Nightcrawler Squad

"Get out. We're here," Abigail said, opening the car door and stepping out first.

"Okay."

Xiahou obediently got out and followed her into the factory. Mostly because her father had just died; otherwise, how could he be such a pushover? This was called respect.

"Since you said you've seen a movie about us, you should know where this is, right?" Abigail walked ahead without looking back, but she had already sent a question his way.

"Yeah, it's your Nightstalker Squad's base. Later, everyone gets wiped out, and only three people are left alive!" Xiahou answered casually.

Abigail instantly panicked. She spun around and grabbed him by the neck.

"What did you say? How did they die?" She was genuinely panicking now. Her father had just died, and now he was telling her that her other companions were going to die too. How could she not panic?

"Could you let go first? Otherwise, even if you're a story NPC whose dad just died, I'm going to fight back! Don't think you can disregard me, the Fourth Calamity, just because I'm easygoing!"

Hearing that, Abigail had no choice but to release him first, though she continued to stare at him. "Spit it out!"

"What's the rush? When you asked me questions earlier, you at least issued a quest! Now you won't even give me one, so I don't feel like talking anymore. (￢︿̫̿￢☆)" As Xiahou spoke, he turned his head away and refused to look at her.

Abigail instantly felt like grabbing him again. And this guy called Xiahou really did seem to have something wrong with his head! When had she ever issued him a quest?

"Then what will it take for you to tell me?" she asked, adjusting her tone.

"Ask me! And it has to be sincere! I won't accept a fake request!" Xiahou wore an expression that said he absolutely wouldn't talk unless she did as he said.

She's just an NPC, and she dares to yell at me? If I don't cure her of that nasty habit, how can I have the face to keep messing around?

Abigail was furious when she heard that. Asking him was one thing; that was only fair. But what did he mean by sincere? Was she supposed to keep asking until he was satisfied?

She immediately revealed her wrist blade and held it against Xiahou's neck.

"What did you say? Say that again if you dare. You don't seem to understand who's in charge here."

"What's there to say? I'm unhappy now, so I'm not telling you. Even if your dad just died! Hmph! Unless you issue a quest!"

Xiahou showed no fear at all. He was a player; as if an NPC could threaten him into talking. Unless there was something in it for him.

Abigail fell silent once again. She had never met anyone like this before.

She decided to try a different approach. "How do I issue a quest?"

"I don't know. Didn't you just issue one? Why are you asking me?" Xiahou continued to answer with perfect confidence.

"When did I ever issue you a quest?" Abigail was even more confused.

"Just now, at the subway station, when you asked me questions!" Xiahou continued.

Abigail could only go along with what Xiahou said. "But I'm asking you a question now too. If you need one, this is a quest. Tell me, how did they die?"

Xiahou checked his quest panel and saw no quest notification. Could each person only issue one quest? He decided to try again.

"Hmph! That doesn't count. I didn't get a quest notification! Why don't you try again?"

Abigail was even more confused. She now deeply suspected that the man in front of her was messing with her, and the evidence was overwhelming!

She once again suppressed her urge to explode and said, "I need you to help me complete a quest. Tell me how the members of our Nightcrawler Squad died. Name whatever reward you want!"

Xiahou looked at the quest panel, which still showed no response, and made up his mind. Either each person could only issue one quest, or a person went on cooldown after issuing a quest, and some time had to pass before another could be triggered.

But he still wanted to fleece her and didn't want to give her the information for free, even if her dad had just died. Mainly, there were so many people in the Nightcrawler Squad; couldn't he just switch to someone else? They would all find out anyway.

*That way I can earn a little more. I'm such a genius. o(*￣▽￣*)o*

"No good. I can't receive the quest you're issuing right now. Get someone else to issue it!" Xiahou said, pointing deeper into the factory.

Abigail felt that she was about to lose control of the raging fire inside her. This lunatic was definitely messing with her, but she also really wanted to know the details.

She suppressed her anger and said through gritted teeth, "Follow me!"

With that, she turned and continued farther inside. But her slightly trembling shoulders showed that she was not in a good mood.

Xiahou followed behind, looking around the factory. He also spotted a little girl keeping watch on a platform.

"Speaking of which, you bring a little girl along in your line of work? Aren't you afraid she'll grow up wrong? I remember she seemed to have watched her mother die with her own eyes, too."

Abigail paused and said without looking back, "Shut up and keep up!"

After winding their way around, they finally reached the inside of a warehouse. They went up a flight of stairs and arrived at a hall, where four people were sitting: three men and a woman.

The man who looked just like Deadpool saw Abigail and immediately came forward. "I'm sorry, but I have some bad news. Your father is dead, and Blade has been captured."

Abigail answered at once, "Hannibal, I already know, but we have something else to do now."

She looked at Xiahou and introduced him to the others. "This is someone I met outside. His name is Xiahou. He says he's a player and knows a lot about us. Now I need you to help me issue him a quest, so he'll tell us how the Nightcrawler Squad was wiped out and when it happened!"

All four found it absurd, but Hannibal was the first to react and immediately spoke up.

"Hey, brother, you say you're a player? So are we all characters in a game? And you actually know the plot? Can you tell us about it? Oh, right, this is a quest. What reward do you want?"

At that moment, a notification also popped up on Xiahou's quest panel:

Side quest triggered: King Hannibal's questions

Quest objective: Please answer King Hannibal's questions.

Quest reward: 300 energy points, one random draw.

The moment Xiahou saw the quest, he thought, It really does work. Someone else can issue one. At the same time, he accepted the quest.

"Hmm, let me think about how I should answer."

"First question: I am indeed a player."

"Second question: You should all be game characters, right? Otherwise, how would I play the game? You're just more intelligent, that's all."

"Third question: I do know the plot, but I learned it from watching the movie. You're exactly the same as in the movie, and the plot events that have already happened match up too. But I've forgotten a lot of the details. Mainly, I didn't pay much attention when I watched it, and it's a really old movie. The plot was too clichéd, so it wasn't very interesting to watch."

"Fourth question..."