Chapter 2798: Trading Conditions
He had thought he would have to wait a while longer, but the "Bookworm" replied that very night, stating bluntly: "Information of this level can't be bought with money."
If it couldn't be bought with money, it meant he really did know.
"Name your terms," Xu Huo replied.
The other side quickly responded: "Find a way to get ore AS-01CL added to the banned sales list."
"Any more detailed information?"
"This ore is only sold at the B11 wormhole point. Once you complete this, you'll receive the detailed addresses of three secret laboratories belonging to the Stellar Group."
After reading this, Xu Huo frowned. He sent another message, but the other side no longer replied, and soon that account also vanished into hiding, making him doubt whether he had actually contacted the "Bookworm" at all.
Still, he could wait and see how things played out. After all, finding the secret laboratories of Stellar Pharmaceuticals wasn't urgent; everything would have to wait until he advanced to A-rank.
He still hadn't touched the true core of this game called the Dimensional Rift. Whether it was the Stellar Group, Dr. Zhang, Dr. Wu, or the Bookworm, they were the ones closest to the game's core. Compared to them, he was still not strong enough.
Unconsciously clenching his right hand, Xu Huo closed his personal panel and returned to his residence. Through the 022 District Message Collection Terminal, he looked up some information about the AS-01CL ore. This ore was also on the import list for District 022 and was one of the materials used to make certain instrument chips. However, it wasn't an irreplaceable material; it was simply cheaper than similar materials, so it had a wide sales range.
If it wasn't an irreplaceable material, the impact of a sales ban would likely hit B11 harder. Was the Bookworm at the B11 wormhole point?
No, that couldn't be confirmed either. Perhaps this was just a means to an end, and the real focus wasn't on the direct impact of the ore being banned.
Quite a few companies purchased this ore, and Xu Huo quickly obtained the information on the corresponding company.
It was a raw materials company from B11-009.
He made a mental note of this company's information and shifted his focus back to the current instance.
The next morning, he took Bu Chunfeng's aircraft and headed to Snow Valley first.
Snow Valley was a city covered in snow year-round. Bu Chunfeng had a fixed preaching location here and had only recently arrived. Hearing that Xu Huo was coming to Snow Valley, he warmly invited him to listen to a preaching sermon.
The preaching location was a small residential house, presumably provided free of charge by a local. Over a dozen people came in succession, each bringing their own food and water, suggesting the preaching sessions lasted quite a while.
However, what surprised Xu Huo slightly was that there was more than just the Benevolence Cult here. From a distance, he could see five or six people wearing different religious garments recruiting followers on the street, and quite a few players were following them.
Bu Chunfeng was familiar with these people, constantly greeting them. Some even joked, telling him to come listen to their sect's philosophy.
Bu Chunfeng nodded perfunctorily to all of them. When they reached the preaching house, he solemnly introduced Xu Huo to the believers, "This is our new friend."
Xu Huo politely nodded to everyone and sat down to listen to the sermon.
Bu Chunfeng spoke for an entire day. He had his own outline and detailed rules, each one clearly laid out. During the sermon, he would also check for omissions and fill in gaps. Looking at the handwritten book in his hand, which was about twenty centimeters thick, Xu Huo believed he was truly loyal to his faith.
After listening to the sermon, Xu Huo asked him for a letter of recommendation stamped with the Benevolence Cult's seal. The content of the letter was a request to the government for a temporary visitor's pass in the name of the religion.
That's right, this was the souvenir Xu Huo needed from Snow Valley. The normal way to obtain it was to choose any religion and listen to a few days of sermons. Of course, players generally lacked patience, but the government didn't accept just any letter of recommendation. They would verify whether the person holding the letter truly belonged to a religious organization. It was possible to obtain a letter through other means, but passing the government's check was the hard part.
However, Bu Chunfeng quietly told Xu Huo that he had connections in the government. If he took his letter of recommendation there, the person in charge would give him a visitor's pass with a higher clearance level.
Xu Huo's next stop was a visit to the Science and Technology Museum. It was said to contain samples of all instruments developed since District 022's inception, including not only some blockade and attack instruments used for daily maintenance of district security, but also cross-district, cross-wormhole point, and other super-large instrument samples along with their operating instructions.
This was extremely useful. The Game Government usually only sold such instruments to district governments, and their consumption rate was very high, so they weren't used lightly. Thus, opportunities to see such super-large instruments were rare, let alone operate them. It was hard to find such a chance for understanding elsewhere.
After exchanging for the temporary visitor's pass in Snow Valley, Xu Huo bid farewell to Bu Chunfeng and headed to the Capital Mansion, the heart city of District 022.
He had seen a super-large teleportation instrument at Xin Rong's house, the Platinum Eye, but this cross-wormhole point instrument on display at the museum was far too large. It looked more like a giant arched building, spanning tens of thousands of meters from left to right. The introduction stated that this was the latest model of teleportation instrument currently sold by the Game Government. Once activated, it could allow a fleet to pass through continuously, not to mention allowing players to cross districts—it could even start a wormhole point war.
And something like this could pinpoint any district a ticket could reach. After purchase, the Game Government would also gift some specific coordinates of wormhole points and districts.
Unlike the time-consuming trains, this super-large teleportation instrument could reach other wormhole points in an extremely short time, leaving no room for a buffer.
"One minute you decide which district to attack, the next minute you can start the war," a player remarked after viewing it. "No wonder those famous wanted criminals are always wandering around. If another district found out where their hometown was, couldn't they easily annihilate the entire district?"
"Lucky that rules were established when the game was just developing, otherwise there wouldn't be any room for the later wormhole points and districts," another person said.
"Don't think the game is being kind," someone else sneered. "It's because they can harvest whenever they want, so it doesn't matter how many wormhole points and districts there are. This is still a C-rank wormhole point district. Imagine those A-rank wormhole points—they're probably harvesting grounds for outer zone players."
"Don't be so pessimistic," the first player who spoke said again. "A-rank wormhole points also have players, and not all of their players are geniuses. The world is balanced; mediocrities and fools still make up the vast majority. They can't let those smart people wipe everyone out."
This comment left the listeners both amused and exasperated, but more than anything, it was a sigh of awe at the behemoth that was the game.
After visiting the Science and Technology Museum, Xu Huo obtained his souvenir and then rushed through several more scenic spots. During this time, he exchanged souvenirs with other players and also cooperated with them on some actions. After continuous travel, he finally arrived at the last stop of this journey: Tusang Castle.
This was an architectural complex composed of dozens of castles and also the headquarters of the District Government's Tourism Department.