Chapter 1352: Mutual Destruction
Xu Huo took it and briefly inspected it, then gave a slight nod to indicate they could leave.
Just like that? Not only the Ya clan members, but even Dai Song couldn't help showing confusion: Dr. Duo Er was dead, how could he clear the instance? And on top of that, he wouldn't take it out on the Ya clan?
"Want to stay for dinner?" After two seconds, Xu Huo looked up and asked them.
Only then did everyone realize he genuinely intended to let them off—at the very least, he wouldn't force them to flee into the game right here.
Bai Jing and the others exchanged glances, then slowly backed away.
"By the way," Xu Huo added at that moment, "Don't use plant-based tracking to follow me anymore. Next time, I can't guarantee the outcome."
The few Ya clan members' expressions shifted slightly. They all looked at Bai Jing, and seeing that he wasn't going to speak, they used teleportation items to leave one after another.
Bai Jing was the last to leave.
The fire in the woods hadn't fully died out yet. A few of the players who had attacked Xu Huo and his group earlier were still alive, but they had long since fled. Now, besides the mutated plants and animals, only Xu Huo and Dai Song remained in the vicinity.
"Is the doctor really dead?" Dai Song didn't believe that Xu Huo would let the Ya clan off so easily, knowing they had killed the doctor and hindered his instance clearance. Such a light handling could only mean the doctor was still in his hands.
Xu Huo glanced at him. "Point me in a direction. Let's go find the next Dr. Duo Er."
Dai Song found it hard to believe, then said, "I've already told you, that doctor was real. If he's dead, you'll never clear the instance."
"You should know the task content of this instance by now," Xu Huo said flatly. "As long as it's Dr. Duo Er, it's fine. Whether he's real or fake might not matter that much."
"How is that possible!" Dai Song blurted out. "Other people can't become Dr. Duo Er. Even if they reach the secondary city, they can't treat the genetic disease. That doesn't count as clearing the instance!"
"Is that so?" Xu Huo smiled faintly. "The instance task only requires sending Dr. Duo Er to the secondary city. It never says he has to be able to treat the genetic disease. When you people send people out, don't you claim they're Dr. Duo Er to the outside world?"
"Since you, as the initiators, say they're Dr. Duo Er, then they are Dr. Duo Er."
"Impossible!" Dai Song said. "That's pure sophistry. If you can just pick anyone and call them Dr. Duo Er, why not just send a player over?"
Xu Huo didn't argue with him but instead asked, "You've sent so many people out. Has not a single Dr. Duo Er actually made it to the secondary city?"
Dai Song paused and fell silent.
Xu Huo turned and walked away.
His guess about the instance might not be correct, but the identity of Dr. Duo Er was clearly problematic. The issue was just whether it lay with the instance itself or with Dr. Duo Er personally. The Twin Cities players might have succeeded before, but the one who successfully arrived might not have been the Dr. Duo Er who could treat genetic diseases... Dr. Duo Er was only one person. How could the Twin Cities send him out while ensuring his safety?
Based on Xu Huo's current knowledge, using a container item to transport someone was the safest method. Of course, container items were extremely rare, but they weren't nonexistent. Rather than sacrificing so many players, it would be better to find a usable container item.
District 023 had C-rank players; they couldn't be unaware of this.
Naturally, whether a container item would cause any side effects for a living person inside was hard to say. Perhaps the Twin Cities people considered Dr. Duo Er too precious to risk sacrificing so many of their own.
Dai Song followed him.
This was within Xu Huo's expectations. Even if that Dr. Duo Er wasn't real, Dai Song would definitely know whether the man was still alive.
On the way, Fan Zhigang and Gou Wu voluntarily revealed themselves. "We wanted to help, but since there was no danger, we didn't get close."
"Thank you," Xu Huo nodded.
The group returned to the vehicle, briefly explained the situation to Qiu Ming and the other two, then set off on a different route.
"I don't quite understand," Qiu Ming said, glancing at Dai Song. "Dr. Duo Er is dead, isn't he? Why is he still following us? Doesn't that mean the Dr. Duo Er traveling with us wasn't real?"
"Since the person picked up in the first city was fake, the next Dr. Duo Er he takes us to find might not be real either."
In his view, it was a complete waste of effort. Not only would they likely fail to clear the instance, but they might also be led into a trap.
"I want to verify something," Xu Huo said directly to Dai Song. "Take me to find a substitute identical to the Dr. Duo Er who traveled with us. You should know their route."
Dai Song remained silent, looking at him with a complicated expression.
"Under what circumstances would many people look exactly alike?" Fan Zhigang muttered at that moment. "Besides multiple births."
"Cloning," Cao Qinglin said. "But that technology isn't very mature. The mortality rate is too high. However, if it succeeds, it can indeed create individuals with identical appearances."
"The side effects of clones are also significant," she added. "I heard from a senior that some districts have already conducted clone experiments. But no matter how the technology is updated, clones have very short lifespans and are extremely prone to illness, with high mortality rates. Some have tried removing certain genes to extend clone lifespans, but that only created all sorts of new diseases, basically incurable for life. If they reproduce, it's hereditary... Clones are the weakest of the weak, completely without human rights."
"District 023 is so poor, they probably can't cultivate clones."
Even if they wanted to, the technology wasn't mature. An outwardly identical Dr. Duo Er was more likely created through other means. Saying it was plastic surgery would be more plausible.
Dai Song's expression was wooden, showing no reaction to their conversation.
Cao Qinglin and the others finished speaking, frowned at him, then looked away one after another.
"District 023 might not have the means," Xu Huo said after a moment, "but the district government might."
Xu Huo had come here because of the Han family incident in Fresh Flower City, District 001. If Dr. Duo Er had been split into multiple copies, and he himself had once studied under the district government, it was somewhat connected to the matter of Han Yi's substitute. Additionally, he wanted to know what role the Ya clan had played in all this.
However, both Han Yis had seemed normal, and the killed substitute Han Yi was even a B-rank player. An evolvable clone? That sounded like a fantasy.
But this instance was very interesting. The Twin Cities believed they were treating genetic diseases, while the Ya clan insisted they were conducting live human experiments. To stop Dr. Duo Er from reaching the secondary city, they resorted to interception. Whether it was the sending side or the blocking side, their motives were clear, but their methods were hard to understand. It seemed like both sides had exhausted their greatest efforts and paid a huge price to accomplish a trivial matter.
Twin Cities players would be intercepted and killed by the Ya clan and players from other districts. The Ya clan, in turn, inevitably made enemies of players from other districts when they tried to block them. Once outside players got involved, the Twin Cities and the Ya clan ended up mutually destroying each other, with neither side gaining anything.
(Chapter End)