Chapter 171: Chapter 117: Time for a Spanking

The Heart of the City is actually a Divine Artifact fragment? What’s going on? Can a Neutral City and a Divine Artifact fragment create some kind of special chain reaction? Or do they have some other special connection?

While waiting for the city’s second phase to begin, Shen Fei quickly mulled it over. He had originally thought that finding the aura of the Divine Artifact mentioned by the Traveling Frog would take a great deal of time. After all, it involved a special item—a National Treasure Divine Artifact.

But Shen Fei never expected that he wouldn’t have to look for it at all. The thing had appeared right before his eyes, plain as day. When he broke through the City Shield and used the Detection Tower to find the Heart of the City, he instantly recognized it as a Divine Artifact fragment.

Moreover, it was a fragment he recognized—a fragment of Japan’s [Nine-Phase Divine Bottle] Divine Artifact!

And just like that, the coincidence was back.

When he first came to Hang City, Shen Fei had thought the city Ethereum Punk needed help with and the one on the Traveling Frog’s map would coincidentally be the same. But he never expected that it wasn’t a coincidence after all. They weren’t the same.

But now, seeing the Heart of the City merged with a fragment of Japan’s National Treasure Divine Artifact, that coincidence had returned. Beneath his feet, the National Treasure Divine Artifact aura the Traveling Frog had mentioned was this very fragment.

And this fragment was actually compatible with the one Shen Fei already possessed. They were both subsidiary fragments of Japan’s Divine Artifact.

This sent Shen Fei’s mind racing. He knew perfectly well how he had obtained the fragment in his hand. And beside him, he had the successful case of Zero snatching a Divine Artifact to learn from. Shen Fei’s heart began to race with excitement.

Although he still didn’t know what had happened to make a fragment of Japan’s Divine Artifact appear here, the item was undeniably real!

"What on earth did you inherit?!"

"How are you so strong?!" beside him, Zero, having finally composed herself, cried out in astonishment.

"Do you recognize this fragment?" Shen Fei asked, showing Zero the image from before.

"I don’t..." Still in shock, Zero immediately shook her head.

Is the Divine Artifact concealing itself? Shen Fei hadn’t expected that Zero, who possessed three Divine Artifacts, hadn’t sensed Japan’s Divine Artifact fragment. Only he, who carried a fragment of Japan’s Divine Artifact, sensed something special.

"You... what on earth are you..." Seeing Shen Fei avoid her question, Zero shouted again.

As the person on Azure Star with access to the most information, Shen Fei’s power exceeded Zero’s understanding. She desperately wanted to know the reason.

"Stop!"

"Someone’s coming!" Suddenly, Shen Fei quickly raised a hand. His perpetually active Detection Tower had detected a group of people rushing from downtown Hang City toward his position north of the city.

People from the Hang City Tourism Management Office?

Using his Detection Tower to listen in on their conversation, Shen Fei figured out who they were, and his gaze shifted. His only purpose in capturing this city was for the Divine Artifact fragment. After he captured it, he certainly couldn’t be the one to take ownership. He had no way of moving it back to Qing City from such a great distance. Without a long-range Teleportation Array, he couldn’t manage it either.

Rather than worry about it himself, it was better to just take the most important thing and leave. He’d already realized that his actions just now had frightened the leader of the future super-organization, Ethereum Punk. Besides, he didn’t want the people of Hang City to know that someone from Qing City had come nearly ten thousand kilometers to capture a city within Hang City’s territory.

That was too high-profile. It didn’t suit his personality!

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

Hearing that the people from the Hang City Tourism Management Office had come to help him defend the city for free, Shen Fei, without a second thought, expanded the range of the enveloping mist. Then, he remotely controlled his vines, forming them into words to tell the people from the Hang City Tourism Management Office to stay outside the mist and not enter the siege battle zone.

A Plant Ability inheritor? Using vines? the director of the Hang City Tourism Management Office stared at the vines forming words within the mist, his thoughts running wild.

