Chapter 2274: Hope You Can Stay
Regardless of what the city government players were planning, Xu Huo continued to follow the established procedure to increase the number of wanted criminals—catching people during the day and submitting applications at night. More and more players joined in, and within two days, he had accumulated nearly three hundred wanted criminals, all of whom could go through the application process.
The city government didn’t deliberately slow down his progress, continuing to review and respond slowly as before.
On the third day, Old Cai brought good news. He brought a hundred wanted criminals who had already passed the review, willing to use them as a condition to ask Xu Huo for guidance on temporal-spatial evolution. He also made it clear that regardless of success or failure, he wouldn’t take these hundred people back.
Zhu Xiaojin, Tang Yu, and the others all knew that Xu Huo needed a large number of people to clear the instance, but when these hundred people were brought before them, they couldn’t help but have a strange thought:
“You have to kill over a thousand people to clear the instance. Many players might not even reach that number even after advancing to A-rank. It’s not just about mission difficulty—in life-and-death battles within instances, killing might not give you time to think about your mental state. But if you were to bring so many people in front of you and kill them all at once, your mentality might collapse.”
The group couldn’t help but look at Xu Huo. Zhu Xiaojin subconsciously touched some of the new items he had obtained. If he could bring out so many items, Xu Huo would certainly have even more.
Xu Huo accepted these hundred people. As for whether they had truly passed the wanted criminal review, he would verify that later. Old Cai was also generous—he opened his work panel in front of Xu Huo and recorded all the identity information and review notifications for these people, making it easy for him to check afterward.
Since Old Cai had considered everything so thoroughly, it would seem unreasonable for Xu Huo to make excuses to refuse. So he tried to pull the other into his spiritual realm, visually demonstrating what the world looked like from the perception of someone who could control spatial power.
“This is just to help you understand. To truly touch spatial power, you still need to enter a suitable location.” He thought for a moment and said, “How about this—once my clearance progress advances a bit more, probably when I can get near the city center, I’ll accompany you on a trip.”
Old Cai repeatedly thanked him and carefully observed the state of spatial rays and power fluctuations.
Xu Huo didn’t display the chaotic space entity; he only revealed the most basic manipulation of spatial rays.
The two chose a location right across from the location item, so Xu Huo was fully aware of everything happening across the building.
Shortly after breakfast, a group of people came together, carrying fresh vegetables, fruits, and various foods, specifically asking to give them to the Painting Woman.
The Painting Woman lazily came out, accepted everything without refusal, and then familiarly took photos with them.
Among the visitors, there were only two women; the rest were men. Including the two women, everyone looked at the Painting Woman with fanatical eyes. Even the slightest physical contact made them ecstatic.
Tang Yu looked at the scene with a complicated expression. Zhu Xiaojin was dumbfounded. “So that’s how it is… No, is her trait being particularly charming?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Tang Yu shrugged. “I can’t feel it anyway.”
“Isn’t charm something innate?” The Painting Woman even found time to reply to them.
Zhu Xiaojin leaned in. “Were you a celebrity before becoming a player?”
The Painting Woman smiled shyly. “I’ve done many jobs. Not exactly a celebrity, but indeed, many people like me.”
Zhu Xiaojin gave a thumbs up and went to help carry things. However, the local residents didn’t seem to appreciate him. Not only were they unwilling to hand over the items, but they also warned him not to eat or use them, because they were all prepared for the Painting Woman.
“Players have to stay here for a long time. Sister Xiaochun is so delicate and can’t speak. It’s inconvenient for her to find food!” One chubby man looked at the Painting Woman with pity and added, “Don’t worry, Sister Xiaochun, these ingredients are all non-toxic. We’ll keep the toxic ones for ourselves!”
Zhu Xiaojin gasped. “I’ve heard that love makes people blind, but I never thought it could make people lie through their teeth. I never expected in my life to see the word ‘delicate’ associated with a player!”
The Painting Woman smiled at the man and mouthed “thank you.”
At that moment, Xu Huo walked out from across the street and pointed at one of the women. “Keep her here.”
Hearing this, the Painting Woman immediately went to take the woman’s hand, smiling as she touched the other’s cheek. After receiving a shy smile in return, she waved at the remaining people and pulled the woman inside.
“I wonder if Sister Xiaochun will pick me tomorrow. Even just having tea with her would be great…” The fans gradually left.
Xu Huo greeted Old Cai and returned to the location item. The woman brought inside sat nervously. When she saw him enter, she quickly greeted him, addressing him as “Archon” and repeatedly thanking him for creating such a safe living environment for the surrounding residents. They were all very grateful, so they had prepared some things to send over.
“No need for gratitude. It’s a win-win situation.” Xu Huo sat down across from her and gestured for her to sit as well. “I’ve only been here a few days. The regulations haven’t taken effect that quickly. I don’t see much change in the city.”
The woman quickly shook her head. “Before, there were many players who acted recklessly. Now, players don’t dare to do that anymore. They even pay honestly when buying things.”
“Is that so?” Xu Huo responded indifferently. “Do you live near here?”
The woman nodded and immediately mentioned the neighborhood she lived in, even inviting him to take a look around. “We all really hope you can stay.”
Xu Huo smiled. “This is the first time someone has tried so hard to keep me… Stay here and play with Li Chun for a while. I have some things to take care of. I’ll go with you to take a look in the afternoon.”
“Go, go, let’s all go!” Zhu Xiaojin said enthusiastically. “I deserve some credit for this too!”
“Sis, have some fruit!”
After giving a few brief instructions, Xu Huo went back across the street.
Old Cai sighed when he saw him. “I tried, but I didn’t get much out of it.”
“This isn’t a temporal-spatial venue, so it’s normal not to gain anything.” Xu Huo closed his spiritual realm and added, “I plan to go out for a stroll this afternoon. Want to come along?”
Old Cai had heard the earlier conversation and couldn’t help but smile. “You’re not really thinking of staying here, are you? Don’t tell me you’ve gotten a taste for being an official?”
“There’s a bit of a sense of achievement.” Xu Huo said. “I always feel that the appearance of the One-Third Game here has a reason. Going out to try my luck might yield something.”
Hearing this, Old Cai readily agreed. “I wonder if that Water Cube could be some kind of item. If so, that would be great.”
(End of Chapter)