《The NPC Was Once Again Frightened By Me》


 Chapter 1

    ¡°Don¡¯t trust shady ads, renting a house should be completed through official channels¡±


    Dusk is the worst time for my vision. My eye wanders to the busy street full of humans. The buildings and streets are shifting in and out of focus; it¡¯s like being in a glitched game:


    He is lying on the corner of the stairs bringing with him some kind of strange smell, a scent that is a little moist and peculiar. It¡¯s only when passing by, was it known that he had died. That was when it happened.


    ¡ª¡ªedited¡¶Rhinoceros in Love¡·


    ¡°Anyways, things were like this when I got here, I know nothing.¡± Lin Huai spoke with sincerity and solemnly.


    His face was ghastly pale, and his body temperature was ice cold as if he had been badly scared by the corpse, ¡°When I came in, that person was already dead there and the door also disappeared.¡±


    He gestured to the former location of the villa¡¯s front door. It had already changed into a solid wall with a 20X50cm gap in the middle.


    Right now, it¡¯s impossible for me to crawl out from that gap. Hmm, perhaps before I could¡¯ve¡­¡­.


    Lin Huai silently compared the difference between his body and the exit, coming to the conclusion that this body could not be folded into a sheet.


    He felt that he was very sincere and also thought that this delicate (quite gorgeous) face he had carefully chosen seemed very friendly. But the gazes of the men and women in the villa might be thought of as cold and suspicious ¡ª¡ªas if he had committed some great evil.


    Lin Huai was devastated by the thought. Ever since he had become human, there were very few people who had looked at him like this. But as a lawful citizen, he sincerely made a suggestion, ¡°Let¡¯s call the police, the police will sort this out. I only arrived today, if I knew something like this would happen¡­¡±


    I should definitely continue living at the school dorm. And I won¡¯t come out to find some shared apartment, he silently thought, even if his roommate¡¯s feet smelt like the rot of a pile of thousand year old corpses.


    ¡°No need.¡± The girl wearing yellow stopped him, ¡°calls won¡¯t go through.¡±


    Why?


    He remembered that a few days ago, he saw uncles and aunties tear down the news base station because of radiation and nodded with understanding and sympathy, ¡°I didn¡¯t realise that people living in Shanghai could be so ignorant. The spread of scientific knowledge still needs to be strengthened¡­ I¡¯m from a nearby university majoring in mechanical engineering. I heard about the incident from some of the communications majors. Once this situation is resolved, I¡¯ll invite them over to write an  article about it and hand out some flyers here.¡±


    He was very proud of his current identity and liked to show it off. Every morning when he wakes up, he¡¯ll take multiple selfies in front of the mirror while checking if he had repaired the skull that had ruptured when this body had jumped from a building.


    Just as he finished speaking, a cold harumph came from the crowd, ¡°Are you truly stupid or just pretending to be stupid? It¡¯s already gotten this far, have you still not figured things out?¡±


    ¡°Forget it, looks like he¡¯s just a newcomer who doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡± The girl in yellow sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll introduce myself. I¡¯m Huang Lu, a veteran. I¡¯ve already completed 3 games. You¡¯re the last one to arrive, except for you, everyone here are veterans who have experienced at least 1 game.¡±


    ¡°Game?¡±


    ¡°This is an infinite stream of survival games, clearing the level means you live ¨C but failing means you die. In the game, we fight against ghosts with human bodies according to clues. In the case of failure, our only ending is death, although actually it might be something even worse than death.¡± It seemed as if Huang Lu had recited the introduction as if reading from a script, or writing a chapter in a novel. Lin Huai thought she probably worked as a copywriter in her daily life, ¡°You look like a newcomer, you came here because of the black letter right? Why don¡¯t you take a look at it?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lin Huai obediently pulled out a crumpled flyer from his pocket, ¡°Is this it?¡±


    While speaking, he uncrumpled the flyer. He saw that the flyer was indeed black, made from delicate paper. The dark red words on it were like congealed blood, saying: Shangjin Apartments! Convenient transport, smooth express delivery, and the monthly rent is only 998! Looking for 12 co-tenants, humans, ghosts, men and women are all welcome! Hurry, don¡¯t miss out!


