Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Smashing People with Money.

The players: Not sure. Better take another look.

After looking again, that new thread was still arrogantly hanging in the front row of the homepage.

Quite a few players were successfully drawn in.

Very good. They wanted to see just how outrageous this person could brag.

Just like the eye-catching title, the content of the thread was also blunt and completely undisguised.

[Let us prepare cheers and applause.]

The veteran players were almost laughing in anger. One player could not help replying, [Air-dropping into the top ten rookie rankings? Do you know what kind of concept that is?]

After players entered the game, they had a three-month newbie protection period. During this time, they were all considered rookies.

How was a complete newcomer who had just entered the game supposed to compete in rankings with players nearing the end of their three-month period?

They were not even starting from the same line. How could they compare?

The rankings of One Thousand and One Nightmares were based on comprehensive consideration, evaluating skill potential, number of clears, in-game performance, and other aspects together.

No matter what game it was, there would always be try-hards. Even horror games were no exception.

After all, not everyone feared this kind of infinite-flow game. Some people even celebrated the arrival of the apocalypse.

They were addicted to this immersive real-person horror game and never tired of it.

The current number one on the rookie rankings, Late Sleeper, was a complete and thorough try-hard. In the two months and twenty days since entering the game, he had entered dungeons almost seamlessly without pause, never resting once. In the mouths of players, he was an out-and-out madman.

Naturally, this madman was very strong.

And the rookie rankings’ second place, Eats Pretty Well, was not far behind. He practically played games without sleep or rest, looking determined to seize first place, and was fiercely chasing the rankings.

The players in the top ten were almost all those who had entered the game more than two months ago and had entered dungeons over fifteen times.

That meant clearing one game about every five or six days.

Under these circumstances, what could a complete rookie use to compete with those people?

[Disperse. Clickbait thread.]

[Tsk. The thread owner is some poor loser who can’t even afford a rename post card and came here on purpose to seek attention.]

Lu Wen: ...

He really could not afford a rename post card, so every time he had to use his real name on the forum.

But so what?

He was weak trash, sure—but his sis was insanely top-tier.

Lu Wen viciously typed, [You’ll know in two days.]

The players: ???

[Idiot.]

[I remember Juan Juan’s starting rank was only nineteenth, and that was already considered a very high starting point. Anyone else? Stop joking.]

[You’re a fake player, right? Something like what your title says is impossible.]

[If there really is such a big shot, I’ll acknowledge you as my father on the spot.]

[Saved the thread. Waiting for the thread owner to get slapped in the face.]

Lu Wen: ...

When the time came, who got slapped in the face was still unknown.

You bunch of trash hear wind and think it’s rain, blindly joining the noise without knowing the truth!

You casually split up the official couple!

When the time came, let his sis give them a little shock!

At this moment, in Absolute Kill.

After A Leng, Chen Chu was gone too.

If Gu Yu had cigarettes on hand, he would have wanted to smoke an entire pack right there.

His craving had truly hit.

He touched his lips and looked toward Zhou Yujing beside him. “Talk?”

Juan Juan blinked. “What do you want to talk to him about?”

Gu Yu smiled tiredly. “Just casually chatting.”

Juan Juan tried hard to raise her spirits and said playfully, “Can’t I listen?”

Gu Yu smiled gently. “No.”

Juan Juan shrugged regretfully. “Alright then. After you finish talking, remember to come back early.”

“Got it.”

Gu Yu took the lead and brought Zhou Yujing to an unoccupied place. It was some distance away from Juan Juan, enough to ensure she would not hear them.

Zhou Yujing’s emotions were faint. “What do you want to talk about?”

Gu Yu let out a breath. He stared at Zhou Yujing, his gaze sharp.

“Earlier, when Juan Juan was in danger, you had a chance to act, but you didn’t.”

He had simply watched coldly as Juan Juan was about to fall into danger.

Because of his standing by, they had lost a major force!

If he had acted, Teacher Dan would not have had to die!

And once Teacher Dan died, it was like the opening of some prelude—their teammates died one after another!

After saying that, Gu Yu continued, “Chen Chu too. You could have pulled him back, but you still didn’t.”

After hearing so much, Zhou Yujing asked coolly in return, “How do you prove I didn’t want to help? Based only on your subjective assumptions?”

