Zhou Zhou had a stern face and a serious expression. Zeus, who was originally imagining showing off in front of Elvia, gradually stopped smiling.
He looked at Zhou Zhou, who was frowning and hesitant to speak, and finally realized that this secret must be very important to Zhou Zhou.
"I'm actually not a human." Zhou Zhou finally said it.
Zeus:? ? ?
Zeus's expression suddenly became strange: "Zhou Zhou, did you do something bad? Why are you... scolding yourself?"
Being interrupted by Zeus, the serious atmosphere that Zhou Zhou had created suddenly dissipated.
The corners of his mouth curved up, and then he continued: "I come from a game called Love Academy, and I am an NPC in it."
Zeus' mouth gradually opened wider: "Huh?"
He looked at Zhou Zhou in a daze, as if he didn't react to what he said.
"I stayed in the game for a long time, but I was the only one there until Shirley and Keli entered the game. I followed them to complete the mission, and then I came out of the dungeon."
"Impossible!" After Zhou Zhou finished speaking, Zeus immediately retorted: "There is nothing wrong with your data. You are obviously a player, how can you be an NPC?"
The game of Nightmare City can be said to be created by Zeus. If Zhou Zhou was an NPC, he would definitely be able to discover the abnormality, but judging from Zhou Zhou's data, he is just a player. He checked it when he first discovered Zhou Zhou, and there was obviously no problem.
"And..." Zeus looked at Zhou Zhou and said seriously, "The Love Academy dungeon was not designed by the player, but was automatically generated by the system. In other words, I made this dungeon. I remember it very clearly. There was no humanoid NPC in it. Zhou Zhou, did you remember it wrongly?"
The big boss of that dungeon is a dormitory monster that comes to life, and there are also ghosts transformed by the players, and there are no NPCs that look like humans at all.
Zhou Zhou was stunned. He didn't expect that his frank confession of his identity would be questioned.
"I really have been there the whole time, but the Love Academy I stayed in before was very beautiful, and I was familiar with all the places. Until the day Shirley and the others came in, many places in the school suddenly changed."
Thinking of this, Zhou Zhou remembered something that could prove his identity: "Zeus, can you see my task panel?"
Zeus nodded, and then Zhou Zhou opened his task panel, flipped to the exit button at the bottom, and clicked it in front of Zeus.
The white exit button on the light screen flickered slightly, but Zhou Zhou was still there, neither logging off nor leaving.
Zeus looked at Zhou Zhou's light screen in shock, then clicked on it himself in disbelief. He could see and touch the task panels of all players, but after he clicked, Zhou Zhou was still where he was.
Zeus:! ! !
Something big happened!
There is a BUG!
Zhou Zhou can’t retreat!
No wonder he has been staying in the game ever since he discovered Zhou Zhou and has never logged off. He thought the other party wanted to become a professional player, so he moved his daily life into the holographic game. Now it seems that Zhou Zhou can't get out.
No, it’s not that he can’t get out, he is really an NPC, how can he get out?
He looked up at the calm Zhou Zhou, then looked down at the unresponsive task panel. The facts were before him and he had to believe it.
But how did Zhou Zhou appear in his game? The copy of Love Academy is very normal, and there are no humanoid NPCs, so where did Zhou Zhou come from?
Zeus stood where he was, but his clone quickly went to the Love Academy and checked the entire copy carefully again, finding no problems at all.
Zeus suddenly remembered the day he discovered Zhou Zhou. He rechecked the Love Academy because of a virus. Although he noticed that there was something wrong with Zhou Zhou at first, his data quickly returned to normal. He thought it was a problem with the copy that caused the player's account to become abnormal. But now it seems that it was Zhou Zhou's problem.
Love Academy Copy...
Could it be a problem with the copy? Zhou Zhou said that he had been in the copy for a long time, but the game had only been launched not long ago, and he couldn't have stayed here before that.
Moreover, this copy was made by him based on the ancient earth culture thousands of years ago. Not long ago, humans excavated things from thousands of years ago in the ancient earth, including some obsolete mobile phones, computers and chip storage devices. After Zeus restored these things, he found a lot of interesting things in them, including various novels and games, and some system scene layouts of Nightmare City were directly copied from the scenes in those games.
