Forces of Temptation

Xiao Xie is a very honest person.

He told Nan Zhou that he was actually a fictional character in the comic "Eternal Day".

And just two days ago, a console game called Gravity was officially released.

The author of "Eternal Day", Nan Zhou's real father, completed his maiden work "Eternal Day" in two years, and has since occupied his place in the manga. The genius horror cartoonist Yong Wu, Died of cancer twelve years ago.

Because of his withdrawn personality and indifferent relationship with relatives and friends, he entrusted the copyright of thirteen comics behind him, including his debut novel "Eternal Day", to one of his most trusted editors.

The part of the property belonging to him is divided, this eccentric man did not announce the specific disposal method.

So, "Eternal Day" was included in the adaptation echelon of "Gravity" as early as three years ago.

Now, Nan Zhou is already a character in a game copy.

Xiao Xie said that he had read "Eternal Day" before and liked it very much.

So, after the game cabin he just bought arrived, he was the first to choose to drop into the copy of "Eternal Day" to see the one who met him unilaterally, separated by a dimension teenager.

Nan Zhou just nodded to Xiao Xie's eloquent remarks.

He couldn't feel the cruelty and malice behind Xiao Xie's purpose of telling him the truth.

—When normal people are clearly told that no matter how hard they work, their fate is always in the hands of others, and that they will always be in control for the endless years to come, their first reaction is often Is crashing and going crazy.

But Nan Zhou didn't take it to heart.

Because he already guessed it.

Nanzhou sketched Ms. Apple Tree's lips on the paper, and marked her lips with fine lines to make them more colorful, and responded symbolically: "… ."

Noticing Nan Zhou's indifferent expression, Xiao Xie's eyes lit up with moving light: "Aren't you surprised? ... How much did you guess?"

Nan Zhou glanced at Xiao Xie: "About what?"

If it is about his own identity, then this is something he has been thinking about since elementary school.

At one point he thought he was a character in a book.

The manga is similar to his speculation.

If it's about the game copy...

Nanzhou's understanding of the concept of games is limited to a few game magazines in the bookstore that are still dated ten years ago.

In Nanzhou's cognition, the game is a story locked in a box.

It doesn't feel much like him as a book.

It's just that he doesn't have the feeling of being a puppet drawn by silk threads for the time being, which means that the box is very open, and the control over him is not as strong as he imagined.

In the future, more new people will come in.

If someone can get in, then he can get out.

So he didn't understand why Xiao Xie kept looking into his eyes.

It seems that his dull emotions and reactions do not meet his psychological expectations.

Xiao Xie looked into his eyes intently: "Have you ever spoken to someone like me?"

Nan Zhou thought carefully.

He was unable to speak to Ms. Apple Tree.

So he shook his head.

Xiao Xie's shoulders slumped slightly, looking rather disappointed: "Why aren't you surprised?"

No madness, no breakdown, no pain.

No fun.

Nanzhou's surprises ran out as early as yesterday.

He was not used to expressing emotions with ups and downs, so he looked at Xiao Xie with confusion in his eyes.

He asked, "What do you want to ask?"

Xiao Xie's expression improved: "I will be your friend in the future, okay?"

Nanzhou: "Why?"

Xiao Xie: "…"

Xiao Xie: "...Aren't you alone?"

Nan Zhou put down his pen: "loneliness."

Nan Zhou: "But why should I be friends with you?"

Nan Zhou asked the words from the heart.

But Xiao Xie seemed to be choked a lot.

In order to avoid humiliating herself, Xiao Xie took the initiative to change the subject: "Do you feel that your world is different?"

Nan Zhou thought about it and didn't feel that his life was any different from before.

The sun was still the same.

The arrangement of buildings has not changed either.

The world is still that world.

The only difference is an extra apple tree.

Thinking of the apple tree, Nan Zhou's mood suddenly improved a lot.

If Xiao Xie said making friends is to plant apple trees for each other...

Then he hopes to find the lady of the apple tree and plant one for her.

It was just Xiao Xie's question that made him fall in love.

According to his reading accumulation, shouldn't the general game use data, algorithms and models to build another virtual parallel world with all the conditions as close as possible?

