Chapter 101
"Think about it, if you live in a small, isolated village..."
"Boss, I've never even been out of the city, let alone the countryside."
An Rou raised her hand and gave him a slap.
Paopao huddled in the corner, rubbing his head, feeling innocent and aggrieved: "Boss, you say."
"If your neighborhood has always been closed and you've never been out, do you know everyone in it?"
"Of course, there aren't many people in our neighborhood."
"Okay, if two strangers suddenly showed up one day and you saw them, would you be surprised?"
"Of course!" Paopao suddenly realized, "Boss, are you saying that those people kept looking at us because we're strangers?"
An Rou shook her head: "On the contrary, they didn't stop, and there was no surprise on their faces."
"Huh? Then why are they looking at us?"
An Rou picked a piece of moss from the wall and wiped it on Paopao's clothes: "Because we are too clean."
"Uh...what does this have to do with the boss's analogy..."
"Of course it's related." An Rou also wiped her clothes until they were dirty. "They don't think it's strange to see strangers, which means that outsiders often come to this town. A town with close ties with the outside world, but it's not marked on the map, isn't that strange enough?"
It’s strange, really strange.
When a road is used by many people, it's natural for people to give it a name. This is especially true for a small town with so many people living on it.
Paopao: "Then shall we go and check out the situation?"
An Rou nodded and stood up.
If nothing unexpected happens, this is the level arranged by the ink removal. In this case, it is natural to find out.
The town was confined to half of the mountaintop, roughly in a semicircular layout. The alleys were narrow and crisscrossed, and the bluestone floor was wet with water stains.
There were a few sparse signboards and flags hanging on both sides of the alley, and business was very slow.
With their clothes soiled and their hair messed up, An Rou and Paopao both looked like refugees, but this appearance prevented them from attracting any attention.
An Rou thought to herself that if a person didn't like cleanliness, it could be considered a quirk, but if a group of people were dressed dirty, there must be a compelling reason.
Either there was a shortage of supplies or the conditions did not allow it, or there were more important things on their minds that prevented them from attending.
An Rou paid attention to every pedestrian. They all had the name of the NPC above their heads, but it was different from what she had seen before.
For example, when An Rou first met Mei Hong, her name was "Sister Hong, owner of a hair salon." Another example is An Younian, who was "An Younian, owner of the Nianfeng Steamed Bun Shop."
There is a name and a concise identity positioning.
Most of the NPCs in this small town, or more precisely, the pedestrians you meet on the road, only have a name and no identity.
What kind of person has no identity of his own in society?
An Rou thought of two words: refugees.
Only refugees who encounter major changes and are forced to flee will lose their social identity.
From another perspective, the beggars begging along the streets of Zhongsu Town all have the word "beggar" after their names. However, these dirty NPCs do not have this word, which indirectly confirms that their previous identities were not beggars.
After all, no one is begging.
Paopao couldn't see the other people's screens, so he didn't notice anything unusual. But he suddenly grabbed An Rou's sleeve and said, "Boss, there's a noise over there, it's very lively."
An Rou calmed herself down, a faint commotion reaching her ears. Her gaze fell on a wall not far from the corner, where a wine-red banner hung with two large characters: "Teahouse."
The flag was very worn out, with half of the word "Lou" missing.
It seems that no matter where you are, teahouses are one of the most lively places.
"Go and take a look." An Rou said.
Before she reached the door, she heard a loud voice coming from inside, sounding very dissatisfied.
"Why should we retreat as soon as the trial group arrives?"
"Exactly. We're all from the same guild. Didn't we agree that anyone below Gold can come to the Trial Grounds? I haven't even killed a few ghouls yet, and the headquarters is already worried?"
"Fuck, I was planning on staying here for three days, but I just arrived last night and I have to leave this morning. This is so f*cking annoying!"
…
As soon as I heard what was said, I knew they were all players.
An Rou gave up the idea of going in and pulled Pao Pao to a window. The window was half open, with one side against the wall, just enough to block the figures of the two people.
She asked Paopao in an inaudible voice, "Trial Field?"
Paopao shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.
Judging from the sounds, there were about a dozen players inside, presumably all members of Dragon Flame. They cursed at each other, and suddenly someone spoke up.
