish.

And this fish was not small. It was as long as his arm, and its tail kept slapping left and right vigorously, splashing the water everywhere.

Zhao Rat swallowed again as he eyed the fish greedily.

But having said that, he still didn't forget the administrator's instructions and quickly clicked the green tick on the VM to read the words that were displayed on the screen.

"I thank you on behalf of the workers, and I wish you a pleasant day, kind sir. This fish has been a great help!"

"We have no more troubles that require your help. You may come back tomorrow to check again."

Hearing this sentence, the players around walked away with disappointment.

That night.

Holding the steaming fish soup in his hand, Zhao Rat, who was having the meal with the workers, thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out what he said at the time to disappoint these blue coats, but he didn't dare to ask more.

Those blue coats were all big shots in his eyes.

The only one who could control them was the administrator who always carried a hammer on his back.

The administrator had said repeatedly that they were forbidden to reveal any clues about the mission system, and they were also forbidden to communicate with the shelter residents about stuff related to it.

Zhao Rat didn't dare to disobey the administrator's order. He swore that he would not reveal a word even if he was killed.

In any case, the fish stew was quite delicious, and after eating their fill, everyone had more energy to work!