The Survival Rules of NPCs

Chapter 89 The Shadow Descends!

"I'm so unwilling to go back like this. President, we don't necessarily have to follow that stupid rule."

The high-level players from the Hunting Grounds and the North Sea Guild protested. These high-level players already had more resources than ordinary players and could have done many quests. However, for the sake of Holy Stone City, a place with a potential for great opportunities, they gave up many commissions and waited here for a month, during which time they lost many big orders. Now that they had finally squeezed in as the first batch, they actually had to leave? And make way for those lower-level members of the guild? For a time, most of the high-level players could not accept this.

These high-level players are the true foundation of the guild, and the two guild leaders had to appease them, so they patiently explained.

"You've all seen the situation in Holy Stone City now. Security is very tight, and we can't get any intelligence for the time being. If we violate the rules we set back then, and the other side really has the ability to drive us away, it's not worth it. It's better to send our men down to investigate first."

After much persuasion, they finally calmed down the high-level warriors in the guild. After two days, they reluctantly left the city to hand over the duties. However, they did not expect that just a few hours after they left, a shadow would fall over most of Holy Stone City.

This left the newly arrived player completely bewildered.

Many guild players, in particular, looked dejected during the handover, saying it was a waste of time, there was nothing there, and it was just a run-down place. Many high-level players even planned to head back immediately.

Many ordinary players felt a chill in their hearts. Unlike the high-level players who had ample funds, they had spent more than a month camping out, which had cost them most of their savings. If they had to slink back in disgrace, they would have suffered a huge loss.

But once inside, it was nothing like what those high-level warriors had described—just an ordinary place.

The images they saw were completely different.

The entire Holy Stone City turned into a grayish-white hue. The colors of the buildings, the people, and even the sky all turned grayish-white. The people of Holy Stone City themselves seemed not to notice this and continued to do what they were doing as usual, as if this change in color had nothing to do with them.

"This... is nothing special?" The incredibly strong man and his friends looked around in horror, feeling as if they had entered a horror movie.

If it weren't for the horrified expressions on his friends' faces, he would have thought he was the chosen one, the only one who could see the strange phenomena in the city.

"Perhaps...we are all chosen ones?" someone couldn't help but say.

The muscular man rolled his eyes. "Your chosen one has been transmigrating for seven or eight years and is doing menial tasks every day?"

"Should we report this to outsiders?"

"How do we report this?" The muscular man scoffed. "Out of the city? We just got in."

They all looked at the channel, where many people were expressing doubts.

[Holy crap, what's going on? Is this the end of the world?]

[Silent Hill? Why does this sound different from what the previous group said? Are we entering a different instance?]

[I was just saying, I almost fell for those high-level players' nonsense, but what should I do next?]

The comments section was buzzing with discussion, but people outside the city couldn't see a thing. The reason was simple: there was a line outside Holy Stone City. Once you entered, you were in the Mirandil area, and the public chat channel would switch to Mirandil.

Outside of Holy Stone City lies the territory of the Beth Empire. Though seemingly just a stone's throw away, the two regions are forever separated!

"Should we... send someone out to report the situation first?"

"Who should I send? You?" The muscular man looked at the person who had just spoken.

The other party immediately fell silent. They were joking. They had been waiting here for over a month, and just by looking at the setup, they knew there was definitely a big shipment. Once they left, according to the rules, they would have to wait more than ten days before they could have another chance to come back in. Who would want to give up that opportunity to leave?

What if he gets out and the person who replaced him makes a fortune? Wouldn't he be devastated?

After hesitating for a while, they finally decided to investigate further before going out to report.

This decision was tacitly agreed upon by almost all the players who entered the city. No one was willing to give up the opportunity to leave; everyone is human, and no one is that selfless.

Although this place looks eerie, few players with a chance to revive wouldn't dare to take the risk.

Has it started yet?

Bright emerged from the incinerator, looking at the world turned gray and white, then glanced at the intelligence report, his expression grave.

Intelligence 1: The Shadow's Descent has begun. With some preparation, Shadow Followers can descend upon a city with the shadow. Once the shadow descends, the entire Holy Stone City will be within the shadow realm, and the awakened shadow creatures can descend upon any place shrouded in shadow.

Intelligence 2: The Shadow's existence is not permanent and requires a large amount of faith and certain conditions. Therefore, the creatures of the Shadow Realm will immediately seek cooperation with the nobles who have the power to make decisions.

Intelligence 3: The person who activated the Shadow Artifact is hiding in Holy Stone City. After activating the artifact, the holder's memories will be erased. Unless temporarily affected by the artifact, the holder will never remember that they are the artifact holder. The information cannot be locked, and the arrival of the shadow will become uncontrollable.

