Chapter 1722: Smooth Capture

The mine, still in operation, was heavily guarded. Whether to prevent prying eyes or theft, the entrance used by the robots was fitted with reinforced metal doors, along with jamming devices. Xu Huo's spiritual power couldn't penetrate all the metal doors, and the mountain wall beside it was simply too thick, mostly metal ore, making it impossible to go around...

Not having the same good luck as before to encounter a slacking staff member, Xu Huo didn't stay long before leaving. When he took out the watch terminal he had found earlier, he discovered the terminal's entry point had already been revoked.

"Pretty fast reaction." Tossing the item casually into his luggage compartment, Xu Huo prepared to go meet Suo Lan's family.

Suo Lan's paternal relatives lived scattered around. The closest to him were his father's younger brother and sister, both now nearly one hundred and fifty years old. Their children were about the same age as Suo Lan, still alive, and had taken their own children and grandchildren to live elsewhere. Now the two siblings lived together, looking after each other.

Xu Huo arrived in Boat Bay City in the morning. The city was near a natural lake, with beautiful scenery, and was a favorite spot for tourists from other zones. The city formed around the lake was filled with luxury shops from Zone 019. Fishing in the lake was not allowed freely, but if one could afford it, twenty spots were available daily for out-of-zone tourists to fish on the lake—early in the morning, twenty small boats were already drifting on the water.

With many tourists, there were naturally plenty of players. Xu Huo casually found a shop for breakfast and encountered eight players. When he left, he even ran into a player robbery—yes, a player robbery.

Two idiots broke into a rare gem shop and were using items to open the display cases, only to be knocked senseless by instruments installed above and quickly surrounded by fast-reacting combat robots.

After the instruments created a barrier, the robots' tranquilizer darts rained down on the two like a storm.

As for why they didn't use lethal weapons, first, because the crime they committed wasn't punishable by death—the robots judged they only needed imprisonment—and second, because of the many tourists. Even in a difficult capture situation, the robots would choose between "using more lethal weapons" and "protecting tourist safety as much as possible," opting for the latter. After all, they were just two robbers, not worth risking harm to tourists.

These two had some skill. Breaking through the containment barrier, they escaped the gem shop and grabbed two passersby on the way.

But waiting for them outside were rapidly converging robots and Zone 019 players about to arrive. The two, seeing no other option, randomly reached out to grab people on the street. Their initial target was a child playing with a toy, but under the robots' intervention, they eventually changed targets and seized an elderly man who seemed to be out for a stroll.

With a hostage in hand, the two slowed their escape, gripping the old man's throat and threatening all robots to back off.

The robots had the duty to protect Zone 019 residents, so they adjusted their positions while issuing warnings and urging the two to leave Zone 019.

"Haha!" Both players were thuggish-looking. The man holding the hostage used the old man as a shield, snarling at the robots, "You think I'm an idiot? Kicking me out just because I can't afford a hotel! Who's going to compensate me for failing to clear an instance?"

"Expelling you is definitely not because you can't afford lodging," a local hiding behind the robots said. "Zone 019 is friendly to out-of-zone people. As long as you're not wandering the streets for too long, we're not that heartless."

"Expelling you either means you have a criminal record or intent, or you've stayed too long, endangering city management. It's not like we give special treatment just because you're from another zone, right?"

With strong protection in front, the Zone 019 residents were quite bold. Before the robots evacuated them, quite a crowd had gathered to watch.

"Detected that the criminals' danger level has risen to 95%," one robot issued a warning about the two players. "Please cease criminal activity immediately, or we will execute the kill command!"

"Please cease criminal activity immediately, or we will execute the kill command!"

The warning repeated three times. The robots gave the two players no further chance to resist. After blocking their random attacks, the robots quickly split into two groups: one used instruments to form a containment barrier separating them from ordinary citizens, while the other released sound waves and intense light to disrupt the players' senses.

Sounds and lights exceeding the limits of endurance forced instinctive self-preservation. At that moment, no amount of willpower helped. Taking advantage of the two's lapse, the robots—still retaining their mechanical appearance but with flexibility rivaling living beings—rushed forward to snatch the hostage and released a thin protective armor, wrapping the old man inside first.

The metal jacket opened very quickly, completing protection in less than a second. Player items might not work on robots, but they definitely worked on living people. By then, the two players had recovered; one tried to grab the hostage, the other attacked the nearby robots.

Both were advanced players, and killing a few robots wasn't hard. A long blade descending from above pierced straight through a robot from head to foot, instantly stopping its operation. But before that, the robot had already thrown the old man in protective armor away. Several subsequent robots caught the old man, quickly turned their backs to shield him with their bodies, and carried him out of the containment barrier.

The closed barrier opened and closed again. Now inside were only the two players and the robots holding them.

The warning had been issued beforehand, so once the hostage was rescued, four robots crouched down and pressed their palms against the ground. From the seamless floor, four metal clasps rose. Then the ground beneath the two players' feet suddenly retracted in all directions. Other robots, already suppressing the two with instruments, pushed down the ones trying to leap up. As they fell, at least half the surrounding robots jumped down after them. Then the metal plates on the ground closed again, and the clasps locked back into place.

"Crisis resolved!"

The robots still on the ground issued the notification and returned to their patrol routes. The old man was taken away for comfort... As for the two players who fell down, there was no sound, and no one cared. They weren't coming out anyway.

"Awesome!" a young woman with a baby face gave a thumbs up. "This is what a real major zone is like! Capturing players this smoothly!"

The man with her was probably her boyfriend. He laughed awkwardly. "Don't forget, you're a player too."

"So what?" The baby-faced woman grinned and kissed him. "Worst case, we run. You'll protect me, right... Uncle?"

There were quite a few onlookers. The man, embarrassed, dragged the baby-faced woman away. As they passed Xu Huo, they "accidentally" bumped into him.

(Chapter End)