Seeing the words deftly formed by the vines, the director waved a hand, halting his people outside the area where the city siege was taking place.

So Hang City’s hidden powerhouse has a Plant Ability? How interesting. Shrouded by the mist, he couldn’t see the situation ahead clearly. With the vines blocking the way, they couldn’t advance. The Hang City director could only guess wildly.

CRACK!

Half an hour later, the Hang City director saw countless monsters spawn in the mist-shrouded battlefield ahead.

"Go for it!"

"Go for it!"

"Go for it!"

Blocked from going over to help, all the group from the Hang City Tourism Management Office could do was cheer them on quietly. They watched as the mist ahead was occasionally parted, revealing an endless tide of monsters within. The people from Hang City, standing in the safe zone, felt their hearts leap into their throats with excitement.

Previously, their group had tried to attack the Neutral City, but they hadn’t even touched the First Tier Shield before being wiped out and forced back. Although they had later seen many videos of monster tides online, when the scene of such a surging tide actually appeared before their eyes, they were still so nervous they couldn’t stop gulping.

It really is a Plant Ability, and he even has a giant tree! The mist was occasionally swatted aside by colossal monsters, and over a dozen kilometers away, a colossal, pillar-like object resembling a tree trunk was glowing in the far distance. The Hang City director sighed inwardly once more.

Then, something happened that shocked everyone, including the director. From within the mist, they heard deafening sounds of chopping, shattering, and explosions. Just as they were trying to guess the state of the battle, countless vines suddenly shot out a few minutes later and wrapped around their waists.

Amid their cries of alarm, they were all pulled toward the distant Neutral City. Afterward, they saw a little silver-haired girl standing on the city wall, staring dumbfounded at the sky in the distance where the mist was slowly dissipating. Within the mist, a shape shot out like a flying bird.

"Aaaah!!!"

"Damn it!!!!"

"Damn it!!!!"

While the Hang City director was still confused, the silver-haired girl stomped her little feet, clenched her small fists, and shrieked.

[Ding!]

[Neutral City capture successful...]

Then, before the director could even ask what was going on, his panel opened automatically, and lines of text scrolled across it. Reading the text, the director and the others who had been pulled onto the city wall felt their scalps tingle as they stood there, dumbfounded.

Hang City had captured another Neutral City?

And they were listed as conquerors, too?

"Um..." a minute later, having recovered from his shock, the director spoke cautiously to the little silver-haired girl.

「A few minutes earlier.」

When Shen Fei discovered the group from the Hang City Tourism Management Office arriving and realized they had good intentions to help defend the city, he had immediately controlled his vines to form words, blocking them outside the battlefield. Meeting them was, of course, out of the question.

WHOOSH.

Not long after he blocked the Hang City Tourism Management Office from entering, the second phase of the city defense began. Faced with this situation, the now incredibly experienced Shen Fei was able to handle it with ease. Within the enveloping mist, the spawned NPC army hadn’t even figured out which way to go before an endless barrage of invisible attacks rained down.

During the one-hour wait earlier, all of his Defense Towers’ cooldowns had reset. All Shen Fei had to do was activate the ultimate abilities of his various Defense Towers at full speed, rapidly rotating through the summoning of his three hundred-plus Defense Towers.

A few minutes later, Shen Fei had only used two hundred of his Defense Towers when all the siege bosses were already GG.

WHOOSH.

The moment the siege ended, Shen Fei ignored the once-again-dazed Zero beside him. He immediately directed his Detection Tower to the previous location of the Heart of the City.

SWOOSH!

He saw that the familiar object had indeed reappeared in its original spot after the second phase ended. Without a word, Shen Fei immediately controlled his vines to wrap around the item and bring it to his hand.

"Keep this a secret for me, okay?"

"See you next time!!"

"Bye-bye!!"

With the most important item in hand, Shen Fei glanced at the shocked Zero, gave a wave, and soared into the sky on his Celestial Horse. Before leaving, he controlled his Vine Tower to pull all the members of the Hang City Tourism Management Office from outside the battlefield onto the city wall.

