Of course, game NPCs would never react to player complaints or report threats. They would only continue carrying out their programmed sequences dutifully.
Bai Fuling understood this very well, so he wasn’t surprised that the man in front of him kept clutching the student ID while muttering to himself.
After patiently waiting for a while, Bai Fuling finally couldn’t help asking,
“Can we skip this cutscene already?”
Why hadn’t this NPC finished his scripted sequence yet?!
Normally, the moment the student ID was displayed, the game should automatically register the player’s nickname and proceed to the next step.
Yet the tall man before him continued staring at the student ID as though he were looking at something he absolutely never wanted to see.
“No… impossible… absolutely not…”
After lagging there for several seconds, he finally raised his head.
“…Why is it with you?”
“What?”
“This shouldn’t be happening…”
Guan Jizhong looked almost sleepwalking as he tightly gripped the corner of the student ID card.
He squeezed so hard that even the printed words “Fresh and Tender Chinese Cabbage” became crumpled and distorted together.
Through the screen, Bai Fuling watched helplessly as his student ID card appeared to be shedding pixel fragments under the pressure.
Bai Fuling: ?
What was this guy’s problem?
Did this NPC have some kind of grudge against cabbages? Or did he just hate the phrase “fresh and tender” that much?
Was he really this unwilling to accept the player’s nickname?!
He was squeezing the student ID so hard it looked like a crumbling biscuit shedding crumbs everywhere!
Although logically speaking, student IDs shouldn’t shed crumbs…
But for pixel-modeled items visibly taking damage in real time, “shedding pixel bits” was probably the closest visual equivalent.
Inanimate objects didn’t have health bars.
To prevent his student ID from becoming a one time use consumable item, Bai Fuling quickly stepped forward and snatched it back.
Guan Jizhong allowed him to take the ID card back without resistance.
One of his eyes was covered beneath an eyepatch, while the remaining good eye remained fixed upon the black-haired youth before him.
Then he said,
“Why is the tracker with you?”
“Tracker?” Bai Fuling looked startled.
He widened his eyes and immediately lowered his head to inspect the student ID card.
Could it be that the student IDs issued by Peland Academy also had tracking functions?!
Was this another part of the school’s insane regulations?!
Damn it.
As soon as he got back, he was absolutely going to the electronics repair station to pry the thing open.
How dare they spy on player movements.
The nerve!
Meanwhile, the tall NPC continued muttering,
“That dagger… his dagger… how could it be with you?”
At those words, Bai Fuling’s attention finally shifted away from the student ID card.
“The dagger?”
He only took a second before realizing what the man meant.
“Liao Zhiqiu’s dagger has a tracker inside it?”
No wonder there had been those strange hints in the item description when he first picked up the dagger:
[Seems to contain many stories.]
[Are you sure you want to take this?]
So there really had been something hidden inside after all!
And apparently, it was connected to even more plotlines.
The moment Guan Jizhong heard the black-haired youth mention that name, a tiny spark of hope reignited within him.
His lowered fist unconsciously tightened.
Since the two of them knew each other, then,
even without photographs or trackers, there was still a chance to find Liao Zhiqiu again and complete the old man’s assignment.
If the person before him possessed Liao Zhiqiu’s frequently used dagger, then their relationship had to be close enough.
Guan Jizhong rubbed his thumb slowly against his fingers.
His tall body bent lower as he moved closer and spoke in a deliberate voice.
“Kid… what’s your relationship with Liao Zhiqiu?”
Bai Fuling hesitated for a moment before answering,
“A relationship of beating and being beaten?”
Guan Jizhong: ?
“To be honest, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Guan Jizhong fell silent for half a second before letting out a hoarse laugh.
“Kid, you really like joking around but I can tell…”
“He must care about you a lot.”
“Uh… I guess he does care?” Bai Fuling paused thoughtfully before continuing, “After all, I once wanted to test something and nearly beat him to death.”
Guan Jizhong: ?
An intense sense of losing control over the conversation suddenly overwhelmed him.
His speech unconsciously quickened, as though desperately hoping to confirm something.
“But that dagger… it’s not something he would casually give away!”
Long ago, Guan Jizhong had already heard from the old man that Liao Zhiqiu loved animals and was deeply attached to old possessions. Once he began using a weapon, he would rarely replace it.
That was precisely why the old man had secretly implanted the tracker into the dagger.
Since the dagger was now in this young man’s possession, then,
Bai Fuling nodded seriously.
“That’s true. He wouldn’t give it away voluntarily, so I chose to take it instead. Uh… which loops us back to the earlier topic again.”
“I wanted to see whether he’d drop loot coins, so I almost beat him to death. Since I already went through all the effort of knocking him unconscious, taking some compensation afterward seemed reasonable too.”
Guan Jizhong: ?
Guan Jizhong opened his mouth, only to discover that for a moment, he genuinely couldn’t produce any sound at all.
…Wait.
What exactly was going on here?
What did any of this even mean?
Did young people nowadays really make friends like this??
Guan Jizhong spent most of his life deep within the forests and rarely interacted with city dwellers.
