Chapter 1138: The Vanished Flight

Father Xu was very happy to receive the call and truthfully explained the situation. They had indeed experienced several kidnappings, but the ones taken were not members of the Xu family, but rather members of the Yu family.

Those who were not direct relatives of Xu Huo could not enter the confidential secure zone not open to the public. After the last Black Rain incident, which involved a kidnapping attempt against Xu Huo's half-brother Tong Tong, the Xu family and Ms. Fang had been relocated.

Since then, the Xu family had basically never come out, so even if someone wanted to target them, they had no opportunity. The unlucky ones were Ms. Yu's maternal family, especially Yu Qingqing, who loved to stir up trouble outside and brought a lot of problems. In the end, the Special Defense Department had to handle everything, including several kidnapping incidents.

"Is everyone in the family doing well?" Xu Huo asked.

"We're all fine. It's almost New Year's Eve. Are you coming home to visit?" Father Xu said. "Your mother and I miss you very much."

Xu Huo acknowledged and hung up the phone, then booked a plane ticket—currently, there were no direct flights to Jing City Airport, so he had to go to a newly built airport outside the city and then transfer by car into Jing City.

Now the authorities had also announced the locations of existing random instances, so traveling outside was relatively safe. After months of effort by the Special Defense Department, Ting City had stabilized and basically returned to normal living order. However, there were still few people out at night, though it was quite safe during the day.

Xu Huo took a car to the airport and took the opportunity to observe Ting City's current appearance along the way. Although there were no major changes overall, metal railings added to building exteriors were now everywhere. Besides patrol vehicles, temporary alarm systems were installed every twenty meters on the streets, allowing people to seek help immediately in emergencies.

Of course, there were also more player training institutions—genuine player training. With the universal playerization of the population, basically anyone willing would go to the Special Defense Department to try. Among them, there were no shortage of failures, but the number of successful survivors was also enormous. The Special Defense Department simply couldn't manage that many, at most publishing basic common knowledge. Things like adapting to items and physical changes were beyond their reach, so training institutions emerged in response to demand, mainly teaching new players instance experience and combat skills.

After a period of chaos, Country X seemed to be transforming for the better.

Even the taxi driver seemed very alert, having already probed where he was from during the ride.

"I'm originally from Jing City. I came to Ting City for work and plan to go home for the New Year this time," Xu Huo said with a smile.

The driver said with slight envy, "Now the country is urging everyone not to move around randomly. There aren't that many flights, and they're often taken by players. It never gets to us ordinary people. Driving ourselves risks encountering new random instances. You can still go home for the New Year—that's really something."

Xu Huo gave a lollipop to the child in the back seat. "Things will get better and better."

"You bet!" The driver perked up. "Even though I have to bring my kid along to pick up fares, it's still much better than abroad. I see on the news that the epidemic is still rampant overseas. Players there aren't as law-abiding as ours in Country X. They clash with the government every day. Robbing banks and armored cars is small potatoes. That's really no way to live!"

"And some small countries have even lost their nations entirely. The whole country's people have become refugees, driven away everywhere, dying of illness and starvation in droves... Tell me, what era is this, and people are still starving to death..."

Xu Huo listened to the driver ramble about news he'd seen online and soon arrived at the airport. However, when they got there, the driver stopped far away. "Sorry, young man, we can't go any further ahead."

Xu Huo turned his head to look and saw a convoy blocking the airport entrance. Players were clearing the way, and the airport vehicles behind were forced to pull aside.

Xu Huo paid the fare and casually took a backpack from the luggage compartment as he got out.

Quite a few people got out with him, but seeing the number of players by the convoy, they opted to avoid trouble and went around to enter the airport.

The convoy had also brought players, though it was unclear what kind of important figure they were. There were four bodyguards clearing the way, all players, and airport staff came specially to receive them.

"Even after evolution, the rich are still the rich," a passerby said sourly.

"Keep your voice down. If someone hears you and comes back to teach you a lesson, you'll just have to take it," another player joked. "Nowadays, players who hit people don't get sent to jail."

Most of the passengers on the flight were players—some in groups, some traveling alone. They didn't know each other but could exchange a few laughs. Someone also came to strike up a conversation with Xu Huo.

The current flight cabin had been modified, with some sections having their partitions removed, so everyone sat together. But a small conflict arose when choosing seats. The young gentleman in sunglasses had occupied the first four rows and wouldn't allow other players to sit there.

The plane wasn't full, so sitting in the back wasn't impossible, but this attitude was displeasing. Someone immediately started a fight, but they were quickly stopped by the arriving escort.

The escort was a player on flight duty. After mediating, the player who wanted to sit up front backed down. "What a piece of trash. I don't want to sit with someone like you anyway!"

"Say that again." The young player surrounded by bodyguards stood up, took off his sunglasses, and turned to face the speaker.

People with abundant resources evolved more easily and had stronger gear. The complaining player clearly understood this. After a brief exchange of glances with the other party, he looked away.

One side voluntarily backed down, and the conflict fizzled out. The plane soon took off.

Xu Huo sat in the back, put on his eye mask, and rested.

The King Fungus had already digested the deadly poison inside him. It had taken about nine days in total, with the mycelium growing batch after batch. If he hadn't still been holding the Nuwa Stone, he probably wouldn't have made it through this time.

But this incident also served as a warning. He needed to be more careful in the future, and his protective suit needed an upgrade.

However, the protective suits currently available for direct purchase within the game couldn't possibly defend against weapons condensed from Space Rays, unless they were custom-made and required materials with special attributes.

The Artificer currently based in Zone 014 definitely couldn't do it. He thought of the business card given by the Holy Sword Society. Maybe he could look up that Artificer—there was no third-party constraint for custom items in the game. It wasn't uncommon for Artificers to take a player's materials and run... He'd have to wait until he reached Zone 011.

After replenishing his self-healing agent, he leaned back in his seat and gradually grew drowsy.

Meanwhile, the ground control tower fell into chaos. Shortly after takeoff, under clear weather conditions and still within visible range, the plane suddenly vanished from the air!

"Tower calling Jing Air 6538!"

"Tower calling Jing Air 6538, please respond!"

...

(Chapter End)