    ¡°Basically, the situation is like this.¡± Lin Huai innocently explained, ¡°Originally I didn¡¯t take it seriously but my roommate¡¯s feet were really just too smelly. When I left today, I was impulsive and came here to join the excitement¡­ no, to rent an apartment. I truly didn¡¯t kill that delivery man. There¡¯s cameras everywhere here, if I really wanted to kill him, I¡¯d definitely choose a much less conspicuous place. I¡¯m a university student with a long future ahead of me and I even want to be a civil servant, so I definitely don¡¯t want a criminal record.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay.¡± Huang Lu said, ¡°Anyways, is everyone here?¡±


    She counted the number of people. With Lin Huai, there were 11 people standing in the living room. Men, women, young and old, not a single one was missing. Among them, a slim young girl said, ¡°We¡¯re still missing one.¡±


    She wore a blue and white school uniform, she looked like a student from a high school nearby. There was also a man and a woman wearing the same uniform. The man was handsome and the woman was chic.


    A slim girl stood with a fashionable young woman. It seemed like they were good friends.


    ¡°Someone still hasn¡¯t entered?¡± Huang Lu frowned, ¡°Or have they already¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a man wearing a button-up shirt and jeans right? I saw him.¡± A man wearing a tracksuit spoke up, he was handsome, with a pair of black framed glasses and a warm temperament, ¡°He should have been the first to arrive, I saw him go to the toilet.¡±


    The direction his finger pointed to was the toilet next to the elevator, covered in darkness and silence.


    ¡°He went alone? To the toilet? Poor guy, must have a death wish.¡± The scene kid coldly hmphed.


    Just as a few people were taking turns to speak, the sound of flushing came from the toilet next door. The crowd turned towards the sound and a tall young man in a plaid shirt walked out with a yawn. His features were prominent, he had the look of someone with mixed heritage. His legs were long and slender, his unruly chestnut hair was tangled up and he had an air of nonchalance.


    He looked like a male model that came to the wrong set, or perhaps a playboy at a billiards club. Not dissimilar to a fish in water ¡ª if you ignore the wrench he¡¯s holding.


    A suspicious black liquid congealed on the wrench but looked to have withered up. The young man scanned every person¡¯s face before finally stopping on Lin Huai¡¯s face.


    Lin Huai stared at that black liquid on the wrench, his eyebrows uncontrollably jumped.


    ¡°When nature calls, you must answer¡± The youth seemed completely oblivious to everyone¡¯s scrutiny. Smiling casually he said, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve kept you all waiting, haven¡¯t I?¡±


    He had such a sunny smile, how could anyone be mad at him?


    ¡°Nature calls? She calls for 20 or so minutes?¡± The scene kid mouthed, ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have kidney deficiency do you?¡±


    ¡°Kidney deficiency, why don¡¯t you come over here and find out? If you¡¯re not willing to investigate then you don¡¯t really have a right to say anything, little friend.¡± The young replied casually. He didn¡¯t listen to their discussion, carelessly sitting down next to Lin Huai, ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s going on right now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll introduce myself first.¡± Huang Lu who was in sportswear said. She had a calm disposition and looked around 40 years old, ¡°I¡¯m Huang Lu, a sales director at a nearby company. I¡¯ve played 3 games so far.¡±


    ¡°Ye Xian, I¡¯m a student from Minghua High School. Two games.¡± The handsome youth pushed his glasses up, with a cautious look that made him seem nervous.


    ¡°Zhang Lu, I¡¯m Ye Xian¡¯s classmate. I¡¯ve played one game.¡± While speaking, she pulled the hand of the girl who was next to her, ¡°This is my friend Feng Yao, she¡¯s also played two games.¡±


    The young girl holding her hand gave everyone a nervous nod.


    Several people introduced themselves in the order of the circle. Including Chu Tian who had just come out of the toilet, there were a total of twelve people, six men and six women. According to age, there were four high school students, four young adults and four of them were middle aged. Whether in terms of gender or age, it was clearly very even.


    ¡°Just call me Chu Tian.¡± The young man holding the wrench said, ¡°I¡¯m a former programmer, there¡¯s nothing else to say¡­ if I have to say more, I¡¯m a firm materialist.¡±


    ¡°Materialist?¡± The scene kid was speechless, ¡°Here?¡±


    ¡°Spirit beings are also beings.¡± The young man shook the weapon he was holding, ¡°As long as it can be killed, it¡¯s a being.¡±


    Lin Huai: ¡­


    He subconsciously shuffled backwards to the side..