He truly had no idea there was apparently a method of “making someone drop loot” like this now…
N… no, that wasn’t the important point.
Based on the information he knew, Liao Zhiqiu should not have been someone easily defeated.
The old man was the leader of an underground organization. As the old man’s biological grandson, Liao Zhiqiu couldn’t possibly be weak.
Furthermore, the old man probably often sent ignorant thugs over to “train” his grandson.
Which meant Liao Zhiqiu’s combat ability definitely wouldn’t be low.
If what the kid before him said was true, that he had knocked Liao Zhiqiu unconscious and stolen the dagger, then there were only two possibilities.
Either the kid before him was extremely powerful…
Or Liao Zhiqiu had never truly fought back despite being attacked.
Guan Jizhong slowly lifted his gaze toward the person standing before him.
The black-haired youth tilted his head slightly to one side.
Above his head rested an angel halo accessory for some unknown reason, remaining bizarrely stable no matter how he moved. A tiny braid hung beside his right ear, brushing against cheeks that still carried a trace of baby fat.
He looked playful, adorable and entirely harmless.
Guan Jizhong stretched out an arm and grabbed the back of the black-haired youth’s collar, lifting him up as easily as one might pick up a rabbit.
To Guan Jizhong, who spent his days dragging heavy loads through the forest, the weight of the person in his hand was practically featherlight.
Bai Fuling did not struggle at all. He remained exceptionally obedient.
Which made the conclusion very simple.
It wasn’t that this “Fresh and Tender Chinese Cabbage” in front of him was especially strong, it was that Liao Zhiqiu had never truly fought back.
That meant the person before him had to be someone rather important to Liao Zhiqiu.
Guan Jizhong silently settled on that conclusion.
He completely overlooked the possibility that Liao Zhiqiu might not have considered Bai Fuling a fellow human at all but rather treated him more like some small animal.
“Kid.” Guan Jizhong set Bai Fuling back down onto the ground and smiled faintly. “I already told you before, we don’t have any grudge between us. I won’t make things difficult for you.”
“But there’s still one favor I’d like your help with.” His hand rested upon one side of Bai Fuling’s shoulder. “Help me call Liao Zhiqiu here. How about it? There’s something I need to discuss with him.”
“I won’t hurt him and I’ll let you go afterward too.”
Bai Fuling glanced at the quest log.
There was still no new quest notification.
Which meant that [Find Liao Zhiqiu] was not a new quest.
“I don’t have his contact information and I don’t know where he is either,” Bai Fuling answered honestly. “Liao Zhiqiu doesn’t seem to have a fixed spawn location. He appears randomly.”
At moments like this, the advantages of fixed-location NPCs became obvious again.
Bai Fuling immediately started missing that glasses wearing NPC from before.
Office worker NPCs were truly the best.
They appeared punctually at fixed locations every single day!
“You don’t know?” Guan Jizhong clearly refused to give up. His obsession with finding the murderer had already become a stubborn fixation and the prerequisite for obtaining clues was preventing Liao Zhiqiu from returning for those two days to mourn his pet.
He had to find him.
“You should know. Because he cares about you, he does care about you. He didn’t fight back.”
Bai Fuling fell into thought for a moment.
Didn’t fight back, huh…
Could it be that Liao Zhiqiu actually enjoyed it???
In any case, if an NPC repeatedly emphasized something in dialogue, then it was definitely important information!
Next time he encountered that guy again, he’d observe more carefully.
Then Bai Fuling glanced at the quest log again.
Still no new quest.
Why wasn’t interacting with this NPC triggering anything?
Could it be that he still hadn’t reached the activation point yet?
Frowning, Bai Fuling mentally replayed the conversation from earlier.
Then suddenly, he caught onto something.
Ah, he understood now.
The problem was that the task this tall NPC wanted to issue wasn’t meant for him, it was meant for Liao Zhiqiu instead.
How could an NPC steal another NPC’s quest assignment slot like this?!
NPCs shouldn’t be entrusting tasks to other NPCs. They should entrust them to players!
So Bai Fuling immediately spoke up.
“What do you need Liao Zhiqiu for? You can just ask me directly instead.”
“No.” Guan Jizhong pressed his lips into a straight line. His hand still rested on Bai Fuling’s shoulder and because of his emotional agitation, even his arm had begun trembling slightly. “I have to find Liao Zhiqiu.”
“Kid, do you understand? Kid? I won’t hurt you and I won’t hurt him either.”
“But if he doesn’t come, I can’t let you leave.”
After spending years isolated deep within the forest, Guan Jizhong had long since grown indifferent toward society’s rules and moral boundaries.
And now that the only person he truly cared about, his younger sister, was dead, concepts like law and ethics meant even less to him.
He only knew one thing.
If he let the person before him go now, then he would never get another opportunity again.
“I don’t want to hurt you, kid,” Guan Jizhong said in a low voice. “But for these two days, you have to stay here. I can’t let you leave and warn him. I still need to go out and search for him myself…”
“I need to complete the conditions of the deal. I need clues about the murderer.”
Murderer!