Intelligence 4: The person controlling the Shadow Artifact is related to the player.

Intelligence 5: The shadows will disappear before dawn!

"Mr. Bright... what's going on?"

Looking around, Wang Ye realized that something big was bound to happen.

"Shh..." Bright shushed, signaling the other to be quiet: "Don't speak, especially about things in the forest. From now on, don't reveal any information."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ye nodded hurriedly, a hint of anxiety flashing in his eyes. He was clearly worried about Li Gou Dan's safety outside the city. Although he was also in the midst of this great change, for some reason, he felt that he should be safe by Mr. Bright's side.

Soon, Bright saw a figure approaching in the distance.

The thing resembled a human figure, but it was very different from a human. You couldn't see the facial features or the body shape. It wasn't like a three-dimensional shadow either. It was hard to describe. It was like two people from different dimensions, unable to clearly describe each other's appearance.

"Bright Igor?"

The voice from the shadows carried an indescribable jumble, like the babbling of chaos, yet strangely enough you could understand what it was trying to say.

Despite his physical and mental discomfort, Bright bowed politely and asked, "And you are, sir?"

The fact that the other party knows Igor's identity means that it has a way to obtain intelligence, and it is even very likely that it can see many of my actions from a god-like perspective, because there are not many people in Holy Stone City who know that Igor is the son-in-law of the family.

"On behalf of the great God, I greet you, mortal. You are fortunate to be recognized by God!"

"I am honored," Bright said with a smile, "but please forgive my ignorance, I do not know who this 'God' you speak of is."

"Mortal, you must not call the Lord's name directly. He is from the ancient past, the true God who controls the shadows and chaos of the world, unlike the false gods that humanity worships today. He is one of the creators of the world. The ancient past is about to awaken, and the false gods will eventually perish. Mortal, are you willing to serve the true God?"

[Ding! The forces of shadow have sent you an invitation to become a follower of the shadows. You will receive the blessing of the shadows. Once accepted, your alignment cannot be changed, and you will become a member of the evil and chaotic alignment.]

Evil and chaos?

Bright's lips twitched. He didn't really care much about good or evil, but he did care a lot about chaos versus order. To be honest, he preferred order. Based on his experience with various novels from his previous life, those in the chaotic camp, whether good or evil, were all a bunch of lunatics.

"I am honored to be valued by the so-called true god you speak of, but I know nothing about this god. If you want my true loyalty, you must show me something, instead of playing mysterious tricks here..."

Bright neither accepted nor rejected it. He could sense that this thing was completely overwhelming to him in his current state, but it must have weaknesses, otherwise it wouldn't have used an invitation to win over the nobles of Holy Stone City.

"Mortal, are you questioning me?"

"Yes..." Bright chuckled, "I am questioning you. Although the abilities you've displayed have surprised me, if this is all there is to it, why would I, a promising son-in-law of a noble family, pledge allegiance to an unknown evil god?"

Upon hearing this, the other party did not get angry; instead, they fell silent.

This attitude made Brett, who was pretending to be calm, breathe a slight sigh of relief.

He wasn't a player; he didn't have the ability to revive or run away from his corpse. And the opponent was from the evil and chaotic faction. If they just crushed him to death, he'd be finished.

But he had no choice. He couldn't just join the other side so easily. Whether it was the elves or the shadows, Bright didn't intend to take sides easily. His intelligence notes had also reminded him not to take sides lightly. In the battle between gods, the first batch of humans on the side might not necessarily have the merit of helping the dragon, but the possibility of becoming cannon fodder was very high.

Sure enough, the other party fell silent, clearly pondering Bright's words.

This decision not to immediately resort to force further convinced Bright that the other side had a weakness.

If I'm not mistaken, it's time!

The Shadow's shroud has time and frequency limits; the opponent can only descend a limited number of times. If it cannot descend at crucial moments each time, it becomes meaningless, and the good resources may even be taken away by the elves.

The purpose of the Shadow is to suppress the elves. It is eager to suppress the elves because the bloodline of the elves is more easily accepted and sought after by the nobles. Since the Shadow is currently in a restricted state, it can only rely on humans to help it delay or even prevent the elves from entering the world.

If I kill myself now, all the nobles in Holy Stone City will be investigated. Even if they monopolize Holy Stone City, including Lady Eliza, it will be useless. Holy Stone City will definitely be purged, which will be detrimental to their operations.

Sure enough, the shadowy figure's tone softened with a hint of compromise the next moment: "Human, you're very clever. Tell me, what do you want?"

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