Chapter 1966: Too Efficient
The players of Jade Spring City were highly efficient.
This kind of efficiency was something rarely seen in ordinary players.
For example, average players were generally accustomed to fighting alone. They might possess many items, but the ones they commonly used were just the few that felt convenient. This was because items had usage commands, cooldown periods, or restrictions under specific conditions. Additionally, retrieving and equipping them was a technical task—especially since almost all items needed to be held in the player's hands to be used. Therefore, they wouldn't hang a bunch of items all over themselves at once, as this would not only be ineffective but could also cause chaos when trying to retrieve them.
Thus, even players accustomed to combat, after long periods of training and experimentation, understanding themselves and their items, would still experience delays, mistakes, or loss of control when transitioning between items. Sometimes, "competing in hand speed" wasn't just about speed; it also severely tested a player's reaction time and flexible application of item effects, which often depended on the opponent's items and traits.
Various unexpected situations could arise even in solo operations, let alone when players had to cooperate with each other.
First, different people needed to develop tacit understanding, and this was in life-or-death situations, which inherently required a long time, not to mention the ever-changing combinations.
Second, each player's understanding of others' items was never comprehensive. Even within the same organization, under normal circumstances, no one would meticulously reveal their item usage to others, especially not to so many people.
Therefore, when players gathered in groups, some traits and items activated indiscriminately, affecting friend and foe alike. This led players in group battles to try to spread out the battlefield to avoid injuring teammates or creating opportunities for the enemy. If that wasn't possible, they would avoid using wide-area items and instead opt for items that could precisely target enemies.
Under such premises, even training fixed groups of players made it difficult to achieve close cooperation, let alone casually swapping teammates like in Jade Spring City. To put it somewhat inappropriately, they were like different parts—any combination could be put into use under any circumstances, without any need to consider breaking-in issues.
"Could this be Jade Spring City's training model?" Qiao Qiao pondered for a moment before saying, "Are their items all shared, with everyone taking turns using them, so that everyone knows the effects of the items?"
"That's not the same," Old Zhou said. "When fighting, a person's reaction time is very short. Even if you know the effects of the items, so what? If I had to use a hundred items by myself, I doubt I could pick the right one in that situation."
"Unless they are all highly intelligent talents."
This was the only explanation they could think of at the moment. High intelligence meant the brain processed emergencies faster than ordinary people, making them appear to cooperate better than players from other districts.
"Then Jade Spring City has a lot of talent," Qiao Qiao said with an ambiguous tone. "Anyway, in my district, even elite teams formed by the government require long-term training. If someone takes on a major mission, their teammates are fixed."
"It's not just a matter of intelligence," Xu Huo said. "Their item usage has been screened. Didn't you notice that the players who came to intercept us weren't very high-level? C-grade players made up the majority."
"In terms of items, they avoided large-scale, indiscriminate attack types. In terms of levels, they avoided individuals with particularly outstanding personal abilities. Even if they affected each other, they wouldn't leave fatal vulnerabilities during the battle."
"This is a configuration."
There was another point he didn't mention. It wasn't simply that higher intelligence meant 1+1=2 when combined. If each person arrived at a different optimal solution, then forcing them to cooperate would actually interfere with each other. Considering that the West District hadn't shown similar situations, and the East District players seemed to have unstable emotional bombs as hidden dangers, he thought this might be the result of some kind of evolutionary interference.
"Do you know about the Agor Corporation performing brain surgery on their internal personnel?" He shifted to another topic.
Qiao Qiao pulled an anti-interference chip out of her ear. "This thing. I heard that Agor Corporation players have it implanted directly into their brains."
"So it's also possible that the Agor Corporation has used other means to make players more efficient in combat," Xu Huo proposed this possibility.
Qiao Qiao and Old Zhou exchanged glances, both suddenly interested.
"No wonder they don't lack people," Qiao Qiao said. "If such a method exists, any player would want to try it!"
Agile thinking ability could definitely improve a player's survival rate. In this dangerous world, who wouldn't want to be a little smarter than others?
"Where are you planning to start?" Old Zhou asked Xu Huo.
"I think there are only two ways to bring about change here," Xu Huo said, tapping his own head. "Take medicine or undergo surgery."
"We went to the hospital earlier. Public hospitals are definitely not the right place. So it's most likely in some secret experimental bases. Whether it's injecting drugs or opening the skull, it must be kept confidential."
"Could it be related to your clearance mission?" Qiao Qiao said. "That white blood? Could there really be a potion for brain development?"
The game world wasn't lacking in potions aimed at brain development, but in reality, they had little effect, not even as good as the slight benefits from evolution. Of course, there were also harsh ones, but the results after taking them were far from satisfactory—death and disability were common. After all, it was the brain, and ordinary people wouldn't take that risk.
So even if players knew the rumors about "white blood" in Jade Spring City, they wouldn't think it could surpass the potions supplied through game channels. However, after witnessing the combat coordination of the East District players, they were a bit curious.
"If such a potion really exists, wouldn't it be even more tempting than the Perfect Potion?" Xu Huo smiled faintly. "Maybe it has other defects we don't know about, or it's difficult to mass-produce."
"Whether it exists or not, we'll find out by digging it up," Old Zhou said. "Anyway, it's a big fish. Let's contact some more people to cooperate."
Xu Huo agreed.
After the three of them spread the confession video, Xu Huo found a place nearby that provided signal shielding for special individuals. He released the player he had stored in the picture frame and questioned him about "white blood" and other matters.
Over the past two or three days, they hadn't found a suitable opportunity. This East District player had already passed his peak energy period. Coupled with the fact that Xu Huo had used mental power to influence him before releasing him, after administering a truth serum, he answered everything he was asked.
He had never heard of "white blood." As for the potions used internally by East District players, they were all purchased from the game and were nothing special.
As for why they carried mutant plant seeds that could sense mental power, it was due to genetic issues.
(Chapter End)