Reincarnation NPC, but Arknights

“I didn’t smell any fishy prey.” Ghost Shark shook his head. Although his physical functions and reactions had declined considerably, Laurentina’s senses had improved accordingly.

Suddenly, a dark shadow darted past from the side, startling Tianhuo: "Ah! What's that?"

"Probably Originium Bugs?" Provence was clearly used to such sudden shocks.

As he spoke, Provence took a glow stick out of his backpack, intending to throw it forward to check.

"I advise you not to do this..." Bai Ye instinctively prepared to stop her, because he had already sensed something in the large cave ahead. However, he then reconsidered and realized that he might not need to be so cautious.

Their current lineup includes two and a half Deep Sea Hunters and a Fire Girl whose combat power is equivalent to 100 Beagles, so they don't seem to be afraid of being surrounded by bugs.

As for Provence, Bai Ye did not include her in the combat power unit. How strong could the Calamity Messenger be?

Oh, I'm also a messenger of natural disasters, then it's alright.

……

So, Bai Ye took the glow stick from Provence's hand and threw it forward.

The glow stick, emitting a faint, cold light, traced a shimmering path through the air before falling into the enormous cave ahead.

Suddenly, everyone could see clearly what was inside the dark cave:

—The rock walls and ground were covered with countless Originium Bugs, like a strange blanket.

Thump thump thump——

Provence and the heavenly fire suddenly stopped breathing.

The next moment, the insects, startled by the sudden light, were awakened from their stillness and began to move around. They crawled over the glow sticks, and the light shone through the gaps in the insects, leaving fragmented silhouettes on the rock wall.

“Should we… run away?” Cold sweat broke out on Provence’s forehead.

Using Originium Arts with Heavenly Fire inside a volcano is practically suicide; in such a situation, the best course of action is probably to run away first.

"It's alright, no big problem." Bai Ye waved his hand, then threw out a few vacuum waves towards the swarm of insects.

The violent airflow cut through the cave like blades, and when the airflow calmed down, all that remained in the cave was the corpse of insects.

Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, his Wind Blade Cutting spell had a purpose. It was great for crushing weaker opponents, but he rarely faced enemies that he could defeat so easily.

"Wow!" Provence couldn't help but exclaim as she watched what was happening before her eyes. Although she had heard about Rhodes Island's high-end combat capabilities and the strength of its elite operators, she was still amazed.

But she never imagined that a department head could have such abilities.

As for Miss Skyfire, whose combat power is equivalent to 100 Miguru, her reaction was not so intense; she is quite knowledgeable.

Hiko's former companions were not weak either. For example, Shiro defeated the swordsman who claimed to be able to "cut down all the cherry blossoms in the East with one strike" and even took the swordsman's sword.

She herself also possesses Originium Arts with fire and explosion capabilities that can cause large-scale destruction, but it is inconvenient to use them in caves.

To Tianhuo's surprise, the person in front of him was actually quite skilled in using Originium Arts, even to the point of being quite adept, which was quite different from the warrior image he had previously presented.

……

Bai Ye focused her attention on the insects on the ground.

"It really is this kind of insect; I feel like I've seen it somewhere before..."

Bai Ye looked thoughtfully at the corpses of the Originium Bugs on the ground.

Although he hadn't fought in Siesta City before his transmigration, he had indeed encountered this subspecies of Originium Bugs in other places, especially near volcanoes.

Chapter 144 Player's Mindset

"To gather evidence of NPC Kronin's crimes, is that right?" Aisha accepted the quest from Miss Ceylon.

However, when NPCs were mentioned, the game system automatically masked and corrected the information for the player, so Ceylon did not notice anything strange.

“That’s right.” Ceylon nodded. “Do you have any agents? How should we infiltrate?”

Miss Ceylon had seen some Columbia Pictures movies about secret agents and spies, so she was quite curious about this topic.

However, Aisha, the leader and conductor of the "Alice Fantasy Orchestra," shook her head and said with a smile, "Sneaking around is not our style. The enemy here is not very strong. Directly attacking the city hall is the most efficient method."

“This way we can carefully examine all places where evidence might be hidden, and it would be even better if we could arrest Cronin directly.”

Elsa spoke in a tone that seemed perfectly natural.

"Huh?!" Ceylon's eyes widened in surprise.

"How could they be so... radical?!" Ceylon never expected that these undead would devise such a bold plan.

