GRMFBS CH209

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Zhan Yan: “Don’t you guys feel that walking on two legs is slow when exploring the world?”

Nie Yu: “…Actually, I never thought about it.”

The problem was that no one knew the avatar appearance created at the beginning had practical value!

Zhan Yan comforted her: “It’s okay. Although I can’t fly, I can swim. A dragon head should be able to breathe underwater. If I collect data underwater, I’ll share it with you.”

Nie Yu: “It doesn’t matter. I’ll call people over right now and have them design their avatars in advance.”

They still had a bunch of Network Types available in the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

“This is considered the Novice Village; there’s no danger. Wait for me here for a moment,” Nie Yu said.

Since they were right at the entrance, Nie Yu very proactively went out to pass the message.

Zhan Yan waited for her inside the Dawn World.

The Novice Village Chief strolled over, squinted at him for a while, and said: “Whoa! This physique, looks like a good hand at farming!”

Zhan Yan: “…Thanks for the compliment.”

The Village Chief was a chatterbox. Zhan Yan soon learned from him whose chickens were the fattest, whose dog was the fiercest, and other gossip. Sounded like a habitual thief.

The Village Chief was extremely enthusiastic and fetched him a basin of well water: “Such a hot day, come wash your face.”

Zhan Yan didn’t particularly want to wash his face, but since he had created a dragon head, he really wanted to play with water.

He buried his face in the water and tried to breathe…

Cough cough! Dragon heads can’t breathe underwater.

Sigh, so this avatar appearance only affects surface organs? Does it not work for the lungs inside?

While Zhan Yan was pondering, the enthusiastic Village Chief took advantage of him lowering his head to wash his face and carefully observed the dragon horns on his head: “They say deer antlers are good stuff. Deer antlers can regenerate… Hey, can your dragon horns regenerate?”

Zhan Yan suddenly raised his head and looked at him warily: “What do you want to do?”

Village Chief: “Oh my, I just…”

Before he could finish speaking, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them with a whoosh.

Zhan Yan was startled. The Gossip System reacted faster than him:

[You were startled by the suddenly appearing “Deep Shadow” NPC.]

The Village Chief reacted second, holding his basin and quickly ducking behind the fence, disappearing without a trace.

Zhan Yan: …

Forget it.

What is the “Deep Shadow” NPC doing here? It couldn’t be because he’s not yet 23, right? That underage game protection setting should have been removed already.

Zhan Yan looked at him, feeling a bit curious.

The NPC created based on the big shot Deep Shadow!

But this appearance is definitely different from Deep Shadow. Wan Shitong wouldn’t create his real appearance.

However, the temperament fits the feeling of Deep Shadow very well. Chin slightly raised, eyes disdain… disdainful when he first appeared, but after seeing his appearance clearly, he stopped being disdainful and his pupils started quaking. After quaking for two seconds, they became deep and unfathomable again.

Zhan Yan: “Does this world not allow dragon heads?”

The “Deep Shadow” NPC spoke: “Follow me.”

After speaking, a magic circle lit up under his feet, encompassing Zhan Yan as well. Before Zhan Yan could react, the magic circle flashed on and off, taking them away.

Nie Yu came back just in time to see this scene.

“Wait! Give ‘Approaching Science’ back!!!”

A puppy from the Novice Village trotted past her.

Nie Yu: …

“Wan Shitong! The NPC you made kidnapped someone!!”

Wan Shitong was summoned by Nie Yu’s deadly repeated calls.

After listening, Wan Shitong was shocked: “You said that NPC spoke?!”

Nie Yu: “…Can you grasp the main point?! The point is he kidnapped my person!”

Wan Shitong: “But since creating this NPC, I’ve never heard him speak! The person kidnapped must be very special!”

Nie Yu: “Whether you created a mute isn’t important; what’s important is to find my person quickly!”

“I didn’t create a mute!” Wan Shitong emphasized. “I’ll try my best to find him. What’s your person’s name? What does he look like?”

Nie Yu froze.

The fact that ‘Approaching Science’ also had Network Type abilities was a secret and couldn’t be exposed casually. But when she taught ‘Approaching Science’ before, it was always one-on-one, and she hadn’t given him a code name.

“Dragon Head. He has a dragon head; you’ll recognize him at a glance.” Nie Yu came up with a very fitting code name in an instant.

Wan Shitong: “Huh?”

Nie Yu: “Don’t you know you can customize appearance freely in the Dawn World? But that’s not important right now. What exactly is going on with your NPC? Will he hurt Dragon Head?”

“He shouldn’t hurt people randomly.”

Wan Shitong and Qi Ye built this world for gaming. They set it so players getting hurt meant losing HP, and death meant getting kicked out of the game world. Apart from monsters, NPCs wouldn’t target players for no reason.

But now the game world wasn’t entirely virtual. Although the “Deep Shadow” NPC didn’t have a soul from the Post-Apocalyptic World attached, Wan Shitong couldn’t guarantee anything completely.

With a bitter face, he called Qi Ye over, and the two began searching for the NPC together.

