The Sentry’s Nap and a Peculiar Aggro

Lin Shenyue and Shen Feng followed Ye Jue to the spot where they had previously discovered the sentry.

They found that the sentry on the tree was no longer there.

“Did he move?” Ye Jue’s gaze sharpened.

He swept his eyes across the other areas, yet found no trace of the sentry.

Noticing Ye Jue’s sudden halt, Lin Shenyue inquired, her voice tinged with curiosity.

“What’s wrong?”

Ye Jue continued his vigilant scan of their surroundings.

“The sentry from last time is gone,” he explained. “We have to find him, or his signal could draw a large number of enemies.”

Lin Shenyue surveyed the environment, her mind quickly calculating.

“There are three optimal surveillance points in this area,” she concluded. “First, on this tree, which is likely where you found him before. Second, within that thicket of bushes, though if he were there, he would have surely spotted us by now. The last spot is behind that large rock. From there, he wouldn’t be able to see us, but if we advance any further, we’d be in danger.”

Ye Jue glanced at the locations Lin Shenyue indicated, assessing them based on his own extensive experience.

He had no choice but to admit that Lin Shenyue’s analysis was correct. “Yue’er is right,” he affirmed. “The sentry has most likely moved to that spot. We’ll have to go around.”

What surprised him was his own reliance on experience for such judgments. If Lin Shenyue could deduce the advantages and disadvantages of the terrain purely through calculation, it truly gave him a new appreciation for her analytical prowess.

Lin Shenyue and Shen Feng both nodded, then quietly followed Ye Jue as they circled around.

The trio moved stealthily, managing to avoid detection by the sentry. In fact, the sentry was currently slacking off behind the very same rock.

Having faced no intruders for an extended period, the sentry had grown complacent and was now dozing off behind the stone.

Ye Jue, having carefully circled around, stared at the sleeping sentry with a speechless expression.

He had anticipated finding the sentry there, but he never imagined the sentry would be napping. All their careful maneuvering had been for naught.

In the game, sentries have a specific mechanic: they can trigger an alarm when out of combat. However, once engaged in battle, they are unable to send out an alert. This design was implemented because one-hit kills are not possible in the game, and without this rule, sentries would always successfully raise an alarm.

Ye Jue gestured to Shen Feng. Though Shen Feng was unaware of the sentry’s specific mechanic, it didn’t stop him from following Ye Jue’s command.

He launched a three-hit combo, instantly depleting nearly 350 health from the sentry.

Startled awake, the sentry roared, “Who’s there?” He glared at Shen Feng, who was drawing his arrow, and his rage instantly erupted. “You damned crawling insect, I’ll make you pay!”

Ye Jue was exasperated. Shen Feng had somehow triggered the monster’s special aggro mode. In this mode, the monster’s aggro locks onto a single person, typically triggered by disturbing its sleep or interrupting its breeding. Even then, the chances of it occurring were usually quite low.

“Shen Feng, stop attacking!” he shouted. “Pull the monster back and run! Its aggro is locked onto you!”

Shen Feng jumped in surprise upon hearing this. As he ran, he retorted, “All I did was disturb your sleep! Do you really need to chase me as if I killed your whole family?”

The monster, of course, offered no reply, chasing him relentlessly backward.

With their shorter legs, Lin Shenyue and Ye Jue struggled to keep up. Soon, the distance between them grew, and eventually, the two disappeared from their sight.

Lin Shenyue and Ye Jue exchanged a silent, awkward glance. The monster was faster than them, meaning Shen Feng had to run quickly to avoid its attacks. This led him further and further away until both he and the monster vanished from their view.

However, seeing that Shen Feng still had the leisure to turn back and land a couple of attacks, it seemed he could eventually wear down the monster, even if it took time.

Indeed, after five minutes, Shen Feng returned, having successfully worn down and killed the monster. He looked at the two bored individuals, a smile playing on his lips. “It seems I didn’t need you two to handle this sentry after all.”

Ye Jue looked at him, speechless. “Did that sentry not use any ranged attacks on you?”

Shen Feng paused, then asked, “That monster has ranged attacks?”

“He’s a sentry,” Ye Jue replied, exasperated. “How could he not have ranged attack capabilities?”

Shen Feng looked stunned. “But he didn’t use any ranged attacks! Could he have been so enraged by me that he forgot?”

Lin Shenyue’s mouth twitched upon hearing this. “How is that possible? He’s a monster!”

Ye Jue’s expression grew somewhat peculiar. “It’s actually true, as Shen Feng said. Monsters have extremely high AI, and there’s a certain probability that their actions can be influenced by such emotions.”

Lin Shenyue’s expression stiffened, and she offered an awkward laugh, muttering to herself, ‘Who on earth came up with such a mischievous idea for the game?’

****

Within the Divine Realm Company, a certain “mischievous” designer suddenly sneezed. ‘I’ve been sneezing a lot lately,’ he thought. ‘Has someone in the game been thinking about my designs? Hehehe…’

****

Ye Jue observed the embarrassed Lin Shenyue. In that moment, she possessed a unique charm, yet her figure remained that of a young girl. Thus, even though Ye Jue had already set his sights on Lin Shenyue, he had not yet made a move.

It was fortunate he hadn’t, for if Lin Shenyue had discovered his intentions, she would only have distanced herself, rather than entertaining any other possibilities.

Shen Feng, seeing Ye Jue staring blankly and Lin Shenyue caught in an awkward moment, twitched his lips.

He broke the silence. “Where to next?”

His interruption jolted Ye Jue back to reality. He quickly adopted a serious demeanor. “This should be the only sentry in this area. The path ahead is relatively clear. Let’s first observe the situation before deciding on our next step.”

Shen Feng secretly pouted, but chose not to expose Ye Jue.

Lin Shenyue, having just escaped her embarrassment, hadn’t noticed what transpired. She simply followed Ye Jue in silence toward the magic array.

****

The trio cautiously approached the magic array, discovering that it was now largely complete. While this was Ye Jue’s assessment, Lin Shenyue and Shen Feng could also observe that the array’s lines were now perfectly formed.

Ye Jue pondered as he surveyed their surroundings. Although they could no longer interrupt the magic array’s operation, if they could create some minor disruptions, the rewards from the NPCs would likely be substantial. However, while such an action would benefit them individually, it would harm the interests of the entire city.

After all, if they damaged the magic array, fewer monsters would appear. That reduction would be attributed to them, and consequently, the number of points other players in the city could earn would decrease.

Ye Jue was well aware of this. He understood the game’s reward system thoroughly; the reward mechanics for each expansion pack were largely similar: the more you gained, the less others received.

Nevertheless, Ye Jue felt no shame. Firstly, no one would know about their actions, and secondly, he believed the rewards were earned through his own abilities, so there was no cause for guilt.