Chapter 828: Chapter 792: Rise Again, People’s Goor!
The truck tires screeched unpleasantly on the uneven ground.
Gu Mian saw several trucks enter the street, but only one was heading towards them.
The vehicle screeched to a halt not far from his number 98 house.
Mr. Green awoke from his sleep with a start at the sound of the screeching brakes, jumping up from the bed with his first instinct being to check if Gu Mian was still there. Seeing Gu Mian still inside, he then investigated the source of the noise that woke him.
"What happened?" He jumped off the bed and joined Gu Mian at the doorway, peering outside side by side.
But the threshold of this earthen house was a bit high, even surpassing Mr. Green’s height.
He had to take a few steps forward to reach the threshold, grabbing on with both hands, and tiptoeing to look outside with difficulty.
Finally, he saw the large truck parked nearby.
At this point, a glowing white man stepped out of the cabin, an Upper Class Person, displaying the exclusive noble skin of the Upper Class People.
The man held a stack of something in his hand, impatiently yelling at the surrounding timidly gathered lower-class people: "Get on the truck! Everyone wanting to show off their skills on the reality show, step up!"
As he spoke, he waved the air in front of his nose with his other hand, as if trying to swat away some stench.
"It’s that reality show!" Mr. Green exclaimed, "That reality show’s here to scout candidates."
Saying this, he climbed up hand over foot, attempting to scale the tall threshold in front of him.
Gu Mian watched Mr. Green scrambling to climb: "Are you that eager to join that reality show?"
"What nonsense!" Mr. Green retorted amidst his climbing, "He’s an Upper Class Person, seeing me face-to-face he’d definitely recognize I’m an Advanced NPC, I’m completely different from the lower-class people here, he’d surely distinguish me immediately face-to-face!"
But most Upper Class People are unaware of the existence of NPCs here.
Gu Mian didn’t dampen Mr. Green’s spirits; instead, he reached out a hand to support him, enabling the little man to successfully climb over the threshold. Mr. Green genuinely, touched, glanced back at Gu Mian emotionally, then trotted over to the large truck.
Gu Mian believed his hopeful aspirations were destined to fall through.
He also climbed over the threshold and followed along.
By now, a long line of lower-class people had queued up behind the truck cargo compartment, their expressions joyful, their anticipated looks akin to queuing for a marriage certificate.
Of course, there were those unhappy.
Not everyone could board that broken truck; Gu Mian estimated the vehicle could only hold dozens, yet already more than a hundred were lined up.
Now it was a matter of luck.
Those who didn’t appeal to the white glow man’s eye were screened out, the screened lower-class people departed gloomily, not daring to utter a word on their own behalf.
While those selected beamed with pride, they often glanced back at the remaining queuing crowd, as if to say "Look, I got chosen."
Then, they received something from the Upper Class man, puffed their chests, and walked into the truck’s compartment.
"Number 1115."
"Number 1116, step up."
The man handed out slips to the lower-class people passing through while calling out numbers.
Gu Mian guessed they were probably number tags or something similar; the Upper Class People had no interest in knowing names, so addressing them by numbers would be preferable.
At this point, Mr. Green was already waving his hand and rushing forward: "Hi! Hi!"
Without queuing, he dashed to the front of the compartment, immediately drawing the discontent of the lower-class people in line, who protested and fidgeted, wanting to grab Mr. Green and throw him to the end of the line.
Yet, the Upper Class man holding number tags gave Mr. Green a meaningful look: "It’s you, I know you."
This halted the lower-class people’s movements; their protests waned, eyes widening as they watched the Upper Class man with the little fellow.
"I knew it! I knew it!" Mr. Green ran over, barely catching his breath, hearing the Upper Class Person say this, he felt assured the other had recognized him, "You must have recognized me; I’m an Advanced..."
"You are an Advanced NPC." The Upper Class Person suddenly laughed.
This isn’t easy; the white gleaming man hadn’t shown a good expression since stepping into lower-class territory, yet now he suddenly laughed, causing the queued lower-class people to be startled by his change.
Mr. Green became even more exuberant.
"Yes!" He was so excited, he stuttered slightly, "I know there’s someone discerning here, now that you’ve recognized me, quickly take me out, you know, I don’t originally belong here."
At this point, Mr. Green’s expression turned slightly arrogant, as if returning to his days of pointing things out in his own instance.
"Of course, I even fed you," the man took out a number tag, slapped it on Mr. Green’s chest, "Number 1117 Upper Class NPC, go wait in the truck for the reality show."
What?
Mr. Green’s expression turned stunned, mouth agape, finding his voice after a few seconds: "I’m an Advanced NPC; you should take me away, not to join that...that reality show!"
"Your foolish performance should end; you’ve got the reality show opportunity already, yet are still unsatisfied?" The Upper Class Person grew somewhat irritated.
At this moment, Gu Mian also reached near the compartment.
He wandered aimlessly nearby, quickly attracting the Upper Class man’s attention.
His gaze shifted from Mr. Green, eyes glued to Gu Mian.
Gu Mian clung to his vision like sticky toffee.
He felt like he’d seen this lower-class person with a guitar case somewhere, but for the life of him, couldn’t recall any memory of this person.
A rush of strong expectation rose within him, feeling an urge to send this person to the reality show.
He greatly wanted to see this person on the competitive reality stage.
His mouth involuntarily opened: "That person, come over!"
"Gu Mian’s allure to Upper Class People remains the same," 007 noted from her position in front of the TV screen.
They too, through the nearby Spectator camera, saw Gu Mian and Mr. Green’s situation, even overhearing bits of their conversation.
Now Gu Mian had just obtained a number tag as he’d wished.
One hand holding the number tag marked "1118," the other grabbing the arguing Mr. Green, he pulled him into the compartment.
"Let go of me, let go! He knows I’m an Advanced NPC, but he still...this is such an insult, when I get back to my world..." Mr. Green’s voice trailed off, realizing that returning to his original world was difficult.
The inter-world trains have ceased running, unsure when they might start again.
"Don’t you get it yet," Gu Mian put Mr. Green down on the compartment floor, with them two among now only eight inside, space was still ample, "He knows nothing of NPCs, merely sees you as a clown eager for a performance, performing just for the reality show slot."
Apparently, more than just the Upper Class man held this view.
Gu Mian heard a voice outside the compartment—"I...I’m an Advanced NPC! Let me out, I want to leave here!"
Truly learning by doing.
The remaining lower-class people flawlessly copied Mr. Green’s path, yet their result differed.
Just as Lu Xun once said—a genius likened a woman to a flower, the second was merely ordinary, the third was foolish.
Mr. Green wasn’t a woman, nor a flower.
But the outsider was indeed ordinary.
The Upper Class Person lost interest in the slightly stale line.
Gu Mian inside the truck overheard that "Advanced NPC" outside self-introducing, only to receive the Upper Class man’s solitary word.
"Scram!"