Gu Yu said, “Let’s be frank. I originally didn’t want to say much, because my task is only to protect Juan Juan. As long as she’s fine, my mission is complete. But you’ve seen it too. If we don’t unite, we probably won’t clear this dungeon.”

Zhou Yujing leaned his back against the cypress tree behind him, a trace of mockery in his tone.

“Isn’t there still rollback?”

Gu Yu gave a bitter smile. “The premise of rollback is that the game has progressed to a certain stage. Otherwise, even if we roll it back once, the effect won’t be great.”

After saying that, he spoke again.

“I know you have your dissatisfaction, and I can roughly guess some of your thoughts.”

Why had Zhou Yujing watched Chen Chu collect his death box with his own eyes?

Because Chen Chu was Juan Juan’s most loyal dog, the one who supported her the most.

And that same person was also the one who had shown the most contempt toward Zhou Yujing’s girlfriend.

“Juan Juan cannot die. At least, she cannot die in this dungeon.”

“I know you want to get rid of her and Chi Cheng. I can help you.”

“But if she dies in this dungeon while you walk out alive, Chi Cheng will definitely cause trouble for you, and it will definitely be huge trouble. It may even affect your girlfriend in the real world.”

With the attitude of someone experienced, Gu Yu said sincerely,

“You never revealed any of her specific information before. Wasn’t that because you wanted to protect her?”

“You probably don’t want to drag her into these disputes, right?”

Zhou Yujing’s attitude had always been indifferent and take-it-or-leave-it.

Only after hearing this did he slightly frown.

It had to be said that Gu Yu had indeed guessed some of his thoughts correctly.

He truly did not want the troubles of the infinite world to affect Ning Rong.

In fact, he did not want her to know any of these vexing matters at all.

She ought to remain carefree forever.

Seeing the change in emotion on his face, Gu Yu knew these words had worked.

“So? Can you focus on clearing the dungeon now?”

Zhou Yujing raised his eyes to look at him. “How will you help? I need to see your sincerity first. Otherwise, how do you expect me to trust you?”

Gu Yu glanced in Juan Juan’s direction. After making sure his voice would not be heard, he said,

“Chi Cheng abuses his skill in the real world.”

Zhou Yujing was somewhat surprised, but not overly so.

Perhaps somewhere in his heart, he had already suspected it.

Abusing a skill in the real world...

That was a major taboo of the national team.

Gu Yu smiled faintly.

“I and several others are all tools he uses to pressure you.”

“He thinks we are all under his control, but actually, aside from Chen Chu, the others and I each have our own helpless reasons.”

“Usually, he watches us very closely. We must find a way to pass this information to the national main squad.”

Chi Cheng truly deserved to be called Chi Juan’s father.

The two of them were alike—willing to use any means necessary to achieve their goals, mad enough to leave no room for restraint.

And his skill, False Speech, only kept feeding his ambition.

Perhaps he could trust Gu Yu once.

“Then... deal.”

Ning Rong’s traveling speed was neither fast nor slow. She followed the map all the way toward the northwest.

Perhaps because the main storyline survival mission had already been completed, this journey of hers was fairly smooth. She did not run into many NPCs, nor did she meet the remaining two players.

The moment she left the village from the northwest side, the scenery before her suddenly opened up.

If the village had been shabby and backward, then this place was leisurely and pleasant.

Green bamboo swayed in the wind, making rustling sounds. The faint sound of flowing spring water could be heard nearby. Unknown little flowers bloomed across the hills and fields.

This place did not feel like a scene inside a horror game at all.

Instead, it looked more like some five-star scenic resort.

It was quiet and peaceful, making one’s body and mind involuntarily relax.

Ning Rong lifted her eyes slightly and noticed several large faded words in a conspicuous place—

Su Mountain Vacation Villa.

The village was called Su Family Village.

So what relationship did this Su Mountain Vacation Villa have with the village?

She stepped inside. After not going far, she saw an elderly person with graying hair outside a run-down security booth.

The old woman sat in a rattan chair, holding a slender ladies’ cigarette between a few fingertips, leisurely puffing smoke.

[The most terrifying NPC in Countdown has appeared.]

