“Any civil engineering bros out there? Took a house-building quest, need a foreman!”
“Stone-hauling team recruiting ASAP! 4/5, need 1 more! Strength builds only! Squishy mages, don't bother!”
“Any mages who pulled crowd-control skills?! Logging team needs someone to anchor trees! Preferably Ice or Vine affinity so they can pin the trees to the ground!”
...
When Nan Cheng and Bruce returned to the camp, this was the scene that greeted them.
Shouts recruiting party members echoed from all sides. Nan Cheng bypassed them, heading straight to find Lilith and turn in his quest.
“Line up, everyone! One at a time!”
West was working hard to maintain order.
Hearing the commotion, Nan Cheng looked over and saw a long queue already snaking out in front of Lilith.
At the sight, he couldn't help but complain to Bruce beside him:
“Even turning in quests requires lining up? Talk about hardcore.”
Bruce nodded and said:
“Bro Cheng, I'll go recruit people at the plaza while you queue up.”
...
“Hahaha, I'm dying! When the streamer was chopping trees earlier, he almost got squashed if not for Bruce!”
“Pfft, not gonna lie, watching Bro Cheng look so flustered is actually pretty entertaining.”
“So many teams are recruiting in camp. Why isn't Bro Cheng grabbing a squad?”
“Let the streamer turn in his quest first. But seriously, this game is way too realistic. You need architecture skills just to play?”
“You clearly don't know! As a 10-year MC veteran, building houses is second nature! Streamer, if you need help, I can give remote guidance.”
“Holy crap! An MC master!”
“Run, kids! It's someone else's world!”
“666, to this day I can only build a dirt hut to live in.”
“Damn, too real! Me too.”
The live stream chat was bustling with excitement.
“Holy shit?! 50,000 viewers?!”
Having not checked for a while, Nan Cheng just realized his live stream had trended onto the hot list.
“Make sure to hit that follow button, guys! As soon as I turn in this quest, I'm going right back to chop more wood! No throws, guaranteed!”
『Lover of Caviar』 gifted Spa Package x1
『Lao Da Didn't Crash』 gifted Character Summon x10
『Ah Wei Beating Life』 gifted Boba Milk Tea x10
...
Nan Cheng's eyes lit up, his fatigue vanishing in an instant as he spoke at rapid speed:
“Thank you, boss Lover of Caviar, for the Spa Package! Thank you, Lao Da... cough, this boss, for the 10 Character Summons! Thank you, Ah Wei Beating Life, for the 10 Boba Milk Teas! Thank you...”
Thus, between thanking viewers for gifts and complaining about the slow-moving queue, a full five minutes passed before it was finally almost his turn.
He quickly pulled up his friends list and sent a message to Bruce, whom he had added while chopping trees earlier.
Within two seconds, Nan Cheng saw a tall figure with a mushroom haircut dashing over.
“Bro Cheng! It's finally almost our turn!”
Bruce squeezed through the crowd, his face brimming with excitement.
“I've already recruited people! Once we turn in the quest, we can head out. I can't wait to level up and go back to chopping trees!”
Hearing that, Nan Cheng nodded.
“Don't worry, these four trees should be enough to raise us two levels.”
Before logging, he had specifically used Appraisal to check the timber quality, confirming it was all top-tier construction material.
“Next God-Chosen One, please step forward.”
Having settled the quest reward for the previous player, Lilith's crisp voice sounded out.
However, when she looked up and saw yet another male player, she instinctively took half a step back, silently putting half a meter of distance between them with a hint of subtle vigilance in her eyes.
Nan Cheng: “...”
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Was this NPC's emotional intelligence a bit too high?
Still...
An idea suddenly struck Nan Cheng.
He used to be a veteran streamer for nurturing and dating games. Back when VR games first blew up, he had done his fair share of spending entire afternoons chatting with NPCs or gifting them bizarre items just to grind favorability.
Unfortunately, older NPCs were either mechanically repetitive or stuck saying simple lines like “Thank you” and “Hello.” Even NPCs in certain massive games failed to give him a genuine sense of “relationship building,” so he had eventually given up.
But this game's NPC... even her distance and vigilance felt so real... Maybe it could actually work here?
At the thought, Nan Cheng instantly perked up, excitement bubbling up inside him.
He then stepped toward Lilith.
“God-Chosen One, have you completed your quest?”
Lilith's crisp voice lacked much emotion.
Nan Cheng nodded vigorously, his gaze sincere and his tone respectful as he spoke:
“Respected Lady Lilith, this is the timber Bruce and I harvested.”
“Please inspect it.”
When these words came out, not only was Lilith somewhat surprised, but even West beside her couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
After all, the God-Chosen Ones who came to turn in quests previously either dumped their items on the ground while clamoring for rewards, or stared intently at Lilith while rambling nonsense. Nan Cheng was the very first to show such respectful manners.
Lilith's mood brightened considerably. Compared to the other God-Chosen Ones, this clean-cut player with a youthful demeanor made her feel much more comfortable.
Her tone softened slightly:
“Very well.”
Nan Cheng immediately stepped to the side and set the timber down neatly with crisp, efficient movements.
Lilith ran her slender fingers over the cut section of the wood and nodded:
“Superior quality.”
“And processed quite properly. The quest was completed admirably.”
【System Alert: Quest "Chop Down Trees, Gather Timber" completed. Gained 200 EXP.】
【EXP is full. Would you like to level up?】
As the system prompts echoed, Nan Cheng was pleasantly surprised to see 200 EXP credited to his account, making him eligible for a level up!
Without hesitation, Nan Cheng clicked the level-up button on his game interface.
Instantly, a warm and gentle sacred light surged from beneath his feet, enveloping him completely.
Particles of light burrowed into his body as if alive, sending a wave of warmth rushing through his limbs and core. It felt so comfortably warm that he almost let out a moan.
He could clearly feel his strength growing, and his vision seemed to grow a bit sharper as well.
A flicker of surprise flashed in Lilith's eyes, clearly not expecting him to level up on the spot. Beside him, Bruce stared wide-eyed, his face filled with envy, jealousy, and anger:
“Holy shit! Bro Cheng! You leveled up already?! That holy light effect is so damn cool! When is it my turn?!”
“Congratulations,” Lilith offered her sincere praise. Pausing for a moment, she asked softly,
“God-Chosen One, what is your name?”
Nan Cheng was thrilled internally: Here it comes! An NPC actively asking for my name! This is definitely a sign of rising favorability!
Keeping his expression steady, he answered earnestly, “Lady Lilith, my name is Nan Cheng.”
“Nan Cheng...”
Lilith softly repeated it, nodding. She said nothing more, but her eyes made it clear that she had committed the name to memory.
Bruce watched from the side with total envy. “As expected of Bro Cheng. Winning over an NPC's favor this fast—talk about a veteran player!”
Nan Cheng: “...”
Hearing that, Lilith turned her gaze to Bruce.
Seeing this, Bruce immediately shuffled closer, slapping what he thought was a handsome smile onto his face. “Miss Lilith! I'm here to hand in my quest too! My name is Bruce!”
Lilith replied flatly, “Oh.”
Bruce: “...”
The smile on his face instantly froze.
Nan Cheng struggled to hold back his laughter and turned his head away.
Rate on N.U.
