Zai Zong's Side Quest

The second highest stream in terms of live viewership was Zai Zong's channel.

Right now, he was also playing Dark Forest.

But compared to Xin Xin, who held the top spot, he—being a veteran gamer—had more experience.

It was already the fourth night.

And clutching an Iron Shovel, he was covered in wounds, panting heavily!

On the floor lay the corpses of two wild dogs and four Wild Men.

Large pools of filthy blood splattered across the floorboards, seeping into them. Just looking at it, you could almost smell the lingering, pungent odor.

A fight had clearly taken place!

Zai Zong, on the other side of the screen, wiped the sweat from his forehead, a relieved smile spreading across his face after surviving the ordeal.

After the encounters of the first three nights, he was slowly getting the hang of things.

He'd also roughly figured out how to handle the nighttime crises.

Zai Zong hadn't chosen the bedroom in the Shelter. For him, that room was too large and had several windows, making it easy for monsters to break through, trigger a fight, and waste resources.

So he picked a medium-sized room instead, to reduce the chance of an attack.

Because he'd noticed that monsters roamed around searching.

Hiding in a sealed room could effectively lower the odds of being discovered.

In that regard, it was better than the bedroom.

Currently, this room had only two windows and two doors.

He left one door for escape and nailed the rest shut with wooden planks.

He also placed an Animal Trap under each window and in front of the door as a double safeguard.

Earlier, he'd tried several other survival methods.

For example, moving a cabinet into the room to block the door.

But then an earthquake hit, shifting the furniture, and all that effort went to waste.

Another time, he dragged the cabinet into a corner and squeezed into a triangular gap behind it.

But the monster just smashed the cabinet to pieces and dragged him out.

After trying a few approaches, he realized that hiding alone wouldn't solve the problem.

He needed to defend and attack!

So during the day, he'd explore the forest, progressing the main quest while scavenging for resources and materials. At night, he'd return to the Shelter to repair the doors, seal the windows, set up traps, and then hunker down in a corner to defend.

Then, he got discovered.

The monster broke in.

Now, after surviving a life-or-death battle, he glanced at his nearly depleted health bar, then at the completely wrecked doors and windows, and the door that had been smashed into wooden splinters—and felt a wave of relief.

It didn't matter that the doors and windows were broken. He could scavenge more during the day and fix them up, as long as he survived.

Zai Zong checked the time and saw that dawn was near. If he could just make it through this night, he could leave the 'Withered Grassland' and head to the second area, 'Silent Forest,' to explore.

As long as he survived!

"Guys, this game is something else! Hoo, what a rush! That feeling of surviving by the skin of your teeth—there's nothing like it!"

The viewers in the stream were all chiming in, saying he'd fought well just now.

"Zai Zong is a beast. If it were me, I'd definitely be dead."

"True, but the Animal Trap did its job too. It clamped the monster in place, giving him the chance to finish it off with the shovel."

"These night events happen way too often. You'd have to die a few times to get the hang of it."

"This is a horror game! Even me, just watching the stream, got scared."

"From now on, horror games are something I'll treat with caution in my heart."

Watching the chat scroll by, Zai Zong smiled.

Just as he was relaxing, ready to welcome the fifth day, a strange voice suddenly rang out from outside.

[Where are you.]

[Come here.]

Zai Zong's face instantly stiffened, and his hands gripping the Iron Shovel trembled slightly.

"Damn, another random event? I just finished fighting! My shovel's durability is almost gone! Is this trying to kill me off for good!?"

But complaints aside, with his health in the red, he had no intention of starting a fight.

He just curled up in the corner, hoping he could hide from it.

This event was something he hadn't seen in the first three nights, so it had to be a new one!

And because of that, the viewers in the stream started flooding the chat with comments.

"Could that be an NPC outside?"

"Zai Zong, want to go check it out? Maybe there's a quest?"

"It talks, doesn't seem like a monster."

"I don't think nighttime is always about attacks—maybe it's a help request or something?"

"Go look, Zai Zong, don't chicken out!"

Watching the barrage of comments in the livestream, Zai Zong started weighing whether to take a risk for the sake of entertainment value.

But the voice's next words made him drop that idea.

[Where are you.]

[Come here.]

