Side Quest 2
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"Sure."
In an instant, under the dark sky, murmuring voices suddenly came from all directions.
Ye Miaomiao squinted in surprise and with the help of the torch in her hand, she vaguely saw that the collapsed houses around her had been restored overnight, and more than ten buildings in Guangming Community were standing there in a scattered manner.
In the pitch-black stairwell, several frightened, scraggly, pale faces flashed by.
"Turn off the light!" someone shouted in alarm, and the crowd became agitated.
"It's too late, the time is up! They are coming!"
what happened?
Ye Miaomiao turned around and saw confusion in the eyes of the team members. But the fear in their eyes didn't seem fake. Ye Miaomiao thought of the "dark creatures in the universe" in the mission details and suddenly realized -
They, they are not referring to this kind of creature!
"Ready the guns!" Ye Miaomiao, having regained consciousness, shouted, "Be alert!"
The residents in the building do not have red nicknames or health bars above their heads. The few at the innermost part have titles on their heads, such as "Believer of Light: Zhang Xiaomin" and "Believer of Light: Zhang Tonghui". It is highly likely that they are not enemies, but important NPCs.
If anything is really coming.
Ye Miaomiao had a hunch that she not only had to ensure her own safety, but also protect the NPC. After all, this was a one-time mission. If the NPC died, who knew if they could be resurrected?
There was a loud "boom" sound from the ground, and dark black matter suddenly rose up like grass. Then, a strong fishy smell came, and the whole community seemed to be swallowed up into hell in an instant.
Under the horrified gaze of Ye Miaomiao and her teammates, dense red names appeared as the black fog condensed, spreading all around, even under their feet.
[LV1: Manic Dark Creature], the entire Bright Community was covered with this string of red words.
"Fuck!" Someone cursed, and everyone felt the same way.
This is something far beyond our expectations. How can we fight it?
"Come up! Come upstairs!" Someone shouted from the dark building, "Don't bring any flames, come quickly!"
In an instant, Ye Miaomiao understood.
She quickly threw the torch toward the community entrance, far from the building, and yelled at the team members to do as they were told. Since the dark matter was coming towards the light, they could use it as bait.
With the help of the flying flames, the group of people gathered all their strength and ran towards the stairwell.
"Go upstairs!" Amid the dense sound of footsteps, everyone touched the stair handles that had already been polished smooth and climbed to the top floor of the seventh floor without stopping.
Finally, I saw a ray of light in the darkness.
It was a dark crystal, hanging in mid-air. Although it was eerie and oppressive in itself, it became the only source of light in this pitch-black world, barely allowing people to see everything on the top floor.
Several people leaned over the wall, looking down, as if they had developed a pair of fiery eyes. They said in a relaxed tone, "We'll go back after swallowing the flames. Luckily, today isn't the time to open the door, otherwise they wouldn't give up so easily."
The trembling crowd finally calmed down.
Ye Miaomiao patted her chest. After playing the game for so long, her attribute values were extremely high. Even though she ran the "fastest few hundred meters in her life", she still didn't feel tired.
She patted her chest simply because she was frightened by the series of weird things that happened one after another - she was just a peaceful player playing a business simulation!
Before Ye Miaomiao could ask, the NPC in the lead, named "Zhang Pei," stepped forward and said in surprise, "You are sent by the government! Are you here to rescue us? What's going on out there? Are we...our homes okay?"
There were about a hundred people around, looking at them expectantly. They had lived in darkness for too long and were unwilling to give up even the slightest hope, especially since Ye Miaomiao and the others were holding torches and weapons, looking well-trained.
Staring at him with burning eyes, Ye Miaomiao, determined to complete her mission, continued as the NPC said, "Yes, the government asked us to come here. You must help me perform a summoning ceremony to dispel the darkness."
"So it's a summoning ritual, but..." Zhang Pei sighed, "Come with me, we'll talk inside."
All residents live on the top floor, where there is no day or night, no rain or sunshine, but the temperature is inexplicably suitable for living.
