"What the hell" was awakened by a loud noise.
Thanks to Ember Wilde's not-so-heavy hand.
"What the hell" only suffered a mild concussion and a small cut on the scalp, nothing serious.
Struggling to sit up, he saw two people sitting silently, whispering to each other. The NPC who knocked him out was sitting on the side, resting with closed eyes.
Sounds of banging came from outside.
"Ouch, damn, it hurts!"
"What the hell" touched the swollen lump on his head, sucking in a breath.
He couldn't help but curse.
It's just a game, why make the pain feedback so realistic!
Did the game company want players to experience the entire process from birth to death?
"Keep your voice down... Do you see anything in your status bar?"
WTF leaned in next to the awakened "what the hell" and asked.
"My status bar... There's a debuff: 'Mild Bleeding,' with the status effect: 'Health -0.1/s.' I guess this debuff will disappear once my wound scabs over. But I have to say, this game is incredible! An NPC actually knocked me out because I was too noisy! In other games, I wouldn't even dare to imagine that!"
While speaking, "what the hell" glanced at the people in the room and asked in confusion, "Hey? Why are you all so cautious? What's the sound outside? And what about the two girls? Haven't they arrived yet?"
"For goodness' sake, are you still fixated on the girls? Think about how to die without too much suffering!" WTF shook his head and said, "Besides, Ember just said your other two girls... won't be coming."
"Won't be coming? What do you mean?" "What the hell" asked subconsciously. In his subconscious mind, he didn't really care about life or death. He regarded everything as just a game.
"You know, those two girls. It seems like they quit because they couldn't use plugins to change their characters to female, and their voice changers stopped working," IronBarbie answered.
WTF: "..."
"What the hell": "..."
Hearing IronBarbie's voice, they really wanted to shout, "Shut up! Scammer!"
But looking at IronBarbie's towering figure, they couldn't bring themselves to say it.
It was as if beating them was as effortless as playing basketball for IronBarbie.
"Your voice... doesn't match your appearance at all," Ember Wilde said, unable to hold back, opening his eyes.
"Huh? Is the AI in this game really that advanced? It's even curious about my voice!" IronBarbie glanced around and replied, and his voice returned to its normal youthful male tone.
He could say that Ember Wilde's comment startled him back to his "original voice."
"Wow, you speak properly!" "What the hell" touched his forehead, sweating a little.
"Why wouldn't I speak properly?" IronBarbie switched his voice again, "Brother! (Boy's voice) You're so annoying! (Mature woman's voice)"
IronBarbie produced three different voices with one sentence, leaving everyone in the room dumbfounded.
"What the hell" couldn't take it anymore and sat down, holding his chest.
He felt stifled and almost spewed old blood.
"This is the girl with the pleasant voice you were talking about?"
WTF seized the opportunity to mock, "Do you want a picture of this big brother for fun?"
"If you want, I can provide it." IronBarbie replied in a mature woman's voice again.
"What the hell": "..."
"Brother, please speak normally..." "What the hell" rubbed his temple and pleaded.
IronBarbie shrugged and reverted to his youthful male voice.
"What situation? What situation?" "What the hell" asked in a lowered voice.
"The hall has been taken over by undead creatures. IronBarbie and I are trying to figure out how to kill these undead creatures and take back the hall," WTF replied.
"I thought it was something significant. Just log out and wait for this segment of the plot to be over," "what the hell" instantly relaxed upon hearing that, saying contentedly.
"You can try." WTF rolled his eyes. "If it were that simple, we wouldn't have been stuck here for almost half an hour."
"The system said there are monsters wandering nearby, and I have to stay away from them to exit the game..." After a moment, "what the hell" said with a distressed expression.
"Very welcome to our sanctuary, as we welcome new members, we are one step closer to strengthening our sanctuary. Now, you need to tell me about your strengths."
Ember Wilde found a seat and looked at what the hell and IronBarbie with a serious tone.
"Strengths?"
What the hell looked at WTF.
"He asked me before too, he probably wants to know what survival skills you have. Just tell the truth, as anything beyond the game scope, he won't understand," WTF explained.
"I see..." What the hell took a deep breath and answered seriously, "I'm an ordinary office worker, my job involves coding. In my free time, I'm a hardcore gamer. I play all sorts of games, but I excel at shooting games."
