Chapter 2317: When You Have Too Many Lice, You Stop Worrying About the Itch
As players grew stronger, it was only natural that their social status and influence increased. In the early days, the government could still use existing thermal weapons to deal with low-level players, but once players reached C-rank, these outdated weapons could be blocked with ordinary items. The government couldn't wage war within cities over minor conflicts, so they had to rely on internal players and player organizations.
The players in the Special Defense Department and the military were far from sufficient, giving player organizations and certain player groups leverage in negotiations. In some small cities that the Special Defense Department couldn't cover, finding a few players who could actually solve problems was extremely rare. Combined with the private needs of the wealthy and powerful, the price for hiring players kept rising—this was inevitable. From the very beginning of the players' emergence, the original elite classes of society had been targets of attack. Although the government side had stabilized the situation, there were still lawless players, so hiring players as bodyguards became the first choice.
It wasn't just private employment; even the Special Defense Department sometimes hired player organizations as external support.
With a market, players' words naturally carried weight.
Asking for some benefits was normal, but there were also many tragedies orchestrated by players. After such incidents, the Special Defense Department had to step in for cleanup. Catching the culprit was one thing, but if they couldn't, everything was just empty talk. Moreover, these cases often involved player groups, making it difficult for the Special Defense Department to enforce strict measures.
So the law's concessions to players had become an unspoken understanding among everyone.
This wasn't a helpless inability to handle extreme situations, but an open and legitimate compromise.
Especially for some official institutions dominated by ordinary people, they couldn't even stand tall in front of players.
This wasn't a good phenomenon, but it wasn't entirely bad either. Evolution and culture advancing together would inevitably intertwine and fluctuate. There was no perfect solution, only finding a balance that satisfied everyone.
Once the government's instruments developed, this situation would reverse again.
In short, on the broader scale, both sides had shown restraint.
"A lot of people want to play with me," the Painting Woman said, bringing over her communicator and projecting the messages she'd received for Xu Huo to see.
Besides invitations from acquaintances like Yuan Yao and Zhou Ning, there were also messages from the Special Defense Department, player organizations, and some top-tier wealthy merchants. Most wanted to win her over, after all, the Special Defense Department had allocated Ting City to her—that was a signal. No other player in the country had been given a city.
Xu Huo's messages were even more numerous. He used the smart system to filter them and replied to the important ones.
Most were from friends and family, informing them that he had returned to District 014. The unimportant ones could be ignored.
One that piqued his interest was a Super Evolver club founded by someone named Zong Lanzi.
He remembered this person. He had been in the evolution team after the last Chaos Space incident. The man had repeatedly invited him to visit his guesthouse, claiming there were like-minded companions there.
Xu Huo didn't need to investigate his background himself, because an unexpected person had been secretly sending him messages multiple times.
It was Wang Chaoqing, who was now working as a "network supervisor" in the Special Defense Department. He seemed very familiar with Zong Lanzi's situation and had warned Xu Huo several times that Zong Lanzi was not a good person. According to Special Defense Department records, quite a few Super Evolvers had joined that club—though whether they were genuine Super Evolvers remained to be seen—but many of those who went had mysteriously disappeared.
In the game world, for the Special Defense Department to mark someone as missing, there must have been some common signs before their disappearance.
Xu Huo sent a message to Team Leader Wu, asking him to look into Zong Lanzi's situation, then put the matter aside.
Just as he closed his computer, Yuan Yao's call came in. "Brother Xu, it's me, hahaha! I brought hotpot! I can't get into your place!"
Xu Huo contacted the security, and by the time he put down the communicator, Yuan Yao was already ringing the doorbell.
The Painting Woman went to open the door. She first took the hotpot ingredients from his hands and gave him an approving smile.
"Sister Li Chun is still so straightforward!" Yuan Yao was delighted. When he saw Xu Huo, his smile grew even brighter. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other, hasn't it? You've reached B-rank so fast—as expected of my Brother Xu!"
He looked to be in good spirits. Xu Huo came over to help prepare the hotpot and said, "You've been doing well lately?"
Yuan Yao had been very panicked when he first became a player, but somewhat surprisingly, after reaching D-rank, he rarely sought help from Xu Huo through the game platform.
"I've grown a lot too." Yuan Yao patted his chest. "I can face a mountain collapsing without changing my expression now. I can handle any situation!"
"Instances, they're all the same routines. If I can't handle it, I buy a guide. If I can't buy a guide, I ask the Special Defense Department for help. We're good friends, so the Special Defense Department is happy to do me a favor."
He winked at Xu Huo. "I owe it all to you, my good brother!"
"Anyway, I don't have big ambitions. When the time is right, I'll apply to suspend my player status and live a quiet life in Ting City."
The aroma of hotpot soon filled the room. The three of them clinked glasses, took a refreshing sip of their drinks, and began eating heartily.
While eating, Yuan Yao also updated Xu Huo on their friends' situations. He had looked after all the members of the Sunflower Squad. Hu Wenhu was dead, so there was no need to mention him. Shen Xin and Liu Jia were both in the Special Defense Department, relatively stable, and had companions when entering instances.
Zhou Ning's situation was worse. She was used to going solo and had suffered greatly in a previous instance, nearly disfigured, and still hadn't recovered.
Yan Jiayu had disappeared without a trace, probably delayed in some instance.
Xu Huo hadn't received any news from Yan Jiayu either. He asked about the approximate time and learned that Yan Jiayu's last contact with Yuan Yao had been before Xu Huo's own contact with her. That meant Yan Jiayu had completely lost contact after communicating with Xu Huo.
"Sister Jiayu is the luckiest among us. She'll definitely be fine." Yuan Yao was more at ease than anyone. "She loves to play around. She'll probably pop up on her own in a couple of days."
After the meal, Yuan Yao finally got to the main topic. He had come specifically to tell Xu Huo that a random instance had recently appeared near Ting City, and someone had picked up a high-level item for free inside—when a new instance was born, new items often appeared as well, and the first ones in always got the best deals.
"Want to try your luck?"
Seeing Yuan Yao's eyes light up, Xu Huo said, "I don't have time lately. If you want to go, I'll have the Special Defense Department find a few people to go with you."
Yuan Yao quickly said that was fine, then mentioned that someone had been investigating the detox fungus liquid. Not just him, but Shen Xin and the others had also been targeted to varying degrees. "Someone's always been coveting it. You still need to be careful."
"When you have too many lice, you stop worrying about the itch." Xu Huo took a sip of his drink. He had exposed his Temporal Evolution power when he returned, so quite a few people would probably come looking for him afterward.