Chapter 2836: Limited Experience
It was indeed beautiful, but not many people had the mood to appreciate it. Everyone was highly tense, waiting to arrive at their destination.
Fortunately, no further unexpected incidents occurred on the remaining journey. Amid a pleasant announcement, the train arrived at Black Jade Station in Zone A49-033.
The reputation of the sub-zone under the A-level wormhole point was well-deserved. After the train stopped, players disembarking could see public transportation buttons floating everywhere. These instruments, each only the size of an egg, would automatically project a light screen when touched by a player. As long as a location existed within the public transportation network, players could freely travel there—and it was all free.
Xu Huo casually grabbed a floating instrument. After confirming the destination, a portal appeared beneath the device. He stepped through, and in the next second, he had crossed half the country, arriving at the administrative capital of Zone 033, far from Black Jade Station.
The portals appeared randomly at certain fixed, less crowded spots, neither obstructing passersby nor drawing much attention. Only after walking out did Xu Huo notice that many people around him had also emerged from portals just like he had.
Looking up for a moment at the aircraft filling the sky—unrestricted by any ban—he then turned his gaze to the nearby holographic advertisements. Beyond product promotions, many projections indicated where nearby instance trigger points were located, or the general range of large instances encompassing the administrative capital.
Unlike other sub-zones, which tended to issue warnings about instances, these holographic projections not only displayed instance levels and ranges but also released some instance information and simple strategies.
Only half of these holographic projections were issued by the government, focusing primarily on instances that might affect ordinary people. The majority came from player organizations or instance research groups, with the goal of inviting players to participate in instances together. Group strategy instances led by player organizations were common in this sub-zone, and they had government backing. Xu Huo hadn't walked far before he saw several groups of people gathered near advertisements discussing—yes, player organizations would invite ordinary people to enter instances and adventure with them, and the people of Zone 033 were quite interested in this.
The primary means of transportation for people were small, low-altitude aircraft, similar to hoverboards, and they were very cheap, readily available in automatic vending stores on the streets.
Xu Huo also bought one for getting around.
Of course, beyond the transparency of instances, the use of machinery had become more widespread. Household robots, armed aircraft—most labor-intensive work visible on the streets was done by robots. Some people even walked around with robotic pets, and some had partners who were androids. The people living here were all accustomed to it.
Additionally, mechanical prosthetics had become more common.
Some simply wore mechanical arms over their limbs, while more extreme enthusiasts would surgically reinforce their limbs or outright replace them with mechanical parts.
When Xu Huo passed by a "Mechanical Bar," he heard over a dozen enthusiasts gathered inside discussing which parts of their bodies they would replace with machinery in their next surgery. Meanwhile, a projection beside the bar's entrance looped the "Mechanical Transplant Regulation Code." Harmless transplants were legal in Zone 033.
Of course, replacing body parts with machines wasn't shocking news—after all, even in Zone 014, such concepts had already been envisioned.
"Sir, take a look! The Green Essence Bee Hormone Injection Surgery can boost your virility!" A sweet-smiling android projected an advertisement right in front of Xu Huo. Her work range was ten meters in front of the shop; anyone entering this area would be bombarded with ads, whether they wanted to see them or not.
Xu Huo glanced at the beauty salon next door. No matter how humans evolved, basic needs never changed—becoming beautiful and strong was the main theme. Adding animal features was a niche hobby.
Two women with colorful feathers on their cheeks walked out. One said this project was really worth it, while the other lamented that this kind of transplant only lasted about half a month. Then they enthusiastically discussed moving the feathers to their shoulders next time.
After they came out, a man with a hard shell-like armor covering the back of his hand pushed open the door and complained to the staff, "The mutation injection was supposed to last three months, but only half the time has passed, and my shell is already falling off..."
"Sir, don't worry. Let me take you to see the attending doctor. He'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer."
It wasn't that Xu Huo had limited experience, but on the streets, there were also some players who had just arrived at the A-level wormhole point, and they found it equally hard to understand.
In a player's concept, developing animal features meant the onset of degeneration—a life-threatening issue. What kind of hobby did the people at the A-level wormhole point have, actually getting mutation injections on purpose?
Ordinary people who took evolution agents could also degenerate. By getting mutation injections, weren't they afraid of actually degenerating?
Of course, compared to this, everything else seemed normal. The legal regulations visible everywhere in the projections were nothing special.
Xu Huo noticed that some private hospital advertisements specifically noted the prohibition of artificial wombs. Not only that, but genetic screening was absolutely forbidden. The laws in this area were very strict.
It was worth mentioning that Zone 033 had a tradition of public executions. Anyone who committed a heinous crime could be publicly executed, and the methods of execution were extremely extreme, with the goal of tormenting the criminal.
Moreover, the criminal's family would also be punished. Fines and expulsion from the core residential area were the lightest penalties. If the criminal's genes were deemed to have been inherited, the criminal's descendants would be forced to leave the sub-zone and would never be allowed to return to settle.
Xu Huo briefly scanned the information. The last person to be publicly executed was a B-level player—well, a B-level player from an outer zone. While fighting someone, he accidentally killed three ordinary residents and was sentenced to three hours of extreme punishment.
Zone 033 punished criminals based on the length of the execution. For taking another's life, it was one hour per person. During those three hours, the B-level player would remain fully conscious while experiencing extreme pain.
Of course, no amount of suffering the criminal endured could compare to the value of human life. But the pain induced by the injected agent was unbearable for ordinary people. Even for a player, an ordinary person who had taken an evolution agent couldn't hold out for half an hour.
After seeing the execution scene, no one wanted to test the law.
According to data released by the sub-zone government, the crime rate in Zone 033 was very low. However, this had only been the case for the past twenty years. Before that, the sub-zone government hadn't been so ruthless toward criminals.
"Sir, are you interested in learning about team-based instance clearing?" A young woman approached him as he paused. She waved a projection screen. "These are a few instances our research institute recently discovered. There are no complete strategies yet. If you're willing to join the exploration team, besides providing some related equipment, we'll also pay you a considerable sum."