Prohibit Certain Players from Contacting the Dungeon NPC!

Chapter 16: The Misty Fishing Village

The head of Yu village faced the sea. Lin Anqu and several other players stood silently to the side, listening to Wen Fansheng chat with the old woman at the village entrance.

This task should have been done by them, the players who desperately needed information.  But Lin Anqu couldn't manage to engage in conversation and extract information.

Su Hanxia, their only female member, had long since disappeared and seemed to have given up on life; asking her to do anything was a fantasy.

Liu Xitu and the two Yangs were either stupid or cowardly.  They had someone who could have helped, Li Cong, but after narrowly escaping death that night, he insisted on going to find some nonsensical monster NPC.

To prevent him from revealing their identities, Lin Anqu simply knocked him unconscious and locked him in a room.

While they were at a loss, Wen Fansheng had already successfully struck up a conversation with the old woman at the village head. He was good-looking, had a gentle smile, and spoke elegantly and humorously, making the old woman laugh.

Lin Anqu and the others were dumbfounded, wishing they could possess Wen Fansheng.

Just as Wen Fansheng successfully steered the conversation towards the rule about not going out at night, the old woman's expression became unnatural, and she hesitated to speak.

Seeing an opportunity, Liu Xitu tried to imitate Wen Fansheng's manner of speaking, but his appearance was fierce, and his forced attempt at being cute was unbearable.  "Grandma, I also want to know. Please, have mercy and tell us."

His rough voice almost made the grandmother stumble.

"Oh my!" The grandmother patted her chest in fright, looking at the tall man.  "Where did you come from? You scared me to death!"

Liu Xitu: "..."

The usual smile on Lin Anqu's face faltered. He forced a smile and pulled Liu Xitu aside. "Sorry, please continue, continue."

After hesitating for a moment, her cloudy eyes looking at the blue sky, the grandmother slowly spoke. "Alas, I suppose the world outside must have changed, or you wouldn't have come to this poor and remote place to seek shelter."

Her words left the players who had recently entered the world confused. Liu Xitu wanted to ask her what she meant, but he was worried about revealing their outsider status, and he anxiously scratched his head.

Lin Anqu frowned, his eyes downcast in thought.

Wen Fansheng naturally understood her meaning. His voice was low, “Yes, we can no longer survive in our original home, we can only seek refuge here.”

The grandmother chuckled, her wrinkled hand rubbing his head, “This disaster is entirely humanity’s own fault. If it weren’t for us having… what was that?!”

She stopped abruptly, pointing a trembling hand towards the coast.

The others looked back in confusion. On the beach, countless grotesque monsters were crawling, deformed and ugly, their mouths filled with rows of sharp teeth dripping with saliva.

The sky suddenly darkened. A swarm of winged monsters descended from the heavens, their eyes lustfully fixed on the juicy humans, their mouths emitting hoarse roars.

【Holy crap, holy crap! These things are terrifying! I'm about to lose my soul!】

【They're all monsters. Can't they learn from my wife? Would it kill them to be a little prettier?!】

【Wait a minute, why are the monsters coming out during the day? That breaks the rules!】

【But think about it, there's no explicit rule stating monsters only come out at night. This isn't a "Rule-Based Mystery" kind of game; it doesn't have to follow specific rules.】

The overwhelming number of monsters roared as they crashed against the already weak barrier. Under their fierce assault, a small opening appeared in the barrier.

Their eyes grew even more excited, their bloodshot pupils terrifying. The opening widened, and in an instant, the barrier completely vanished.

Then, screams of agony rose in unison, echoing through the sky.

【Alert—Alert—Due to unforeseen circumstances, the survival time for this instance has changed from seven days to three days. The mission remains the same. Players are urged to complete the mission diligently.】

【Beep! Special Reminder: The system has detected the presence of a juvenile, god-level NPC within this instance. Do not harm it! Warning again, players are strictly prohibited from harming the juvenile, god-level NPC!】

Three large bats chased Lin Anqu. They were dangerously close; with a glance backward, Lin Anqu could see their black wings and crimson eyes.

The ring on his left pinky finger suddenly glowed. A silver handle appeared in his hand, and a beam of light shot out from the top.

He stopped, turned, and swung. The beam of light sliced through the bat’s body. It only managed a shriek before its body split in two.

A light rain of blood fell on him. Lin Anqu’s amorous peach blossom eyes were cold and sharp, his glasses rimmed with blood, his whole being radiating danger.

The two remaining bats, witnessing the death of their companion, hesitated before this dangerous human, then wisely turned and fled.

Lin Anqu leaped, landing on a branch, surveying the devastated world. A smile curved his lips. “So it was a juvenile god-level NPC. No wonder it was so weak.”

“A three-day survival limit, huh!” Lin Anqu sneered. “Since you’re clearly trying to push us to our deaths, your precious god-level NPC won’t be living much longer either.”

…

Mu Miao heard the alert and her eyes widened in surprise. She stared blankly and asked 001, 【Is the god-level NPC the system mentioned me?】

But shouldn’t they be opponents?

001 scoffed, 【That silly thing probably really thinks you’re a juvenile god-level NPC, little fool. You should know that beings who can be classified as god-level are extremely rare. Once a god-level being grows up, they’ll be the Second Idiot’s most powerful assistant.】

Mu Miao repeated his words softly, 【Second Idiot?】

Even though it was an insult, it sounded different coming from him.

The bracketed comments are left as they are in the original, mimicking the style of online game chat.  The overall tone and style of the original text are preserved as much as possible.