160: Chapter 160 Bizarre NPCs

Lu Chen stepped into the cramped shop called [Regent House]. The lighting inside was suggestive, and a strange, sweet, and cloying fragrance filled the air.

The black-robed figure who had waved to him earlier quickly closed the shop door and let out a long sigh of relief. She then pulled off her hood, revealing the rounded face of a middle-aged woman, but her skin was blue and her ears were pointed.

"The world is quite chaotic these days!"

She patted her chest and spoke extremely fast, her spittle nearly splashing onto Lu Chen's face. "So many eyes are staring at the starlight amulet in your hand! Many eyes are on this thing; it can be traded with the Lord of the Abyss! Fortunately, you had explosive luck and ran into me just as I woke up. Otherwise, you'd definitely have been swindled out of your pants by those fakes, and your mission would have failed directly!"

Lu Chen's gaze was like lightning as he attempted to use Insight, but he received a prompt saying it could not be used.

"Don't waste your energy!"

The blue-skinned woman waved her hand. "The Shadow District's non-combat zone has its own Insight-shielding rules. Even a Ninth-Order big shot couldn't see through what's real or fake. Don't worry, I'm the real deal, Kasa herself! Stop dawdling, hurry up, get in the room, and take off your clothes! I'm in a hurry!"

Lu Chen: "???"

Take off his clothes?

Are NPCs these days all this open and direct?

Before he could react, the woman claiming to be Kasa had already grabbed his arm without a word and pulled him into a special private room in the back that emitted a suggestive pink glow.

In the center of the room, there was even a large heart-shaped bed covered in black silk.

"Just put the starlight amulet on the table."

Kasa pointed to a nearby dressing table, then turned around and reached for Lu Chen's belt. "Time is tight, don't delay, just take off your pants!"

Holy crap!

Are you for real?!

Lu Chen's scalp tingled instantly. Seeing that blue hand about to touch a critical area, he didn't even think. Almost as an instinctive reaction, he knocked her out with a clean, decisive punch.

"Ugh..."

The woman's eyes rolled back, and her body went limp, collapsing onto the heart-shaped bed in an extremely twisted posture. She even unconsciously rubbed against it, letting out a satisfied mumble.

Lu Chen watched this bizarre scene, his mouth twitching, and he stumbled out of the Regent House.

"The NPCs in this Abyss Demon City... are truly too open!"

He cursed under his breath. If this weren't a non-combat zone protected by rules, he would have definitely leveled this crappy shop along with that bizarre NPC inside!

Lu Chen had just calmed his nerves and walked a few steps when another figure, dressed in simple grey robes, hurried out from a small wine shop nearby. The figure grabbed him and whispered, "Young adventurer! I am the real Kasa! That one just now was a fake! Quick, it's not safe here, come inside and talk!"

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and allowed the other person to pull him into the dimly lit, empty wine shop.

This "Kasa" appeared warm and attentive, quickly pouring a cup of golden liquid that emitted a rich malty aroma and pushing it in front of Lu Chen with a beaming smile. "Little brother, it's been a long journey, hasn't it? Come, have a cup of our Abyss specialty, 'Oblivion Ale,' to relieve your fatigue and warm your body. Then we'll hand over the quest!"

The aroma of the wine was fragrant and refreshing, seemingly without any abnormality.

However, Lu Chen's [Eye of the Ringed Heavens] passive effect had already been operating silently.

In his field of vision, hidden in the shadows of the wine shop's back room, were no fewer than ten hideous, drooling Abyss Invading Monster BOSSes lurking in dense formation.

Their eyes flickered with greedy and bloodthirsty light, staring fixedly at him... and the starlight amulet in his arms.

The "Kasa" before him, although disguised extremely well, even simulated a trace of the rule fluctuations unique to quest NPCs.

Lu Chen sneered inwardly, but his face remained expressionless. Pretending to be attracted by the wine's aroma, he picked up the cup and drained it in one gulp.

"Hahahahaha!"

Seeing this, the "Kasa" before him instantly tore off the disguise, letting out a sharp, piercing laugh. Its body twisted and changed, revealing the true form of a Succubus—purplish-red skin, long curved horns on its head, and a heart-shaped tail swishing behind it.

"I thought you were some powerful character to be regarded highly by that octopus-head, The Ferryman, but it turns out you're just a greenhorn! My 'God-Drunk Brew' can even knock out a Seventh-Order World Lord BOSS! The starlight amulet is mine! Hahaha, with it, I can make any wish to the Great Lord of the Abyss!"

Carried away by its success, it reached out to grab Lu Chen's chest.

