Chapter 2404: Suspected Spatial Collapse
Xu Huo seemed to develop some interest and asked the gem earring man which district he was from.
"C01-001." The gem earring man answered readily.
"What a coincidence." Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "I also entered the Fish Feast from District 001."
The gem earring man laughed heartily. "That really is fate. After we leave here, why not come to my company for a visit? Although my status in the family can't compare to the first tier, entertaining a few friends is no problem."
Xu Huo had also been to several 001 districts. Generally, the ranking of districts followed the order of when evolution began. Of course, there were cases like E27-011, which had annexed other districts, causing their numbers to disappear and later be filled by later-evolving districts. But District 001 was the earliest wormhole point district, with no outside forces interfering, so it usually developed very well.
"The environment in District 001 doesn't seem too good." He said meaningfully.
The gem earring man's expression didn't change. "This isn't something that can't be discussed. A long time ago, District 001 had a district defense war. The district barely survived, but the adverse effects caused still can't be eliminated to this day... That was decades ago."
Xu Huo nodded.
Probably feeling that the relationship had grown a bit closer, the gem earring man began to introduce himself. His surname was Lan, given name Huaixie. His family was somewhat famous in the southwestern region of District 001, with many family members. The household was still managed by his great-grandfather's generation. As a junior among juniors, after reaching adulthood, he had been assigned several companies to practice with. He had more than enough but less than the top. In two more years, his nephews and nieces would also start entering the game and the companies.
Everything Lan Huaixie said could be found on the Message Collection Terminal. To recruit Xu Huo, he personally repeated it in detail. As a businessman, he didn't lack the means to show sincerity, and he could maximize the feeling of his sincerity.
Xu Huo was much more cautious. He only told the other party that his surname was Xu.
Lan Huaixie didn't mind. Instead, he told Xu Huo about the situation in District 001. It was common knowledge that without strength, one could be attacked at any time, so he frankly admitted that the entire District 001 was trying its best to keep more players. The treatment for players from other districts in this district was very generous.
"Because of the treatment issue, violent incidents have broken out in many places," he said. "Local players feel it's unfair to favor some over others, but the district government is also helpless. After all, District 001's conditions aren't as good as other districts. To make people stay, you have to show sincerity."
"Besides, from my businessman's perspective, once people are kept, the supplies given to them will eventually be spent in District 001. And when players travel in other districts, the things they bring back can also make District 001 richer. This is a sure-win deal."
"But it's normal. After all, they didn't leave when District 001 was in danger. They suffered for District 001. Seeing outsiders living better than themselves, how could they feel balanced?"
"How was this resolved later?" Xu Huo asked.
"Player families jointly established a foundation, and then compensated local players through government channels." Lan Huaixie said. "My family has to pay 2 billion White Notes every year."
He didn't seem angry about having to pay this money. Instead, he agreed and understood. "Everyone is working for the future of District 001. The more peaceful and stable District 001 is, the easier it is to do business."
"Then how much money can you earn in a year?" A mechanical electronic voice suddenly cut in. It was the Painting Woman. She added, "I have a city."
Lan Huaixie didn't grasp her intention to show off. Instead, he said in surprise, "Territory allocation? It seems Mr. Xu's influence in his own district is not small."
He looked very regretful. "In that case, the possibility of keeping you in District 001 is very small."
"I am very powerful." The Painting Woman said again. "The city is mine."
Lan Huaixie had good judgment. He had long seen that Xu Huo was the dominant one between the two. Although the Painting Woman was strong, she seemed a bit slow-witted. But seeing that Xu Huo didn't say anything, he took the opportunity to flatter her a bit.
The Painting Woman wasn't stupid. After hearing two sentences, she retaliated by turning the game sound to maximum, staring expressionlessly at the person opposite.
Lan Huaixie immediately asked her if she wanted another nutrient supplement.
Of course, the Painting Woman wanted one, and she had no moral shortcomings about being soft on someone who fed her. She drank while keeping the game volume high.
Lan Huaixie endured it for a while before he couldn't take it anymore and put on a sound-dampening device. "Excuse me. I'm a watered-down advanced player. My endurance can't compare to players with real skills in the game."
Xu Huo patted the Painting Woman on the shoulder. She reluctantly glanced at Lan Huaixie before turning off the sound. But she soon found another amusement, pointing behind Lan Huaixie, where a black dot was gradually enlarging.
They had already seen several such black dots before. Usually, they were corpses ejected from spatial interlayers, which would disappear after a while. But this time, the black dot just kept enlarging, gradually turning into a pitch-black hole. Nothing could be seen inside from the outside. Even the fluctuating light on the original space entity disappeared into this black hole.
Lan Huaixie was so startled that he stood up and stepped back several paces. "Spatial collapse! Fall back!"
As he retreated, he lifted his outer clothing and pulled a thin thread from the skin on his chest—a miniature device implanted in his body was yanked out along with a small amount of blood. The moment the device activated, a spatial portal formed in front of him, composed of several interlocking and overlapping squares, each two meters long and wide.
However, this spatial portal was unstable. The light on the square frames flickered between strong and weak. Probably affected by the spatial power here, the passage hadn't fully formed. Seeing the black object already swallowing half the room, at this critical moment of life and death, Lan Huaixie could no longer maintain his previous calm demeanor. The veins on his temples bulged. He tried to open the spatial passage again while attempting to use some devices to prevent interference, but the effect was minimal under these circumstances.
Xu Huo, standing behind him, wasn't as anxious. Spatial collapse—he found it hard to imagine this term appearing inside a location item. His understanding of spatial collapse should be something like the dimensional storms on the train tracks. Once space collapses, it would inevitably cause irreparable disaster, not something as gentle and gradual as the blackness before them.
"Is this spatial collapse?" Xu Huo tried his personal panel. It could still be opened normally. He put a ticket into his pocket and told the Painting Woman to stay close to him.
Lan Huaixie couldn't even spare a glance back at him. His tone was urgent. "Don't underestimate it. The reason it appears so harmless is because this space is special. The space entity is equivalent to thickening the space. The collapse must be coming from a distance. If it swallows this room, we might be thrown into an unknown place. A remote small space would be absolutely good luck. If we fall into a crack in dimensional space, not even a strand of our hair will remain!"
"This is what I don't understand," Xu Huo said calmly, watching him. "Even in this situation, you don't plan to use a ticket to return to District 001?"