Meanwhile, XB was bragging to his viewers.
He hadn't known it was Vik University's Freshmen Welcome Day. After finally buying a Daklan map through odd jobs and illuminating the entire Daklan City area, he chose to walk to Vik University early in the morning, starting his live stream.
But he never expected to see such a lively scene upon arriving at Vik University.
"Audience members, it seems our luck is good. We've just stumbled upon Vik University's Freshmen Welcome Day. You've all seen 'Apocalypse' the series. It might even be the day the Life Alchemy Society throws Alchemy bombs, which the official sources call the 'Great Event'. If I accidentally die later, you'll have to give me some compensation, alright?"
"Hey, look, look! This girl is so pretty. Beautiful and with long legs, her art style is clearly different from others. Let's go interact with her and see if we can snag some quests."
With that, XB hurriedly cast a Reconnaissance (Reconnaissance) spell.
[Based on your level, you have obtained the following information]
[Rosie Lily - Alchemy Department Sophomore]
[Level:?]
[Attributes: Spirit 21, Others?]
[Danger Level: Medium]
Indeed, the art style was different. XB's face flushed with excitement. He quickly followed Rosie, finally managed to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with her, and, mustering his courage, said, "Excuse me..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a line of text popped up mercilessly above the NPC's forehead.
[Affection -5]
XB: "???"
What did I do?
"2333, the NPC probably thinks you're too ugly."
"As expected, the bane of female gamers, truly living up to his reputation."
"XB, don't cry, mom still loves you. A mother never finds her child ugly."
"Male moms, get out!"
Facing the sarcastic taunts of his idiotic viewers, XB wasn't discouraged. His eyes quickly lit up again, as he had spotted a new target.
"This seems to be Chris Bladenholzer, the second female lead from the official promotional video. Let bygones be bygones; this is the real golden opportunity."
XB walked over like a gentleman, stood in front of Chris Bladenholzer, cleared his throat, and before he could speak, he saw another [Affection -7] pop up above the NPC girl's head. She snorted at him and walked away.
"2333, the bane of female gamers is confirmed."
"XB, don't cry, stand up and fight."
XB:???
At this moment, he himself felt a little insecure. Am I really that ugly?
He opened his game panel to check his Charm attribute, doubting life itself. It showed Charm 39 (Disheveled -6).
Charm -6?
XB:...Only then did he notice that because he had logged on and rushed out too quickly that morning, he was still wearing yesterday's clothes, and even the buttons weren't aligned.
Astonishing! Is this game's attention to detail that meticulous?
He hurriedly ducked to the side to re-button his clothes, frantically explaining, "Audience members, this was just an accident. I was a bit rushed today to get the live stream going quickly... Holy crap?!"
From his current angle, he could just see a familiar figure. Holy crap, so handsome! Isn't that the protagonist, Wayne Strowell? He clearly looks like someone the artists paid special attention to. Even as a man, he thought he was incredibly handsome.
XB quickly adjusted his live stream camera to first-person: "Look who I found?!"
"Holy crap?"
"Husband, ah ah ah ah..."
"XB, hurry up and say hello, see if you can latch onto him."
...XB saw his follower count rise, grinning from ear to ear. He quickly spat on his hand, slicked back his hair, tidied his hairstyle, and walked over.
Getting close to the game's protagonist, XB suddenly felt a lot of pressure. This level of attractiveness was quite impactful.
"Hello, husband, my name is XB. I am your idol, no, no, that's not right, you are my idol." Perhaps due to nervousness, XB accidentally misspoke, rambling incoherently.
Zhou Ning was originally wondering how to approach XB, but he didn't expect the other party to come trotting over immediately, and then he was startled by XB's opening line.
Zhou Ning:...Brother, please be normal. I'm scared.
Zhou Ning noticed that an Affection button appeared next to XB's ID above his head. After clicking the button, a new prompt immediately appeared on the panel — Affection: 0.
Clicking the Affection number again brought up an adjustable slider. Left was down, right was up. It was clear at a glance.
[Do you want to adjust player [XB]'s Affection?]
Zhou Ning decided it would be safer to lower it for now. He clicked the Affection slider and dragged it a small notch to the left.
[Wayne Strowell's Affection for you has decreased by 5 points. It is currently Indifferent.]
"No!!!"
XB was thunderstruck, completely devastated, wishing he could slap himself. Other people's Affection was one thing, but this was the game's protagonist! Who knew what would happen if it dropped?
Although he found him quite annoying, XB was currently the only player he could interact with. Zhou Ning thought for a moment and asked, "I haven't seen you before. Are you a tourist here to watch the Freshmen Welcome celebration?"
