"Ah, we've been discovered." The girl with twin tails put down her binoculars and shrugged.
They were spotted even from so far away; they're really perceptive. Who is this person?
"Forget it, there's nothing to play anymore. I'll just continue with my volunteer work." The girl with twin tails put away her binoculars and continued chatting with nearby NPCs with a smile.
The NPCs in this world are fairly friendly to players and don't reject them because of their slight feeling of being 'different'. Because of the existence of monsters, the infighting and racial conflicts among humans have been significantly reduced.
"I remember this dungeon being quite famous because nobody knows about it, but since the NPCs aren't hostile and the boss isn't bloodthirsty, why hasn't it been cleared in so long?" the girl with twin tails wondered curiously. "Is it because the boss itself is very strong, or very hard to find?"
The large truck slowly moved away from the area where humans were active, and the people on the truck began to chat.
The three players squeezed into a corner of the car, opposite an elderly NPC whose son was said to be very capable, which allowed him to snag the spot to leave.
They are 'urban explorers', or, if you're not used to it, you can call them 'ragpickers'.
These people were responsible for collecting supplies during the day, mainly clothing, daily necessities, useful machinery, and so on.
Although the base already has its own farms and factories, there is still a shortage of daily necessities, which requires these people to collect them in exchange for meager wages.
This job doesn't pay much, but it's in high demand because you can smuggle things back, like perfume that still smells good, unopened cigarettes, and so on.
Once they reach their destination, they are free to move around. Before nightfall, each of them must hand over goods worth 1,000 merit points, or they will have to walk back and be blacklisted.
Beyond the 1,000 merit points, their private income is what they receive.
An elderly NPC opposite them warned them not to go to secluded and dark places.
The monsters of daytime haven't disappeared; they've simply gone into hiding, lurking in the shadows. If you were to stumble into their lair, you'd likely end up like yesterday's unlucky soul, swallowed whole.
Each monster has different abilities and weaknesses; without adequate preparation, humans are no match for them.
"There are also differences in territory and level among monsters. Monsters don't care about their own kind that are too low-level, nor will they fight against their own kind that are too high-level, but they really dislike their own kind that are of similar level."
The kind old man NPC explained to the player: "This is like a leopard's territory. Rabbits and foxes can live there, and lions can roam around, but another leopard can't come in. The principle is the same."
The girl with twin ponytails nodded repeatedly: "Thank you, sir. If you hadn't told me this, we would have suffered a great loss when we went out."
She smiled as brightly as a flower, and even kindly handed the gatekeeper an orange, making him grin from ear to ear.
Seeing the girl's friendly demeanor, he couldn't help but add, "If you happen to encounter one, don't panic. Look into its eyes. Some monsters don't like to attack people. If you just leave quietly, you'll be fine."
"Are there monsters that don't attack humans?" the player wondered.
"Hey, that's not surprising. There are good people and bad people among humans, and there are good monsters and bad monsters among monsters too."
The enthusiastic old man even gave a brief explanation, saying that some eyes clearly indicate someone has eaten humans and is bloodthirsty, while others clearly indicate someone is non-aggressive and uninterested in humans.
The player with twin ponytails nodded repeatedly, "Grandpa is amazing, he knows all this. You're truly remarkable."
The old man waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing."
The player with twin ponytails had another question: "Grandpa, why don't we take advantage of the daytime to clear out those monster lairs? Like that shopping mall we talked about yesterday?"
"Most areas can't be cleaned up in a day. If you go back the next day, the monsters might have moved to a different location. And if you anger them, they might come smelling the scent and attack the base in the middle of the night. It's not worth it," the NPC shook his head.
They didn't ask why we weren't using firearms; we already knew that yesterday.
Firearms have limited effectiveness against monsters and may even cause them to evolve again. The sheer number of monsters today is partly due to the extensive use of missiles in the early stages, which resulted in the emergence of more unscientific creatures.
"Do monsters attack bases?" the girl with twin tails asked curiously. "I never knew that."
The old man chuckled, "Of course you wouldn't know. The nighttime hunting party will handle it. Actually, only a few will attack the base. Besides, there's something special inside the base. As long as the monsters don't follow, they generally won't be able to detect the base's existence."
He ate a segment of orange before continuing, "That's why our base has been able to stay in good condition for so many years."
"It is said that in other places, humans can only survive by hiding and moving around, and bases have to be moved frequently. Once you stay in one place for half a year, the smell of humans becomes too strong, and monsters will be attracted. Our base has been in existence for eighteen years, and there has been no problem at all. All of this is thanks to the leader."
The girl with twin ponytails shouldn't ask any more questions; she's already gotten a lot of information. Asking any more questions would raise suspicion.
It seems there really is a special secret in the base.
It can confuse monsters, but it can't be mass-produced. It's similar to an odor neutralizer. What exactly is it? Maybe the leader of the base knows.
"I really want to kidnap him." Tie up the base leader!
"What?" Natural Curly didn't hear clearly.
The girl with twin ponytails shook her head: "It's nothing." Tying him up would offend the entire base, and besides, we can't even find him now, so it's just wishful thinking.
Outside the base lies a world devoid of humans; animals roam freely in the streets, and plants grow unchecked. During the day, the monsters sleep, and even at night they rarely venture out.
From the perspective of other animals, this world is vibrant and much better than when humans existed.
