Chapter 1654: Write Your Name on the Monument
Based on the Brown Skin City players' understanding of their island, the genetic potion Xu Huo brought was enough for everyone on the island. However, those who had previously seen the Midsummer Night Star River and successfully detoxified before continuing to live in Brown Skin City still ended up being parasitized by fungi again. So while escaping their current predicament was certainly gratifying, as long as they didn't leave the island, their situation hadn't truly improved.
Xu Huo told them what he had seen by the river and let them make their own choice: either use a portion of the potion for experiments to see if it could also affect the environment, or administer the genetic potion to the islanders in batches and then find a way to get them out of Zone 013.
Before, their physical condition had been too unique to leave. Now that they had the potion, they could stretch out the transfer time, reducing the number of people each time. As long as they were healthy, they could go out and find a suitable district to live in.
Xu Huo wasn't responsible for making decisions for them, so after telling the Brown Skin City players the specifics, he found a place to sleep. He planned to go collect some fungal samples nearby the next day.
"You gave all the potion to the Brown Skin City people. They might not use it on everyone on the island." Chi Xian found a moment to ask him.
"If they choose to improve the island's environment, wouldn't that be even better?" Xu Huo said. Given Brown Skin City's situation, they couldn't use the potion for anything else anyway.
Chi Xian didn't say anything more.
The next day, after breakfast, the two of them followed Cong Yu to find some rare fungi on the island.
After a night of discussion, Brown Skin City had also reached a conclusion on how to handle the genetic potion.
They were willing to risk using half the potion to try to change the environment around Brown Skin City. As for the existence of the genetic potion itself, they planned not to tell the players from the other cities on the island.
First, with more people, their hearts might not be united. Second, involving potion distribution could easily lead to problems.
"This potion is the hope of Zone 013. I hope this hope can last." Cong Yu said. "Most of the players who stay in Brown Skin City do so for their family and friends, or because they can't bear to leave their homeland. Rather than scattering our compatriots across other districts, we'd rather change the place we originally lived in."
"The potion was always meant for the people of Zone 013. You getting it first is your luck. You don't need to ask for my opinion." Xu Huo said.
When Dr. Wu researched the J13 genetic potion, he surely wasn't just trying to screen players. He must have also had the intention of saving people.
Cong Yu was immensely grateful. Back on the train, he had suspected Xu Huo was a player with a strange obsession with studying toxins. To prevent him from leaking fungi and infectious materials, he had even been unwilling to tell him the location of Zone 013. At the time, he would never have imagined that someone he had only met once would change Brown Skin City's situation, and Xu Huo hadn't asked for anything in return.
"When Brown Skin City starts to recover, I will erect a monument in the city." He looked at Xu Huo. "Can you leave your name?"
Chi Xian laughed from the side. "You never thought you'd get your name written on a monument while you were still alive, did you!"
Cong Yu then looked at him. "I hope Mr. Chi will do the same."
Chi Xian stopped laughing.
"Whether it's real or fake, a code name will do." Cong Yu said solemnly. "Brown Skin City should forever remember your kindness."
"Just think of me as a kind-hearted passerby." Xu Huo said with a smile.
Cong Yu didn't question whether he really intended to use such a frivolous name. He carefully confirmed which characters it was and wrote it down clearly on paper.
Besides them, there were also Tong Qi and Young Master Mo, who had already left.
Cong Yu knew where the rare fungi were, especially the highly toxic ones. Chi Xian provided the collection methods. Xu Huo spent half a day finding nearly thirty types of toxic fungi and seven types of detoxifying fungi with some antidote properties. After packing them into boxes, he used a return ticket to leave Zone 013 and return to Zone 014.
It was still the familiar Ting City. Xu Huo appeared with a stranger's face and then caught a plane home.
In the ten or so days he had been away, the turmoil from the recent high-level personnel changes in Zone 014 had mostly subsided. At least for ordinary people and regular players, life had returned to normal. Apart from the occasional player causing trouble, everyone was eating and drinking as usual.
Thanks to the various countries' efforts to cultivate high-level players, Zone 014 now had a mature system for dealing with random instances and emergencies. Even the public wasn't as panicked anymore.
As long as Zone 014 didn't fully merge into the game for now, this state of affairs could be considered very good.
Furthermore, Xu Huo learned from a few insiders in the Special Defense Department that the last personnel change hadn't actually resulted in as much loss as originally expected. The subsequent cleanup had also been relatively swift. One of the reasons was that the Special Defense Department had "leaked" a plan for focusing on cultivating key players.
In this plan, the newly empowered leadership core, in order to consolidate its power, had pushed many players who had made significant contributions into the corner. Now that the entire district was controlling the upgrade of high-level players, this gave them a ready-made excuse.
Previously, good resources and items were either reduced or completely cut off. Large chunks of fat were all going into a few people's pockets. Who could tolerate that?
So when the people who had returned to leadership positions announced a new training plan, many restless players calmed down. Because the Special Defense Department had only reduced the original allocations, and it was a comprehensive reduction, not a sudden cut-off, nor was it only given to "their own people."
As for the coordination between the Special Defense Department and the military, it no longer affected outsiders.
Although the order in Jing City had returned to normal by the time Xu Huo left, coming back now, he could clearly feel that the city's atmosphere was even better.
He hadn't taken the Painting Woman to Zone 013, mainly leaving her behind to take care of Meng Cun.
Meng Cun's brain was particularly developed, but that wasn't super evolution; it was a pathological abnormal evolution. This caused fluid to build up inside his skull, requiring continuous drainage, or else problems would arise within a few days.
Before leaving, Xu Huo had made simple arrangements for him. Getting the equipment he needed wasn't difficult. The only thing worth worrying about was that the Painting Woman might accidentally care him to death.
When he got home and saw the person still breathing on the bed, Xu Huo nodded. Good, still alive.
The Painting Woman, on the other hand, was very bored. Although she hadn't gone out these past few days, she couldn't resist the Special Defense Department people tempting her with all kinds of good things. They had probably sensed she wasn't interested in ordinary props and instruments, so they started trying to catch her attention with these novel gadgets.
Xu Huo had already seen them when he came back. There were quite a few small toys in the living room and bedroom.
"They said they want to buy this for me." The Painting Woman propped up her phone to show him a picture sent by the Special Defense Department.
Great, a large amusement park was also on the agenda.
Just then, the doorbell rang. The Painting Woman dropped her phone and ran to open the door. Outside was a Special Defense Department member delivering goods. Probably feeling that this behavior was a bit like poaching, the visitor, upon seeing Xu Huo, put down the things without a word and left.
(Chapter End)