Chapter 1852: Assembly of a Hundred People
Mr. Yuan and the others withdrew from the room. Because of this rather unpleasant negotiation, the previous amicable atmosphere between the two sides had completely dissipated. After the players from the Polar Safe Zone left, Xu Huo had his own people close the doors and windows, sealing off the entire floor.
"Are they going to get rough?" Gao Dawei looked out the window for a moment before turning back nervously.
"It was possible before they knew we had spread the news. Now, absolutely not." Chang Shoujie said with certainty.
"They still need to conserve their strength to deal with players from other safe zones." Fu Yi added. "The safe zones aren't all that close-knit. There are plenty of people who want to absorb players to bolster their own power."
Having experienced the great upheaval in Zone 010, the players couldn't be so naive as to selflessly sacrifice themselves. Self-preservation was the top priority.
"Your Zone 010 isn't that united either." Juan Er spun a prop in her hand. "I thought since you were down to this many people, you'd at least reach a consensus on something that concerns the entire zone's future. I didn't expect Old Xu to expose the cracks with just one sentence."
"Haven't they already gone to find a solution?" Chang Shoujie said. "As long as the Sand Sea Safe Zone doesn't get involved, everything is negotiable."
Whether the various districts of Zone 010 chose to cooperate or go their separate ways, it didn't make much difference to him. His target was the players from CK12.
"I think it's a bit dangerous outside. Maybe we should put the child in the hotel." Deng Xiahei said to Xu Huo. "Inside a location prop, no one can just come and go as they please."
Xu Huo's goal wasn't just the players from the CK12 safe zone, but also people from other factions within the "Wandering Melissa" instance, some of whom were B-rank players. Using mental interference to quickly obtain the needed information wouldn't be easy. He had to wait for people to come to him. Only by seeing the "Newborn" would they know what to do next.
"I'm afraid someone might bypass the Polar Safe Zone's defenses but not the prop." He placed Little Pink Hat into the stroller and said to the others, "Let's rest for a while first."
Everyone understood his meaning and deliberately split into groups.
Chang Shoujie and Gao Dawei stayed in the room next to his. On the other side were Brother Wu and his two companions. Pink Hair and Fu Yi's group of three were across the hall.
The doors to these three rooms were all left open, but Xu Huo called Deng Xiahei into his room and closed the door.
"Players from various safe zones are arriving one after another." Deng Xiahei was monitoring the activity within the city.
Only high-level players with space teleportation items could arrive so quickly. The rest were probably still on the way.
Mr. Yuan, Fei Xian, and others were responsible for receiving those people and conveying Xu Huo's demands.
Originally, Fei Xian wanted to hide Xu Huo's demands and secretly find the CK12 players to complete the transaction, but Mr. Yuan vetoed the idea.
First, their current strength wasn't enough to quickly identify who might be from the CK12 safe zone, even if they might know each other. Using props to check everyone rashly would only cause trouble.
Second, this matter was no longer about any single safe zone. The birth of a Newborn concerned the future of Zone 010. Their opponents were those who wanted to sever the zone's future, including but not limited to the Sand Sea Safe Zone.
They were also racing against time.
Half an hour after Xu Huo stated his conditions to Mr. Yuan and the others, almost all the high-level players from half the safe zones in Zone 010 had arrived.
Of course, the total didn't exceed a hundred people. These people gathered in the mall's conference room, and their most pressing concern was whether the matter of the Newborn was real. They wanted to see the child.
Regarding this issue, Fei Xian had communicated with Xu Huo. Xu Huo refused to bring the child to the conference room, but he agreed to let them take a look from a distance.
So, the hundred or so people crowded inside and outside the conference room, all craning their necks to look at the people in the building across the way.
Xu Huo only let Little Pink Hat lift the wrapping cloth a little, enough to confirm to outsiders that she was alive and possessed human intelligence.
But the hand she revealed showed signs of being a Xenomorph, which cooled the enthusiasm of some players.
"That child is a Xenomorph?" A female player said with a disappointed tone.
"She seems to be intelligent." The player beside her said uncertainly. "The child's eyes look very bright."
"What good are bright eyes?" A bearded man nearby said angrily. "This young child is already degenerating. Who can guarantee she'll grow up? And even if she does, can she reproduce?"
"He doesn't dare to let the child show herself fully, which means the child's condition might be worse than it appears." Another person added. "Maybe her whole body has already degenerated into a Xenomorph."
"Where exactly was this child found? What do they need the CK12 safe zone players for?"
"Why should outsiders be allowed to dictate matters concerning our Zone 010? Make them hand over the child!"
"What use is just one child? None of us in Zone 010 can reproduce anymore!"
"That's not right. If we can't reproduce, then how was this child born?"
"How else? Maybe it was born from a Xenomorph, which is why it came out looking like this! Even if it can bear the next generation, would you dare let it? Do you want all the descendants of Zone 010 to become these inhuman, ghost-like things?"
...
The "Newborn" had only revealed a slight trace, and already the people of Zone 010 were arguing like this.
"So many high-level players gathered together, and the things they say get uglier by the minute." Deng Xiahei couldn't help but comment. "The child is so young, and they're already talking about whether she can reproduce, as if her birth has no meaning if she can't."
"Are they brain-damaged? If it were me, I'd first try to figure out how this child was born in the first place. Since there's this child, finding the right method might lead to another. Isn't that better than fixating on the reproductive ability of a two or three-year-old who might not even survive to adulthood?"
Deng Xiahei's complaints were from an outsider's perspective. In reality, the surviving safe zones of Zone 010 had all been involved in breeding experiments to some extent. Many people knew about Chang Shoujie and Dr. Joyce. Since neither of them had a good reputation in the end, it showed that most players in Zone 010 had given up hope. Even if humans and Xenomorphs could have children, so what? If they all turned out like the "Newborn" Xu Huo brought back, not even counting as human, what use were more?
Who would pin a zone's future on a monster that was half-human, half-Xenomorph?
"Knock, knock!" Mr. Yuan tapped the table and raised his voice. "Everyone, now is not the time to debate the Newborn's condition. The child hasn't even returned to our side yet. She was found near the CK12 safe zone. No one knows the situation better than the players from CK12."
He looked around at the crowd. "If anyone here is from CK12 or knows any CK12 players, please step forward. At least reveal some truth, even just a few words will do!" (Chapter End)