Chapter 1580: 99% Probability
Regardless of the reason, if Xu Huo spoke up, it meant refusal. Team Leader Lu reported it to her superiors on the spot and said, “I can’t speak for the Special Defense Department’s approval, but I don’t think there will be any issues.”
“If you have any other requests, you can bring them up all at once.”
“Find a new place for my family to live,” Xu Huo said.
“Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, the Special Defense Department would have arranged it quickly. Your family’s protection level has already been raised to the highest tier. Their future residence will not only be more secure but will also include player protection,” Team Leader Lu immediately stated. “Additionally, Miss Yu’s family will also be arranged for by the Special Defense Department as deemed appropriate, to ensure you have no worries.”
“As for Miss Fang, you don’t need to worry. She and Professor Tang both have dedicated protection.”
When Tang Guangbo was mentioned, Xu Huo raised an eyebrow slightly. “Have you fully investigated Tang Guangbo’s identity?”
During the last psychological treatment session, Tang Guangbo had almost outright stated he wasn’t a simple scholar. He came from another district and served as a psychological counselor for government players. The fact that the government still dared to keep him in a core department suggested progress had been made in investigating his background.
“I’m not very clear on the details of this matter,” Team Leader Lu said. “The military is primarily responsible for that. The Special Defense Department only submits investigation materials and speculative conclusions; the final investigation has to be stamped by the military. However, the subsequent orders passed down were that Professor Tang has been transferred to the military, mainly responsible for the psychological issues of military players. The Special Defense Department can only request him for psychological treatment in A-level incidents or above.”
“So many players have gone through the games; they should know that psychological treatment can become a very dangerous thing, especially for someone like Tang Guangbo, whose origins are unclear and who is suspected of being a player. Dou Shengnan of the Eerie Sound Knights is indeed very crude in her methods, but her ability reflects one thing: mental power can affect ordinary people, and it can also affect players.”
“I understand what you mean,” Team Leader Lu hesitated for a moment before revealing, “I suspect the military is now quite dependent on Professor Tang. The frequency of players using guides to clear instances has been too high. Many players haven’t adjusted their mindset yet, leaving behind quite a few psychological issues.”
“The government’s public restriction on the number of instances for high-level players is partly due to this reason.”
The higher a player’s level and the stronger their abilities, the stronger the potential side effects of psychological problems. This is also very troublesome for the government, especially in terms of psychological treatment. The current domestic level is no longer sufficient. Without some real skill, a person can’t even get a player to patiently listen to what they have to say.
“These are all minor issues; on the contrary, they are a good sign,” Xu Huo said dismissively.
“A good sign?” Team Leader Lu was puzzled. To be honest, she was also quite worried about the players in the Special Defense Department developing psychological problems.
“Just look at Nie Xuan. Objective conditions have a huge impact on players. The gradual emergence of psychological problems among military players shows that the situation in Zone 014 is now relatively stable. If war were raging, these minor issues wouldn’t surface. As long as the person in charge of treatment doesn’t play dirty tricks, once this period passes, they will be the same as before.”
“However, I believe that even with some minor psychological issues, the players in the military and the Special Defense Department will always put the country first at any time.”
“That’s natural,” Team Leader Lu quickly said. “At least, I can guarantee that for the people in the Special Defense Department.”
Xu Huo smiled. “Note the scope I mentioned: players in the military and the Special Defense Department.” Not those absorbed later, like players such as Dai Wenqian.
Team Leader Lu understood his implication. There was a hint of regret in her eyes, but also some comfort—regret that he couldn’t join the Special Defense Department, and comfort that the department still had talents like Nie Xuan.
At that moment, she received a reply. After glancing at it, she said, “The higher-ups have agreed. The scope can be changed to Ting City, and they’ve also arranged accommodation for you there.”
Xu Huo nodded, then asked, “Any news on the cultivation of the Detox Fungus?”
Team Leader Lu’s expression dimmed. “Not yet, for now.”
“Then let’s end today’s conversation here,” Xu Huo said, standing up to see the guests out.
After Team Leader Lu and the Special Defense Department personnel left, he began to inspect the contents of the box.
This generous gift was not only to thank him and the Painting Woman but also likely to apologize for previous matters, so the items were all in duplicate.
First was the A-grade item.
[Heavenly Justice: Justice requires divine will, but also a little human intervention. When the holder activates this item, a stone on the ground within a radius of thirty kilometers will be randomly selected. It will shoot into the sky at absolute high speed, then smash down at absolute high speed onto a target within the holder’s line of sight. This is accompanied by a certain gravitational suppression, reducing the target’s chance of escape.]
[Note: The random stone is measured in units. It could be a small mountain made of a single rock, or it could be a pebble the size of a fingernail. However, there is no need to worry about its power based on size. As long as it accurately hits the target, there is over a 99% probability of killing the target.]
A radius of thirty kilometers means this item’s selection range can almost cover an entire city. Even if some district cities in the game are particularly large, this range is still sufficient.
The size of the random stone is not fixed, meaning the damage range can also be large or small. And the item’s effect is limited to people within the holder’s field of vision—does this imply that the holder also has a certain chance of being accidentally injured?
Of course, unless it’s a very special place, it’s generally hard to find a huge rock that can stand alone as a mountain, so this probability is very small.
However, the phrasing of “as long as it hits” and “over 99%” in the note gave Xu Huo a familiar feeling. The last high-level item that specified a probability was “Holder’s Demise.” Indeed, if it can hit the target, the kill rate is quite high. But that’s under the condition of a hit. As for “Heavenly Justice,” it depends on how fast it is and how big the random stone turns out to be.
Unable to test this item for now, he moved on to the second one.
[Selfless Substitute for the Deceased: The Artificer who made it was a person who desperately craved friendship. He was extremely prone to falling into friendships, often treating someone he had only met once as a close friend, and consequently was betrayed by one hundred and twenty-nine “friends.” After having his heart broken by the one hundred and twentieth “friend,” this Artificer decided to create a friend who would never betray their friendship. Thus, this item was born. However, it only served as a “close friend” for three months before the Artificer made his one hundred and twenty-ninth “friend” and it fell into the hands of a player.]
[This Artificer proved to outsiders through his own death that the “friend” he created could only substitute for its holder’s death once.]
[Note 1: It will only activate when it predicts the holder has a mortality rate exceeding 99%.]
[Note 2: Even the best of friends have usage limits. It can only substitute for death once within 24 hours.]
This is the third item Xu Huo has obtained that can avoid major damage, following “Lifelike Wax Figure” and “Cat’s Triple Life Loan.”