Chapter 1361: Robbing One Person Is Just Banditry
Whether they were players responsible for protecting Dr. Duo Er or those preparing to kill him, everyone's expression changed in that instant. The burly man closest to him rushed forward in a single stride, grabbing Dr. Duo Er by the collar, his face twisted with rage as he shouted, "Don't you dare die..."
Before the words faded, Dr. Duo Er's eyes, which had already been rolling back, completely turned white, and he collapsed limply under the big man's grip. Without even needing to check his pulse, it was clear the man was dead.
"Damn it!" The group cursed in unison once more. The few players who had originally escorted Dr. Duo Er to the secondary city were already at a disadvantage. Seeing him dead, they charged forward in fury, momentarily scattering the players surrounding them.
With the man dead, the players who had come for him had no reason to keep fighting, but they glared at the burly man with contempt.
"Stop putting on an act! Look what you've done—you scared him to death!" a player spat from a distance.
"Why didn't they save him?" Xu Huo found a player watching the commotion from afar.
The player was wary at first upon hearing his voice, but seeing no hostility, he explained, "Don't you know? Twin Cities has sent out several fake decoys. These people die easily. This is the third one scared to death. Once their heart stops, no matter what you do, you can't bring them back."
"Are you here for this instance too?" He sized Xu Huo up. "You're too late. The Dongfeng Laboratory has been sealed off. A bunch of people are fighting inside, and another bunch are fighting outside. You can't even tell who's who."
"I was passing by and thought I'd take a look." Xu Huo handed him a bottle of water. "Dongfeng Laboratory should be the instance destination. Why did the fighting break out?"
"Seems like an internal conflict among people from Zone 023. It involves human experiments. One group came to protect Dr. Duo Er, while the other wants to kill him and destroy the lab." The man took the water, held it in his hand for a few seconds, then opened it and drank. He added, "This godforsaken place is unbearable. I've been through several cities—either there's a severe water shortage and you have to drink unclean natural water, or it's ridiculously expensive. And yet, so many people still live in this dump. They're even fighting over some experiment. I really don't get what they're thinking."
"I'm curious too." Xu Huo pulled out some dried meat and gestured to offer some.
The man didn't stand on ceremony. He grabbed two strips and stuffed them into his mouth. "As the old saying goes, a tree that moves dies, but a person who moves lives. Since we're all going to die anyway, why not take a gamble? At worst, you can just move somewhere else."
"Maybe there's no better place in the high-temperature zone," Xu Huo said. "Everyone wants good things and good places, but other cities might not accept them."
"True. People need to eat. Zone 023 has barren land and scarce resources. There's not much to eat either." The player sighed. "Yesterday, I passed through a small town. People were selling their children, and some were even giving them away for free, just to help them survive. The scene... tsk tsk."
"If you ask me, they should go after the New District Government. What's the point of fighting over scraps among themselves? If you're going to rob someone, rob the big shots."
Xu Huo smiled and raised his water bottle to clink with his.
"Looks like great minds think alike." The man crouched beside him. "I've asked around with some players. The people over at the New District Government are filthy rich. How about we hit them up? It would be like robbing the rich to help the poor."
"Robbing ordinary people is boring," Xu Huo said, tilting his head back to drink some water. The blue light from the protective barrier nearby cast faint shadows across his face. "If you're going to rob someone, rob the district government..."
He paused mid-sentence and deliberately glanced at the man beside him. "I wonder if you'd dare?"
The man seemed startled by his words, but then a gleam of excitement lit up his eyes. He slapped his thigh and said, "Brother, I knew from the first look that you were a kindred spirit! Robbing one or two people is just banditry, but robbing the district government is carrying out justice on heaven's behalf! A real man, living in this world, should do big things!"
The two hit it off immediately. He then called over two more players. "These are two friends I met on the road. There's nothing they wouldn't dare to do. Let's include them in our operation!"
"What operation?" The two players, slightly embarrassed by the earlier "praise," asked.
"Robbing the district government." The man clapped them on the shoulders. "Such a great opportunity—how could I not invite you?"
The two players fell silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. Finally, the older one said, "Do you know how many players the district government has and how much defense they've set up?"
What kind of joke was this? It was like a three-year-old child waving a firecracker and saying they were going to rob a bank—absurd and laughable.
"Not yet, but we'll find out when we get there, right?" The man ran his scarred hand through his hair, grinning. "We've got nothing better to do anyway."
The two players were speechless. They looked at Xu Huo, only to find he didn't seem to be joking either. So, steeling their resolve, they agreed to join.
"See? That's what I'm talking about! Good brothers share the meat!" The scarred man seized the moment to give everyone codenames: Rob the Rich to Help the Poor No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4. Xu Huo, as the last to join, became No. 4.
"Isn't this a bit too hasty?" the older player said tactfully. "Why not use our real names?"
"Too lazy to remember," No. 1 waved dismissively. "Besides, when there are too many people, who remembers names? Numbers are easier."
"Wait a minute," No. 3 interrupted. "Aren't there just four of us?"
"Are you kidding me? Four people to rob the district government?" No. 1 gave him a look that said, "Are you dreaming or am I?" Then, with a sly grin, he added, "When it comes to robbery, the more, the merrier. Ideally, we can even rope in people from Zone 023. I bet they've been wanting to rob the district government for a while now."
By then, Xu Huo had finished his dried meat. He clapped his hands and stood up. "Then it's settled. I'll go out and recruit people now. We'll meet back here before midnight."
"Deal!" No. 1 agreed readily, then sent No. 2 and No. 3 out to find allies as well.
Though No. 2 and No. 3 thought it was unreliable, they still followed along.
One by one, they dispersed from the building.
Xu Huo arrived near the Dongfeng Laboratory. Parts of the blue barrier outside had been broken, creating several entrances and exits. Players were passing through both inside and out, most wearing protective gear that hid their faces, making it impossible to tell who were Ya Clan members. However, one player who suddenly ran out of the lab had a rotating number "17" floating above his head.
In fact, he wasn't the only one. Two more players entering the barrier from outside had numbers "19" and "20" above their heads, while another player they had forced into the barrier had none.
(End of Chapter)