Chapter 41 Qin Wentian summons a god-level NPC, intending to kill Lin Ye in public.

The day after the bounty expired, all players in the game thought this matter had blown over. But Lin Ye knew that some people would not let it go.

Sure enough, at noon on the third day, a message exploded across the world channel—

"world channel" "Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian": Ye, today at 3 PM, Main City Square. I want to settle things with you. Whoever doesn't show up is a coward.

Players across the server were stunned when they saw this message.

"world channel"

"Player 'Wocao Wuqing': Qin Wentian? Didn't he already disband his guild? Why is he out again?"

"Player 'Brick-Moving Expert': Again? Brother Ye beat up fifty of his men last time, is he looking to die again?"

"Player 'Invincible Sword God': That's not right. Qin Wentian isn't the type to be brainless. If he dares to show up again, he must have a trump card."

"Player 'Yes Little Follower': What trump card? Can he summon a deity or something?"

Fatty Wang saw the message and rushed upstairs: "Brother! Qin Wentian is out again! He wants to duel you at the square!"

Lin Ye sat by the window, munching on virtual melon seeds, his expression calm: "I saw it."

"Aren't you afraid? He must be prepared!"

Lin Ye laughed: "Afraid of what? It's not like we haven't fought before."

Su Qinghan walked over, frowning: "Qin Wentian is no fool. If he dares to issue a public challenge, he must be confident. I heard he spent a fortune buying an ultimate item from the black market."

"Ultimate item?" Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. It's called an [oracle scroll], and there's only one on the entire server. It can summon the God-Level NPC [God of Light], who has the strength to insta-kill any player below level 50."

Qin Wentian—wait, the text says Fatty Wang here, I will follow the source text context—Fatty Wang, standing nearby, changed his expression slightly: "An [oracle scroll]? That thing is said to make even the officials wary. How did Qin Wentian get his hands on it?"

Su Qinghan shook her head: "I don't know. But one thing is certain, he's going all out this time."

Lin Ye stood up and dusted himself off: "Let's go to the square. Let's see what good stuff he actually managed to get."

"You're really going?" Su Qinghan held him back, "The [God of Light] is a God-Level NPC, level 60, with maxed-out stats. Your Talent is strong, but it might not work on a God-Level NPC."

Lin Ye laughed: "We won't know if it works until we try."

The four of them walked out of the Commoner Supermarket and headed toward the Main City Square. Players along the way saw Lin Ye and followed behind him. As the news spread, players from all over the server flocked to the Main City Square. By the time Lin Ye reached the square, it was already surrounded by tens of thousands of people.

Qin Wentian stood in the center of the square, alone. He wore a full set of golden Epic equipment and held a weapon shimmering with seven-colored light; he looked imposing. But in his eyes, there was a kind of indescribable madness.

"Ye, you're finally here." Qin Wentian looked at him with a cold laugh.

Lin Ye walked up to him, hands in his pockets, a wicked smile on his lips: "Guild Leader Qin, we meet again. How many people did you bring this time?"

Qin Wentian shook his head: "Just me."

"Just you?" Lin Ye laughed, "Then what do you have to fight me with?"

Qin Wentian pulled a golden scroll from his backpack and held it high. The scroll emitted a blinding light that illuminated the entire square.

"With this."

Players across the server exploded when they saw the scroll—

"world channel"

"Player 'Wocao Wuqing': Is that... an [oracle scroll]?! The only ultimate item on the server!"

"Player 'Brick-Moving Expert': Holy crap! Is Qin Wentian crazy? Using an [oracle scroll] to kill Brother Ye? How much must that have cost!"

"Player 'Invincible Sword God': It's said that the [oracle scroll] can summon a God-Level NPC, level 60, with maxed-out stats. Brother Ye is in danger this time!"

"Player 'Yes Little Follower': Run, Brother Ye! That's a God-Level NPC, you can't beat it!"

Lin Ye looked at the golden scroll, his eyes narrowing slightly. He could feel the energy fluctuations emanating from the scroll—it was strong, stronger than the Abyssal Lord. But he wasn't afraid.

"[oracle scroll]? Interesting." He curled his lips into a wicked smile, "Guild Leader Qin, you're really willing to pay the price."

Qin Wentian sneered: "You have to spend money to make money. Ye, today is your doomsday."

He tore open the scroll.

