PFRG: Chapter 181

After discovering that the scenes of their original world were appearing in the instance, the members of the Dawn team had actually made certain mental preparations in their hearts. Even so, it was an indescribable emotion when they actually saw their former comrades appear in front of them as NPCs.

Until now, they still remembered the scene when they first came to Benisaf Fortress as a member of Dawn.

Just like before, wave after wave of alien species launched attacks here. Groups of superpowers formed guard armies to fight against them, forming the last line of defense to protect nearby residents.

When the Dawn people received the mission and arrived, the battle situation was already very tragic. In the end, they assisted the guards in transferring the residents to a safe place, but a large number of people stayed here forever. Together with the Benisaf Fortress, they completely became a part of this decadent and desolate scenery.

Later, the coalition government issued an order for the area to become a permanently blocked high-risk area, with entry and exit prohibited for the next 50 years.

Of course, no one thought at that time that the remaining years for all of humanity wouldn’t be more than 50 years in total.

Conrad still stood in front, observing everyone with a vigilant look.

He was clearly right in front of them, but it felt like they were separated by a long distance in time and space.

It wasn’t until a hand gently patted his shoulder that Chi Ting turned around and met Lou Yueren’s gaze.

“Are you okay?” Lou Yueren asked.

Chi Ting was slightly stunned before he understood what this sentence meant. He couldn’t help smiling at this overly caring expression. “Do I look so fragile?”

Lou Yueren glanced at his expression and smiled back. “Indeed.”

Chi Ting looked at Conrad again. Then he walked over to this person as if they were meeting for the first time. He answered the other person’s question, “Hello, if I’m not mistaken, you should be a guard of the Benisaf Fortress. We are the Dawn team coming to support you. I am Captain Chi Ting. Please take care of us.”

This wasn’t the first time he said such words. He made almost the same self-introduction when he first met Conrad.

After he finished speaking, Conrad’s vigilant expression gradually subsided, replaced by a look of relief. “Great. The association has finally sent a new team of superpowers to provide support? The recent offensive of these alien species has been too fierce. Now more than half of the guards have been injured, and many comrades have also been infected by those alien species… In short, I’m glad that you came to support us. Please follow me. The residents here need your help.”

As he spoke, he put away the gun in his hand. He turned around, turned on the ceiling light in the narrow passage behind him, and motioned for everyone to follow him inside.

At the same time, everyone could see a new virtual box pop up in front of them.

[Congratulations on triggering the side quest!]

[Task Name: Residents’ Commission.]

Task introduction: The Benisaf Fortress is being attacked by aliens and is in danger. The residents hiding underground in the No 1 stronghold need to move to the next safe place before the monsters invade. Please assist the guards to protect the residents’ safety.

Task reward: Residents’ favorability.

It was just as Chi Ting guessed. In this instance, in addition to resisting the invasion of alien armies, there were additional designs.

Now it seemed that the side quest was to ensure the safety of the residents, just like what they did when they came to support.

Despite guessing it a long time ago, it didn’t bring about the certainty of victory once it was really confirmed. Everything in this instance was too consistent with the experience of that year. It felt as if they were put back in the original environment after time was reversed.

The designer of this instance knew a bit too much about the things in their world.

Ji Xingque looked very hurt as he followed Conrad inside.

He kept looking at Conrad’s back. He obviously couldn’t accept the current situation. “So, why did it become like this? Conrad… he actually became the NPC of the instance? Does this mean that we can see other members of the guards later? We all came to this unlimited world as players. Why did they become like this?”

Lu Nanling was thinking the whole way. Ji Xingque’s words went in one ear and out the other. However, when he looked up, he met the eyes that were eagerly demanding an answer.

Lu Nanling: “……”

There was a moment of silence before he replied, “It would be better if you ask the designer of this instance this question.”

“Huh?” Ji Xingque became more and more frustrated. “Is there something that even Little Brother Lu doesn’t know?”

Hua Qianmei had been sighing the whole way, but she finally smiled when she heard this. “Of course, Lu Nanling doesn’t know. This kid is cunning. He must have some guesses in his mind, but it is hard to come to a final conclusion, so he is holding it in and waiting for confirmation.”

Lu Nanling was noncommittal about her comments. “Only clear news is worth sharing.”

Hua Qianmei had an expression of ‘I knew it would be like this.’ She said, “Look.”

Ji Xingque originally wanted to say something. In the end, he only sighed and became completely dejected.

