1: Chapter 1: Staying up all night to grind for divine beasts, transmigrated into an NPC waiting to be slaughtered.

[First of all, this is a pure power fantasy, a work of the author's own imagination. Please give a "triple-tap"... add... add... add to your bookshelf~]

Year 2145, 4:17 AM.

Lin Zhe's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the image projected from the gaming pod.

The third day since the launch of miracle.

The world's most popular immersive virtual online game.

Tens of billions of players online simultaneously.

And he had been grinding for three full days and nights.

Instant noodle cups were piled by the table, empty energy drink cans rolled across the floor, and the only sound in the room was the hum of the computer's cooling fan.

On the screen, an ancient tree that blotted out the sky stood at the end of a sea of clouds, with a dark green token suspended at its heart.

The trigger item for the server's only hidden Divine Beast quest!

The forums were in an uproar.

Some said it was fake.

Others said the trigger conditions didn't exist at all.

But Lin Zhe had glitched through terrain, relied on his hand speed, and consumed his last recovery potion to force his way ahead of everyone else to reach the ancient tree.

Just one last step.

"It's mine."

Lin Zhe's throat was dry, yet the corners of his mouth curled up.

He raised his right hand, reaching his fingertip toward the Ancient Tree Token.

He touched it.

The next second.

His heart suddenly constricted!

It felt as if a hand had violently seized his heart!

"Ugh—"

Lin Zhe's face turned deathly pale, his entire body jolted in the gaming chair, and the images before his eyes flickered wildly.

The ancient tree, the token, the system prompts, and the room's ceiling all twisted into a blur.

The last thing he heard was a sharp, static-like screech.

Boom!

Everything went black.

...

An unknown amount of time passed.

A cold wind blew.

Lin Zhe snapped his eyes open.

He instinctively tried to raise his hand to his chest, but found his palms were rough, covered in cracks, and his knuckles were stained with dried mud and dust.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Lin Zhe looked down, and his pupils instantly constricted.

He was no longer wearing the old T-shirt from reality.

Instead, he wore a coarse hemp robe covered in patches.

Beneath his feet was hardened yellow earth.

Before him was a crooked dirt path.

Not far away, a dilapidated village stood quietly with broken wooden fences; a wooden sign hung crookedly at the entrance.

Luofeng Village.

Lin Zhe's heart jolted.

This place... is the miracle beginner village!

And it was the dirt slope at the entrance of Luofeng Village, the place he was most familiar with when he first started the game!

"Didn't I die from overworking?"

"Did I... transmigrate into the game?"

Just as the thought occurred to him, a cold voice suddenly exploded in his mind.

[Identity Binding Successful]

[Current Identity: Luofeng Village Refugee NPC—Lin Zhe]

[Level: 1]

[Grade: Common]

[Rules Loading...]

[Warning: NPCs may not actively attack players]

[Warning: NPCs may not actively harm players]

[Warning: If an NPC initiates an attack on a player, the rule of erasure will be triggered]

[Current Permissions: None]

[Current Status: Lowest-level Refugee Unit]

A series of prompts slammed directly into Lin Zhe's brain.

His face darkened instantly.

A Refugee NPC?

And the lowest level at that?

In miracle, such things were just background scenery at the village entrance.

They had less presence than a stray dog.

If a player was happy, they might say a couple of words to you.

If a player was unhappy, they could kill you with a casual swing of their blade.

The most disgusting thing was that rule.

Cannot actively attack players.

Once you make a move, you're erased.

This isn't an NPC.

This is a damn sitting duck!

Lin Zhe tried to take a few steps, but suddenly realized something was wrong again.

His body felt very heavy.

Very stiff.

It was as if he were being held up by invisible strings.

Even the movement of clenching his fist carried a noticeable lag.

He was all too familiar with this feeling.

The basic action template of a low-level NPC!

"Fuck."

Lin Zhe cursed under his breath.

