Chapter 60 – Cat Dad and Hegemony A.I.

RUMBLE

In front of the boss room, the newest slave of Xiaomao sat and watched over the pile of items with puppy eyes. Although the ground shook because of the explosions inside, he didn’t flinch.

Still, he was dying to open the gate and enter the room. His tail wagged because of his unsettling emotions.

While he was waiting for his master, his ears suddenly perked up. He turned around and stared at the other side of the destroyed bridge.

The scent of new intruders caught his attention.

“…”

Gnoll General stood up and stopped pretending to be a dog. He walked back to the throne, staring at the stairs on the opposite side of the cliff.

Like a dignified bodyguard, he swore that nobody could pass this area and steal his master’s belongings!

…

On top of Gnoll Mountain, Butter Tank, Cherry Popper, and their party members followed Xiaomao and Shepherd’s trace and discovered a cave.

DING

<You have discovered Gnoll Dungeon!>

“!!!”

Although the group managed to discover the dungeon after Xiaomao, none of them got any reward.

“We didn’t get any reward!” Cherry was enraged.

“Obviously, we’re the second or third team to arrive. Only the first discoverer can get the buff, idiot!” Butter Tank laughed.

“Anyway, we might have found the jackpot. Let’s scout the dungeon and…”_.

Before Cherry could finish her sentences, a massive horde of 40 gnolls howled and sprinted toward them. Among the crowd, four elite gnolls raised their clubs and cheered.

Butter Tank turned around and raised his shield. The other knights also rushed forward to support their leader.

CLANK

CLANK

The claws of the gnolls grazed the shields.

The damage dealers and mages got into their positions. They counterattacked against the gnolls.

Shieldsmen bellowed, taunting enemies. Mages and rangers used their active skills while frontline fighters stepped up and protect the fragile mages.

Butter Tank stood still, watching the reactions and the damage to the gnolls. Upon noticing that their average level was 25, he clicked his tongue.

“What a waste of time. Guys, the monsters won’t drop anything.”

The party’s average level was 50. As they were much stronger than these monsters, they couldn’t gain EXP or items.

However, a few gnolls managed to bite and scratch close-ranged fighters on the frontline. Three digits of damage appeared over their heads.

“Watch out! These guys hit hard if it bypasses your armor!”

“They’re glass cannons. Don’t get cocky and go out by yourself. You’ll be overrun,” Butter Tank rolled his eyes.

“This can be an annoying dungeon. They have numbers, but their attack power is too high for level 20s!”

…

Five minutes later

Although the fight was easy as gnoll’s HP was low, they showed signs of intelligence. Many gnolls ignored Butter Tank and other shieldsmen’s warcry and taunt skills. They sometimes leaped over the defenders and melee combatants to attack mages and healers.

Their party’s backline was in disarray. The frontline fighters and warriors retreated and rescued the damage dealers and healers. However, doing so created gaps in their formation.

Elite gnolls suddenly moved together in a team. They pushed Butter Tank aside and smashed a swordsman’s head, reducing the latter’s HP by 50% in one hit!

The other elite gnolls also stopped attacking the shieldsmen and grabbed the arm of a nearby warrior. Then, they threw the player into the cave, letting their colleagues handle them.

“WHAT THE HELL?!”

Butter Tank was shocked that the gnolls used tactics in fights. In other dungeons, regular monsters always mindlessly attacked the shieldsmen and warriors on the frontline. But here, they behaved like players!

AWOOOO!!

During the chaos, the second patrol unit heard the commotion and came out to investigate. Upon seeing the combat scene, all gnolls howled as if they were alerting their friends.

RUMBLE

Because of the new A.I., all respawned gnolls on the first level heard the summoning howl and rushed toward the entrance of the cave. Within 10 seconds, five hundred Dirty Gnoll and 50 elite monsters charged out to support the first patrol unit!

The formation of Butter Tank’s team crumbled as five swordsmen and three rangers were isolated and killed in combat. More gnolls bypassed Butter Tank and chased after the mages and healers.

“R-RETREAT!!”

Butter Tank shouted and turned around, planning to head back to support the other teammates.

BANG

Because of the distraction, one of the elite gnoll’s clubs smacked the back of Butter’s head. A critical hit warning appeared, and his HP decreased by 500!

The damage was nothing for a level-60 tank-class character.

DING

<You have been stunned for three seconds.>

Unfortunately, an abnormal status effect spelled his doom. The regular monsters chased after the weaker players while elite gnolls surrounded Butter Tank and other shieldsmen. They sneered at them.

“HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?! AREN’T THEY JUST LEVEL 20 MOBS?!”

None of the players understood how these gnolls were so strong and smart.

As soon as the healers died, the party was overwhelmed and annihilated.

…

Pangu Universe Incorporated

Standing in the administrative office, facing his manager, Wang Mang sweated profusely.

The manager glared at the employee. His laser pointer was turned on and the red spot was on the LCD screen on the wall.

The screen showed the live feed of the Gnoll Dungeon. Just now, all party members, including Butter Tank, were slaughtered by the horde of gnolls.

“Have you realized what you did?”

Wang Mang gulped as he knew what had happened. However, he was so ashamed that he couldn’t utter a word.

“Do you know how many A.I. are we using in this game?”

“Y-Yes, boss. Karmic Soul A.I. and Warlord A.I.”

“Do you know the difference between them?”

“Yes. The Karmic Soul A.I. is for town NPCs and scenario quest NPCs. As for the Warlord A.I-“

“THAT IS FOR HEGEMONY PATCH!”

“YES, BOSS!” Because of fear, Wang Mang shouted by reflex.

The manager slammed his fist on the table. His favorite teacup fell and shattered while the surface of the hardwood cracked.

“This A.I. is still under development! We haven’t adjusted its strength yet, and they’re fighting with 200% potential difficulty by default. Why did you install it to the game?!”

“I’M SORRY, SIR!!”

Wang Mang was on his knees, kowtowing to his boss.

The manager’s breathing was ragged. His red face and bulging veins intimidated Wang Mang.

The awkward silence lasted a few seconds. The manager finally controlled his temper, and his anger subsided. Still, he hadn’t forgiven Wang Mang.

“Because of you, we will need to fix everything from the ground up and prevent the dungeon break. The other projects and new patches will be delayed because of this. And do you know what will happen afterward?”

“…”

The manager walked toward Wang Mang and squatted next to him. He gently whispered.

“The company will lose money. We have been in the red ever since we started this project. Do you know how much the company pays for the developers and our salary every month?”

“… I don’t know, sir.”

“20 million RMB!”

“…”

“Because of you, the company will lose 40 million RMB of employee salary to pay useless egotistic moderators like you before the developer team can finalize the Landlord Patch! Do you understand the gravity of the situation?!”

“I’m sorry, sir!”

“No, no, no. You’re sorry? NO! That won’t cut it, Wang Mang. Get outta here and pack your stuff. Stay home, wait for the company’s lawsuit, and don’t go out of town. If you cooperate, your family can still have a way out. If you flee, well, you don’t want to know the consequences.”

“SIR, I’M DOING THIS FOR THE COMPANY!! PLEASE DON’T FIRE ME!!”

“For the company? Pfft. If using the A.I. to hinder a VIP customer’s gaming experience is good for business, WE WOULD HAVE DONE THAT SINCE DAY 1! YOU’RE FIRED! GET LOST!”

The manager kicked Wang Mang in the face, breaking his nose and two front teeth. He also pressed his phone’s intercom button.

“Get the security to drag Wang Mang out. He’s no longer an employee of our company. Also, tell the financial team to ban all his wallets and game accounts. He has no right to join the Ark.”

BAM

As soon as the manager finished his sentence, a burly 7-feet-tall security officer entered the room. He grabbed Wang Mang by his collar and pulled him out of the room.

After Wang Mang was carried away, the manager returned to his chair and sighed. He facepalmed.

“How am I going to explain this to the executives? What a headache.”

The manager, Dong Junya, gazed at the LCD monitor. The gnolls celebrated their victory by carrying the dropped items from the players to the center of the level. Then, the elite gnolls fiddled with them.

Some of them wielded the level 40 uncommon-grade shield, which had been dropped from Butter Tank. Another elite gnoll switched his weapon from a club to a long sword while a lucky regular gnoll inherited the club from his boss.

WHOOSH

Suddenly, the gnoll, who got the club from his captain, evolved. He transformed into an elite gnoll!

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

The other elite gnolls also evolved. The elite gnoll with level 40 uncommon shield evolved into Gnoll Shieldsman level 40! Another one waved the cane of a healer around, and his name changed to Gnoll Shaman.

Dong Junya’s expression turned dark. He knew why they became like that.

“This is troublesome. Rerolling is impossible. We’ll have to patch it with the older version A.I. and pretend that everything is a bug.”