get-shopping Chapter 50: Your Undead Friends
Chapter 50: Your Undead Friends
Chapter 50: Your Undead Friends
Domestically produced instant noodles, capable of withstanding the critical taste test of hundreds of millions of Chinese people, would undoubtedly be a profitable commodity if a time-traveling merchant could sell them in the 19th and 20th centuries.
21st-century Chinese people might seem picky, with many insisting on only consuming pure, natural, and organic foods, though back in the 19th century, most didn't have the luxury of being picky.
Even just turning the clock back 30 years, hardly anyone would care whether their lard at home was from pigs fed with genetically modified feed or not, nor that soybean oil was a healthier option. They certainly wouldn't discard the pork lard just because it lacked the health benefits of the latter.
Having the luxury to be picky about food was only something that came about in the last twenty-odd years or so, thanks to surplus production capacity.
Complaints about instant noodles being unhealthy, lacking nutrition, having monotonous flavors, and just for satiation were only made by those who could afford them. It was entirely possible that the instant noodles stored in the cabinets of Chinese households could remain till they expired. But if the same instant noodles were placed in some impoverished African country, that would never happen.
In short, mass production of spices on a production line and delivering them to households at extremely low prices—a common practice of Earth—had never occurred in this other world. The sweet, umami, salty, and aromatic seasonings inside the instant noodle packages easily conquered the taste buds of the indigenous people here.
On top of that, there was the deadly weapon—Lao Gan Ma chili sauce—that was added to each bowl. Whether it was a commoner from Camore who had never tasted anything good or a well-born knight serving the faith, not a single drop of soup was left in their bowls when they were done.
"Damn, seeing these NPCs enjoy it so much makes me want a bowl too," muttered someone as the players were cleaning up. "I wonder if we would be able to eat the food in this game if our in-game characters were humans instead of skeletons..."
"That's probably impossible. No matter how advanced this game is, it can't simulate the sense of taste. At most, it will show an animation of eating."
"Sigh... In web novels, don't immersive holographic games give players a sense of taste when eating? This game is a disappointment!"
"Wake up! Time for labor!"
"Hahaha..."
Unceasing Entropy separated from her team for the time being and wandered through the crowd of players doing quests and, after a while, managed to find Blossoming Strokes.
"Blossom, I need to discuss something." Unceasing Entropy motioned to Blossoming Strokes from a short distance away.
Blossoming Strokes finished discussing the online schedules with her teammates, then left her team and came over. "What's up, Qingyue?"
All the members of Unceasing Entropy's team followed how Tang Jia addressed her as Qingyue, and over time, Blossoming Strokes also did the same.
Unceasing Entropy looked around, then led Blossoming Strokes to a less crowded area for more privacy and whispered, "Blossom, have you noticed something strange about these NPCs?"
"Um... Which aspect do you mean?" Blossoming Strokes didn't understand.
Unceasing Entropy hesitated, unsure of how to broach the subject. After a pause, she finally said, "It's just... I keep feeling that these NPCs are way too intelligent. Their behavioral logic seems too realistic."
"Aren't the NPCs in this game always like that?" Blossoming Strokes responded. "The advanced NPCs in Exile Town can even understand and respond to players' taunts, plus they send players back to the respawn point if they get rubbed the wrong way. It's way more impressive than real-life AI."
"Well... Although it seems strange to only bring it up now, I have to say that the NPCs in this game, especially the many human ones we just encountered, don't seem to make sense," Unceasing Entropy said with a grimace.
"How do I put it... Those captives seem to be seeking help from those advanced NPCs riding alongside Lord Yang, but those NPCs ignore them. Also, the civilian NPCs we interact with for the quest really look and act like refugees, and really portray it more realistically than extras in a movie.
"It's not just their appearance. What I mean is their behavioral logic, response patterns... everything is so in line with the 'refugee' setting. If this is just a part of the game developers' pursuit of 'realism' and 'immersion,' and the behavioral logic of these civilian NPCs is completely programmed, then I can only say that the game development team's programmers are all super-geniuses way ahead of their time."
Blossoming Strokes went silent for a bit before whispering, "Qingyue, are you trying to say that these NPCs are played by actual people?"
"Finally, the teleport function is activated! At least these damned developers have the conscience to not make us walk the whole way back!"
"Wait, this teleportation point can only be used by the undead, right? So, we still have to walk in order to send the civilian NPCs to Exile Town?"
"What's wrong with that? Isn't it great to farm monsters along the way?"
"F*ck yeah!"
The promise of the teleportation feature ignited the players' enthusiasm. There wasn't any dissatisfaction with the manual labor quests, and all the players got busy.
Yang Qiu was pleased with the players' enthusiasm.
The undead's teleportation array, to put it simply, was a summoning array. Its mechanism was similar to the mechanism that allowed players to be teleported back to the resurrection point after death. Therefore, only players, who were basically undead, could use it, while living beings couldn't.
Constructing this array required a large amount of magic powder, and the magic powder spellcasters players worked so hard to increase their reputation was finally put to good use.
Yang Qiu didn't plan to limit development to just Exile Town. Establishing bases in places closer to the Duchy of Shiga would lay the groundwork for Taranthan's future development.
Currently, there were few players and not that many civilians had been taken in. A main town, Exile Town, and a satellite town, Desolate Outpost, would be sufficient for the time being.
Black-robed Inspector Lowell chose a location neither too far nor too close to the undead and ordered his troops to camp there. He arranged his men and came over to the base to assess the situation.
Then he noticed... that the undead were still very energetic and busying themselves with work. Some were setting up tents for the civilians, while others wielded shovels and pickaxes to dig holes.
Lowell: "..."
Were it not for the friendly behavior of these undead towards the living, Lowell would have suspected they were trying to bury the civilians.
Of course, not all of the undead were doing something. Lowell spotted some doing nothing, chattering in empty spots in an incomprehensible tongue, then gathered and walked out in a group...
Within the player community, there would always be ones that stood out as independent individuals. Despite the reputation rewards offered by the zombie general for the manual labor quests, some players still hesitated to participate. Instead, they were inclined toward teaming up and exploring the surroundings in hopes of finding some monsters to fight.
These players, ready to venture to the outskirts of the base, noticed Lowell approaching them. One of them immediately approached with enthusiasm and struck up a conversation, "Hello, do you need any help from your undead friends?"
Lowell, who couldn't understand Mandarin: "??"
"Oh, this NPC isn't interactive," the player waited for a moment and, without receiving a proper response, said dejectedly.
"Stop trying. NPCs with quests will initiate conversations and those that don't won't respond even if you interact with them," a comrade of his explained.
The player who initiated the conversation walked away.
Lowell: "..."
Black-robed Inspector Lowell then entered the base.
While players continued to set up tents and dig holes to build the respawn point, they noticed the enigmatic advanced NPC walking alone. Immediately, several of them dropped what they were doing and eagerly approached him.
"Hello, do you need help from your undead friends?"
"Hey, handsome. Need any assistance?"
Lowell: "??"