"Alright, alright, stop cursing. It's almost ten o'clock. Let's finish our tea and leave."
"It's because of cowards like you that the higher-ups are taking us, the lower classes, less and less seriously!"
Someone scolded him, "How many years has this trial town been built? Fifteen years! Hasn't it been open for the past fifteen years?"
"How come now that I'm an adult and can play games, it becomes semi-open? Isn't that so fucking unfair?!"
Another person echoed, with clear reasoning:
"Dude, saying it's semi-open is too optimistic. With a 300-person trial group every month, how many ghouls do we need to deploy to kill them all? Headquarters has very high requirements for the trial plan. It requires both the ability to dig up clues and the ability to practice combat. It's impossible to just tie up all the ghouls and kill them at will.
"In my opinion, the trial group will stay in town for at least half a month, maybe even a month. They'll be completely closed off during the trial period, and when the lockdown ends, the next month's trial group will arrive. There's no room for us to come in."
"Even if they leave after just half a month, do you think we can get in? Don't be so naive!
"Clearing out the missed ghouls, repairing the trial area, replenishing NPCs, and deploying new ghouls, which step doesn't take time?"
…
Hearing this, An Rou suddenly understood and subconsciously glanced at Paopao.
Paopao was stunned.
It turns out that the reason for the complete blockade of Sub-Zone 3 was because of the Trial Zone. The reason for all players being relocated to the outskirts of Sub-Zone 3 was also because of the Trial Zone.
In order to quickly train its members, the Longyan Guild has artificially created a trial ground suitable for novices to advance!
Not only were the ghouls artificially released, but even the NPCs in this small town were captured from all over the place for the so-called "cultivation of clue-digging capabilities"!
No wonder they became refugees without an identity.
"Impossible, I don't believe it!"
Paopao's reaction was so strong that An Rou didn't expect it, and she didn't have time to cover his mouth.
With a loud bang, the window next to her was blown away, and broken wood chips flew out along An Rou's cheek, leaving a bloody mark on her face.
Several members of Longyan jumped out of the window, while others rushed out from the main gate and surrounded the two men.
In a hurry, An Rou hugged Paopao and choked with sobs: "It's true, Mom and Dad are dead. Sister... Sister was afraid that you would be sad, so I didn't dare to tell you..."
She held Paopao's head with one hand and used all her strength to press his face onto her shoulder.
Paopao's performance confirmed An Rou's previous guess that someone in his family worked for the Longyan Guild.
Since they met, although he had been following her in her shady business, he often expressed his admiration for Long Yan in his words. An Rou once asked him which guild he most wanted to join before joining the farm, and Paopao chose Long Yan without hesitation.
"Who are you?"
"Sneaking around, eavesdropping on us?!"
"Could it be a ghoul?" a member of Longyan asked suspiciously.
Following his reminder, everyone looked at them as if they were ghouls, but unfortunately, the function for distinguishing ghoul levels was not activated.
Not a ghoul.
The words of the Longyan player reminded Paopao of his current situation, and his stiff neck finally softened.
Only then did An Rou let go of him, and at the same time she let out an "Ah" and looked frightened.
Reduce everyone's favorability by 10%.
"It turned out to be an NPC..." The members of Longyan relaxed their defensive posture. One of them stepped forward and pinched An Rou's chin with two fingers. "Tell me, why are you eavesdropping?"
An Rou pulled Paopao behind her, tears of pleading welling up in her eyes: "Master Destiny, where is this? Why did you bring us here... Please, please, Master Destiny, let us go back..."
She cried and begged, grabbing the sleeve of the Dragon Flame player with her dirty hands.
The player pulled out his sleeve with force, causing An Rou to stagger.
He glanced at An Rou with disdain, then turned to his companions and said, "It must be the NPC that just arrived."
"I thought I could dig up some clues before leaving, what a waste of time." Another person said, "Let's go, time's up, let's go down the mountain together."
"Let's go, wait, how do we get there? Which way will the trial group come up from?"
"It should be the mountain road to the west."
"Then let's go down another way. I don't want to run into the trial group. I heard that the leader always looks down on others, and I can't stand that kind of attitude."
An Rou's heart sank and she quickly recalled the map.
