Chen Mang said nothing more. He took the Dragon Assault Rifle from Biao, pressed it to the Goblin rchant's head, and gently squeezed the trigger.
Rat-tat-tat
The sharp crack of gunfire echoed through the bottom of the Apocalypse Abyss.
The Goblin rchant in the golden cloak collapsed in a pool of blood. The bag on its back, which had been tightly secured, slowly fell open. Several items glowing with white light spilled out, as enticing as a bride lifting her veil.
Just then—
"Cunning human!"
A Goblin that had been unconscious and severely injured suddenly snapped awake. Though its body couldn't move, it glared at Chen Mang with fierce hatred. "Human, I never thought you would be cunning enough to set a trap at the bottom of the Apocalypse Abyss!"
"I thought I was safe, traveling six thousand ters underground, but I still walked right into it! And the Goblin rchant ultimately died by your hand!"
"So be it, so be it!"
"I will rember this failure for the rest of my life. Tell
your na, human! You will be my greatest enemy! I will return!"
Chen Mang raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. A monster with intelligence, the ability to communicate, and it even spoke Mandarin? This was a rare find indeed.
He knew many monsters possessed basic intelligence. For example, the Zombie King or Commander in a horde could command zombies to form encirclent patterns, and Cannibalistic Spiders had their hunting strategies. But they were mostly driven by instinct. He'd never encountered anything like this Goblin.
His curiosity was piqued.
He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the Goblin, and hauled it into the cockpit for a private interrogation.
The Goblin was only about a ter tall and scrawny, so lifting it with one hand wasn't difficult.
Inside the cockpit, Chen Mang settled at the control console, studying the severely injured Goblin before him. Its exposed skin was green, it was covered in coarse hair, and it had noticeably sturdy feet with a potato-like face.
The clothes it wore looked like a child's outfit made of rough sackcloth.
"Cunning human, what are you doing?!"
The Goblin's eyes held a hint of panic as it roared defiantly, "Kill ! A great Goblin will never fear death! Only weak and foolish humans fear death!"
"Of course," the Goblin licked its lips, "you're different from other foolish humans. You're a cunning human. Otherwise, you never would have been able to capture the great ."
"Are you complinting ?"
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair with interest, arms crossed as he sized up the small Goblin. He already had a rough idea of what was happening based on the creature's words.
"Of course," the Goblin snorted. "To praise an enemy is to praise oneself. Cunning human, don't you understand such a simple truth?"
"Mm-hmm."
Chen Mang nodded noncommittally, then said quietly, "Tell , why do you have the ability to resurrect?"
"You... how did you know?" the Goblin stamred, its face a mask of shock and disbelief. "How... how could you possibly know that?"
"I am a prophet among humans. I can see the thoughts in others' hearts."
"A... a prophet?"
"No wonder, no wonder you were waiting for
in this desolate Apocalypse Abyss. So this was all part of your plan. You calculated even this?"
The small Goblin seed to rember sothing, murmuring in a daze, "The Goblin race once had a prophet, too. After the apocalypse ca, he died imdiately. He was scared to death."
"I lived a little longer. I died in the second year after the apocalypse."
"When I woke up again, I was here. My forr clansn had all beco mindless, like walking corpses. But we had gained the ability to resurrect infinitely. After death, we just had to sleep in a dark space for a while, and we could be revived."
"I tried to communicate with my clansn, but they all ignored ."
"Their souls have been devoured by devils."
"There are always different voices in my head, telling
to escort the Goblin rchant to different places."
"The destination is different each ti. This ti it was the Mohe Hills. I failed many tis at first, but after I built the Goblin Train, I never failed again. I never thought I'd fall into your hands this ti."
"But," the Goblin declared, "I will return for revenge! I will complete the next mission! I already have a greater plan in mind!"
Chen Mang didn't reply, silently processing the information from the Goblin.
It seed that although this Goblin possessed intelligence, it wasn't particularly high. This Goblin might have originated from another planet. After that planet experienced its apocalypse, the Goblins were wiped out and then beca the Goblin monsters on this world.
However, there seed to be a glitch sowhere, allowing this special Goblin to awaken its mories, making it different from the mindless Goblins that had completely devolved into monsters.
"Do you get any rewards for completing the escort missions?"
"No."
"Then why are you so determined to complete them?"
The Goblin froze, its brain montarily short-circuiting. A mont later, it responded. "Because I want to prove the greatness of the Goblin race again! Even if I'm the only one left, I will make foolish humans understand that the Goblins who live underground are the greatest!"
"Of course, Goblins are great. What I an is, since you live underground, you must be skilled at mining, right?"
"Hmph."
The Goblin snorted, puffing out its chest with pride. "We Goblins are known as the kings of the underground. Of course, we're good at mining! We are the most diligent and united race!"
"Then..."
Chen Mang's interest sharpened as he stared at the Goblin. "Do you know the coordinates of other Goblins? What I an is, can you gather all the remaining Goblins? From now on, you don't have to be monsters. You can take charge of the mining operations on my train."
"You an... submit to you?"
The Goblin's eyes flashed with dangerous light as it said, word by word, "A great Goblin will never—"
"I will help you restart Goblin civilization. You will be the new Goblin King."
The Goblin froze as if struck by lightning, its eyes filling with a dazed look and a barely perceptible glimr of hope. After a long mont, it suddenly smiled and shook its head.
"Cunning human, you are good at making deals."
"But," it continued, "the Goblin race is down to just . Even I am no longer a true Goblin. I'm like a ghost inhabiting this body, with only fragnts of mories from before I died. The Goblin race has been completely wiped out."
"Besides, you humans can't even protect yourselves now. How could you possibly have the power to help Goblins rebuild their civilization?"
"I'm not like them."
"How are you different?"
"I am a cunning human. They are foolish humans."
The Goblin looked up, its eyes fixed on Chen Mang. After a mont, it spoke in a hoarse, deliberate voice, "Cunning human, you are very cunning indeed. I admit you've convinced
sowhat. Although my clansn have beco walking corpses, I must defend their rights."
"If we submit to you, can you guarantee that their working hours will not exceed eighteen hours a day?"
"Can you guarantee eight days of rest every year? In the first eight days of each year, all mbers of the Goblin race must put down their work to celebrate."
"Can you guarantee a full al and water every day?"
"And..."
"In the future, if there is truly a chance to rebuild our civilization, are you willing to support
as the Goblin King?"
Chen Mang grinned, helping the fallen Goblin to its feet and brushing the dust from its shoulders. "First, let
take you to get your wounds treated and have sothing to eat. We can talk slowly over a al."
"By the way, you ntioned you had a greater plan for next ti. What was it?"
"Next ti, I'll travel eight thousand ters underground."
"Good."
Chen Mang sighed softly. "You are the smartest one in your race. Co with ."
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