Chapter 108 NPC Origins
Two hours later, a new batch of monsters arrived.
A group of black bats with red eyes and long teeth, whose wingspan was nearly 1.5 meters, flapped their wings and crashed into the protective shield.
The entire protective shield was enveloped by a dense swarm of black bats, whose eerie, blood-red eyes, bulging like ping-pong balls, darted around and stared at the creatures in the base.
The sound of sharp, chaotic teeth gnawing filled the air, so loud that no one could ignore it.
"What a huge spider monster!"
"Area of effect bombardment to clear the field of vision!"
"Molotov cocktails ready—!"
"Archers, prepare—!"
"Arrow tower ranged clear—!"
Patrol Teams 5 and 6 were handing over to the previous patrol team. Despite not having participated in formal offensive and defensive battles, the trained patrol teams carried out their defensive work in an orderly manner.
Jiang Baiyue stretched her limbs, thankful that she had given herself a sleeping pill as soon as she finished eating, and at least had a deep sleep for half an hour.
It also saved two blood pressure medication pills.
Looking around, a swarm of bats descended, and everyone around dared not hold back on their blood pressure and antidepressant medications, their movements chaotic but unified as they fed themselves their pills.
"Let's go help! Who's coming with me to the south?"
"Come on! Let's get a group of people here to help!"
Besides the patrol team, other players also began to join the city defense team. The logistics team wielded their spatulas, and the campfire was rekindled with the wood that had not been completely burned last time.
All bases were once again caught in a new wave of monster sieges.
"Green vegetables! Come with me to the flour mill and grind the corn, wheat, and rice that are about to expire into flour. It will extend their shelf life by 5-6 days."
In the spring, just as Ya was about to follow the sunflower to the west to clear out the black bats and spider monsters, a sudden inspiration struck her.
She suddenly remembered that when she was playing the demo of the game, she accidentally passed by a flour mill and ground flour while controlling her game character.
The key point is that grinding the powder will extend the shelf life!
In the spring, Ya shouted loudly, making sure that the players around her who hadn't run far away yet, as well as the support team players, could hear her.
After loudly reminding her three times, she pulled away Bai Yunduo, the team's logistics staff, while sharing the message she suddenly remembered in the chat area.
In the tense atmosphere, she didn't bother to verify whether the information was still true.
They rushed to the flour mill with two teammates who had brought food, and joined the first line of the flour milling team.
"Grind it into powder! Grind it into powder!"
Can potatoes be ground into flour?
The limping boy, leaning on his crutch, showed off his nickname and said, "Sure, do you want mashed potatoes or potato starch? Add me as a friend and I'll send it over."
One player accidentally sent them extra potatoes. They were distracted at the time and didn't think much of it, and they actually managed to grind them into potato flour.
"Oh? Well, then bring me a little of everything! Whichever has the longest shelf life, that's it!"
The lame boy said, "Okay! I'll make you potato starch; it can keep for 8 days."
One of the people who heard Chunliya's shout came over and overheard the lame boy's words. He was extremely excited: "Eight days! Not bad. It really can be ground down to a new shelf life."
The middle-aged man who had also chased after them quickly said, "I have to tell the others right away."
You have to understand that these people at the bottom of society don't have much food to preserve, so they hope that the food will last as long as possible.
Although cured meat has a long shelf life, meat is expensive to begin with, so you can't stock up on too much.
Vegetables are readily available, easy to grow, and plentiful, but unfortunately, they only have a shelf life of 2-6 days.
They had to buy and sell every few days, and they would lose money in the process. This was really worrying for them, who were not very capable and did not have a stable job at the base.
Jiang Yuan was sewing a fireproof and gas-proof mask in the sewing shop workshop when she looked up and suddenly saw a private message from a stranger she had only met once in the base on the open panel.
"Big Guy: Potatoes, corn, wheat, and vegetables nearing their expiration date and about to rot can be ground into flour to extend their shelf life! Come to the Flour Shop!"
Upon seeing the first few words, Jiang Yuan felt a pang of emotion. She opened the private message, quickly browsed and read it, then stood up and asked the easy-going Xia Ningwei for leave.
"Boss! I need to go grind flour to preserve more food. I'll work overtime tonight to finish today's tasks..."
Xia Ningwei frowned: "Go... wait a minute."
Jiang Yuan turned around, slammed on the brakes, and looked back: "What's wrong, boss? I, I definitely..."
"Can the base be defended?"
The black bats outside began to concentrate their forces. They gathered together and flew far away, then suddenly sprinted at high speed from a distance and crashed into the protective shield.
The heavy impact emitted a powerful sonic wave, intensifying everyone's fear.
Xia Ningwei walked uneasily out from behind the counter, stiffly to the door, and looked up at the black bats emitting strange, shrill cries in the sky.
Players running around the base delivering supplies were vomiting as they ran towards the base's walls.
At this moment, Xia Ningwei felt cold all over her body; she was very scared.
Jiang Yuan was so frightened that she noticed something was wrong. The strange feeling she had when she was with Xia Ningwei in the past came together in a complete sentence at this moment.
Jiang Yuan was surprised. NPCs could be afraid? She vaguely understood and raised her hand as if to ask.
To be honest, these players are truly dead, so the NPCs should just have their "memory refreshed" and continue performing their fixed tasks according to the program, right...?
Sweat beaded on Xia Ningwei's forehead as memories from the depths of her mind began to surface. In those memories, layers upon layers of hideous monsters swept across the devastated base like a giant wave.
Her friends, acquaintances, the elderly, children... one after another, terrified and distorted faces spun before her eyes like patterns in a kaleidoscope, making her dizzy.
drop--!
The final battle has begun; the memory lock has been lifted.
[Player Xia Ningwei, if you die again, it will be a real death. Please do your best to defeat the anomalies and survive.]
"Aaaaaah—!"
Xia Ningwei knelt down with a thud, clutching her long hair with both hands, her body trembling.
Jiang Yuan didn't know what had happened, and subconsciously hugged Xia Ningwei's body, gently patting Xia Ningwei's back and soothing her in a soft tone.
She subconsciously sang the lullaby her grandmother used to lull her to sleep when she was little, a lullaby she would always silently sing in her heart when she thought of her family.
"Flowers...birds...little...green grass~"
After the trembling stopped and a long silence followed, Xia Ningwei told Jiang Yuan that she was also a player.
She didn't know when she came into this world, only that she had been wandering in the abandoned area for a long time before finding an opportunity to complete the mission and come to the game area.
If she cannot survive this final battle alongside Jiang Yuan and the other players in Jiang Yuan's base, she will become a zombie outside.
"!!"
Jiang Yuan opened her mouth silently, unable to utter a single word. To die was bad enough, but why did she have to become such a disgusting monster that eats raw flesh and blood?!
Xia Ningwei brushed away the strands of hair that were damp with sweat and stuck to her cheeks and lips: "Yes. If you survive until the last second, you can become an NPC, have your memories sealed, and get another chance."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com