Chapter 1314: Substitute
"Old Zheng!" The A-class player glanced in this direction, used a prop to bind the robot, then immediately came over to the old man.
Xu Huo kept his distance from them. He confirmed the old man was dead, though he hadn't expected it to be so easy.
"Having talent doesn't guarantee a long life. Those without talent need to be even more careful."
The old man had been too confident in his spiritual world. That white flame could indeed consume Xu Huo's spiritual power, but that didn't mean it could destroy his spiritual world. On the contrary, the spiritual power of the two would interfere with each other more deeply, affecting personal judgment. Eyes and ears could deceive, and so could illusions.
Seeing the A-class player quickly place the old man's corpse into a cryogenic container, Xu Huo narrowed his eyes. "Is a successor of the Han family not worth as much as a single Mental Evolver?"
Han Yi's corpse had been smashed to pieces on the spot, with no attempt at rescue. The difference in treatment was stark.
"So the Han Yi who died was a fake after all?" He looked at the A-class player. "That's a deep game. Who would have thought that the person setting off a human head fireworks display in the city center and dealing with assassins from fellow city players wasn't the real Han Yi? All that effort for nothing."
The A-class player, who had already stored the old man's body, stood up. He reached out with one hand, and a powerful force seized Xu Huo!
His body moved forward uncontrollably. Xu Huo immediately opened a door in front of him to break free from the pull, then used a Defense Barrier to block the A-class player's flying kick. As he retreated, he said, "Don't you need to hurry back to slice up that brain?"
The words seemed to provoke the other. The A-class player, who had barely spoken, said darkly, "What's your relationship with the Magician?"
Xu Huo guessed he had recognized the robot as a prop made by the Magician. He smiled slightly. "You guess."
"Heh!" The A-class player let out a cold laugh. The long sword in his hand suddenly disappeared, replaced by something shaped like an apple. The moment it was taken out, the player's hand was almost completely covered by compressed rays. Xu Huo didn't hesitate and used his ticket to leave Fresh Flower City.
After being transported to the station, his tense nerves relaxed slightly.
Although Area 001 had no Random Instances, that didn't mean the A-class player wasn't an Instance holder. If it was an Instance, things would be difficult. Since matters in Area 001 were concluded, there was no need to linger.
He wondered what role the "Han Yi" he had killed played in the Han family. But since it wasn't the real Han Yi, it probably wouldn't have much impact on the family... Such was the power of player factions in a strong game district.
"Truly strong."
"Big brother... hello, want to have some fun?" A scantily clad woman at the corner of the station approached him, doing her best to display feminine softness, her face full of fawning smiles. "A C-class ticket or ten thousand white notes will do."
There were quite a few players in the station, and the woman was clearly not on her first job. Under the gaze of a strange man, she hid the disgust in her eyes. "Anywhere is fine. If you don't want people to see, you can use a prop to cover up."
Xu Huo looked at her. "I don't have any extra C-class tickets. How about an E-class?"
The woman could barely hide her disappointment, forcing a smile. "I can't go to low-level instances anymore this year... Money is fine too."
Not far away, two men were laughing. When they saw Xu Huo looking over, they winked ambiguously. "She's a bit thin, but the experience is still quite good. Female players have their charms. But ten thousand white notes isn't worth it. Give her two hundred as a token!"
The woman endured the humiliation, lowered her head, and turned to leave.
"Wait," Xu Huo called her back. "How much money do you have?"
"I don't have any to give away, but I can sell it to you. If you don't have enough money, you can use props as payment."
The woman said nervously, "I only have less than ten thousand white notes. As for props... I only have two or three E-class items left. No one even wants to buy them..."
Xu Huo took out a C-class ticket and handed it to her. "Don't get scammed again."
The woman tremblingly handed over all her assets, sobbing as she thanked him. "Thank you... really, thank you... I've been here for days... If I don't get a ticket, I'll have to die in a high-risk instance..."
"I... I originally wanted to spend money to buy a Gray Player spot... I didn't expect to be scammed out of everything... My parents are dead too... I still have a child... I don't want to die..."
As she handed the money to Xu Huo, she unconsciously grabbed him, crying and pouring out her story.
Xu Huo just listened. A nearby female player couldn't help but say, "How did she even get to C-class..."
"My family used to be very rich, and my husband was very capable... We could buy guides to clear instances, and we could hire people to take us through..." The woman turned to answer her, crying even harder. "But my husband died..."
The female player looked a bit angry, but her anger was immediately dispelled by the woman's next words:
"I'll die in the game sooner or later too, but I still want to go back and see my daughter. She's only three years old... What will happen to her then..."
For a moment, only the woman's sobbing could be heard in the station.
Xu Huo accepted five thousand white notes and said, "The fact that you're still alive means you're not as weak as you think. Since you've seen so many Instance guides and made it to C-class, you have some experience. Try to survive the next Instance and you can go back."
"Obtaining a Gray Player status is very difficult. A Paused Player status is more practical."
Gray Players can retain their Player Panel, which is a fatal temptation for many who want to escape the game but don't want to be at others' mercy. However, the Game Government Base has strict review for Gray Players, making it hard to arrange.
A Paused Player status is relatively easier to obtain, especially for technical talent.
The woman was still shaking her head. "I can't..."
"You haven't even tried, and you're already saying you can't. Do you still want to rely on others in the game?" The female player who had spoken earlier was angry at her lack of ambition. "Who can you rely on? You've sunk to selling your body and getting scammed. Have you never thought about standing on your own?"
"Easy for you to say. Lying down to earn money, what's wrong with that?" The male player from before sneered, feeling targeted. "At least no one's killing her. In the game, just being alive is good enough."
The female player gave him a cold look. "It's because of scum like you that the baseline of human morality is dragged down!"
The two sides were at odds, and other players watched the commotion.
Xu Huo glanced at the woman beside him, who had finally stopped crying. "Isn't your game time almost up? Why aren't you leaving?"
The woman snapped back to reality. She bowed deeply to him before taking the ticket and leaving. Her Instance time had just ended, and she had been teleported to a nearby station. Her boarding station was elsewhere.
"So what if you gave her a ticket? She might die in the station before she even gets on the train." The male player sized up Xu Huo and sneered. "Playing the good guy."
(Chapter End)