Why did Ms. Apple Tree and Xiao Xie come to him?

This is a question worth thinking about.

But over the years, Nanzhou has not had the habit of sharing ideas with others.

Xiao Xie also has no desire to share his thoughts.

He only intends to digest it by himself.

I have to say that Nanzhou's animal intuition is quite powerful.

He was on guard against Xiao Xie from the very beginning.

He felt that there was something in his smile that he didn't like.

However, no matter what precautions, Nanzhou cannot escape the influence of the full moon night on the light charm.

The tides periodically ebb and flow, culminating at the monthly full moon.

Xiao Xie came to the third day of the dungeon, which was the full moon.

Nanzhou's room, the watercolor window paintings of blue sky and white pigeons, and the wooden fences used every month have tried their best to keep out all the moonlight.

Even so, Nan Zhou was still soft on the bed, his whole body was sore, he was sweating wildly, and his waist was so soft that he could not exert any strength.

When the moon was full, all the light charms in the town were too weak to get out of bed, and there was almost no threat.

But Nan Zhou still remembered that there was a little Xie who lived next to him at home.

So he struggled to lock the door before nightfall when he found that his physical strength began to lose violently.

The clock on the wall slowly pointed to the 12 o'clock position.

The moonlight outside the window is getting brighter and more dazzling.

At this time, Xiao Xie's gentle voice suddenly sounded outside the door: "Nanzhou, are you there?"

Nanzhou's mind moved.

He hadn't heard any approaching footsteps since just now.

…Xiao Xie, seems to have been standing at the door for a long time.

Nan Zhou bit the horn and tried to swallow the weak gasp.

However, not long after, the sound of the key getting into the keyhole and rustling came from his ear.

He had no idea how Xiao Xie got in.

When she heard the door being pushed open with a creak, Nan Zhou's throat tightened, and before he could think about it, he put his weak wrist under the pillow—

Before he could grab the handle of the hidden fruit knife, his wrist was easily caught by one hand.

Nan Zhou pursed his pale lips tightly, was turned over by Xiao Xie and sat down, easily controlled on the bed.

Xiao Xie's hand covered his mouth, and his tail finger pressed down on his lips maliciously, like some kind of condescending teasing.

"It's so painful. So lonely, isn't it?"

Xiao Xie spoke to him in a whispering voice, but without much sympathy, just enjoying Nan Zhou's slightly out of control expression when he couldn't hold his breath.

"If I were you, I'd be dead."

Nanzhou: “…”

Sick.

You are not me.

When did I want to die.

Xiao Xie leaned down and said softly, "I'll help you free yourself."

The pressure suddenly left.

Before Nan Zhou could catch his breath, something cold and cold pressed against his waist.

A lethal electric current boiled the blood all over his body from his waist.

With the electric shock point as the center, a black hole-like material was formed, causing all the perception and consciousness of Nanzhou to collapse inward.

The corners of his eyes were filled with scattered and colorful electro-optical trails.

In his fingertips, out of his chest.

Extremely exciting and dazzling.

Suddenly, all the excitement turned to complete silence.

At the same moment when Nan Zhou's heartbeat stopped, there was still an afterimage of reality in his vision.

Xiao Xie's figure was blurred, like a flowery TV, flashing snowflakes.

Xiao Xie also looked a little surprised and looked at his palm.

But the next second, he disappeared into Nanzhou's room.

And a surge of oxygen rushed into Nanzhou's heart, as if someone was holding an electric shocker and rudely pressed his chest repeatedly.

—The feeling of being controlled by an irresistible force is back.

—The result this time is a forced resurrection.

Nan Zhou suddenly sat up from the bed, causing a terrifying burst of heart palpitations and dizziness.

He lay beside the bed, gasping for a long time, before re-adapting to the influx of oxygen and the constant pain in his body.

Next, Nan Zhou asked the school for three days off.

He went to the library, found some books related to the game, and reread them carefully.

The body, while resting, while reading.

The author never dabbled in the game field.

Therefore, in the "Xinhua Bookstore" built by him, there are the most literature and art books.

About games, it's just a few outdated magazines and a brief history of game development.

Nan Zhou read through the information that he could collect, and sure enough he noticed something was wrong.

