Chapter 2050: Many Faith Stations
These small props didn't actually play much of a role, because the moment they scattered, a spatial barrier split them all to both sides. The player who had tried to use these props as cover to reposition behind Xu Huo was instantly exposed, and he slammed on the brakes three meters away.
Their eyes met, and neither side moved.
After a moment, Xu Huo asked, "Is there something else?"
The other player took two steps back, smoothly exited the carriage, and then helped close the door behind him.
No one came to disturb him that night. The next morning, after the lights came on, Xu Huo finally arrived at his destination:
C11 Wormhole Point 011 District, Many Faith Stations.
The place where Xu Huo got off was a desolate wilderness, with few trees for shade. It was clear that vines and grasses were abundant, but the ground was pockmarked everywhere with craters. Some areas looked like they had been turned over again and again. Judging by how dry the soil was, there had likely been several large-scale battles here recently.
He took two steps and felt something under his foot. Hmm, there were shell casings underground—not very advanced weapons.
The wilderness appeared empty at first glance, but when Xu Huo swept his gaze across, he noticed several numbers jumping on both the east and west sides. This was the effect of his trait, which could give scores based on how much attention others paid to him. From the frequency of the jumps and the color of the numbers, these people didn't consider him a threat.
But before he could quicken his pace, a sharp bird cry came from the sky. A massive mutated eagle swooped down diagonally, heading straight for a spot on the west side where someone was hiding, and then dragged a mutated wild boar out from under the tangled grass.
The giant bird's hunt seemed to trigger some kind of signal. Immediately after, the grass on the west side collapsed, revealing a black line over a hundred meters long—not a real black line, but the opening of an underground bunker disguised as such. Then, a dense swarm of mutated wild boars poured out from inside, charging forward with loud squeals.
At the same time, movement appeared on the west side as well. The ground split open, but instead of mutant animals, rows of modified harvesters emerged. They were fitted with sharp gears about two meters high at the front, with seats raised five or six meters high in the back. Players sat on top, steering them as they rushed toward the wild boars.
"Move aside, civilian!" someone from the machinery side shouted at Xu Huo from afar.
"Get lost if you don't want trouble!" the wild boar side also yelled.
Machines didn't recognize people, but wild boars did. Xu Huo saw the few giant boars at the front targeting him, so he had no choice but to evade into the air. However, just as his prop shoes lifted him up, an invisible force barrier stopped him. Directly in front of him, to the north, a heavily bearded player appeared and said to him using a prop, "Anyone entering the air during combat will be considered a common enemy. Get out of the way!"
What else could Xu Huo do? He had to come down.
He teleported to the side of the player who had shouted, and under the other's wary gaze, said, "I'm just passing through. Is there a war going on here?"
"None of your business," the bearded man said. "This is Ye City's internal affair. If you want to do an instance, leave quickly."
It was clear that the people here didn't want to talk to him. Xu Huo moved a little farther away but didn't leave. Instead, he stopped to watch this "Ye City's internal affair."
The mutated wild boars not only had long, sharp tusks but also thick, tough hides. They charged straight at the mechanical gears, first using their tusks to ram them. Those lucky enough broke the gears directly, possibly flipping the entire machine platform. Those unlucky got disemboweled and became stepping stones for their companions. In just a few seconds of engagement, a bloodline appeared in the middle of the battlefield, accompanied by fragments of flesh, skin, and teeth flying everywhere. From a distance, it looked like a red mist rising.
The red mist gradually expanded, and soon a high pile of corpses formed in the center, causing the advance of both sides to stall.
However, the wild boars were very fast. Fighting on uneven, soft ground gave them a natural advantage. Unable to break through head-on, they immediately turned and flanked from both sides. By the time most of the wild boars had died, the machinery side's gears were nearly depleted.
This was just the first wave of the charge. After the wild boars and machinery were abandoned, the players on both sides officially appeared. They controlled the battlefield's range and began using all kinds of props, instruments, and potions without restraint.
Some were killed, some lost limbs, some were poisoned—all sorts of methods were on display.
The people on the battlefield showed no fear of bleeding or dying; instead, they fought more fiercely, some even letting out excited shouts.
Of course, neither side was blindly fighting to the death. They each had command camps stationed to the north, where Xu Huo was located. The commanders were lined up horizontally, directing the battle without attacking each other, displaying a style completely different from the battlefield itself.
Looking only at the commanders, they seemed more like they were conducting an exercise or a friendly sparring match. But the people dying were genuinely dead. This disjointed atmosphere, as the battle grew more intense, gradually turned into a thrilling, heart-pounding tremor!
The name of this station was quite interesting.
Xu Huo had researched the information beforehand. This station, and even the entire district, was quite chaotic. But this chaos was different from that of other weak districts. It wasn't caused by social order collapsing due to weak players being invaded by outer zones. Instead, it was because this district had produced too many powerful players during its integration with the game.
A district's player strength represented its overall power. C11-011 couldn't be said to be weak, but the reason it was chaotic was precisely because there were too many strong players. No one was willing to submit to anyone else, leading to a proliferation of various self-established governments and player organizations. Not to mention a large district—even a single city under one station could have multiple player factions, and these people could actually fight back and forth.
Of course, judging by the current state of C11-011, the people in this district were generally tough. They possessed strength along with a high will to fight, and they enjoyed it.
This was evident from the reckless battle before him.
However, despite the chaos, it didn't mean ordinary people here lived miserable lives. The overall situation was basically polarized.
If the self-established governments and player organizations controlling the cities were wealthy and had a bit of conscience, ordinary people here could generally live well. Even with a lack of land resources, players could bring back food from other districts.
But if they encountered people who were only obsessed with territorial disputes, the ordinary people in the city might become victims of war. Because unlike this battle, which was deliberately held in the wilderness, they would directly start fighting inside the city.
Additionally, this district especially despised cannibal players.