As a veteran player who had played miracle for three years, he knew better than anyone what this meant.

It meant that right now, he was a piece of meat at the very bottom of the server.

Anyone could come and take a bite.

And he couldn't even fight back.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from the other end of the dirt road.

"Hurry up, the rabbits at the village entrance were just cleared out. Let's go ahead and see if there are any other mobs."

"My beginner sword is almost chipped. I have to reach level 2 today."

"Eh? What's that standing over there?"

Three figures ran up from the bottom of the dirt slope.

They were all novice players who had just left the village.

They held basic iron swords, wore the white-grade hemp clothes provided by the system, and the IDs above their heads were blindingly bright.

The leader had dyed yellow hair and drooping eyes, his movements arrogant.

As soon as he saw Lin Zhe, his footsteps stopped and his eyes lit up.

"Holy crap, a lone humanoid mob?"

The thin, tall guy beside him leaned in to take a look: "Doesn't look like a player. No guild or class over his head. Probably a wild mob or a quest mob."

The other person grinned: "Dressed so poorly, his level must be low. He might die in one hit. Let's kill him first!"

Lin Zhe's heart sank.

He opened his mouth to say he was an NPC.

But before the words could come out, the yellow-haired guy had already rushed over with his iron sword raised.

"Stand still and let me test the experience points!"

Slash!

The iron sword swung down toward his face!

Lin Zhe instinctively tried to dodge.

But as soon as his body moved half an inch, a cold rule instantly locked his limbs.

[Warning: Refugee NPCs may not actively evade player attacks]

What?!

I can't even dodge!

The next second.

Puchi!

The cold blade bit deep into his left shoulder.

Intense pain exploded instantly!

It felt as if the entire bone had been split open!

Lin Zhe's body swayed, and he nearly collapsed.

The health bar before his eyes plummeted wildly.

10!

4!

1!

Only one point left!

Crimson warnings suddenly covered his entire field of vision.

[Near-Death State Triggered]

[Low health detected for current unit]

[Deletion Countdown: 3]

Bright red numbers jumped out like a death warrant.

3.

Lin Zhe's breath hitched.

Deletion?

Not death and respawn.

Direct deletion!

In other words, if he, this lowest-level Refugee NPC, died, he would truly be gone!

"Haha, he really is a trash mob. I almost one-shotted him!" Yellow Hair laughed, flicking the blood off his sword. "He doesn't even have skills."

The thin, tall guy was also amused: "Hurry up and finish him off before someone else steals the kill."

"Maybe he'll drop some copper coins!"

Lin Zhe stared fixedly at the three people in front of him, his eyes chillingly cold.

He wanted to raise his hand.

He wanted to strike back.

He wanted to violently crush these scumbags' heads.

But the rules pressed down hard on him, binding every inch of his flesh like iron chains.

Forget attacking.

He couldn't even take a single step forward.

This feeling of helplessness almost made his chest burst.

One second ago, he was competing for the server's only Divine Beast quest.

The next second, he had actually become a trash NPC in the beginner village that anyone could hack at!

The 3-second countdown continued.

2.

Yellow Hair licked his lips and stepped forward again with his iron sword.

"Does this thing have a quest attached? Let's just kill him first."

"Anyway, a low-level NPC's death doesn't matter."

As he spoke, he raised his sword and aimed it directly at Lin Zhe's neck.

The cold tip of the sword drew closer and closer to his throat.

Lin Zhe's shoulder was bleeding and his breathing was heavy, but his gaze grew colder and colder.

If he really died today at the hands of such trash...

That would be the ultimate humiliation.

The wind on the dirt slope blew past, kicking up yellow dust.

The entrance to Luofeng Village remained quiet.

No one would care about the life or death of a Refugee NPC.

1.

The crimson numbers flickered wildly in his vision.

Yellow Hair grinned maliciously and swung his second blow.

"Drop something for me!"

The blade tore through the air.

Heading straight for Lin Zhe's throat!