Interstellar Travel: Becoming a Dress-Up Game Designer

Chapter 313

This is definitely a hidden gameplay element; what player would be so bored as to think of something like this?

It can only be said that Lin Shuying still lost to the players and couldn't defend against them.

And now, the first player to discover this hidden gameplay feature has appeared, proving that anything can happen among millions. This player took on a ghost-catching quest because the old man didn't want to die, stubbornly clinging to life even as his corpse rotted. The player was indifferent, more curious about what would happen if he didn't capture the old man. So, they lived their lives naturally, and this was the first time the player had so seriously observed someone's life, even though this person was a simulation created by an AI. The story within was meticulously crafted by the designers of Qingfengyi, incredibly vibrant and realistic. Each story could be a book in itself, but in Qingfengyi, it's just the life of an insignificant NPC.

If he knew, he would understand that these stories were written throughout five thousand years of Chinese history, including tales of the strange, fantasy, immortals, monsters, biographies, and so on—the list is endless. There are also hundreds, even thousands, of fables. Although Lin Shuying doesn't remember them all, the interstellar AI can extract what she remembers.

Even if it's not detailed enough, a few minor modifications will suffice.

The old man's body gradually developed lividity, and his limbs became uncoordinated. Many other NPCs, upon seeing this, began to attack him, calling him a monster. Eventually, his family, fearing him, wanted to burn him alive, just like the other villagers, believing he was already dead, his body simply possessed by a monster.

The moment the fire was lit, the old man shouted, "Take me away! I don't want to suffer like this."

The player instinctively asked, "What benefits will I get for helping you?"

As he observed, he almost forgot his mission. It was truly remarkable that his ghostly form allowed him to become invisible, and from that perspective, everything in the world seemed different—mysterious and fascinating.

The old man said, "I'll do you a favor in my next life."

After setting up the hidden gameplay, Lin Shuying will definitely provide some clues. Whenever players ask for benefits, she'll give this kind of answer. If you really investigate the NPC's promises, you can discover the gameplay below. The one-life cultivation is relatively easy to discover; the difficult part is cultivating across multiple lifetimes. You also need to give him the Soul Flower, and after his reincarnation, you have to find him again, making everything quite challenging.

However, the reward after achieving the goal is quite good, very good.

Ten thousand gold ingots!

Putting aside the money, the materials are also incredibly valuable. Many players, when they're just one or two materials short of crafting something, immediately accept this kind of quest, and the materials are theirs.

From this perspective, it's entirely a benefit that Qingfengyi is giving to the players.

This player isn't interested in money or materials; they're only interested in the story and the scenery of this world. Taking on quests is just a way to relax; otherwise, they wouldn't have been watching a single quest for two or three days straight.

The old man received his spider lily, but didn't ask for payment. He simply watched the old man's next life unfold, wondering if Qingfengyi had planned an identical afterlife. Many games do this to avoid hassle; who would be so bored as to calculate how long and how many actions an NPC would take before repeating themselves? Let alone a lifetime. Many life simulators have numerous identical lives; a hundred playthroughs without repetition would be considered a masterpiece.

To the player's surprise, the old man was reincarnated as a girl, married into a moderately wealthy family, and had two sons and a daughter. The sons were very successful, working as peddlers in the martial arts world of China and earning some money. After the old man died, he was given a grand funeral, and his grave was one of the finest tombstones in the village.

The player quickly accepted the quest to guide the old woman's soul to the underworld. This time, he didn't look for treasure chests or collect any spider lilies. However, upon arriving at the edge of the underworld, seeing so many players gifting spider lilies to the souls they were guiding, he felt it was incomplete not to give some. It wasn't about conscience or anything; it was simply the mentality that if others had them, he should have some too. So, he spent money to buy some spider lilies for the old woman—just a few.

The price of spider lilies is getting higher and higher, and everyone's giving them as gifts, which is strange. It's like how many games on Earth have beggar characters who serve no purpose, just begging on the street to create atmosphere. But many players still give them money...

Then the price of the spider lily prop skyrocketed, rising from two taels of silver to a gold ingot.

In the third life, this player tracked him down again.

In this life, his family background is even better; he is the youngest son of a shopkeeper and is showered with affection.

The player didn't have time to keep an eye on things; he needed to open treasure chests. He decided to take this young master with him to find treasure chests and adventure together, so he could keep an eye on things while also searching for the Other Shore Flower.

Yes, he decided that he would still be the one to give this young master his next life.

I initially thought this approach wouldn't work, but it actually did. Of course, we failed several times along the way.

The first time I went directly to that young master to express my thoughts, I was beaten up by a group of his guards. I was afraid something might happen and the player would actually just stand there and take the beating...

This is truly unbelievable for a combat player.

The second time, the player pretended to be a wealthy young man again, trying to become friends, but failed again. This was because the young man had an older brother who suspected the player of being a bad person for deliberately approaching him.

Yes, this young master is so lucky that he has a brother who dotes on his younger brother.

The player got beaten up again...

Holding his own waist with a broad smile, he exclaimed, "Interesting, so very interesting!"

Surprisingly, it wasn't a repetitive life or story, but a different family and story development, each step of which he found novel and interesting.

After several more attempts, he finally managed to abduct the person by posing as a martial arts expert.

Thanks to the player's superior martial arts skills, the young master's elders believed him. After teaching him for a while, they said they would take him to a trial, and the young master's family agreed, even giving him one hundred gold ingots as travel expenses. However, the player refused to accept them, feeling too embarrassed to admit to such deception.

Several more lifetimes passed until the third fireworks show arrived.

Fearing it would disrupt the event, the player ended the tracking, only to discover that the person had become a millionaire. The player checked on him before the fireworks show started, was spotted, and the millionaire asked if he wanted anything.

The player said no, and the rich man said that he felt he had a connection with him and felt he needed to thank him, so he gave him 10,000 gold ingots.

The player was shocked after receiving the money; was it possible to be forced to give money?

Only then did he belatedly realize that in previous lives, this soul seemed to have asked him what reward he wanted, but he had always refused. However, this time, without even refusing, the system directly granted him 10,000 gold ingots, along with a title: Nine-Life Virtuous Person (This unique title is awarded to the first player to trigger the Nine-Life Gift of the Other Shore Flower, reaching the auspicious number of three nines, without requesting reward. Title effect: NPC favorability is always above 50% without deliberate influence, and hostility is reduced by 50%.)