Bai Fuling’s eyes immediately lit up as he caught the keyword.
He knew it.
There was always crucial information hidden inside long NPC dialogue sequences. That was precisely why he never skipped them,
although, to be fair, he still had no idea where the dialogue skip button in this game even was.
“You’re looking for a murderer? The recent Crescent Sickle Murder Case?”
Bai Fuling suddenly understood.
So this new storyline was connected to the proper mystery-solving quest branch from Sweet Dreams after all,
finding the killer.
“No problem. You can just assign the quest to me directly.” Bai Fuling nodded confidently. “I’m already investigating it.”
“What?”
For a moment, Guan Jizhong failed to process what he had just heard.
“You?”
“Yes. Allow me to introduce myself properly.”
Bai Fuling smoothly entered his lines.
“I am the world famous Farmer Detective Fresh and Tender Chinese Cabbage.”
Guan Jizhong: “……Never heard of you.”
Why was this NPC arguing with the player again?!
Bai Fuling widened his eyes indignantly.
Shouldn’t NPCs normally just go along with whatever the player said?!
Why was the second step of this quest so difficult to trigger?
He refused to believe he couldn’t accept this quest successfully!
Being questioned only ignited an even stronger competitive spirit inside him.
Inside the free dialogue input box, Bai Fuling copied and modified lines from Detective ○○, rapidly typing them out.
“I was once a world-renowned detective but after witnessing a dark transaction, I was attacked and force-fed a mysterious poison.”
“When I awoke, my body had shrunk into that of a student.”
“For safety reasons, I must conceal my identity. I cannot reveal my former title, so I established a new one instead, the Farmer Detective Fresh and Tender Chinese Cabbage.”
“Though my body has become smaller, my mind remains sharp. I am the omniscient great detective. There is always only one truth!”
After the flood of dialogue was entered, the tall NPC before him finally fell silent.
At last, he stopped questioning him.
Satisfied, Bai Fuling nodded.
“Alright. Now you can confidently entrust the quest to me, right?”
Classic detective dialogue successfully inputted.
Surely the AI system couldn’t still fail the verification now!
Author’s Note:
Guan Jizhong: ……Are all city people like this?
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
✦ The translator summons words. You may summon coffee. ✦
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Escape game freezesChapter 2 · Players aren’t allowed to use the main entranceChapter 3 · Players have created a medical miracle!Chapter 4 · If I hit the NPC more, will the NPC drop gold coins?Chapter 5 · Players earn the title of “bus weirdo”Chapter 6 · Players get a prison experienceChapter 7 · So the red bar isn’t for favorability, it’s for anger!Chapter 8 · The player is a nimble catChapter 9 · The player is a “law-abiding” good studentChapter 10 · Players have no morals and are fearlessChapter 11 · Player: What’s wrong? It’s called “Cai Cai Shui Ling LingChapter 12 · The player is the famous Farmer Detective!Chapter 13 · The player raised a new petChapter 14 · The player is a genius dog-riding boyChapter 15 · The player is a sticky, helpful, and kind comradeChapter 16 · It turns out that players aren’t considered human by NPCsChapter 17 · Players are like angels descending upon my side!Chapter 18 · Player: There’s only one truth!Chapter 19 · Why are players farming at the school?!Chapter 20 · Players came to the cafeteria to buy suppliesChapter 21 · Are NPCs model workers?Chapter 22 · If you’re a gay manChapter 23 · Player: Wheelchairs are a useful mode of transportation!Chapter 24 · So the player is actually part of Cat Returns (?)Chapter 25 · Liao Zhi Qiu, a large pet belonging to the playerChapter 26 · Player: Hello, I picked up this corpse.Chapter 27 · Bai Fuling: Players will never dieChapter 28 · Has the murderer been caught?Chapter 29 · Player: Visiting the mental hospital felt as familiar as coming homeChapter 30 · Players’ Adventure in the Mental Hospital: Round 1Chapter 31 · Player: Kid, fly!Chapter 32 · The player who does good deeds every day is truly a good personChapter 33 · The kitten brought back some local specialtiesChapter 34 · Let this adorable kitten stay forever?Chapter 35 · Players, don’t give up on being human!Chapter 36 · A kitten is just a kitten, isn’t it?Chapter 37 · Players want it, players get itChapter 38 · Angel Player and Unlucky Bear NPCChapter 39 · In short, players choose to throw at NPCsChapter 40 · The player just flew away!Chapter 41 · Player: You need to thoroughly understand the bookChapter 42 · Players love to tease honest NPCs.Chapter 43 · He said he was a little hungry.Chapter 44 · Even if cotton essence mutatesChapter 45 · Pure Love TentaclesChapter 46 · Choose to be a kitten?Chapter 47 · Players’ tears are weaponsChapter 48 · Players do not need to breatheChapter 49 · It’s on fire!Chapter 50 · The player is a top-tier rescue masterChapter 51 · How did the player manage to resurrect after killing themselves?!Chapter 52 · Call the player “Little Cat King”!Chapter 53 · What are the consequences of raising the cat-like alienation