She and Paopao climbed up from the south. If this group of people also came down the mountain from the south, wouldn’t the farm be exposed?
Fortunately, someone spoke up and said, "Then go from the north. The north has more gentle slopes and it's less tiring."
An Rou breathed a sigh of relief.
The members of Longyan poured out of the alley. One of them was walking at the end. He remembered something, turned around, and his eyes lingered on Anrou for a moment.
An Rou quickly lowered her head and wiped her tears.
The man tutted and looked at the broken window: "Old Jin, you're not leaving?"
There are still people in the teahouse?
An Rou secretly glanced over with the corner of her eye, and her eyes met those of interest in an instant.
"You guys go ahead. I have something to go back to the branch office. I'll go down the mountain from the south."
The player who asked the question turned back and walked into the teahouse: "The south side is so steep. What's so important? I also want to team up with you to go to the Land of No Life to kill monsters..."
While the two were talking, An Rou pulled Pao Pao away.
After turning two corners and entering an abandoned house, and then walking out of the back door of the house, there is an even narrower dead end.
Seeing no one around, An Rou let go of Paopao, her eyes blank: [Bao Bao, when you see the Chosen One coming down the mountain, eat him.]
The player left in the teahouse, with the ID "Shengjin," was a high-level Silver. Since he was going down the mountain from the south, he could only blame his bad luck.
Just after she finished explaining, An Rou suddenly remembered that there were no surviving players' bodies in the Suancai Building. Many employees had been hungry for several days, and Bao Fu had just eaten two souls that morning...
Forget it, it's safer to just eat it. If Sheng Jin sees the details of the mission, the farm will be exposed.
Surrounded by 300,000 players, it's a matter of some consideration.
After she finished explaining, An Rou finally had time to look at Paopao. Paopao lowered his head, looking listless. Although he was more than half a head taller than her, he looked like a half-grown child.
"Are you okay?"
Paopao muttered something under his breath.
An Rou didn't hear clearly: "What did you say?"
"I said, it was the Dragon Flame Guild that single-handedly facilitated the signing of the Guild Agreement among all the major guilds. The agreement clearly states that no guild is allowed to raise Gu or harm NPCs at will... They clearly made the agreement themselves, yet they've violated every single clause!"
Paopao's eyes were red, "My brother lied to me!"
"Your brother?"
Paopao stopped talking.
An Rou sighed, "I haven't read the so-called guild agreement, but judging from the content of the agreement you just mentioned, if you look at the wording, the Longyan Guild is not in violation of the agreement."
"Not a violation? They secretly built this town, created a trial area, captured so many NPCs and put them here, and even raised ghouls and released them artificially! This is not a violation?" Paopao looked at him in disbelief.
An Rou shook her head: "First, the Longyan Guild raises ghouls, but their purpose is not to attack other forces, but to train members. They will also clean up the remnants afterwards, so it can't be considered raising Gu.
"Secondly, this is a game. In games, the word 'damage' generally refers to health points. Long Yan only captured the NPCs and didn't harm them at the health level. As for their life or death, it's probably only related to the trial mission."
An Rou straightened Paopao's face and looked him in the eyes: "Paopao, in the adult world, there is only profit. The Dragon Flame Guild is just playing a word game. Of course, what they did is definitely wrong, but that doesn't mean your brother is lying to you."
Paopao's eyebrows knitted together: "I'm an adult now, so... Boss, is the relationship between us only based on interests?"
An Rou didn't expect him to ask this and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Paopao asked again, "Although Uncle An is an NPC, he's still an adult. He can't be your father, Boss. So, is there a relationship of interest between you and Uncle An?"
An Rou's eyelashes trembled and she turned around suddenly.
Paopao said from behind, "How can anyone be without emotions? So the boss is wrong!"
An Rou slowly exhaled, turned around and said with a smile: "We were talking about the trial area, why did you end up here? I've gotten off topic."
"I'm not off topic!" Paopao got angry and started to dwell on the issue. "I admit that I started working for you just to survive and make money, but that's no longer the case. The money you give me is enough for me to spend for the rest of my life!"
"But I still want to play games. Every night before going to bed, I think about the farm, and every morning when I open my eyes, my first thought is to quickly log in and go back to the farm to work!
