Chapter 2342: Surprising Gains
After the identities of the foreign players who had infiltrated were exposed, the Special Defense Department could no longer remain indifferent as before. They were clearly targeting the "Time Tower," and whether it was time evolution or props, they absolutely could not be allowed to exploit this loophole. Thus, the Special Defense Department quickly dispatched an elite team to seal off the area starting from the outskirts of the mountain range, maximizing the restriction of the props' effective range.
Of course, space-time type props were not within these limits, but the existence of the "Time Tower" itself restricted similar props. Otherwise, those players wouldn't have resorted to the clumsy method of digging tunnels.
However, the information had already leaked, and the only thing they could do was strengthen protection. Not only for Xu Huo himself, but also for his residence, relatives, and friends, all of whom received varying degrees of protection. At this point, it was hard to guarantee that some people wouldn't take desperate measures to trade many for one.
"Are these people idiots?!" At the Special Defense Department headquarters in Jing City, Minister Ji, known for his smooth and gentle demeanor, couldn't help but curse when he saw the documents handed to him by his subordinates. He immediately contacted the military liaison and sent all the obtained information over.
The person in charge of the liaison was a Director surnamed Du. After quickly reviewing the documents, his expression turned grim. "Did you catch them?"
"Only a small portion," Minister Ji said. "They were highly alert and fled as soon as my people arrived."
"But the information should be accurate. Currently, at least three countries are planning assassinations targeting Xu Huo. The information came from an intermediate link in their chain, and we can't catch anyone at either end. We don't know how many people have been dispersed."
He paused and then added, "Xu Huo's value is no longer just that of an ordinary player. His super evolution speed is so fast that there are reference cases in other game zones. A Temporal Super Evolver has a strong chance of becoming a Super Player in the future. You know the weight of a Super Player—just their reputation alone can defend an entire zone. How can we let these shortsighted people destroy the future of Zone 014?"
What he really wanted to say went far beyond that. According to the data held by the Special Defense Department, Xu Huo was undergoing triple evolution in space, time, and mental aspects simultaneously. Not just in Zone 014, but across the entire game, how many could be found like him?
Moreover, every aspect of his super evolution was progressing rapidly without any weaknesses. A person like this—even if he rode on the Special Defense Department's heads and slapped their faces—they would still have to find ways to protect him, because Zone 014 couldn't find a second player with such strategic significance.
Besides, Xu Huo was already a very reasonable player. He even gave back to Zone 014, like this opportunity for time evolution. He brought Nie Xuan and his own friends along. No matter who gained something, it was good for Zone 014. And where else could you find such hands-on teaching?
"I understand your point," Old Du nodded. "Xu Huo's family has already moved into the safe zone, which is currently the most confidential and highest-level protected safe zone in the country... Unless he wants to take his family away, the military will guarantee their safety in Zone 014 no matter what."
"As for those players lurking in the shadows, we didn't deal with them before because the situation was unstable. Since they don't know their place and try to cut off Zone 014's foundation, we can't let them off."
"The military will immediately arrange secret arrests. Anyone with suspicious identities can be killed on the spot. Additionally, the identities and past action trajectories of all escaped players will be made public afterward. Anyone can monitor and hunt them down. Non-official players can claim rewards by bringing in their corpses."
"I've wanted to deal with those people for a long time," Minister Ji said. "The Special Defense Department will fully cooperate."
Thus, in the following days, the military and the Special Defense Department acted with lightning speed, arresting and killing suspicious players they had been monitoring or paying attention to. Among them were not only outsiders who had infiltrated but also local players who had been bribed. Anyone on the list was not spared. Additionally, they conducted targeted investigations into information about Xu Huo, achieving significant results.
Unsurprisingly, some players from foreign countries had settled down in Ting City and Jing City long ago. They usually did nothing else but collect information about Xu Huo—specifically targeting him and his family.
Probably because Xu Huo had caused chaos abroad before, they held a grudge and had been waiting for an opportunity. However, Xu Huo rarely returned to Zone 014, and when he did, he came and went in a hurry, so they could never find a chance. The reason they were so impatient this time was because they had learned about the "Time Tower."
They couldn't determine whether the "Time Tower" was a Super Item, but they didn't want to see Xu Huo bring out more time-type evolvers. Although time evolution was difficult, with a guide, who could say what the future held? It was better to solve the problem once and for all.
That's why Minister Ji called those people idiots.
"Idiots? Not necessarily," Xu Huo said when he learned of this. "I think they might have a Temporal Super Evolver of their own."
Nie Xuan relayed this information to headquarters and added, "Our intelligence is lagging behind."
"If they're determined to keep it secret, it's normal that we can't find out," Xu Huo said. For example, if he hadn't acted in front of outsiders, who would know he had undergone secondary evolution?
The struggle for discourse would never stop. That was one of the roots of human civilization's development.
Nie Xuan originally planned to return to headquarters, but Minister Ji advised him to stay.
"Those are minor issues. If the military and Special Defense Department can't handle thieves in their own house after two years, they've been wasting their time," Xu Huo also asked Nie Xuan to stay, as the matters here were more important.
During the day, they rested, and at night, they activated the "Time Tower" for training. In truth, neither Xu Huo nor the others expected immediate results. They just wanted to accumulate some experience and lay a foundation. But unexpectedly, after only a week, they had a breakthrough.
It was Zhou Ning.
Although she hadn't started time evolution, her trait had undergone a subtle change. When her hair turned into a python, anyone who made eye contact with the python's eyes would experience a two-to-three-second freeze.
A two-to-three-second freeze might not sound like much, but in a player's battle, it was enough to kill over a dozen people.
"I didn't expect the fastest among us to gain something to be Zhou Ning," Gu Yu said enviously. "With this ability, using traits in the future will be like having two extra lives."
Zhou Ning was also very excited. "This is a complete surprise. I didn't dare to hope at first!"
Xu Huo tested it himself. It was indeed not just an illusion. Her trait had evolved a power similar to time force—he had studied this before. Many trait usages were actually subdivisions and fragments of super evolution. However, for players without super evolution themselves, they couldn't use them continuously and had to rely on the game to provide a medium to exert similar power. That was what a trait was.
"Don't report Zhou Ning's trait change to the Special Defense Department," he said to Nie Xuan.
This was different from super evolution. It was Zhou Ning's unique means of survival.
Nie Xuan had no problem with that, and the others all promised to keep their mouths shut. Zhou Ning's progress also gave them hope. Even if they couldn't successfully undergo secondary evolution, staying here for a long time might cause some other changes in their traits or bodies!