In his previous life, Zhou Ning joined the game relatively late, perfectly missing the first version when the Curse God Cult was at its most powerful, yet this didn't stop him from hearing about the cult's notorious reputation.
Spreading plagues, causing chaos with sacrifices everywhere—that was just a part of it!
The leader of the Curse God Cult seemed particularly keen on destroying the world and annihilating humanity. To achieve this, he had successively colluded with the Death Cult, the Plague Cult, the Goddess of War, and various ancient gods.
The speed at which he changed allegiances left even Lü Bu trailing behind, earning him the title of the 'Three-Surnamed Slave' of another world.
Even after repeated failures, he always rose again, never forgetting his lofty ideal of world destruction.
Eventually, even players were moved by them.
They had never seen such an inspiring villain.
However, the transmigrator Zhou Ning expressed indifference, saying, 'That's because they haven't met Baldy Qiang and Grey Wolf, right? When it comes to inspiration, those two brothers are the most formidable.'
Zhou Ning rummaged through the bodies of several Curse God Cult followers, finding nearly 7 viktas and 50 currencys. Besides that, there were only some addictive drugs and a few Weather forecast sticks.
Weather forecast sticks are used to predict the Weather, though they are sometimes not very accurate.
According to the laws of the Blystone Kingdom, all hotels, including dormitories, must provide guests with one free Weather forecast stick daily. Its usage is similar to a pregnancy test: scratch it, and if a red line appears within 10 minutes, it indicates sunny Weather for the upcoming period. Two red lines mean rain. One red line and one light red line indicate cloudy or special Weather.
These poor guys!
Zhou Ning pocketed the money and Weather forecast sticks he had pilfered from the Curse God Cult followers. He then opened his game panel.
Killing Marien and the Curse God Cult followers brought him a total of 9500 experience points. Coupled with the 500 points he already had, his experience officially surpassed the 10,000-point mark.
This was considered a huge sum in the early stages of the game.
In the game 'Apocalypse,' experience points can be used to level up both professional classes and regular skills. Life skills like Alchemy and Enchanting can only be leveled up by accumulating proficiency.
Zhou Ning's current profession was Student, and his sub-profession was Linguist, neither of which was combat-oriented. Therefore, there was no immediate need to spend experience points on professional level-ups. Experience points in 'Apocalypse' were comparable to money in real life—no matter how much you had, it was never enough. In his previous life, Zhou Ning had seen many examples of people who were extravagant in normal times but found themselves completely lacking experience points when it mattered most.
Therefore, after some deliberation, Zhou Ning only spent 5000 experience points to upgrade his Basic Shooting Mastery to Advanced, finally boosting his combat power somewhat. It would also be useful later when fusing skills.
The panel changed again.
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Strowell
Race: Human
Template: NPC [Closed Beta Countdown: 47 days, 23 hours, 58 minutes]
Level: 2
Profession: Student / Teaching Assistant [1/10]
Sub-profession: Linguist [2/10]
Natural Force Affinity: 0
Arcane Affinity: 0
Talent: Hidden
Personal Attributes: Strength 7, Agility 10, Stamina 8, Will 9, Spirit 9, Charisma 98
Health: 46 / 80
Stamina: 36 / 96
Willpower: 7 / 9
Mana: 0
Life Skills: Basic Alchemy
Normal Skills: Professional English Mastery, Intermediate Pickpocketing, Advanced Shooting Mastery
Others temporarily omitted.
"Brother, can you please untie me?" Little Fatty Alan said weakly.
Although he hadn't helped at all throughout the entire process, it didn't stop Alan from watching the whole thing unfold from his prone position, and he was filled with admiration for the person in front of him.
While this admiration had waned slightly as he was tied up like a pig for slaughter and left hanging for a full five minutes, as Zhou Ning untied the ropes binding him, Little Fatty Alan still gripped Zhou Ning's hand, tears welling up in his eyes, "You're a good person!"
"While I understand your feelings, I don't accept physical forms of repayment, especially from men."
Zhou Ning winked at Alan, joking in a lighthearted tone.
"I wasn't planning on repaying you physically either." Alan recoiled his hand as if he'd been shocked, immediately realizing that the other person was trying to use humor to lighten his mood, and he felt a bit grateful.
Before Zhou Ning could speak, Alan quickly added, "I will definitely repay you well, I promise! You will also gain the friendship of the Vester Family, especially my personal friendship!"
[You have unlocked a new faction reputation!]
[The Vester Family's favor towards you has increased by 1500 points!]
[Vester Family: Friendly (1500 / 3000)]
"It's alright."
Zhou Ning smiled and didn't dwell on the so-called repayment. Even without repayment, gaining the Vester Family's reputation was already well worth it. As a transmigrator, he had ten thousand ways to earn money, but opportunities to unlock new faction reputations were rare and hard to come by.
In the game 'Apocalypse,' the concepts of monarchy, divine power, and family were emphasized most strongly.
Divine power reigned supreme, monarchical power was dominant, but the emergence of extraordinary powers like Clan Training made the concept of family incredibly important. Through continuous development, nobles possessing Clan Training also grew increasingly powerful, with their influence extending throughout the military, government, industry, and commerce of their respective nations.
For players, maintaining good relations with such factions could lead to purchasing rare items and skills, and there was even a tiny possibility of becoming a member of a Clan Training noble family through them.
Take the Vester Family, for example. This family controlled the Alchemy Association. Being on good terms with them was equivalent to finding a backer in the Alchemy Association, which would greatly benefit his own development.
Ever since Zhou Ning made that perfectly timed joke, the atmosphere between the two had become much more harmonious. However, the D-rank quest [Vester Family's Gratitude] he had received earlier still hadn't been completed, likely requiring him to escort Alan out of Jason Nats Haunted House.
So, he decided to see his good deed through, taking Alan back to the previous cell where two other survivors were still cowering. When they saw Zhou Ning and Alan, both nearly cried tears of gratitude.
After some conversation, by the time the four reached the entrance of Jason Nats Haunted House, they had a rough understanding of each other's identities. Besides Zhou Ning and Alan, one was named Richard Pesa, whose family ran a sizable herbal shop. The other was named Luke, whose father was a tax official in Daklan City.
Zhou Ning pushed open the large door. It was nearly midnight, and a chilling cold made him involuntarily pull in his neck. Was this the world in the game?
Just like the terrain in the game, Jason Nats Haunted House was located in the dock district, near a tavern called 'The Cow and Clover.' Zhou Ning had previously set a save point there in the game. Not far from the exit was a long street.
One end of the street was an area frequented by prostitutes, and at this hour, a few were still soliciting customers emerging from the bars.
As the four walked across the street, preparing to head to the nearest police station, a luxurious carriage pulled up in front of them.