    After the youth introduced himself, it was time for Lin Huai, who had been sitting by his side and waiting, to take his turn. Lin Huai tugged his collar, ¡°I¡¯m Lin Huai, currently a student at S University next door. This is my first game.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡±, the youth gave him a glance, ¡°A newbie.¡±


    Lin Huai ignored him and looked down.


    Once everyone had been introduced, Huang Lu turned towards Lin Huai saying, ¡°You¡¯re the only newcomer here so I¡¯ll give you a rundown of the rules.¡±


    ¡°Once you receive the black invitation letter, you cannot quit and cannot start again. All players must gather at the same location as directed by the black invitation letter, entering the survival game of the time and context provided by the game rules. Since you¡¯re a newcomer, just do what we do and don¡¯t be cocky. Cocky people usually don¡¯t live long.¡±


    Under everyone¡¯s probing gaze, Lin Huai nodded, ¡°I¡¯m very obedient.¡±


    He added, ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll definitely not take any initiative to be a troublemaker.¡±


    Huang Lu frowned, ¡°Initiative to be a troublemaker?¡±


    Lin Huai¡¯s reply clearly confounded her. Just as she was going to continue asking, the TV screen in the villa foyer lit up.

 Chapter 2

    Just as the television screen lit up, the clock also sounded heavily.


    ¡°Dong!¡±


    ¡°Dong!¡±


    The clock sound echoed in the foyer. Everyone¡¯s gaze cooled, uniformly looking towards the television at the center of the living room.


    Lin Huai was a little confused. Yet Chu Tian suddenly leaned over by his ear.


    ¡°Newcomer, the game has started.¡±


    His (CT) one gaze seemed to contain a deeper meaning within.


    A slow static noise came from the television. And finally, a hoarse and aged voice sounded from the speakers.


    ¡°Welcome ah.¡± The screen flickered with static, ¡°Let me have a look, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5¡­ 11, en? 11? Interesting, haha.¡±


    ¡°The modern society, the flourishing delivery industry¡­ It¡¯s all because of the developing express delivery services that young people nowadays no longer want to go out and take a walk¡­ hahaha¡­ without taking a step outside, they can still receive deliveries. This rotten old man is really extremely dissatisfied towards all this ah.¡± The aged voice chuckled, ¡°So the mission this time is for everyone to freely shop and receive express deliveries. Relax, us ghosts are very different from those cheating and deceiving humans, we are all honest and straightforward genuine sellers. We can guarantee that all the goods are genuine and are sold at fair prices, we also include ¡¾return and exchange¡¿.¡±


    ¡°To facilitate every player¡¯s ease of shopping, we especially designed an APP for you all.¡± The old man slowly spoke, ¡°Download the APP and then purchase goods¡ª¡ª¡±


    ¡°U-ummm.¡± Ye Keke bravely interrupted him, ¡°What does this APP sell?¡±


    The voice from the television paused


    ¡°A market run by ghosts surely sells¡ª¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ghost things!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    The extremely bitter and aged laughter echoed from the television, sounding as if long nails were scratching on glass. The lights in the living room flickered with the room suddenly brightening and suddenly dimming.


    Feng Yao¡¯s face paled slightly, taking a step behind Zhang Lu who too was trembling. Lin Huai looked around, blocking both of his ears with his index fingers.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    The television abruptly blacked out. As it turned out, it was Chu Tian who stepped forward and unplugged the television¡¯s power cable.


    The old man¡¯s voice unwillingly disappeared with the black screen, the hanging lights in the living room also stopped flickering.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I came here to watch a crackling snip.¡± He shook the plug in his hand, ¡°Just get lost after speaking, you still want to rely on crackling to extend the video duration?¡±


    Everyone stared at Chu Tian who was seeking death: ¡­


    Lin Huai maintained his posture of blocking his ears with his fingers, crouching, ¡°This television¡­¡±


    ¡°Once the television¡¯s plug is pulled out, it¡¯ll die.¡± Chu Tian said, ¡°This is science.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really a materialist?¡± Lin Huai tilted his head and looked at him.


    Chu Tian said, ¡°Of course, us programmers monks don¡¯t tell lies.¡±


    While speaking, he seemingly raised his head with pride and narcissism.


