You Are an NPC, and I Am a Player

Mordot means crescent moon.

This shocking fact instantly shattered the thinking of everyone present. Almost everyone experienced a momentary mental freeze, but immediately regained their senses.

"A waning moon..."

James II's expression instantly turned ugly.

In fact, Zeta-rank powerhouses are not uncommon in the universe, and with his family background and connections, he has had no shortage of such powerhouses.

But Crescent Moon is definitely one of the special groups among the Zeta-rank.

Sequence Aura, Cataclysmic Power, Serious Crime Violent—these labels combined are not simply additive. In terms of danger level, it would probably take more than a dozen regular Zeta-rank powerhouses to match Remnant Moon alone.

"What? I never expected that the true face of the infamous Cosmic Pirate from the Abyss would be like this?"

Crescent Moon stood with one hand on his hip, his handsome, almost otherworldly face flawless. His charm truly transcended the Transcendent and Refined, interfering with reality. The wind would pause and linger a while as it passed by him, and the water would wade past his feet, reluctantly turning back several times to stop flowing. The earth dared not pollute the soles of his shoes, and the sunlight shone down just right, enveloping him in the sunset.

Not only did Canyue not display the ferocity of a wicked thug, but her features were exquisitely perfect, like a sculpture, and under the radiance, she exuded a holy purity untouched by worldly affairs.

Maria, who had just been cheering for James II, froze on the spot when she saw Crescent Moon's strong and well-proportioned muscles and his perfectly stunning face. Her breathing quickened, her face flushed, and her heart pounded. Even though she knew he was an extremely evil and wanted criminal in the universe, her instincts were still awakened, and she was completely captivated by his charm.

Lucite took a few steps back and stood guard in front of Hobbes. His eyes were reddened to filter out the clear face of the crescent moon. He was afraid that he would be disturbed by that extraordinary charm and his mind would waver.

"A waning moon..."

Hobbes clenched his fists, lay on the ground, his eyes burning with rage.

Lucite naturally understood his feelings at this moment—he had already learned from his previous conversation with the Enforcement Team team that Hobbes ' friend, Lena Ining, had died three years ago at the hands of the Implant Equipment Vanguard of the Crescent Moon.

As for the relationship between the two... well, judging from Hobbes's expression, it must be very deep.

'What should we do now?'

This question instantly surfaced in everyone's mind.

I thought this would be like a game, progressing step by step, leveling up by defeating monsters, making powerful teammates, building relationships, and finally battling the BOSS.

However, they had barely stepped outside when the final boss wiped out all their carefully stored strength, leaving them with almost no casualties, and appeared before them at their lowest point.

Even James II, the highest-ranking and most powerful among them, was bewildered by the sight. He felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the crescent moon's squinting smile.

Rebellion?

There wasn't a single Zeta-rank present, so what right did they have to resist? Flee?

Doesn't it seem ridiculous to talk about running away in front of a man who can freely travel between dimensions?

surrender.

That's a good idea, but is surrendering to Crescent Moon really a good outcome?

The other side was ruthless, slaughtering entire cities without blinking an eye. They had led them all the way here, and without hesitation, they killed the women who were loyal to them—could such people be rational? He could only follow up on Canyue's topic, hoping to glean some information that might ease the other side's emotions:

"Compared to your identity, your appearance is indeed quite striking."

"What's wrong with my identity?" Canyue said innocently, "My career is wonderful! I'm happy to help others. When I saw you having difficulty studying, I helped you blow up the school; I'm charitable. When I saw you couldn't access the Forbidden Library Forbidden Library, I unsealed it."

"Uh..." Cold sweat beaded on James II's forehead. "That is true, in a sense, that is true."

"What exactly is your purpose?" Lucite suddenly asked.

"Hey—" James II panicked, "You bastard, don't be so blunt—"

Lucite ignored it and struggled to withstand the oppressive aura of the Zeta-rank. He felt his body fluids evaporating every moment. With his mere Gamma-rank mortal strength, he was simply not strong enough to face such a powerful opponent.

Therefore, he became even more confused.

Why, knowing they were mortals, did Canyue not simply wipe them out?

"They deliberately brought us here and then killed their own trusted confidants."

"You should know that it would have been easy for you to make Sylvia completely obey you with your charm—but you killed her? Why did you do that?"

"Throughout this journey, you have actively played the role of a responsible and capable senior student, always charging to the front lines in every battle—I don't understand, if you did this to gain our trust, then why did you suddenly reveal your identity?"

"If we are of any use to you in being alive—but I really can't find any common ground between me and Lao Huo, two ordinary people, and these two sons of officials—except that we all went to the same school."

"I want to know... Crescent Moon, what exactly are you doing this for?"

Crescent Moon casually replied, "It's fun."

Without the slightest hesitation, the answer came without a second thought.

"... Fun?"

Lucite was stunned.

"You treat leading us through this escape and survival, fighting our way out of the encirclement, as a game?"

Crescent Moon pressed one hand against the bag behind her waist, which contained Forbidden Knowledge Eye of Discernment Fragments.

'Poor child... the difference in strength is too great; he doesn't even have the courage to doubt.'

—How could it be just for fun? The reason for doing this is to avoid Bablushka's sight and buy as much time as possible.

The Forbidden Knowledge will have to be handed over sooner or later, but how long he can keep it is up to him.

Crescent Moon had long anticipated that Bablushka would send Night Butterfly's troops to monitor him. Since that was the case, by having the Forbidden Knowledge 'protected and carried' by the students, he would have ample time and an excuse to 'find the whereabouts of the target'.

As for how long the search will take? That depends on how long it will take to use up this knowledge.

Lucite, however, thought differently.