—In a normal game, the player should be the core role that is served.

The performance is that the boss in the dungeon, no matter how miserable he is killed by the player, will end the process when the player leaves.

Status reset, nothing happened.

How about myself?

In addition to being resurrected, his memory has not been cleared, and the wounds on his body are still painful.

As if...the reset was not complete at all.

Nan Zhou didn't have time to think about why he was so different.

On the second day of his resumption of classes, two strange guests were welcomed into the town.

A man, with a cute little girl, was walking around the town.

The two seem to be traveling.

When the little girl saw him, she stuffed him with a fruit candy.

If there wasn't that little loli who was about the same age as his student, Nan Zhou would never let down his guard against them.

She reminded him of his sister after a long time.

He even took the little girl to his sketching class.

Two days later, on the suddenly full moon night, when she was stabbed in the back with a knife by the little girl, Nan Zhou heard clearly that "she" shook off the blood drop from the knife, With a grin, he said to his partner in a man's voice, "The time modifier is really useful. Another achievement."

The man also smiled lightly: "The Raiders are right. He is so easy to deceive."

The two were talking and disappeared quickly.

Like when Xiao Xie disappeared.

Exactly the same.

Nan Zhou fell to the ground, and after a long time, he resisted the pain in his back and got up.

He put his hand in his sweater pocket.

There is an apple that has been crushed to one side.

It was originally intended for little girls to eat.

…If you don’t want it, then forget it.

Nan Zhou sat on the side of the road, wiped the apple with the front of his clothes, took a bite, and felt a little calmer.

He quietly thought about the "time thruster" that the little girl called, and the "master key" that Xiao Xie used to open his door.

—He has another message.

The players he encounters are very likely to have a large number of props and items with different functions.

He needs to do something about it.

After that, another player came to Never Town one after another.

Some players just come here for a stroll, but some players clearly want to get close to Nanzhou.

Although Nan Zhou is lonely, he is not stupid.

He would like to ask, do you have anything else.

Why play games?

Why indulge in something that doesn't make much sense in reality even if you win?

Why do you have to kill me in another world for this purpose?

No one can answer these questions for him.

So he tried his best to show his fierce and indifferent side, trying to drive them out of Nevertown.

However, the night of the full moon is the curse that he cannot escape after all.

The next full moon night is on schedule.

It was easy to escape the four players' pursuit and interception. Nan Zhou just wanted to take a breath, but he fell into three people who he had never seen before and who had sneaked into the town at some point in time. player's hand.

They used stun guns in the dark.

An assault weapon studded with barbs and electrodes, ejected by high pressure nitrogen gas.

The power is very strong, it can be fatal at once, but it is not.

At this time, Nanzhou and the previous four players have been dealing with it until dawn.

Nanzhou was exhausted both physically and mentally.

So they hit the ground running.

The moonlight on the horizon is gradually disappearing, and it has gradually dimmed.

The light that fell on Nan Zhou's body was very light and thin.

The familiar and severe pain made Nan Zhou fall to the ground again, drenched in cold sweat.

He did not continue to resist, but closed his eyes and pretended to be dead, ready to wait for the opportunity.

The three found that he was not moving, so they squatted not far from his "corpse", ready to receive rewards and accept teleportation.

"Why doesn't this boss have a health bar? It's so fragile, it's gone after one shot?"

"Hey, it's really like the Raiders, as long as you click into the dungeon when you are stuck, you can kill it if you say kill, just an ordinary person, really boring."

"Forget it. It's good to get the achievement."

The tinnitus caused by the pain, coupled with the sharp roar of the blood rushing to the top of the head, intertwined into a harsh and messy symphony.

The conversation that entered his ear was mixed with the noise in his head, making Nan Zhou's heart beat faster than ever.

"boring".

Achievements.

Is that what they are for?

Then why must their purpose be achieved?

These unfamiliar and provocative words stimulated his nerves, and anger gradually eroded Nan Zhou's mind.

He supported the ground with his arms, and after borrowing a little force, he tapped the ground with his toes and rushed forward.

There was a sudden gust of wind on the empty street.

The tall man with his back to Nanzhou inadvertently turned his head to the side, and out of the corner of the eye only had time to catch a cold figure that was approaching close behind him.

