Isolated Island (2)

The Days I Clear Escape Games Pretending to be an NPCCh69 - Isolated Island (2)

Sure enough, it did not even take ten minutes. They rode fast and arrived at the fish market within seven minutes and the seafood in the bucket was still alive and kicking.

In contrast, Ren Yifei, who rode in the small cart, was pale and dizzy. CRJbIY

The fish market was small.

The 'fish market' was made up of the combination of numerous faded large umbrellas and pergolas.

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However, there were a lot of people; the fish sellers and buyers were all crammed together inside. Pergolas blowing in the wind and people walking around made the entire scene look chaotic.

Ren Yifei followed the middle-aged man in and brushed past a young capable-looking woman who was wearing a chef's hat. She carried a strong smell of seafood and various spices. 3xmKnX

Her temperament didn't match this kind of roadside fish market at all. He took another glance and silently noted it down.

"Get out of here! A big typhoon is coming, you all have to hurry. Get out of here, get out of here, you'll die—" suddenly, a crazy man ran by, losing his shoes along the way.

He was wearing a dirty white lab coat and was barefooted. He had such a terrifying expression that it was hard to tell if he was acting or not.

"He's here again," the people around were all accustomed to it and did not take him seriously.

AiqlZM

"Everything about this instance gives a strange out-of-sorts kind of feeling," Ren Yifei thought to himself as he continued walking towards the fish market. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a violin.

When he turned around, Ren Yifei found that someone was playing the violin off to the side, and next to that person was a hat with a few coins scatter inside. The violinist had his eyes closed as if he was in a trance.

"..." playing the violin in the fish market, what was this guy thinking?

"Hu——" there was another gust of strong wind. "Pa!" A leaflet flying in the wind hit Ren Yifei in the face, startling him. CvmtBe

Reaching up to pull the leaflet off of his face, he looked up to see more flying all over the sky. They resembled white butterflies gliding in the wind, and even a bit like flying paper money.

It was unknown where they came from, but they were being blown everywhere by the strong wind.

The passersby all cursed as they tore the leaflets off and threw them away.

"Who did this? Don't they have any morals? Why are they littering?" The cleaning lady ran after the leaflets that had scattered all over the ground. INtYm0

The wind suddenly stopped again and he opened the leaflet.

It was a leaflet for a certain manor. It stated that there will be lodging, food, entertainment, grass skiing and so on. On top of that, the price was low. On the other side, there was a map of the estate, including the map of the entire island and a map of the interior of the manor.

Ren Yifei folded it up and put it in his pocket.

The fish market was just around the corner. wyMmoQ

Just as he walked in, the rotten seafood smell wafted out and a row of dead fish eyes stared at him from the stall near the entrance.

"You wait here," the middle-aged man immediately found his usual buyer, who was pointing at the seafood in a bucket and bargaining with his customers. Ren Yifei found a small stool and sat down. He crossed his arms and stared aimlessly in a daze.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

But he was not really in a daze, he was simply observing his surroundings.

However, after a few minutes of observation, his gaze truly did begin to look blank. e6g2JX

He picked out the players mainly based on their 'acting', or lack thereof, which could be inferred from appearance, words and actions, and demeanour. However, the NPCs in this world...

Not to mention the middle-aged man who does not look like a fisherman but still go on about his fishing routine every time he opens his mouth, and him, an islander who wears an expensive watch but could not afford to pay his tuition fees. In conclusion, there was no such 'normality' to speak of in this market.

The customer, who was driving a battery-powered vehicle with a painted signboard that read 'XX rice noodles', should be the boss or the little boss of that food cart, however, there were a lot of grease stains between his fingers. 6NvOSY

Even if he did not look closely, he would still be able to know at a glance that those pair of hands had been in contact with grease for a long time.

Such hands would never appear in the catering industry, even if it was only to serve dishes. This was because as soon as customers see those hands, they would inevitably doubt the store's hygiene and cleanliness.

Then there was also the middle-aged woman with a basket, dressed in a floral pyjama dress and wearing plastic slippers.

