Chapter 61: Sincerity
"Unfortunately, that's another type of mutated toxin. The current antidote isn't very effective against it." Team Leader Wu shook his head.
Xu Huo wondered if Professor Han had kicked the bucket and made a mental note to ask Liu Jia next time.
"Mr. Xu, aside from bringing these items, I've also come to formally invite you to join us. Currently, the nation is establishing Vanguard Player squads in various cities, and we're in dire need of talented individuals like you. If you join, you'll have access to the latest findings on dimensional rifts, and when necessary, you can apply for advanced items."
"Your family can be relocated to a national safe zone, exempting them from the risk of being drawn into random instances."
Last time, Nie Xuan had mentioned securing the best possible terms. This time, Team Leader Wu laid out the conditions directly. Xu Huo wasn't interested in any of it except for one thing—he was very curious about the method for avoiding random instances.
"In fact, over twenty random instances have already appeared within our country's borders alone, and that doesn't include suspected but unconfirmed locations. The domestic and international communities have exchanged information and identified some patterns in instance appearances. With current technology, we can only build avoidance facilities in key areas, and that's already straining the nation's full resources."
Team Leader Wu's gaze hardened, his expression turning solemn. "This isn't a shortfall in manpower, but a scarcity of rare materials."
"So getting your family into a safe zone is the maximum benefit the research institute can secure. I hope you understand."
Xu Huo understood clearly. If the nation was using cannibal players for experiments, then the testing for these safe zones had likely cost many lives as well. But as for truly mastering the patterns of instance appearances and completely avoiding them—he knew that was impossible. Their understanding of the game was still superficial, far from grasping its underlying principles.
Still, Team Leader Wu had shown sincerity, so Xu Huo needed to reciprocate.
"I can cooperate with you, but I won't be under the research institute's command." Xu Huo looked at the two across from him. "If you need certain information, I can trade it for some of what I know. Additionally, if I come across any special metallic substances in the game, I'll find a way to bring them out and hand them over to you."
Team Leader Wu's expression was complicated. In truth, Vanguard Players had another mission when entering the game: collecting soil, plants, metals, and fossils. Metallic materials were especially important—many items bore traces of them. Of course, special materials alone couldn't explain the peculiar nature of the items themselves, but given that players couldn't bring thermal weapons into the game, these materials were indispensable for crafting defensive tools.
It was already an accepted fact that the game world was connected to an advanced civilization.
Currently, the nation was lacking in both information and materials across the board—that was also a fact.
"If that's the case, relocating your family to a safe zone might not be possible," he said.
Xu Huo nodded. So-called safe zones weren't truly safe. Other game zones had Super Evolvers emerging, and wormhole points weren't completely sealed off—there was no guarantee other players wouldn't get in. The nation's true core could be hidden, but these places? Ordinary people could never enter them. Any other safe zone would stand out like a lighthouse at sea.
Seeing his persuasion fail, Team Leader Wu didn't linger. He set down the items and left.
The moment the door closed, the painting plastered in the hallway slid down. The thin sheet of paper hit the floor and transformed into a person, still wearing Xu Huo's short-sleeved shirt, grinning at him with an unfamiliar face.
Clothes worn on the body could also turn into paper.
Xu Huo made a quick mental note of that, then pretended not to notice as he turned to put away the antidote.
The antidote could be stored in his item slot, but there was no specific usage information—only the words "Unknown Potion."
He had previously tried putting some weapons and tools into his item slot but had failed every time. It seemed that only game-granted rewards could be stored. The antidote might be a modified game potion, but it still proved that items from outside the game could be stored as well.
Xu Huo glanced at the woman, stepped forward, and grabbed her wrist.
The game displayed no information about her.
"You don't belong to anyone?"
The woman nodded.
An ownerless item—no information, and no way to forcibly store it. Could it be that once an item gained consciousness, it was no longer a simple object but could decide its own fate, like a person?
Watching the pouting woman lean into him, Xu Huo offered a friendly smile. "Want a medal?"
The woman nodded eagerly.
"Get into the item slot, and I'll let you play with it."
The woman shook her head just as eagerly.
Xu Huo pushed her away and headed into the bathroom, not forgetting to say as he closed the door, "There's some change in the drawer. Tomorrow at seven, go buy some fried dough sticks and soy milk. And wash my clothes while you're at it."
The woman huffed indignantly and returned to the wall.
The next morning, Xu Huo stared at the large bag of fried dough sticks on the table. He paused. "You're eating too?"
The woman, who was hanging clothes, ran over bare-legged, excitedly showing off. She pulled out two one-yuan bills and pointed at the items on the table.
"You bought all this with two bucks." Xu Huo glanced at the shape on her chest and the hem of her shirt barely covering her butt. "Go put on some pants. I'll take you out to buy clothes later."
The woman beamed and blew him a kiss, then immediately grabbed a pair of shorts from his backpack and pulled them on. She sat down across from him, cupped her cheeks in her hands, and stared at him intently.
Locking eyes with her, Xu Huo ate his fried dough sticks slowly and took a sip of soy milk. "Got a name?"
The woman nodded, lifted her foot, and spread her toes apart. There, next to her big toe, were a few tiny characters written:
"Female · Painted on Beginning of Spring."
The painting woman tapped the first two characters and mouthed: Painting Woman, Painting Woman.
A painting had become an item.
If a player could turn paper into an item, then a painting becoming an item wasn't surprising.
"'Painting Woman' sounds weird. Let's call you Beginning of Spring." Xu Huo made the call on the spot.
The painting woman reluctantly accepted. Seeing that he had finished eating, she quickly put the leftovers in the fridge, then linked her arm through his, ready to head out.
Grabbing her by the back of the neck, he pulled her half a meter away, then locked the door and went downstairs.
He first stopped by the police station to turn in the wallet he had found earlier. At the entrance, he ran into Zhao Biao, who was seeing off some police officers' family members.
"Xu Huo!" Zhao Biao waved at him, said a few words to the people beside him, and walked over. "Is this your girlfriend?"
"Distant relative." Xu Huo paused. "Did you lose colleagues this time?"
"They weren't as lucky as me." Zhao Biao sighed and patted his shoulder. "I heard from the research institute that we owe a lot to you this time. You're a capable man. Good luck."
After leaving the police station, Xu Huo was quiet for a while.
Everyone coming and going here was either identifying bodies or filing reports. The prosperous and stable Ting City from a month ago was gone without a trace.
The painting woman suddenly tugged at his shirt and pointed at a women's clothing store on the street, mouthing: I want a skirt.
Xu Huo coldly pulled up his balance text message. "You've got a budget of five hundred bucks."