A blinding golden light erupted from the scroll, illuminating the entire main city. After the golden light faded, a tall figure appeared in the center of the square—a three-meter-tall body covered in golden armor, with six white wings spread behind it, holding a giant sword burning with flames. Its eyes were golden, pupil-less, and exuded a suffocating pressure.

[God-Level NPC: God of Light]

Level: 60

HP: 500,000

Skills: Holy Judgment, Light's Verdict, Light of Purification, Angel's Descent, God's Wrath.

When the players across the server saw the boss's panel, they were all stunned—

"Five hundred thousand HP? Five skills? This is ten times more ferocious than the Abyssal Lord!"

"It's over, it's over, Brother Ye is truly finished this time."

"Qin Wentian is too ruthless, he even managed to get something like this."

The God of Light opened its golden eyes, scanned the square, and finally locked onto Lin Ye.

"Are you the target?" Its voice was deep and resonant, echoing through the square like a bell.

Lin Ye looked up at it, a smile still on his lips: "It's me. What about it?"

The God of Light raised its giant sword, golden flames burning on the blade: "Accept the oracle, slay the target—Ye."

It slashed down with its sword.

The giant sword, carrying a whistling wind and golden flames, slashed toward the top of Lin Ye's head. The power of this strike was enough to kill any player below level 50 instantly.

"Holy Shield!" Su Qinghan hurriedly cast a shield on Lin Ye.

The giant sword struck the shield, and the shield shattered instantly. Lin Ye's HP dropped by two-thirds, and he was sent flying, crashing into the statue in the square.

"Brother!" Fatty Wang screamed in terror.

Lin Ye crawled up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes grew even brighter.

"Not bad." He laughed, "But that's about it."

He raised his hand and applied 100 stacks of Decay Debuff to the God of Light.

[System Prompt: The target [God of Light] is a God-Level NPC, with extremely high resistance. Decay Debuff effect reduced by 50%. Current stacks: 100, dealing 0.5% of the target's max HP as true damage per second.]

The God of Light's HP bar dropped by 0.5%, barely noticeable. It remained expressionless and slashed down with its sword again.

Lin Ye dodged the sword and applied another 100 stacks of debuff. 200 stacks, 1% per second. The God of Light's HP bar began to drop slowly, but the speed was very slow.

"Too slow." Lin Ye frowned. His debuff only had half the effect on a God-Level NPC; it would take 1000 stacks to deal 5% HP per second, taking 20 seconds to kill it. And he couldn't take a single hit from the God of Light.

"Need to change tactics." He thought for a moment and switched the effect of the debuff from "damage" to "attribute castration."

[System Prompt: The target [God of Light] has been afflicted with [Full Dimension Attribute Castration]. Current stacks: 200, all attributes reduced by 10%.]

The God of Light's attack speed and movement speed were noticeably slower. Its sword speed changed from lightning to a gust of wind; although it was still fast, Lin Ye could now barely dodge it.

"Effective." Lin Ye's eyes lit up, and he continued to stack the debuff.

400 stacks. 600 stacks. 800 stacks.

The God of Light's total attributes were reduced by 40%, and its attack and movement speeds were nearly halved. Its sword could no longer catch up to Lin Ye, and every strike missed.

"You..." The God of Light spoke for the first time, its voice filled with a hint of shock, "What is this power?"

Lin Ye laughed: "My Talent. Perpetual Energy Level Decay. Ever heard of it?"

The God of Light fell silent. Of course it had heard of it—that was a forbidden power that had existed since the ancient era, something even the gods feared. It hadn't expected a human player to actually master such power.

"You win." The God of Light put away its giant sword and knelt on one knee, "I concede."

Players across the server were stunned when they saw this scene—

"world channel"

"Player 'Wocao Wuqing': Holy crap! The God of Light conceded?! A God-Level NPC conceded?!"

"Player 'Brick-Moving Expert': Brother Ye beat a God-Level NPC into submission?! This is too ridiculous?!"

"Player 'Invincible Sword God': It's not submission, it's fear. Didn't you see that the God of Light's stats were cut in half? If it kept fighting, it would just become a target dummy."

"Player 'Yes Little Follower': Brother Ye is awesome! Even a God-Level NPC is afraid of you!"

Lin Ye walked up to the God of Light, crouched down, and patted its shoulder: "Conceding is fine. But there's a condition."

"What condition?"

"Tell me the truth about this game."

