Chapter 1524: A Video
What the other party sent wasn't text, but a video.
When Xu Huo opened it, what first appeared in his eyes seemed like a pitch-black darkness. Within the darkness, there were faint sounds of footsteps and breathing. The person filming the video seemed to be doing so under extreme tension.
The darkness lasted for about half a minute before a faint light appeared.
With this bit of light, one could barely make out the environment where the filmer was located. It looked like an old corridor, with walls on both sides made of brick and stone, completely unadorned. After the camera shook, it pointed ahead, revealing a more open area about twenty meters away.
The filmer became even more cautious, slowing down as they walked forward.
After covering those twenty meters, the camera turned to the right. A three-meter-tall circular container suspended in mid-air appeared in the frame. In the dim light, one could see the container was filled with green liquid, and inside the liquid was submerged a massive object that looked like an egg.
But it wasn't an egg—it was a white substance similar to an eggshell. When the camera moved a little closer, one could see something pulsing beneath the white shell, like blood vessels—this was a living creature.
One could hear the filmer swallow lightly, then slowly move to the other side of the glass container.
Presumably to keep this monster sleeping peacefully, the lighting in the corridor was already very dim. On the side facing away from the corridor, the light was even darker. Even so, Xu Huo could still make out the head in the middle of the "giant egg." What looked from behind like a complete eggshell was actually two enormous wings, wrapping around the body of this monster from above and below. Its head somewhat resembled a human skull that had wasted away, but it had a pair of pointed ears and fangs that its mouth couldn't contain. Its eyeballs bulged out, giving it a look similar to vampires in some film and television works.
It had no eyelids, always keeping its eyes open. But because it was asleep, its overall appearance seemed relatively calm.
The camera quietly moved away, aiming at the opposite side of the corridor. There was another identical container there, but what was submerged inside was an octopus. It wasn't very large, and each of its tentacles was connected to soft tubes on the edge of the container. Black liquid in the tubes was continuously being injected into the tentacles.
At this point, the camera moved downward slightly, and a label for this octopus appeared in the frame: "Troll Octopus, S-Class Mutant Xenomorph."
The octopus soaking in the glass container didn't look much different from an ordinary octopus, seemingly unworthy of the word "giant." But the camera deliberately lingered on the nutrient solution tank beside it. The tank was connected to soft tubes, with the label "SJY-013" marked on it.
Then the camera began to move. Through a thin wall, there was another identical container next to it, soaking a monster species Xu Huo had never seen before. As the camera advanced, the things in the containers became increasingly bizarre. Sometimes it was an entire living creature, sometimes it was just a beating heart with no support whatsoever, or a lung. Of course, judging by their size, they should also belong to some kind of mutated animal. It was just unclear why these organs could remain "alive" even after being separated from their bodies.
Then Xu Huo saw among them that xenomorph with an unusually large head. Its name was "Wise Xenomorph," and the one soaking in the glass container had a higher "completion level" than the ones he had seen before, even taking on a bit of a human appearance...
Just as the filmer was circling the Wise Xenomorph, trying to fully record its physical characteristics, the creature, which had both eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened its eyes. Immediately after came the crisp sound of something falling to the ground and the noise of a heavy object collapsing. Even Xu Huo, who was watching through the video and met those eyes, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his brain and instinctively closed his eyes!
There was no more sound in the remaining few seconds of the video. After it ended, Xu Huo vigorously rubbed his eyes. This wasn't his imagination—when that Wise Xenomorph opened its eyes, there was indeed a feeling of eye contact. But this was a pre-recorded video, taken at some unknown time. There was no possibility of actual eye contact. The only explanation was that the special energy released by those eyes could be recorded through filming and cause harm to the viewer.
Even though it was only for an instant, he had seen clearly: those eyes should have had something else embedded in them. What exactly it was, he didn't know. But judging from the blank few seconds at the end of the video, the filmer had either fallen into a coma or died outright upon seeing the Wise Xenomorph's eyes... Could it be a mental attack?
"Wise Xenomorph"—this name carried deep meaning.
Thinking of the few big-headed xenomorphs he had killed before, Xu Huo's expression turned serious. Judging by their numbers, their birth was definitely accidental. What was the purpose of releasing xenomorph swarms into Zone 017, which had little ability to fight back? Obviously, it was to use the method of cannibalism to promote xenomorph mutation and achieve the result of "evolution."
Even if all the existing xenomorphs were killed, there might still be a second or third wave of xenomorph tides coming.
Xu Huo transmitted this information to the military base through the contact method he had left earlier.
If his speculation was correct, it would be very difficult for Zone 017 to maintain a small area to establish a safe zone like Block Fairy Tale City. There was simply no time to establish a safe zone. The most effective course of action was to evacuate the people of Zone 017 as quickly as possible, preserving the spark of hope.
At this moment, the Painting Woman stuck to his back moved.
Xu Huo let her out. The paper-like figure slowly floated out from under his clothes, then gradually expanded into a full-sized living person. She gestured with the sign language she had taught herself, indicating that she wanted to go play.
"There's nothing fun here at all." Xu Huo didn't hide the situation in Zone 017 and gave her the key points.
The Painting Woman, however, was very excited. She quickly said she could help, as long as he gave her the country of Zone 017.
Xu Huo stared at her for two seconds. "Do you think that's possible?"
In Zone 014, it was because he had voluntarily exposed his possession of a Super Item, combined with being a fellow countryman, that he had earned trust. Why would Zone 017 trust an Outer Zone Player? Moreover, even if the Painting Woman controlled the city, as soon as she made a move, she would be recognized. She would only be seen as the player who had snatched the Super Item in Zone 014 coming to Zone 017 again.
Furthermore, the way Zone 014 had resolved its crisis was not replicable. If the players who came to Zone 014 had reached the scale of those in Zone 017 now, even publicly displaying that "the Super Item was snatched away" wouldn't have allowed the various countries to use force to wrap things up. When there were fewer players, they could still fight a thousand-to-one or ten-thousand-to-one battle. After all, the numbers were limited; they couldn't control all the key military locations. Even if they couldn't kill the players, they could force them back into the game with weapons.
However, the situation in Zone 017 was that many important military bases had been occupied by Outer Zone Players. The first thing they did upon gaining control was to destroy some secret military bases to ensure their own safety. Even with the appearance of Super Players now, the situation was hard to reverse, especially with the xenomorphs lurking menacingly.
(Chapter End)