    Lin Huai pursed his lips and took a glance at his (CT) hairline with great self-control.


    Right at this moment, a voice sounded in everyone¡¯s ears:


    ¡°Mission Announcement: survive in this beautiful villa for 4 days. Everyone will receive a shopping app and 998 yuan of capital. You must buy at least one commodity everyday in the app as well as ensure that the balance of the bank account is 0 by the end of the game.¡±


    ¡°Additional Mission: There¡¯s a ghost amongst the players. The ghost will do everything within its capabilities to destroy the game as well as massacre all players who had not completed the mission after 4 days. If players are able to identify the ghost, the game will immediately end with the players surviving. If players are able to annihilate the ghost, there will be an extra reward. If  players fail to identify correctly¡­ haha, the ghost¡¯s restrictions will be removed. ¡±


    ¡°The sky is already dark, the game shall begin tomorrow morning at 8 o¡¯clock. Every morning at 8 o¡¯clock sharp, the market will be open. Every night at 8 o¡¯clock, the express delivery will begin. Players, please be prudent when arranging your daily shopping, don¡¯t purchase too many useless goods and rest early.¡±


    The voice suddenly stopped. Everyone¡¯s complexion was not too good.


    Including Lin Huai. His originally pale face paled even more.


    He somewhat guiltily touched his nose, and unobtrusively glanced at everyone else.


    ¡°The contents on that slip of paper is true¡­¡± Huang Lu muttered, ¡°Sure enough, there¡¯s a ghost¡­¡±


    While speaking, she unfolded the slip of paper everyone had found when Lin Huai had arrived at the villa. A few words were written crookedly by a pen on the paper slip.


    ¡°There¡¯s a ghost amongst you people.¡±


    There were twelve people present but the old man only counted eleven. After hearing that the count stopped at eleven, the plastic friendship between everyone instantly broke down as if it had been oxidized. A few people who didn¡¯t know how to hide their expressions already began to stare at others in doubt and fear.


    ¡°A ghost¡­ there¡¯s a ghost¡ª¡ª!¡± Zhang Lu¡¯s expression was panicked, ¡°Why are there so many conditions this time?! This many restrictions? It¡¯s both a survival mission and dynamic mission and there¡¯s also that mission to identify the ghost¡­¡±


    Seeing that everyone¡¯s faces were very ugly, Lin Huai felt that it was very strange. He wanted to turn around and ask the people around him but seeing the wrench in Chu Tian¡¯s hand, he once again silently turned his head the other way.


    The young man called Ye Xian on the other side was also very pale, ¡°Generally speaking, game missions are divided into three categories, consisting of survival missions, dynamic missions and undercover missions. Under normal circumstances, one game will only have one or two types of missions, but this time¡­ all three are present.¡±


    ¡°Unless,¡± Huang Lu said, ¡°there is a veteran in this mission or a player who was evaluated to possess ¡®extremely high aptitude¡¯. They pulled up our difficulty. Moreover, he isn¡¯t an ordinary veteran because this time we also have a newcomer with us. Generally said, rounds that include newcomers aren¡¯t too hard. Amongst us, who is that veteran?¡±


    After speaking, she looked around. No one¡¯s expression changed.


    No one admitted.


    Lin Huai: ¡­


    He suddenly realized what was written on that diary when he returned to the dormitory after he picked up that university student¡¯s body who had jumped off the building that day.


    Don¡¯t tell me that the body I seized belonged to a veteran? Lin Huai wondered.


    However, after he thought about it some more, he felt that this matter was not very logical. Even if the original owner was a veteran, now that the shell has changed core, then the person that the game recognised should also be Lin Huai himself and not that university student from before.¡¯


    ¡®Thus there is only one truth.¡¯ He thought, ¡®It¡¯s either the game recognised my strength, or¡­ there is another veteran here.¡¯


    Suddenly, a human shadow appeared at the window he had just glanced at.


    It was a tall courier wearing a blue uniform. His neck was distorted from fractures, his head pressed against the window frame, fingers gripping the ice-cold glass, revealing a twisted and malicious smile.


    ¡°AHHHH!!!¡± Someone saw the scene by the window, ¡°It¡¯s that person! That courier who died!!¡±


    A few screams came from the crowd and retreated as a whole. By the time Chu Tian held his wrench and walked over, the courier had already disappeared with only handprints imprinted on the glass.