"Yes, yes!" XB snapped back to reality and nodded frantically, trying to salvage his image.
"I see. Then, could you do me a favor?" Zhou Ning asked with a smile.
If this were in the real world, asking a favor of a stranger would normally elicit an eye-roll, or even make one suspect a scammer.
However, players are not normal people at all.
Upon hearing this, XB's eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded even more frantically: "Yes, yes! I'll help with anything."
[Do you want to issue a quest to player XB?]
Zhou Ning took a deep breath. Now was the time to test the quest system.
"Yes."
[Please set the quest level, quest requirements, and quest rewards. The maximum quest level is A, and the minimum quest level is E.]
[Quest rewards can be set freely: whether it's money, items, experience, or skills...]
[Currently, your daily experience reward cap is 20,000, and the maximum single reward is 4,000. It refreshes every twenty-four hours.]
Clicking "Edit Quest" immediately brought up a complex quest frame. The left side allowed setting the quest type and quest level, the right side was for the quest name, and below was the quest description.
There were many quest types, divided into Normal Quests, Random Quests, Repeating Quests, Faction Quests, Series Quests, and so on.
He hadn't expected being an NPC to be quite difficult; he might even need to be proficient in Excel.
Zhou Ning pondered for a moment, then edited and issued an E-rank timed quest, setting the time limit to 10 minutes.
"I'm a bit busy here and don't have time to get breakfast. Could you bring me some?"
"Yes, yes! I'll go right away." At the same time, XB also received the quest.
[You have triggered an E-rank quest: Breakfast. Do you accept? Yes/No?]
[Quest Hint: Wayne Strowell is hungry and has asked you to buy him breakfast. Will you choose to help him, or just walk away? It's your choice.]
[Quest Level: E]
[Quest Requirement: Buy a delicious breakfast]
[Reward: 800 experience, 1 currency.]
Looking at the meager reward, XB was a little confused, but he keenly realized that this might be his chance to win back Affection, and perhaps even a prerequisite for a larger quest! Although the reward was truly meager, this must be a test for him!
Watching the 10-minute countdown begin, XB dared not delay. He frantically sprinted to the breakfast shop across the street, spent all his money on the most expensive breakfast in the store, and then rushed back.
"Your breakfast." XB panted as he handed the breakfast to Zhou Ning, simultaneously receiving the quest completion notification.
"Thank you." Zhou Ning said with a smile, then slightly dragged the Affection slider to the right... [Wayne Strowell's Affection for you has increased by 3 points. It is currently Indifferent.]
XB breathed a sigh of relief, finally regaining some Affection. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the NPC in front of him speak, and the content invigorated him.
"You're a good person. I need assistance right now. Can I trust you?"
"Yes! Of course, I can! Absolutely!" XB excitedly thumped his chest. "I'm a professional gamer after all. Haven't I just triggered a chain quest?"
"Today, an attack targeting Vik University will occur at the Freshmen Welcome event. There should be four suspicious individuals carrying Alchemy bombs. If you notice anything, do not act rashly. Come and inform me immediately."
Zhou Ning began to edit the quest frame.
[You have triggered a D-rank quest: Terrorist Attack. Do you accept? Yes/No?]
[Quest Hint: Please assist the protagonist Wayne Strowell and the Sun Keepers in finding four suspicious individuals.]
[Quest Level: D]
[Quest Requirement: Resolve the crisis]
[Reward: 2000 experience, access to Wayne Strowell's personal shop.]
"Indeed, hahaha, I, XB, am the chosen one!" XB's eyes turned red with excitement from this quest, and he roared internally. He never expected to encounter such a high-level major event so soon after entering the game!
The moment he saw the quest, the comments in the live stream went wild.
"Holy crap, lucky idiot, that's not fair!"
"Get back to professional gaming! Why are you exciting us like this!"
"I told you Wayne Strowell is definitely the protagonist, didn't I? Look, the quest hint even says he's the protagonist. This confirms it."
The smug XB had long ignored the sour comments, accepted the quest, his eyes wide as copper bells, his ears perked like antennae, scanning all suspicious individuals at the scene.
Watching XB's retreating figure, Zhou Ning chuckled softly. In truth, he didn't care if XB found any clues. This interaction was mainly to test the NPC function and, incidentally, to motivate the players. The results were very satisfying. He had already thought of countless ways to "harvest the leeks."
Many people should be watching XB's live stream. While XB benefits, it will only stimulate others, which also helps him cultivate new "leeks," doesn't it?