Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 164: Where is the robot?

Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Where is the robot?

At this time, Great Liang was already in turmoil, with foreign enemies coveting its territory and its people suffering from famine.

It was said that in a remote village of Great Liang, villagers had dug out a Black Tai Sui and consumed its flesh to satisfy their hunger, but since then Flesh Monsters and malevolent spirits began to appear, spreading across the entirety of Great Liang.

These Flesh Monsters incessantly devoured and transformed life, leaving neither humans nor animals able to escape death.

At the same time, a heretical cult known as the "Xun Xiang Cult" started to gain ground, worshipping the Flesh Monsters and even beguiling the Little Emperor of Great Liang.

The enemies that Instructor Ding and Li Wenhao had previously slain, who appeared to be Bandits, were actually the peripheral followers of the Xun Xiang Cult.

As for this female Daoist priestess, who claimed to be "Priestess Xie," she traveled far and wide, continuously treating diseases and saving lives. She had also successfully found a piece of Black Tai Sui and was researching it.

Now, Priestess Xie hoped that Li Huanzhen could travel to the capital of Great Liang, "Jiangdu," to rescue the Little Emperor, who was under the control of the "Xun Xiang Cult", and at the same time bring back various materials collected to help Priestess Xie better study these Flesh Monsters and prevent the tragedy unfolding in Great Liang.

Instructor Ding went off to exchange a few words with a general named "Zhao Siyuan."

Zhao Siyuan first urged Li Huanzhen to make proper use of the "Seeking Immortal Record", as he had no intention to take action together with Li Huanzhen, stating they would meet again if it was fated.

However, if they were to meet in this dilapidated Daoist temple, the two could occasionally spar to hone their skills.

But later, when Instructor Ding asked about the situation in Jiangdu, Zhao Siyuan proposed a view completely opposed to that of Priestess Xie.

He believed that to resist foreign invasions and to allow the people of Great Liang to survive, the Black Tai Sui was the only solution.

Although Zhao Siyuan had killed the Flesh Monster and saved Li Huanzhen, and was an enemy of the Xun Xiang Cult, he did not object to further exploiting the Black Tai Sui to transform Great Liang, his only difference with the Xun Xiang Cult was the approach.

As for Priestess Xie, Zhao Siyuan only cooperated with her temporarily; since their ideas fundamentally diverged, they remained in a state of non-interference with each other.

The plot’s dialogue was not extensive, but it was still packed with information, and both Instructor Ding and Li Wenhao watched the storyline attentively without saying much.

It was only after all the dialogue had finished that Instructor Ding exclaimed, "So this prosthetic is actually called the ’Seeking Immortal Record’? What a preposterous name!"

In Instructor Ding’s view, even though the name suggested something ethereal and otherworldly, its appearance was that of a black bamboo slip surrounded by an ominous black aura, hardly resembling any respectable artifact!

Li Wenhao also expressed agreement, "Yeah, the name is totally discordant! It’s utterly incongruent with the entire worldview! I think calling it a ’prosthetic’ would be more fitting!"

"So, shall we move on?"

"Although I didn’t really pay much attention to the storyline, I know that I’m about to start a rampant slaughter!"

Leaving the dilapidated Daoist temple behind, the two immediately set out to explore the surrounding village.

The "Seeking Immortal Record" enhanced left hand could directly extend a grappling hook to latch onto protrusions on cliffs and precipices, and Li Huanzhen’s mobility was also excellent, fully capable of rooftop running and scaling steep places.

Of course, from an external perspective, it didn’t resemble the common grappling hook but rather a hand fashioned from the black bamboo of the "Seeking Immortal Record," wielded by red strings to grapple specific locations.

Though not in the appearance of a grappling hook, it served the same function.

One could also say, the "Seeking Immortal Record" was a multi-functional magical artifact.

Given it was Newbie Village, the village didn’t host many special enemies; it was still dominated by Flesh Monsters, crazed villagers, and followers of the Xun Xiang Sect.

However, the game didn’t display specific names for these monsters, so the two simply referred to them as "that minion" or "that elite mob."

Atop the eaves on the inevitable path, Instructor Ding found a secret passage that could upgrade the "Seeking Immortal Record."

Returning to the temple, he placed the secret passage with the left hand into the dark, black lacquered cabinet under the altar, which would suddenly open, extend several Flesh Monster tendrils of Black Tai Sui, and wrap around Li Huanzhen’s left arm for transformation.

This time, the secret ability that Instructor Ding obtained was "Locust Stone," which allowed a single or multiple Locust Stones to be launched from the left arm to attack enemies at a distance, with different effects for short or long presses of the action button.