Ye Miaomiao took off her thick coat and followed Zhang Pei to her shed.
"How many years has it been out there? Is everything okay out there?" Zhang Pei asked nostalgically. "Here it's an endless night, and time is impossible. We use the phrase 'ghost gates wide open' to describe the agitation of these dark matter. Each agitation counts as one gate opening. Now it's been opened 1,201 times. I guess nearly three years have passed out there..."
"Three years... I don't know if my Chongchong has grown taller. Oh, I mean my daughter." Zhang Pei smiled sheepishly. "Excuse me, how's things going out there?"
Ye Miaomiao: ...How would she know? She just wanted to complete the task quickly.
She replied kindly, "It's only been three years, everything is fine."
The nervous expression on Zhang Pei's face disappeared, and a smile appeared on his face, but it might be because he hadn't smiled for too long, so his face looked a little stiff.
"That's 2053. It's great, it's really great."
2053? This sensitive number made Ye Miaomiao's heart jump.
Her last memory was in 2049, when the world-famous Civilization returned.
Civilization became a global game because of the global turmoil. Wars were raging in different places, and when things collapsed, it was like a whirlwind. No one knew when the next nuclear bomb would drop.
Bars revel every night, and every day feels like the last. For ordinary people, swept along by the tides of history, entertaining themselves to death is the best option.
Being able to build an ideal country in "Civilization" that is completely different from the real world has probably become a paradise in the hearts of many people.
"What happened in 2050?" Ye Miaomiao asked.
Zhang Pei gave her a strange look. "You don't know? This is our S Company's research project, the 'High Energy Theater,' shrouded in high-energy matter. The apocalypse will begin in January 2050. We discovered that one of the disasters, 'Eternal Night,' can be imprisoned here. We came here as a team to try to break through the dark matter."
"Originally, the construction period was only one year, but... no one knows why, after three years, they still haven't opened the door to let us out."
"The summoning ritual was the original concept. We discovered that human emotions can alter magnetic fields, particularly beliefs. When magnetic fields accumulate to a certain level, they can resist dark matter, especially beliefs related to light... Of course, these theories have yet to be put into practice."
"The summoning ritual was an internal discussion when we first entered the High Energy Theater. How did you know about it?"
Ye Miaomiao continued perfunctorily: "This is my task, I don't know either."
Her brow furrowed in thought. Zhang Pei had given her so much information that it was almost unbelievable. Everyone had entered Civilization in 2049, so how could the world end in 2050?
But looking at it the other way around, assuming the apocalypse really happens in 2050, does that mean that Civilization is really a way to save the Earth?
So... what about the apocalypse in 2050? Didn't anyone manage to beat Civilization and prevent it from happening?
Complex thoughts flashed through Ye Miaomiao's mind, and then she stood in front of the summoning ceremony.
It was called a ritual, but it was actually a giant machine. It consisted of three large and two small glass jars arranged in a triangle, with a furnace-like object in the middle, filled with dim crystals, very similar to the one glowing on the rooftop.
"Summoning requires energy. Crystals are the excrement of dark matter, and they are enough to serve as energy. But..." Zhang Pei sighed, "There is only Edison's summoning ritual here. Tesla's is on the top floor of another building, and that building has been occupied by monsters."
"We are all scientific researchers, believing only in facts. Edison's faith alone...is probably not enough to defeat that monster. After all, while Edison invented the electric light, it was Tesla's alternating current that ultimately won the battle for the lighting of the Columbian Exposition!"
Ye Miaomiao: “…” Sure enough, the end of science is theology.
Only then did Ye Miaomiao realize that the level one creature she had just encountered was the weakest creature.
When the door opens, all the first-level creatures will gather together to form a behemoth that is as tall as six buildings. This is why everyone gathered on the seventh-floor rooftop and barely escaped the door opening more than a thousand times.