Lou Yueren walked slowly at the end of the group. He glanced at Chi Ting’s face and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“I was thinking…” Chi Ting’s gaze passed over Conrad and fell onto the darkness in the distance. “What exactly is going on in this instance?”

“You don’t have to ask to know that this will definitely be a very complicated situation.” Lou Yueren also knew that what he said was equivalent to saying nothing. Seeing Chi Ting finally looking over, he cleared his throat and continued, “But when it comes to being an NPC, other people here probably don’t have as much experience as I do. If you need any help, I would be happy to answer any questions you have.”

Lou Yueren was originally brought out of the instance by Chi Ting. It was indeed irrefutable that he had experience in being an NPC.

However, Chi Ting just glanced at him before looking away. “No, I have no problems.”

Lou Yueren was amused. “Are you certain that Conrad’s situation is different from mine?”

“Yes. At the same time, I don’t think it is necessary to let you think about those not-so-good memories because of such a small matter.”

It was a completely nonchalant answer, but it made Lou Yueren look slightly stunned. He stared at the man in front of him and the smile in his eyes became more intense. “I knew it. It turns out that my boyfriend knows how to love me the best.”

Chi Ting could sense that someone was about to cling to him like an octopus again, so he pushed this person away coldly and ruthlessly. “I need to confirm something. Don’t waste time.”

Lou Yueren straightened up again with a lack of interest. “Confirm what?”

Chi Ting laughed with an ambiguous tone. “Go and confirm whether this is just a reconstructed simulation or whether it is really our original world.”

This was precisely the question that Chi Ting had been thinking about along the way.

If the experience back then was the same, the Benisaf Fortress should’ve completely turned into ruins. However, the appearance of this map looked like the scene where it was still fighting against the alien army.

Dawn came to support at the time when they completely abandoned the No 1 stronghold and chose to relocate the residents.

If it was really before the No 1 stronghold was completely sacrificed, then this time should be…

As he passed the last corner, Chi Ting suddenly quickened his pace and walked quickly past Conrad. He ignored the other person’s surprised expression and kicked open the rusty door on the side that looked no different from the others.

The huge noise caused the narrow road around it to tremble slightly.

Ji Xingque was still feeling sad. Then once he heard the noise and turned around, this was the scene he saw.

He was slightly stunned. Once he recognized the room that Chi Ting had kicked open, his pupils widened slightly. “Captain, isn’t this…”

Chi Ting had already stepped in. From the outside, one could see that he froze in place for a long time the moment he walked into the room.

Lu Nanling had obviously understood Chi Ting’s intention from the beginning. He was the first to react and quickly followed. His expression darkened when he saw the scene in the room clearly.

The new few people who walked in obviously didn’t understand the purpose, but the familiar scene made their expressions more complicated than the other. This made Lou Yueren very confused when he followed, but he also clearly felt that the atmosphere was becoming stranger.

He glanced at the others and curled his lips. “So, do you want to tell me what the current situation is?”

Just as Lu Nanling was about to answer, Chi Ting spoke first in his usual calm tone. “Due to the rampage of the alien army that year, the Benisaf Fortress suffered more than 20 waves of attacks in succession. The coalition government successively sent a total of 28 groups of support troops, ultimately losing more than 200 superpowers. In the end, all the enemy forces were successfully annihilated, and the deadly source of infection blocked. With concerted efforts, the safe transfer of residents was completed and the final rescue rate was 8%. To sum up this rescue operation, the most difficult part wasn’t to annihilate the alien armies, but to prevent the infection crisis from crossing this fortress and spreading to the safe cities behind. In the process of such a confrontation, everyone had to face the problem of excessive alienation after excessive radiation, including all the superpowers who came here to support.”

He paused and pointed to the dilapidated structure in front of him that looked like a large prison. “This is where the mutants dealt with the alienation crisis in a unified manner after discovering it.”

Lou Yueren had already vaguely sensed something. Once he heard the words ‘dealt with’, his brow furrowed to the extreme.

Chi Ting’s demeanor was that of an insignificant bystander. “I was lucky enough to stay here for a few days. Those things in the corner are all my masterpieces.”

Looking at the largest cage that had been completely distorted, he calmly concluded, “If it was just for the purpose of replica construction, there is no need to copy all these insignificant details. So if nothing unexpected happens, this should be the Benisaf Fortress that we have been to before, not a replica with the same structure.”

Ji Xingque tried hard to digest this information. “So, are we really back to our own world?”

Chi Ting corrected him. “To be more precise, we should’ve returned to the world of five years ago.”