After taming the lone wolf that had crossed his path, Bai Fuling’s return journey became much smoother. After all, it was basically the same as obtaining a guide NPC.
Between the choices of “follow the lone wolf forward” and “use the map to guide the lone wolf onward,” Bai Fuling suddenly came up with an unnecessary third option,
Why not ride the wolf instead?
Up until now, Bai Fuling still did not have a personal means of transportation. Since he had happened upon a four legged source of horsepower, of course he had to try riding it. He would never miss any opportunity to improve his traveling speed.
So what if it was a wolf? Even if it were a pig, players still would not let it go!
Bai Fuling stared at the pet panel, clicked on the lone wolf whose nickname he had changed to [Big Dog], then dragged it into the adjacent [Mount] slot.
【Are you sure you want to select [Big Dog] as your [Mount]? (Yes/No)】
Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Fuling pressed [Yes].
The screen let out a crisp “zing” notification sound and the label at the top right corner of the lone wolf’s icon changed from [Pet] to [Mount].
Bai Fuling was extremely satisfied with this result. Pets required players to take care of them but mounts could turn around and take care of the player instead!
The moment the switch was completed, Bai Fuling flipped himself onto the wolf’s back in one smooth motion. He rubbed the lone wolf’s head and pointed forward.
“Let’s go, Big Dog. We’re heading back to the city.”
The lone wolf let out a howl and dashed through the forest, moving far faster than Bai Fuling could on foot.
However, Bai Fuling soon noticed that above the wolf’s head was a long blue bar steadily decreasing at a fixed rate, he guessed it was a stamina bar.
Big Dog actually had a stamina limit as a mount! Yet earlier, that NPC with glasses riding a bicycle clearly had no blue bar restriction at all.
It seemed that true mounts were best suited to being NPCs. Bai Fuling fell into profound contemplation, his mind producing a dry joke. Truly fitting for the universal truth that corporate slaves were beasts of burden.
He rode the gray wolf for a while through the woods but before the wolf’s blue stamina bar was completely depleted, Bai Fuling swiftly dismounted.
He was afraid the gray wolf he had finally succeeded in taming would end up exhausted to death.
The gray wolf sat beneath a tree with its tongue hanging out, panting heavily as it rested. Only when it remained motionless did the blue bar above its head begin recovering again, like a battery slowly recharging.
Bai Fuling frowned and glanced at the in game clock.
No, this wouldn’t do. Waiting around for stamina to recover was far too much of a waste of time. Everyone knew players hated boring idle waiting the most.
But if he walked ahead on his own first, then later he would still have to call the gray wolf over to continue leading the way. In the end, that was still another form of waiting.
Bai Fuling stood there in deep thought. After pondering for quite some time, inspiration suddenly struck him and he came up with an absolutely brilliant solution.
The gray wolf mount had a stamina limit and needed time to rest and recover, which meant it could not be ridden continuously,
But players had no stamina limit at all!
So the solution was obvious: let the mount rest on the player’s broad and dependable back!
When the blue bar was full, the player could ride the wolf forward. When the blue bar was empty, the player could carry the wolf forward instead. That way, they could continue advancing every single second without ever stopping.
He truly was a genius!
Bai Fuling could not help admiring the agility of his own thinking.
As for whether this image might look a little absurd… players naturally would not care. The process did not matter. As long as the end result achieved maximum efficiency, that was all that counted.
Thus, Bai Fuling decisively strode forward, grabbed the wolf that was still panting beneath the tree and hoisted it up like a sack!
The gray wolf had a tall and sturdy build. In reality, Bai Fuling definitely would not have been able to carry it but in games, as long as an object could be picked up, it could be lifted.
After controlling his pixel character to carry the gray wolf, his movement speed immediately dropped by quite a bit. A debuff icon appeared in the character panel.
【＊Overburdened＊: Movement speed decreased.】
Ahhh, why is this speed so slow?!
