Salted Fish Zombie

Chapter 52.1: Game Base (3)

July 04, 2023 by Wyrd

“You don’t know, back then, Shi Tianzhu was exceptionally kind to me when we first met. We had a pleasant time together.”

Ning Su: “How kind?”

Ning Changfeng: “Well, you know she’s a cold person. She has improved a lot now, but back then, she was like an ice beauty, always wearing a cold expression towards others. However, she was willing to talk to me.”

Ning Su: “...”

He silently took out the Heaven-Piercing Silk.

Ning Changfeng could tell at a glance that it was one of the Shi Tianzhu’s favorite weapon.

Ning Su said, “We had only met for two or three days when President Shi gave it to me, along with a crystal ball. Oh, and I didn’t expect that someone as cold as President Shi would secretly give me an extra fried egg during mealtime.”

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

After a while, Ning Changfeng said with a complicated expression, “Yeah, Shi Tianzhu was very good to you. She even brought you back to Yinhua. Why was she so good to you?”

Ning Su’s face became paralyzed again.

He fiddled with the Heaven-Piercing Silk in his hand.

Ning Changfeng said, “I thought we were on the same side of the battle, fighting against the oppression of Shi Tianzhu together.”

Just as he finished speaking, a white silk flew straight towards his head.

The wind generated by the Heaven-Piercing Silk lifted his long hair, but Ning Changfeng didn’t move at all. His eyes didn’t even flicker.

When the Heaven-Piercing Silk was about to pierce his neck, Ning Changfeng gently extended his index and middle fingers, pinching the sharp white sash.

His two fingers were unusually long, with prominent knuckles. They were slender and pale compared to the average man’s fingers. However, the fierce attack of the white sash was easily held by those two fingers and softly fell down.

Ning Su: “Indeed, skill weapons can’t be used in the base.”

This was common knowledge in the game base.

Killing and using skill weapons were prohibited in the game base to maintain basic peace.

“But the two of you can use them.”

These weapons brought out from the dungeon world were called skill weapons. They came with their own skills, unlike the weapons sold at the base, which required players to exert their own efforts and rely on their own strength and skills.

In the afternoon, Shi Tianzhu and Ning Changfeng used the purple sash and some dagger, which should both be skill weapons.

Ning Changfeng retracted his fingers and said, “The new quarter’s guild competition and individual competition are about to begin. If you want to use them, sign up and participate.”

He added, “You also know that in the game, the strong are respected. The understanding of this ‘respect’ by ordinary players is still too narrow.”

Ning Su looked up at him, and Ning Changfeng happened to be looking at him too.

The moonlight fell on the boy’s face. His complexion didn’t seem as pale, and the moonlight softly landed on his high and straight nose bridge. When his beautiful peach blossom eyes blinked, inexplicably...

Strange.

Ning Changfeng shifted his gaze away.

How could someone be so adorable?

His appearance was too superior. No wonder Shi Tianzhu said he would become the second Ning Changfeng.

Ning Changfeng pinched his own nose bridge and said, “Masters and powerful players not only have privileges among players, even the main system will make certain concessions. The stronger you are, the more concessions the main system will make. Otherwise, why do you think the quarterly individual competition instances are so intense?”

Ning Su was slightly stunned.

During the fight between Shi Tianzhu and Ning Changfeng, he heard someone mention this point while watching the commotion, and now he heard Ning Changfeng say it again, which surprised him.

If powerful players could really make the main system make concessions, why was Subsystem 9277 so nervous and asked him to keep a low profile?

“So, how far can the strongest and most formidable player make the system concede?”

He was asking Ning Changfeng himself because he was currently the highest-ranked strongest player in the game base.

But Ning Changfeng seemed to be thinking about someone other than himself. He frowned and said, “One, it should be a terrifying level.”

Ning Su seemed dazed again.

On the same evening, Ning Changfeng seemed to only vent his frustrations to Ning Su, briefly mentioning this matter without elaborating further.

“After losing my head, now I can’t even keep my tongue. I don’t understand. She likes pleasant voices, and my voice is so pleasant. But after my tongue was cut off, she can’t hear it anymore.”

Ning Su: “...”

Ning Su: “Did someone really chop off your head?”

Ning Changfeng: “I’m still fundamentally a human, not a real god. So many guilds ganged up on me. What do you think?”

Ning Su: “How many times in total?”

Ning Changfeng: “About three times.”

After he finished speaking, he noticed the young boy sitting on the ground, slightly hunching over with his hands covering his chest.

Ning Changfeng: “What’s wrong with you?”

Ning Su: “I’m feeling sorry for you. Three hundred million points... It’s enough to live a comfortable life for several generations.”

Ning Changfeng: “...”

Ning Su: “Can I handle the next head-chopping incident?”

Ning Changfeng left.

As if a chilly and desolate wind passed by.

Ning Su watched his desolate figure and stretched his arms before saying to the two children, “Let’s go to sleep. We’ll buy a house tomorrow.”

That was the plan. However, early the next morning, while enjoying a sumptuous breakfast specially prepared by the manager, Ning Su brought up the matter, but within a few minutes, Shi Tianzhu came to stop him.

“320,000 points can only buy a small apartment. It’s better to save up by clearing another dungeon and buy a house.”

Ning Su was really tempted.

He just wanted a house with a small courtyard.

But he was eager to have his own place.

Shi Tianzhu was so good to him, but he couldn’t think of anything to repay her at the moment. He couldn’t continue living in Yinhua.

Ning Su: “We’ll take a look first.”

