Chapter 1477: Poisoning
"It was nothing." Xin Rong didn't refuse and helped them photograph those items.
The short-haired woman and her group weren't just there for the items; they had purchased almost all the rare potions the auction house put up. During this time, they also contacted their companions outside to discuss things, buying a wide variety of items—it didn't seem like a few people traveling together to buy equipment, but more like stocking up on supplies.
The total price of the items they had purchased was also very high, even Xin Rong was a bit surprised—mainly worried that they wouldn't have enough money to pay. Fortunately, the baby-faced man was perceptive and paid half the fee in advance.
Seeing that they had substantial resources, Xin Rong couldn't help but say, "The items that can make it to the auction house are all fairly standard. If you have enough money, you could go check out the underground trading market. There are quite a few items there with questionable origins and high lethality."
Generally, artificers with some integrity make items that follow the rules. Their original intention in creating items is to make a handy tool, not a murder weapon. For example, some items that can attack indiscriminately or have a large coverage area could have toxic substances added during the crafting process—pollutants, deadly poisons, or even radioactive materials could be incorporated—but most artificers don't do this. First, it's difficult to pass game approval and there are some risks in the crafting itself. Second, using such methods is somewhat heinous. Player battles rarely avoid involving others, and if these things are used, it could lead to even worse consequences.
For those who enter the game, life-and-death struggles are the norm, but there are still many people who sympathize with the innocent—this also reflects the game's constraints on players.
The game's original intention might not be to make players maintain a bottom line of humanity, but rather to control players through such means. Extremes lead to reversal. The game's living environment is already very harsh. Many people struggle in the game just to let their family and friends live well. Hope can be slim, but it cannot be absent; otherwise, more players would join the Holy Sword Society in opposing the game.
Of course, Platinum Eye does have such artificers. Even the artificers on the rankings will make some more dangerous items, but they aren't sold publicly. After all, Platinum Eye's original business is precision instruments, and the people of this city live comfortably because of it, inevitably somewhat rejecting those who stop at nothing. So some of these items appear in the underground market.
However, when players are preparing to buy such items themselves, they generally don't have too much psychological burden.
After receiving the advice, the short-haired woman and the baby-faced man briefly discussed it with their companions outside and then stopped their previous lavish spending. Except for some particularly valued items they would bid on, they remained silent the rest of the time, apparently planning to save their money for the underground market.
Xin Rong turned back to ask Xu Huo if he was interested, but Xu Huo instead brought up the poison man they had encountered on the train earlier.
"He would rather watch his own people suffer than exchange the potion with you, just to prevent the pollutant from spreading?" Xin Rong was a bit surprised and also somewhat admiring. He paused and said, "Actually, I've encountered something like this once. Someone, in order to take revenge on their enemy, deliberately dumped pollutants into the water source, contaminating most of the city. In just a few days, tens of thousands of people died."
"Actually, that person only wanted to kill one family, but because the other party was powerful, they had to use this method... I don't know where they found such a powerful pollutant. Things like pollutants, deadly poisons, or other germs, when diluted by large amounts of water, have their effects greatly weakened. An example where tens of thousands of people are killed at once is extremely extreme."
"Highly contagious pollutants and germs aren't as easy to control as ordinary items." Xu Huo nodded. "Once they leak out, directly or indirectly, who knows how many people they will kill."
Xin Rong smiled and suddenly said, "People who hold a sword with their bare hands are often easily cut by the sword. The more effective the pollutant or deadly poison, the higher the risk to the holder. After all, if other players can't resist it, the holder themselves might not be able to either. It's best if no one uses them."
The short-haired woman and the baby-faced man exchanged a glance. The former said with a hint of envy, "It's really good to become a strong player in the game. My companions and I come from the same district. Our district only started evolving not long ago. The government didn't control the evolvers in time, leading to an endless stream of cannibal players. The entire district is in turmoil. The various national governments have suffered heavy losses. They can't even spare the manpower to come out and buy equipment, so they have to entrust the matter to those of us who became players first."
"Mr. Xu has probably noticed that although I'm a C-level player, I basically bought my way there. I don't even dare to come to Platinum Eye to buy items alone. For us, we can't worry about bottom lines for now. We have to survive first."
"Sometimes, when I enter an instance, I worry about whether some country will be at war when I come out, or if my family will be killed, or if my hometown will become a hunting ground for cannibals."
"Requiring people to have a high moral standard at least requires ensuring the safety of life and property." Xin Rong took over the conversation and nodded in agreement. "I hope every game district can be like Platinum Eye."
People have different experiences, different thoughts and actions, and ultimately different choices. It's hard to have a clear distinction between right and wrong.
In fact, right and wrong are also hard to define.
Xu Huo didn't comment on the short-haired woman's words and continued to focus on the auction. At this moment, two waiters entered, carrying wine and drinks. "These are complimentary snacks for everyone."
A glass of purple fruit wine was placed beside Xu Huo's hand.
"Today, I'm benefiting from the presence of two friends who have come from afar." Xin Rong raised his glass to the short-haired woman and the baby-faced man.
Xu Huo also raised his glass, but as soon as he took a sip, his expression changed drastically. He immediately said, "Don't drink!"
Almost at the same time, his lips changed color. Seeing this, Xin Rong immediately induced vomiting and poured antidote into his mouth. The players responsible for protecting his safety and the Enforcement Team players surrounded them, quickly taking emergency measures.
But unfortunately, the potion didn't take effect that quickly. Even though Xin Rong and the short-haired woman induced vomiting in time, the symptoms of the deadly poison began to spread rapidly across their faces and necks. The short-haired woman, in particular, was in trouble. Those who hadn't touched the alcohol prioritized ensuring Xu Huo and Xin Rong's safety, so she and her companion had to fend for themselves. They were only a little slower, or perhaps didn't have good enough antidotes. By the time the Enforcement Team fed them new antidotes, the short-haired woman was already lying on the ground vomiting. The baby-faced man wasn't much better off; his body was convulsing, unable to do much more. He still had a shred of rationality left, crawling on the ground and reaching out towards Xu Huo and the others.
Xu Huo's symptoms were the mildest. Seeing that Xin Rong had recovered, he quickly walked over to the short-haired woman and her companion, took out syringes, and injected them into their necks respectively.
(Chapter End)