Chapter 1883: If the Game Had Never Existed
As more and more people came to watch the flag, its symbolic meaning grew. Only when District 010 recaptured the Sand Sea Safe Zone and made the flag fly forever over the city would a symbolic retaking battle be complete.
“Will this work?” Liao Xiaoyi hesitated after hearing this. “Isn’t it too simple?”
Although she understood that the lighthouse might be a symbol, using a flag picked up on the spot to complete the instance—wasn’t that a bit too hasty?
“You can use something else instead.” Xu Huo was just offering a line of thought.
Deng Xiahei, however, trusted him completely and immediately said, “We’ll use the flag. What’s more convenient than a flag?”
Liao Xiaoyi wanted to say something more, but she opened her mouth and then let it go. After all, it was Deng Xiahei and the others who needed to clear the instance.
“Since you agree, we’ll do it this way,” Liao Xiaoyi said. “Just tell us where you need our cooperation.”
“Follow your own plan,” Xu Huo said. “A few people are easier to coordinate than a hundred.”
With that, he glanced outside the building. “Want to rest a bit longer?”
The pouring rain not only obscured vision but also interfered with hearing and perception, making combat in the rain very inconvenient. If they had to fight, it would be better to move indoors. However, District 010 was aiming to reclaim the city, not destroy it. Most of the buildings they had already knocked down had been renovated with their money, and destroying them for no reason would be a waste.
“As long as we can take back the Sand Sea Safe Zone, this is nothing,” Liao Xiaoyi said solemnly. “With people, District 010 can continue.”
After speaking, she nodded to Xu Huo and the others, left the flag, and took Gan Feng and the rest away.
“That sounds pretty heartbreaking…” Deng Xiahei couldn’t help but say. “I can’t bear to burst their bubble. Where is District 010 going to find people to continue?”
Xu Huo told him to stop talking nonsense and to take the flags and distribute them—not just to Juan Er and the others, but also to the players from District 010.
“Got it,” Deng Xiahei said, glancing at his watch. “Wait half an hour. Half an hour from now, you make the rain stop, and I’ll go plant the flag.”
Xu Huo had no objections. After the others had gone far, he moved to a new location and found the Pink Hair, who had been blowing up buildings all over the city.
In fact, the very first attack from District 010 had been his doing, and he had gotten there ahead of the District 010 people.
Having already vented some of his anger, Pink Hair was leaning against a metal pillar to rest. A bottle of water sat at his feet, and he held a photo in his hand. When he noticed Xu Huo’s arrival, he didn’t look up. Instead, he said, “You don’t seem like the type to meddle in other people’s business.”
“There’s something I have to wait for, so I’m stuck here for now,” Xu Huo said, stopping across from him. He set his umbrella aside, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Without saying much more, he lowered his head and worked on Dr. Zhang’s puzzle ball.
After a while, Pink Hair spoke again. “Are you sympathizing with the people of District 010? Are you here to kill me?”
“Was it the players of the Sand Sea Safe Zone who killed your girlfriend?” Xu Huo asked instead of answering.
“No,” Pink Hair said expressionlessly.
“I heard about Boss Yang’s death. It has your style,” Xu Huo said. “Even if they didn’t do it themselves, they must have been involved.”
Pink Hair looked up at him with a hint of sarcasm. “You like analyzing other people’s psychology so much, why don’t you become a psychotherapist?”
“Do you want to see my license?” Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
Pink Hair suddenly became very angry. He stood up abruptly. “What does this have to do with you? If you’ve cleared the instance, then get the hell out!”
“Don’t be so angry,” Xu Huo said. “I can probably guess why you hate District 010 so much, but I just think it’s a shame for you to die here.”
Pink Hair squinted. “To be buried in the same place as the one I love—what’s the shame in that?”
“The shame I’m talking about isn’t that you’re dying for love. Love is great, and your love for your girlfriend is touching,” Xu Huo said. “The pity is that you only see Boss Yang and District 010 as your enemies.”
“What do you mean?” Pink Hair asked.
“Have you ever thought about going back to the past?” Xu Huo said.
“Going back to the past?” Pink Hair was stunned. He immediately pressed, “Can you travel through time?”
“No,” Xu Huo said, his fingers still moving, but his gaze had settled on him. “What I mean is, what if the game had never existed?”
Pink Hair was disappointed, but he still let himself follow that train of thought into a bit of fantasy. “If there were no game, she and I might have gotten married long ago, might have had children… It’s precisely because the game is so cruel that we couldn’t bear to bring a child into this world.”
He paused, then stared at Xu Huo. “You’re trying to tell me to take revenge on the Game Government.”
“Although the possibility of turning back time is almost zero,” Xu Huo said, tossing him the notebook he had taken from that player earlier, “you can still make the Game Government pay a heavy price. Let them know that even an ordinary person, as insignificant as an ant and easily expendable, can trigger a hurricane—and that hurricane will teach them a lesson that cuts to the bone.”
His words made Pink Hair unconsciously tighten his grip on the notebook. After a moment, his emotions slowly stabilized. “What you said makes sense. But what if I still want to kill everyone in District 010? What are you going to do?”
Xu Huo shook his head slightly. “I’m neither from District 010 nor a savior. That’s a grudge between you and District 010. If you can wipe out District 010, that’s your skill.”
“But dying here is still too much of a waste.”
“Think it over.”
With that, he dropped the subject. “I’m going to stay here for half an hour. If you’re uncomfortable, you can find another place.”
Pink Hair was immediately annoyed. “I was here first! Why should I be the one to move?”
“I don’t want to move either. This place is spacious enough. Let’s each take a side.” Xu Huo turned his attention back to the puzzle ball.
Pink Hair slowly sat back down. He held the notebook in one hand and the photo in the other. After a moment, tears streamed down his face.
He didn’t make a sound. He tilted his head back and covered his face with his girlfriend’s photo.
After a long time, he wiped away his tears, put away both the notebook and the photo, and stood up. He said to Xu Huo, “At the root of it all, my girlfriend’s death was because of the game. If there were no game, if the Game Government hadn’t used District 010 as an experimental ground, she wouldn’t have died here.”
“Even if I kill everyone in District 010, it won’t even faze the Game Government. They abandoned this district long ago. Letting this district disappear entirely might even be doing them a favor by cleaning up their mess.”
“The people of District 010 need to live. As long as they live, the hatred will continue, and it will turn into bullets fired back at the Game Government.”
His gaze was deep, as if he were speaking to Xu Huo, or perhaps to himself. “I will make them regret this.”