【Fellow villager】
Its definition in dictionaries or on the Internet is: a term of address between companions. It is a commonly used, high-frequency term that carries a strong sense of intimacy and can shorten the distance between people.
As for Lu Yuan, although he was a minion who had been slaughtered countless times in the game, he had never seen any other monsters. He was born in that modified Operating Room and was also killed in that same room. He had experienced thousands of cycles of life and death, yet he had never seen a single companion. He was lonely, he was solitary, and what he faced were always just those players who only thought about killing him.
So, at this moment, the instant Lu Yuan finally saw another minion, the excitement in his heart was beyond words.
Although he had picked up some Things first, at that time, his heart was very uneasy.
It was just like when you are on a blind date and you see that beautiful back sitting on a bench; you pace back and forth nervously, but you don't dare to go forward and say hello.
In the end, he finally decided to use the word 'fellow villager'. Just as the annotation said, because this word is intimate!
And just as Lu Yuan, with an excited and shy heart, shouted out that word, fellow villager,
the body of the person in front, which had been twisting constantly, also suddenly stiffened. Clearly, it had heard Lu Yuan's call.
Then it slowly turned its head around.
"Holy crap."
At this glance back, Lu Yuan subconsciously blurted out a curse. Just a moment ago, the guy in front had been facing away from him, and he hadn't seen clearly, but now that it had turned around, Lu Yuan could only say that this fellow villager looked quite unique.
Its entire head looked as if it had been soaking in water for months; it was completely swollen, its hair had almost all fallen out, and its skin was stretched so tight it shone with oil. If it weren't for the dress it was wearing, one wouldn't even be able to tell if it was a man or a woman. Moreover, from the exposed cheeks, one could see burst flesh and blood, and from the deep, gaping wounds, gray-green pus was flowing out.
Lu Yuan and this monster, which could no longer be called a 'person', stared at each other from a distance. The scene was a bit like the awkwardness of netizens meeting in real life.
Of course, Lu Yuan couldn't keep dwelling on the other's appearance; after all, he hadn't looked very good himself in the past. It’s like being locked in a prison for over a decade without a roommate, or even a prison guard. In those decades, you haven't seen any other people, only the silent walls around you. Then, suddenly one day, someone is sent into your Room, and it's a Woman. At that moment, would you care about her appearance?
Of course you wouldn't.
Those who say "I would care" are just people who have never experienced that kind of loneliness and pain and are only capable of making sarcastic remarks. When you have truly experienced that situation, let alone appearance, even if a pig were sent in, you would be so moved you'd almost cry.
Therefore, after a small moment of surprise, Lu Yuan immediately showed a sense of concern.
"This fellow villager, you don't look so good."
"Awoo~~~"
Before Lu Yuan could finish, the monster erupted with a Harsh, shrill howl. At the same time, its legs, which didn't seem very agile, kicked off violently, and it lunged over here, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.
"Fellow villager, what are you..." Lu Yuan was stunned for a moment. He felt that his way of greeting shouldn't have had any problems.
"I say, fellow villager, you... you are too enthusiastic."
"Awoo~~"
Lu Yuan was very helpless. He certainly held a heart full of enthusiasm for this fellow villager, but looking at the other's posture, it seemed it didn't want to give him any chance to continue chatting. In this situation, Lu Yuan could only turn around and run for his life.
"This Beauty, we don't need to be like this, I was just saying hello."
"Awoo~~~"
Lu Yuan shouted while running, and the monster behind him naturally remained unmoved, chasing relentlessly with both hands and feet. Because its movements were too violent, the flesh on its body tore open, and blood mixed with pus sprayed out in a trail.
Just like that, one chased and one ran, but the open space was only so big, where else could they go? After circling the open space a few times, Lu Yuan finally felt that he was running out of stamina.
"Fellow villager, besides 'awoo', can you say anything else?"
"Awoo~~"
"Damn it—!"
Lu Yuan was finally at his wit's end. Although they were fellow villagers, having someone rush over like a rabid dog the moment they met was something no one could stand.
Between the joy of "meeting an old friend in a foreign land" and "being eaten alive by an old friend in a foreign land," Lu Yuan certainly wouldn't choose the latter.
Thinking of this, Lu Yuan slammed on the brakes, tipped to the side with his momentum, and at the same time, swung the baseball bat in his hand with all his might, smashing it down onto the back of that fellow villager's Head with a 'Bang!'
The fellow villager's Head didn't look very sturdy either. With this smash, it immediately burst open, blood splattered everywhere, and disgusting gore splashed all over Lu Yuan's face.
Uh, you didn't read that wrong. Our Lu Yuan was being very intimate with his fellow villager just a second ago, and the next second, he smashed the fellow villager's Mind to pieces. This wasn't because he was dark-minded or had a split personality; it was just that as someone who had died countless times, he knew deeply that this kind of death meant nothing to fellow villagers, because in a while, the dead fellow villager would revive again.
As for this act of beating up a fellow villager, in Lu Yuan's heart, it was probably about the same as accidentally stepping on a fellow villager's foot.
At this point, Lu Yuan finally took a deep breath and sat down on the ground.
"Sorry, fellow villager."
Before the words had even faded, the fellow villager's body swayed a few times, and with a 'splat', it fell to the ground. At the same time, the main quest in Lu Yuan's quest log showed 【Complete】.
【Congratulations, you have successfully cleared the level】
【In 10 seconds, you will leave the Instance】
【Instance reward will be calculated later】
【10】
【9】
"Hey, wait, I think that fellow villager could still be saved!"
