Brother Xiao Xia left the bar.

He hadn't seen the advertisement for the London Underground station more than a century ago, and he didn't know why the game's designers had embedded it in the city as an Easter egg.

It may be that the designer thinks that this is a very memorable story.

It could also be for some other reason.

It doesn't matter.

And the newspaper in front of the bar table said that the platform was about to be renovated.

Then it is easy to think that one day after the old woman comes here, she will not hear the familiar reminder again.

Will she be sad? Will it be hopeless?

But so what, she was nothing more than an old woman, controlled by the system of the Ark, every day from her home, to this platform...... That's all.

Even if she is sad, so what, even if she loses the most important spiritual sustenance, so what.

So think about it this way. Then this copy, in the final analysis, is nothing more than a data world for players to explore, and if a person sees this old woman, they may be moved. If it is a person like Brother Xiaoxia, after learning this story, he may be chivalrous, and then go to the office of the subway station to reason with others, asking not to change the reminder of the platform, after all, this is the spiritual sustenance of an old woman.

But...... No matter how the player influences it, it is the player's own choice, and this choice is no matter how kind and touching.

In fact...... It's all for your own [cool].

At the end of this quest, people will savor what they have done, and then fantasize about the old woman's gratitude to some strange knight.

Is all this really chivalrous, or is it just selfish to fill the emptiness in your heart?

The time had come to night, and there was some haze in the sky, and the hazy moonlight was not very bright through the clouds.

Brother Xiao Xia crossed the road, then walked up to the light rail platform, and sat on the bench where he sat during the day in the night wind.

He didn't find any awakened NPCs, so he didn't feel what the life of NPCs was like in the Ark world.

The guy named Lu Yuan hoped that he would find something and understand, but it had been so long, and he still hadn't.

Brother Xiaoxia still feels that this world is fake.

But what if you now find out for yourself that the experience of that old woman who was killed will be many, many better? So will you kill the other party without hesitation?

Brother Xiaoxia didn't know, he didn't want to think about these questions.

"It's been two days outside...... he muttered as he looked at the sky.

There was no sleepiness, no hunger, only the slight coolness of the night breeze, Brother Xiaoxia stayed quietly until the night was so thick that he couldn't see the track of the light rail in front of him, and then in the deepest part of the inky black, suddenly, the world began to gradually brighten, the night was diluted, and then a white line rose in the sky.

At this time, Brother Xiaoxia realized that he had been sitting all night.

As Sunshine retook the city and the light rail station opened as scheduled, people hurriedly walked past Brother Xiaoxia, not casting any superfluous glances at him.

Finally, the woman came, gray-haired, but still well-groomed.

"It's an NPC."

Brother Xiaoxia thought.

But the eyes followed each other uncontrollably...... Sometimes, he even feels that he is a perverted voyeur.

Finally, the train came into the station.

The anticipation in the old man's eyes finally brightened.

The familiar reminder rang out.

The old man smiled, lowered his head, and looked very satisfied, as if in this moment, she was once again caught in a good memory.

For such an old man, what could be more important than memories.

Brother Xiaoxia stood up...... He walked over to the old man.

"Hello."

He said hello politely.

"Hello, young man." The woman responded, smiling lightly and easy-going.

"May I ask you......" Brother Xiaoxia spoke, he originally wanted to ask ———— "Why do you come here every day?" So he could hear the woman tell him her own story.

Or, Brother Xiaoxia can also ask: "What would you do if one day, the prompt tone at this station changed?" In this way, he is likely to see some very different look and answer on the woman's face.

But in the end, Brother Xiaoxia didn't ask such a question. Instead, he said something stupid that was extremely weird.

"Excuse me...... Do you know you're an NPC? ”

The woman was stunned for a moment, and looked at the man in front of her with a blank look.

"What did you say?"

She asked.

Maybe it was because of the blockage of the Ark, or maybe the old woman didn't know what an NPC was, but there was a blank look in her eyes.

And this dazed also told Brother Xiaoxia an answer.

She didn't know......

"Thank you!" Brother Xiaoxia bowed, and then in the other party's puzzled eyes, he walked out of the light rail station against the crowd.

On the road, the crowd was crowded, and Brother Xiaoxia stood in a daze for a while, opened the menu, and quit the game.

He didn't know what was wrong with him, but when he saw the old woman's eyes, he knew that he seemed to have found the answer.

......

Are these NPCs real or not?

......

Of course, the answer is not true, they are just a piece of data, and this is the truth.

However, what about the characters in those books?

Those knights, those people in the book, are they real?

Naturally, it's not, it's just a bunch of words.

However, those words outline a world and the various characters in this world. If you think about it this way, it is better to say that those knights are never in books, but exist in the minds of those who read.

That's why I'm so obsessed with those books, because the world is already in my head.

And since it is what is in your mind, then if you think it is true, then it is true.

It's a wonderful, even incomprehensible statement.

But at this moment, Brother Xiaoxia seemed to realize something.

He couldn't say it, but he understood.

......

The trance gradually receded, and he came to the team space. Finding that the others still hadn't returned, he sat down at the conference table and was faintly distracted.

I don't know how long it took, a few white lights flashed, and Lu Yuan, Ah Li, and [Doctor Benevolence] appeared.

"Oh? You're back first. Lu Yuan saw Brother Xiaoxia and asked casually.

"Hmm." Brother Xiaoxia nodded.

"Well, do you have any new ideas for the NPCs in the Ark?"

Brother Xiaoxia shook his head: "No, I still think they are just data." ”

"Okay." Lu Yuan responded that he knew that it was not so easy to change a person's mind.

And at this time......

"But I'm willing to help you......"

Brother Xiaoxia said.