"It feels like this planet wants to kill humanity, just like humanity is killing cancer cells in its body. Putting aside humanity's perspective, humans, creatures that love to expand territory and kill, are a plague," said Natural Curly.
A building not far from the base.
"Sunscreen and sun-protective clothing are useless." Ren Yifei stretched his arm back, and his pale arm looked as if it had been roasted, sizzling and smoking, turning into charcoal.
However, he has a strong recovery ability and will recover in a while. If he still can't, he can lick it.
"His special ability is self-healing." Don't humans know that his saliva can also accelerate healing?
The Scarlet Witch might be hiding many secrets unknown to humans. Since her predecessors all performed exceptionally well, the Scarlet Witch can't be too bad either.
Given his low profile while at the human base, is it possible that he was biding his time?
The original owner has so many secrets, most of which can only be answered by humans. But it seems unlikely that he could infiltrate the human base during the day.
"How about coming in by hanging under the truck?" Human bases have many vehicles coming and going, so they might not check so carefully.
Ren Yifei looked at the entrance of the human base through his binoculars and immediately noticed that the guards were using special instruments to scan the vehicle.
They also meticulously check everyone who enters, even more rigorously than airport security. In this situation, forget about sneaking in; just getting close would be like being handed over as food.
Ren Yifei is currently in a high-end hotel, a suitable place he discovered last night. It's fully equipped. If he weren't so concerned about expiration dates, even toothpaste and shower gel would be usable.
He entered through the underground parking lot, walked to the top floor, and entered a suite from a height where he could see the entrance and exit of the human base.
The room had three layers of curtains, blocking out almost 100% of the light, but he still felt a sense of oppression.
The intense sunlight during the day made him uneasy, and he felt suffocated. So he could only hide behind three layers of curtains and observe the human base across the way with a monocular telescope that had a decent magnification.
From a distance, the human base appeared as a lush green expanse, resembling a round, chive-colored pancake.
"The base appears to be a neat circle." The humans built their homes underground, while the surface was used for planting and production.
People walk out of a certain exit, or drive out of a garage; that's the entrance to the actual base.
It was lunchtime, and the people at the base were starting to eat a simple lunch, which appeared to be some bread.
"Gurgle, gurgle." Ren Yifei reached out and touched his stomach to soothe it.
I haven't eaten anything yesterday or today; even a monster would be hungry.
What does the Scarlet Witch eat? Can she eat human food? She can't possibly eat people. There are only so many humans; eating people would mean starving to death.
It wasn't mentioned on her resume; it only said that the Scarlet Witch's nighttime activities consisted solely of hunting monsters.
"...Oh, it's not one that eats monsters, is it?"
No, I refuse, it's too ugly.
As the trucks returned to base, dusk fell.
Today was another peaceful and quiet day. Although some people died, new wanderers came to stay, and the base's permanent population remained at several thousand.
"A base in the south has been breached, and a high-level monster has set its sights on it as its lair." The newcomer brought ominous news: the human forces are dwindling, while the monster forces are growing ever stronger.
Twenty years ago, humanity dreamed of venturing into the universe, but an anomaly shattered humanity's dominant position and crushed its arrogance.
Perhaps one day, humanity will exit the stage of history, their bones will sink into the soil, and the flame of their civilization will be extinguished in the sea.
Until one day, a new civilization unearthed it.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and the long skirt of the goddess of night sweeps across the city.
The daytime explorers returned to base, while the nighttime hunters began their campaign. Their mission remained the same: to capture the Scarlet Witch alive, and the bounty continued to rise.
"The nighttime hunting party revolves entirely around the Scarlet Witch, which seems to be the breakthrough point in the main storyline. Therefore, we need to continue screening potential 'hunters' while capturing the Scarlet Witch to advance the plot."
The faster the plot unfolds, the more clues emerge.
Players have already investigated the situation of the base hunters over the past two years. The three players from the official team are clearly not among them; their original owners lived very well and it's unlikely they would develop any obsessions. There are also no noteworthy individuals among the deceased hunting team members.
As for the few players among the free hunters, they joined the night hunting team due to accidental disability, life changes, or the death of loved ones. But frankly, their circumstances are not sufficient to generate high-end dungeons.
The name 'Nobody Knows' carries a hint of melancholy and despair.
To be able to support high-level games, the 'ghost' must have a special obsession, which is related to a sense of presence.
Excluding the base's official hunting teams and free hunters, all that's left is the monsters' side.
Official records indicate that there are approximately 600 monsters, of which about 30 are intelligent beings that can be communicated with, and most of them hunt at night.
"This is a huge undertaking." From a hundred monsters, find the 'Night Hunters' that may or may not exist.
Fortunately, the 'ghost' must be among the twelve players, whether it's its apparent identity or its true identity, so searching for the players among the monsters will yield some results.
"I just hope there aren't any fake players or lazy players among the monster players, otherwise the difficulty will double."
Ren Yifei, disguised as a martial artist, went out to find food because he was hungry.
What do the monsters eat to survive? He looked seriously at the special dry rations in his hand, which he had found in a large supermarket and had a shelf life of up to twenty years.
A quick calculation shows it hasn't expired yet.
Now this thing is taken out and soaked in a bottle of water.
Seeing that the surface seemed to have softened and started to swell, he carefully pinched off a small piece and put it in his mouth.
"evil--"
Author's Note: Players: Hopefully there won't be any deception tactics used to mislead people.
Ah·
npc·Fei: Passing by silently.