Chapter 1855: The Crowd-Gatherers Have Arrived
Xu Huo displayed several documents to Dr. Deng. Dr. Deng put on his glasses, scanned them, and after carefully reading for a while, asked, "Are there any other materials?"
"The chip hasn't been fully analyzed yet." Xu Huo tapped the interface of the terminal device. "Isn't this enough?"
"Genetic mutations can sometimes occur with fateful coincidences." Dr. Deng sighed, then continued, "Since his sample is still alive, it should mean the pathogenic gene issue has been resolved. Let me take another look."
"However, I advise you not to get your hopes up too high. Even if it's proven that the mutated gene can curb Black Thorn Disease and has also eliminated the trouble of the pathogenic gene, the sample itself is a Xenomorph, vastly different from humans."
"Genetics is one thing, but can a targeted gene agent be created based on this mutated gene?" Xu Huo said. "The agent Dr. Joyce gave you before can be effective against Black Thorn Disease."
"A close miss can be a world of difference." Dr. Deng refused to admit his own lack of skill but couldn't help adding, "Do you think I'm Dr. Wu? That I can just casually whip up a gene agent?"
"Dr. Joyce has already completed most of the preliminary work. You just need to put in a bit more effort." Xu Huo encouraged.
"Then give me Sample 93," Dr. Deng said.
"Not yet for now." Xu Huo paused. "But I can give you Dr. Joyce's remains. Is the player Miss Bai found still around?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Dr. Deng's temper was visibly rising.
Xu Huo sent several boxes of remains over through Under Dimension. "Go ask him for it."
With that, he ended the communication.
Staring at the still-working terminal device, Xu Huo fell silent.
Judging from Dr. Joyce's act of placing the chip in the 93rd Xenomorph, this 93 was highly likely to be "Melissa." But 93 was similar to other Xenomorphs raised from embryos; it couldn't be called the "sole newborn."
The report on Sample 93 didn't mention the pathogenic gene. Could there really be another child named "Melissa"?
"Bang, bang." Deng Xiahei was knocking on the door.
Xu Huo put away his items and went out. Only then did Deng Xiahei say, "It's mealtime. The Polar Safe Zone has sent over a lot of fresh vegetables and meat."
"An hour has passed, and they still have no results?"
"It's hardly news," Deng Xiahei said. "Fei Xian came by to say they found a still-living player from the CK12 Safe Zone, but that person went to another district to do an Instance and won't be back for a while. It'll take some time to get in touch."
"They only found one player from CK12?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "There should have been quite a few players in CK12 two years ago."
"They said they're still looking." Deng Xiahei shrugged. "They're stalling for time. Want to go have a word with them?"
"Let's talk after we eat." Xu Huo put Little Pink Hat back into his item and went outside to eat with the others.
Chang Shoujie's condition was noticeably worse than before. As soon as he came out, his gaze lingered on Xu Huo's face, and he asked, "Where's the child?"
"Isn't the child a Xenomorph? It doesn't need to eat." Xu Huo said indifferently.
Chang Shoujie's expression darkened, but he didn't make any further hints. Deng Xiahei, however, added from the side, "Don't worry, the kid just ate a lot of candy. She seems to only like sweets. Probably never had them before."
Everyone at the table turned to look at him.
Deng Xiahei shoveled a mouthful of food. "What are you staring at me for? Eat."
Their gazes shifted away from him and back to the matter of the players downstairs.
It was obvious to anyone that the people from Zone 010 were stalling for time. Judging by their attitude, they still seemed skeptical about the "newborn" in Xu Huo's possession. Claiming they couldn't get in touch with the CK12 player was likely just to buy time to verify the matter.
Whether a child was born in the CK12 Safe Zone was something the players who had left would know best.
"The newborn from Zone 010 might not necessarily be human," Pink Hair said lazily. "No one's ever said a child born of a human and a Xenomorph has to lean toward being human. Even without human thinking ability, they'd still have half the bloodline in them, right?"
This lukewarm tone displeased the two people from Zone 010 present. Chang Shoujie said, "The best way to make the people of Zone 010 shut up and follow orders is to show them the child."
"Without the child, of course they can't muster full effort. Verification is an inevitable process."
He looked at Xu Huo. "Isn't that exactly what you were thinking?"
Just as Chang Shoujie finished speaking, Deng Xiahei, sitting beside him, suddenly reached out and pulled him back. Amidst the harsh screech of the wheelchair scraping the floor, a flash of light pierced through the room, precisely slicing through the spot where Chang Shoujie had been sitting.
Though everyone was surprised, Chang Shoujie's reaction was the most dramatic. He immediately turned angrily toward the window, specifically toward the building across the street.
But this wasn't the work of the Safe Zone players. Deng Xiahei quickly went outside to check and found that it wasn't just their building that had been cut open—the houses on the two streets ahead were also split apart. Some Safe Zone players were injured. The person responsible was standing about three hundred meters away, hovering high in the air. Seeing the sudden flood of people, he burst into laughter.
"Look at this lively scene! How could our Sand Sea Safe Zone not get in on the action?"
The Zone 010 players hadn't expected the Sand Sea Safe Zone players to arrive so quickly. They glared angrily while setting up defenses around the building where Xu Huo and the others were. But the Sand Sea Safe Zone player clearly had no intention of letting them unite. He raised his hands and clapped three times, and three flaming shells shot in from outside the city, hurtling straight toward their position!
Zone 010 didn't have a defensive item that could cover the entire city, so they could only defend point by point. Immediately, nearly thirty players split into three groups and rushed toward the different shells, trying to use stacked defensive items to prevent the city from being bombarded and keep the Sand Sea Safe Zone from muddying the waters. However, unexpectedly, these weren't ordinary thermal weapons—they were items. When they intercepted them the first time, the "shells" automatically split apart, turning into dozens of smaller shells that scattered wildly, instantly destroying two buildings.
As debris and dust flew, the players quickly evacuated. Since Xu Huo and the others weren't holding the child, both the Zone 010 players and the Sand Sea Safe Zone arrivals had to split their forces to track them down.
Chang Shoujie and Gao Dawei, who had been left behind, were rescued by Liao Xiaoyi. The moment he saw her, Chang Shoujie immediately said, "The newborn might really be in Xu Zhi's hands. He absolutely cannot die!"
Liao Xiaoyi was startled, then handed him over to others and personally led a team to chase after Xu Huo.
The Polar Safe Zone was fairly large, making it easy to hide temporarily, especially in such chaos. After running out, Xu Huo quickly evaded most people's sight and ducked into an abandoned building.
"Over here!" The young player who had helped the Polar Safe Zone in the desert earlier crouched behind a pillar and waved at him.