Chapter 347: Heiniu and Noma

Heiniu held six silver coins and left Tieshi Mountain.

Along the way, a smile remained on his face.

With the prospect of seeing Xiaomeng soon, the fatigue from his day's work vanished, and he felt as though the years were peaceful and good.

Although the two did not share a language, had no sweet talk, and no intimate contact, this was already enough to satisfy Heiniu.

However, he suddenly thought of what the Manager had said: the Space Rift on Tieshi Mountain was gradually expanding, and demons from the Abyss were about to emerge from it.

A wisp of worry appeared between his brows.

To players, a demon invasion was a good thing; it meant massive amounts of experience, rapid leveling, and, of course, the thrill of grinding monsters.

But... for the villagers of this world, demons were a nightmare.

How could those Ordinary people possibly deal with demons?

Heiniu could not help but worry for Xiaomeng.

He cast these thoughts aside; he decided to go back and consult the Manager.

Carrying complex emotions, Heiniu walked along the ridge of a field, passing through a wheat field.

The golden wheat moved with the wind, resembling waves of Gold.

Heiniu stopped by the creek, and a young girl appeared in his line of sight.

Beside the girl was a Wood basin, and in the basin, washed clothes were piled up.

She sat by the river, her bare feet placed in the creek, splashing them.

Moonlight draped over the girl as if dressing her in silk; under the moonlight, the girl was Ordinary and plain, yet possessed a touch of elfin charm and cuteness.

"Xiao... meng." Heiniu made that strange tone.

Hearing this sound, the girl's body stiffened slightly, her splashing feet stopped, and she sat as quiet as a mermaid.

Heiniu walked over and sat on the riverbank as well; the two kept a certain distance, watching the moonlight together.

Heiniu looked at the girl's profile and her bright, sparkling eyes, and he spoke, sharing his life: "At work today, I followed the boss to meet a client. That client didn't look like an Ordinary person at all; I feel he might be from the Special Zone."

"Oh right, he even seemed prepared to introduce a girl for me to meet, but I refused."

Heiniu spoke to himself, occasionally looking at Xiaomeng.

Xiaomeng listened quietly the whole time; even though they did not share a language and she could not understand, her expression was exceptionally focused—she was a qualified listener.

Especially when Heiniu spoke excitedly, her eyes would shine; when Heiniu's expression turned dejected, she would also be very quiet, her expression showing a hint of sadness.

Time flowed like Water, and the moonlight gradually grew late.

Heiniu knew it was time for Xiaomeng to go home.

A breeze blew, and he took out the six silver coins: "These are the silver coins from joining the Guard Team; I have no use for them, here for you."

Heiniu knew they did not share a language, but he said it anyway.

Seeing the silver coins, Xiaomeng hurriedly waved her hands, refusing repeatedly.

"Take them, I have no use for them." Heiniu gave the coins to Xiaomeng.

His expression was clumsy and seemed a bit abrupt, but it was his most sincere.

Inadvertently, Heiniu's hand touched the girl's hand.

That instant of softness and warmth made Heiniu blush and feel hot.

"The silver coins, take them." Heiniu said loudly.

The girl lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

Just then, Heiniu's expression changed slightly: "In the water... what is that?"

He was now a mid-tier professional, and his perception was far stronger than an Ordinary person's.

Within the creek, some kind of ripple seemed to be coming.

"Stand behind me."

Heiniu blocked the front of the girl and looked into the creek.

Could it be... a monster?

But the next second, Heiniu's expression changed drastically: "A demon, it's a demon!"

In the creek, a terrifying creature appeared.

Its entire body was like a large scorpion, its tail hanging inverted with a sharp hook, and its body was covered in scales.

Most terrifying of all, it had a human face.

Under the moonlight, it looked exceptionally ghastly.

The girl's body trembled; she stood behind Heiniu, her face pale.

"Don't worry, I'm here."

Heiniu glanced at the girl, took out his long blade, his face set in a stern expression.

The demon before him had a very strong aura, definitely stronger than any monster he had ever seen.

This was a brutal battle.

He could not retreat; if he retreated, the girl would surely die, and the village behind them would also suffer chaos.

"Human, delicious." The human-faced scorpion demon looked at Heiniu, licked its tongue, its eyes filled with greed.

Heiniu held his long blade and charged straight at the human-faced scorpion.

"Be careful..." The girl behind him was incredibly anxious, her eyes filled with worry.

Heiniu held his blade and slashed at the demon's carapace.

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding rang out, and Heiniu's arm went numb.

This demon was even stronger than he had imagined; it was likely already level 9.

He is currently only level 8, and facing the human-faced scorpion demon, he is at an absolute disadvantage.