The Invading Monster BOSSes behind it also let out excited low growls, itching to move, yet they didn't dare to actually step forward and snatch it—the rules dictated that if they took the initiative to attack and rob him, they would immediately draw the Thunder of Rules and be annihilated in body and soul.

Just as the Succubus's fingers were about to touch Lu Chen's clothes, Lu Chen suddenly spoke, his tone carrying undisguised mockery: "I thought Abyss Invading Monsters would have some sophisticated trickery, but is this it?"

The Succubus's movements froze abruptly, and the wild laughter on its face instantly solidified.

"What?! You didn't drink it?!"

The Succubus and the Invading Monster BOSSes in the shadows cried out in shock simultaneously, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"Go home and practice your acting more before you try to scam someone!"

Lu Chen scoffed, not bothering to pay any more attention to these rule-bound, exasperated, yet helpless monsters. He turned and strode out of the wine shop.

Next,

Lu Chen encountered four or five more NPCs in succession who claimed to be "Kasa."

There was a tentacle monster who claimed a sacred ritual was needed to hand over the quest; an old hag who wanted to use the starlight amulet as a medicinal catalyst to "improve his constitution"; and even a golem who set up a complex chess game, saying that winning was the only way to prove he was the real Kasa...

The scams were varied, each more ridiculous than the last.

But with the powerful passive of the [Eye of the Ringed Heavens], Lu Chen could always see through the disguises and perceive the true forms of the monsters or ill-intentioned NPCs hidden behind them.

After a full circle of trouble, he stood on a street corner, his brow furrowed.

"All the fakes have been eliminated... Wait!"

Lu Chen was suddenly stunned. The image of that first blue-skinned woman, frantic and even a bit perverted, flashed through his mind. "That woman... I didn't seem to find any traces of a disguise at the time?"

Aside from her behavior being outrageously bizarre, her aura and rule fluctuations seemed... normal?

"No way... could the first one have been the real one?"

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.

He immediately turned around and hurried back to that [Regent House] emitting the suggestive pink light.

The shop door wasn't locked, so he pushed it open and entered.

Inside the private room, the blue-skinned woman had already woken up. Seeing Lu Chen return, she said in a resentful tone, "You hit me so hard it hurt."

Lu Chen: "..."

The corners of his mouth twitched violently, and black lines seemed to fall across his forehead.

Lu Chen suppressed the urge to punch her again and activated the Eye of the Ringed Heavens to scrutinize her carefully. Still, there were no flaws.

She!

Might really be the quest guide NPC—Kasa!

Seeing Lu Chen's expression shifting, Kasa quickly explained, "When I told you to take off your clothes just now, I was really in a hurry! I don't have that kind of fetish! I wanted you to quickly put on my specially made 'Mimic Venom Spider Leather Suit.' Only by wearing that can you safely enter the next quest location—the City Sewer Hub. The entrance there only opens during the daily 'Hour of the Dark Tide,' and it only stays open for ten minutes each time!"

She pointed to a strange hourglass on the wall that was slowly dripping black sand. "Look, the last of the sand just finished; the 'Hour of the Dark Tide' has already passed. Now... the next opening won't be for another three days."

Gah?!

Lu Chen was completely dumbfounded.

Just because of his instinctive punch, the quest was going to be delayed for a full three days?!

Kasa rubbed her hands together, a mercenary smile appearing on her face. "Well... you can temporarily stay in my little shop. As for the room fee, I'll charge you 10,000 gold coins a day—fair price for everyone! Of course, if you're short on cash and don't have enough gold... you can also compensate me in other ways."

"..."

Lu Chen suppressed his impulsive emotions, took out that starlight amulet directly, and placed it on the table. "Handing over the quest!"

[Ding! Second Phase Quest: Secret Letter of the Shadow District (Completed)!]

[Obtained Reward: Gold Coins +100,000, [Kasa's Antidote Potion] X1 (Key item for later).]

Kasa put away the amulet, her expression becoming slightly more serious, and a stream of information subsequently entered Lu Chen's mind.

[Third Phase Quest Released!]

[Quest Name: venom heart]

[Quest Objective: During the 'Hour of the Dark Tide' in 3 days, head to the City Sewer Hub, slay the giant mutant venom spider 'Shakti,' and obtain the quest item 'venom heart.']

[Quest Difficulty: The Sewer Hub terrain is extremely complex, like a labyrinth, and can only be entered during the 'Hour of the Dark Tide.' The spider nest is covered in incredibly tough webs and a massive number of small venom spiders. Shakti's toxic attacks can significantly reduce all attributes and carry a continuous life-drain effect.]

[Quest Reward: 'venom heart,' unlocks the Fourth Phase Quest.]

Looking at the quest prompts, especially that "in 3 days," Lu Chen took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.