She appears to be a typical housewife of an ordinary family, and yet, she had short distinctive granny-style grey hair which requires money to take care of each month. SDxrTl

In addition, she was buying things too casually without asking for the price.

It could be seen at a glance that the scene was filled with actors. Although Ren Yifei usually wants to deceive himself, looking at this felt insulting to his eyes that had been trained over the years.

Was it no longer a problem with the players or NPCs, but the world instead? Was it a bug?

"Pa!" An old lady fell in front of Ren Yifei. 0H 329

The ground was rough, made of cement and dry, and the old lady was half a meter away from him, no contact was made whatsoever: Oh, this is what they call touching porcelain.

"Aiya, someone tripped me ah," the old lady patted her legs and howled.

Ren Yifei did not respond.

"Do you have no sense of public decency? You even pushed an old lady like me!" The old lady looked at Ren Yifei. Vnlatp

"..." this old lady's personality was very in line with her actions, there was no sense of incongruity, he thought to himself.

"What are you doing?" The middle-aged man noticed the disturbance, threw down the bucket and came over. His shirt was soaked with sweat and his fat stomach was wobbling, "What are you doing on the ground?"

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Hiss, she didn't expect a family member to be there. The old lady's eyes rolled, looking as if she was on the verge of death.

With a bang, one of the pergola on the side was knocked down by the wind and startling everyone. Fortunately, the people below were fine. 2ToxYU

The wind was getting stronger.

"Don't pay attention to her, I've seen plenty of these kinds of greedy people before."

The middle-aged man's aura suddenly became fierce, not at all like a fisherman. However, he doesn't seem to realise it himself, instead, he dragged Ren Yifei to the other side.

"It's better to close shop early. Judging by today's weather, it's likely to start raining heavily soon," the fishmonger unskilfully packed up the seafood while expressing grief like an old fisherman. Xd1rwO

The middle-aged man had only sold half of the seafood in his bucket so he went and found a new buyer while Ren Yifei remained blankly standing in place.

He spotted the old lady he had encountered before, she was currently touching porcelain again. This time, it was with a young couple. The girl had a student-style bob cut, and the man next to her look like a corporate drone who had already entered society. Dressing in a suit, the man looked very out of place in the fish market.

He was too far and the wind was too noisy to discern what they were saying, so Ren Yifei narrowed his eyes to read their lips.

"...waste of time, find that person first..." BUVmXJ

"Rabbit..."

A bob cut player and a corporate drone player, Ren Yifei took note of these two.

Soon, the remaining half-bucket of seafood was also sold off. The middle-aged man called out to Ren Yifei and the two left together.

On the day of a typhoon, everyone was in a hurry to sell, quick to buy and swift on their feet. HvIXA8

He sat on the back of the tricycle again next to a half-empty bucket. There were small stone crabs, a few sea snails and a fish of unknown species. They were all worthless and unsellable.

Outside of the fish market was a flat concrete road. To the left was the coastline, and on the right were the houses and the mountain. The sea breeze blew against his face, and he saw the beach and houses on either side recede behind him. Pedestrians on the roadside were like small trees, he passed them too fast to make out their appearance.

The cool-tone sky and the distant sea blended into one grey hue.

It would've been nice if this was not a game but a place to relax instead. o70pBF

What a pity.

"Take these back to eat," the middle-aged man in front said with a smile, "Are you tired after coming out to catch seafood with uncle today? Oh right, the money in the plastic bag next to the bucket is your share of the money."

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He took a look at the money. A bucket of seafood had sold for more than 700 yuan, and each person gets a share of 350 yuan. However, these were still scrapped money.

The middle-aged man continued, "If we have the same harvest every day, then we can collect enough for the tuition fees within ten days." GPBXsd

He was really confused about the original owner's financial situation.

"Aren't there student loans?" When they get into university but don't have money, wouldn't the village be the first place to get help with this information? Even the school would offer work-study opportunities just to keep students from dropping out of school due to financial difficulties.

Or was this world's government not doing enough in this regard?

"Student loan?" The middle-aged man suddenly hit the brakes, causing Ren Yifei to almost roll out due to inertia. j2 PSi

The middle-aged man's expression changed from bewilderment to shock, "Student loans... why didn't I think of student loans?" He held his head, his face full of disbelief.

