Chapter 2586: Safe Zone
This sent a chill down the spines of the players present. Those hoods—once put on, taking them off would cost a life!
Xu Huo quickly searched for news from other cities. No new Night Parade teams had appeared yet. "Looks like the people evacuated from the city will be sent back soon."
The Night Parade team appearing outside the city first was definitely no coincidence.
Sure enough, three minutes later, the local government issued another notice, ordering ordinary residents to return to their homes or find nearby places to hide, while players were forbidden from using teleportation items to leave.
"Teleportation items are restricted," the bearded player tried, "Looks like the blockade barrier outside the city has already been activated."
Now they couldn't leave even if they wanted to.
Of course, most local zone players had no intention of leaving anyway. Unless they fled directly to the station, going anywhere in Zone 001 would only spread the trouble. And at a time like this, they couldn't abandon ordinary people in the instance to save themselves.
The bearded player thought for a moment, then said to Jing Shi, "Teacher, Xiao Peng and I will go into Yangming Building to check things out. Xiao Wu and Liu Jie will stay to protect you."
"I'm really worried about Xiao Chuan, so I can't bring myself to tell you not to go." Jing Shi said, "Be careful. If you can't find him, come out first. Don't force it until you get swallowed into the instance restricted zone."
"Maybe Xiao Chuan just got lost in the building." The bearded player comforted her, then left with his companion.
Yangming Building was within Xu Huo's spiritual realm. He hesitated briefly, then said to the two about to leave, "Check the restroom on the left side of the thirteenth floor. It might be an entrance to the instance restricted zone."
"Thanks." The bearded player was a bit surprised but quickly nodded.
"Xiao Xu, you can sense the entrance to the restricted zone?" Jing Shi couldn't help asking, "What kind of space is that?"
Those swallowed into an instance restricted zone—another space—were almost completely cut off from the outside world. How could anyone see the true situation inside just from an entrance?
Xu Huo shook his head slightly, not answering the question. Instead, he opened the city map and said, "This place isn't safe. We should move somewhere else."
The two remaining players were confused. "This spot is several kilometers from Yangming Building and far from the other instance restricted zone."
"The restricted zones might be expanding." Xu Huo's eyes stayed fixed on the map. "Looking at the number and distribution of restricted zones across the eight cities, the intervals between each zone are roughly the same. This could be due to mutual repulsion between instance restricted zones, or it might be reserved space for expansion. But since they're evenly distributed, the relatively safe spots should be the midpoints between two restricted zones."
"We're too close to Yangming Building. It's best to move to the Third High School between Yangming Building and Ocean Park. But there's another restricted zone below those two, so based on distance, we can shift a bit further down."
His finger stopped at the Lakeview Villa District below the Third High School.
Everyone present was already stunned by his mention of "restricted zone expansion." The enforcement team members nearby pressed for details while arranging to report the information upward, also hoping expert teams could determine which parts of the city were truly safe.
"The local government should already know about this." Xu Huo tried his teleportation item. "It's still usable for now. Let's head to the Lakeview Villa District."
If teleportation items and instruments interfered with each other, they might be thrown out mid-transport, but they still had enough time.
Seeing him call the Painting Woman and start to leave, Jing Shi finally couldn't hold back. She grabbed his arm. "Xiao Xu, you... can you help find Xiao Chuan?"
Xu Huo turned back silently.
Jing Shi's tense face gradually relaxed. She closed her eyes, then said, "Let's go first. Don't cause more trouble for the government now."
But their luck didn't seem that good. The teleportation item indeed failed midway, and they were thrown out at a spot still some distance from the Lakeview Villa District. Since Xu Huo, the Painting Woman, and Jing Shi had separated, Xu Huo and his group landed at a shopping supermarket, while Jing Shi's group ended up at a children's amusement park several kilometers away.
"Separated." Though no one was in sight when they came out, Liu Jie and Xiao Wu were experienced players. They didn't linger and prepared to immediately fly to the villa district. But just then, a door suddenly appeared before them, and Xu Huo's voice rang out, "Come in."
The two hesitated, but the next second, the door vanished, followed by Jing Shi's startled cry nearby.
Seeing her fall into the doorway on the ground, Xiao Wu and Liu Jie didn't hesitate to jump in after her.
After picking up the three, Xu Huo released his spiritual realm and, after several teleportations, arrived at the villa district. They broke through the defense barrier outside the residential area and entered directly.
This was a luxury district. The people living here were wealthy, and naturally, there were plenty of players. When Xu Huo and the others arrived, they were surrounded, but a resident recognized Jing Shi, dismissed the players, and warmly invited them into the villa to rest.
"Oh, Teacher Jing Shi, I'm your loyal fan! I've always wanted to visit, but I've been too busy and never found the right time. What a coincidence today!" A middle-aged man with two thin mustache strokes invited them to sit, arranged for tea, and casually pulled out Jing Shi's latest work from the coffee table. "Teacher Jing Shi, could I trouble you for an autograph?"
Jing Shi forced a faint smile and took the pen.
"Mr. Wang, why are you still here?" Liu Jie looked outside. "It seems most of the residents are still here."
Those who always had players by their side would find it easiest to leave and had the best information, yet they had delayed until now.
Mr. Wang waved his hand. "I have some money, but not that much. News doesn't reach me that fast, and I can't bear to part with my assets. I thought I'd pack up and leave, but by the time I finished packing, I couldn't leave anymore."
"But it's just as well. If I took the instance out to harm others, it'd be better to rot here."
This wasn't just a matter of personal morality. Zone 001 had corresponding laws. If you didn't follow the government's travel ban, you'd face severe consequences afterward—confiscation of property and restrictions on employment were the lightest penalties.
"Don't look so glum. Maybe we'll be lucky and make it through the instance safely?" Mr. Wang leisurely took a sip of tea. "This is an A-rank instance, not a super instance. I don't believe it can expand across the entire district."
But no sooner had he spoken than screams erupted from another villa in the distance. A blaze of fire shot into the sky, followed by a violent explosion. Voices were completely drowned out. Several figures rushed out of the flames one after another, and the one in front was unmistakably wearing a monster hood!