The God of Light raised its head, a hint of hesitation flashing in its golden eyes: "Are you sure you want to know?"

"I am."

The God of Light was silent for a few seconds, then said: "This game is not a game."

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed: "What do you mean?"

"gods domain: origin is a real world. The monsters, NPCs, and dungeons you see are all real. Your consciousnesses are connected to this world through gaming capsules. And your Talent—" it paused, "is not a program, but a real power."

Lin Ye was stunned. Su Qinghan was stunned. Fatty Wang and Qin Wentian were also stunned.

Players across the server heard this through the live stream and went crazy—

"world channel"

"Player 'Wocao Wuqing': Is this game real? Are the NPCs real? Are the monsters real too?"

"Player 'Brick-Moving Expert': No wonder the monsters in the Abyss Dungeon have consciousness, feel fear, and surrender. They're real!"

"Player 'Invincible Sword God': Then Brother Ye's Talent is real too? He's not playing a game, he's fighting with real power?"

"Player 'Yes Little Follower': Brother Ye... what exactly is he?"

Lin Ye was silent for a long time. He remembered the feeling when he first awakened his Talent—that power didn't come from a program, but surged from within his own body. He remembered the monsters in the Abyss Dungeon—they weren't code, they were living creatures. He remembered the energy fluctuations he felt when he destroyed the Abyss Core—that wasn't game data, it was real power.

"So that's it." He stood up, looked at the God of Light, "Thank you."

The God of Light stood up and spread its six wings: "You don't have to thank me. Your power is far greater than mine. I just made the right choice."

It turned into a beam of golden light and disappeared into the sky.

Qin Wentian stood in the center of the square, his face pale. The [oracle scroll] he spent tens of millions of gold coins to buy, the God-Level NPC he summoned, was actually beaten into submission by Lin Ye. Not only beaten into submission, but it even told him the truth about the game.

"No... impossible..." He muttered to himself.

Lin Ye walked up to him and looked at him: "Guild Leader Qin, do you still want to fight?"

Qin Wentian looked at him, his eyes unfocused. He opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Lin Ye patted his shoulder: "Forget it. We've fought, now we're friends. Follow me from now on."

Qin Wentian was stunned: "You... you're not going to kill me?"

Lin Ye laughed: "What's the point of killing you? You don't drop any good loot anyway."

Qin Wentian was silent. He hadn't expected Lin Ye to let him go.

"Thank you." He said in a low voice.

Lin Ye turned around, looked at the tens of thousands of players in the square, and said loudly: "Everyone, you heard it. This game is real. The monsters in the Abyss Dungeon are real. My Talent is also real. From today on, I'm not just playing a game—I'm protecting this world."

The players across the server were silent for a few seconds, then erupted into deafening cheers—

"Brother Ye is awesome!"

"Long live Brother Ye!"

"Protect the world? Brother Ye is so cool!"

Lin Ye laughed, turned, and walked out of the square. Su Qinghan followed behind him and asked in a low voice: "Do you really believe what it said?"

Lin Ye nodded: "I believe it. From the first time I challenged the Abyss Dungeon, I had this feeling. This game is not just a game."

"Then what do you plan to do?"

Lin Ye looked up at the sky. In the sky, a trace of purple light could be vaguely seen—that was the direction of the Gate of the Abyss.

"First, find out the truth about this game. Then—" he curled his lips into a wicked smile, "deal with those who want to cause trouble, one by one."

Su Qinghan looked at him and couldn't help but laugh: "You really are... never settling down wherever you go."

Lin Ye shrugged: "It's my profession."

The two walked side by side back to the Commoner Supermarket, followed by the cheers of tens of thousands of players.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the main city, the man in the suit was staring at the live stream on his screen, his face ashen.

"Even the God of Light lost?" He gritted his teeth and said, "What exactly is this 'Ye'?"

The technician behind him wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Boss, maybe... we should just let it go? We can't afford to mess with this Ye."

The man in the suit was silent for a long time, then sneered: "Let it go? Impossible. He ruined my plan, so I will ruin him."

He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Initiate Plan C."

The person on the other end of the line was silent for a few seconds, then a hoarse voice replied: "Are you sure? Once Plan C is initiated, the entire game will be affected."

The man in the suit sneered: "Then let it be affected. If I can't have it, no one else will."

The phone hung up. The man in the suit stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the night outside, his eyes cold.

"Ye, you think you won? No, the game has just begun."