"Even if the farm only grows vegetables and raises fish in the future, I still want to stay on the farm. Even if my boss no longer gives me bonuses or dividends, I still want to stay on the farm! Because I have feelings for the farm!
"I like the boss, I like Brother Baifu, I like Lao Zhang, and wherever I go, I think of Da Hammer... If someone really sets their sights on the farm one day, I'll definitely be the first to rush out and stop them. I don't care about destiny or game qualifications!"
"Enough!" An Rou scolded.
This was not the first time that Paopao had shown his sincerity, nor was it the first time that Anrou had felt his warm heart.
An Rou rarely felt conflicted, but her expression was cold.
"What you think is your business. In my eyes, you're a partner at best, but at worst, just an employee I hired. No different from Wang Da, Zhang Da, or those temporary workers. You're obedient, smart, and simple-minded. That's why you're staying."
"What is the relationship between bosses and employees if not a profit relationship? Is it like family?"
An Rou suddenly smiled. "Even if it's An Younian, do you think it's not a relationship of interest? He needs a daughter, and I need to make up for the lack of family affection. Our needs just happen to match. If it's an exchange of feelings, isn't it an exchange of interests?"
Paopao opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.
"I know what you want to say," An Rou stared into his eyes. "Yes, that's who I am. Everything that comes to me is profit. When the profit disappears, we will break up.
"I won't take advantage of you. If you feel you can't benefit from me anymore, you can leave at any time."
Tears welled up in Paopao's eyes.
An Rou looked at him quietly, her eyes and expression showing no emotion.
Paopao suddenly gritted his teeth, trying not to let the tears fall. Without a word, he turned and walked out of the alley. As he walked, he activated his mobility skill and soon disappeared.
An Rou clenched her fists tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms, and she resisted the urge to look back.
She didn't think it was a big deal that the Dragon Flame Guild had violated the guild agreement she had signed. But Paopao couldn't even accept that...
The appearance of Jie Xin and Chu Mo made An Rou very sure that this game was hiding a deeper secret. If the secret were to be revealed one day, given the child's personality, it would be even more difficult for him to accept it.
Separation is inevitable.
A short pain is better than a long one. Paopao himself said he'd made enough money. Instead of wasting his youth on games, he should get back on track and work hard on the college entrance exam.
That was the path he should take.
An Rou took a slow, deep breath and soon calmed her head.
Her passive items are all in the Paopao item bar. After running for a while, she is left with only the goose feather boots and fish skin armor to rely on.
Those Dragon Flame players said that the trial group was coming soon and this town was not safe for her.
Let’s go back to the farm first.
An Rou finally turned around and looked behind her.
She was stunned.
Paopao stood at the entrance of the narrow alley, looking at her quietly.
His expression was sad, his eyes were red, and there were obvious signs of crying.
But An Rou could tell that he was waiting for her. However, out of consideration for the young man, she remained silent.
The last layer of ice was shattered, melting into a warm current in her heart and flowing into An Rou's eyes.
She suddenly smiled and winked at Paopao.
Paopao approached with a sad and resentful look.
"I've been looking for it for so long, and now it's here."
A voice suddenly entered An Rou's ears, sounding familiar, sending a chill down her spine.
An Rou hurriedly ran and squinted her eyes, then looked inside the broken door.
I heard it right, it was indeed the Longyan player - Shengjin.
Sheng Jin took a two-meter leap and approached An Rou. An Rou then retreated, her back against the cold, damp wall.
The narrow dead end was surrounded by walls on three sides and had only two exits - the back door of the dilapidated house and the entrance to the alley where Paopao was.
An Rou glanced over and saw Paopao still standing at the entrance of the alley, not reacting. Her foot slipped on the moss in the corner and she fell towards the other wall.
Sure enough, Sheng Jin gave him a hand in time and ran with his back to him.
"The road is slippery, please be careful, miss."
An Rou had already stood firm, but Sheng Jin not only did not let go of her hand, but instead he approached her and forced her into a corner.
The intention couldn't be more obvious.
"Master Destiny, please... please let me go."