Bai Fuling carried the gray wolf forward for two or three steps and discovered that his character’s movement speed felt as though the game had suddenly been switched to half speed mode.
No good.
Bai Fuling stopped walking.
Crawling along at turtle speed was unbearable for a player. How was he supposed to remove this debuff?
He stared at the screen for several seconds before another flash of inspiration suddenly burst through his mind.
The slowing debuff existed because the gray wolf was being treated as a heavy external object. At its core, that was the problem but if he could merge it together with himself and treat it as part of his clothing, then wouldn’t the debuff disappear entirely?
Games had never reduced movement speed just because clothes were too extravagant or too heavy!
So Bai Fuling immediately adjusted his line of thinking. He selected [Big Dog] once more and dragged it into the [Accessories] section as a back accessory.
Who said back accessories had to be inanimate objects? In games, fancy outfits often had living decorative creatures like birds and butterflies fluttering around them, so having a living creature as a back accessory was perfectly reasonable too.
A system window popped onto the screen.
【Are you sure you want to select [Big Dog] as your [Back Accessory]? (Yes/No)】
Bai Fuling clicked [Yes].
The screen emitted another crisp “zing” notification sound. The gray wolf was perfectly positioned onto Bai Fuling’s back, making him look from afar as though he were draped in a wolf pelt.
And exactly as Bai Fuling had predicted, the movement speed debuff truly disappeared!
He really was a genius!! ×2
Delighted with himself, Bai Fuling happily carried the wolf on his back while continuing forward according to the directions on the map. Once the blue stamina bar above the gray wolf’s head had fully recovered, he put the wolf down, switched it back into [Mount] mode and climbed on again.
Ride for a while, carry for a while.
Ride for a while, carry for a while.
After repeating this process over and over again, Bai Fuling finally saw the faint outline of the main road in the distance,
He had successfully walked out of the forest!
He really was incredible. This was absolutely the most efficient method possible. Bai Fuling glanced at the built in clock. It was already afternoon but he had still managed to return to the city before nightfall.
Riding atop the gray wolf, Bai Fuling sped along the road. Not far ahead stood a guarded checkpoint at the city entrance. He swiftly dismounted and ran over.
An NPC wearing a work uniform spotted Bai Fuling and a huge exclamation mark instantly popped above his head as he hurried over.
Is this finally triggering the random alarm and hospital event?
Bai Fuling tilted his head up expectantly, already looking forward to riding the fastest form of transportation back.
At the moment, his clothes were ragged, his body covered in bloodstains and scratches and six crimson cat like whisker marks stretched across his cheeks.
Although starter clothes could automatically refresh, Bai Fuling had deliberately never restored them. A naturally occurring savage wilderness style was far rarer than ordinary outfits! Preserve it. It absolutely had to be preserved.
The NPC in the work uniform called out from afar, “…H… Hey, what happened to you?! Do you need help?”
“Yes, yes! Any vehicle is fine, just send one over!” Bai Fuling shouted back loudly.
The NPC wearing the work uniform immediately made an emergency call but only then did his gaze finally shift toward the animal following behind Bai Fuling.
“What’s that beside you… wait, a wolf?!!”
He screamed and stumbled backward three or four steps in a row.
“No, this isn’t a wolf. This is my pet dog.”
Bai Fuling casually reached out and patted the wolf on the head.
“…That is obviously a wolf! Where did you even bring a wolf from?! Wild beasts aren’t allowed inside the city!”
The work uniform NPC grabbed the steel pitchfork nearby.
“Move aside! Chase it away!”
“It really is a big dog!”
Bai Fuling remained equally firm in his insistence.
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it to you.”
He called out, “Wolf.”
The gray wolf showed absolutely no reaction.
Then he called, “Big Dog.”
The gray wolf immediately trotted over while wagging half of its tail.
Bai Fuling nodded seriously.
“See? It’s a big dog.”
