Chapter 1356: Growth Information
This should be the effect of the dummy player's prop. The braided player forcibly adjusted his posture mid-action, broke free from the control, and then leaned back to kick forward. A shockwave in the shape of an enlarged shoe print sent the dummy player flying. Before he could hit the ground, the golden-booted player who had left earlier flashed behind him, spread his arms, and embraced him.
The golden-booted player's body was covered in a faint halo. Like a robot, he continuously tightened his arms, as if trying to strangle the person in his embrace to death.
The dummy player was indeed restrained for a moment, but before the braided player could come to help, he shook his entire body, forcing the person behind him back three steps. Then, dozens of dummies appeared around him simultaneously. These metal-made dummies rushed forward in a frenzy, attacking both the front and back players.
As the saying goes, if the quantity is too large and there's no immediate way to clear them out, it will inevitably delay time. So by the time the braided player and his companion fought their way to the front, the dummy player had already vanished, and the sealing prop on the periphery had been destroyed.
The cocoon fell to the ground. The braided player reached out to pick it up, but just as he bent down, a slender long sword suddenly emerged from the ground, piercing straight through his head!
The golden-booted player beside him was startled. He scanned the surroundings—Bai Jing and the others had already taken advantage of the failure of the space-sealing prop to escape. Although the dummies were still moving nearby, the dummy player's location couldn't be determined. Meanwhile, another companion had long since entered the woods and hadn't come out yet!
Xu Huo glanced briefly at the corpse by his feet. When the golden-booted player and the dummy player had swapped positions, this person had crept over to his side, so he had no choice but to silence him.
In the blink of an eye, the golden-booted player also fled. The only things left at the site of the fight were a pile of dummies.
The wind continued to blow through the woods, and the toxic fog hadn't dispersed. After the players retreated, the mutated plants reclaimed the area. Rustling sounds came from all directions, and occasionally a small animal would appear, only to be instantly devoured by these "belated hunters."
Everything seemed to have returned to its previous state.
Xu Huo stood by the tree for a while before taking a step forward. But just as he did, the person opposite him suddenly disappeared.
"Such a coward," he said with a slight smile. He didn't give chase but instead followed the "A Thread Connects a Thousand Miles of Fate" to find Bai Jing and the others.
Bai Jing and his group hadn't gone far, and the dummy player didn't follow them.
Bai Jing was temporarily safe and hadn't suffered serious injuries. Without time to mourn their fallen comrade, they received another order and had to immediately intercept the next Dr. Duo Er.
Xu Huo followed them at a moderate distance. Along the way, three more people joined them, making a total of six. After half an hour of travel, they caught up with an escort team. Because one of them was injured during the journey, only five people ultimately took action. Before that, each of them drank a bottle of black liquid.
That was clearly not some kind of stamina supplement, but his main concern right now was Dr. Duo Er.
Fortunately, this Dr. Duo Er had a similar build to the previous one. Taking advantage of the chaos, Xu Huo pulled him out and removed the disguise prop from his body. His appearance was also the same.
"Who are you?" Dr. Duo Er looked at him nervously. "An outer zone player or a Ya clan member?"
Xu Huo put on a fake face temporarily crafted to resemble a Ya clan member, then tore it off. Seeing a flash of hatred in the other's eyes, he said, "You should know why you're still alive right now."
Dr. Duo Er showed no fear. "Kill me if you want. I won't say a single word more!"
"Not sure if you've undergone special training or modification, but we can give it a try." Xu Huo took out an interrogation potion.
A dozen seconds later, Dr. Duo Er's eyes began to glaze over.
Apart from information related to the instance, there was also basic intelligence about Zone 023, as well as the fact that Dr. Duo Er had once studied at the New District Government.
First, regarding the instance content: Dr. Duo Er's purpose in going to the secondary city was indeed to develop a new gene potion. Additionally, he knew nothing about clones. He firmly believed he was the real Dr. Duo Er, and the other "Dr. Duo Ers" were his disguises and decoys.
Good. From this perspective, the real Dr. Duo Er might never have left the primary city. So this thrilling escort mission—was it a trap or a last resort? That was worth considering.
However, Dr. Duo Er did reveal the reason for taking the risky route through the Stairway to Heaven: mainly because they were poor. Because of their poverty, the cities in Zone 023 couldn't support each other. Everyone basically managed their own affairs. Players from other cities, unless they had personal connections, generally wouldn't come to help, let alone provide a steady stream of supplies. To research the gene potion, they had nearly drained the Twin Cities' wealth. Not only could they not afford to hire higher-level players, but they didn't even have enough to buy two more props. Since they would be intercepted whether they took a detour or the Stairway to Heaven, they might as well choose the Stairway to Heaven—at least it was closer.
Unsure whether memory implantation was possible, Xu Huo didn't delve into whether this "Dr. Duo Er" in front of him could actually formulate the new potion. However, the poverty of the Twin Cities refreshed his understanding. And he suspected that this poverty wasn't necessarily due to the gene potion but might be for raising clones—so many identical "Dr. Duo Ers" could be considered clones for now.
As for the secondary city, he did provide another piece of information: there was a laboratory in the secondary city that had a communication channel with a well-known laboratory within the New District Government. This laboratory was famous because it was involved in live human experiments.
But this information wasn't definitive. The Twin Cities had learned it from players who received Ya clan corpses. After drinking, those players had mentioned that many cities eventually sent the captured Ya clan members to the city where the New District Government was located. This was called "technical support." Some cities with connections to the district government would set up branch laboratories. It wasn't certain whether this was related to the New District Government, but it was definitely connected to the outer zone residents living there.
Beyond that, Dr. Duo Er didn't know how they transferred people and corpses, how they conducted experiments, or what the experimental results were. When he had studied in the New District Government city, he had specialized in genetic diseases, and the laboratory he worked in didn't involve live human experiments.
At the very least, these pieces of information included the names of some cities and laboratories.
As for the Ya clan, Dr. Duo Er's hatred for them wasn't as intense as Dai Song's. He felt sympathy for both his own people and the Ya clan. However, someone who spent all their time in a laboratory didn't know much about the Ya clan. But he did mention one very interesting piece of information: the Ya clan grew exceptionally fast.
Ordinary people typically reach full maturity between the ages of 15 and 25, reaching their peak in height, physique, and physical fitness. However, most Ya clan members complete this process before the age of 13.
(End of chapter)