Eternal Night

Chapter 489 Various Strange Things
In short, Wu Pifu managed to infiltrate the town. Although his confusion level kept rising, he was a human being, completely different from those mechanical monsters, so his entry did not arouse any suspicion.

Wu Pifu and Beelzebub speculated that this world might have already entered an apocalyptic scenario due to the large-scale appearance of those mechanical monsters, and that humans were very precious, or perhaps humans were united, in any case, which made the people in this world seem somewhat... naive?
There were no questions asked, no follow-ups or investigations; the entire town seemed completely unguarded against him.

On the other side, after Wu Pifu entered the town, his every move was actually being monitored. The technology in this world was quite advanced, and even without any deliberate surveillance, all his actions were displayed on the screen of the camp commander.

"...A small bird, a dog, those are all understandable, but what's with that fist-sized fly? And it seems to be talking to the big fly incessantly?"

"And he was also carrying a small bonsai tree? It looked like it was made of gold, but according to the surveillance footage, the tree was alive and belonged to a plant species that had never been recorded before."

Several people gathered in the command room, commenting on Wu Pifu.

One of the men said, "He said he was a traveler? Maybe it's a memory central system, a core processor, or a memory program malfunction... It probably hasn't stored information with the central network system for a long time."

The group nodded, and one of them said, "As for carrying these small animals and plants, it's probably an instinctive imitation of human behavior, just like us. And because of memory issues, he might think he is human?"

After some discussion, the commander, a mature woman with red hair, said, "Let him stay here for now. There have been similar cases before. Due to malfunctions in the memory system or core processor, his cognition has been distorted. If we forcibly take him to the central network for updates, it may greatly increase the probability of viruses. So let him move freely. He will eventually need to perform maintenance or instinctively interact with the central network. When that happens, he will naturally recover. The important thing now is... the A1 problem."

Everyone fell silent.

The red-haired woman glanced at everyone and said seriously, "I know that A1 has helped us a lot, and she is not an enemy or an enemy spy. However, the order to arrest her was issued by the Supreme Human Council of the Moon, and it seems that the elite force, Wakaba, has also suffered heavy losses because of her. We cannot let her leave!"

The man who spoke first looked up at the commander and asked, "Should we hand her over?"

The red-haired woman nodded and said, "Yes, we must hand it over. As long as we consider ourselves to be resisters fighting for humanity, we cannot disobey the orders of the Supreme Human Council of the Moon!"

The man lowered his head, and the others followed suit. They all said at the same time, "Understood. Then please contact the Wakaba unit."

On the other side, Wu Pifu walked through the abandoned town. He was a little unsure how to start a conversation with the people here. After all, talking was not his forte. He preferred to communicate with his fists. But he couldn't just grab someone and beat them up, asking them all his questions in the process, could he?

Beelzebub is good at talking and asking questions, but asking these people to calmly talk to a big fly is putting them in a difficult position.

After walking for a while, Wu Pifu saw a fairly intact building ahead, with pictures and words about wine hanging on it. His eyes lit up, and he immediately strode over.

That's right! Once you arrive at a new map, the tavern is undoubtedly the best place to get the next main quest!
As for money, it's simple. He specifically put some gold in his personal space, which should be enough to pay for the drinks.
When Wu Pifu pushed open the door and went inside, he saw that there was no one else in the entire tavern except for a man who was tidying up a machine gun.

Okay, the bartender tidying up the machine guns...

Wu Pifu walked to the bar, tapped the table, and said, "Just a bottle of wine, please."

The "completely baffled" index has risen slightly...

Wu Pifu is used to it!

This must be a global problem!
It's definitely not because he said anything strange or did anything strange again!!

The bartender looked at Wu Pifu with suspicion, then silently took a bottle of wine from the back counter and tossed it to Wu Pifu.

Wu Pifu gently opened the bottle cap, took a sip, and asked, "Have any strange things happened lately...?"

"Pfft! What is this thing??"

This stuff doesn't taste like alcohol at all. It has no alcohol smell, a sour smell, and it even smells like gasoline. This stuff is definitely not alcohol!

The bartender replied confidently, "Alcohol."

“…Alright, alright then.” Wu Pifu put down the wine bottle and asked again, “Has anything strange happened lately?”

The bartender pointed definitively at Wu Pifu.

Wu Pifu looked completely bewildered. He said helplessly, "Okay, I'm curious... so who else but me?"