"But even so, we're almost unable to hold on. We were planning to stay for a year, and the food we brought wasn't enough to begin with, and it's almost all gone over the years."
"Only by defeating dark matter will the high-energy theater automatically activate. We... must do this."
"Please start another summoning ceremony!"
Ye Miaomiao was cheered up: The mission is here!
But...Ye Miaomiao was a little worried. How could her cannon hit the dark matter? After asking this question, she got some exciting and sad news.
The monsters in the other building weren't dark matter, but people swallowed by darkness. They were completely annihilated when a door opened, transformed into creatures neither human nor ghost.
This time the mission is to destroy this group of monsters.
Ye Miaomiao has always been quick in her actions. Of course, this was mainly because she heard that the food here was unknown, and she was afraid that she would not have the next meal after finishing this one.
Each building had a similar structure. After familiarizing the team with the building's structure, they checked with Zhang Pei and several other titled NPCs to confirm that there were no other quests. After another door-opening experience, the group cautiously set off.
.
At this moment in Hungry Hungry territory, another group arrived.
It was the twenty-first hour since Ye Miaomiao entered Guangming Community. At nine o'clock in the morning, a group of wealthy people came from afar.
The temperature had dropped to 20 degrees Celsius, and the dry weather had reduced the snow. The phrase "prosperity and wealth" came from the fact that through the light snow, the team members could clearly see three sedan chairs carried by teams of four. Beside each sedan was a servant holding a tray containing various supplies.
Team member: Damn capitalism.
Without a second thought, it must be Margaret. Having been tortured by Charles these past few days, they, who had never come into contact with a certain country's nobles in their previous lives, now deeply understood how to distinguish aristocrats—
Anyone who likes to act so outrageous that ordinary people can't even think of it must be aristocrat.
The first person to inform Fang Yan was Duke von Margaret, and Charles' father, Prince Philip.
Duke Feng was also a famous figure in his previous life. It was said that he was involved in many dirty things, but Philip had not heard much about him.
Fang Yan frowned. He didn't expect that this group of so-called nobles would come in person.
"Oh my God! Seeing so many residents of Margaret emigrate and become hungry makes me yearn for it. Your lord hasn't replied to the letter from the diplomatic office, so I hope you don't mind my sudden visit."
Faced with this watertight statement, Fang Yan remained expressionless: "What's the matter?"
Duke Feng's face froze: "..." Didn't he say he was coming to visit? Doesn't this kid understand what he's saying?
After a moment's silence, the familiar cuckoo call echoed from the corner. Normally, a normal person wouldn't be able to hear or understand it. However, Fang Yan, a bounty hunter, not only heard it clearly, but also, with memories from his past life, understood it perfectly.
"Son, open the city gate for me."
He is really a thief with unrepentant intentions.
With a sneer, Fang Yan ordered: "Whoever opens the door will be blacklisted."
Charles alone was disgusting enough, and he didn't want to add any more risks to Ye Miaomiao.
Unexpectedly, Charles arrived quickly and saw the team members defending the city gate. He simply shouted through the door: "Father, pay the points! The higher the number, the faster you can come in! Be more decisive, he won't dare to stop you!"
Prince Philip: "..." This is his stupid son? Giving money to the enemy?
Everyone present inexplicably felt a strange and awkward sense of pride: "..."
Fang Yan: "..." Damn it! According to the butterfly effect, he can't do anything that goes against his cognition. Logically speaking, as long as Duke Feng pays enough points today, he really has no reason to stop him!
However, Margaret has been in a very bad state recently, and she no longer has the extravagant spirit she once had!
Duke Feng looked at Philip with a surprised look on his face. After a while, both of them looked embarrassed...
"Three thousand points, you see..." Before Prince Philip could finish his words and show his painful expression, his silly son's voice came from across the city gate.
"Father, three thousand points is not enough! I already spent ten thousand points!"
Ten thousand points?!
A pang of pain immediately washed over Philip. Ten thousand points? Just giving them away like that? Did he hear it right? Did he say it right?
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