"Uncle, what's wrong with you?" Ren Yifei had a worried expression on his face, "Are you alright?"

"No, look at me, how could I forget about something as important as student loans?" The middle-aged man put down his hands and put his foot on the pedal again, appearing to have already adjusted.

Did he really forget? VP637D

Not necessarily.

"Uncle, you said that you've caught a lobster that was more than half a kilo before," Ren Yifei asked, "How much did that lobster weigh exactly?"

The man was stumped and froze, "Half a kilo... how much was half a kilo?"

If it was a past event worth bragging about, how could he not remember the exact weight of the lobster? Although 650 grams and 1050 grams are only a difference of 400 grams, the quality and price would be completely different. NC4s9J

If he was really a fisherman who cares about a few cents, how could he not remember these things?

"Uncle," he asked again, "How much did you get paid per kilo for the lobster? It must be a lot, right?"

His voice was calm and low, but it sounded like thunder to the man. His face was full of dismay. He repeatedly tried to carefully recall, but he end up with a blank expression, "I... I sold for a total of two hundred and sixty-five yuan, so how much per kilo...?

How much did the lobster weigh? How much was a kilogram? Wz8ICM

These two questions baffled the man so much that his expression became dazed.

"Why can't I remember?" The middle-aged man looked at him with slightly widened eyes. His expression was hard to describe, but it felt as though he had been greatly affected.

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"Is there something wrong?"

"No..." WaiHXC

After that, he stayed silent for the rest of the way. He dropped Ren Yifei in front of an old single-story residence by the sea and was ready to leave.

"Thank you, uncle."

"No, you're welcome. I had promised your parents that I would take care of you," he left on the tricycle and disappeared over the horizon.

Judging by his speed, it felt as though he was running away. uw9XqY

"..." Ren Yifei, who was left on the spot, smiled. In the bucket that he was carrying, the small fish flicked its tail and spat out a bunch of bubbles.

NPCs that did not match their personas, and NPCs with conflicting settings and memories— are they on a stage filled with random adaptations from inferior dramas, and actors with no acting skills?

It was not the fault of anyone, and it was not because of the players' intervention.

This world... 9saINe

Felt a little fake.

Finding a brass key in the pocket of his trouser, Ren Yifei looked at the small courtyard.

There were only three small houses. The one on the right has a pile of wood under the eaves, and looking through the small opened wooden door, that house seems to store miscellaneous items. The one on the left has its door closed, but it has a chimney on top, so it was probably the kitchen.

The houses were all very dilapidated and seem to have been built at least twenty or thirty years ago. The windows and doors were entirely made of wood, but the wood used was not good, resulting in many signs of corrosion. J2R6gY

The largest house was the one in the middle, which appears to be a bit newer than the two on either side. The walls have also been repainted white, and glass windows, through which grey-blue curtains could be seen, were also installed.

However, the door was still made of wood. Above the door was a bare spherical lightbulb, and faded Spring Festival couplets and door gods were stuck on both sides of the door.

His eyes slowly scanned over the unfamiliar environment and settled on the middle house.

"Meow—" a little black cat came out of nowhere, jumped into the yard and cried at him mournfully. Ren Yifei felt amused and took out the small fish from the bucket and tossed it over to the cat. QFj li

"Mimi, come eat fish."

"Meow-ao," the small fish flicked its tail twice, causing all of the little black cat's fur to stand up. It took two steps back and cried out to him again before running away.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

"Not eating raw meat? Looks like it's not a stray cat," Ren Yifei looked at the fish that was still flicking its tail on the ground. He picked it up, threw it back into the bucket, and continued to walk towards the gate.

The house looked short and the door was also only half a head taller than him. Kldpf4

He inserted the key, turned it, opened the door and entered the house.

'Bang', the door closed.

Da-da da-da, wet footprints appeared where he had stood previously. It walked on the cement ground leading up to the door of the house.

The wet footprints on the cement ground quickly disappeared, but the footprint in front of the door remained for a long time. IU39bi