Chapter 2042: A Plea for Help from an Outer Zone Player
Environment is important, but what ultimately determines a person's ceiling is always themselves.
However, meeting with Huahan Werner wasn't entirely without gain.
At least it was certain that people from Zone 011 wouldn't bother him over this matter anytime soon.
As for Time Evolution, the state he described was like water and rain.
Xu Huo stood up and walked to the bedside, gazing at the heavy night outside. He placed the "Open Umbrella, It Will Rain" on the balcony.
Raindrops gradually began to fall from the night sky, a light drizzle quickly wetting the ground.
This wasn't the first time he had obtained an item that could connect to other spaces. The difference was that "Open Umbrella, It Will Rain" was always linked to a nearby space where it was raining. The intensity of the rain was random, but once the umbrella was opened, rain would definitely fall. From its state, it even somewhat resembled what Huahan Werner had described—drawing Time Power from another space.
He pulled up a chair and sat on the balcony to watch the rain.
Because the connected spaces were different, one rain would stop and immediately be followed by another. However, two of the showers contained trace amounts of toxins, forcing him to close the umbrella and open it again.
It took several attempts to avoid the tragedy of poisoning all the plants in the garden to death.
The rain varied in intensity, and in the latter half of the night, it became a torrential downpour. Xu Huo closed his eyes, listening to the rain as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Just before dawn, a group of people suddenly stepped into the castle's grounds. The one being pursued was an injured player. He used a floating item to barely shield himself from the rain, frantically vaulting over the rose flower wall and stumbling into the front yard. As he ran toward the castle gate, he looked back at the dense figures gradually closing in through the heavy rain.
Chasing him was a squad of White Epaulets. The leader, seeing him enter the castle, immediately released a capture item, attempting to forcibly drag him out.
Under the effect of the item, the injured player ran in place for two seconds before being slammed back against the flower wall. He used a substitute item to barely free himself from the branches, then shouted toward the castle: "Mr. Xu, save me! Mr. Xu, save me!"
The White Epaulets' expressions changed. Before they could stop him, the torrential rain suddenly ceased. A light came on in the castle's porch, and a figure emerged from inside—it was Mr. Dong. He looked toward the flower wall and pointed at his watch from a distance.
Since the castle's people had already appeared, the White Epaulets, who had previously dared not enter, now dared even less. They could only watch as the injured player scrambled toward the porch.
"Sorry to intrude, but the one who fled is a criminal the White Epaulets are after. Please, Mr. Dong, hand him over," the leading captain said.
Though the distance was considerable, it didn't prevent those inside from hearing. Mr. Dong didn't respond. Instead, he tilted his head slightly toward the side from the porch.
Only then did the squad of White Epaulets realize that on the second-floor balcony directly opposite sat a person. He seemed to merge with the darkness, only gradually revealing himself after they sensed someone was there.
The injured player stopped in front of the main gate, looked up at the person on the balcony, and knelt directly. "Mr. Xu, I'm also an Outer Zone Player. I brought my younger siblings to settle in Zone 011 so they could live in a safer environment. But I never imagined Zone 011 wouldn't treat us like people. My sister worked to support her studies and was killed for no reason. My brother, trying to find out the truth, went missing after following the White Epaulets! I only learned what happened after returning from an Instance and finding the letter he left me. It took me a long time to investigate, and I discovered my sister was brutally murdered as a sacrifice for a cult..."
The man heavily knocked his head on the ground. "I haven't found my brother, but cases like mine are not uncommon. I wasn't careful enough and got targeted by the White Epaulets. They came to silence me!"
"I beg you to help me! You're famous in Zone 011. Many of us Outer Zone players know you're not a local either. I had no choice but to break into Rose Castle. I want to find my brother—whether dead or alive, I need closure! And I want those who trample on human lives to pay the price! Only you can help me!"
No one interrupted while the man spoke, and he was rational enough to state the cause and effect as quickly as possible, striving for a shred of goodwill.
Xu Huo, who had been half-reclining in his chair, finally lifted his head and looked at the White Epaulets outside the castle. "Is what he said true?"
The White Epaulet leading the squad was Bran.
This man wasn't particularly famous, but Xu Huo had seen him once when he was a Contract Staff at the Game Government Base and had gone to the Enforcement Department to deliver supplies. Bran was a captain of the White Epaulets. At the time, he had tried to forcibly take the supplies but was stopped by Ran Ying of the Black Epaulets.
Bran clearly recognized Xu Huo. He gritted his teeth. "This is Enforcement Department business..."
"Is it true?" Xu Huo asked again. This time, Bran opened his mouth but involuntarily blurted out the answer, "Yes..."
"No!" He snapped back to his senses, staring in shock at the person upstairs, then his face darkened. "Don't think that just because you're a guest of the Werner family, you can interfere with Enforcement Department operations. Do you want to be an enemy of Zone 011?"
"You exaggerate." Xu Huo stood up and walked to the edge of the balcony. "Of course, your Enforcement Department's affairs are for you to handle. But I recall that Zone 011's laws clearly state that Enforcement Department operations are subject to oversight from all sectors. This should be to prevent excessive expansion of player power."
"You come from a noble background. Besides the Enforcement Department, you also represent a portion of noble power. Do you get to decide everything alone?"
Of course not, but Bran had personally led the pursuit to completely bury this matter. "This player invaded the Enforcement Department's classified areas and assassinated Enforcement Department members. Our arrest is legal and compliant. Regardless of his motives, violating Zone 011's laws and disrupting district order means he must be captured."
"I respect Zone 011's laws." Xu Huo gestured for Mr. Dong to open the door.
Mr. Dong complied, while the player still kneeling on the ground looked away in disappointment, preparing to flee again.
"Don't you have a ticket?" Xu Huo suddenly looked down at him.
The other man, unsure of his stance, lowered his voice. "I'm afraid that if I come back, everything will have been erased!"
"Go ahead." Xu Huo withdrew his gaze.
The man hesitated for a moment but ultimately pulled out his ticket. The White Epaulets, arriving just in time to see the person disappear, were furious. Bran glared angrily at Xu Huo upstairs. "How dare you let him go!"
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow slightly. "He's a player."
Players have tickets. Who could really keep them locked up?
Watching the other man's enraged face, he added calmly, "Or do you want to do something to me, the new person who knows the truth?"
Bran slowly suppressed his anger, took two steps back, and stared at him. "Interfering in Zone 011's internal affairs—I hope you don't regret this."
With that, he turned and led his men away in a huff.
"Regret?" Xu Huo looked at the faint light appearing on the horizon. "What does this have to do with me? I'm just a passerby."