Aisha looked at Ceylon with some doubt: "I remember, Miss, you said before that you are the daughter of the mayor here, right? I know about Siesta. This city was almost entirely built by the mayor himself. He has absolute authority here. It seems that what we are doing is not a big deal, is it?"

“Uh… things have changed a bit now,” Ceylon could only explain. “My father has left the city to inspect work in the emerging development zone, so he has let his assistant mayor, Kronin, manage the city in his place.”

"In other words, if you forcibly seize the city hall now, you will be making an enemy of the entire city of Siesta. This will not only cause riots among tourists, but also attract the attention of the police."

The Sheriff's Department is roughly equivalent to the police department in Siesta City, but most of its staff are the mayor's bodyguards, meaning that this agency is similar to the mayor's personal armed force.

Although, in the bodyguard's words, "half of them are incompetent, and the other half are inflexible," their sheer number and quality are something a single player band can't compete with.

Furthermore, players of "Alice's Ensemble" should be more concerned about their reputation and friendliness in the Siesta region. If they cause big trouble, it could not only escalate into a major conflict between the natives and the players, but also attract hostility from the entire region.

Aside from a few chaotic and evil players, very few people would want to completely ruin their relationship with normal and friendly NPC factions.

"What a pity, I was hoping to make a big splash..."

Elsa looked somewhat disappointed, while the musicians beside her wiped the cold sweat from their brows.

The lead violinist, player "Frosty's Inner Guard," breathed a sigh of relief. As Aisha's friend, she knew very well that although her friend appeared polite, refined, and easygoing, she also harbored a rather explosive side.

For example, Aisha's favorite game is Doom VR, where she controls a green hunk to slaughter all sorts of demons in a fully immersive game. Aisha even bypassed the Alliance's rules and specifically bought an uncensored version of Doom available only on the black market. In that version, a single saw strike would result in gore and blood flying everywhere.

Even if Ceylon hadn't spoken up, "Frosty's inner guards" would have persuaded Aisha to abandon her crazy idea.

"Here's what we'll do: my band members will try to distract the city hall security personnel, and then we'll sneak into the city hall... That's it!"

Elsa suddenly thought of something: "Miss Ceylon, do you have any people you can use? Surely you don't have a single NPC to help you in battle?"

When completing tasks, players can also seek help from NPCs, which is similar to NPC teammates in traditional online games.

These NPCs can usually provide considerable assistance.

Miss Ceylon is certainly included, but the child doesn't seem to have much fighting ability, and Elsa doesn't expect her to be of much help—but she is, after all, the mayor's daughter, so she should be able to find one or two helpers, right?

“Hmm…maybe?” Ceylon quickly understood what Aisha meant.

She thought of her playmates and friends, that girl whose expression was always cold.

Although I don't know how strong she is, she shouldn't be too weak, since her father sent her to be his bodyguard.

-------------------------------------

"Originium bugs are a peculiar species; they evolve into different subspecies depending on their habitat... such as the Acidic Originium Bug..."

As Bai Ye spoke, he recalled the bugs that had previously made a mess of Miss Ceylon's life.

Although players loathe this subspecies, damaging clothes is a minor issue; what they hate most is the damage they inflict on equipment. If the weapon's material is not acid-resistant, then things get really bad, as the equipment's durability drops drastically, and there's even a chance it will break on the spot.

Very bad.

However, these Originium bugs are not entirely useless. Bai Ye had previously purchased larvae of these Originium bugs from players—they can be used as materials for brewing potions. Furthermore, on the battlefield, smaller or juvenile acidic Originium bugs can be used as lethal projectiles.

The body fluids of Originium Bugs can also be used to stop bleeding after fermentation, and are one of the materials for manufacturing medicines.

Bai Ye certainly wouldn't make potions in front of the players, otherwise it would probably leave them with psychological trauma...

Ahem, that’s too far off topic.

Now, a new subspecies of Originium Bugs has appeared before Bai Ye, and Bai Ye had fought against them near other volcanic areas before his journey.

Volcanic Originium Worms, also known as Lava Originium Worms.

These Originium Bugs nest in volcanoes, feed on the special obsidian found there, and possess relatively hard shells.

"It's unbelievable that there's such a peculiar subspecies... and the number of these insects is quite astonishing." Provence examined the insect corpses scattered on the ground, surprised that the volcano was also an insect nest.

"Perhaps these insects are the main cause of the volcanic eruption..." Tianhuo said calmly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yes, that makes sense. Ecosystem degradation is also a contributing factor to natural disasters, especially for powerful life forms..."