He had fought a war in Hang City from afar and taken what could be called the most important thing in its territory. But someone had to take the fall for the battle. The dumbfounded little loli, Zero, became Shen Fei’s target.

"Aah!!"

"Damn it!!"

Sure enough, as he recalled all his Defense Towers and urged his Celestial Horse into the still-dissipating mist, Shen Fei heard Zero’s furious, high-pitched shriek.

SWOOSH.

Riding the Celestial Horse, Shen Fei flew rapidly toward Songhai City while examining the Attributes of the item he had just obtained, a look of pleasant surprise on his face.

"I’ll keep your secret!" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Just you watch how I keep your secret!"

"I’ll *definitely* keep your secret!!!"

Shen Fei had suddenly flown away. Down on the city wall, Zero looked at the Tourism Management Office director who had just appeared beside her, shot him an irritated glare to shut him up, and then agitatedly opened the Forum. She immediately exercised her highest authority and started working rapidly.

She never thought that Shen Fei would pull a stunt like that on her at the very end! Shen Fei wanted to keep things secret, but she, a character with hacker-like Attributes, also wanted to remain hidden! She didn’t want to be exposed to the Tourism Management Office either. Besides, she had blown up their headquarters’ information center and was currently a wanted person!

Shen Fei’s departure wasn’t unexpected. But his final move drove her crazy. In her fury, she went straight to the new Forum and quickly deleted all the posts about Shen Fei.

"Secret!"

"I’ll keep your secret!!!"

The angry Zero’s speed was unparalleled. At this moment, when the rules had not yet fully evolved, Zero, armed with a Divine Artifact and Ethereum Punk’s technology, still had some ability to modify Forum posts. However, as the game’s abilities continued to be inherited, she could feel this power of hers weakening.

"I don’t want it!"

"You can have it all!!" In her anger, after deleting all information related to Shen Fei, and even information about Qing City, in one fell swoop, Zero shouted at the hesitant and cautious Hang City director. Then she stomped her foot and left the city wall.

"Don’t follow me!!!"

"I’m going to find my big sister!!!"

After inventing a "big sister," Zero finally returned to the newly captured [Mist City] in the West Suburb of Hang City. Then, her eyes darting around, she quickly began to sketch in the air. Soon, a woman appeared before her. She had the air of a mature, commanding beauty, with long, fair, slender legs and a dazzling presence.

"Your name will be V!"

"Your secondary mission is to communicate with the Hang City Tourism Management Office; your primary mission is to lure that despicable Shen Fei to me!!!" editing reality once again to sketch out a new character, Zero spoke viciously.

She was a little angry. She wanted to spank Shen Fei.

"Ah!!"

"Huh!?"

"What???"

With both Shen Fei and Zero gone, the remaining members of the Hang City Tourism Management Office were left dumbfounded. What was going on? They didn’t want the city they just captured? How could they be so generous? A Neutral City, something the entire world was desperately fighting over, was just captured and then given away?

Stunned, the Hang City director tremblingly accepted ownership of a Neutral City.

"Director??" beside him, the others, just as shocked as the director, asked in disbelief.

"Yes, we... seem to... have a city?"

"We’re the first branch of the Xia Country Tourism Management Office to own a city, aside from Divine Capital and Qing City!" the director said involuntarily, his eyes wide.

Even though he had already taken possession of the city, the director still found it hard to believe. What in the world was going on?! This was so damn incredible!

"Find information on that little girl from just now, and more importantly, find information on the ’big sister’ she mentioned!

"But, be careful not to disturb them! It’s better to find nothing than to disturb them!"

The director made his arrangements quickly while reporting the situation to the Tourism Management Office headquarters. This situation was truly a once-in-a-century, unheard-of event! Someone actually captured a city, didn’t want it, and just gave it away?

This, this was really, truly, just too shocking.