Chapter 1579: The Special Defense Department's Sincerity
Xu Huo immediately replied to the message, "I just ran out of antidote. The earliest I can have new ones is two hours. Is it urgent? How many do you need?"
The other party had been staying under the dimension without logging off. "At least five doses, needed right now."
Along with the message came an item trade notification. Xu Huo accepted it and took out a box specifically used for transferring toxic substances or contaminants, with a "Handle with Care" sticker on it.
Without opening the box, he directly placed it into the luggage compartment, then returned to the room, extracted live fungal filaments, mixed them with antidotes purchased from the game, and crafted a single dose to place under the dimension.
"Try this and see if it works."
About five minutes later, Cong Yu replied, "It works, thank you. Really no more than one dose? I can trade another antidote using the conditions I mentioned earlier."
Sensing the urgency on the other side, Xu Huo had no choice but to turn all the fungal filaments he had just cultivated into potions and hand them over.
"This is my absolute limit. The trade conditions are as you stated. However, I am currently looking for a place to mass-cultivate detoxifying fungi. Does your district have an environment where fungi thrive? Any type of fungi will do."
This time, Cong Yu took a while before replying, "Detoxifying fungi and toxic fungi are mutually antagonistic; they generally cannot be cultivated."
Xu Huo remembered that Cong Yu had mentioned on the train that his hometown was filled with toxic fungi and infectious substances, where everyone was infected. People like him had even evolved a certain ability to coexist peacefully with these things, but child mortality rates were high.
Presumably, players like him had spent years searching for ways to save their hometowns within the game, and it was clear they had tried the path of cultivating detoxifying fungi.
"You can think it over. I'm also trying to save more people," he replied.
There was no response from the other side. For a long time, just as Xu Huo thought Cong Yu wouldn't contact him again, the dimension indicated a new trade item.
This time, the trade content was a ticket.
D07-013 District, Suffocating Rainforest City Station.
Seeing the ticket, Xu Huo paused, then took out the ticket given to him by Lady Gong in District 017.
D07-013 District, Big and Small Eyes Station.
It was actually in the same district.
"Coincidence?"
Not necessarily a coincidence.
If D07-013 District was as harsh an environment as Cong Yu had described, then Dr. Wu, who had achieved great success in pharmacology, would certainly be interested in such a place. It wouldn't be strange for him to have visited.
Moreover, Dr. Wu had left his traces in many districts. Since the Old Holy Sword Society had given him the ticket through Lady Gong, it meant someone had already explored Dr. Wu's activity trail in this district, just like with the Deep Blue Laboratory.
Regardless of what Dr. Wu had done in D07-013 District or whether he had left any items behind, it was worth a visit. After all, he might have been deliberately spreading the Perfect Potion and his own actions. There had to be a purpose behind it, and that purpose might be hidden in the traces of his past.
His phone rang. Xu Huo closed his personal panel and went to open the door. This time, it was Team Leader Lu who had brought the items.
"Minister Ji and Xiao Nie are both too busy, so I volunteered. I hope you don't think it's too casual," Team Leader Lu said sincerely.
Behind her were twenty-five boxes.
"Here are two hundred million white notes, two A-grade items, six B-grade items, six special items, four hundred doses of various potions, four Subclass Stones, two combat machines, two sets of A-grade protective suits, one Spiritual Power auxiliary device and one Space Power auxiliary device, and some other small items."
"These are a small token of the government's appreciation. Though they are far from enough to repay you and the Painting Woman for saving Hai City, these are the most suitable items the government can currently select for you. If you need anything in the future, you can always ask."
Xu Huo smiled. "I certainly will."
"Also," Team Leader Lu opened her briefcase and took out the formal documents, "regarding the city you mentioned transferring to the Painting Woman's name, do you have any good ideas?"
"You can handle the arrangements," Xu Huo said, inviting her to sit down.
Team Leader Lu was naturally a kind-faced and approachable woman. This time, Xu Huo had not only helped the Special Defense Department but also saved her daughter. Both publicly and privately, she was grateful to him, so her attitude was naturally even better.
"The Special Defense Department has selected three locations, all decent medium-sized cities. However, I think since your and the Painting Woman's return ticket destination is Ting City, choosing Ting City would be the most suitable. Ting City isn't very large, so if you choose it, the Special Defense Department will merge a nearby large city and a medium-sized city into Ting City."
"After the three cities merge, they will be collectively renamed Ting City. The original Ting City will be the center, and the other two cities will be designated as districts. The transportation roads between the cities will also be rebuilt, and the local government will handle the subsequent operations."
Xu Huo flipped through the materials. They not only marked the specific regional boundaries but also included detailed plans for different city districts, local government personnel arrangements, intercity railway construction, and so on. Every clause was very clear.
Simply put, the government was authorizing these three cities to the Painting Woman, providing her with a space to control her items. However, everything on the surface would remain the same, the local government would continue to operate, and they would have no involvement in administrative affairs.
"Acquiring these lands must have cost a lot, right?" Xu Huo said.
"During these special times, these aren't difficult matters." Team Leader Lu paused before adding, "But this is all we can do. The economic benefits generated by the cities have nothing to do with Miss Li Chun."
Xu Huo waved his hand to indicate he didn't mind. After reading through the materials, he said, "Let's go with Ting City, but there's no need to merge the other two cities. Just Ting City is fine."
Team Leader Lu was somewhat surprised. "Even if Miss Li Chun's current ability can't cover three cities, that might not be the case in the future. Why refuse?"
The Special Defense Department's heavy investment this time had two main reasons: first, to build a closer relationship with the Painting Woman, preferably keeping her around; second, to have the Painting Woman take responsibility for these three cities. Her ability was enough to cover one city, meaning the city would not only be her hunting ground but also her defensive territory, allowing her to incidentally protect the people within.
"It's not that I don't want to achieve a win-win situation with the Special Defense Department, but some things are uncontrollable. What looks good now might not be in the future." Xu Huo turned to look at the Painting Woman, who was squatting in the kitchen with Tong Tong, cooking frogs and rabbits.
Team Leader Lu followed his gaze. Just then, the Painting Woman turned back and smiled. Her sweet smile was as perfect as if it had been trained, completely impossible to associate with her behavior in the R1 Base.
"The materials you provided mention the authorization period and method. Leaving the time aside for now, this time you've also sealed the loophole for unilateral breach of contract," Xu Huo tapped the documents. "It shows great sincerity, but I'm afraid you might regret it later. And once you regret it, taking it back won't be easy."