Lu Yuan shouted, but of course, the system wouldn't have any reaction. As the countdown ended, the surrounding scene began to blur. Lu Yuan only felt that sense of weightlessness return, and then he felt a sudden shift.
When he came to his senses, everything around him had disappeared, replaced by a Room that wasn't too large.
But at this moment, Lu Yuan wasn't paying attention to the changes around him. He just stood there quietly, his eyes slightly lowered. In his Mind, he was still thinking about the fellow villager he had just smashed.
"That monster, after seeing a person appear, would attack the other party without any Reason, right? Just like myself not long ago."
Then, how many times had he died? Did he have no memory of his own death? Did he have his own story? Next time I see him, will he still recognize me?
Lu Yuan thought to himself, and soon, he realized a fact.
That is, this fellow villager probably wouldn't possess any of the above. He just repeated between killing and being killed. He was just a piece of Data. Let alone his own story, he didn't even have his own name.
Nor did he have his own thoughts.
Thinking of this, Lu Yuan couldn't help but be overwhelmed by a sense of sadness.
A few minutes later, he recovered from his aimless thinking and looked around.
This Room was square, just like a larger shipping container. At this moment, he was standing in the very center of the Room. On the left was a sofa, on the right was a cabinet, and on the wall directly in front was a Control Panel.
Lu Yuan knew that this place was called 【Personal Space】. In the future, every time he entered the Game, the Player would automatically come here to choose some Equipment, Items, check Information, collect rewards, or choose various Instances.
And the facilities in this space could also be changed, such as a more comfortable sofa, a large screen TV, and many kinds of Food that couldn't be eaten in reality.
This was why in reality, 'Lu Yuan's' room had no decorations, not even a bed, because the enjoyment he needed could all be provided in this 'Ark Game'.
Although it was fake, who would care? Just like no one would care if a piece of game Data had its own thoughts.
At this moment, Lu Yuan had already walked to the Control Panel, and a large screen appeared in the air.
【Congratulations, you have passed the Tutorial Stage】
【Clear Rating————F】
【Experience Reward————10 Experience Points】
【Money Reward————1 Gold Coin】
【Item or Equipment Reward———None】
Lu Yuan looked at the settlement screen in front of him and couldn't help but scratch his head. This settlement was too low.
It was indeed very low, because the Tutorial Stage was a pre-Instance for players to get started. It had no difficulty at all. No matter how bad you were, after clearing it, you would basically be given 100 Experience Points plus 10 Gold Coins.
That 100 Experience Points could allow a player to level up directly to level 2, and 10 Gold Coins could also allow a player to buy a Weapon or armor to start the subsequent formal Game segments.
But our Lu Yuan was not just 'bad'—it was that simple. Dying dozens of times in a Training Stage, calling him a moron would probably be an understatement.
No, a moron would probably clear the stage after dying about 10 times. If you were any worse, you shouldn't be playing games, but should be staying in a hospital. After all, the system would even doubt if you had the ability to take care of yourself.
Therefore, Lu Yuan's rating was the worst, F, and his Experience Points and Gold Coins were only one-tenth of the normal reward.
This start was really not very good, but fortunately, it wasn't nothing. Lu Yuan opened his backpack. In the backpack, there was a roll of Bandage, a baseball bat, and 5 Resurrection Cross Badges. As for that 【mysterious letter】, it had already disappeared after he read it.
Lu Yuan cast his Line of Sight toward the Bandage.
【Disposable Item: Bandage】
【Quantity: 1】
【Effect: After use, it can very slowly restore one-third of your Life. Any damage taken will interrupt this effect.】
【Postscript: If the injured part is not your neck, then please try to wrap it as tightly as possible.】
Lu Yuan smiled. He was a person who was easily satisfied. Although the effect wasn't great, regardless, this thing could restore some Life, right?
Next, he glanced at the baseball bat.
【Weapon: Broken Baseball Bat】
【Quality: Trash】
【Postscript: After experiencing one huge swing, this poor baseball bat is already overwhelmed. Its attack power won't be much stronger than a branch picked up from the ground, so do yourself a favor and throw it away quickly.】
Lu Yuan held the baseball bat in his hand and found that this thing had basically broken into two halves, with only a narrow section still connected. Looking at it, it would be completely ruined with a little bit of force.
But as the saying goes, having something is better than having nothing. Anyway, there was still space in his backpack, so Lu Yuan put the baseball bat away without even thinking.
After completing the Tutorial Stage, more than two hours had passed.
And Lu Yuan wasn't prepared to rest, because he was very lonely.
After experiencing the Training Instance just now, he had finally seen the first of his own kind in his life, but unfortunately, this fellow villager was still in the stage of being controlled by the Ark System, and the only way to communicate with it was to smash it.
However, Lu Yuan didn't lose heart. He believed that in some corner of this Ark world, there must be a piece of Data that was secretly and slowly giving birth to its own consciousness.
Thinking of this, a surge of surging motivation welled up in Lu Yuan's heart.
He clicked on the light screen directly.
On the Screen, there were two options: 【Single Player】 and 【Multiplayer】. As the names suggest, it meant playing by yourself or playing in a team.
Lu Yuan clicked on the 【Single Player option】 directly. Below that were:
【Normal】
【Difficult】
【Nightmare】
These three difficulties, but now only the 【Normal】 option was lit up, and the remaining two would have to wait until the player reached level 3 and level 5 to enter.
Since there were no other options, Lu Yuan had nothing to struggle with.
【You have selected: Single Player — Normal】
【Filtering Instance】
【Instance ready, waiting to load】
【3】
【2】
【1】
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