Reincarnated NPC, But It's Arknights

Oh, how coincidental. Bai Ye saw a player with the ID "Cang Lei" walking towards him.

The player shouted next to Bai Ye, "Can you step on me?"

"Hahaha!"

"Wuhu!"

"This one is truly a heavyweight."

"I want to be stepped on too!"

The surrounding players heard Cang Lei's words and burst into laughter. So there really was someone saying this, how brave.

While enjoying the spectacle, the players also turned their attention to Bai Ye, wanting to see how this "NPC" would react.

Bai Ye: ???

Bai Ye was dumbfounded. He never expected that when he casually wanted to find someone to test a new feature, he would encounter a player who was "acting out."

After a moment of thought, Bai Ye replied, "Officer is watching nearby, it's not convenient for me to make a move."

"Let's find a place where no one else is around later. I've just mastered a leg technique and I'm looking for a target... a sparring partner to try it out. You're really a good person."

Then, with a thought, he adjusted the favorability and gave Cang Lei a friendly smile.

[Ding, Bai Ye's favorability towards you has increased by 1 point] (-10000+1) strikethrough

Damn it!

Cang Lei's eyes widened, and he was stunned.

This NPC isn't playing by the rules.

Logically, shouldn't he be disgusted with me?

Come on, Cang Lei meant it as a joke, okay? Why did this NPC... actually take it seriously?

Cang Lei had heard that early-game NPCs were very powerful. He, a level 1 newbie, couldn't withstand a kick from an NPC.

"You're truly a good person."

Whether it was an illusion or not, Cang Lei felt that the NPC, whose appearance was perfect, was looking at him with killing intent in the corner of his eye, despite wearing a kind smile.

Bai Ye ignored Cang Lei, who was questioning his existence on the side.

Well, people's fetishes are diverse. For example, there's Luo Tianyi catching ghosts, who seems to be a foot fetishist, liking black stockings, long legs, and bare feet.

However, Cang Lei was most likely just a troublemaker, and Bai Ye wouldn't indulge him.

But after trying out the favorability, Bai Ye discovered something very interesting.

It seemed that through favorability and system prompts, players would genuinely believe he was an NPC.

Bai Ye's identity as a fake NPC seemed to be solidified.

Moreover, he could adjust favorability himself.

As long as he hinted that favorability could be linked to some benefits, players would definitely spare no effort to increase it.

Even without needing to spend real rewards, Bai Ye could lead players by the nose.

This was a completely cost-free transaction. He could get players' labor for free and gain benefits from them. Even capitalists would weep upon hearing this.

Wasn't that how online games used to be? Forcing players to do reputation quests, one after another, helping NPCs work for free. Even with money, you couldn't buy items from the faction store; you had to wait until your reputation was high enough to exchange for them.

Didn't that increase daily active users and online playtime?

Heh heh, now it's my turn.

Bai Ye maintained a calm exterior, but the little person inside his mind was hands on hips, laughing wildly at the sky.

Fortunately, the world of "Arknights Online" is real. The so-called Yan Country reputation from his previous life was probably quantified by the system. If the old-era online game's scammy chain quests had appeared, Bai Ye would probably be spitting blood from anger right now.

'I need to plan carefully. Favorability can be linked to personal shops and quests... Hmm, I can also create some stories to satisfy the lore enthusiasts.'

After all, with the information explosion of his previous life, Bai Ye had watched some popular science videos about game development. He knew many ways to fleece players, heh heh.

'Although we were fellow countrymen before, I've transmigrated now, so don't blame me for being ruthless. Anyway, you players aren't losing out. You get the sense of accomplishment and positive feedback from playing the game, and you can buy things and learn skills from me to improve your strength. They'll even thank me. I guess I'm just too kind.'

From another perspective, Bai Ye was also exploiting the system, using the system's resources to tease players. Was this a form of NTR?

Bai Ye mused as he looked at the surrounding players with a kind gaze.

These were all free labor.

Indeed, people's moral bottom line is flexible. In the first two chapters, Bai Ye was still feeling sad and emo about loneliness and seeing his past kind, but now he seemed to have changed.

As expected of me.

What are players? Just tools. Earthlings? Don't know them.

As he was thinking, Bai Ye suddenly saw a player with the appearance of a Feline race female walking towards him.

Above her head was the ID "Zhai Mao Bu Ge."

"Um, is there anything I need to do?" Zhai Mao asked, looking up at Bai Ye, trying to trigger a quest.

She had been egged on by the chat to trigger a quest.

According to the chat, which was full of gaming experts and gods, Bai Ye should be the person in charge here. Plus, he was incredibly good-looking, definitely an important NPC. The system would surely set up quests on this NPC to guide players.

Why did they guess Bai Ye was an important NPC?

Have you ever seen a game planner waste precious art resources on a random passerby?

Admittedly, the chat gods had some insight, though not a single thing they said was correct.

Bai Ye's eyes lit up as he looked at the player before him.

[Zhai Mao Bu Ge], he knew her from his past life. She was a streamer on the Bika Bika platform. Zhai Mao had become famous thanks to "Arknights Online," gradually becoming a top streamer from the moment she got her hands on the closed beta qualifications.

Alright, it's decided. You're Tool Person Number 1, delivered right to my doorstep!

Chapter 25: The Comedy Duo

Zhai Mao was a streamer with great potential. Although she was just a small art streamer before, after "Arknights Online" was released, she became a top streamer thanks to the immense popularity she gained from the game.

This girl was a bit of a scatterbrain. At first, her viewers thought she was acting and creating a persona, but later they realized she was genuinely clueless.

She had no acting skills whatsoever; it was all real.

Unfortunately, fools have their luck. Zhai Mao's luck was truly outrageous. In her dazed state, she could always make things turn out for the better. Her streams had explosive entertainment value, making her the ultimate lucky charm.