If she had the Seven Souls Sword like before, An Rou would have ignored the mere silver and would have killed him whenever she wanted. But now, she only had goose feather boots and fish skin armor. While they could keep her alive, they lacked any killing power.
She had to look horrified.
Sheng Jin naturally wouldn't let go, and his eyes moved around: "Where's your brother?"
"He...he ran away." An Rou's face was full of misery. "He blamed me for killing my parents and left me alone..."
Sheng Jin originally wanted to look back, but when he heard that, he turned his neck to look at An Rou. He flipped his left hand and a handkerchief appeared, which was still wet.
"Don't cry, you are such a beautiful woman. If you cry for too long, you will lose your beauty."
The wet handkerchief was brought to An Rou's face. An Rou had no way to avoid it and had to let him do what he wanted. However, Sheng Jin wiped not only her tears, but also the stains she had deliberately put on her face.
"Tsk, I told you, she is indeed a one in a million beauty."
"Master, please let me go, please..." An Rou cried even harder, begging for mercy incoherently.
Behind Sheng Jin, Paopao's mind came back to life from his depressed mood and he quickly understood the situation in front of him.
The boss has no offensive weapons, so this Longyan player must be of a fairly high level, and needs cooperation from himself to kill him with one strike.
He finally understood his boss's performance and began to approach slowly on tiptoe.
An Rou cried unyieldingly, and Sheng Jin was very disappointed by her plummeting favorability.
He put away his handkerchief and took out a handful of gold coins, but then changed his mind and put the gold coins into the balance.
Since he was about to leave the trial area anyway, why bother trying to please an NPC? Paving the way for the trial group?
The NPC had no ability to resist in front of him, so he just forced himself on them.
Thinking of this, Sheng Jin put away his hypocritical smile and raised his hand to slap the tactless NPC.
Seeing this, Paopao immediately took out his weapon.
An Rou also secretly accumulated strength, intending to use the speed of the goose-feather boots to push Sheng Jin towards Paopao, attacking him from both sides.
But at this moment, a clear child's voice was heard outside the alley.
"Brother, brother, where are you——"
The three people paused at the same time.
Sheng Jin was about to turn around when An Rou grabbed his hand and said, "Master, please let me go..."
"Shut up!"
Sheng Jin scolded fiercely, looking back. The dark and narrow alley was empty. But the child's voice was approaching with the sound of footsteps.
"Brother, if you don't come out, I'm going to cry—eh?"
A small figure appeared at the corner of the alley. It was a little girl with messy hair and dirty face and clothes. But the big eyes that looked at me were very smart.
An Rou was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized that this was the first time she had met a child in the game.
Zhongsu Town...it seems there are no children.
There was a long and narrow light screen above the little girl's head. She was obviously an NPC, but I couldn't see her name clearly because I was too far away.
She looked into the dead end for a while with her dark eyes, then walked in and said, "Big brother, you can't bully me."
I thought Sheng Jin would rudely tell her to get out, but I didn't expect him to actually let go of An Rou's hand and turn around to stare at the little girl as she approached.
He asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Zisha. Big brother, do you know what it means? I'll write it down for you."
The little girl held a blue stick in the shape of chopsticks, squatted down, and began to write stroke by stroke on the moss in the corner of the wall.
An Rou could see clearly that there was a light screen as small as a label on the small stick!
That's a weapon!
She quickly glanced at Sheng Jin and suddenly realized that Sheng Jin was not being obedient at all. He was simply trying to determine whether Zi Sha was a ghoul or not! And now, his eyes opened slightly, and he must have noticed the weapon.
Sheng Jin bowed and looked down at Zi Sha: "Where did you get that thing in your hand?"
Zisha quickly stuffed the stick back into her sleeve, raised her little face, and avoided answering: "That's how it's written, big brother, did you see it clearly?"
"Look carefully, the character 梓 (a type of tree) has a wood radical, and the character 莎 (a type of grass) has a grass radical."
Sheng Jin was not only interested in the weapons, but also in the potential clues behind them. He forced a gentle smile and said, "Answer my brother's question. Where did this stick come from?"
Zisha still used the dumbest way to avoid the setting that NPC cannot lie.
"It seems I didn't write it wrong this time. I'm so happy!" She pretended not to hear, rubbed the wall and came over to hold An Rou's hand, "Big sister, let's go."