Its material was earth, corresponding with the "spleen" among the five viscera and six bowels, so before use, Li Huanzhen had to reach his left hand into his viscera to crush his spleen and obtain Locust Stone ammunition.

This skill would first consume the paper effigies from his Daoist arts.

If carrying enough paper effigies, they could be used to fuel the skill; without them, health points would have to be expended.

While the power would greatly increase, it could only be used once, after all, a person only has one spleen.

If it involved skills using the lungs and kidneys, then it could be used twice.

Finally, after stumbling through two small scenes, Instructor Ding and Li Wenhao arrived at a dilapidated thatched cottage at the edge of the small village.

Instructor Ding looked around cautiously, and eventually confirmed that there were no enemies in the cottage, just an apparently hunched-over, dying old woman.

"Young man, come over here, I want to tell you something..."

Instructor Ding’s field of vision showed a dialogue prompt, and he curiously approached the old crone, wanting to hear what exactly she had to say.

Could it be related to some side quest in this small village?

Although Instructor Ding had only explored about a third of the small village, he had already encountered some abnormal phenomena, such as a tree inexplicably growing horizontally on a cliff, or certain humanoid enemies turning into animal carcasses after being killed.

If this were any other game, Instructor Ding would think these were BUGs.

Just some model errors, that’s all!

But considering Nitiandang’s consistently strong technical capabilities, Instructor Ding felt that these weren’t bugs, but deliberately crafted scenery, definitely hiding some secrets!

Maybe the village NPCs could trigger some hidden plots?

This old crone certainly looked like a side-quest NPC!

However, Instructor Ding had only taken two steps when he saw another figure whoosh past him.

Li Wenhao controlled another Li Huanzhen to fly up using a grappling hook to catch a tree root beside the thatched cottage on the cliff, and without saying a word, he struck the old lady with his sword!

A ’pfft,’ and Li Wenhao’s longsword pierced the old crone’s body.

And instantly, the old lady turned into a red name!

Instructor Ding almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, "Fuck! Don’t attack the NPC!"

Li Wenhao looked somewhat confused, "NPC? Don’t scare me, Brother Ding, isn’t this an elite monster?"

Despite being hit by a sword, the old crone didn’t fall but let out a sigh instead.

"Alright, another crazed youngster.

"Since it’s like this, let me liberate you then!"

The old crone took up her walking stick and poked with it, and immediately a terrifying web of lightning spread out, enveloping both Li Wenhao and Instructor Ding!

Instructor Ding watched as his health bar dropped by one third in an instant, and it seemed like he was also afflicted by an effect similar to an electric shock paralysis.

"...you give her one stab and she indeed turns into an elite monster!"

Li Wenhao was defiant, "What do you mean I turned her into an elite monster with one stab? She was one to begin with! Couldn’t you tell from her model that she’s different from other trash mobs?"

While fleeing and clutching his head, Instructor Ding said, "... the model does indeed look very different from other trash mobs, but you also can’t just declare for certain it’s an elite monster, right? Doesn’t she look more like an NPC?"

Li Wenhao was shocked, "What kind of NPC starts off with a red name?"

Instructor Ding was puzzled, "Wasn’t it you who turned her red name with one hit?"

Li Wenhao was also confused, "Ah? Really? Don’t tell me, I thought she had a red name from the start. Could there be a bug in the game?"

Instructor Ding was so frustrated he wanted to scratch his head, "If you hit her once and we can’t receive the quest, what should we do!

"What on earth was the old lady going to say! Damn it!"

Li Wenhao couldn’t help but show his reverence, "Brother Ding, how did you know she was an old lady?"

Instructor Ding was speechless, "She is using a walking stick, and her body is hunched over, isn’t it obvious?"

Li Wenhao observed carefully, "Eh, indeed, she does look like an old crone now that you mention it. Brother Ding, you’ve got some skill. Not only can you differentiate these monsters’ models, but you can even guess their gender and age roughly!"

Instructor Ding was completely at a loss, "Mouse, we’re playing an action game here, please focus on the gameplay, and quit the banter for show! This thing is a harmless old lady, any person with half-decent eyesight could tell, right?"

Li Wenhao: "...Brother Ding, I wasn’t bantering for show! All these robots look the same to me; how could I tell their gender and age?

"Isn’t it a bit far-fetched to say she’s an old lady just because of her form and walking stick? How can you boldly assume her gender like that?

"I’d say that walking stick is her weapon for conjuring lightning!"

Instructor Ding looked utterly bewildered, "What are you talking about? Robots??

"Where did you get robots from??"

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