Chapter 2590: Going In to Fish People Out
"It should be true," Liu Jie said. "The government wouldn't release unconfirmed information."
"What does that mean?" the short-haired woman asked. "Everyone who has personally seen the night parade is dead?"
"Not necessarily." Xu Huo compared the range of the instance restricted zone. "Judging by the speed of expansion, it's not fast. And when the restricted zone appeared, the vast majority of people successfully escaped. Compared to the total number of people within the restricted zone's range, very few were actually swallowed."
"Leaving ordinary people aside, it's impossible for all the players who entered to be killed in an extremely short time, especially with A-rank players coming in for rescue."
"Combining these two points, the people inside the instance restricted zone probably haven't been fully digested yet. And since the restricted zone appeared, nearly five hours have passed. Not everyone who saw the night parade necessarily died immediately. They might have been sucked into the night parade like what happened on the city outskirts."
"It should take a considerable amount of time for the night parade to completely kill or assimilate players."
Xu Huo frowned as he spoke. "This isn't good news."
Information had to be viewed relatively. For those trapped in the instance restricted zone, not dying immediately meant there was still a chance for rescue. But for those outside the restricted zone and the entire instance venue, the fact that the night parade hadn't appeared elsewhere for the time being strongly suggested it was gathering strength.
Seven days. Under normal circumstances, the longer the time, the more dangerous the instance. And this was an A-rank survival instance with a restricted zone. Were those players who had been fitted with hoods really dead?
Or would they eventually become members of the night parade?
The fact that night parades hadn't appeared in other cities—did that mean the night parade wasn't strong enough yet?
Normally, the night parade's range of activity should be the entire instance venue. Only operating in a few restricted zones would be unworthy of the instance's rank.
After a pause, he looked at Xiao Wu and Liu Jie behind Jing Shi. "Still no news from your colleagues?"
"They couldn't successfully enter the restricted zone," Liu Jie said. "They came out of Yangming Building earlier, but they didn't go far. They've been observing the situation around the building."
"The Enforcement Department used a floating detection device. The restricted zone has only expanded five hundred meters outside Yangming Building. That range is almost negligible."
As early as ten minutes after Yangming Building was confirmed to have an incident, the streets near it had been cleared. The only people left there were some government personnel who had to stay for work, and various parties who wanted to get the first information on the restricted zone's situation—all those unofficial instance messages came from these people.
It really seemed to be gathering strength. And this wasn't even the worst case. If the current instance restricted zone wasn't the final form, once the restricted zone "digested" this round, the next round would be anyone's guess.
"Why isn't it good news that the people in the restricted zone didn't die immediately?" the short-haired woman asked in confusion.
Xu Huo hadn't explained after his earlier statement. Hearing her question, he replied, "Eight cities, four themes of night parades. So far, only the ghost-themed night parade has appeared once. When people in the instance venue go to other cities, they bring the venue with them. The venue keeps expanding, and the night parade should need to keep expanding too."
Where would so many new props suddenly come from?
"Are you saying this instance can control players?" Mr. Wang was shocked. "Are the performers in the night parade all players?"
"It's just a guess." Xu Huo shook his head slightly and was about to go out and check the situation when the old man sent another call request. Unexpectedly, when he answered, it was the young driver who appeared. He was somewhat incoherent. "We're stuck on the road... The old man was just taken away by a hood... Gone in an instant... He told you to save him... So many people flew up... Once they flew up, they were gone..."
This was thanks to all kinds of close-fitting helmets and headgear. Those hoods couldn't squeeze in to suck people's heads, so sometimes they would grab the helmet and lift the person up.
"The restricted zone in Blue Water Wu has expanded a lot." The Painting Woman propped up a communicator and played a holographic recording. Blue Water Wu only had three restricted zones, and its range was already much larger than other cities. Now its expansion speed was also faster than the others.
"Calm down first," Xu Huo commanded, then asked, "He disappeared out of thin air, not killed, right?"
"No corpse. He just suddenly vanished!" the young man said, turning the camera toward a player in the distance who was being lifted into the air. That person's head was also wrapped, and after flying toward the restricted zone for a short while, he disappeared along with the hood.
Xu Huo checked the updated map of the Blue Water Wu restricted zone while saying, "Don't stay in the car. Protect your heads and walk to Xinxin Elderly Care Community. Keep the communicator with you and ask the government for help. There are so many elderly care communities—the government won't abandon you."
The young man choked up for a moment and wanted to say more, but Xu Huo had already hung up.
"Is there food and water in the villa?" Xu Huo took a box and two large backpacks from the luggage compartment. "Fill the box and bags."
Mr. Wang nodded repeatedly and told the nearby players to do it. He also carefully instructed them to take some energy food specifically for emergency hunger relief.
"What are you going to do?" Jing Shi suddenly asked excitedly. "Are you going to Blue Water Wu to rescue people?"
Xu Huo checked his clothes while putting on all the props he needed. He also packed the instruments from the previous district into a small bag and hung it on his body.
"I'll check Yangming Building first. With luck, the venues are all connected. Entering from Xia City might also reach Blue Water Wu," he replied. "If I run into Xiao Chuan, I'll do my best to bring him out."
"If I can't get into Yangming Building, I'll go directly to Blue Water Wu."
As long as there was a glimmer of hope, Jing Shi had to grasp it. She took off her terminal and handed it over. "This has Xiao Chuan's location. If the terminal can still be used in the restricted zone..."
Xu Huo took it and put it in his pocket. He picked up the already-filled box, nodded to everyone, and stepped into the Spiritual Gate with the Painting Woman.
Yangming Building was already sealed off. Players were stationed both near and far. The government seemed to have figured out some characteristics of the restricted zone. Neither the local Enforcement Team nor the rescue teams gathered in groups; they were spread out.
Sensing his presence, a player from the Enforcement Team stopped him and advised him to take another route.
There was a blockade barrier outside Yangming Building. Out of courtesy and reason, he had to inform them. Xu Huo deliberately paused outside. "I need to enter the restricted zone. Do you have the contact information of the rescue leader or the Enforcement Team leader? Give me one."