Sheng Jin's patience ends here.
He grabbed Zisha by the back of her collar and lifted her up. With his other hand, he pinched the sleeve where Zisha had hidden the small stick. He used such force that Zisha frowned and was about to cry.
"Poor mountains and bad waters breed unruly people. I know exactly what cunning faces you NPCs are. You are shameless!"
Zisha's appearance had already lowered his favorability, and his gentle words and sweet talk hadn't helped to restore it. Sheng Jin realized that other methods he used to deal with these NPCs were useless.
It’s better to use direct force to intimidate them. If intimidation doesn’t work, beat them until they surrender!
Not every NPC has the courage to fight to the death with the Chosen One.
"Tell me, where did you get this thing? Did you find it or did someone give it to you?!"
"What are you doing? Let go of my sister!"
Another person appeared at the entrance of the alley. He was a boy about ten years old, dressed in rags.
Being interrupted again and again, Sheng Jin laughed in anger: "You're here just in time, let's see who's tougher, your sister or you as a brother!"
Before he finished speaking, he picked up Zisha and used his movement skills to rush towards the little boy.
Even if an adult NPC runs at full speed, its speed is far slower than that of the lowest-level Black Iron player, let alone an NPC child.
Shengjin is still a high-level silver.
An Rou felt something and looked towards the roof.
Paopao was crouching with a Huangwu Tang sword in both hands, and was located on the roof near the alley entrance.
In the alley, Sheng Jin's iron boots made clanging sounds as they stepped on the bluestone slabs.
An Rou used her goose-feather boots to quickly chase after him, trying to keep up with the pace, but he suddenly stopped halfway.
There's something wrong with that boy!
There is no light screen above his head!
An Rou's astonished gaze rested on the other person's face, which was slightly distorted by anger. As if sensing her gaze, the little boy's eyes moved a little and looked at her.
A sly smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
He is a ghoul!
Sheng Jin had already rushed over, his mind preoccupied with extracting clues, and he didn't notice the slight change in the boy's expression. The boy offered no resistance and let him grab him by the collar.
Those dirty little hands suddenly pressed towards Sheng Jin's face.
Sheng Jin was, after all, a high-level Silver player, and he suddenly felt a sense of danger. With a start in his heart, he loosened his grip.
But it was too late. The little boy grabbed his shoulder with one hand and touched his chin with the other.
Sheng Jin had heard the Soul-Calling Song once before, and had used his Soul Card to compensate for it in time. At this moment, he seemed to hear that ethereal yet strange song again.
But it's just as if.
Sheng Jin woke up instantly, and there was no soul-calling song in his mind.
However, a knife pierced through his head and penetrated into his chest.
Hot blood spurted out of his mouth, splashing all over the little boy's face.
Sheng Jin's eyes widened, bloodshot rapidly spreading across his eyeballs. In his final moments, he saw the little boy stick out his tongue and lick the blood from the edge of his mouth.
And on that dirty little face, there was a small piece of light screen covering it: [Ghoul (A. Level)].
Sheng Jin's body fell to the ground with a loud bang, and the little boy and Zi Sha fell to the ground with him.
"It hurts!" Zisha blurted out.
The little boy turned over and tried to help her, but suddenly, a bloody Tang sword lay in front of him, blocking his way.
Paopao just breathed a sigh of relief when he was startled: "Boss, what are you doing?"
An Rou held the knife in one hand and tilted her chin as she rushed over: "Help Zi Sha up."
"Don't touch her!" The little boy looked up at An Rou, squinting his eyes with a strong sense of threat.
Paopao was confused and was about to help Zisha, but when he heard the sound, he pulled his hand back, feeling that something was wrong.
He felt something in his heart and looked at the other person in shock.
"A..."
"Paopao!" An Rou interrupted Paopao's exclamation, "Help Zisha up."
The little boy gritted his teeth: "Want to die?!"
After all, it is an A-level ghoul, and it is obvious that it is still a highly intelligent living dead that has not yet transformed. It is difficult to escape for a while.
The situation has reached a stalemate.
Even Zisha forgot to cry out in pain. She timidly looked at her brother and Anrou, and said softly, "Brother, big sister is not a bad person..."
