My Players Are So Fierce

Murphy had slept for a full seven hours. When he woke up, it was already late morning of the next day. Fortunately, there was no sun in the forest, otherwise the intense sunlight alone would have been enough to turn him into a pile of ash.

The more accustomed he became to the life of a vampire, the more he could feel the limitations of this race. This fatal weakness to sunlight alone was enough to negate all the advantages vampires possessed.

Terrible gaming experience!

Bad review!

If he could change races, Murphy would definitely switch to a regular human or another race, like an elf.

"Let's go."

Murphy quickly freshened up and drank the virgin's blood that the Young Lady had brought to "replenish" him. He didn't want to know where the eccentric vampire lady had obtained these "supplies."

The lady herself probably didn't know either, given her abnormal personality.

He gestured to Maxim and Miriam, and then the two carriages set off one after the other, heading towards Kadman City.

The front carriage was loaded with miscellaneous items, including the 3,000 computation beads, the firearms, weapons and armor collected by the players, as well as some blood-stained money. These were the startup funds for Murphy's enterprise, guarded personally by the loyal Maxim.

The rear carriage was driven by Miriam, carrying two coffins, one for the Young Lady, and the other reserved for the still unconscious Lady Adele.

Murphy thought that with the Young Lady's lifestyle as an orthodox vampire, she had probably taken refuge in her coffin once the sun came up. However, when he entered the carriage, he found that the Young Lady was not resting, but rather adorning Lady Adele's coffin.

Sheesh… the scene looked quite poignant.

Dressed in a crimson robe, Lady Adele lay motionless in the black coffin, her hands folded on her flat belly, appearing to have stopped breathing. The Young Lady stood beside her, placing a few dried white roses around her and sprinkling some light, fragrant perfume.

The scene looked like a final farewell.

But in reality, this was just a "daily routine" for vampires.

As an orthodox vampire, such meticulous attention to detail was essential to showcase their elegance and nobility as "midnight aristocrats."

"Thanks to the essence of fresh blood you provided her, she will only need two days to regain consciousness, sparing her the arduous transition that other vampires require months to adapt to their new life."

The Young Lady, veiled behind a black shawl and cloak, remained fully covered even in the dim carriage to avoid the irritating heat from the sun's rays.

As she arranged the settings in the coffin, seated on her own coffin board, she said to Murphy:

"I haven't thanked you yet, Murphy. Not just for the victory against the transport team, but I know the extra effort you made for Adele. You didn't have to go that far, and I owe you a personal favor."

"There's no need to be so polite, Young Lady. After all, I did it for myself as well."

Murphy sat at the rear of the carriage, watching the Smuggler's Woods grow more distant. Leaning against the wall, he propped his chin with his left hand and said softly:

"Given my current status, I can only accept this one progeny. Although I am from the Tris lineage, it doesn't mean I can tolerate my first progeny being as useless as I once was.

I just want to give her the best.

However, given Lady Adele's loyalty to you, she and I will need some time to gradually become accustomed to each other."

"You are her elder."

The Young Lady said in a low voice:

"Whether she is willing or not, she must obey you! The blood bond will change her mind, and one day she will forget all emotional connections to me.

Yes.

One day…

She will only fight for you.

To be honest, I regret it a little now, Murphy."

Murphy wondered if the Young Lady was trying to back out and renegotiate terms. So he didn't respond, waiting for her next words. But instead, she fell silent for half a minute, leaving Murphy quite perplexed. As he marveled at the Young Lady's unpredictable ways, he changed the subject and asked:

"What's the deal with Adele's bloodline? Why does she have one-fourth elven blood? Where did you find this oddity? There haven't been any elves in the Transia region for hundreds of years, right?"

"Ah? She's actually a half-elf?"

The Young Lady, who had been reaching to cover Adele's coffin board, was taken aback by Murphy's words.

Her reaction made Murphy's eyelids twitch.

Good grief!

This is your most loyal and only blood servant, yet you didn't know about her hidden race? You brought her along without knowing anything about her?

That's awfully reckless!

"Because I've never tasted Adele's blood, nor have I allowed any other vampires to do so. Combined with her complete lack of elven traits and her usual silence, that's why I…"

Probably seeing the surprise Murphy couldn't conceal, the Young Lady explained:

"But I don't think it's that important. She's loyal and capable enough, and in the face of excellent work ability, one's origins are a trivial issue. Besides, Adele has been with me for twenty years. I've watched her grow up day by day.

