Chapter 2273: Gambling on the Future
"Without a game carrier?" Zhu Xiaojin was somewhat surprised. "I thought they were planning to enter the city center without any real strategy just to get the game carrier and take control of Buliucheng."
"Even if a carrier exists, it could be hidden in different spaces. Since one-third of the game has existed for so many years, that means this thing absolutely cannot be easily obtained by players."
"But this game is indeed very strange. It's disguised within an instance to hide its true form, and no information has leaked out. This far exceeds the specifications of a normal instance."
"Its appearance in Buliucheng might be coincidental, or there might be deeper reasons. Surviving is already good enough. Claiming it for themselves? I'm afraid they don't have enough life to spare."
"Then what exactly do they want to do?" Zhu Xiaojin was even more confused. "The city center is so dangerous. What's the benefit of going in?"
"I should have used some means to force a confession earlier. Even if I didn't get useful information, I could have killed them to eliminate future trouble."
"It's unclear whether they really have contacted the people in the city center as they claimed. To be safe, it's best not to make the situation too ugly." Xu Huo said.
Killing those people was easy, but if that meant losing the channel to the city government, the loss would outweigh the gain.
As for their purpose, these people probably wouldn't give up easily. He would just wait and see.
"Then there's no choice." Zhu Xiaojin shrugged.
The three returned to their resting place, a location item. Tang Yu greeted them first, saying to Xu Huo, "That temporary law enforcement officer named Old Cai is here."
As soon as she finished speaking, a burly man walked out and enthusiastically came to shake hands with Xu Huo. "You must be Brother Xu, right? Young and promising! I'm older, so I'll take the liberty of calling you younger brother. Since it's inconvenient for you to come to District 6, I had to come myself. You won't think I'm too forward, will you?"
"Since you're here." Xu Huo smiled and invited him inside to sit.
After they sat down, Old Cai finally revealed his purpose. The reason he proposed meeting Xu Huo was to obtain some more practical information. He had already heard about Zhu Xiaojin's successful clearance. Going through the city government step by step wouldn't be a problem, but he was more curious about the one-third game.
"Is the one-third game venue really a place filled with temporal and spatial power?"
Xu Huo gave him a half-smile. "Do you think I can remember that?"
Old Cai waved his hand. "That's not what I meant. I'm saying, you're a Super Evolver, and you came out of that place. You should have some feeling about it, at least."
"To be honest with you, I've been in the game for quite a while. Player level upgrades don't mean much; it's mainly about strength."
"I've spent years searching for suitable places, trying to see if I still have a chance for Super Evolution before I get too old... B-level and A-level players aren't really anything special. Who among those who truly roam freely in the game isn't a Super Evolver?"
"Rather than clearing an instance, I'd rather gamble on my future."
After listening carefully, Xu Huo said, "If you're talking about feelings, you should be clearer about it in the city center. Don't you have the guts to try it?"
Old Cai looked at him as if he were joking. "I just want to improve, not die. I can tell the difference between looking for an opportunity and throwing my life away."
"Just kidding," Xu Huo relaxed his expression. "But I really can't help much with this. People who come out don't have memories of the game. Instead of betting on an unknown chance, it's better to go to other districts to find existing venues. At least those places aren't too dangerous."
"You think I haven't tried?" Old Cai waved his hand, seemingly unwilling to talk about his past experiences. "I've been to plenty of Super Evolution venues, but I've come up empty every time."
"I'm going to be blunt. Maybe it's a lack of talent. You might as well stop wasting your time." Zhu Xiaojin interjected, stuffing a handful of grapes into his mouth. He smacked his lips at the sweetness and turned to ask Tang Yu where they came from.
Tang Yu glanced at the Painting Woman. "Someone from the neighborhood sent them. They said... Sister Lichun likes to eat them."
Zhu Xiaojin noticed her voice trembled a little when she said "Sister Lichun." He gave a thumbs up. "Impressive! Everyone's running around like crazy, and you still have time to socialize!"
"They said they had too much food at home and insisted I help." The Painting Woman rested her chin on her hand, casually plucked a grape, and brought it to Xu Huo's mouth.
"Eat it yourself." He pushed her hand away and said to Old Cai, "Logically speaking, the city center should be a suitable place."
"You'd know if you saw it. It's completely impossible to approach. I really don't dare to go in." Old Cai's expression was serious, as if still haunted by the memory.
Xu Huo didn't say much more. Instead, he said, "The game should still have some rules. If you really want to try, it's still safer than the city center."
Old Cai seemed indecisive. He suddenly asked if Xu Huo knew where the boundary of his unlocked area was.
Xu Huo had killed quite a few people, but he wasn't sure if the kills in the one-third game counted toward the unlocked area. He could only estimate his activity range based on the smallest possible value.
"It doesn't reach the city center."
The place where he entered the instance was originally on the edge of the city. The initial area was small, and each unlock range was also small. There was no need to gamble on this.
"What's so hard about that!" Old Cai said he could give Xu Huo some of the wanted criminals he had caught, as long as Xu Huo could give him some guidance.
"Old brother, the number of wanted criminals I need is not small." Xu Huo said.
"How many could it be?" Old Cai laughed. "Compared to the whole city, any number is small. I can give you all the dozens of people I have. How many are you short?"
Xu Huo held up one finger.
"A hundred?" Old Cai tried to guess the highest number possible. When Xu Huo didn't react, his brow twitched. "It can't be a thousand, can it?"
"It is a thousand." Xu Huo said. "To be precise, I'm still short by over a thousand. But as long as the city government channel is smooth, this number isn't hard to achieve."
Old Cai frowned. "Even at the fastest, it would probably take ten days. I don't have much time left."
"So this time, I'm afraid I can't help." Xu Huo was actually quite welcoming of his visit and even planned to treat him to dinner. "It's already dark now. It's not safe to go out."
Old Cai thanked him for the offer but said he had already found a hotel nearby, just a few steps away.
He declined the dinner invitation and quickly left.
"Do people really risk their lives for Super Evolution?" Tang Yu said only after his figure disappeared. "There are quite a few Super Evolvers in the game, but not all of them are exceptionally strong. It's better to study traits and items more."
"Everyone thinks differently. It's hard to judge." Zhu Xiaojin turned to Xu Huo. "But I think that old guy has ulterior motives. Do you think he's in cahoots with those people from the city government?"
Xu Huo smiled. "I hope he brings good news."
(End of Chapter)