"Don't talk in my head!" the little boy suddenly said viciously.
Zisha was stunned, and her face wrinkled immediately: "I am talking, but I am not talking in my brother's head!"
The little boy finally heard his sister's voice clearly, and his fierce expression revealed a hint of helplessness: "Shasha, I'm not talking about you..."
"I don't care. My brother is so mean to me! I want to go find my mom... Ouch, it hurts so much..."
Zisha seemed to have sprained her foot and fell down again just as she stood up. Fortunately, Paopao was right next to her and subconsciously supported her.
"Let her go!" The little boy started to be fierce again.
Paopao didn't let go this time, because when he supported Zisha, he received a notification that his favorability had increased.
The little girl is an NPC, but her brother is an A-level ghoul.
An Rou lowered her Tang sword and said to Paopao, "Life potion."
While Paopao was on guard against the ghoul on the opposite side, he took out a life potion and fed it to Zisha.
It's just a sprained ankle. A low-level life potion is more than enough.
Zisha's tears stopped immediately and she exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, it doesn't hurt anymore! It doesn't hurt at all!"
She jumped twice on the spot, her little face full of smiles: "Thank you, big brother, thank you, big sister! Humph, my brother is mean to me, I won't thank you, brother!"
A light screen popped up in front of Paopao again, and Anrou could roughly see the content on it. Zisha's favorability towards Paopao increased again.
An Rou looked at the little boy with interest, returned the Tang sword to Paopao, and completely let down her guard.
She walked up to Zisha, half squatted down, and touched Zisha's hair.
The little boy's face darkened.
An Rou: "You're welcome, Sasha is so polite. Let me see... well, the wound is healed."
The little girl also had some bruises on her hands, which had already scabbed over due to the effect of the life potion.
"But there's a scar, it's so ugly..."
"It's okay. There will be no scar tomorrow. I promise."
An Rou rolled up her sleeves and used the clean inside of her sleeves to wipe the stains off Zisha's face.
Her face was covered with tears, but it was very easy to wipe away, and soon her clear facial features were revealed.
Apart from being a little thin and having a sallow complexion due to malnutrition, her appearance was as delicate and lively as her big eyes.
"Sasha is so beautiful." An Rou said.
Zisha said shyly: "Sister is more beautiful. Sister is the most beautiful person I have ever seen."
Their eyes met, and An Rou was slightly stunned.
Her consciousness passed through a brief dark tunnel, and she saw a completely different picture.
A dirty white bowl with half a sweet potato in it. From the cross section, it looked half-cooked.
The picture left the white bowl and fell into the dimly lit adobe house, and began to tremble as it approached the small figure huddled in the corner.
The little girl's voice was childish: "Brother, come and eat!"
"Brother, why don't you eat? Aren't you hungry?"
"My brother doesn't want to eat, and neither does my mother. My father said he went out to buy some delicious steamed buns, but he hasn't come back yet..."
"I understand! My brother and mom are worried that I won't have enough to eat, so I won't eat, right?"
"Brother, Sasha is full, seriously! If you don't believe me, look, Sasha's belly is bulging!"
"Brother, come and eat. When you're full, you can steam sweet potatoes for mom. Sasha doesn't know how to steam sweet potatoes..."
The little boy in the corner just looked over quietly, without moving.
The scene shifted to another corner. A woman lay sprawled on a simple bed of hay.
A woman with a terrified face.
She strained to stretch her neck upwards, her eyes staring back filled with longing for the soul, but she was suppressed by an invisible force. She could only drool and her limbs were unable to move.
"Mom, let's eat. Brother is afraid that Sasha won't have enough to eat, so he won't eat. Mom, please finish your meal and make some for brother..."
The shaking picture moved closer again, and the little hand picked up the sweet potato and fed it to the woman's curved lips.
"What are you doing?!"
The fierce voice brought An Rou back to her senses.
She blinked, and the little boy came up to her and pulled Zisha away from her.
Zisha raised her head and said unhappily, "Brother, just be mean to Shasha, don't be mean to others!"
An Rou immediately understood that it was not the little boy's voice that interrupted the memory she was watching, but that Zisha had turned her eyes away from her.
