Chapter 1168: The Special Defense Department's Layout
"Mr. Xu is a D-level player?" Sun Minqi spoke first, sizing up Xu Huo with a glance. "I don't recall seeing you on the rankings. Isn't it a bit late to start now?"
The player rankings listed over a hundred names, but Sun Minqi and his group often occupied the top spots—achievements they'd earned by publishing clearance guides and videos. Generally, to break into the upper ranks, one needed to upload at least three or more clearance guides or videos. Without outstanding performance, it was nearly impossible to climb to the front.
"Who cares about early or late? We're all in the same line of work now." Wang Dafa introduced himself to Xu Huo and added, "Brother Xu, look out for me from now on."
Wei Yan also greeted him, while Ban Tao raised his glass in acknowledgment.
The atmosphere was decent enough. Xu Huo shook hands with Wang Dafa. "Song Xiaohua was joking. I used to work as an extra."
Sun Minqi had been an actor before becoming a player, so upon hearing this, he stopped talking to Xu Huo.
After a few brief exchanges, Ban Tao brought up the matter of landing on the island.
The small island was now completely cordoned off by the Special Defense Department. Boats were prohibited from the surrounding waters, and aircraft were banned from flying overhead. Even if they went in force, they couldn't get close to the island.
"Don't worry about that. I've already negotiated with the Special Defense Department," Wang Xiaohui said. "Actually, it's not just the Special Defense Department landing on the island—other player organizations are coming too. But before entering, everyone signed an agreement with the Special Defense Department: at least one item obtained on the island must be sold to them."
"That condition from the Special Defense Department hardly counts as a condition," Wei Yan remarked.
The players heading to the island were mainly after the potential nascent instance forming there. If they actually got their hands on an instance, who would trade with the Special Defense Department?
"The Special Defense Department is being so agreeable—could there be a trick?" Song Xiaohua asked.
"This matter isn't really up to the Special Defense Department to decide," Sun Minqi sneered. "The island's barrier is still expanding outward and has already covered a considerable stretch of sea. To put it bluntly, any player with a long-range teleportation item can get close. The Special Defense Department can't possibly guard against that many people, so they're just loosening up to do everyone a favor."
"That's not necessarily true," Ban Tao said. "No matter how wide the sea area is, the Special Defense Department always has ways to block it. I suspect they've already explored some of the internal situation and are letting outsiders in for other reasons."
"They're not going to use us as cannon fodder, are they?" Song Xiaohua hesitated. "I have to say, the Special Defense Department is perfectly capable of pulling something like that."
"If you're afraid of dying, don't go," Sun Minqi sneered coldly.
Song Xiaohua shot him a look but didn't say much more.
"Actually, everyone doesn't need to worry too much," Wang Xiaohui said. "The Special Defense Department will send people to accompany us."
"The Special Defense Department is joining in too?" Wei Yan was surprised. "Aren't we acting independently?"
"We are acting independently," Wang Xiaohui said. "But as a condition for us to enter, the Special Defense Department will have two players accompany us."
"Is it the same for everyone else?" Xu Huo interjected here.
"That's how it is when there are many people," Wang Xiaohui replied.
This answer was quite subtle. It wasn't that having many people meant the Special Defense Department would give them special "treatment"—rather, the stronger ones would be "looked after" by the Special Defense Department.
"Mr. Xu, would you like to join us?" Wang Xiaohui turned the topic back to him.
"It would be better if we could all go together," Song Xiaohua jumped in first.
But this didn't sit well with Sun Minqi and his group. Sun Minqi said, "Miss Wang, we agreed earlier that only the four of us and Wei Mang would land on the island. Bringing others along might make things inconvenient."
He practically said outright that he thought Xu Huo and the others would hold them back.
Wei Yan and Ban Tao didn't say anything, but their silence was telling.
Wang Dafa muttered a few vague words but didn't extend an invitation either.
This was actually quite normal. Sun Minqi and his group had likely already assigned roles within their team. Abruptly adding two people could easily disrupt team coordination, especially since they were meeting for the first time and couldn't trust each other.
Song Xiaohua seemed eager to team up with them. Xu Huo smiled at him and said, "We're just here to watch the fun. We might not even land on the island."
Hearing this, Song Xiaohua didn't press further.
"Mr. Xu is too modest," Wang Xiaohui said, clearly well-informed. "Even Minister Fan of the Special Defense Department couldn't get the better of you. Maybe this time, both the Special Defense Department and I will just be running in place."
Strength brought confidence and confidence brought confidence. That was true for the Special Defense Department, and it was true for Wang Xiaohui now.
"That's just the Special Defense Department not bothering with a few players," Song Xiaohua said. "If they had to deal with every player who stuck their head out, would they even have time?"
"I suspect this island landing might also be because they're short-handed. Maybe the barrier is already bigger than the original island. The Special Defense Department operates as a unified force, so there might be blind spots. They don't have the freedom we do."
His reasoning was oddly sound.
In fact, the Special Defense Department did have this issue. Their vanguard team had already entered the barrier and found nothing in the ruins.
Minister Fan hadn't officially stepped down yet, so he was overseeing this operation along with two team leaders.
"Our elites found nothing. Finding a breakthrough from civilian players will be difficult," Team Leader Chang said with a sigh.
"There are plenty of formidable figures among civilians. Don't underestimate them, Team Leader Chang," Team Leader Lu said with a smile. "Remember that building that appeared in Flower City? The Special Defense Department sent people in to inspect it first, but in the end, it fell into someone else's hands... Xu Huo isn't going to show up this time too, is he?"
"He's already on Wang Xiaohui's plane," Minister Fan said, frowning at the name. "But he's not on the list Wang Xiaohui provided. We won't let him in when the time comes."
Team Leader Chang was quite surprised. "It seems the Minister thinks highly of him." So wary that he wouldn't even allow him to land on the island.
"He's a troublemaker. What hasn't he meddled in? But every time he does, he leaves the Special Defense Department looking foolish," Minister Fan said, his brows furrowed. "He does have merits, but the space there is unstable. If he stirs up something big, what happens to our people inside?"
"Even if he could obtain the instance, he's not getting in!"
Team Leader Lu laughed and said meaningfully, "Look at it from another angle—falling into our own hands is better than falling into outsiders' hands."
Minister Fan's expression darkened. "They can't resist such a good opportunity. But once they come, they won't leave so easily."
"Has the personnel list been sent out?" he asked, turning around.
Team Leader Chang nodded. "Of the one hundred sixty-nine people confirmed to land on the island through negotiations with the Special Defense Department, twenty-seven have been infiltrated by foreign organizations. Their identity information has been distributed to every player landing on the island. They won't have a chance to escape."
"Additionally, as of now, we've detected eighteen groups attempting to approach the island with unknown origins."
"Let them in if they want," Minister Fan said, his patience wearing thin. "If they ignore the Special Defense Department's ban, let them learn their lesson."
(Chapter End)