The differences in strength, information, and mindset were too great. He was just an ordinary person who, in a single day, experienced a terrorist attack, the death of a classmate, the secrets revealed by Hobbes, being treated differently by the Enforcement Team, and then facing Zeta-rank.

With so many people dead, Canyue must have some ulterior motive, right? He must have had a special reason for deliberately sparing their lives.

"It's fun."

However, Crescent Moon's answer left Lucite's head spinning.

Their arduous struggle for survival, their hopeful and bloody battles, their escape from the earthquake disaster, and their confrontation with Sylvia under the threat of gunfire.

These actions... were easily dismissed with a simple "it's fun" in the eyes of the Zeta-rank Moon? Lucite stood there dumbfounded.

Seeing the boy's values being severely impacted, Canyue felt a surge of amusement.

The more this happened, the more he wanted to make people laugh.

Besides, he genuinely found it fun.

"Otherwise what?"

Crescent Moon shrugs:

Do you think you're special?

"I..."

Lucite opened his mouth, but was immediately interrupted by Crescent Moon:

"I just like to play role-playing games. Just like ordinary people like to put ants in bottles and watch them Build a Home, you've also fantasized about watching ants locked in glass palaces, becoming one yourself, infiltrating the ant nest, and experiencing all kinds of joys and sorrows and epic legends in the ant kingdom."

The waning moon spreads its hands:

"The Star Abyss has six layers, each of which is a universe. There are 13 Narrative-level Civilization, and their combined population is more than the number of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the entire universe. It's innumerable. Why do you feel that among that vast sea of people, you are the only one who is unique?"

"I don't think so... I just can't accept it."

Lucite clutched his chest. The other person's aura and charm combined to make him feel as if he were being crushed by a mountain. No matter what he said, he felt he would have to use all his strength.

His three-meter-tall frame was like a drop of water in the face of the opponent's majestic aura, which was like the ocean, and would be dissolved and swallowed up in an instant.

Facing the waning moon, he finally understood why people called Zeta-rank 'earth gods'.

Beings beyond the Zeta-rank are no longer observable by mortals. They live in a privileged environment vastly different from that of mortals. The Zeta-rank represents the limit of what mortals can comprehend with their narrow-minded thinking, the limit at which they can deduce the terrifying strength of an opponent based on their own physical form.

"Lucite, do you like playing games?"

Crescent Moon put her hands behind her back, chuckled, and slowly walked around the four of them. "When I was 12 years old, I stole my first game console. It was a role-playing game where the protagonist could level up by fighting monsters, improve their attributes, learn skills, and then help NPCs complete tasks to get rewards."

"Everyone fantasizes about being the protagonist of a game, the center of the world, the darling of the plane, and dreams of becoming powerful and realizing their dreams through their own efforts—but in the end, most people find that they are just an NPC, a randomly generated passerby."

Silently, Crescent Moon slowly walked to James II's side. Before the latter could react, his body vanished in an instant.

"In fact, games and the Real World are the same. Games are life, and life is games. We are pursuing the path to godhood in the Star Abyss because we know that mortals have no future. Only those who ascend to godhood are the true protagonists of this game."

Crescent Moon clutched a card with a picture of James II with Terror look and a distorted face.

"Now, Lucite, do you understand?"

He turned his head and said with a smile:

"Mortals are just NPCs, those Deified Person are the players."

"I can do anything to you as I please. I can be silly, I can be confused, I can make mistakes, and I can chat with you leisurely here—because I am closer to God. I can fail countless times, while you can never get back up once you suffer a setback."

The next moment, he appeared beside Maria again. He gently lifted the president's daughter's chin with his fingertips. When she came into close contact with Canyue's flawless beauty, she was instantly bombarded by his hormones. His passionate pheromones completely enveloped and dominated her, and she immediately succumbed to his charm, both psychologically and physiologically.

With a gentle squeeze, the crescent moon's body vanished instantly. He turned around and reappeared before Lucite a flash. He raised his hand, waving two cards between his index and middle fingers, a smile on his face:

"Lucite, you're just an NPC, and I'm a player. NPCs can never understand the mind of a player because we're never in the same world."

—I can't move!

Lucite's pupils contracted. Under the pressure of the other party's powerful aura, his body froze completely in place, daring not to move at all. He trembled instinctively, his knees went weak, and he wanted to kneel down.

He couldn't move, he was completely unable to move, and he couldn't muster even the slightest courage or thought of resistance.

yes.

In an instant, Lucite understood where that physiological weakness came from.

"Old Lu..." Hobbes groaned.

Humans cannot face God directly; they can only kneel before Him.

"No... don't kneel down..." Hobbes struggled, trying to crawl towards them, but his injuries made that one-meter distance seem like an insurmountable chasm.

—Unable to resist, unable to resist, impossible to resist, and even if one resisted, would absolutely not succeed.

For Gamma-rank mortals, the Zeta-rank is such an existence.

"No kneeling allowed..."

Lucite's knees buckled instantly, and he fell to the ground.

Bang! He knelt down, his armor rapidly disintegrated, his body shrank, his eyes became empty and lifeless, his pupils dilated, and his gaze became dull.

"That's great, really."

Driven by reason and instinct, Lucite completely abandoned any resistance.

"I really like this feeling, Lucite."

Crescent Moon raised her hand and, as if by magic, produced another blank card, teasingly saying:

"You mortals, who think you can rival the gods through hard work and sweat, are ultimately shattered by reality, your faith collapses, and you fall into despair—I never tire of seeing that look in your eyes, no matter how many times I see it."

"Well then, the game is over, kid."

Having said that, he directly pressed down on Lucite's forehead, Azure Radiance shining from his large hand.

Hobbes gritted his teeth, stood up instantly, and lunged at his opponent!

"Stop!"