Silverwing City, Ling Yi's Residence:
Along with a flash of light, Shifeng's figure gradually appeared inside the secret room. Compared to when he logged into God's Domain, Shifeng felt slightly dizzy right now. This dizziness lasted for several seconds before subsiding, and the scenery before him felt completely different.
If God's Domain had been like an extremely clear, realistic image to players in the past, then the current God's Domain was like reality to them. To put it in another way, the difference between the two was that the degree of realism felt to players was on a completely different level.
This feeling of realism really makes me feel nostalgic. Shifeng could not help but smile when he sensed his own body's condition.
After the first major update, players didn't feel much different from before. However, for Shifeng, who had been adventuring in God's Domain for ten years, there was a qualitative difference.
Previously, there had always been a barrier between the body and the brain in God's Domain. Now, however, this barrier had disappeared.
The difference between the two was the difference between 99% and 100%.
To ordinary players, this change didn't make much of a difference. However, to expert players, especially those who had reached the Refinement Realm, the difference was massive.
Take humans and chimpanzees for example. Although there was only a 1% genetic difference between humans and chimpanzees, the difference between the two was like heaven and earth.
Fighting in God's Domain was different from fighting in the real world. This was because players' bodies in the real world were much weaker in all aspects, and they couldn't display many techniques. It was like a child lifting a 500-kilogram greatsword. If a child's physique was weak, they couldn't wield the greatsword normally.
However, what if a child's physique reached the point where they could wield a greatsword with ease?
One could just imagine how frightening the destructive power of such a weapon would be. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as an earthquake.
Following which, Shifeng left the Residence's secret room and headed to his office to organize the information he had obtained after the major update.
However, as soon as Shifeng left the secret room, the male Tier 3 NPC guard guarding the door panicked. Like a frightened rabbit, the NPC hurriedly straightened his back, a respectful expression on his face.
"Good morning, my lord!" the Tier 3 NPC guard greeted Shifeng respectfully.
"Good morning." Shifeng nodded silently as he looked at Frett, a playful smile appearing on his face. "It's finally here. I wonder how chaotic God's Domain's various powers will become after this?"
After the major update to God's Domain, the biggest change wasn't the realism of the game. Instead, it was the NPCs and monsters in God's Domain.
Whether it was NPCs or monsters, they would all have their own thoughts after the major system upgrade.
That's right, it's thinking, not intelligence!
The so-called AI intelligence was nothing more than data that had been designed long ago. It was capable of responding reasonably to a player's words and actions. There was no such thing as thought. Generally, only NPCs at Tier 5 and above had some sort of thought.
Now, however, regardless of how weak the monsters and NPCs were, they all possessed sentience. This would change God's Domain significantly.
From a certain point of view, these NPCs and monsters were no different from real humans. When the time came, whether players fought monsters or NPCs, it would be like PvP.
No!
To be precise, PvP would be even more troublesome than PvP. This was because God's Domain's monsters and NPCs had long since grown accustomed to fighting. In fact, some monsters and NPCs had been fighting since they were born. Some had even been fighting for 20 or 30 years. Their combat experience was far richer than that of ordinary players who had only been in God's Domain for one or two years.
However, these changes still weren't the greatest impact on God's Domain's players.
What would truly affect players was the change in the behavior of NPCs and monsters. Not only would NPCs hunt monsters in the fields, but they would also compete with players for the various quests and resources offered by the Adventurer's Association. They might even compete with players for precious resources and opportunities that could help them reach higher tiers.
When such a situation had occurred in the past, the various powers had suffered a major headache. Not only had the various powers lost their monopoly on resources, but NPCs and monsters had even snatched over half of those resources.
Of course, this change wasn't without its benefits.
For example, players that didn't belong to any power could now team up with NPCs to complete quests. Not only would independent players have more room to survive, but they would also have a chance to obtain resources and equipment that had been out of their reach in the past.
Meanwhile, after the Shifeng left the underground hall, Frett, the Tier 3 NPC guarding the secret room's entrance, breathed out a deep sigh of relief.
"My lord is acting strangely today. Normally, he doesn't speak to us guards, yet he actually said good morning to me today." Frett, who wore silver chainmail, was confused as he watched the Shifeng's departing figure. "Did the lord notice that I was slacking off and gave me a warning?"
Frett shuddered at the thought.
