Chapter 383 - 373: Playing as a Game NPC 21 (Finale)

Hearing Hugh Finch say this, Moira Lynch immediately looked at him and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Take me there, quickly."

Led by Hugh Finch, the two of them soon arrived at the so-called Tin Can Mountain.

After checking the labels on the cans, she confirmed they were indeed pet food.

But so what? It was important to remember that before the extreme heat began, it wasn’t just pet food—even cat and dog food were hot commodities that some people couldn’t even get their hands on.

Besides, after checking the ingredients list, it was remarkably clean. ’Take it, take it, take it all.’

Just then, Hugh Finch noticed a small, many-tailed fox had appeared beside Moira Lynch. He asked, "Don’t tell me that’s the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox. Is it your new Pact-Beast?"

Moira Lynch shook her head and explained, "No, this is my Spiritual Body."

"What’s a Spiritual Body?"

Hearing another new term, Hugh Finch was like a curious child.

Moira then explained everything about Spiritual Bodies to him once more.

After she finished, Hugh Finch fell into a thoughtful silence. After a long moment, he finally looked up and said slowly, "So, that thing was actually a Spiritual Body. No wonder... it hurt so much back then."

Hearing Hugh Finch’s words, Moira Lynch looked up from her busy work. "You awakened a Spiritual Body, too?"

Hugh Finch nodded. "It seems so. But I lost it."

"Lost it?"

’How could a Spiritual Body get lost?’ Moira was about to ask, but then she remembered the lost Spiritual Body in her dimensional space and promptly swallowed her words.

"It’s just gone. When I opened my eyes back then, I saw it by my bed. I thought it was some animal that had gotten in and was about to catch it for an extra meal."

Hugh Finch’s reminder jogged Moira’s memory.

One morning, not long ago, Hugh Finch had suddenly screamed and rushed out of his room, saying there was a snake inside.

Hearing this, Kai York had immediately charged in with a knife, ready to make some snake soup and try something new.

But after going in, he couldn’t find any trace of a snake.

At the time, they had guessed that the warmth inside the Elf Tree must have disturbed a hibernating snake underground.

Because of that, they even conducted a major cleanup to prevent any others from slipping through the cracks.

However, they found nothing, contrary to their expectations.

"So, the snake you were talking about back then was actually your Spiritual Body?"

Hugh Finch nodded. "That must be it. Thinking back now, that snake was definitely different from a normal one. It had a white body with purple patterns and a red ring near its head."

After hearing Hugh Finch’s description, Moira was also quite certain that it must have been a Spiritual Body. After all, no snakes on Caelus looked like that.

Just then, Snowy let out a small cry.

"What’s wrong with it?" Hugh Finch asked.

"Snowy just said that newly born Spiritual Bodies are extremely fragile. It probably wasn’t lost; it likely sensed your rejection and disappeared on its own. If you try to summon it, you should be able to call it back."

"Really?"

Just as Hugh Finch was about to try, Moira interrupted him. "Don’t try it right now. Wait until we get back."

Moira had noticed that the robot who had spoken to her earlier had been watching them this whole time with a very strange look in its eyes.

Moreover, it had just secretly taken a photo of Snowy.

Moira’s intuition had always been very sharp, so she paid extra attention to this robot. Sure enough, she discovered it was quietly sending messages to someone else, including the photo of Snowy.

"What’s wrong?" Hugh Finch asked.

"It seems we’ve been targeted by a Spiritual Body Hunter."

"A Spiritual Body Hunter?"

"I’ll explain later. Let’s get out of here first."

She checked the time. There were only ten minutes left before the game ended.

This garbage disposal plant had only one exit. If the robot had really contacted a Spiritual Body Hunter, they definitely wouldn’t let her leave easily. That meant their only option was to run deeper inside.

"Patience, report that robot."

[No problem.]

Under the scan of her spiritual power, Moira Lynch discovered a damaged section of the wall, an area that stray animals likely used to get in and out.

After successfully leaving the garbage disposal plant, Moira finally explained, "Spiritual Body Hunters are illegal merchants who specialize in hunting Spiritual Bodies. In the interstellar world, not everyone can awaken a Spiritual Body. Only about thirty percent of the total population awakens a talent, and of that thirty percent, only about one percent possess a Spiritual Body."

"Some people will do anything to possess a Spiritual Body. Others saw a business opportunity in this, which led to the birth of Spiritual Body Hunters."

"These people are an organization. They can sever the connection between a Spiritual Body and its owner, then graft it onto another person."

A Spiritual Body is like another version of oneself. If the Spiritual Body disappears, the owner will suffer a devastating blow, essentially crippling them.

Meanwhile, the person who receives the graft not only gets a Spiritual Body but also half of the original owner’s power.

"That sort of thing has to be illegal, right?" Hugh Finch said.

"Of course it’s illegal. But it’s just like poaching. Poaching is also illegal, but there will always be people who take the risk for profit."

Money makes the world go ’round. That principle still held true, even in the interstellar age.

Fortunately, ten minutes wasn’t a long time, and they had already left the garbage disposal plant. Even if the Spiritual Body Hunters really did show up, they wouldn’t be able to find a trace of them any time soon.

As time ran out, a familiar mechanical voice sounded.

[Congratulations to player SoySauceDrunkard for successfully completing the mission. In three seconds, all players will be uniformly teleported out of the instance.]

[Three!]

[Two!]

[One!]

Just as the countdown hit its final second, Moira saw a heavily armed, burly man holding a white instrument, running toward her at top speed.

Then, just as he was about to reach Moira Lynch, he was tackled to the ground by several uniformed robots. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as Moira and Snowy disappeared.

When she opened her eyes again, Moira was back in her room.

’This game was really a thrill.’

She checked the time. Only five minutes had passed since she entered the game.

Suddenly, a scream came from downstairs.

Hearing the noise, Moira rushed downstairs to check. She saw Kai York scrambling around the living room, with a white thing dangling from his butt.

Taking a closer look, she saw it was a white snake.

Its long body swayed through the air with Kai York’s movements, but it absolutely refused to let go.