Chapter 1871: Destruction of the Safe Zone
Xu Huo briefly explained his speculation about why Dr. Joyce had placed Melissa in the hibernation pod, and added, "I also contacted one of Dr. Joyce's former colleagues, and he agreed with my view."
Chang Shoujie was a very intelligent person, and he and Dr. Joyce had shared the same aspirations. How could he not know that what Xu Huo said was true?
"If this child could really save Zone 010, the doctor would have handed her over to CK12."
So the current problem was that even if this child was raised, she could not become the "mother" of Zone 010. Moreover, she carried pathogenic genes. To raise her, a suitable environment was necessary. Even if Zone 010 still wanted to continue using her for experiments, the first thing to consider was the exorbitant "maintenance costs."
"Why is the Black faction player's clearance objective to kill her?" Chang Shoujie asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.
"You mean the inference mentioned in the Black faction's instance background, that Melissa's genes might mix into the descendants of Zone 010, eventually leading to the extinction of Zone 010?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"That's just an inference. Even if it could be realized, it would take at least ten years. Perhaps one day that inference could become reality, but what would Zone 010 be like by then? Besides, where would you find a second Dr. Joyce?"
This was the reality before them. Even if the game's judgment was correct, it would take a long time to verify. Perhaps both Melissa and Zone 010 would be lucky enough to pull it off, but then another issue would have to be considered: the negative consequences brought by the pathogenic genes.
So both possibilities led to the same result: Melissa could not truly save Zone 010.
"We failed." Chang Shoujie's expression darkened.
"Not necessarily. If Melissa is raised well, perhaps a gene therapy for Black Thorn Disease could be developed during her lifetime," Xu Huo said.
He had mentioned this topic before when they found the "Newborn" near CK12. At that time, Chang Shoujie had also judged, based on the fact that CK12's players had all left, that the "Newborn" might not be the hope for saving Zone 010. It had been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but now it was finally settled.
"In fact, you can think of cultivating the embryo and developing the gene therapy as the same thing, just at different stages of progress."
Xu Huo added a supplementary remark, paused for a moment, and then asked, "Which safe zone do you think would genuinely accept this child?"
"Not treating her as the hope to save Zone 010, but just raising her as an ordinary child."
Even Chang Shoujie couldn't help but smile bitterly. They were strangers, and the people of Zone 010 couldn't even secure their own future. Who would spend enormous effort and resources out of sympathy to protect such a child? Even if they accepted her initially, it would be hard to guarantee they wouldn't change their minds when the pressure mounted later. By then, the child's life would be difficult, not only in terms of hardship but also the risk of dying from inadequate care.
"I understand," Xu Huo nodded. "What I mean is, I hope to send her through a safe zone to be raised by Zone 010 people who have settled in other districts."
"But to clear the instance, my top priority is to have the safe zone accept her."
Chang Shoujie was still hoping to obtain the gene therapy through him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Among the powerful safe zones, those led by female players are relatively better. In my opinion, we should go to Liao Xiaoyi. She has considerable prestige among Zone 010 players. She seems aloof, but she is fair in her dealings and not a weak person. Besides, she once had a daughter."
"Would it have the opposite effect?" Xu Huo asked.
"Even if she knows that we are approaching her for this reason, she won't refuse," Chang Shoujie said. "You underestimate the desire of Zone 010 people for children. For the time being, even knowing that this child is just an ordinary one, most safe zones would be willing to take her in. But considering the long term and future arrangements for her, choosing Liao Xiaoyi is more appropriate."
Xu Huo nodded, finalizing the matter.
Afterward, he brought up the issue of Deng Xiahei and the others clearing the instance. "The Sand Sea players who escaped haven't sent anyone else, and the Zone 010 people haven't arrived either. Something might have gone wrong in between."
Even if the Zone 010 people understood Melissa's situation and prioritized dealing with the Sand Sea Safe Zone issue, they wouldn't have sent no one at all. The same should apply to the Sand Sea side.
Chang Shoujie's face darkened. "If it's not Zone 010 attacking the Sand Sea Safe Zone, then it's those Sand Sea people pulling the same old trick, using this opportunity to go on a massacre."
"Can you contact people from other safe zones?" Xu Huo asked.
Without much hesitation, Chang Shoujie told him a code used by Zone 010 people on the Under Dimension. "This code is used by people left in the districts to contact players outside. See if there are any distress messages in it."
Xu Huo followed his instructions and found the contact interface. The latest message was sent yesterday, but it was a string of edited ciphertext.
After hearing it, Chang Shoujie's expression turned even uglier. "They chose the safe zone where Liao Xiaoyi is. It happened yesterday. It should be over by now."
Xu Huo put the newly purchased child protective suit on Little Melissa, had Chang Shoujie give him the coordinates of a safe zone, and directly retracted the hotel.
Deng Xiahei and the others were about to eat when the hotel suddenly disappeared, throwing them all out. Juan Er, wearing a bathrobe, stepped on a patch of sand and said irritably, "Give a heads-up before you do that! I just finished showering."
"Zone 010 and the outer zone players have already gone to war," Xu Huo reported succinctly, giving the location of Tomorrow Safe Zone where Liao Xiaoyi was. "Let's go now and see if we can catch the tail end."
Since it concerned their clearance, the others didn't waste any time. They immediately pulled out teleportation items and set off.
Soon they arrived at Tomorrow Safe Zone, but the scene before them exceeded their expectations.
The cities preserved in Zone 010 were already dilapidated to begin with. With later reinforcements, they looked like clothes patched all over. Normally, people wouldn't deliberately attack the buildings, but the Tomorrow Safe Zone before them had been reduced to ruins. Black smoke billowed from many places. There weren't many corpses in the city, but everywhere were traces of xenomorphs trampling through.
"What's going on? Weren't they at war with the Sand Sea Safe Zone? Why does it look like they were attacked by a xenomorph swarm?" Deng Xiahei said.
"The two things aren't mutually exclusive." Xu Huo looked around. "Spread out and see if there are any survivors."
So the group dispersed. However, after more than ten minutes of searching, aside from finding a few xenomorphs that hadn't fled yet and some incomplete corpses, they saw no living ordinary people or player corpses.
Xu Huo found Fan Yunhong under a collapsed building. His legs had been severed, but he hadn't died yet.
Even though Xu Huo wasn't a professional doctor, he knew that pulling him out without medical equipment might accelerate his death. Fan Yunhong had already lost too much blood and was unlikely to survive.
"...I don't want to be alone..."
Hearing his obsessive muttering, Xu Huo opened a Spiritual Gate and went down.
(End of Chapter)