This won't do. I definitely can't slack off in the future. Such a good job is hard to come by even in the Starmoon Kingdom. If I lose this job, my former colleagues will treat me as a laughingstock. Frett couldn't help but grow alert as he stood up straighter.
Meanwhile, the other NPC guards in the underground hall who saw the Shifeng also discussed the Shifeng's strange behavior today.
In the past, the Shifeng had always acted high and mighty, never speaking a word to their subordinates. They were the epitome of coldness and ruthlessness. Today, however, the Shifeng gave off the feeling of a spring breeze caressing their faces.
This sudden change made the guards in the underground hall feel uneasy for a moment.
At this moment, these NPCs weren't the only ones feeling confused and uneasy. Every player in God's Domain was similarly surprised and confused.
Discussions on God's Domain's forums were also in full swing.
"Why are those NPCs acting like real people? They're actually talking about us players in private. What's going on?"
"What's the big deal? My NPC Personal Guard is actually taking a day off because his wife is injured and needs to take care of her … "
"You guys probably didn't go to the Adventurer's Association. Now, those NPCs are actually accepting the Association's quests. They're even seducing the beauty in my party to do quests with them …"
…
For a time, God's Domain's players were confused by the NPCs' changes. Some were curious, some were speechless, but most were overjoyed.
Such intelligent NPCs were simply unheard of. It was as if they had truly arrived in an alternate world. This was especially true when they heard the NPCs talk about players and the experts among players. The NPCs were even more excited than players themselves.
Some well-known expert players even had their own fan clubs, making ordinary players envious.
However, the situation wasn't as interesting to God's Domain's various major powers.
Such a sudden change had practically taken the lives of some small Guilds.
After all, not only had God's Domain's system upgraded, but the monsters in the fields had also become more difficult to deal with. This was especially true for monsters at the Lord rank and above. These monsters had rich combat experience and were even more powerful than experts.
A Lord ranked monster could easily beat a Tier 2 expert of the same level. A Great Lord could even contend with Tier 3 experts …
However, this wasn't the worst part. What was truly frightening was that the Fixed Dungeons had disappeared …
In God's Domain, Dungeons were a stable source of equipment and materials for the various major powers. A considerable number of Guilds even avoided raiding high-level Dungeons. Instead, they obtained materials from low-level Dungeons.
Small Guilds weren't the only ones doing this. Even the various superpowers were doing the same. After all, raiding high-level Dungeons would definitely cause damage to the team, which would result in a loss of levels.
Hence, the various superpowers had adopted a conservative method of obtaining materials, only sending a single raiding team to raid high-level Dungeons. This way, not only could they secure first-rate weapons, equipment, and materials, but they could also ensure that the raiding team had access to a large number of basic materials.
However, things were completely different now.
All of the Fixed Dungeons had disappeared. Now, the only Dungeons that players could see were Random Dungeons that randomly appeared in various regions of God's Domain. Some Dungeons were difficult, while others were easy. Moreover, players could only raid them once. If they didn't raid them immediately after discovering them, others could easily raid them first.
Not only were the small Guilds dumbfounded by this sudden change, but even the various superpowers felt a headache coming on.
How were their Guilds supposed to develop from now on?
God's Domain's adventurer teams were even more uneasy.
Not only were there fewer resources in God's Domain, but a third NPC force had also appeared among the competitors. One could just imagine how intense the competition would be in the future. The intensity of this competition would far surpass that of any previous system update. At that time, the various superpowers would most likely drop their pretenses and start a real war.
Silverwing City, Ling Yi's Residence, Guild Leader's Office:
"Guild Leader, everyone's here," Liang Jing reported as she approached Shifeng, who was organizing the information on God's Domain.
"Shiuse Qiangwei and Gentle Snow are here as well?" Shifeng asked.
Although Shiuse Qiangwei and the others had already exited the space-time maze some time ago, their locations were very special. They couldn't communicate with each other. At most, they could only contact each other in real life.
"They're here, but …" Liang Jing hesitated as she looked at Shifeng.
Confused, Shifeng asked, "But what?"
Very carefully, Liang Jing whispered, "Maybe it's just my imagination, but when I saw them just now, I felt like they were strangers …"
PS: Thank you to Hypocritical Smile for the 160000 tip!
(You guys are a little too ruthless! Now that Old Cat's last chapter is gone, he'll have to sell it all in real life to make up for today's tip. o (U _ U) o)
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