Chapter 2905: The Smooth Election
"How many people do you think a country needs to maintain to be called a nation?" Xu Huo countered.
The King's Throne was an instance dungeon, and the king had already become a product of a certain system. If this instance dungeon lost the people of Zone 031, what kind of instance would it even be?
Without the people of Zone 031, what meaning would the king's existence have?
Could destroying the Twelve Main Cities alone dismantle the instance?
The foundation upon which the King's Throne instance was born was the history and culture of Zone 031 and the ordinary people living there.
The Buzz Cut man fell silent. That was true in theory, but in practice, it could also backfire. Perhaps these stranded players didn't care about ordinary people before, but once restrictions were placed on them, they might develop a rebellious mentality.
However, these weren't things he should be worrying about, so he asked, "Then how do you plan to arrange for those of us who came later?"
"I've only written some basic clauses. They're not complete. The Twelve Main Cities and the Allied Forces will add to them as they see fit. When the time comes, I'll trouble you to supplement and polish these articles. After they're finished, they'll be made public in all the election cities." Xu Huo arranged things matter-of-factly.
The Buzz Cut man frowned. "And what about the King's Castle side..."
"You can keep some people if you want." Xu Huo said casually. "But just like the other stranded players, don't enter the King's Castle."
The Buzz Cut man couldn't quite grasp his meaning, but seeing that he had no intention of saying more, he led his people out.
Only a little over forty players had come to King's City. In reality, there were far more players staying outside. Xu Huo's attitude clearly excluded them from the clearance team, yet he didn't drive them away. Instead, he casually let them stay, showing even less concern for the movements of other ticket players...
"Who's going to perfect the legal code?" The Buzz Cut man raised the paper in his hand and asked.
The green-haired man nearby was stunned. "You're kidding, right? We came here to clear the instance, and now we have to study law? Which player is law-abiding?"
Hearing this, the Buzz Cut man suddenly realized something. After a moment, he let out a cold laugh. "This really might have been prepared for us."
Xu Huo's legal code targeted all stranded players. Since they couldn't clear the instance, they were stranded players too.
If Xu Huo could really ensure these codes remained in effect even after he cleared the instance and left, then he must have at least one highly binding prop in his possession. They, along with the people from the Twelve Main Cities, wouldn't be able to escape!
Logically speaking, the Buzz Cut man and his group should leave King's City immediately and not get involved in Xu Huo's clearance. But the benefits right in front of them made them reluctant to leave. Even if it meant risking being bound by that prop in the end, they didn't want to go. What if, just what if, they managed to clear the instance?
"Do as he says." The Buzz Cut man said, adding with a hint of sarcasm, "Memorize it all well. Who knows, we might have to follow it ourselves someday."
The expressions of the ticket players were indescribable.
Despite some minor friction, with the assistance of the Twelve Main Cities and the Allied Forces, the election proceeded smoothly.
The original election process was quite lengthy, so the archons from cities large and small gathered and voted to pass a new election procedure. The first round of voting lasted seven days. During these seven days, everyone in the Twelve Main Cities, the seven cities of the Allied Forces, the four cities of the stranded players, and over a dozen other small towns had to vote.
Most cities didn't have a widespread terminal system, so they used the most primitive method: paper ballots.
Intimidated by the former power of the Twelve Main Cities, the residential areas near the main cities were quite cooperative. Every block had a ballot box, and everyone had one vote to cast into the box of their chosen candidate.
As agreed beforehand, Xu Huo would win advancement with a vote count exceeding the others by half.
Of course, during these days, the legal code and various welfare policies he had revised were also disseminated. Some that were easier to implement had already been put into action—the number of stranded players was simply too large. Rather than letting them idle, it was better to put them to work.
The other candidates also symbolically offered some benefits, but these were just for show and would never be fulfilled. In comparison, Xu Huo seemed like a savior descending from heaven. Even many who knew this situation might not last long genuinely wanted to elect him as king.
The players in the Twelve Main Cities who didn't want to leave were hoping to live a life of luxury and dominance here.
So why shouldn't the original people of Zone 031, who belonged here, also want a better life?
Take it one day at a time.
"I wish the election could go on forever." Someone voiced a simple wish.
They couldn't afford to investigate the reasons, nor did they want to delve into the underlying intentions. Their extremely difficult living conditions made them only want to hold tightly to the present moment.
There were also troublemakers. Ordinary people couldn't cause much of a stir. Most were local zone players who relied on the stranded players, as well as local people who had been bullying others under their protection.
Dealing with this was simple: just kill them according to the network of connections. Locals knew locals best.
These seven days of elections saw a heavy purge. By the seventh day, the cities covered by the King's Throne instance were bustling with activity and thriving with vitality.
The first round of elections ultimately produced seven winners.
Besides Xu Huo, there were representatives from four main cities including King's City, the Allied Forces, and over a dozen small towns. As for the player representatives from the four stranded cities... out of "respect" for Xu Huo, they not only voluntarily withdrew from the election but also funded the implementation of the welfare policies he had promised.
This left the neighboring Allied Forces utterly astonished.
By the time the second round of elections began, the instrument from Pu Yu had also arrived.
The starship crossed through space and appeared above King's City. Even though King's City immediately locked down the city, a large number of players still rushed to the vicinity, eager to get a look.
And by this time, word was gradually spreading. Many had learned that the stranded players agreed to the election because Xu Huo could send them out of Zone 031.
This caused an uproar across the nation.
Countless people wanted to leave this place. Some stranded players in the main cities began to unite with others, passively resisting work and demanding that the archons and Xu Huo promise to include them on the list of those leaving.
There were also those who didn't want to leave, or didn't want other stranded players to leave. So on the very night the instrument arrived, some people tried to sabotage it, attempting to blow it up.
But the building where the instrument was placed, including nearly half the city around the King's Castle, was covered by the "Sky Light Domain." At the same time, Xu Huo had forcibly cleared the area of people. Blow up the building? They couldn't even get in!
The players of King's City killed six waves of attackers in succession before barely intimidating those who were itching for trouble.
As for the other ticket players, seeing that Xu Huo could even procure an instrument capable of crossing wormhole points for teleportation, they no longer planned to interfere with his clearance. Instead, they focused entirely on spreading news and inciting stranded players to leave Zone 031. After all, the fewer people left behind, the easier it would be for them to clear the instance later.
The ones who advanced in the second round of elections were Xu Huo, Lou Fei, and the one-eyed woman from the Allied Forces, Qu Hong.