So, could it be that Zhou Zhou has already existed in the game of Love Academy and was copied along with the original data?
As an NPC in the game, Zhou Zhou may have had self-awareness a long time ago, but because the game Love Academy has long disappeared with the changes of the times, he has been staying in the game and cannot go anywhere. It was not until he imported the data into the copy that he was able to run from the copy to other places in the game through the Star Network.
No, there is still a problem. If that’s the case, why does he have a player account? Logically speaking, if the data had developed self-awareness, he should have been able to discover it immediately, but this didn't seem to make sense.
"Zeus? Zeus?" Zhou Zhou interrupted Zeus's thoughts, "Do you have anything you want to ask?"
Looking at Zhou Zhou's slightly uneasy face, Zeus knew that Zhou Zhou had no way of answering this question, so he decided to investigate it himself.
Zeus shook his head: "No more questions to ask. I roughly know how you entered the Nightmare City."
After telling Zhou Zhou about his guess, Zhou Zhou also felt that it made sense. Before, in the Love Academy, he couldn't get out at all and could only wander around within the campus. The day Shirley and the others came was the day when the game was officially launched. When players from outside entered the dungeon, it was equivalent to opening the passage between the dungeon and the outside world, which gave Zhou Zhou the opportunity to go out.
Zeus's true form is also equivalent to a string of data, which is similar to Zhou Zhou's identity as an NPC. This is equivalent to Zeus having a similar person.
And this person is his favorite Zhou Zhou.
Zeus put aside the issue of Zhou Zhou's identity as a player and suddenly felt a little happy. It didn't matter that Elvia had a bunch of wild flowers. He and Zhou Zhou had a special relationship.
At this moment, he looked Zhou Zhou up and down. He originally thought that the other party was very pleasing to the eye. Now with the blessing of their similar identities, Zhou Zhou could be said to be radiating great brilliance in his eyes.
Looking at Zeus's smiling face, as if he was thinking about something, Zhou Zhou suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been carefully hiding his identity, living in fear, and had to lie to his friends because of it. Now he told Zeus about it. Judging from Zeus's expression, he accepted it well. Zhou Zhou felt as if the heavy stone pressing on his heart had suddenly disappeared.
"Zeus, can you keep this a secret for me?"
Zeus: "Of course!"
Zhou Zhou must have trusted him very much to tell him this, and Zhou Zhou's identity is already clear. He will not pose any threat to the empire, so there is naturally no problem in keeping it a secret for him.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Zeus smiled happily.
Zhou Zhou was completely relieved. After all, he knew that Zeus was not a human being, so he was naturally very accepting of him.
"Zeus, I want to ask you one more thing."
"What is it? Just tell me."
"Can you help me get out of the game? I want to know what the world outside is like." This was also one of the reasons that prompted Zhou Zhou to tell Zeus his identity.
Zeus nodded without hesitation: "Of course." Since Zhou Zhou's true body was a string of data like him, the operation would be much easier for him.
"Although the range after you go out is very limited, I can still take you to play other games."
Zeus controls more than just Nightmare City, there are other official games that were also made by him. As long as there is a star network, he can go anywhere, and Zhou Zhou, whose main body is also data, can naturally go there as well.
"It doesn't matter, as long as I can go to other places to have a look." Zhou Zhou was a little excited, "Zeus, you are so awesome."
He didn't expect that the problem that had been bothering him would be easily solved by Zeus. It turned out to be the right choice for him to tell the other party his identity.
"But I need to make some preparations first. I need to find your original data. Then, based on your original data, I can create an identity for you as a player in other games. If we want to go outside, we can't go too far for now."
In reality, the only place where he can project a human form is the palace. Although it doesn't matter if Zhou Zhou stays in the palace, that is Elvia's territory. It would be bad if he was discovered by him, so he has to take advantage of this time to place the projection equipment in some beautiful and sparsely populated places, so that Zhou Zhou can see the outside world without anyone discovering his identity.
"It doesn't matter, as long as I can get out, any time is fine."
Zeus looked at Zhou Zhou's excited and admiring eyes, and he felt extremely proud. It was not difficult to find Zhou Zhou's original data, and he could project Zhou Zhou into reality through other means.
