Reincarnated NPC, But Arknights

This was the first time she had seen such a terrifying amount of bullet comments.

After a moment of distraction, the otaku cat snapped back to reality. While interacting with the comments, she looked around.

It was then that she noticed the area around her had already filled with people. All players participating in the open beta had been gathered here.

Her ears were filled with a cacophony of noise, like a hundred ducks discussing what to eat for lunch.

Casually glancing up, she suddenly saw a man and a woman standing just beyond the nearby fence. They seemed to be scrutinizing the players.

Both of them were very young.

The girl wore a uniform and had horns on her head. Her expression was stern, and her face was set in a serious look, making her seem quite intimidating.

But when the otaku cat's gaze fell upon the young man standing beside the uniformed girl, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"So handsome!"

Chapter 21: Bai Ye, Where's Your Integrity?

At the port entrance of Lungmen's District 5, there was an open clearing. This area was close to the city's edge, and the ground was made of solid industrial materials, strong enough to support heavy vehicles.

When Bai Ye first arrived, the entrance was normal, with only small vehicles occasionally passing through the checkpoint into Lungmen.

Opening his game panel, Bai Ye sat on the railing at the edge of the mobile city's port area, swinging his legs as he waited for the open beta players to log in. (Dangerous action, minors should not imitate.)

According to videos he had seen in his previous life, the open beta players would descend upon a clearing outside the entrance checkpoint of Lungmen's District 5. They would gather at the large elevator below the mobile city, be registered as disaster refugees, and issued temporary identification before starting their 24-hour open beta game experience.

At 8 AM Terra-Lungmen time, Bai Ye heard a crisp and pleasant notification sound.

[Arknights Online Open Beta Officially Begins]

[NPC Template Function Unlocked]

[Game Forum Officially Open]

Bai Ye didn't immediately open his game panel to check. Instead, he looked down at his feet.

At first, there was no movement, nor the sight of a large group of people suddenly appearing with a glow, as he had imagined.

However, a few minutes later, Bai Ye saw a vast crowd surging towards the entrance of the large elevator. From his vantage point, these actual players looked like dense black dots.

A moment later, Bai Ye heard a piercing alarm sound from above the Lungmen port area.

He couldn't help but laugh.

Because what would follow was the infamous "Gate Stuck" incident from the open beta period.

When the open beta players entered the game and followed the game's guidance to the outskirts of Lungmen, they found they couldn't get in at all.

Lungmen's District 5 checkpoint was completely closed, and the players were stuck, unable to enter. The 4,000 open beta players could only stand in place and wait in line.

The game forum exploded at that time, as did the bullet comments in the live streams. A crowd shouted, "Open the gate, open it quickly!" complaining that the game's official team was incompetent.

In his previous life, Bai Ye thought it was a game optimization issue that caused everyone to wait in place for the game to load.

Now, after transmigrating, he realized that the "Gate Stuck" incident couldn't really be blamed on the official game team, OceanCat.

4,000 game players—even if you removed those who didn't follow the guidance and wandered off on their own, and those who didn't log in on time, there were still over 3,000.

Such a terrifying number of "refugees" suddenly appearing outside the entrance of Lungmen's District 5—it was no wonder the official team was in an uproar!

The passage was urgently closed, and the port was temporarily paralyzed. The person in charge could only contact their superiors for instructions—the regular checkpoint, without prior preparation, was simply incapable of handling such a large number of refugees.

Bai Ye opened the game forum and, as expected, it had exploded.

Open beta players were furiously posting complaints, and those who hadn't experienced the game early also came to spectate, making for a lively scene.

Bai Ye clicked on the hottest post:

[Xia Qiu is not Shrimp Ball: Open the gate, open it quickly!]

[Fish Cat Cat: Second floor! Selling melon seeds and soda in the front row.]

[I will always like Sansi Lingse: @Official, there's a bug right after the server opens. Are your servers made of potatoes too?]

[Uncle Lang: Upstairs, my uncle is an insider. He said the game development company is just a shell, and the servers are on the moon.]

[Evil King True Eye is the Strongest: Uncle gang, get lost. Make it more believable. There are no civilian servers on the moon, only the Federal Central Artificial Intelligence.]

[Ran Li Jun: Bros, I'm just walking outside. I've entered the wilderness now. Did I do the right thing?]

[Melody: Yes, you did the right thing, big bro. Wait for me, let's see if we can run to the next city together.]

Just as Bai Ye was about to like the last two brave brothers, he found that he only had browsing permissions and couldn't interact with the forum.

Closing the forum, Bai Ye saw that some people had indeed started walking outwards. The District 5 port was already the outer ring of Lungmen. Further out was the wilderness. Even the most experienced couriers wouldn't head into the wilderness without preparation, as it was too dangerous.

These guys were probably going to feed the Originium Slugs.

The game system only provided prompts; it wasn't a player's nanny. This world wasn't a simple game; it was highly free, and the system wouldn't stop players from courting death.

Bai Ye checked his NPC template function again. He could issue quests to players through the game system, but since he was only a "normal" template, there were daily limits on the number of quests and experience rewards.

Name: Bai Ye

Current Legend: 1 (3)

Detailed List: "Penguin Logistics Collaborator": Legend +1

Penguin Logistics has a new collaborator. Many people are speculating about your identity.

