Chapter 2148: A Perfect Match
"Borrowing is still possible." Xu Huo ignored Nie Xuan's "feigning poverty" and instead asked about the specific number of people he could bring this time.
Return tickets from Zone 008 were hard to come by, and applying for personnel from the Special Defense Department now would definitely be too late.
"Including myself, five people," Nie Xuan said. "Two of them are support personnel and cannot participate in combat."
Xu Huo nodded. That meant only three could directly confront Dou Shengnan, while the other two could only use items to assist from the sidelines.
"What was your original plan?" Nie Xuan asked. He didn't believe Xu Huo had decided to test Dou Shengnan without any ideas at all.
"Kill her with time power." Xu Huo gazed calmly toward the city. "That's the ultimate goal, but the execution process is very difficult to control."
Luring Dou Shengnan into the Non-Game Area while minimizing the involvement of local Zone 008 players would be challenging to pull off. He also needed someone to help him watch over the Time Tower. The Time Tower's coverage range was large enough, but his control range was smaller, so he had to get close to the battlefield without being discovered by Dou Shengnan or other Zone 008 players.
The Painting Woman still had no news—she would have been the most suitable person.
"Once we make a move, unexpected incidents will definitely occur. If we join forces, I have three conditions that must be met."
Xu Huo continued, "First, when facing Dou Shengnan head-on, I will be the main restraining force. The mental power confrontation absolutely cannot exceed ten minutes."
"Second, the battle location must be suitable. Station City is obviously not an option. The place I've chosen is the Double-Bright Bird Administrative District. Before that, we need to confirm that the Non-Game Area Simulator can be activated."
"Third, if Dou Shengnan cannot be killed under the restricted personal panel, she must be confined to the spot within three minutes after the Blockade Barrier is lifted."
These were the most basic conditions. Even if they were met, killing Dou Shengnan wasn't guaranteed. The real purpose of borrowing the Non-Game Area Simulator wasn't to deal her a heavy blow, but to catch her off guard with the Time Tower the moment the Blockade Barrier was lifted. Three minutes was already a long time—in fact, in Xu Huo's original plan, this time was only ten seconds, because he was still under the Instance restriction. If one strike failed, he could only leave.
Nie Xuan roughly understood that Xu Huo had certain limitations when using his items, so he said, "I'll go to the Double-Bright Bird Administrative District ahead of time to verify and confirm. But the restriction time after the Blockade Barrier is lifted is too long. Dou Shengnan definitely has Super Items on her, and the specific details are unknown, so I can at most delay her for one minute. One minute at the longest—beyond that, I'll withdraw directly."
Xu Huo frowned slightly before saying, "One minute is acceptable." At least it left him some time to escape.
Nie Xuan handed him a storage device. "All the information about Dou Shengnan is inside. This is the most detailed version we could find."
"In past group battles of the Eerie Sound Knights, she mostly played a support role. The item she uses most often is a pocket watch she carries with her. It's unclear what effect the pocket watch has, but I speculate it might be a category that enhances mental power."
"Dou Shengnan doesn't wear many fixed items. The ones worth noting are her bracelet and earrings. Additionally, the chain she uses to hang the pocket watch should be a high-level device."
"After restricting the personal panel, some devices obtained through Instance reward channels are unlikely to fail. But if she doesn't wear them and instead stores them in the item slot, she won't be able to take them out and use them after entering the Non-Game Area."
"That probability is very small." Xu Huo reviewed the data as he spoke. "Dou Shengnan's purpose in coming to Zone 008 is nothing more than items and devices. Zone 008 is rich in devices, so the Non-Game Area Simulator shouldn't be an absolute secret. To guard against Zone 008 players, she would also prepare a sufficient quantity of high-level devices in advance."
Nie Xuan nodded. "Precisely because they are devices, it's better. Ordinary devices can be rendered ineffective with jammers. Although temporal-spatial devices don't have the absolute suppression of similar items, they can still weaken effects when interacting with each other."
"It's also possible she has devices better than ordinary A-grade items. In that case, ordinary devices would yield negligible results."
"What devices do you have?" Xu Huo asked instead.
"Six teleportation types, three spatial interference types, six spatial blockade types, six spatial defense types, and twelve spatial attack types." Nie Xuan said. "These are all consumable devices with A-grade effects. I also have some supplements."
Xu Huo also had a few decent devices. The mental interference device "Please Don't Think" had indiscriminate attacks, so it couldn't be used. What remained were the spatial interference wristband, the "Cube Space" that assimilated space power, and the defense-type "Glass House." Only the spatial interference wristband and "Cube Space" were practical.
"I'll take half of the teleportation types and one-third of the others," he said directly.
Nie Xuan smiled. "You really don't hold back."
Xu Huo smiled back. "Should we submit an application to the Special Defense Department?"
The two were a perfect match. Nie Xuan said, "We can just apply for another batch of devices."
The Special Defense Department's support for him was limited to tracking Dou Shengnan. If he proposed hunting Dou Shengnan, the department would definitely not agree, let alone provide more support. But with Xu Huo, it was different. The Special Defense Department could conduct an auxiliary operation centered on him, testing Dou Shengnan head-on while ensuring a clean sweep.
Of course, if they could actually kill Dou Shengnan, that would be an absolute good thing for them.
Zone 014 hadn't fully integrated into the game yet, and the grudges from the Super Item incident would eventually have to be settled, but these two matters couldn't collide.
After the two agreed, Nie Xuan called over the other four players. "They're all using fake faces. When we actually act, each of us will wear protective suits. Their code names are White Eagle, Night Owl, Red Fox, and Brown Bear. My code name is Goldfinch. The protective suits have encrypted information on the shoulders representing each person's code name—basic encryption."
To prevent information leaks, Xu Huo also devised a new code name—"Dragonfly."
Preparation would take time. The Time Tower's activation period had already passed, so the earliest they could act was the next night at nine o'clock.
After making the decision, Xu Huo and Nie Xuan's group split up to take action.
Xu Huo returned to Station City to wait for the Painting Woman while keeping an eye on Dou Shengnan's whereabouts. After learning from a member of the Wan Clan that she wouldn't leave the hotel for the next few days, he took some time to visit the mansion district where the Wan Clan family resided.
Inside, it was still as calm as yesterday, but outside, many players and ordinary people were gathered in protest. These people had varying degrees of grudges against the Wan Clan, their eyes filled with undisguised hatred.
At this moment, the defense barrier outside the mansion district remained activated. To avoid conflict, no players or armed robots had been deployed, and even the original security personnel had been withdrawn.
"Associating with a notorious wanted criminal—how can the Wan Clan be good people?" Someone in the protesting crowd stirred up emotions. "It's a pity that so many players we trained are actually working for people like this!"