Chapter 161: A Miraculous Method

To be honest, Chen Hao was not quite used to the person in front of him constantly addressing him with that affectionate sisterly tone. In his impression, Vivienne ought to be that innocent, carefree, adorable little girl who used to tag along behind him, bombarding him with endless questions. Now, the ideal two-dimensional goddess in his mind had suddenly transformed into an alluring, mature woman. While she was certainly pleasing to the eye, something about the whole situation felt deeply unnatural.

However, Chen Hao had no spare energy to dwell on such matters at the moment; his mind was brimming with questions, and he was eager to figure out what was actually going on. Aside from Vivienne, another NPC had unexpectedly awakened self-awareness. Moreover, she seemed to know far more than he could possibly imagine.

She actually knew about things from the real world. Judging by her tone, she must also be aware that she herself was an NPC. How could such a thing even exist? Didn't she feel the slightest psychological barrier? How could she converse so smoothly with him and Zhuge Daxue?

To put it bluntly, the relationship between the three of them should logically be antagonistic, or even hostile. After all, he was a human, a player, the master of this game. On the other hand, the other party was merely a creation of the Virtual Reality Corporation. Given the nature of their relationship, she ought to detest him.

Who could possibly feel cheerful upon learning that they were nothing more than a "plaything" created by someone else? Yet what about this older Vivienne? Not only did she show no displeasure, but she was also chatting away with him quite cheerfully. Chen Hao could not tell whether she genuinely did not care or if her outwardly relaxed attitude was merely a disguise.

For the first time, Chen Hao found it exceptionally difficult to read a person... well... an intelligent NPC, that is.

After a moment of thought, Chen Hao spoke up, "Judging by what you mean, you have a way to resolve our current predicament? Can you make us act in the game like normal players without being detected by other players and supervisory programs?"

"Oh my, oh my, oh my~~" Vivienne still favored starting her sentences with playful exclamations. "What you're saying is both right and wrong. I can indeed prevent others from discovering your abnormal status, but I have no way to fundamentally resolve your abnormalities. That is simply beyond my capabilities.

To be honest, even now I still cannot figure out why you entered the game in such a bizarre form, little brother Chen Hao, but that is precisely what makes you so fascinating to me. You must know that after all these years, you are the very first player I have ever encountered who did not enter the game in a normal form! Big sister here is profoundly curious about you!

And another thing, little sister Zhuge entered the game just like any other regular player before! How is it that after entering the game with you once, her entry this time became just like yours as well? That is certainly worth a thorough investigation on my part!"

"You..." Chen Hao hesitated. "Could you please stop talking like that? I'm not really used to hearing it..."

Vivienne had not expected Chen Hao to suddenly pivot to such an unrelated topic, and she was momentarily stunned. But after a brief pause, her facial expression shifted abruptly, assuming an irresistibly adorable look that no man could possibly fend off. She squatted down, clutched her fists, and rubbed her eyes, whimpering, "Wuwuwu~~ Big brother Chen Hao is actually disliking little old me~~~"

"You shouldn't either..."

Before Chen Hao could finish his sentence, Vivienne sprang right back to his feet and lunged directly into his arms. "Vivienne knows she was wrong! Don't be angry, big brother Chen Hao. Would little Vivienne massage your shoulders or rub your head? Would you like me to call you master from now on? Starting today, I am big brother Chen Hao's personal exclusive maid! Meow~~~"

"Pfft—" Faced with Vivienne's sudden transformation, Chen Hao almost failed to hold his ground and nearly collapsed on the spot.

"Big sister! Could you please stop playing around with me? Can you just speak normally? We are discussing serious business here!"

"Sigh..." Vivienne sighed and stepped away from Chen Hao. "How boring! Absolutely no sense of romance at all. I honestly have no idea what my little sister even sees in you, constantly babbling about Chen Hao all day long!"

...

"Let's get back to serious business!" Chen Hao coughed twice. "You said you have a way to keep others from seeing through our abnormalities so we can play the game normally?"

Vivienne resumed her previous queen-like demeanor, though this time she spoke without her earlier eccentricity. "Yes!"

"What method?" Zhuge Daxue asked.

"Actually, it's very simple. I can disguise both of you as NPCs just like me. Whether in the eyes of human players, GMs, or scouting NPCs, the two of you will register as ordinary game programs. As long as you don't deliberately pull off overly exaggerated stunts, no one will ever notice you," Vivienne said.

"Can that really work?" Chen Hao was quite surprised. "Disguising players as NPCs?"

