Chapter 1366: Collective Action
"Game-specific perfume, it can remove odors," the upright man said slowly, wiping sweat with a handkerchief. "Anyway, I can't stand soaking in stinky sweat every day. You could try it too."
The scar-handed player quickly waved his hand. "I've never used any perfume besides mosquito repellent in my whole life. I'm not a refined person."
"It's not about being refined or not," Xu Huo interjected casually. "The scent on a person can reveal a lot of information."
Usually, few people pay attention to these details, but some items are just tricky to use, and you never know.
Eliminating one's traces in the game is not an unnecessary embellishment.
"Makes sense." The scar-handed player immediately accepted the advice humbly.
"All that superficial stuff—strength is what really matters." Another player expressed disdain.
The high temperature made everyone irritable, and with many people failing to clear the instance, the atmosphere naturally wasn't good, but the players remained restrained, not starting a fight over minor friction.
"Any local players here?" After a while, the scar-handed player stood up and asked.
Everyone looked at each other, but no one stepped forward.
"That's to be expected," the upright man said. "The current situation in Zone 023 is largely due to accepting outsiders. It's normal for local players to reject outer zone players. If we want someone to guide us, I think it's better to spend some money to buy information from Under Dimension. There must be people who have been to the New District Government."
"Do I need you to tell me?" A player with half his face burned rested his hands on the handle of a large hammer standing on the ground. "We just checked. Outer zone players generally can't easily enter the core city of the New District Government."
Although there's no instance information on Under Dimension, there is information about the New District Government.
The New District Government is built in a climate-normal area. There are also several cities within this area that have set up government offices, but the core location of the district government is almost entirely on a brand-new city. Moreover, this city has erected higher protective walls than ordinary cities—meaning if you don't have the right hovering props, you can't even get through the gate.
At the same time, the use of space items is prohibited both inside and outside the city. It's not a notification but a forced ban. The city uses items and instruments to interfere, so ordinary space items can't be used once inside. It's like having players take off their shoes before entering, which will cause some trouble for players.
Of course, these are all measures to prevent players from causing trouble. The main gate is still accessible. Players can go to the entrance to apply for a pass. This step generally doesn't block people, but the pass only takes effect two days later, meaning those in a hurry to get rich can leave first.
It's impossible to completely reject outer zone players. People have a rebellious psychology—the more you forbid something, the more they want to do it; the more you hide it, the more curious they become. This seemingly low-level method can filter out some hot-headed individuals. Most players willing to cooperate won't cause trouble either.
Another point worth noting is that the New District Government is not poor or weak. On the contrary, its technology is very advanced. Referencing Zone 001, players from other wormhole points also have corresponding reference zones. To put it bluntly, technology has replaced most human labor, and violent institutions are almost entirely replaced by machinery. Non-essential players don't even need to appear. Moreover, this new city has a small population and open spaces, making armed machinery easy to use. The scattered residential buildings are at military fortress level, maximizing the safety of their own people.
Furthermore, this city has few entertainment venues. All entertainment venues are directly managed by the government and are mostly for people working in the new city, with high entry thresholds.
Looking at it, the city where the New District Government is located is essentially a militarized city. Anyone walking in would stand out. Basic living facilities exist, but they are definitely not pleasant. You can't even find a legitimate reason to go for a stroll. Every move is under surveillance by machines or people.
But it's also incredibly wealthy. Besides the dense research institutes, there are numerous group factories processing various resources transported from other parts of Zone 023. Apart from obvious ones like ores and metals, different species, soil, etc., are all waiting to be processed.
The players gathered here are eyeing these centrally processed resources, especially the ores.
"Suddenly gathering so many players—even a blind man can see something's up. Otherwise, let a group go first to scout the situation, and the rest can enter slowly." The burly man from Car 7 suggested. "We can assign tasks based on different professions."
Good suggestion. Speaking of which, another matter must be mentioned—if they really decide to rob the New District Government, who will lead?
The city where the New District Government is located is clearly difficult to throw into chaos. The people living inside are mostly trained. Once an alert is issued, whether it's people or machines, they will immediately activate. The chance of causing trouble in the chaos is slim, so a thorough plan is necessary.
At the very least, everyone must be guaranteed to participate in the final stage.
"My brother can do it." The burly man from Car 7 and his two companions immediately expressed support for the upright man. "This kind of thing needs a smart person to handle."
"With so many players, it's not feasible to listen to just one person." Another man with shoulder-length hair adjusted his bloodstained gloves.
"Then why don't each side nominate one person, and we'll discuss it together," the burned-face player said.
"What about lone wolves?" The long-haired man swept his gaze across the crowd. "There are quite a few here who fight solo. If my profession is suitable for reconnaissance, will I fall behind in the final attack phase? Or, since reconnaissance carries higher risk, why should I take that risk?"
"If you nitpick, there are problems everywhere." In the silence, the upright man spoke. "Then there's no point in cooperation. But if we want to act, we must have enough numbers. Instead of arguing over these small details, why not come up with a feasible plan? We need to have a clear idea before entering the city... No one objects to that, right?"
No one spoke, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Right now, everyone's understanding of the New District Government is the same, and no one has been there. This is where strength is truly tested.
"I have some special clues about the factories, given by a friend." The upright man revealed his hand. "The door locks of the warehouses inside the factories are specially encrypted. Ordinary items can't open them, but the warehouses have a non-fixed opening time. I have a channel to obtain this time."
Meaning the warehouse information, as the most critical part, is an absolutely indispensable element of the plan. Factories operated entirely by instruments are different from those controlled by living people—more precise, less prone to error.
"Really?" The scar-handed player chimed in. "No one has been to the new city. Don't end up leading us all into a trap."
(End of chapter)