Bang!

In an instant, Heiniu was struck by the human-faced scorpion's tail and sent flying directly.

The young girl was incredibly anxious, yet she could only stand there; she was afraid of distracting Heiniu.

After knocking Heiniu away, the human-faced scorpion's gaze turned toward the young girl, and its massive body slowly walked toward her.

"Damn it, pick on me if you have the guts!" Heiniu shouted from the side.

He had been struck by the human-faced scorpion, and his thigh was poisoned; the entire leg had lost all sensation.

He was incredibly worried, fearing that the young girl would be killed by the human-faced scorpion.

The NPCs in this world do not respawn.

The human-faced scorpion looked at Heiniu again with a cruel smile on its face, but it opened its large mouth toward the young girl.

Eat the Ordinary ones first, save the delicious ones for later.

"Watch out!"

Unable to care about his paralyzed leg, Heiniu leaped out and, at the very last second, pushed the young girl away.

And the demon's large mouth began to descend at this very moment.

Heiniu's world turned dark in an instant.

A foul stench, the smell of blood, all sorts of scents came rushing in.

Especially around his waist, the sharp, thin teeth crushing his waist and the feeling of his body being pierced were even more chilling.

Although this sensation had been blurred and weakened significantly by the game, Heiniu still felt immense terror.

"Must kill this demon!"

Even so, Heiniu was incredibly worried about the young girl.

He was certain to die now, but if the demon was not Slayed, the young girl would surely die too.

He did not want to see such a scene.

"Ah!"

Heiniu did not know where he summoned the potential from; he swung the long blade in his hand with force, hacking wildly inside the demon's mouth and throat.

This demon had underestimated Heiniu.

Or rather, it had underestimated the players.

Other professionals, once swallowed into its mouth and having their waists bitten through, would have no willpower left to swing a blade, unless they were those Ascetics.

But Heiniu was a player; his willpower might not be strong, but because his senses were weakened, he could still exert his full strength.

"Ah... ah... ah..."

The demon let out a miserable shriek, its massive body rolling continuously, and its aura faded in that instant.

Holding the long blade, Heiniu felt the demon's death, and he closed his eyes in satisfaction.

He died.

"No."

The young girl's eyes were red; she ran to the front of the demon's massive corpse, picked up a stone, and with her thin, weak arms, she raised the stone and struck the demon's face repeatedly, wanting to save Heiniu.

It was just... with her strength, how could she break through the demon's skin and carapace?

In the end, she saw a severed arm and a large pool of minced meat.

She hugged the arm tightly, tears streaming down like rain.

"Demon..."

On Tieshi Mountain, it was already twelve o'clock at night when Lin Chao received the news.

"This demon appeared very strangely."

The Space Rift on Tieshi Mountain had not yet fully stabilized, and although some stray demons would appear,

these demons would not be very strong.

Yet the demon that appeared now was not the type of cannon fodder found in the Abyss.

Its abrupt appearance was somewhat unexpected.

"It seems I must have the Guard Team guard all nodes at all times to prevent demons from coming out."

Lin Chao's gaze was profound; he was currently climbing the Legendary Path.

In the real world.

Ye Di was eating instant noodles, clattering away at his keyboard.

"Heiniu, don't worry, your little lover is fine.

But you're really something, you were actually able to kill a level 9 demon.

The Manager said that the challenge level of a demon is generally higher than the demon's level, or it requires multiple professionals of the same level working together to Slay it.

It's a pity I wasn't the one to land the finishing blow; you're level 9 now, the number one player, awesome!"

Seeing Ye Di's message, Heiniu let out a sigh of relief.

As long as she was fine.

It was just that after a player dies, they have to wait 48 hours to log back in, which is why he had asked Ye Di to check if the young girl was alright.

"But that little girl is probably very worried about you; she hasn't been eating or drinking lately. Heiniu, you aren't actually falling in love with an NPC, are you?

Though, this NPC is made quite realistically, and the character is very well-rounded; falling in love would be quite nice too.

Could it be... that this is actually a romance game?"

Ye Di spoke to himself in a leisurely manner.

Heiniu, however, was very silent; he didn't say anything, just simply sent a "Thank you."

Just then, Heiniu's chat box jumped again; it was actually the group owner, Shengtian, sending him a message.

"Heiniu, do you have time? Is it convenient for a voice call?"

"... Hmm, yes." Heiniu was a bit puzzled, but he replied anyway.

Not long after, Shengtian's call came through, and the two exchanged a few pleasantries.

Shengtian began: "Heiniu, how do you feel about this game, Twilight of the Gods?"

