Chapter 140: Xu Huo's Three Requests
The three parties in the meeting fell silent for a second, then the Hai City Commander-in-Chief, prompted by the Jing City side, asked, "Are you from Country X?"
"I am." The voice, clearly altered by a voice changer, was indistinguishable as male or female.
"I hope you won't track my whereabouts."
"Rest assured, we will absolutely not actively investigate." Not to mention investigating, they wouldn't even ask about his location. With the current network system possibly under surveillance by Outer Zone players, they themselves weren't sure. Having a player who obtained a Super Item on their side was already a huge surprise; they would protect him, not give outsiders an opportunity.
"You mentioned earlier that you have a way to resolve Hai City's predicament. Specifically?"
"I'll step forward and lure away the Advanced Players," Xu Huo said.
"Is that a problem you can solve just by showing up? Can one person lure away that many people?" the old man in military uniform barked. "What if the Super Item falls into their hands? Who knows how many more will die!"
"I can try using the Super Item," Xu Huo continued. "I'm calling to seek assistance. You're also aware that if the Super Item doesn't appear, no player will leave Hai City."
It was the truth, but the risk was too great. The potential loss wasn't just one item, but also a highly promising player. Since Country X's rise, it had deeply understood the importance of talent, especially when facing an unknown world. Capable pioneers were more valuable than any item or rare object, because only when they advanced could the nation advance.
At that moment, the old man from Jing City said, "Tell us what assistance you need, and we'll do our utmost to provide it."
"But there's a prerequisite: we hope you prioritize your own life above all else."
"I have three requests," Xu Huo said.
"First: within one hour, transfer all real estate within the Black and White Roulette, preferably including land and plots, to the name 'Painting Woman.' If time is insufficient, at minimum, secure over half the area centered on the skyscraper."
"I mean all real estate, including every room on every floor."
"Second: deposit a large quantity of paper into the buildings, regardless of size."
"Third: have rescue personnel move the trapped, mobile crowds outdoors, making room for the Mass Life-and-Death Game."
"Is it feasible for the nation to requisition the houses?" the old man immediately asked. "Or must there be a complete property transfer procedure?"
"Let's try with one building," Xu Huo said.
The Hai City Commander-in-Chief immediately contacted the Housing Authority, transferred a property under his own name, stamped it with the national seal, and reported the address to Xu Huo.
Xu Huo didn't need to say anything; the Painting Woman's eyes lit up. Then he heard the person on the phone say the surveillance showed paper flying around inside the house.
Seeing her nod, Xu Huo said, "It's feasible. I'll contact you again in forty minutes."
He hung up and moved to a different location with the Painting Woman.
"I have a house!" After a few steps, the Painting Woman ran ahead of him and stretched out her hand. "So many, many houses!"
Seeing her beaming, Xu Huo asked, "Can you control all the paper in these houses?"
The Painting Woman nodded without thinking, then said, "Just like the colors on my body."
Xu Huo avoided crowded areas, choosing inconspicuous, small paths.
"Why does it require a name change?" he asked again. "Logically, item power shouldn't be constrained by human rules."
Both were Super Items, but "Three Seconds of Life" would automatically trigger upon the holder's death to rewind time, while the Painting Woman couldn't do that. Without the name change, she could only control a single building.
The Painting Woman looked at him blankly, her eyes saying, "I don't know the reason, but I understand that's how it works."
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow, didn't dwell on the issue, and instead focused on the government's movements.
They had already started acting. The fastest responders were the rescue personnel, who were moving trapped people outdoors.
The Mass Life-and-Death Game didn't always appear indoors or outdoors; sometimes it encompassed entire buildings. Except for those truly unable to move, most people were relocating.
"Bookstore!" The Painting Woman happily ran into an exquisite bookstore, headed straight for the map section, and quickly found a map of Hai City. She grabbed a pen and started drawing circles on it.
Although she couldn't read the map, she could sense which places had become hers, so she marked them one by one.
In the blink of an eye, Xu Huo saw that she had already marked a third of the area occupied by the Black and White Roulette.
A sudden thought struck him. "If an entire city were treated as a single building, wouldn't every part of that city be under your control?"
"Are you talking about a castle?" the Painting Woman asked, laughing carelessly. "Someone once took me to a castle. It was huge, huge, with lots of dolls inside. But those dolls were very fierce; they bit people, even me. The person who took me got bitten to death."
"Bitten into many pieces, one doll ate a piece."
"I don't like castles. I don't want a big house."
She finished speaking, lowered her head, and continued drawing circles on the map, laughing a little with each one.
Xu Huo watched her for a while before looking away, his gaze falling on the black-and-white roulette in the distance.
*
Inside an aquarium, the Funeral Director sat cross-legged on the floor, idly playing with a small roulette wheel the size of a rice bowl.
"The people in Zone 014 are so disappointing. All idiots. They think moving people from indoors to outdoors will help?"
The man in the floral shirt beside him sneered, "Still patting yourself on the back? Didn't one of your small roulettes just disappear?"
The Funeral Director waved his hand dismissively. "Just one. After traveling so many places, haven't you seen lucky people before? What does one represent?"
"Well said!" The tattooed strongman tore into a piece of raw fish in his hands, chewing as he spoke. "This city has over ten million people. If they can't even produce one decent player, it'll soon become a breeding zone."
"Zone 014's mass evolution only happened a little over a month ago. Don't set your expectations too high," the man with the small braid said, detonating a few more white dots on the game console before looking up. "I think Zone 014 has potential. Maybe we'll come here to do business in the future."
"Potential doesn't guarantee development. How many examples are there of places with potential becoming cultivation bases for other wormhole points?" the Funeral Director said caustically.
The floral shirt man shot him a glare, then jerked his chin towards the blonde man standing by the fish tank.
The Funeral Director's expression tightened, and he fell silent.
A melodious violin sound rang out. The blonde man touched a coin-sized, paper-thin metal piece on the back of his hand, and a projection as lifelike as a real person popped up in front of him.