She's like a daughter to me.

Therefore, I hope you can guide and protect her the same way I have cared for her."

"?"

After hearing this, Murphy almost couldn't keep a straight face.

He looked at Femis' petite frame and youthful doll-like appearance, which made her seem like a sixteen-year-old lolita, then at the fully "matured" Lady Adele in the coffin, who was at least thirty-five in all aspects.

To anyone seeing this scene, it would appear as if the daughter was bidding farewell to her mother, but the reality was the opposite.

Adding to that the Young Lady's utterly serious expression, clearly oblivious to the impression her unique appearance would create, Murphy had to bite hard on the tip of his tongue to avoid blurting out a sarcastic remark.

At this point, he was completely convinced that this solemn and aloof Blood Vulture Lady, who maintained a stern demeanor in public, was simply clueless about many common senses deep down, it was hard to imagine how she developed such a personality.

But then again, wasn't this the norm for a long-lived race whose perspective became warped from their longevity?

Didn't his own household have a five-hundred-year-old alcoholic vampire wretch who was still addicted to booze?

Compared to Tris, the Young Lady before him merely exhibited some eccentricity.

Overall, she was still quite capable.

However, for a fleeting moment, Murphy wanted to ask the Young Lady exactly how old she was.

But after some hesitation, he didn't.

Asking such an offensive question to a woman he wasn't familiar with could easily get him killed on the spot.

"If you're interested in Adele's background, you can ask her yourself later. You're her elder, she shouldn't hide any information from you.

All I can recall is that I found her twenty years ago when I was traveling through the Dark Mountains, in a village in southern Transia.

She was alone then, surviving by stealing, but her skills were poor and she almost got beaten to death.

I took pity on the scrawny little monkey and gave her some food. After that, she followed me."

The Young Lady shook her head and yawned, then opened her own coffin and said to Murphy:

"Do you have anything else important?"

Murphy promptly stood up, bid the Young Lady good night, and took his leave.

Although the sun had just risen.

For a vampire, it was time to say goodnight!

It was a matter of etiquette.

Murphy had only come to test the waters and gauge the Young Lady's stance on the annihilation of the vampires. Unexpectedly, she hadn't even brought up the matter, behaving as if the deaths of sixty Midnight Hunters meant nothing to her.

But this could also be the Young Lady's disguise.

In the worst case, once Murphy returned to Kadman City, he might be captured and thrown into the Blood Vulture Halls for betraying his kin, to face the Sunburn Punishment.

Perhaps he should prepare ahead?

After ensuring Femis had lain down in her coffin, Murphy pulled his hood over himself and jumped off the carriage, fully covered. He then ran to the front carriage and fiddled with the computation beads.

Four hours later, during the hottest part of the day, Murphy manually confirmed the player self-login prompt at the exact time the new version update was announced on the forum during Maxim and Miriam's lunch break in a small roadside grove. He clutched his broken pocketwatch, timing it to the second.

Almost simultaneously, in another world, the eager little players saw the previously locked self-login function light up on the VR interface inside their gaming helmets.

This was their first time attempting self-login.

A gentle light enveloped the view inside the helmet, and in a daze, they saw the swaying dark nebulae once more. Then, the spirit-woven solid projection flickered into existence before Murphy's eyes. Without needing to activate his summoning talent, the adorable little players reappeared by his side.

It was as if they had opened their eyes from a dream.

Just like their previous login experience, the sunlight filtered through the trees, shining on their faces and bodies, making them feel the same warmth as the real world.

"Whoa! So cool! Awesome!"

The lively Ah Yuen jumped up first, performing an "otherworld style" shoulder shrug on the spot, his hands lacking only a basketball.

After confirming their ability to self-login, the other players also showed delight, as this meant they finally controlled their own gaming time.

No more passive waiting!

From now on, they could log in whenever they wanted.

"My warriors, I have finally completed the improvement of my summoning spell. Now you are free!"

The still weakened Murphy spread his arms wide with a grin towards the players.