[Almost every player who stepped into the forbidden zone died at the hands of this old hag.]

[Little rookie, take care!]

The next second after Ning Rong approached, the old woman raised her cloudy eyes.

Her eyes had a lot of white showing, and the lower whites were visible too, making her look naturally harsh by three parts. Even the hazy smoke could not hide the malice on her face.

She asked in a rough voice, “What did you come here for?”

Ning Rong said, “Just strolling around.”

She took a few more steps forward and stopped a few meters away from the old woman.

“The scenery here is pleasant. It’s quite suitable for vacationing or retirement.”

[???]

[It’s over. Trigger phrase activated!]

[It’s over, it’s over. This old thing is about to strike again!]

[Little rookie, run!]

Hearing Ning Rong say this, the old woman revealed a sinister smile.

“Yes, the scenery here really is very good, and it is very suitable for vacations. What a pity...”

Ning Rong glanced at her skill panel.

Perhaps because the side quest had been updated, the skill that had originally still been on cooldown had refreshed, and one previously locked skill had unlocked once again.

She smoothly asked, “What a pity?”

The old woman suddenly stood up from the rattan chair. Her harsh eyes were filled with overwhelming hatred.

“What a pity that the investors said they would turn this place into a world-class vacation resort! He used sweet words to swindle away the villagers’ savings, filling them with hope!

“But when the resort was only half built, the investor ran away!”

“That man ran off easily enough, but he left us with this rotten mess!”

At this point, the old woman’s gaze suddenly locked onto Ning Rong.

“Not one outsider is a good thing. All of them are sweet-faced, black-hearted liars!”

“You outsiders!”

“All deserve to die!”

After saying that, the old woman floated into the air.

She looked light and drifting, but in truth her movements were extremely swift as she lunged fiercely toward Ning Rong!

[It’s over, it’s over. I don’t dare watch.]

[The little rookie’s skill can restrain NPCs like the village chief, but it can’t restrain this old hag!]

[That’s why she really shouldn’t have come to this forbidden zone.]

[Rookies are still too unable to hold themselves back. Sometimes being too ambitious is not a good thing.]

Just as Ning Rong’s viewers were either worrying for her or speaking mockingly at her, she used her second skill—

[Smash People with Money.]

Beneath this skill was an even more detailed explanation.

[What? You don’t seem very convinced by me. No problem, I’ll smash you with money until you submit.]

There was another line of small text after it.

[For most NPCs, NPCs all long to be hit with money, and the more they are hit with, the better. After all, even NPCs need game coins too~]

Just from reading the explanation, one could realize that this was likewise a skill with a wide range of use and tremendous effectiveness.

Ning Rong stingily pulled out one of the few remaining game bills from her wallet.

While activating the skill, she forcefully threw that bill at the old woman.

Sure enough, the very second the game bill hit the target, the target immediately stopped attacking.

The old woman performed a face-changing trick on the spot.

Her originally vicious expression turned flattering, and her towering killing intent turned into ingratiation.

Facts proved that even NPCs could not escape daily necessities, nor the curse of making money.

Thinking of it that way, one did not know whether to feel bitter or amused.

After seeing this scene, the viewers in the livestream room: ???

[What the hell... I seriously can’t understand this anymore!]

[Why? Why exactly?]

[What kind of damn skill is this?! It could deal with the village chief, and now it can deal with the old hag too? They’re both NPCs, sure, but they’re completely different types of NPCs! In terms of attack power and horror level, the old hag is a whole tier stronger than the village chief, and yet this is the result?]

[How are the cannon-fodder players who died to the old hag supposed to feel now?]

[Why is the range of her skill so broad?]

[I can’t figure it out either. Normally, skills can only target one type of NPC. Using games as an example, some skills are physical attacks, some are magic attacks. Then physical attacks would have no effect at all on NPCs immune to physical attacks!

If Ning Rong’s previous skill belonged to physical attacks, then the old hag would be equivalent to an NPC immune to physical attacks.

So here’s the question—why did her skill still work?]

At this moment, the colored barrage belonging to a big-shot viewer appeared in the livestream room once again.

[Is there a possibility that the skill she activated this time is not the same one as before?]

The viewers: ???

If that were true, then it would be even more terrifying, okay?!