Nie Yu worried on the side: “How did you create the NPC? Why would you create an NPC with settings more powerful than yourself?”

Wan Shitong: You don’t understand the feeling of having an idol.

Qi Ye was also curious: “How did you adjust the parameters?”

The game world was originally built by her and Wan Shitong together; everything here shouldn’t exceed the scope of their abilities. Theoretically, abilities they could grant to NPCs, they could definitely grant to themselves.

But even before merging with the Post-Apocalyptic World, they couldn’t catch that Deep Shadow NPC.

Wan Shitong was equally confused: “I don’t know.”

He just wanted to be playful and created an NPC based on Deep Shadow’s personality. The parameters were all adjusted normally. At first, this NPC didn’t show signs of being so powerful that he couldn’t be caught.

Everything started when his hand slipped and maxed out the difficulty for gaining the NPC’s favorability.

Qi Ye tried to repeat Wan Shitong’ operation afterward but couldn’t replicate it.

“Maybe it’s a special point unique to your ability,” Qi Ye said.

Every Network Type had different ability inclinations. Network Ghost excelled at stealth and traps, Hacker excelled at breaching, Qi Ye excelled at building… Maybe Wan Shitong’ ability leaned towards creating figurines?

Wan Shitong complained: “Then what is the trigger for this ability? Creating an NPC stronger than me with favorability towards me as low as zero?”

If he had relied on such an NPC who avoided him to be a bodyguard in the Infinite, he would have died long ago, okay?

Wait, how did he pass missions in the Infinite again?

“I feel my ability is acting a bit weird in this world.” Wan Shitong scratched his head blankly. “The Dawn World isn’t just a network world anymore. I feel my ability seems to be more than just Network Type…”

He felt his head itch. Distant memories drilled out of the dust of time, flashing a few blurry images.

It seemed to be in the Disordered Lands. The Disordered Lands wasn’t a dungeon, but its terrifying nature was no less than a four-star dungeon.

Wan Shitong felt himself tensed up, sweat beading on his forehead and pouring down like a waterfall.

Two people stood before him, one with his back to him, one facing him. Identical appearance, identical posture. Draped in shadows, their aura cold and menacing.

“Deep Shadow…” Wan Shitong felt his throat terribly dry.

“Replication. Is this your ability?” The Deep Shadow facing him looked indifferently at the “Deep Shadow” blocking his way.

Yes, his ability was Mental Replication.

He could use spiritual power to extract traces from objects a person had touched. When enough traces were extracted, he could replicate that person. The replica’s abilities and personality originated from the main body, with limitations on duration and ability intensity.

Wan Shitong collected traces of many strong individuals, but he never cranked the replica’s ability above eighty percent. Because this ability had a terrifying side effect…

“Don’t you know the person you replicate can share vision and memories with your replica?”

“I… I know.” Wan Shitong swallowed dryly. “It happens when the ability is pushed above eighty percent. I didn’t mean to…”

Wan Shitong wailed internally while explaining. What was he saying!

Forty minutes ago, he encountered a major crisis in the Disordered Lands and had to max out the replica’s ability to escape successfully.

Replicas had their own personalities. Although they wouldn’t hurt him, they wouldn’t necessarily save him either. Wan Shitong often found out the replica was useless only after collecting traces. Too many players in the Infinite were two-faced. Wan Shitong discovered through this ability that many players with good reputations were actually terrifying.

But the replica of Deep Shadow, rumored to kill everyone to clear levels, saved him every time.

It was also because of this that Wan Shitong boldly guessed the rumored cold-blooded and cruel Deep Shadow was actually a good person, and in a moment of crisis, chose his replica and maxed out the ability…

…

Gu Jiancheng finished making the cat food for Xingxing and squatted on the floor watching him eat.

“How is it? Satisfied?”

Gu Jiancheng looked at Xingxing very seriously, trying to judge from his little cat face.

Cat family member satisfaction is also very important!

Xingxing took a bite. Although slightly inferior to the last-place pooper scooper’s skills, the attitude made up for it. Moreover, Gu Jiancheng even brought him jerky for teething.

Xingxing ate it all, giving him face.

Gu Jiancheng cleaned up, rubbed Xingxing’s head: “I’m going to sleep.”

Washed up, changed clothes, quietly opened the bedroom door.

Yan Yan was lying on his back on the bed, hands by his sides, leaving half the space beside him.

Ahhh Yan Yan looks so obedient when asleep!

Gu Jiancheng slipped into the blankets lightly.

Although it wasn’t his usual bedtime yet, Yan Yan was asleep.

He lay under the covers, tucked himself in. His hand slowly groped towards Zhan Yan under the blanket until it touched Zhan Yan’s fingers.

Gu Jiancheng held Zhan Yan’s hand, closed his eyes, and fell asleep instantly with satisfaction.

Gu Jiancheng started dreaming.

He first dreamed he was in deep shadows. He stayed in the shadows for a while and felt bored.

Want to find Yan Yan. Where is Yan Yan?