Shi Tianzhu understood and didn’t stop him. She just said, “Go out and take a walk. Come back in the evening, and we’ll check your body again.”

Ning Su: “Alright!”

Ning Su took the two children and left the Yinhua Guild. They wandered around the central street of the base for a while and arrived at the real estate agency for buying and selling houses on the base.

The real estate agency belonged to the information department and essentially dealt with the trading of information resources.

When Ning Su and the two children passed through the lobby, they saw Fang Qi, who had entered the game with him on the same bus.

It seemed like he was buying some information here, or more accurately, he was looking for someone.

He was still searching for that person.

Not only did he not stop in the game base, he also searched for that person within the instance, using the points he obtained from the instance to buy information in the game base.

Fang Qi saw him and greeted him briefly, “Long time no see.”

There was a scar on his right cheek, most likely left by the previous instance. The system hadn’t restored it, so he didn’t spend any additional points to seek treatment from a healer.

This red scar gave this ordinary high school student a touch of coldness.

The initially ordinary high school student who used to be afraid and had screamed in fear in the bus had undergone obvious changes.

Ning Su: “You’re still looking for them?”

Fang Qi nodded.

Ning Su made a sound of acknowledgement. “They must be someone very important to you.”

At that moment, he saw a sense of sadness in Fang Qi’s eyes, and he said with certainty, “Yes.”

Ning Su said, “Then you will definitely find them.”

Fang Qi looked at him in surprise and asked, “Do you believe that I can find them?”

Initially, at the game base, when they separated, he mentioned that he was going to find someone. He knew that it would be difficult for Zhu Shuangshuang and the others to understand.

During that time, both the game and the game base were like a departure from reality, an existence far beyond imagination. He had just entered this world and already talked about finding someone.

Anyone who heard it would find it inexplicable.

Sometimes, even in the middle of the night when the monsters in the instance dungeon wailed, he would open his eyes and, for a brief moment, feel ridiculous about himself.

Ning Su looked at the precariousness in his eyes and nodded. “Fate is a strange thing. I have also encountered someone here whom I never thought I would meet.”

Fang Qi wanted to say something to him, but someone over there called him to register personal information.

Ning Su took the two children and walked to the other side.

As Shi Tianzhu said, with 320,000 points, they could only afford a room in a tall building.

Looking for houses on the base looked very convenient. They could experience them one by one in the agency.

After Ning Su finished looking at the houses he could afford, he sighed, “Let’s come back after we finish the next instance dungeon.”

Manman said, “Wait a moment.”

Ning Su didn’t understand why, but since the little girl said so, he had nothing to do but wait here.

They didn’t wait long before the person who showed them the houses talked to a newly arrived staff member and glanced in their direction, then walked over.

“Young man, are you looking to buy a small courtyard? No specific location requirements?”

Ning Su stood up in surprise and said, “Yes, I want an independent house with a courtyard. Location is not important.”

“There is indeed one within your budget, but there’s something I need to make clear to you. It’s a haunted house.”

Ning Su exclaimed, “Ah, this is too wonderful.”

“?”

Ning Su didn’t mind at all. What’s there to fear about a haunted house with one zombie and two ghosts?

The price of the haunted house was not only reduced by half but also cheaper than he had expected. Ning Su thought it was just perfect for them.

After finding it at the real estate agency, the man took them to the courtyard for confirmation.

Coincidentally, they ran into Fang Qi at the entrance of the hall. Both of them had things to do, so they just nodded to each other, with one walking south and the other walking north.

“In the game base, there was no such thing as a haunted house originally because players basically died in the dungeon world, and it was impossible for even a trace of their soul to return. It’s not the kind of haunted house we know in the real world,” the man said to Ning Su as they walked.

“Mm-hmm,” Ning Su nodded. “That makes sense.”

“But this house is different. The original owner came out alive from the instance, and that instance was too terrifying, leaving significant aftereffects,” the man sighed and said, “He was tortured all along and eventually committed suicide one night.”

Ning Su made a sound of acknowledgement.

After chatting with the salesperson for a while, Ning Su roughly understood why he was able to buy this house.

People in the game base were not non-superstitious. On the contrary, players who frequently encountered supernatural ghosts were more concerned about this than in the real world.

So, this house was sold at one-fifth of the market price.

With a budget of just over a hundred thousand, Zhu Shuangshuang could buy a single apartment. But with 150,000 points, he could buy a nice courtyard that was relatively far from the game hall.

Ning Su felt like he had really hit the jackpot, and the thought made him feel delighted.

It was Manman who asked him to wait.

Ning Su thought of the system’s introduction to her and couldn’t help but look at the little girl, only to find that she and Gui Sheng were both looking ahead.

Following their gazes, Ning Su saw a woman.

She had long wavy hair, bright red lips, suspenders exposing her belly, black velvet shorts paired with tight red boots wrapped around her legs, a seductive and flamboyant appearance.

The most eye-catching thing was what she was holding in her hand.

That thing was huge, a golden carved cylindrical container about half her height, with holes all over it, and each hole had a human head sticking out.

The heads were those of an adult human, but noticeably smaller, with closed eyes and elongated, snake-like necks stretching outward. Sticky fluid dripped down their faces, making a “sizzling” sound as it melted the stone on the ground upon landing.

Many people looked at her and the eerie human heads inside her cocoon-like container.

Seeing those eyeless heads, Ning Su easily guessed her identity.

She must be the Pupa Master from the Yongming Guild.

A top-tier player ranked third in the previous season.