At his feet lay their previous equipment. These fellows, all clad in "newbie underwear," walked over and donned their guard armor, then draped the cloaks they had received as "closed beta rewards," instantly transforming into a retinue that looked at least outwardly formidable.

Once they had changed, Murphy took out a box and handed out the computation beads one by one to his little players, explaining as he did so:

"These are the rewards you deserve! They come from the transport team we intercepted last night. I never expected they would risk offending the halflings by smuggling these computation beads.

But perhaps it was fate.

These items, originally intended for killing and war, can undoubtedly serve a more valuable purpose in our grand plan!"

The little players didn't know what the computation beads were, but this didn't stop them from picking up hints from the NPC's words.

Combined with the update notes on the official forum, they easily guessed that the beads were the "player interface" temporarily added to the game by the developers.

"So, we even had to reclaim our own player interface?"

Meow King toyed with the jewel-like computation bead, complaining to Onboard Joy Stick beside him:

"Damn! This is too hardcore, isn't it?"

"I think it's quite good," Onboard Joy Stick rolled his eyes.

"It's more immersive than just being handed an interface for no reason, right? This game really takes immersion to the extreme. But logically speaking, how do we use this thing? Voice control? Or mind manipulation?"

"The computation bead is a wonderful crystallization of steam engineering. It needs activation. Wait a moment, my warriors."

Murphy took out the fourth-generation prototype computation bead hanging from his neck and infused it with spirit energy. A red light flickered on the smooth gem surface as the internal spirit differential engine's gears began to turn.

An invisible, specially tuned spirit energy emanated from Murphy's core computation bead, resonating with the subordinate beads. In an instant, the "player interfaces" in the little players' hands finally activated.

Leading Pigeon stared dumbly at the computation bead in his hand.

He could feel the small object emitting a soft humming sound like a precise instrument. Then, a semi-transparent spirit energy screen projected in front of his eyes, hovering above his palm, with text flickering:

【Computation Bead Activated!

Initializing, please wait

User Information Scanned, Mind Binding Complete!

Player Attributes Loaded!

In-Game Communication Channels Grouped!

Friend List Loaded!

Translation Module Loaded!

Information Recording & Map Functions Loaded! Subsequent features still in development, stay tuned. Enjoy your gaming experience.】

"This little thing is so smart!"

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Cheche stared at the semi-transparent screen in his hand.

He tentatively tapped one of the listed modules, and his personal information was projected in a refreshed interface reminiscent of the XP system.

"Strength 5, Agility 5, Endurance 5, Intelligence 5, Perception 5, Charisma 5… why are they all 5? Is this a glitch?"

Cheche snorted in displeasure.

He felt the official team was mocking his measly combat power of 5, then turned to look at Niuniu beside him. Upon seeing Niuniu's player interface, he burst out laughing, unable to contain himself.

"Ha! Intelligence only 2! Niuniu, are you serious? The official team has classified you as mentally handicapped! Bwahahahaha!"

Seeing Cheche clutching his stomach, laughing until his sides hurt, the unamused Precipitation Niuniu clenched his fists, knocked Cheche over, and shouted:

"My Intelligence might only be 2, but did you not see my Strength is 8? You trash with 5 combat power dare to mock me! If I don't spank you today, I'll write my name backwards!

A few people, come here!

I'll strip Cheche's pants, you guys find a tree!

That one over there looks good, thick and big enough, let's use that!

Come on, let's do the Aruba Walk!"

Upon seeing the screaming Cheche stripped of his pants and hoisted up for the "traditional performance" of the Aruba Walk, the other unscrupulous players burst into laughter, marveling at how realistic the game's physics engine truly was.

Even Murphy beside them wore an amused aunt's smile, feeling that the little players were indeed passionate. If he didn't have to remain dignified as an NPC, he would have loved to join and reminisce about his long-gone youthful days.

But the next second, he saw Meow King slink up beside him and say shyly, twisting and turning:

"That… forum reward…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Murphy deadpanned.

This made Meow King's eyes go wide, accusing the NPC of withholding his reward. But then he saw Murphy rub his forehead in confusion and say:

"Although I don't know why I should reward you, it seems there is a voice in the back of my mind telling me that you have indeed made efforts towards the grand plan that I am unaware of.

So come, my warrior Meow King, I happen to have something suitable for you here."