Chapter 1069: The Crime of Inaction
Xu Huo took some dried meat and water and had Tan Qi distribute them to the other two. He also took a pack of soft dry rations from the supplies obtained earlier at the W37 base station and gave them to Tan Qi, telling him to take the infant into the shelter to rest.
He kept a certain distance from Uncle Guan and the others. Seeing that he seemed well-stocked with supplies, the others couldn't hide their envy.
After a while, Uncle Guan walked over and said in a low voice, "Is that medicine of yours effective?"
"Haven't you tested your own blood?" Xu Huo asked.
Uncle Guan smiled. If he had detected poisoning, he wouldn't have come over to ask specifically.
"Anyway, there are still about ten days left. When you really can't hold on, you'll try any method."
"Is a B-rank player's luggage compartment that big?" Xu Huo shifted the topic.
"Just a few square meters more than a C-rank player's." Uncle Guan understood his meaning. "You're asking if the supplies I brought are enough to feed all these people, right?"
"I can tell you plainly—no."
Xu Huo looked at him, but he continued, "I'm not a good person, but I don't want to be someone who watches others die without lifting a finger. When we need help from others, we preach sacrifice and dedication, but when it's our turn, we don't put in any effort at all—that goes against the principles of our Holy Sword Society."
"You can't save them for long," Xu Huo said vaguely.
"One day at a time. It's not like we can kill them all just because they're at risk of turning into xenomorphs, right?" Uncle Guan said meaningfully, "After all, to ordinary people, we are the strong. If all the strong in this world could put themselves in others' shoes, there wouldn't be so much killing."
Perhaps because of hunger, the people who initially had no strong feelings toward Uncle Guan and his group were starting to grow restless. It wasn't that they didn't know who had saved them, but in the hopeless waiting, they focused more on the supplies the players carried.
"When an ordinary person picks up a butcher's knife, are they still weak?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"The law also says 'innocent until proven guilty,' and they only have thoughts." Uncle Guan used his dagger to cut open a hard-skinned fruit, drank the juice inside, and wiped his mouth. "Any crime that hasn't been put into action cannot be called a crime."
Xu Huo smiled faintly, raised the water in his hand in a toasting gesture toward him, then opened the door and entered the shelter.
Tan Qi had already finished his food and fed a little to the infant.
Xu Huo took off his protective mask and looked at him. "Do you feel anything wrong with your body?"
Tan Qi had heard his conversation with Chi Minghong and said, "If there's a problem, I'll tell you."
Xu Huo nodded, sat down, and opened his personal panel to check the information on Under Dimension.
Half a day had passed. Although the sky in this space had brightened, the light was still poor, and the rain seemed like it would never stop. He updated the weather conditions and described the situation in the fissure zone. An account that had replied to him multiple times before responded again:
"The original poster must be in a high-risk instance, right? Near the E20 wormhole point, lacking sunlight—that should be not far from Zone 002. If the original poster starts feeling hungry, don't panic, because you'll slowly find that no matter how much you eat, you'll only get hungrier. Good luck."
Xu Huo hadn't selected a wormhole point when posting the message, so the game had automatically identified and categorized it. It seemed this zone was indeed not far from Zone 002.
He privately messaged that account for more information, but the other party clearly didn't intend to reveal much. Instead, they replied with a hint of schadenfreude: "What's a little hunger? Players have good bodies—going hungry for two days is nothing. Better than eating random things."
Xu Huo raised the price again. The other side wavered and finally answered after half a minute, "If you can give me a B-rank item, I'll tell you how to survive the fourteen days safely."
"I'll think about it." Xu Huo replied and closed the auto-panel. From the other party's attitude, he could at least confirm two things: first, the things in this zone couldn't be eaten casually; second, hunger probably wouldn't lead to irreversible consequences—at least not to the level before the initial trial train.
Knowing these two points was enough.
He walked over to Tan Qi and checked the infant's condition. "He's eaten enough. Don't feed him for the next three hours. If he cries, give him some water."
Tan Qi acknowledged.
"Knock!" The door sounded once.
Xu Huo opened it to find Chi Minghong outside. She gestured toward Tan Qi and said, "If we can't find a place to settle down tonight, they plan to dig a hole and hide temporarily. But staying in one spot isn't realistic, so they'll move after one night."
The surroundings were all wilderness, which barely counted as a method.
After another ten minutes of rest, the group set off again.
Xu Huo was in no hurry to travel, so he went along with Uncle Guan and the others. The two children couldn't walk well, so they were tied with balloon strings and floated in the air. Chi Minghong was quite envious and discussed with him that she and Tan Qi would each take half an hour of floating time.
Her leg was injured, and she had been relying on items to move, but nothing was as carefree as floating in the air.
Xu Huo actually went along with her, making Tan Qi walk on the ground.
"Next time, I'll buy a practical robot," Chi Minghong sighed. "Multifunctional robots are too expensive—I've always been reluctant. Once I get out of here, I'll definitely pick a good one."
Xu Huo actually had one but hadn't used it yet.
The game's robots and androids weren't as outdated as 014. Depending on the cost, the more expensive ones were closer to humans, capable of following commands, replacing physical labor, or even fighting. But the more functions, the higher the price. They were commonly seen in Game Government bases and district government offices. For ordinary players, it was better to spend that money on two more items.
"Robots aren't much cheaper than items," Zhou Yuanzhu said from ahead. "When it comes down to a real fight, they're just a lump of metal—not very useful."
"Not necessarily," the usually silent Ruan Qiyan interjected. "As long as the price is right, a single robot can have flight, remote positioning, and attack functions."
"And it can do housework and assist with games. Especially when it's inconvenient to move, a robot can carry you for seven or eight hours without stopping."
The first part was somewhat tempting, but the last part was completely unnecessary.
Zhou Yuanzhu wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Who spends that much money just to have a robot carry them around? What's the point?"
Ruan Qiyan argued, "In a situation like this, wouldn't a robot be practical?"
"Robots sold to players never come with weapons. Buying one just for manual labor is too extravagant," Zhou Yuanzhu said. "Even a basic one costs over a million."
At the mention of price, Ruan Qiyan fell silent.
Xu Huo listened to their conversation without interrupting. When evening came and everyone prepared to dig a hole to rest, he took out the tool robot he had received as a reward from the game last time, intending to help out.
(Chapter End)