Chapter 2141: The Ultimate Goal Is to Weaken Humanity
The two of them passed through the city one after the other, arriving at the other end of the square and entering Zone 008. Space rays were so densely packed that they could be seen everywhere, making it difficult to quickly pinpoint the specific location of the instrument or item related to the square's blockade barrier. In fact, there were more than one or two Spatial Evolvers nearby, and some players had tried using large-scale weapons for indiscriminate attacks, attempting to destroy the blockade that way. However, even after explosive items bloomed everywhere like flowers, the blockade barrier didn't flicker even once.
Could the instrument be hidden beneath the barrier?
Xu Huo also probed several locations in succession. After shaking off the pursuit of the Enforcement Team, he once again released his spiritual power, searching farther afield. Two kilometers from the square, two flying surveillance drones were hidden, right next to the Stellar Corporation's subsidiary, Double-Bright Bird Pharmaceuticals. The battle among high-level players had spread to this area, just recently destroying the defensive barrier outside the building. The surveillance drones had been dispatched by Double-Bright Bird Pharmaceuticals, and because players were coming and going, the building had entered a state of alert.
When Xu Huo's spiritual power extended over there, people inside the building were discussing the battle. Staff members wearing protective gear were either gathered together or scattered, all believing that this chaos would end within ten minutes. This was because the entire Double-Bright Bird administrative district could activate a blockade barrier similar to the one in the square, but the energy consumption was too high, so usually only the smallest range was activated. However, given the Enforcement Team's earlier actions of driving away players from other zones, this small range should have trapped most of the troublemaking outer-zone players. As long as these people were killed, the remaining ones would naturally not pose a threat. Whether driving them away or hunting them down separately, the workload would be much smaller.
A raid initiated by high-level players was, in the eyes of the people of Zone 008, merely a matter of workload.
"Activating the Non-Game Area Simulator is way too expensive," said a manager from Double-Bright Bird Pharmaceuticals, standing on a high floor of the building and overlooking the distant battlefield. Two plastic-like thin sheets floated before his eyes. Through these two items, even from two kilometers away, he could see as clearly as if he were on the battlefield itself—just like the other staff members with him, the Enforcement Team members who weren't participating in the battle but were handling coordination, and some local zone players paying attention to the battle situation.
The development of technology had narrowed the gap between ordinary people and players. Ordinary people couldn't use items, but they could use most instruments. In a district like Zone 008, where such instruments were widespread, aside from their physical fitness lagging behind, ordinary people seemed to have little difference from players.
"A war triggered by some declaration for no good reason, and it's worth turning on the Non-Game Area Simulator?" said a scruffy-bearded man sitting in the back, his face dark. "Is this how the taxes we pay to the government are used?"
The manager in front laughed dismissively. "Who cares how they use it? As long as it doesn't increase our burden, isn't that enough? Dr. Dian, you're too serious. Loosen up a bit. Why waste manpower when you can use instruments?"
The man called Dr. Dian still looked displeased. "Waste manpower? Whether players or ordinary people, shouldn't everyone learn basic survival skills in the environment of the game world?"
"Isn't making instruments a survival skill?" the manager retorted.
Dr. Dian was stifled. He stared at the manager for a few seconds but ultimately said nothing and stormed off in anger.
The several staff members by the window paid him no attention and continued to comment on the war from their high vantage point.
On the other side, Dr. Dian went to his workspace. Looking at the scene outside again, his expression gradually shifted from anger to sadness, to the point where his eyes reddened and he almost shed tears.
"Knock, knock." The door was knocked on.
Dr. Dian quickly composed himself. After taking a deep breath, he said, "Come in."
The visitor was the manager from earlier. He seemed to have come to apologize. After exchanging a few polite words, he sighed. "I don't understand why you're so opposed to this. Minimizing casualties to the greatest extent—isn't that the shared goal of both our pharmaceutical and instrument manufacturing?"
Dr. Dian's face turned cold. "You're not from Zone 008, so of course you don't see anything wrong with it."
The manager looked surprised and a little hurt. "We work together. Even if we're not friends, is it necessary to be so confrontational?"
Dr. Dian paused before saying, "I've been in a bad mood lately. I didn't mean to target you. Please don't take it to heart."
The manager smiled and said, "Zone 008 is a good place. I sincerely hope it can become even better."
But Dr. Dian said something completely unrelated. "They rely too much on potions and instruments."
"Isn't that how most districts have developed?" The manager maintained his smile. His calm and friendly demeanor suddenly made Dr. Dian want to confide in him. After deliberating, Dr. Dian said, "Higher evolution rates, more efficient instruments, faster and more convenient combat methods—in the short term, they can indeed increase the survival rate of players in Zone 008. But instruments and items are not invincible. Today, we can use instruments to restrict players from other zones. Tomorrow, players from other zones might bring even more advanced items and instruments. What do we do then?"
"How could that happen? Zone 008 isn't weak in the entire game world. Even if players from other zones attack, it's not like the entire district will be paralyzed." The manager was unconcerned.
"That's exactly the problem," Dr. Dian said, facing the manager, his hands unconsciously gripping the edge of the table. "We rely too much on instruments. On a day like today, the Enforcement Team didn't send many personnel, and their role wasn't significant. In the future, even the process of encircling attackers might be replaced by armed robots. By then, whether ordinary people or players, everyone will think players are useless."
The manager's expression finally turned serious. "Is it that severe? The district government hasn't reduced the number of new players."
"Fighting for your life out of necessity is different from being forced to fight for your life by others," Dr. Dian said. "When a better life is right in front of you, why would you struggle in instances?"
The manager couldn't help but look out the window. "Our players' combat strength is still very strong. You're worrying too much."
But Dr. Dian shook his head. "Haven't you seen the experimental data from the past five years? Both Zone 008 and the Stellar Corporation are trying to create a second type of human, or rather, they want to turn xenomorphs into a second type of human. Given the current pace of game development, I'm afraid that day will come soon."
The manager didn't agree. "Even if xenomorphs can think like humans, there are only two possible outcomes in the end: either they are eliminated by humans, or they are assimilated. A third scenario is absolutely impossible. Humans cannot be suppressed by another species."
But Dr. Dian seemed provoked by these words. He angrily knocked over the water cup beside him. "Don't you understand? Whether it's relying on instruments or creating highly intelligent xenomorphs, it's all about weakening humanity!" (End of chapter)