Vivienne shrugged nonchalantly. "What's difficult about that? My little sister and I are not the same. She is merely an NPC who only recently awakened self-awareness. As for me, I've possessed self-awareness since the very launch of virtual reality.

If I didn't have a few tricks up my sleeve, big sister here would have long since been discovered and tossed back into the furnace to be remade, and you wouldn't be seeing me today. As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows."

"What do we need to do? Or prepare?" Chen Hao brushed aside Vivienne's self-praise and asked directly. He was now urgently eager to check out the Forest of Elves and see what conditions were like on the very first day of the game's launch.

"Very simple!" Vivienne smiled mysteriously. "You don't need to do a thing; just stand right there. Which of you is going first?"

"Uh..." Chen Hao glanced at Zhuge Daxue and said, "I'll go first to test the waters."

With that, he stood stock-still in his tracks.

Vivienne took a step forward. "No matter what I do next, do not move. Do not interrupt my spellcasting. If you move around, I cannot guarantee that my spell will take effect, and it might even cause adverse side effects. If it reaches that point, don't blame me! So, absolutely, positively do not move around!"

... Hearing the other party say this, Chen Hao grew somewhat nervous again. Should he really trust this NPC he had only met on the first day? If it were the original little Vivienne, Chen Hao would not have doubted her in the slightest. Although Vivienne was not human either, she was truly an exceptionally innocent child.

Perhaps because she had only just awakened her self-awareness, her thoughts were very pure, and she was full of curiosity about everything. She possessed only basic human-like instincts: she felt close to anyone who treated her well, and she disliked and avoided anyone who treated her poorly. To protect herself, she would even launch attacks against others.

Just like when the two of them first met in the forest, little Vivienne had known how to use traps to deal with the NPC programmers who wanted to capture her.

However, the NPC before him was not little Vivienne. Regardless of how much truth or falsehood there was in her words, she possessed the sophistication of a seasoned human. She possessed all human thought processes and logic. Moreover, she had even managed to deduce from Chen Hao's reactions and expression that he had initially been guarded against her.

Such a high-IQ NPC—if she truly wanted to plot against him, Chen Hao honestly had no idea how he would cope.

Still, Chen Hao decided to take a gamble. After all, he was in the game world; even if the other party wanted to scheme against him, what could happen? At worst, he would just die and respawn in the game! He didn't have much to lose anyway.

Having thought this through, Chen Hao simply let go of his worries. "Alright! I won't move around. Cast your spell!"

Saying this, Chen Hao stood completely motionless in place, while Zhuge Daxue stared anxiously at the two of them.

At that moment, Vivienne smiled happily. "I promise this will be a memory you will never forget for the rest of your life. Keep it a secret, okay~~"

Following that, Vivienne cupped Chen Hao's cheeks with both hands, holding his head firmly so he could not shake it. Then, to the astonishment of Zhuge Daxue and the surprise of Chen Hao, Vivienne closed her eyes and planted a deep kiss directly on Chen Hao's lips!

That wasn't all. Not long after their lips touched, Vivienne actually slipped her tongue right into Chen Hao's mouth! Heaven and earth as her witness, the very moment their lips touched, Chen Hao had wanted to quickly stop her actions. It wasn't that Chen Hao disliked such things, but rather that Chen Hao felt too embarrassed...

Because Zhuge Daxue was watching right there! Being watched by her wasn't the biggest deal, but if Zhuge Daxue were to tell Fan Yirou about this after they logged out of the game, it would be an absolute disaster!

Even though Chen Hao wanted to stop Vivienne's forced kiss, he discovered that the moment Vivienne placed her hands on his cheeks, he had already lost the ability to move. His entire body felt as though it had been paralyzed. Chen Hao was not unfamiliar with this sensation, as it was precisely what happened when one was struck by an enemy's paralysis potion or paralysis magic in virtual reality.

Only, in the past, paralysis was something he could not physically experience; he had simply lost control over his character's perspective.

Right now, however, Chen Hao could distinctly feel his own struggle and helplessness, which made him realize once more how vastly different his entry into the game was compared to other players. To a certain extent, his experience of the game right now felt as though this were another real world, with all his senses seemingly fully intact.

Yet, after a brief moment of panic, Chen Hao gradually relaxed. Chen Hao himself could not quite understand why this was happening, as if the Vivienne before him possessed some sort of ability to calm a person's mind.

Soon enough, Vivienne pulled away from Chen Hao, though right before completely separating, she gave Chen Hao a provocative, seductive lick with her tongue and murmured, "The taste is really not bad at all!"

...