Chapter 2159: Intercepting Dou Shengnan
When the blockade barrier of the Non-Game Area Simulator disappeared, it meant items could be used again. Before the Spring Thunder members even realized the barrier had vanished, Dou Shengnan had already made her move, as if she had foreseen exactly when the barrier would dissipate. At the same time the passive defense items were destroyed, these few Spring Thunder members also lost their lives.
But strangely, Dou Shengnan did not leave. She didn't even attempt to break out of the encirclement. Instead, she returned to the hotel.
She openly provoked the Lichuan City Government and the Military District, giving the Enforcement Team a legitimate reason to intervene. However, just as their personnel rushed toward the hotel, several miniature devices suddenly flew out from inside. These instruments circled the hotel, projecting holographic images into the air.
It was a short video, apparently filmed for promotional purposes. The footage showed a family—a husband and wife preparing dinner together, with five children running around, their laughter echoing across the city sky.
From the item logos appearing in the projection, this promotional material represented Zone 008, meaning the people shown must be important political figures from Zone 008. So when the figures appeared in the sky, the Enforcement Team immediately halted their actions, and even the Spring Thunder members were ordered to retreat.
At the same time, the Military District's liaison quickly left, presumably to verify the information.
What was this? Hostages?
If ordinary people in Lichuan City weren't weighty enough, then swap in some heavyweights?
They didn't even need to actually capture anyone—just a piece of ambiguous footage would suffice.
Xu Huo wondered what kind of deal the Eerie Sound Knights had made with the Tian Clan, that Dou Shengnan refused to leave even at this point.
He turned back to rendezvous with Nie Xuan and the others.
Nie Xuan and his group had clearly noticed this as well. Bai Ying suggested monitoring the player following Dou Shengnan. Although that player was only a B-rank, Dou Shengnan was here tying up Zone 008's attention while the other person had vanished without a trace—most likely heading to the Tian Clan.
"There's no rush on that matter," Xu Huo said. "The Military District and Lichuan City Government will have an easier time investigating than we will. Dou Shengnan refuses to leave, even at the cost of antagonizing Zone 008. As long as the Tian Clan still has their wits about them, they shouldn't finalize this deal immediately."
"If the Military District and City Government intervene, the Tian Clan might break the agreement. But whether they break it or not, Dou Shengnan won't have trouble leaving," Nie Xuan said. "The blockade barrier being destroyed earlier was likely Dou Shengnan's doing."
Xu Huo nodded. "Her Mental Evolution is far stronger than I imagined."
But it had only been about half an hour since they arrived in Lichuan City. There were still over five hours until nine o'clock in the evening. Changes could happen in a minute or even half a minute—stalling until then was almost impossible.
"It looks like this plan will have to be scrapped," Nie Xuan said.
Xu Huo's expression also grew serious. When strength was unequal, external conditions had to be leveraged, and it would be hard to find a better opportunity than today in the short term.
He vaguely felt that dragging things out until nine o'clock was unlikely. But then another unexpected development occurred: the Spring Thunder members received orders and withdrew from the hotel. The Enforcement Team members surrounding the hotel also pulled back, replaced by a squad of Military District players entering the city center. Meanwhile, alarms blared across the city. The citizens who had previously been knocked unconscious by the potion were revived by another dose and quickly evacuated far from the city center.
Outer zone players were driven away by the Enforcement Team.
Since Dou Shengnan showed no intention of leaving, Lichuan City's side dispersed everyone and reactivated the blockade barrier. The reappearing semi-transparent barrier cut off visibility between inside and outside. Just before it fully closed, Xu Huo saw a woman in a red trench coat fly through the air, heading straight for the hotel.
Beyond the Non-Game Area Simulator's barrier, several more blockade barriers appeared in succession. Then came muffled explosions—muted by the barriers, but the entire city trembled continuously. It was hard to imagine what was happening inside.
To avoid being caught in the fallout, the City Government began evacuating the entire population. The teleportation portals outside the blockade barrier remained relatively stable. After opening several fixed passageways, ordinary citizens could line up and leave.
But a few locations were exempt from evacuation for now: first, the government-run laboratories and factories; second, the City Hall staff and prisoners in custody; third, the Enforcement Team's rest areas serving city security. Ordinary people evacuated first, followed by government personnel at all levels. Other player organizations or player families had their own channels, and since mandatory evacuation hadn't been enforced for everyone yet, the City Government wasn't currently concerned with whether they left or stayed.
About twenty minutes later, after another black mist tree grew, the black smoke extended all the way to the edge of the blockade barrier. As successive barriers were destroyed one by one, it drifted even farther.
It was at this moment that Dou Shengnan's Spiritual Power began to spread wildly in all directions. Instantly, every player still lingering in the city was affected to some degree. Those with weaker mental strength immediately turned pale, sweat beading on their foreheads.
Dou Shengnan was about to flee!
But she wasn't heading to another zone.
In the blink of an eye, Xu Huo expanded his Spiritual Realm to a kilometer radius while summoning his childhood persona from the Library Tower.
The childhood persona had originally existed in his Spiritual Realm as a black shadow. After their reconciliation at Rose Castle last time, the childhood persona had taken on a form. But now, Xu Huo didn't need his new appearance. He kept him in shadow form, continuously materializing Spiritual Power to generate a newly formed blade-like sliver spanning a hundred meters in length. It sliced through the high altitude, successfully blocking Dou Shengnan for a moment.
Dou Shengnan's figure suddenly appeared at the spot where the thin blade had struck. The next second, she turned and rushed toward Xu Huo's location—their eyes met, and Xu Huo felt as if he had instantly plunged into a vast ocean of Spiritual Power. He stared fixedly at her eyes, momentarily unable to focus!
"Cat's Triple Life Loan" activated automatically. His feet stumbled, and his entire body fell backward. But just as when facing Zheng Yuci, her speed was fast enough to handle any sudden situation. As he fell, Dou Shengnan's materialized blade changed direction, stabbing upward from below. Meanwhile, she herself patched up potential defense items, personally arriving at Xu Huo's side. Using no fewer than ten items to seal off his escape routes, and with the attack item leading the way, she reached out to grab his heart!
"Hostage exchange!" A female voice rang out from afar. The next second, Xu Huo was teleported away, and the woman in the red trench coat from the Military District took his place, suspended in the air in the same posture.