…and a cold hand resting on his throat.

Click.

…

Ding.

When Nan Zhou put the small spoon back on the plate, the slight collision between the plate and the wooden spoon woke him from his memory.

The apple-faced girl came over shyly and handed Nan Zhou an elaborate fruit plate.

She said gently: "Guest, for you. Thank you for helping my sister just now."

Nanzhou looked to the side of the fruit plate.

There are several cut apples with red skin to translucent.

The apple-faced girl said softly to herself: "The fruits are grown by themselves, and they are not worth anything. I just hope... I hope you can come often—"

Nanzhou suddenly got up.

A familiar scent.

Familiar sheen.

Familiar...Apple.

He thought for a while that he was still in the memory and did not leave.

He was sitting on the tree that belonged to him, picking apples, and swallowing the apples and sunlight into his own mouth little by little by the fine light sifted through the fruit branches.

Nan Zhou asked, "How did you get your apples?"

The apple-faced girl was taken aback by his actions and tone, holding the apple, Nuonuo said: "How come... Everyone is the seed from Boss Zhong..."

Nan Zhou asked, "Where is Boss Zhong?"

Apple-faced girl: "Go out and go south, keep walking along the path... There are signs on the side of the road, and the seed store is very eye-catching."

Nanzhou grabbed the small tail of the South Pole Star, which was trying to climb towards the fruit plate, and shoved it straight into her arms: "Thank you."

After all, he left the dessert shop in a hurry.

It's like rushing to a late appointment.

Li Yinhang was puzzled and turned to look at Jiang Fang.

Jiang Fang was stunned, he couldn't help pursing his lips and his eyes flashed slightly.

…does he remember the apple tree thing?

Jiang Fang had something on his mind, so he didn't answer Li Yinhang, but left with Nan Zhou.

Li Yinhang was busy and simply packed up and planned to decorate it.

Before leaving, she still patted the shoulder of the apple-faced girl who didn't know if she had done something wrong, and said with relief:

"It's not your fault."

No one noticed, there were two men and one woman sitting two tables on the right side of Nanzhou.

Seeing the three people and one mouse leave, the girl's back, which had been tense, finally relaxed.

She patted her chest and let out a small sigh of relief: "...Wow. It scared me to death."

The man A who was with her dared to let go of his voice and asked her, "Are you sure you are not wrong?"

"I'm not sure."

The girl frowned: "That little thing, so small. We are not sitting very close, how can I recognize it."

Man B tried to comfort her: "You see it wrong. Maybe it's a small pet. Wherever you go, there's a monster?"

"No..."

The girl frowned: "I have played "Gravity" and have been farming on the 'Homeland Island' before. That little animal looks especially like the only pastoral style in the 'Homeland Island' The monsters in the dungeon."

She gestured at the shape of the South Pole Star: "If there is a lightning-shaped mark near the fluff of its stomach, I can be sure!"

Man B still doubted her eyesight: "Even if it's a monster, it's just a little mouse..."

The girl gave him a stern look.

"Little mouse?" she muttered, "That's a monster with a combat rating of A+ on the 'Homeland Island', close to S rank!"

Here, the girl doubts her eyesight again.

If that honey glider was really the kind of monster she knew, how could it walk with other players?

How can it be raised like this...

One…

…cute?

…

After using the world channel to send a gathering signal to other teams, He Yinchuan temporarily closed the background page and said to Lu Bifang: "Little Lu, tell me what you found there. You said Jiang Fang, international Friends, was a player of Gravity?"

Lu Bifang nodded obediently: "Yes."

Unlike Lin Zhisong, Lu Bifang could not understand professional intelligence, so he focused most of his attention on the information about the missing persons.

Lu Bifang added: "To be precise, he is not an official player of this game."

"The price of the game "Gravity" is still very high, and when each machine is sold, the real ID of the buyer will be recorded."

"After the accident, the relevant departments investigated the situation of each comatose person."

"Only Lodoka...Mr. Jiang Fang, his game cabin was not registered with his own ID information."

Zhou Ao, who doesn't play games much, frowned: "What does this mean?"

Lu Bifang scratched his head.

"How to say..."

"He should count as a booster?"