Chapter 434 - 178: Masts and Oars Turn to Ash with a Wave; Supreme NPC? Come, Let Me See Your...

In one breath, Shen Fei asked all the questions he wanted answers to. Then, he quietly waited for the man’s reply.

At this moment, his Mind Control Tower was still controlling the Beauty Snake boss in the distant Hang City—a boss who had gained intelligence after conquering the city. Therefore, he couldn’t use the Mind Control Tower to directly control the Intelligent NPC before him, who was named Qin Shi Huang. However, knowing the weakness of the NPCs, he had plenty of ways to make this one talk...

Qin Shi Huang: "..."

After only introducing his name, the ancient emperor hadn’t expected Shen Fei to fire off such a long string of questions.

Where did you get the idea that I was willing to answer your questions? Don’t you know they involve the greatest secrets of the special areas? And you’re even asking about the ultimate goal of us Intelligent NPCs and Super Bosses? Is that something I can just talk about? Our ultimate goal was bestowed upon us by the rules. It involves you human players! But this... is something I can never reveal! No one can!

Faced with Shen Fei’s questions, the ancient emperor simply gave his name and then fell silent. Although he was astonished by Shen Fei’s power, and even though dying outside a special area meant permanent death with no chance of resurrection, the emperor still had no intention of answering. As a powerful emperor from the Game World’s lore who had commanded countless territories, he knew very well that silence offered the greatest chance of survival. Once others pried his secrets from him, his value would vanish in an instant...

Shen Fei: "..."

Qin Shi Huang: "..."

After Shen Fei finished his questions, the two just stared at each other, locked in a silent staring contest.

POP!

POP!

POP!

Seeing this, Shen Fei didn’t get angry. He simply smiled faintly and swiftly blew the heads off the other NPCs he had tied up alongside Qin Shi Huang.

Let’s see how long you can hold out!

「One minute later.」

After eliminating all the captured NPCs except for Qin Shi Huang, Shen Fei saw that the emperor remained unmoved. He smiled faintly and pulled something from his inventory.

—[Heroic Mark]!

Knowing the weakness of these Intelligent NPCs, Shen Fei was confident this interrogation was in the bag even before he had caught this one. Seeing that killing his companions had indeed failed to move the emperor, he brought out the big guns.

"You!"

"It’s you!!!"

"Where did you get that?!"

Just as expected, the moment Shen Fei took out the [Heroic Mark], the previously unflappable Qin Shi Huang completely lost it. Within the Domain, the bound emperor instantly began to flop around like a fish out of water, thrashing and shouting. His voice was filled with utter disbelief and astonishment.

His entire purpose for leaving the Pacific Ocean and approaching the lands of Great Xia had been to find the [Heroic Mark]. He never expected that Shen Fei, the man who had captured him, would have one.

"AHHH!"

Amid his cries of alarm, Qin Shi Huang’s eyes widened in shock as he let out an even louder scream. He saw that after Shen Fei had produced the first [Heroic Mark], he then, under his incredulous gaze, smiled and took out three more!

"It’s you!"

"It’s you!!!"

"How did you get them?!"

"How?!"

The emperor grew frantic at the sight of Shen Fei juggling four Heroic Marks in his hand. To Intelligent NPCs and Super Bosses, the [Heroic Mark] was like a divine spark—the most powerful item on their path to achieving their final form. By using this item, they would practically become Invincible, placing them in an inherently undefeatable position.

Shen Fei’s psychologically devastating move—producing four [Heroic Marks] right in front of Qin Shi Huang—instantly broke the stalemate.

"I’ll talk!" Under Shen Fei’s smiling gaze, Qin Shi Huang finally caved. "If I answer your questions, can you give me one of those?"

As he began to bargain, Qin Shi Huang made no attempt to hide his craving for the mark.

"That depends on whether I’m satisfied with your answers," Shen Fei replied with a smile.

"Fine!"