The bartender turned back to repairing the heavy machine gun, saying as he worked, "A1 betrayed the Wakaba unit, causing them to suffer heavy losses when facing special high-level individual mechanical lifeforms. Although we all feel there must be some hidden story... A1 helped us resist several sieges and ambushes by mechanical lifeforms. If it weren't for her, we would all be dead."

Wu Pifu paused for a moment, picked up the gasoline-smelling "liquor," took a small sip, and asked, "So, what do you plan to do with her?" The bartender lowered his head and said, "We've already contacted the Ruoye unit, and... the Lunar Human Council will probably handle and salvage her..."

The Moon, the Human Council... Mechanical Lifeforms, Special High-Rank Individuals, Wakaba Squad...

This is a lot of important information.

Wu Pifu nodded slightly and asked again, "Is there a library or something nearby? Or if there isn't a library, books, newspapers, or any kind of written medium will do. I want to read something to pass the time."

Okay, the familiar baffling index has risen again...

The bartender stared at Wu Pifu for a long time before shaking his head slightly and saying, "I can understand your behavior, but there should be a limit to imitation, right? What about your weapons? Have you maintained them properly? What about information exchange? What about the existing information storage? You'd better go to the blacksmith's place. As for books... there haven't been any books for a long time. What are you thinking? Perhaps you can still find some fragments under those war ruins."

Wu Pifu didn't say anything, but simply picked up the bottle and waved it at the bartender. He didn't pay, and the bartender obviously didn't intend to take his money either. Just as he was about to leave the tavern, the bartender suddenly asked, "I heard someone say that your self-introduction is that you've traveled the world, right?"

Wu Pifu stopped and nodded in agreement.

The bartender asked, "Are there many resistance fighters still resisting elsewhere? Are they, like us, eagerly awaiting their return from the moon?"

Wu Pifu remained silent for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "There are many people. The resistance is fighting hard, and everyone is hoping that they can come back and fight alongside us."

The bartender grunted and lowered his head to continue preparing the heavy machine gun.

Wu Pifu turned around, picked up the wine bottle, and left the tavern.

When he came out into the outside world, he looked up at the sky. It was broad daylight, so he couldn't see the moon.

He squinted and murmured, "The Moon, the Human Council? A government and its leaders who abandoned their people on Earth and then fled to the Moon to eke out a living?"

Wu Pifu chuckled at the sky, then turned around to continue searching for important information in the town.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of a cloaked figure running quickly into the ruined alleyway. Although the image was only fleeting, he already knew who it was—the freckled girl who had led him here earlier.

Wu Pifu thought for a moment and then followed the figure. Clearly, the figure was guiding him to a certain location outside the camp.

"...Why does this feel more and more like a game? We got main quest information from the tavern, the final boss might be the lousy government on the moon, and now there's an NPC guiding us to the next step of the main quest," Wu Pifu complained.

Before long, he arrived at a grove of trees outside the camp and, sure enough, saw the freckled woman and the young man standing there.

When they saw Wu Pifu arrive, both of them showed excitement and hesitation. The young man suddenly lowered his head and said, "Please help me rescue A1, okay?"

Wu Pifu looked at the two of them and asked, "Why?"

The freckled woman immediately said, "Sister A1 is innocent. She didn't betray anyone. She just found out the truth. Besides, Sister A1 didn't cause the defeat of Wakaba's unit. It was the command headquarters that did it. We saw it with our own eyes..."

Wu Pifu sighed. Sure enough, it was the same familiar plot: brainless and arrogant high-ranking government officials, lower-ranking generals who learned the truth, then betrayal, framing, disillusionment, and internal purges...

At this moment, the young man pulled the freckled woman aside and said earnestly to Wu Pifu, "Because A1 has learned a truth... the Lunar Human Council is now empty!"

"Yes! There's no one left!"

Wu Pifu's anger was gradually reignited.

Sure enough, no matter how many times he saw this plot and content, he couldn't ignore it. These high-level insects really are the same in any world. Absolute power truly equals absolute corruption!
Wu Pifu said decisively, "There's no one left on the moon. Those things aren't human, so there's absolutely no need to treat them like humans... Fine, I'll help you rescue A1, and then we'll go find Fire... Wait, what the hell did I just say?! Do you guys have to be so completely baffled all of a sudden?!"

Just now, the young man and woman in front of him had only increased his confusion level once again.

Just as Wu Pifu was protesting his innocence, all three of them suddenly looked towards the camp, where a series of fires suddenly erupted.

(End of this chapter)