After what the hell's response, Ember Wilde waited for ten seconds before giving his evaluation.
"So, you're just like WTF, completely useless."
What the hell: "..."
WTF: "..."
Ember Wilde's comment struck a chord with both of them, and they couldn't refute it.
The abilities they had in the real world had become meaningless in this post-apocalyptic world. They were indeed useless here.
"What about you?" Ember Wilde turned to IronBarbie, the biggest figure among them.
"I... I'm currently a voice actor."
"Also useless..."
Ember Wilde was about to give his evaluation when IronBarbie added, "I have a hobby in combat sports and once held a gold belt in amateur leagues. I'm also a registered bounty hunter and a member of a firearms club. Oh, by the way, I used to serve in the Navy SEALs. I have proficiency in small-caliber handguns, submachine guns, and even large-caliber automatic rifles... and even anti-materiel weapons..."
"Even anti-materiel weapons..."
"I have experience with them too."
Ember Wilde: "..."
"This guy is just bragging."
What the hell muttered, "Voice actor by profession, secret agent as a hobby? Why does this sound like the protagonist from some anime? At least, when you're lying, maintain some basic logic... And why is he trying to deceive people alongside the two girls?"
"Speaking of those two, they are the online scammers I was tracking." IronBarbie turned around and explained, "I found them on a forum where they were discussing the real-life lethality of a certain firearm from a game's perspective. I pointed out their mistakes, and they added me to chat... I could tell they were using voice changers."
"So, I played along with them using a girl's voice."
"Unexpectedly, due to a coincidence, I ended up here."
"I have to say, this is the most realistic game I've ever experienced."
"I can't find a trace of a game in it!"
Ember Wilde nodded slightly, believing IronBarbie's self-introduction to some extent.
At least... those muscle lumps on his body must have been developed through long-term exercise.
Looking at IronBarbie, Ember Wilde couldn't help but admire.
Finally, a player with some real ability has arrived!
After all, he was now in a genuine world! This world will soon invade Earth, maybe in a year or even a month, as the system had told Ember Wilde later.
At that time, billions of people will die, and the remaining survivors will either be enslaved or become guerilla fighters underground. That's what the system informed Ember Wilde.
If he continues to treat this place as just a game along with other players, Earth will be trapped in the cycle of the previous world again.
So he needed someone genuinely capable to lead the team to hunt down undead creatures, strengthen his own power, and stand against the massive undead army in the future.
After the introductions were done, the environment fell silent.
After ten seconds, what the hell couldn't help raising his hand and asked, "So, what are we going to do now? How do we deal with the undead creatures outside?"
"I say, let's just go out and kill them, it's a perfect opportunity to level up. I really don't understand why you gamers fear monsters," IronBarbie said.
"In other games, sure... but this game is different!" WTF recalled his previous encounter and fear immediately appeared in his eyes. "If you get attacked by monsters in this game, it hurts!!!"
"It's just a game, how painful can it be?" IronBarbie was puzzled.
"The pain is exactly the same as in reality."
"What the hell" touched his head, with a face full of agony, continued, "You don't believe it... I can ask an NPC to hit you with a brick."
Seeing the painful expression on "what the hell," IronBarbie thought, "Hmm, looking at his painful face, his words seem highly credible!"
"Em... Ember, there's an exclamation mark lit up on your head again!"
WTF was the first to notice the exclamation mark on Ember Wilde's head.
"I have some unfortunate news to tell you all."
After what the hell woke up, the system finally issued the first "Home Defense" mission.
While Ember Wilde scanned the task description provided by the system, he immediately spoke at the fastest pace to the three players present.
"The undead creatures outside have breached our sanctuary's gate. We need to hold on until daybreak or eliminate all the undead creatures within the sanctuary."
Upon Ember Wilde's words, a new mission appeared in the mission list for all three players.
"Defend the Sanctuary":
Mission Requirements: Withstand the attacks of undead creatures and hold on until daybreak or eliminate all the undead creatures within the sanctuary.
Mission Difficulty: E
Mission Reward: Experience Points x50, Copper Coins x50, Choose one-star weapon.
Ember Wilde's perspective (Designer Reward: Experience Points x5, Copper Coins x5, Design Points x5, Choose one-star weapon material 1/10)