Although he hadn’t gotten a promise, he was a fish on the chopping block. After a few seconds of consideration, Qin Shi Huang roared and began to speak. He began talking a mile a minute, holding nothing back in a complete confession.

Holy shit! He really is a big fish. No wonder he could withstand my Vine Tower’s attacks!

As Qin Shi Huang answered without reservation, Shen Fei was finally pleased. Unlike the last few NPCs he’d caught, from whom he hadn’t managed to get much valuable intel, this big fish was clearing up many of his questions.

He learned that the Pacific Ocean special area alone was over a thousand times larger than its pre-apocalypse size. The number of Intelligent NPCs living in this incomparably vast region reached into the trillions. Within this enormous special area, there were over a thousand Neutral Cities that Qin Shi Huang knew of alone.

His question about the Credit Points owned by Intelligent NPCs was also quickly answered. It turned out that, just like human players, every Intelligent NPC automatically received an initial 100 Credit Points upon manifesting in reality. Furthermore, they could find treasure chests containing Credit Points in certain places within the special areas. Therefore, with a population in the trillions, even though the average amount of Credit Points per NPC wasn’t high, the total value was in the hundreds or even thousands of trillions.

As Qin Shi Huang continued to speak, Shen Fei also confirmed his suspicion that the goal of these Intelligent NPCs was to increase their Combat Power by Devouring their own kind. Moreover, he learned that news of the [Heroic Mark] had exploded across all the major special areas. Almost all Intelligent NPCs and Super Bosses were trying to gather intelligence about it.

"Then is there anything I should be aware of if I enter a special area?" After confirming that Intelligent NPCs would be permanently gone if they died outside a special area, Shen Fei asked what human players needed to be aware of when entering one. Knowing there were so many NPCs in the special areas, he was naturally entertaining the idea of going into one himself.

"The rules are symmetrical. If a human player dies after entering a special area, they will immediately vanish into thin air. Even if you have soul-storing or powerful recovery items, they’re useless!"

"Even if you use a so-called revival-type item, dying inside a special area means you will still vanish without a trace!"

"Also, after a human player enters a special area, all of their abilities will disappear for one day, every other day!"

Qin Shi Huang, who had already answered countless questions, held nothing back in response to Shen Fei’s new one.

"My abilities would disappear for a day, every other day?" Hearing this new rule for the first time, Shen Fei was stunned.

"Correct. If we Intelligent NPCs force our way into the human world, our abilities also disappear for one day, every other day," Qin Shi Huang nodded in confirmation. "For example, if I continue to stay here, my abilities will disappear tomorrow, and then they will return the day after."

Damn! So there’s a rule like that? No wonder these Intelligent NPCs and Super Bosses rush back into the special areas the moment they manifest, as long as they aren’t already in one.

Shen Fei had learned another piece of very important information.

"Your abilities disappear for a day if you enter the human world *now*. What about later? What is your ultimate goal?" Deep in thought, Shen Fei quickly seized on Qin Shi Huang’s words and pressed him again.

Qin Shi Huang: "..."

At this, Qin Shi Huang suddenly fell silent.

"Do you want this or not?" Seeing that he was on the verge of a huge secret, Shen Fei shouted, making a firm promise. "Answer this question, and I’ll give you a Heroic Mark. That’s a promise."

He had to know what the ultimate goal of these vast numbers of Intelligent NPCs and bosses was.

"Fine!"

Qin Shi Huang hadn’t dared to speak of their ultimate goal. Knowing Shen Fei’s Combat Power, he felt that if he revealed it, all of his kind in the special areas would be finished. Unfortunately, tempted by the [Heroic Mark]—a thing like a divine spark—he ultimately decided to speak.

Better them than me. This is what I have to do!

BANG—!

But just as Qin Shi Huang was about to answer Shen Fei’s most important question, his head suddenly exploded like a watermelon right before Shen Fei’s eyes.

"Holy shit!"

The NPC’s head suddenly exploding made Shen Fei jump back in shock.