[Come to me.]

Who the hell would go out there after that!?

Zai Zong shook his head like a rattle-drum and quickly opened the door to hide in the entryway.

It offered no real protection, but at least it was better than that drafty room he'd just been in, and the main door was right there—if push came to shove, he could bolt out.

Can't fight, can't win, but running's always an option!

As a veteran gamer, kiting and chipping away were second nature.

That voice was clearly trying to lure him out to kill him—no way he'd fall for it.

Zai Zong crouched in a corner of the entryway, clutching his Iron Shovel with pitiful durability, praying the event would end soon.

But after those words, the voice went completely silent, as if it had left, leaving utter stillness.

Did it really leave?

Zai Zong frowned.

Unsure, he decided not to move and just wait in the entryway until dawn.

But after that fierce battle, he felt a bit thirsty, so he grabbed a cup from the table to wet his throat.

The moment he took a sip, a sudden knock at the door startled him into choking.

"Holy shit. cough cough the hell. cough cough cough Where's that. Knock. Coming from. cough"

His pathetic state became a goldmine of amusement for the viewers, gifts flying in fast, forcing Zai Zong to thank them between violent coughs.

The knocking didn't stop.

It was close, with a steady rhythm.

Right at the main door!

Zai Zong narrowed his eyes, alert.

This knock was off.

After that calling voice vanished, the knocking started—too much of a coincidence, wasn't it?

And why knock at all?

The windows and doors he'd sealed had been smashed open easily.

This door wasn't even barred—just open it. Why knock?

Could it really be an NPC outside?

What kind of game was the developer playing?

Zai Zong wasn't sure and thought about heading back to the previous room. In his view, the entryway was no longer safe either.

But glancing at the livestream, gifts were pouring in, and everyone demanded he open the door—otherwise, it'd be boring.

On the screen, Zai Zong gritted his teeth, looked at the door, then at his health bar, hesitating as he weighed the risk.

But when a deep-red message worth 10,000 appeared, telling him to go check it out, he decided to investigate on the spot.

It wasn't for the money—just to satisfy the viewers' curiosity.

That was his service principle as a streamer.

And the ideal and original intention he'd started streaming with!

So he glanced at that 10,000-worth deep-red message, said nothing, and dragged his crippled body, clutching the Iron Shovel with durability nearly at zero, resolutely reaching for the door.

"Come on, you little trash! I'm not afraid to die! I'm ready to respawn!"

The door was yanked open.

But outside... there was nothing.

No person, no monster.

No attack, no strange event.

In the dead, Pitch Black forest, only the drifting haze and the cool night wind remained.

"Huh? What's this?"

Zai Zong's sharp eyes spotted a letter on the ground.

He picked it up and looked—the game prompt said it was a Wedding Invitation?

Uh, this...

Zai Zong examined the invitation. It was a crumpled piece of paper.

On it, colorful crayon drawings showed stick figures holding hands, with a cartoonish sun in the top-right corner.

In the center, there was a line of text:

'We sincerely invite you to attend the wedding! It's behind the Cornfield, southwest of the Withered Grassland.'

Next to it was a string of numbers: 4840, which looked like some kind of code.

Zai Zong scratched his head. A wedding?

"Could this be a side quest? Otherwise, who would get married in a terrifying forest like this? And the invitation shows up in the dead of night—like they're begging people to know something's off!"

Zai Zong's words resonated with the livestream audience.

And the moment they heard it might be a side quest, they all urged him to go check it out.

Truth be told, Zai Zong was curious too. He wanted to see what this wedding was all about, even if the viewers hadn't asked. Because as someone who loved playing action role-playing games, he'd clear every side quest even if he skipped the main story.

Even if the main story's plot was hanging by a thread, he'd prioritize helping villagers kill chickens, chop wood, and run errands.

Even if the main story was urgent, with enemies at the gates, waiting only for the protagonist to step up and show off their power.

He'd still prioritize helping villagers unclog toilets, deliver letters, and hunt down bandits.

Yeah, just for the fun of it.

So faced with the audience's enthusiastic demands, he didn't object.

Under these circumstances, the night ended. At the same time, an uplifting, hopeful tune began to play.

Until a flash of white light.

Day five, arrived!