"It's very good, very realistic. It is the... most fun game I have ever played, and also the most realistic game."

"The flowers, plants, and trees in the game are all very real, and every character doesn't seem like a string of code; they have their own emotions." Mentioning this, Heiniu had much to say.

This game had a great influence on him.

Of course, Heiniu also understood.

The human brain is very complex, but if there were higher-dimensional life, they could also use more advanced code to create the humans of today.

Those humans set by programs are no different from humans, so, are they still human?

"You are very right. Every character inside is very real—so real that it even makes me feel like I am not in a game, but in a real world."

"There must be more than one or two people who feel the way you and I do."

Heiniu was somewhat silent; he agreed with Shengtian's words.

Especially... Xiaomeng; she was so real.

"Heiniu, you are about to reach level 10. According to what the Manager said, after level 10, you can learn the Language Scroll and master the Common Tongue."

"However, the price of a Language Scroll is not cheap; it requires 20 Gold coins."

"Right, even if I reach level 10, I still can't afford a Language Scroll."

One Gold coin equals 10 Silver coins, and his monthly salary in the Guard Team is only a few Silver coins.

"You want to learn the language in the game, right?"

"I do. Could it be that you can?"

"I cannot, but I can help you raise 20 Gold coins when you reach level 10."

"However..."

"However what?"

"However, after you learn the Common Tongue, I want to meet you in person, in reality, and also take you to meet some people," Shengtian said. "Of course, rest assured, this is a society ruled by law, and I won't have any ulterior motives toward you; I just... want to conduct an experiment."

Thinking of the young girl under the moonlight, Heiniu hesitated for a moment and agreed: "Okay."

He wanted to learn the language in the game; he wanted to communicate with that young girl in the game.

On Tieshi Mountain, Ye Di held a long saber in his hand. He looked at the few players behind him: "Buck up, we are on patrol. Watch out for demons, understand?"

"Don't worry."

"Ye Di, do you have any Silver coins on you?" At this moment, a thin player spoke up, his gaze somewhat evasive. "I want to borrow some Silver coins from you."

"What do you need to borrow Silver coins for?" Ye Di asked.

Currently, the currency system in the game has not been fully developed, and even if they have these Silver coins, they have no use for them.

"Ahem, I'm planning to go to the city in a few days; I might need them."

"You don't know the language, so why go to the city?"

"Don't tell me you're going to look for the streetwalkers in the game? You really know how to play; your tastes are quite heavy."

"It... it's not that."

"If you want to go, I'll take you in reality. I have connections. Those girls are young, beautiful, and provide good service; every one of them is better than the class beauty from when you were in school."

"How can those Ordinary NPCs in this game, who are dark and thin, compare?"

The group laughed out loud, and the thin man's face turned red and then white.

"Heiniu, you've respawned?" Ye Di saw an acquaintance and greeted him.

"Yeah." Heiniu had just come out of the respawn point, his expression looking somewhat anxious.

"Getting ready to go see your little sweetheart?"

"No... no."

"Don't scare your little sweetheart."

Heiniu paused; he was thinking about this topic.

After all, he had died and come back to life; would he scare Xiaomeng?

By the side of a small stream, Norma sat alone on the riverbank, her eyes vacant.

In her hand, she was still clutching six Silver coins tightly.

When she saw the Silver coins, her tears could not stop flowing down.

The scene from that day was still vivid in her mind.

That man died right in front of her, swallowed by a demon.

That man had saved her twice, yet died for her.

She was heartbroken and full of self-reproach; tears blurred her eyes once again.

"Xiao... meng."

A familiar voice came to her ears. Norma turned around and immediately saw a familiar figure.

Her pupils constricted slightly, and an expression of disbelief flashed in her eyes.

Had he not died right before her eyes?

Yet, the person before him... without any hesitation, Norma stood up and lunged into Heiniu's body.

Heiniu was slightly stunned, wanting to say something, but what greeted him was a scorching kiss.

The young girl's lips were soft, the kiss intense; Heiniu was panting, responding incessantly.

Even though she was just an NPC, he lost himself completely.

Everything followed its natural course like Water flowing into a channel.

As he looked at the young girl's body, his breathing became slightly rapid, and his greed reached its Ultimate at that moment.

He felt somewhat excited, somewhat bewildered.

He was in the game...

With an NPC?

No... she was not an NPC, she was his Xiaomeng.

He held her tightly, enjoying it, rejoicing in it.

By the side of the small stream, the young girl's whispers and the sound of the stream mingled together, and even the chirping of the insects became joyful.

Thanks to 【Hidden Grace,,】 for the tip, thank you!

(End of this chapter)