The man in the work uniform: …What kind of proof is that supposed to be ahhh!!!
Bai Fuling had already changed the gray wolf’s name. According to game mechanics, mounts would only respond when called by their designated names. Therefore, there was no wolf standing here right now, only Big Dog!
The NPC in the work uniform held the pitchfork while silently confronting Bai Fuling and the gray wolf for several moments. In the end, however, he still lowered the weapon in his hand.
“…Fine. Fine. You raised it yourself since it was young, right?”
The man in the work uniform spoke reluctantly.
He thought to himself: Dogs evolved from wolves to begin with… maybe this really is a dog. It just happens to look like a wolf.
“Mhm, I raised it.”
Bai Fuling selectively answered only part of the question.
“But it can’t get into the ambulance later. The vehicle can only take you to the hospital,” the work uniform NPC said.
“Okay.”
Bai Fuling nodded without the slightest concern.
According to RPG game mechanics, mounts only needed to be summoned whenever necessary. During his earlier conversation with the NPC, he had already removed the [Cannot Be Summoned Within City Limits] restriction from the gray wolf in the mount panel.
Mission accomplished.
He patted the gray wolf’s head.
“You worked hard. Head back first.”
The gray wolf howled once before leaping back into the forest.
The pixel style ambulance soon came speeding over with blaring sirens, picking up Bai Fuling in his fashionable savage aesthetic.
Riding the fastest transportation into the city, Bai Fuling gazed out through the window at the pixel style scenery outside and once again marveled inwardly at how detailed the game was.
He had not expected even this place to avoid lazy copy pasting repetition. Every building and even the NPCs standing by the roadside were all different from one another.
Suddenly, Bai Fuling caught sight of a familiar figure.
A red brown haired man wearing an eyepatch was leaning beside a van while smoking a cigarette.
Ohhh, it’s that tall male NPC from before!!
He actually appeared again. That definitely means there’s more story content tied to him, right?
Seizing the opportunity, Bai Fuling pushed open the ambulance door. Ignoring the horrified shouting of the doctor NPCs behind him, he jumped straight out.
Because of inertia, the pixel character rolled several times across the ground and his health bar dropped noticeably yet Bai Fuling paid it no mind whatsoever,
After all, there was no need for combat right now. As long as the health bar remained above half, that counted as healthy.
He briskly climbed back to his feet and ran toward the tall male NPC.
At the roadside.
Guan Jizhong was smoking a cigarette, his gaze fixed on the alleyway entrance not far away as he waited for his target.
After returning to the city, he had contacted the old man again and gathered new information through other channels. From the previous admission announcement records of Pelander Academy, he had found the school taken photograph of Liao Zhiqiu.
He knew Liao Zhiqiu would emerge from the small alley behind the school.
Guan Jizhong took a deep drag from his cigarette. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed something charging toward him at high speed.
Turning his head, he saw a black haired young man covered in blood, wearing a glowing angel halo above his head, smiling brightly as though he had crawled straight out of hell.
Guan Jizhong: !?
“Cough, cough cough cough!!”
Guan Jizhong was so startled he choked on his own cigarette smoke, erupting into a violent coughing fit.
“Hi, hi! I’m back again!”
Bai Fuling hurried over with a cheerful grin plastered across his face.
“Do you need any help?”
Guan Jizhong stared at him in disbelief.
“…Why are you here?!!!”
Sigh. This NPC is questioning the player again.
Bai Fuling thought to himself.
Looks like it’s a problem with this character’s built in AI settings. The player would have to train him properly.
Thus, Bai Fuling spoke in a serious tone.
“When I appear in front of you asking whether you need help, the correct response in situations like this is simply ‘thank you,’ not things like ‘why are you here,’ which ruin the atmosphere and show a complete lack of gratitude.”
Guan Jizhong: ?
Guan Jizhong: ???
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
One tiny coffee. One very happy translator. ✦
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
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