    ¡°This building is at least 2.5 meters high. That courier climbed up, his head¡­ pressed against the ceiling¡­¡± The person who saw the courier said, trembling, ¡°It will come in! And kill us!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t delay any longer.¡± Huang Lu said, ¡°In this kind of type, the more it¡¯s delayed, the more difficult it becomes. Since there¡¯s a method to immediately end the game by capturing the hidden ghost, our top priority is to catch that ghost¡­¡±


    ¡°I disagree.¡± The middle aged man wearing extravagant clothing angrily, seeming as if he was panicked and doubtful, said, ¡°I don¡¯t care about having a veteran or some other nonsense, it¡¯s ghosts we¡¯re facing, ghosts! If there¡¯s a mistake, then we¡¯ll all be buried together!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± The female senior high school student, Feng Yao, also nodded with a pale face, ¡°Without sufficient evidence, we can¡¯t identify¡­¡±


    ¡°If it was me, why don¡¯t we focus on the shopping and treat the identification task as backup.¡± Another calm temperamented middle aged man, named Tang Wen, said, ¡°Let¡¯s gather up everyone¡¯s purchase history to thoroughly investigate and see who¡¯s the ghost. How does that sound? If it¡¯s the ghost, then they¡¯ll definitely buy some goods that will trigger incidents to happen.¡±


    ¡°I think what Tang Wen said makes sense.¡± Ni Xiao said. She was a young white-collar worker.


    Everyone discussed and analyzed, reluctantly laying down what Tang Wen had said as the basic outline. Despite knowing that before lifting the restrictions, the ghost couldn¡¯t kill anyone, but the existence of ghosts still left fear in people¡¯s hearts.


    ¡°When I arrived, I checked the villa and there¡¯s a total of 6 lodging rooms but I suggest that it¡¯s better if three people slept in one room.¡± Chu Tian said, ¡°In case the person you¡¯re sleeping next to is a ghost, will you not still have a helper to hold the other down?¡±


    ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s allocate the rooms.¡± Tang Wen nodded, ¡°It just happens that we have exactly six men and six women.¡±


    Huang Lu said, ¡°The villa is divided into three floors. The first floor is the living room and kitchen. The second floor has three rooms and the third floor has three rooms. Considering the factor of being able to help each other, I suggest that we use two rooms on each floor.¡±


    While speaking, she looked at Lin Huai who seemed to be daydreaming, ¡°Newcomer, do you have any thoughts?¡±


    Lin Huai, ¡°Huh? What did you say?¡±


    Seeing the absent-minded look on the other, Huang Lu was a little annoyed.


    The mortality rate of newcomers in the game was very high. This might be one of the reasons why many veterans dislike guiding newcomers. Inside the game is very different from being outside of it, once the death flag is triggered, it¡¯s highly likely that the mistakes newcomers have accidentally made will implicate the veterans, triggering a series of linked consequences.


    Having lived through three games, Huang Lu¡¯s originally soft heart also gradually cooled and hardened. Although this calm and obedient newcomer gave her a somewhat good impression, seeing his appearance now¡­ she¡¯s afraid that he still hasn¡¯t adapted to this game.


    ¡°You must know, right?¡± She resisted the unhappiness in her heart, ¡°This isn¡¯t a solo player game but a game that needs everyone¡¯s cooperation to pass. Every person must propose their own suggestions and reflect over the puzzles. Don¡¯t think that someone will carry you to pass¡­¡±


    Lin Huai thought for a while and thought that her words were quite reasonable. Finally, he sincerely asked, ¡°Actually I do have a suggestion¡­ how many beds are there in a room?¡±


    Huang Lu, ¡°?¡±


    ¡°Two.¡± Chu Tian who stood on the side replied.


    Huang Lu couldn¡¯t really understand what he wanted to do when he asked that question. Consequently, Lin Huai started to talk, ¡°Since this is the case, on the topic of allocating rooms, in order to ensure everyone¡¯s safety and comfort¡­¡±


    ¡°I suggest that everyone form groups according to their weight class, one fat and two skinny.¡± He said, ¡°Otherwise it wouldn¡¯t be enough even if we put the two beds together ah.¡±


    Everyone, ¡°¡­¡­¡±