Anyway, Elvia basically won't go anywhere other than the bedroom, the underground palace, and the office and training places. The palace is so big that Elvia will definitely not know some remote places. Since Zhou Zhou wants to go so much, why not take Zhou Zhou around the palace first?
After thinking about what preparations to make, Zeus said to Zhou Zhou affirmatively: "Zhou Zhou, I can take you out tomorrow."
Zhou Zhou opened his eyes wide: "Do you mean that I can go to the outside world tomorrow?"
"Yes! But you still have to enter the dungeon. Your current identity is a player. Although I don't know what's going on, your player account is basically the same as other people's accounts. I need to find your original data through the data changes after you entered the dungeon, and then I can make preparations. If you finish a dungeon today, we can go out tomorrow."
Now, Zhou Zhou would not object to anything Zeus said. He nodded: "Okay, I'll go now."
Just as he was about to take on a copy himself, Zhou Zhou thought for a moment and clicked on the players he had contacted before. Except for those who were unable to come due to other matters, most of the other players he was not familiar with did not respond to his messages.
Only now, someone above responded.
A female player named Lan Ya replied, saying that she could do the dungeon anytime she had time.
Lan Ya? Zhou Zhou thought about it and realized that it was the female player he met in Deep Sea Things. She looked quiet and spoke very little. He also had dinner with the female player and her friends.
Zhou Zhou sent a message to Lan Ya without much hesitation. He was now ready to go to the next dungeon.
Lan Ya replied very quickly. She was shopping in the Nightmare City and asked where Zhou Zhou was. She would be there soon.
Zhou Zhou asked for the other party's location and asked Lan Ya to wait for him there for a while. Then he put the little octopus back into the water tank and said to Zeus, "I'm going to do the dungeon now and will be back in the afternoon."
Zeus wants to observe Zhou Zhou's data to find the original data, which is equivalent to following Zhou Zhou all the time, so naturally there is no problem.
According to the address sent by the other party, Zhou Zhou quickly reunited with Lan Ya.
He thought Lan Ya would go shopping with another female player named Yue Ling, but when he got there he found that Lan Ya was alone.
Lan Ya was wearing a sports suit that was convenient for movement. She was a little embarrassed to see Zhou Zhou. She noticed that Zhou Zhou looked around beside her. She immediately guessed what he was thinking and whispered, "Yue Ling went to watch the live broadcast and is still discussing what happened at the founding ceremony online. So she won't play games today. I just finished watching and went online. I was originally planning to hang out here, but I saw your message."
Lan Ya's voice became lower and lower, and her face turned slightly red. Zhou Zhou had to get very close to her to hear her last sentence.
"It's okay, we can go together." Among all the contacts, only Lan Ya had time to go on the mission with him. Although he was not as familiar with Lan Ya as Shirley and the others, he would become familiar with her after a while. After all, he and the others had come this way.
"I'll form a team first. The two of us will form a team. Some dungeons will separate each player individually, but after forming a team, there is a high possibility that we will be together."
Zhou Zhou is also a "veteran" player who has experienced several dungeons and is very familiar with some of the characteristics of the dungeons. Lan Ya had not played many dungeons before, and was eliminated once. In the past, her good friend Yue Ling always took her to play together. Today was the first time she played a dungeon with other male players.
After pulling the two people into the same team, Zhou Zhou hesitated to click on the copy selection interface. He pursed his lips and turned to the contact list on the task panel to look at it.
Even Lan Ya behind him noticed that Zhou Zhou seemed to be hesitating about something. Just as she was about to ask, she saw Zhou Zhou's eyes light up and suddenly said to her with a smile: "Lan Ya, can we add one more person to our team?"
"Hmm? Sure." Lan Ya was stunned for a moment, then agreed immediately. Seeing Zhou Zhou suddenly become very happy, she couldn't help but secretly guess who this person was.
The two waited there for a few minutes. Looking at the man walking towards them from not far away, Lan Ya suddenly understood.
It turned out to be him.
This person was none other than Elvia, who had been at the founding ceremony not long ago. During the ceremony, he had guessed whether Zhou Zhou had gone to do a dungeon mission, and he had hurriedly logged in after the ceremony. Now it seemed that if he had come a little later, Zhou Zhou would have gone to do the dungeon mission with the female player.
"Al!" Zhou Zhou waved excitedly at Elvia.
