Seeing Nuobai looking at him with astonished eyes, Su Mo calmly said, "I know you have a lot of questions, but I don't have time to answer them all now."
"The sooner we set out, the better our chances. So give me your answer immediately—do you want to be slaughtered within the encirclement, or trust me this once and take a different path with me?"
This plan cannot be completed by Su Mo alone; Nuobai's assistance is necessary.
Therefore, it is essential to make her steadfastly determined.
Everything done before, leaving bloodstains to attract rescue, deliberately resisting to cause a full-scale siege, was all to cut off all of Nuobai's retreats and force her to make this decision.
Only when one is in a deadly situation can they find life in desperation!
Su Mo's gaze was intense, waiting for her reply.
For Nuobai, this might be the most difficult decision of her life.
Once she takes this step, it means all previous efforts are in vain, and she must place her hopes on someone she only met a few days ago.
In the past, she would never have taken such risks; she wouldn't even have considered it.
But now...
Nuobai gritted her teeth tightly.
Gradually, her psychological defenses were being dismantled.
Her fingers pressed heavily on the nine keys, aiming the screen at Su Mo:
[Promise me!]
[Promise there is what I need there!]
Looking at Nuobai, driven to a dead end by his own actions, Su Mo couldn't help but feel somewhat melancholy, and thoughts of her past surfaced in his mind.
"Dawn Realm" is a science fiction-themed game, this world has advanced technology but human life is extremely poor. There is a stark contrast between the powerful corporate giants symbolizing authority and the helpless lower-class people, where class stagnation, wealth disparity, and suppression of human nature are seen everywhere.
In the original storyline, Nuobai was one of Su Mo's favorite and most regrettable NPCs.
She was born in a chaotic lower-class city district, growing up on the streets filled with pollution, disease, poverty, and hunger, everywhere inhabited by criminals and persecuted outcasts, where human life was no different from rats.
Generally, a lonely girl like her could suddenly die at any time, either from starvation or disease or be captured and killed by organ trafficking gangs.
Even if she struggled to survive, her best chances were scavenging, street-walking, or if lucky, entering a factory job working 16 hours a day, year-round without rest, earning a meager salary, eating inferior synthetic foods, living like a zombie.
Nuobai was considered lucky among those children.
At thirteen, she accidentally picked up a Blood Code Injector left behind by a violent faction during a local conflict, gaining powerful Blood Code Abilities through it.
Later, she became a mercenary as a Blood Code Carrier, accepting assignments everywhere, earning quite a bit over the years.
But, every piece of luck is often secretly marked with a price by fate.
Just as Nuobai's life began to improve, Blood Code Dissociation Syndrome found her.
Due to her repeated opposition to Hegemony Company during her mercenary career, she couldn't possibly seek refuge in the company, ultimately left to make a deal with an intermediary named "Elder Tang".
Elder Tang wanted Nuobai to help him complete a series of assignments and promised that as long as nothing went wrong, he would use his connections to find her a Genetic Codec Protein to cure her illness.
This was also the beginning of Nuobai's tragedy.
To obtain life-saving medicine, she had to carry out various high-difficulty assignments, during which she inevitably used the Blood Code Abilities intensively.
The more frequently she used Blood Code Abilities, the more severe her Blood Code Dissociation Syndrome became, heightening her need for life-saving medicine.
This vicious cycle turned into a deadly spiral, entangling her deeply, unable to escape, forcing her to drag her deteriorating body while racing against time.
Originally, if Nuobai received the Genetic Codec Protein as promised, retreating after curing her disease would not have been a bad ending.
But in Elder Tang's mandated assignments, Nuobai offended too many factions, especially those monopolizing top-tier resources and elites.
In weighing the choices, Elder Tang violated intermediary rules and, after draining all of Nuobai's value, outright betrayed her.
In the original storyline, when the "player's" mercenary rating reached a certain level, a related side quest would be triggered.
Elder Tang would contact the player, issuing a hunt assignment, claiming an unreliable mercenary partner harmed the employer and was a disgrace to the mercenary industry, asking the player to eliminate this target.
The hunting target of the assignment was Nuobai.
In the game's storyline, there was little pre-established plot for this side quest, and it was difficult to learn about Nuobai's story during the first playthrough. Coupled with Elder Tang's reputation within the mercenaries and generous task rewards, players would often choose to execute the hunt.
Only after completing the task, players find the key on Nuobai's body and loot her house can they uncover the real Nuobai from her diary.
Nuobai is not the disreputable scoundrel Elder Tang described; she was New Moon City's youngest Legendary Mercenary, with an eight-year career and 100% assignment completion rate, always conscientious, never failing any employer or intermediary.
The famous Silent Death God secretly loved sweets, because once she almost starved to death as a child, a few candies from a passerby saved her life, every candy bringing a sense of being alive.
She also adopted many stray cats at home, five or six in total, one named "Fanfan" to commemorate a childhood friend who's passed, with whom she shared the darkest and loneliest times.
In her mercenary years, she earned substantial money from assignments, unable to purchase Genetic Codec Protein, and unable to use it all herself, she would donate to charities helping children from similar humble origins.
Her diary also fantasized about working at a neighborhood store post-retirement after her illness was cured, acting as a clerk for an elderly shopkeeper who lost her daughter years ago, seeking company in lonely twilight years.
Nuobai's diary is filled with her life, between the lines showing passion for existence
Yet such a person striving to live was ultimately betrayed by despicable Elder Tang, dying at the hands of an ignorant player.
Nuobai's side quest is a dark reflection of the entire Dawn Realm, exposing players to a brutal reality—that in this wretched world, "living like a person" is a luxury for the underclass.
When gaming in the past, except for that confused first playthrough hunting Nuobai, Su Mo would never touch this hunt mission in subsequent runs, even at the cost of missing many rewards.
Now, he has crossed over, the game has become reality.
Nuobai, once existing as an NPC, stands before him as a real person.
The Ancient Era Ruins he seeks, do they contain artifacts capable of suppressing the Ancestral Blood Code?
Yes, definitely yes, as verified by the plot.
So, is there Genetic Codec Protein inside that Nuobai needs?
He doesn't know...
After all, a game is just a game; no matter how realistic, not every object can interact; some places are inaccessible, and some boxes won't open.
Within rooms unexplorable by players, there might be Genetic Codec Protein that can save Nuobai's life.
Or perhaps nothing is there at all—hope never existed from the start.
He cannot guarantee.
Seeing Nuobai's trembling hands and the four words on the screen [Promise me], Su Mo's mood became increasingly heavy, yet he hesitated not.
If this were gaming, he would never deceive Nuobai, instead trying every possible method to save her.
Calling respecting NPCs in games silly.
Calling infatuation with virtual characters foolish.
Playing games for joy, he's willing, he acts as he pleases.
After all, it's a game; die, reload. Death a hundred, a thousand times don't matter.
But now, it's reality.
In reality, one only has one life.
He's willing to assist others when able.
However, the premise for all aid is that he remains alive.
Life only happens once.
Nothing is more important than survival.
Facing Nuobai's urgent gaze, his voice brimmed with unshakable strength: "Take me there. I promise you, there is what you need."