Chapter 1562: District 014
Forced into a corner, those few players began to kill people.
Being a player meant having at least a couple of items, plus a physical advantage, so they quickly tore a gap in the encirclement. The young and middle-aged adults who had surged forward with such momentum were momentarily stunned. After the bodies piled up in a ring around them, they retreated with fear creeping into their hearts.
But that didn’t mean they would give up the opportunity before them. They couldn’t do anything to the players for now, but the players’ families were ordinary people.
During the earlier siege, the families of those few players had been pushed to the edges. What had been a safe position for them now became the best hostage target once the crowd shifted its focus. The adults could handle themselves, but the children were being yanked and pulled, crying loudly.
“Stop! All of you, stop!” Seeing his child being grabbed by several adult men, each pulling a limb in a different direction, a player around thirty years old leaped over, chopped off two of the men’s arms, and snatched the child back. Covered in blood on his face and hands, the man raised his knife and roared at the people around him, “Are you all insane? How can eating people make you a player? The more people die, the stronger the blood scent gets, and the more it attracts the Xenomorphs. You’re digging your own graves!”
“You’re a player, you can survive, so of course you’d say that!” A woman around his age, tears in her eyes, retorted, “What about my child? He’s only seven years old!”
This accusation sobered some of the crowd. The knife-wielding player’s anger subsided slightly, replaced by despair. “Don’t you know? So far, there hasn’t been a single case of a minor becoming a player. Even if all of you turned into players, your children would still be left here to die.”
Among the crowd, some wanted to fight for their families, but more just wanted to survive. This argument couldn’t convince them. Someone shouted, “Don’t believe him! If you become a player and get an item, you can take people to other districts!” as he threw his phone at the knife-wielding player.
With that, he charged forward, leading the way.
The two sides clashed again. This time, many more died. The families of those few players had been injured, and some had already been taken hostage. With both sides red-eyed, a large number of people fell. Blood began to spread from the center of the square.
“Crazy… everyone’s gone crazy…” A small number of people who hadn’t joined in retreated. When they reached the edge of the square with nowhere left to go, they stopped and watched the chaotic scene ahead, all sharing the same thought:
To avoid being killed by Xenomorphs, they wanted to become players. But now, because they wanted to become players, they were dying early in the square. Wasn’t that absurd?
The clear-headed were few. In this situation, no one even bothered to ask about the condition of the ordinary people who had first bitten the players, nor did anyone care how to suppress the gluttonous urge after becoming a player. Everyone was crazily fixated on those few players.
Perhaps many just couldn’t bear to watch those players leave this place.
Xu Huo, as a player “too severely injured to stand,” naturally became a target for these ordinary people. But he was clearly different from the players in District 017. Anyone with eyes could see he was from an outer district. Most outer district players were advanced players, beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, so they hadn’t dared to act directly against him.
But as time passed and blood rushed to their heads, someone set their sights on him, even attempting to break through the space barrier.
Xu Huo wiped away the nosebleed again, manipulated the Space Ray into sharp blades, and in an instant, finished off everyone surrounding him.
The bodies fell silently. Those who had been wavering or about to step forward all froze in their tracks. It wasn’t just because people had died, but because the person who had been resting with his eyes closed had opened them.
The entire circle backed away in fear, not daring to breathe.
As Xu Huo stood up, the invisible Space Blade not only dealt with the small trouble around him but also silently slaughtered those who had been attacking the few players.
The underground square fell silent once more.
The players from District 017 were already exhausted. They hadn’t expected such a sudden reversal in the blink of an eye. All the people crowding around them had died in one go!
The remaining half of the crowd stood still, not crying or shouting, as if they could even tolerate the deathly scraping sounds from above.
Xu Huo walked up to the nearest little girl, crouched down, and looked at her. “How about Uncle takes you to a safe place?”
The little girl had been covering her eyes with her mother’s hands. She peered through her fingers at half of his face. “Can I go with Mom and Dad?”
“No problem.” Xu Huo took out a Container Item, waved his hand at them from a distance, and the three of them vanished from the square instantly.
“Where are you taking them?” A player stepped away from his family and came forward. “Are they dead or alive?”
In front of everyone, Xu Huo released them again. Without saying much, he simply stated, “Anyone who wants to go to another district, come over. This underground square can only hold out for three more minutes at most.”
“We’re going to die anyway, might as well take a gamble!” The most severely injured player stepped forward with his family, solemnly thanked Xu Huo, and stood in front of him.
With no better choice, the people in the square, seeing the ceiling shaking more and more violently, scrambled toward Xu Huo’s position.
In no time, everyone was inside the item. Xu Huo immediately transferred them to Bai Kou and used a Return Ticket just a second before the underground square collapsed.
In Ting City, it was just dawn. The breakfast shops were already open, and the air was filled with the aroma of food. People were enthusiastically asking passersby what they wanted to eat. The city seemed to have regained its former liveliness.
Those with work or things to do had already gotten up early. The streets were no longer patrolled by Special Defense Department members. Instead, there were more and denser surveillance cameras. As Xu Huo walked down the street, every electronic eye within two seconds turned toward him.
It was clear these were products from other districts. While monitoring his every move, they also interfered with him. At the same time, they served as positioning tools. Before he could even walk out of the street, three players had already arrived. An automated alarm began warning nearby ordinary residents to take emergency shelter.
“There are so many players returning from District 014. Isn’t this a bit troublesome?” Xu Huo said to the buzz-cut young man directly in front of him.
The young man paused for a moment before replying, “These instruments target advanced players. Ordinary players aren’t included. Besides, most advanced players from District 014 have identity records and won’t cause unnecessary trouble.”
Xu Huo nodded slightly. That was true. The vast majority of advanced players in District 014 were part of the national team.
(Chapter End)