Chapter 1779: SSS-Rank Clearance
Not to mention the government players who were itching to kill the person who had slapped their faces, even Zheng Shijiu, who was relatively upright, couldn’t understand why. Which C-rank player would risk their life for an unknown outcome to seek justice for a group of strangers who had been dead for over a hundred years? Just because he resonated with Suo Lan’s ideals?
And now, backed by a Super Player, he not only held no grudge against Zone 019, nor took the opportunity to make exorbitant demands, but actually wanted to bring along those C-rank players who had been coasting through the instance to clear it together?
Whether they understood it or not, Xu Huo had only these two requests.
The trench coat man said nothing, clearly unconditionally supporting his decision.
Their righteous demeanor made the people from Zone 019 look cunning and treacherous, petty villains in comparison.
Zheng Shijiu still arranged for people to follow Xu Huo’s requests.
The city had already re-erected its barrier, cutting off any peeping from below. After the earlier purge, there were no more aircraft nearby, and subsequent arrivals had been intercepted outside the city, forbidden to approach. So aside from the government players, no one else came near.
Xu Huo waved at the players brought by Suo Lan’s son, who were still confronting the government players in the distance, and contacted the short-haired woman, the bald strongman, and the three players from Ember Maiden City, telling them to come here to clear the instance.
The upheaval in front of the district government headquarters had been broadcast to every corner of the zone through the message collection terminal. These people never expected he was still alive. When they heard him say to gather at the district government for clearance, they simply couldn’t believe it.
“Don’t come if you don’t want to,” Xu Huo said, too lazy to waste words. He had multiple wounds on his body. Though the bleeding had stopped, the pain was unavoidable. On top of that, the internal injuries from being tossed around like a ball by those A-rank players would take at least ten days to half a month to recover. He was barely holding on.
The trench coat man probably saw through his outward strength and inner weakness. He inspected the items and armed robots sent by the district government on Xu Huo’s behalf, then picked out two A-rank items and five B-rank items, demanding replacements.
Zheng Shijiu accepted without objection, immediately sending someone to swap them out. He even personally gave a few serial numbers and said, “These replacement items should be more suitable for him.”
After a while, the group of dejected C-rank players finally appeared before Xu Huo. Good grief, almost none of the dozens of people he had recruited had escaped unscathed.
The short-haired woman and the bald strongman also arrived nervously, but the three from Ember Maiden City were nowhere to be found.
“That’s enough,” Xu Huo said to them. “Now we’ll form a team and clear the instance. You’ll give up the team rewards. Is that okay?”
Although those C-rank players didn’t know what had happened outside, most of them had spent a considerable amount of time in Zone 019 and recognized Zheng Shijiu. Standing in front of the district government, with dozens of A-rank players waiting for them, the quick-witted ones had already figured things out and immediately agreed.
Whether they were sincere didn’t matter. Since space teleportation items couldn’t be used here, they couldn’t escape. Xu Huo then said to Zheng Shijiu, “If anyone doesn’t want to leave later, please send them off.”
Zheng Shijiu nodded.
Next, the group reported their nicknames, indicating their willingness to form a team. Only then did Xu Huo produce the real “Ember Maiden.”
[Congratulations to all players for clearing this instance, “Ember Maiden.” Since you not only found the famous painting “Ember Maiden” in this instance but also uncovered the mystery behind its creation, perfectly fulfilling Master Suo Lan’s last wish, in addition to the personal and team rewards for this instance, you will also receive an additional A-rank item, a sub-class stone with temporal-spatial attributes, three free crafting vouchers from an A-rank Artificer, and one chaotic temporal-spatial ticket.]
[Below are the clearance ratings for this instance:]
[Player Passerby A: SSS-rank]
[Player No Grass Grows: A-rank]
[Player I See Green on Your Head: A-rank]
[Player Go Home Alive: A-rank]
[Player Dog Paddle Is Also Swimming: A-rank]
…
The list was too long for anyone to read through. A string of A-ranks followed. Just tossing a few pieces of puppet amber into a busy area to get an A-rank—there couldn’t be an easier clearance than this!
But that wasn’t the point. The point was Passerby A’s SSS-rank rating!
“I never knew there was a 3S-rank clearance rating!” the short-haired woman exclaimed, staring at Xu Huo in awe. The next second, she smiled. “You kept your word. I admire that. I’ll give up the team rewards and the extra rewards. I hope we meet again in the game.”
With that, she vanished from the spot.
Next came the bald strongman. “‘No Grass Grows’ is also my account name under Dimension. If you need, we can enter an instance together next time.”
The two left first. Even those who didn’t leave immediately gave up their rewards one after another. They had nothing to complain about. They had thought their lives were over, but who would have expected a turnaround? Not only could they leave, but they could also clear with a high rating… Besides, with a group of A-rank players watching, they didn’t dare to complain.
Two minutes later, Xu Huo received all the team rewards and extra rewards.
The trench coat man had also finished tallying all the items compensated by the district government.
With that, the matter in Zone 019 was concluded. Xu Huo handed the “Ember Maiden” to Zheng Shijiu, asking him to pass it on to Suo Lan’s descendants.
Zheng Shijiu took the painting solemnly. “If there’s another chance, I hope you’ll visit Zone 019 again.”
Xu Huo smiled, turned, and followed the trench coat man.
The two made their way to the station. Only after boarding the train to Zone 011 did Xu Huo slump into his seat and chug several bottles of healing potion.
Feeling the pain in his chest and abdomen ease slightly, Xu Huo met the trench coat man’s gaze. “So you had a connection with Mr. He Pu after all.”
The trench coat man was indeed the one who had warned him about the mine entrance in Fresh Flower City. But the two sentences he had said upon arriving indicated he hadn’t appeared here by chance—he had come specifically to save him.
Speaking of saving him, Xu Huo still had life-saving items left, so he wasn’t in immediate danger. It was unlikely that some trait effect had been left on him. Since the other party had come specifically, he probably hadn’t been in Zone 019 before. The only possibility was the B-rank item “Magic Man.”
“Magic Man” was an item crafted by the Magician, given to him as an extra reward for the playing card maze instance. This item, along with the Box Carrier’s puppet and the Paper Servant Master’s paper airplane, had similar functions, so it was highly likely a tracking item.
An extra gift from the maze, a deliberate warning when he went to Fresh Flower City, and then rushing to Zone 019 to save him. Fresh Flower City was in Zone 001, and he had gone there to retrieve He Pu’s belongings. Without some connection, why would a Super Player travel such a distance to save him? The only link could be He Pu.
“I didn’t expect you had already advanced to Super Player.”
Counting the number of C-rank instances, Old Xu would need to clear the next one to reach B-rank.
(Chapter End)