Yan Yan, Yan Yan is here. He feels Yan Yan is right here; he wants to find Yan Yan… Gu Jiancheng followed a vague direction, stepping into a patch of light.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a small village. The dirt road was uneven, grass blades poked out of irregular fences, a local dog strolled around…

Yan Yan is here, he felt it!

Gu Jiancheng turned around and saw a two-meter-tall muscular man with a dragon head in front of him.

Pupil earthquake!

Yan… Yan?

Two-meter-tall Yan Yan is taller than him; with dragon horns, almost 2.3 meters.

Dragon Head Yan Yan looked down at him and asked: “Does this world not allow dragon heads?”

How is that possible? Whatever head Yan Yan has is correct! Even if Yan Yan is 2.3 meters tall, he is still c… cute!

The dream world had no logic. Gu Jiancheng felt he had a mission: Yan Yan is hungry; he has to cook for Yan Yan!

He knew where the good food was.

“Follow me.”

Gu Jiancheng drew a magic circle and took Yan Yan away with him.

Zhan Yan’s vision blurred, and when it cleared again, the scene before him had turned into a fantasy landscape.

Beneath his feet was a jelly-like sea; above his head were burning clouds.

Orange-red clouds dripped from the sky like large bubbles, slowly sinking in the ethereal sea mist. Upon touching the azure sea surface, they merged into it, turning into golden ripples and pink waves on the sea.

Some couldn’t merge, rolling around on the sea surface like oil beads, pushed to the surroundings by the waves.

Judging from the direction of the waves, Zhan Yan discovered he seemed to be standing at the center of this scene. All the waves were pushing those unmergeable rays of light further away.

This scene was extremely wondrous, dreamy, and beautiful.

Zhan Yan: “Is there a screen recording function now?”

Right! Gu Jiancheng thinks the screen recording function is very important; he should be able to develop one! If there was a screen recording function, he could take a photo with Yan Yan here. He could hold Yan Yan…

Gu Jiancheng turned to look at the 2.3-meter Dragon Head Yan Yan, an image floating in his mind.

The “Deep Shadow” NPC gave Zhan Yan a deep look and walked in a certain direction without a word.

Zhan Yan curiously followed him: “Hey, where are you going?”

Gu Jiancheng: …Sorry, he’s still not quite used to Yan Yan being 2.3 meters tall with arms almost as thick as his thighs QAQ.

The “Deep Shadow” NPC remained silent.

But this didn’t stop Zhan Yan from continuing to ask: “Where is this? Why did you bring me here? What are those things floating down?”

Gu Jiancheng: …But he couldn’t bear to ignore Yan Yan either.

“To eat.”

Zhan Yan: “Eat? Eat what?”

He thought the way the “Deep Shadow” NPC popped out words three at a time was quite amusing.

For some reason, Zhan Yan couldn’t feel nervous at all. Although he was forcibly brought here by the “Deep Shadow” NPC, he wasn’t worried the NPC would hurt him.

Did he transfer his trust in Big Shot Deep Shadow to the NPC?

A few bouncing cloud beads were pushed past him by the waves. Zhan Yan thought these things looked a bit like large QQ gummy candies, but filled with flowing clouds. The colors of these clouds were different too. Some were goldish, some reddish, some light orange-yellow, and the texture looked great.

Hands itchy, kinda want to squeeze. Can I squeeze this thing?

Zhan Yan opened the Gossip System and searched.

[The “Deep Shadow” NPC brought you to the core of the Dawn World.]

A small golden star appeared in the “Domain” column of the information dashboard.

Zhan Yan’s dragon eyes widened.

The Gossip System was still displaying.

Although the Post-Apocalyptic World has merged, the rules and concepts of the two worlds have not fully meshed. This is where the two worlds merge.

The clouds above are concepts from the Post-Apocalyptic World; the sea below is the base color of this world’s rules surfacing through the game world.

Concepts from the apocalypse drip down; mergeable concepts merge, unmergeable concepts are swept aside. But although these concepts cannot merge, they are still new Information Words!

[Congratulations, you have arrived at the Information Granary.]

Zhan Yan: !!!

Happiness comes so suddenly!

As expected, the NPC created based on Big Shot Deep Shadow’s personality is also a good person!

But how to collect these concepts?

Zhan Yan reached out and poked a concept jelly rolling past him.

The concept jelly wobbled twice and continued rolling into the distance, pushed by the waves.

Touching it is useless…

Zhan Yan remembered the “Deep Shadow” NPC said he brought him to eat.

Hmm… so I have to eat it?

Gu Jiancheng was still conflicted over Zhan Yan’s question.

Right, he wants to bring Yan Yan to eat. But what should he make for Yan Yan?

A scene of him making cat food for Xingxing suddenly popped into Gu Jiancheng’s memory.

Gu Jiancheng was pondering hard when he suddenly heard the sound of swallowing behind him.

He turned around to look.

2.3-meter Yan Yan held up a ball of jelly, his dragon head opening its bloody maw.

Ah-woo!

Gu Jiancheng: !!!