"Outlaw": Legend +2 (Currently unavailable)

The first mysterious figure to break into the Guards Bureau and leave unscathed. Legends about you circulate in the underworld; those who know your secret choose to keep it.

Bai Ye hadn't expected to already have 1 point of Legend. It seemed he would need sufficient Legend to upgrade his NPC template level.

As for the 2 unusable Legend points, it was easy to understand. After all, besides Emperor and Ifrit from Penguin Logistics, no one else knew it was him who had broken into the Guards Bureau. Unless Bai Ye decided to get drunk and reveal the secret himself one day, those 2 Legend points would never fall into his lap.

Bai Ye certainly wouldn't do anything foolish like revealing it, or Chen would come knocking on his door.

"Bai Ye!"

Just then, a girl's voice suddenly sounded behind Bai Ye. Bai Ye turned his head, and the person who had arrived was Chen, accompanied by quite a few Guards Bureau officers.

To be honest, Bai Ye was startled. He quickly closed his game panel. "Sir Chen, I didn't expect you to come personally."

"I was worried there might be trouble, so I brought the Special Inspectorate Team over... Why are you here?" Chen said as she wiped sweat from her forehead. It was clear that rushing over from the Guards Bureau hadn't been easy for her.

Bai Ye gripped his terminal. "I'm here to pick someone up. Someone from Rhodes Island."

"Then you'll have to wait a while. The entrance has been temporarily sealed," Chen said, pointing to the chaotic players below. "We'll immediately arrange personnel for Originium infection screening, registration, and the issuance of temporary identification."

Hearing Chen say this, Bai Ye's eyes lit up.

He quickly stepped forward and volunteered, "Officer, I'll go with you. As a prospective Rhodes Island member, I can help deal with any Infected incidents if they arise."

As he spoke, he stared directly into Chen's eyes.

"No..."

Chen was about to refuse. After all, the Guards Bureau officers had their own jobs; how could they let an unrelated civilian get involved...

But...

Bai Ye: Stares ∩ω∩

"Cough..." Chen felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at and couldn't help but break eye contact with Bai Ye, blushing slightly.

She was shy!

Bai Ye knew there was a chance. He continued his cute offensive.

As a player, he would resort to any means necessary to achieve his goals. In his past life, he had even cross-dressed to complete missions, having long since thrown his dignity away.

What was a little cuteness now? Player matters, can you call that being cute? This was simply making good use of his Charm attribute!

Chapter 22: So Handsome an NPC

Chen was ultimately broken down by Bai Ye's extremely high Charm attribute.

"Alright, you can come down with us. But don't act on your own later; you have to follow my orders, understand?"

Chen averted her gaze, forcing herself not to look at Bai Ye. This guy was toxic; malicious cuteness could kill!

Even Chen couldn't resist Bai Ye's high Charm aura.

This attribute wasn't just reflected in his looks; it also manifested in a person's demeanor and characteristics, making others trust him involuntarily and giving them a good impression from the start.

After all, seeing someone good-looking was pleasing to the eye for any normal person.

Bai Ye nodded and returned to his normal, serious demeanor. The speed of his change left Chen feeling somewhat incredulous.

Good grief, can't you even pretend?

Hmph, men.

Pursing her lips, Chen led Bai Ye and the Guards Bureau officers towards the grand elevator.

The Guards Bureau officers beside them were stunned.

There's such a thing?

This was the first time they had seen their superior back down.

My heavens, is the world finally going to end?

This was Chen Hui Jie, Sir Chen!

The most skilled and sharp swordsman in the Guards Bureau, and her personality was as rigid as her sword.

This leader of the Special Inspectorate Team possessed the most stringent attitude within the Guards Bureau. Extremely tough and treating everyone equally. She seemed completely inflexible, always wearing a fierce expression.

The officers exchanged glances. If they hadn't seen it wrong just now, their superior seemed to have blushed!

This was utterly unbelievable. From now on, don't tell me Sir Chen doesn't understand people or isn't adaptable.

For some reason, their gazes towards Bai Ye carried three parts gossip, three parts admiration, two parts appeasement, and two parts curiosity—a perfect fan chart.

Who could possibly make Chen Hui Jie back down?

Could it be that he's the man behind Sir Chen?

"Hiss—"

Bai Ye's body tensed, his hair standing on end.

He felt countless scorching, dazzling gazes focused on his back. These gazes, piercing through his helmet and face mask, felt tangible, making his skin crawl.

He knew the gazes were from the Guards Bureau officers.

It was a shame he couldn't figure out why these guys cared so much about him.

Could it be because he was too handsome?

This felt a bit dangerous; Bai Ye stated he didn't want to engage in any fencing.

So, he'd been rather uncomfortable the entire way.

Chen, on the other hand, quickly regained her composure, returning to her usual demeanor. In the words of a certain Miss Swire, who wished to remain anonymous, she always wore "that stern face of hers."

(Swire: My surname isn't Swire!)

Stepping off the elevator, Bai Ye took a deep breath.

Before him stood the players.

These guys were easy to distinguish because they all had IDs floating above their heads.

They were truly a motley crew, ranging from normal to chuunibyou to bizarre...

Bai Ye couldn't help but laugh; it brought back memories.

However, gradually, the smile on his face began to freeze.