A roar halted the villagers in their tracks. Turning around, they saw the village chief glaring at them sternly.
The chief reprimanded harshly, "You're ready to kill without knowing the truth. What, do you all want to become as brutal as those people?"
The villagers, unconvinced and red-faced, argued back, "Even if they haven't done anything yet, they will eventually! By then, it will be too late!"
"Yeah, chief! Just now, these people were shaking Miller. Who knows, maybe they were planning to kill him!" The villagers began to argue loudly, believing they were justified in seeking revenge.
But in their minds, [I'm Your Dad] and his cronies shouted, "We were just marveling at how realistic the NPC's skin looked! We didn't mean to kill him!" They dared not speak out loud, fearing the villagers' attention would shift back to them.
After much persuasion from the chief, the villagers reluctantly dispersed, leaving the group to be interrogated by Nors and the others.
In an empty wooden cabin on the outskirts of the village, Nors stood in the center, staring coldly at [I'm Your Dad] and his cronies without saying a word. They trembled, not daring to move. Honestly, they'd rather be beaten by the NPCs outside. At least those hits didn't hurt much. But these people were different; their attacks were genuinely painful, proving their superior combat skills. Especially the black-haired one; he was the most ruthless. They wondered if it was even allowed for officials to beat players and if they could file a complaint.
[I'm Your Dad], trying to appease the situation, spoke up, "Um... sir, listen... we didn't do anything. We didn't mean to harm those NPCs. I don't know why they got so agitated."
"Yeah, we were just here to enjoy the scenery, didn't do anything wrong," his cronies chimed in, thinking the NPCs were just data, no big deal.
"Shut up!" A loud shout silenced them instantly.
Nors drew a dagger from his waist and walked slowly towards [I'm Your Dad], who began to sweat profusely. If not for the binding spell, they would have tried to escape by now.
"I... I warn you, even if you're an official, illegal detainment is still illegal in a virtual world. I... I'll have my dad sue you and bankrupt your company!" [I'm Your Dad] threatened, trying to suppress his fear.
"Yeah! We're not afraid of you! Let us go!" his cronies added.
Nors squatted down, pressing the tip of his dagger against [I'm Your Dad]'s chin, smiling slightly. "I'm not an official, nor am I one of your so-called players."
Huh? Not an official? What's that thing above his head then? A boss? The thought of encountering a boss in a newbie village made them anxious.
Seeing them lost in thought, Nors pressed the dagger further and asked softly, "Tell me, where did you come from? Why are you here? What is your purpose?"
"I know killing you won't actually kill you, so don't worry. If you get hurt, my little Yuan will heal you." Little Yuan peeked out from Nors's shoulder, waving to assert his presence.
"So..." Nors paused, tilting his head and speaking with a chilling calmness, "If you don't cooperate, I can cut you piece by piece while Little Yuan heals you. So, cooperate, okay?"
Are you kidding? Good? Good my foot! Demon! He's a demon! Despite their internal complaints, [I'm Your Dad] and his cronies nodded quickly, indicating they would tell everything.
"I... we're students from the Star Federation University... this year, Aurora Corporation released fully immersive holographic equipment with the virtual game 'Oracle's Name.' We managed to get the equipment and decided to play together," [I'm Your Dad] began hesitantly.
His cronies, worried, asked, "Boss, can we tell this to NPCs?"
[I'm Your Dad] glared at them. It's not your neck on the line! "How would I know? Do you want to get cut up?" he snapped, glancing at Nors's expression. Seeing no reaction, he continued, "We players are designated as 'adventurers' sent to explore this world, Seraphia. We started elsewhere but heard about a legendary wizard's base here and came to check it out."
Seraphia! The name of this world's continent. The group's faces filled with disbelief. Alex, usually lounging, straightened up, his face serious.
Celia quickly asked, "What wizard's base?"
Seeing their grim faces, [I'm Your Dad], still scared, continued, "This game doesn't have any storyline missions. It's all about free exploration and enjoying the holographic experience. The only task is to gather resources, minerals... and there was a hint about a wizard's base with rich mineral resources here."
Alex grabbed [I'm Your Dad]'s collar, yelling, "So you got some hint, thought our wizard academy had minerals, and came to slaughter us? Is that it?"
"No, no, we play games civilly!" [I'm Your Dad] protested.
"Civil? You? Grabbing a child's hair?" Alex retorted.
Enraged, [I'm Your Dad] shouted back, "It's just a bunch of data, an NPC!"
Furious, Alex threw a punch at [I'm Your Dad]'s face. "Stop your nonsense! This is our world, not some game! Are you crazy?"
Thinking of his fallen classmates and Elder Yu, Alex's anger surged. They had died because some idiots thought the academy had minerals? Absurd.
"I'm telling the truth! It's cruel, but you're just data!" [I'm Your Dad] insisted.
"What did you say?" Alex, livid, rushed to punch him again, but Nors stopped him gently. "Alex, stop."
Alex, eyes misty, turned to Nors, who looked back calmly. Gradually, Alex lowered his fists and calmed down.
Nors continued questioning, "Do you know the Luminous Empire?"
"Huh?" [I'm Your Dad] and his cronies looked at each other, unable to recall the name.
Seeing their confusion, Nors felt conflicted, unsure if he should be relieved or disappointed.
"Uh... you mean the empire that dissolved fifty years ago?" one crony asked hesitantly.
"You know?" [I'm Your Dad] asked, surprised.
"Boss... it was on last semester's history exam," the crony explained.
Annoyed, [I'm Your Dad] realized he'd never cared about his grades, let alone boring history.
Nors raised his dagger to the crony's neck, demanding, "Explain clearly!"
Scared, the crony wished he could log out. This game's realism was no joke.
"I'll talk! Just a bit." The crony held his fingers close together. "Fifty years ago, the Federation and Empire were at war. A stellar explosion broke the stalemate, and the Federation's leader took the opportunity to dissolve the Empire. The star region, including the former Luminous Empire, is now called the Star Federation."
Nors's mind went blank, stuck in a daze. His homeland, the Luminous Empire, was gone. He thought of his former name, Ye Ziyun, and the life it represented. In fifty years, the name had faded into history, forgotten by all.