Chapter 2007: Instance Clear
"Using something this risky?"
Teacher Zhao was speechless. Just as he was about to report his findings to headquarters, he received messages from different parts of the city. The content was simple: three locations had already opened their atomized boxes, but the boxes were empty—no potion at all!
At that moment, whether it was Teacher Zhao who received the news, Xu Huo beside him, or the two players behind him, they all understood one thing: the metal box in front of them must contain the "White Blood"!
Whether Zheng Yuci wanted Xu Huo to clear the instance or to help her dispose of the abandoned "experiment," she would tell him the true location of the "White Blood." But from the perspective of the East District players, this box absolutely could not be opened, because they weren't sure if the two missing boxes also contained "White Blood." If there was a connection between the boxes, sealing this one wouldn't seal the other two...
Their eyes met, and murderous intent flashed in Teacher Zhao's eyes!
Xu Huo wasn't in much better shape. His previous encounter had made him realize the gap between himself and Zheng Yuci. So even if Zheng Yuci gave him a clear clue to find Dr. Zhang, he couldn't touch it in the short term. Not only that, but after being played by Chang Bei, now it was Zheng Yuci's turn—were these people just messing with him for fun?
Within the coverage of "Cube Space," space rays from different controllers collided and moved. Space barriers and ray blades interpenetrated, instantly turning this small laboratory into a killing field. The two players originally in the lab had to take cover under their props, while the players who arrived later dared not approach recklessly due to their fear of space power.
However, in terms of space evolution, Xu Huo was no match for Teacher Zhao. After a brief exchange, Teacher Zhao moved to the metal box and directly covered it with a transparent space box!
Under Teacher Zhao's attack, Xu Huo retreated to the corridor, swung his Black Blade to cut through the space blades in front of him, then released his Spiritual Realm. A spiral staircase lifted Teacher Zhao away from the lab, while Xu Huo used a Tangent to break the space box around the metal box. But just as he returned to the metal box, the entire box vanished into thin air, replaced by a Subclass Stone of unknown quality.
He grabbed the Subclass Stone and looked up, cutting through the lab to return to the ground.
Teacher Zhao, who had swapped the metal box away, had already joined forces with the old man who had cut down dozens of Outer Zone players at the Agor Headquarters. The two of them flanked the box, both staring in Xu Huo's direction.
All three stood in the air. Xu Huo also looked at them, slowly rotating the Black Blade in his hand.
A new battle seemed imminent, but none of them expected an unexpected person to intervene, silently sitting down on the metal box.
The moment they noticed him, Teacher Zhao and the old man immediately attacked. However, Jiang Chengfeng seemed to just be making an appearance. Without a word, he retreated, saying as he did, "It's just opening a box. You're making such a big fuss. How about I lend a hand?"
Teacher Zhao and the old man immediately sensed something was wrong. When they turned back to look at the metal box, they heard, "Open sesame, open sesame," and the buttons on both sides of the box automatically activated. Then the box rotated, and black mist sprayed out from the hundreds of exposed holes!
Fortunately, Teacher Zhao sealed the space in time, but they had guessed correctly—Zheng Yuci's backup plan didn't stop there. The moment the box opened, six projectiles were launched simultaneously across Yuchuan City, both East and West Districts. They exploded about twenty meters above the ground, and shrapnel sprayed out along with the black smoke. This somewhat repelled the first wave of players trying to salvage the situation, allowing the black smoke to successfully spread throughout the city.
By this time, the sky was gradually brightening. The post-rain air mixed with the smell of contaminated soil. Although the people of Yuchuan City had closed their doors and windows, this could only delay the poisoning, not completely isolate the toxin. As the city's air currents moved, the mist, diluted to the point of being barely visible, spread further away. Players who had taken precautions in time were fine, but those who hadn't or hadn't received the news were silently eroded by the toxin. Some died on the spot, but more became frenzied and disappeared, attacking others indiscriminately.
"I'll seal this place. You arrange the other players," Teacher Zhao said to the old man.
The old man left, while Teacher Zhao, controlling the metal box to land steadily, pulled Jiang Chengfeng down. "You deserve to die!"
Jiang Chengfeng had been on guard against him. After dodging several attacks, he flashed behind Xu Huo. "Brother, see, I helped you again. A drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring. Now's the time for your gushing spring!"
Xu Huo ignored him. He landed and entered Teacher Zhao's sealed area, collecting a mass of mist into an experimental container.
[Congratulations, Passerby A, on successfully clearing the instance "Justice." Since you successfully seized the "White Blood" in this instance, upheld your own justice in the process, uncovered the truth behind the sharp decline in Yuchuan City's newborns, assisted the Rebel Army in overthrowing the rule of Agor Technology Corporation, and left an antidote potion for the people of Yuchuan City, while maintaining your bottom line in upholding justice, your instance rating is SS.]
"I've cleared the instance." He looked up at the displeased Teacher Zhao. "I've deposited a certain amount of antidote in Yuchuan City's water storage center. Try it and see if it works."
With that, he withdrew from the sealed area and turned toward the Agor headquarters.
Jiang Chengfeng followed behind him. "Will the East District players believe you?"
"They'll believe when their antidotes don't work," Xu Huo said flatly. "Of course, it's better if their own antidotes are effective."
"It seems you were already on guard against Zheng Yuci playing dirty tricks," Jiang Chengfeng chuckled. "But this is too troublesome. The people of Yuchuan City will save themselves. Even if you help them, they might not thank you."
For ordinary players, what kind of poison Zheng Yuci left behind didn't matter. They could protect themselves anyway. Why go through all this trouble to distribute antidotes? They might not even be needed, and even if they were, it wouldn't bring any benefits.
"Maybe I've misunderstood the Old Holy Sword Society," Xu Huo said, glancing back at him.
Jiang Chengfeng caught the sarcasm in his words but didn't care at all. "Life is already exhausting enough. Why make it harder for yourself by trying to be a good person? Doesn't being a player mean doing whatever you want? Isn't going with the flow better? Besides, Yuchuan City brought this disaster upon itself. Even if I didn't act, someone else would."
"Didn't you say the potion was targeting East District players? I was just worried I wouldn't have enough chances to kill a few more. This is like a pillow arriving just when I was feeling sleepy!"
"I see," Xu Huo nodded slightly. "What was your clearance mission?"
Thanks to reader mogumogu55 for the tip, the eighth Alliance Leader! ^_^