Chapter 433 - 178: Annihilating a Fleet with a Wave, Supreme NPC? Come, Let Me See Your...

The information Shen Fei had gleaned from his prior infiltration of the Game World reignited his interest in the special regions. Now that he had captured this "super-strong" NPC who could resist the bindings of his Vine Tower, he planned to interrogate him privately. In fact, he intended to use the information from this interrogation to decide whether to investigate a special region himself. Therefore, it was best to keep such a scene from the public for now.

"Everyone! Continue defending against the monster tide! Don’t get distracted!"

Seeing Shen Fei leave, Zhao Li, who had already spoken with him via private message, immediately shouted out the orders. Shen Fei had already dealt with the intimidating ocean NPC, but the monster tide still hadn’t stopped. With Shen Fei gone, the others had to continue killing monsters.

Although a murmur of curiosity went through the players—who were disappointed that Shen Fei wasn’t interrogating the bound NPC on the spot—upon hearing Zhao Li’s words, the crowd from Songhai quickly refocused on the monster tide.

Dammit, even after inheriting skills and an Immortal Technique, I still need Brother Chongtian’s help! As everyone readjusted their rhythm to defend, Zhao Li’s mind drifted to Shen Fei’s interrogation.

Earlier, when this minor monster tide—the kind that came every three days—had just begun, he had confidently boasted that, fresh from a mandatory quest, he could definitely defend Ye City on his own. But Zhao Li never expected to be proven wrong so quickly. Not long after the monster tide began, the steamrolling Boundary Wall from the special region had forced him to ask Shen Fei for help. Moreover, almost everyone he knew was also calling for Shen Fei, begging for his assistance. Getting Brother Chongtian’s help had become the consensus.

Ah, well... I guess this is how it is...

This proven outcome played out once again, and Zhao Li could only shake his head, speechless. Then, he cast his Immortal Technique and began to fight back against the monster tide. He couldn’t handle the Intelligent NPC from the Boundary Wall, but the monster tide itself was still a piece of cake.

Ignoring the various speculative posts that had instantly exploded on the Forum due to Shen Fei’s private interrogation, Zhao Li’s focus soon returned entirely to the monster tide.

.

.

"What!!"

"What??"

"What??? Qin Shi Huang’s entire army was wiped out??"

"Even he himself was captured??"

「East of Ye City」

On the boundless ocean, a group of NPCs rushing on their journey was stopped in their tracks. After receiving news about Brother Kaipan and the Heroic Mark, these Intelligent NPCs had quickly decided to head toward Great Xia. Unfortunately, due to their geographical location, they weren’t as fast as the ancient emperor who occupied the seas east of Great Xia.

What they never expected was that just as they stopped to investigate the shocking disappearance of their Ninth World access, they received even more stunning news. The supreme powerhouse from the Pacific Ocean special region, that ancient emperor NPC, had seen his entire army annihilated.

A shockwave of disbelief spread. A supreme powerhouse who controlled tens of thousands of kilometers of ocean and had countless Intelligent NPCs and bosses under his command had been completely wiped out. The Intelligent NPCs who heard this news were all dumbfounded.

As the news spread rapidly, word of the crushing defeat before Great Xia’s Ye City circulated among the other supreme powerhouses. Originally, all the Intelligent NPCs had been stirred into action by the Heroic Mark. But they never imagined that, in the blink of an eye, one of their own had been utterly vanquished. And the one who had killed their peer was, of all things, a human player—a member of the race they considered the weakest.

"Investigate!"

"Investigate!"

"Investigate!"

As various pieces of information were gathered, nearly identical orders were issued among the other supreme powerhouse NPCs. They wanted to investigate three things.

First, investigate Great Xia’s Ye City. What abilities had it inherited, or were there any special players there?

Second, investigate who in the entire ocean still had the ability to connect to the Ninth World. Why had all the NPCs who could previously connect to the Ninth World suddenly lost that ability all at once?

Third, continue the search for the Intelligent NPC who secretly bought the Heroic Mark. At the same time, track down information on the mark’s possible seller.

.

.

「Ye City」

「Interrogation Room」

While the human players were still reeling from Shen Fei’s immense Combat Power and the ocean NPCs had begun their frantic investigation, Shen Fei dragged the tightly bound and captured Intelligent NPC back into the interrogation room.

THUD!

Shen Fei threw the powerful NPC—the one who could easily resist his Vine Tower—onto the floor and met his gaze directly.

"Name!" Three seconds later, Shen Fei sat down at the table and began his questioning, surrounded by 100 Defense Towers he had summoned once more.

"Qin Shi Huang!" For some unknown reason, after a few seconds of meeting Shen Fei’s gaze, the bound Intelligent NPC slowly stated his name.

Shen Fei nodded, surprised. Oh? Not bad. This one is much more cooperative than the last NPC I caught.

He silently snarked to himself. Why not just call yourself Qin Shi Huang!

Then, Shen Fei continued his questions: "Why did you attack Ye City? What’s the deal with the special regions? Are you all just staying in the special regions for Devouring and growth, building up for a big move? Do you have other objectives? Where do the Credit Points inside the special regions come from? How large are the special regions, really, and what is their population?"