It had been so long since she had experienced this situation that An Rou had forgotten that before she established a conscious connection with the ghoul, the first thing she discovered was that she could read the memories of NPCs.
The first and only time she read memories was from An Younian. It was because of that brief memory fragment that she discovered a ghoul hiding in Xiao Zhang's coal shop.
But this phenomenon has never happened again since that day until today.
An Rou frowned. Could it be that this ability, like establishing a consciousness connection with a ghoul, required certain conditions to be met?
Before she could figure it out, the little boy pulled Zisha away and lectured his sister as they walked: "I told you a long time ago, don't trust any strangers, they are all bad people!"
"But Big Sister is a good person!"
“Even good people can’t do that!”
"...But my brother is also a good person. Can't I trust him?"
“…How could you be so stupid!”
"Humph, I'm not stupid! When that bad guy asked me just now, I didn't even tell him that my brother gave me the little blue umbrella!"
A small blue umbrella? Could it be that little blue stick weapon?
An Rou was pondering, only to see the little boy glare back at her fiercely.
He looked back at his sister: "You said it now, idiot!"
"Ah?" Zisha was a little confused. "I didn't tell anyone else. I told my brother."
"They all heard it!"
"Oh...but the older sisters and brothers are all good people!"
After talking for a long time, they went back to the same place, which made the little boy very angry. He shut up and pulled Zisha to quicken his pace.
However, just as they turned the corner, they saw something and hurriedly turned around and ran back.
An Rouhe Paopao were confused.
As they passed each other, the little boy turned his head and glanced at An Rou.
[If you dare to expose my whereabouts, both of you will die!] The little boy’s voice echoed in my mind.
It seems someone is coming.
The ghoul didn't want to be exposed in front of others, and An Rou, as a fake NPC, didn't want to either.
"Run, clean it up quickly."
Paopao quickly put the gold coins and props on the ground into the prop bar, and at the same time sprinkled a piece of gold coins to cleanse the bloodstains on the ground.
"Boss, what about the body?"
An Rou looked at Sheng Jin's body. Sheng Jin might have recognized the ghoul before his death, but he didn't see Paopao. To her, it didn't matter whether he stayed or not. However... he couldn't let the scum go so easily.
The question is, where can it be hidden?
"Got it! I forgot I brought this!" Paopao suddenly said.
He dragged Sheng Jin's body to the corner of the dead end, stretched out his hand and slid it in the air, and a pickle jar appeared in the corner.
"Is the old method okay?" he asked An Rou.
An Rou nodded, watching him soak the rope gold into the vat, and asked curiously, "Why did you bring it out?"
Do you think the prop bar is too empty?
Paopao smiled innocently, "I just thought of this before logging off yesterday. The Suancai House is out of stock. I have to go to a new place today, so I thought I'd stock up some food for Lao Zhang and the others in case I have to go out."
An Rou: "...It seems that you really like Lao Zhang."
Paopao heard the hidden meaning in the words and frowned: "Boss, you are too frivolous!"
An Rou smiled: "Hurry up!"
Around the corner, there was already a dense sound of footsteps and the clanging of metal, obviously the iron boots exclusive to players.
Paopao quickly closed the wooden cover, pulled Anrou up, kicked the wall twice, and crawled onto the roof.
A large group of Dragon Flame players appeared at a corner not far away. Because the dead end was too narrow, the river water turned into a stream and rushed over.
An Rou didn't dare to look any further and retracted her head in time. They both lowered their breathing at the same time.
"Are you sure it's here?" A rough and deep voice sounded from below.
"Captain Kuang Dao, this is what Rope King from the Moon Lake branch said. He encountered an A-rank ghoul and is afraid to go online, so he asked the Trial Group to help collect the bodies."
Paopao suddenly opened his eyes wide, brought up the light screen, and switched to the destiny rankings on the world channel.
Kuang Dao, a top player, ranked 99th on the Destiny List... He is the leader of the Dragon Flame Trial Group?
Paopao poked An Rou's shoulder, and seeing that the boss didn't react at all, he realized that An Rou was staring blankly at the front, also looking shocked.
Kuang Dao, whose real name is Cui Qing, was her boss when she worked at the offline farm.
The coward Cui Gaoshan’s father.
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