Bai Ye had indeed hesitated between the chairman of Future Technology and Zhai Mao when choosing his tool people, but in the end, he chose Zhai Mao. The reason was actually quite simple—the character the chairman created was too abstract, and Bai Ye was afraid he would scare the people of Terra.

In comparison, the catgirl Zhai Mao created looked much more pleasing to the eye.

Unfortunately, in the game, no matter how good-looking you are, it's all fake. You still have to be a tool person if you're meant to be one.

Bai Ye pondered for a moment, took out his terminal, and sent a message to Officer Chen Hui Jie. Then, he looked at Zhai Mao and said, "Outsider, I do need your help. First, report to Officer Chen."

As he spoke, Bai Ye edited the quest for Zhai Mao.

At the same time, a dialogue box immediately appeared on Zhai Mao's game panel, asking if she wanted to accept the quest.

There was no need to even think about it. Zhai Mao directly chose to accept the quest.

To give players a sense of immersion, Bai Ye had set names for the quests and broke down a single quest into several parts, making them chain quests.

The first part of the quest Zhai Mao received was to go talk to Officer Chen Hui Jie. Since the quest was relatively simple, Bai Ye casually awarded some experience points.

He had encountered these things too many times when playing games in his past life; he was all too familiar with them, able to churn them out effortlessly.

[TrashCanNoSpace: Catty is truly chosen, getting a quest right at the start!]

[ClearDreamsOnStarRiver: Catty, hurry up and latch onto a strong support! This NPC is something else.]

[LemonDove: Am I the only one who noticed this NPC is called Bai Ye? Bai Ye... hehe... Bai Ye.]

[LikeAWood: Stop acting crazy here.]

[System Notification: OceanCat tipped 36888]

[NightSorrow: Whoa, the Pharaoh's gift!]

The chat was a chaotic mess, everyone saying their piece, creating a lively atmosphere.

Zhai Mao's stream quickly got recommended due to its high popularity. Even the game's official account appeared in the stream and gave an SC tip.

According to the system records, Zhai Mao was the first player to accept a quest.

Zhai Mao, who was fumbling her way through the quest, didn't even realize she had become famous—it was all very mystical.

This was the benefit of being a streamer. Zhai Mao played the game alone, but many people were watching. This way, more people would learn about Bai Ye's existence.

With higher visibility, more players would come looking for him in the future, eliminating any shortage of tool people!

Casually brushing off the tool person with a preliminary quest, Bai Ye went to find the dispatched operative from Rhodes Island himself.

Actually, this dispatched operative's trip to Lungmen wasn't originally to investigate the case related to illegal drugs in the slum district. She was merely on a routine field mission.

Because Lungmen's branch office had only just received the news, Rhodes Island wouldn't be able to find out for some time—Terra had no long-distance real-time communication methods; contact and message delivery relied entirely on messengers.

Using the information provided by the branch office, Bai Ye found Rhodes Island's vehicle near the port in Lungmen District 5.

He reached out and knocked on the car window. The window rolled down, and Bai Ye saw a petite Vayf girl sitting in the driver's seat, with a smiling Vulpo girl next to her.

Bai Ye was a little surprised.

They said it was just one person, so why were there two?

Could it be that Rhodes Island was now popular for buy-one-get-one deals?

"Who are you?"

The Vayf girl frowned slightly at first. Then, after looking at Bai Ye, her expression relaxed. Bai Ye's natural affinity was indeed a bug. The girl had silver-grey hair and bright red eyes, as clear as gemstones.

Unfortunately, as a Vayf, her physique seemed too petite, making her a rather special individual.

Bai Ye glanced at the ID card on her chest before explaining, "I'm from the Rhodes Island office. Due to some special circumstances earlier, the city entry checkpoints were temporarily sealed. You'll enter Lungmen with me through a special passage."

"Afterward, there will be special tasks waiting for us to handle."

Thanks to Officer Chen, Bai Ye obtained a temporary pass. In exchange, Bai Ye had to assist Rhodes Island in resolving the slum district case as quickly as possible.

It was actually inconvenient for Guard Department officers to enforce the law in the slum district; the situation there was quite delicate and unique. Officer Chen had originally wanted to open a Guard Department branch in the slum district, but the plan ultimately failed.

Even though Lungmen was more tolerant of the Infected than most political entities, the conflict and contradictions still existed.

"Heh, looks like our vacation plans are ruined," the Vulpo girl beside him chuckled, narrowing her eyes.

Compared to the serious Vayf, her personality was much more lively.

"Flanka, it was your plan, not 'ours'," the Vayf corrected her. "Also, please take external missions seriously. This is our first assignment after Blacksteel International and Rhodes Island began their cooperation, so you need to value it."

"Got it, got it, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes..." the girl called Flanka dismissively replied. She then shifted her gaze to Bai Ye. "Hey little bro, hurry up and get in the car. Oh, right, you probably don't know this one next to me yet. Please allow me to introduce her, her name is Power Bank."

"Scythe. My codename is Scythe. Please don't mind my partner's nonsensical rambling... As you can see, we're from Blacksteel International BSW, but we're currently serving Rhodes Island due to our cooperation treaty."

Scythe explained earnestly, her appearance indeed fitting the "goody-two-shoes" description Flanka had given.

Bai Ye found it somewhat amusing. These two operators seemed quite interesting and full of personality.

Bai Ye opened the car door and sat in the back seat.

The Originium Engine started, and under his guidance, the vehicle drove towards the special passage.

He remained silent the entire way, but occasionally looking up, he noticed the two in the front were looking at him through the rearview mirror.

In the reflection of the mirror, Bai Ye saw the girls' eyes.

Come to think of it, why did this plot feel a little familiar?