As Bai Ye spoke, he looked at the two deep-sea hunters.

Although it cannot be called a natural disaster, the Great Quiet was still a terrible catastrophe for humanity on land—even though this catastrophe only occurred within Iberia and was unknown to most people.

However, the primordial creatures in the deep sea are the ones that cause the disasters and catastrophe-like consequences.

Chapter 145 What era are we living in? Still playing traditional M?

The players and Ceylon quickly finalized their plan.

Players in the Alice in Wonderland group are responsible for attracting the attention of the guards and bodyguards outside the city hall, while Ceylon will find her bodyguard sister and enter the mayor's office to look for something.

Of course, there will also be a group of players who sneak into Kronin's private residence.

"The defenses here are extremely tight. Kronin is clearly up to no good. You must keep the guards' attention," Ceylon warned before leaving.

“Leave it to us.” Aisha patted her virtual character’s chest.

In fact, every time they face this band leader, the musicians can't help but burst out laughing.

Because they knew each other in real life as members of a symphony orchestra, they knew what the orchestra leader looked like in real life.

In reality, Elsa, the orchestra leader, is a legally petite girl, not very tall, and rather flat-chested. Because she'll never grow taller, she's quite conscious of her figure. Her ambition to become conductor stems from her desire to stand on a relatively high platform and overlook the entire orchestra.

In the game, Elsa deliberately created a virtual avatar with a mature and sophisticated appearance, which might fool strangers. However, her companions always wanted to scream when they saw her like this.

The more you care about something, the more you emphasize it, and the more it makes people associate it with other things.

Aisha had no idea what her teammates were thinking, but she still took out her baton/staff.

The way to attract guards is simple, especially for an orchestra: make a big enough commotion.

Sure enough, when the players gathered in front of the City Hall with their instruments, the City Hall guards prepared to drive them away: "Please do not play instruments in front of the City Hall. There are designated areas and streets for you to play and perform live during the Obsidian Festival."

However, the "Alice's Enchanted Orchestra" ignored the security guards and began their performance on their own.

"Ignore them, they're all undead..." The experienced and senior guard glanced at the band and immediately recognized them.

“But…” The young man beside him hesitated.

"Don't worry about them. Those people are all weirdos and rather undisciplined, but if we make enemies with them, those fearless guys will keep popping up. We should try not to cause trouble."

Clearly, this senior colleague was experienced; he just wanted to work peacefully and collect his salary, and didn't want to cause any more trouble.

"Okay... anyway, listening to music while working is fine." The young security guard scratched his head and stopped trying to dissuade him.

He found it strange, though. Normally no one would cause trouble at the city hall, so why was the mayor's assistant, Kronen, demanding that they stay at their posts this time?

Siesta City is so lively, even the security guards want to go out and have some fun...

Although somewhat helpless, the guards remained at their posts without complaint.

However, the more they thought this way, the less likely the players were to let them off the hook.

The music, which was originally quite pleasant, suddenly started to become jarring. At first, it was still within a tolerable range, but it became increasingly outrageous.

The piercing noise is like fingernails scratching a blackboard or a razor scraping against glass; just thinking about it is enough to make one's heart pound. This is because such high-frequency sounds can stimulate the auditory cortex and amygdala of the brain, causing a tingling sensation on the scalp.

The players, wearing special earplugs, couldn't hear anything. The other tourists had already run away as if they'd seen a plague, while the guards had no choice but to stay at their posts and endure this torment.

If it were just once, that would be fine, but as time went on, they couldn't stand it anymore.

The group picked up batons and ran towards the players.

"What's going on with you guys? Are you here to make fun of us?" The hot-blooded young guard had already lost his temper.

"That's right, I'm here to make fun of you. Heh, you bastard!"

The player carrying the drum spoke while striking the drum on his chest, and the other musicians stopped simultaneously.

Sure enough, thanks to the game system's automatic translation, the player's meaning was conveyed to the native guards without any error.

Immediately, the person on the other side became furious.

In fact, this is a skill that players learn during the game – taunting.

Since the advent of online games, taunting has always been a crucial mechanic, its purpose being to attract monster aggro. Generally, the main tank is responsible for drawing aggro, while ranged DPS characters are responsible for dealing damage.

This is the basic PvE team-building strategy in traditional online games, and it is also the most effective way to conquer dungeons.

Tank-shield warriors typically have skills like "taunt" in their skill set, which automatically draws monsters' AI to the main tank.