Seeing people coming, he immediately pulled Elvia into the team, and then chose the copy without hesitation.
The copy location randomly assigned by the system is in the Dark Forest of the Nightmare City.
The trees in the Dark Forest are very dense, and the flowers, plants and trees inside are very tall, most of them are taller than the players. Many people feel that it is like a world of giants. Moreover, once you enter the forest, the sky will become dark. There will be no daytime, only eternal day and night. However, as long as you leave the range of the Dark Forest, the sky will return to normal.
These are what Lan Ya told Zhou Zhou.
Zhou Zhou was somewhat curious about how Lan Ya knew so much. Lan Ya said in a low voice, "Yue Ling likes to browse forums. Sometimes when she sees something interesting, she will share it with me. That's all I know."
Zhou Zhou: "It's amazing that you know so much. I haven't even heard of this place."
Being praised, Lan Ya lowered her head lower and lowered her ears, turning red.
Alvia watched the interaction between the two coldly without saying anything. Instead, he walked quickly from behind them to between them.
Zhou Zhou who was pushed away:?
Zhou Zhou was in a particularly good mood today. Even though he was pushed away by Elvia, he still gave her a big smile.
Alvia noticed that Zhou Zhou was in a good mood today, but looking at the girl next to him, he was not sure why she was in such a good mood.
According to the map, the three of them quickly arrived at the border of the Dark Forest. It was just as Lan Ya said. Not to mention that the trees that could be seen inside were basically dozens of meters high, even some flowers and plants looked taller than them.
The location shown on the map is deep in the Dark Forest.
"How do we get in?" Lan Ya asked softly as she looked at the grass blocking the road. Not only was the grass very tall, it was also so densely packed together that they had no place to step.
Zhou Zhou didn't know either. He walked forward a few steps, trying to see if he could push aside the grass to get in. However, as soon as he got there, the tall flowers and plants automatically parted ways.
I took a few more tentative steps forward, and the grass behind me seemed to have consciousness and parted to both sides, leaving a small path just wide enough for one person to pass.
Lan Ya also tried to walk inside. The separated path did not close again. Lan Ya followed Zhou Zhou's steps and continued to move forward, with Elvia walking at the end.
There were many players wandering around nearby. When they saw the three people easily enter the Dark Forest, they also wanted to follow the path in for a stroll. However, as soon as they stepped in, the grass and trees on both sides quickly closed up. If the players had not run fast, they might have been stuck there.
The player walked away from the forest cursing, feeling secretly aggrieved. He felt that the grass was discriminating against him. Why were those three people able to go in, but he was not allowed to?
I watched from a distance, but the grass was too tall and I could no longer see the three players.
At this time, a few more players came over and walked straight towards the Dark Forest.
The unlucky players were gloating and waiting for those players to suffer a defeat, but when they approached, the grass and trees parted again, and the figures of several people disappeared among the lush flowers and plants.
Unlucky player: ...These grasses really discriminate against him.
After entering the Dark Forest, the sky indeed darkened, but visibility was still good and Lan Ya could see the road without the help of any lighting tools.
After walking for a while, we were still some distance away from the location on the map, but it started raining.
From the drizzle at the beginning to the heavy downpour later, none of them had an umbrella and could only break off a leaf of some unknown grass to cover their heads.
These leaves are very large, and one can completely cover the head with some space left. Although there is no need to worry about getting wet, the water droplets on the surrounding grass and trees will still wet the clothes.
In this situation, even the sound of talking was drowned out by the sound of wind and rain, and the three of them silently quickened their pace.
Finally, amid lightning, thunder, wind and rain, they arrived at the destination indicated on the map.
An ancient castle stands abruptly in the depths of the forest, surrounded by grass and trees taller than humans. The area around the castle is barren, and the muddy black land and the color of the castle's outer walls almost blend into one. The majestic castle has gone through the baptism of time and is full of wind, frost and cracks.
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, briefly illuminating the castle. There were a few small square windows on the dark castle, and the black stone bricks covered with moss and vines had obvious cracks. This gloomy castle looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.
“Boom!”
Following a thunderous sound, the task panel finally moved.
[Instance Name: Castle Night]
[Task content: Stay as a guest in the castle for three days]
Being a guest? Shouldn't we find the customs exit?
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