Chapter 2925: Declaration of War

Within the core safe zone of Jing City, key leaders of Country X, including prominent player representatives who had risen to prominence in the last two years, as well as members of the Special Defense Department and the Elite Player Strategic Group, were all gathered in an underground conference room constructed from entirely new materials.

In the center of the conference table were twenty-four projection screens, constantly scrolling reports on the war situation from across the nation and different regions.

That was correct—Zone 014 had erupted into a full-scale regional war. Beyond the player wars between nations within the zone, as the zone merged with the game, an increasing number of ticket players arrived from different zones through various wormhole points. After completing their instances, some individuals with ulterior motives did not leave immediately but lingered, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Looting the game resource reserves of local governments was a minor issue. More significant was their search for evolutionary resources within Zone 014. Simultaneously, some people who simply delighted in chaos would periodically emerge to destroy cities and engage in mass murder.

Country X had long prepared contingency plans, but the resources allocated to each city were limited. Even with the use of full-range defense barriers, a single protective measure was not an insurmountable obstacle for players from other zones. Destroying a city was often as simple as raising a hand for them.

Although, proportionally speaking, those who acted without purpose, purely to vent their emotions, were not numerous, they were the group causing the highest civilian casualties, aside from the frantically evolving flora and fauna and the suddenly appearing random instances. Currently, apart from the players defending the core vital zones who could not be moved, players from many regions were beginning to relocate towards these attacked cities.

People could be driven away, but suddenly evolving plants and random instances were difficult to control. According to the latest statistics, since the beginning of the regional integration, over a thousand new random instances had appeared. Some of these instances designated areas to swallow people, while others had fixed triggers. Players were constantly searching for the triggering patterns of these instances.

Furthermore, incidents of plant and animal attacks within and outside cities had exceeded tens of thousands. These ranged from small household plants and urban greenery to massive mountains of mutated plants surging into cities. Although predatory mutant plants were not common, many plants had evolved traits that produced toxins or attracted animals, leading to a large influx of mutated animals into cities.

Compared to the slow movement and easier control of plants, mutant animals were the most difficult to guard against. Besides wild animals from mountain forests and wilderness, there were also numerous pets, stray animals, snakes, insects, rats, and ants within cities. These creatures could even undergo group mutations. A particular animal group would suddenly become frenzied and aggressive, or incredibly fast. They would roam the city in packs, attacking anything different from them, resulting in many people being bitten to death or injured.

"...Lin City is currently completely covered by mutant Boston ivy. Local players are actively conducting rescue operations..."

"...Zhang City's mutant rat population has grown to a maximum length of 1.2 meters. After being bombarded by players, the rat swarm quickly turned towards the outskirts, fleeing in the direction of Hui City. Several neighboring cities have organized teams to drive them into Wind Canyon, thirty kilometers away, for extermination..."

"...A large number of animals at Changhai Wildlife Park have mutated. After indiscriminately attacking their keepers, they have rushed along the highway towards a nearby city. Special police have been deployed in advance, preparing to intercept with firepower..."

...

"...A random instance has appeared in Hehai City, causing the disappearance of nearly one-third of the city's population. The instance has been tentatively codenamed Wisteria..."

"...An energy burst from mineral deposits in the mountainous area near Jia City has been discovered by players from other zones. They are currently engaged in combat with our players..."

...

"...A player team consisting of seven wanted criminals and three A-rank players breached Backup Warehouse No. 23. The stored items, energy ores, and instrument items were all looted. The captain of Warehouse No. 23 is leading a team to recover them..."

"...Safe Zones 34, 12, 55, and 41 were attacked successively, but the attacks failed to breach the instrument defense barriers..."

"...The third Game Blockade Combat Zone near the No. 7 High-Rank Instance Cluster has begun its fifth eradication battle..."

...

"...Southern Border Combat Zones 1, 2, and 3 were attacked by players from other nations. The attackers have currently breached Combat Zone 3 and entered the middle defense zone..."

"...Northern Combat Zones 9, 10, and 11 were attacked. The enemy failed to break through directly but used items to influence our players, causing a small-scale internal conflict..."

...

"In the past six hours, the number and frequency of attacks on key strategic cities have multiplied, directly or indirectly leading to the destruction of thirteen military-industrial bases..."

"...Secret Bases No. 44 and No. 56 have been occupied by players from other zones..."

...

This was not news broadcast by the media, but reports relayed by responsible persons from various locations. The content of the reports was already the most concise, yet it could not truly describe the situation on the battlefields. Approximately every few minutes, these messages would refresh, bringing new developments, good or bad. However, looking at the overall picture, the war was still expanding, and the number of affected cities and people was increasing exponentially.

The core figures sitting in this conference room were responsible not only for central coordination but also for analyzing the current situation and formulating strategies.

Most of the basic forces were deployed to control mutant flora and fauna. The intermediate players were used to restrain the ticket players emerging from instances, not necessarily to kill them, but mainly to hinder these individuals, preventing them from causing chaos within the country. The advanced players were divided into three parts: one part guarded the nation's thermal weapons and game resources; another part was responsible for dealing with troublesome players from other zones; the remaining players were dispersed near the borders to resist local and non-local players arriving from other nations.

The regional integration had been ongoing for a considerable time. Consequently, as ticket players from high-rank instances began to emerge, the situation in Zone 014 worsened. The zone's player reserves were insufficient, especially lacking truly top-tier A-rank and B-rank players. Against some troublesome players from other zones, they could barely even restrain them, having to try their best to lure them into random instance trigger points or the third Game Blockade Combat Zone.

However, they had only borrowed three large-scale Non-Game Area Simulators. One was installed in the family safe zone, one was placed at the border, and only the third Combat Zone was within the country. This was far from enough to cover the entire nation. Following the mineral resources and national reserve resources, the items and instruments used for domestic defense deployments, as well as advanced players, had also become targets for plunder by players from other zones.

"There are too many A-rank wanted criminals coming," a key member of the military district spoke up. "One A-rank wanted criminal is enough to cause chaos. To have so many arrive at once! The Holy Sword Society has also revealed their tracks. I'm afraid even more will come later."

"The Special Defense Department has already dispatched elite squads," Minister Ji of the Special Defense Department said. "Each squad carries random instance trigger items."

"Tell them to bring enough items and prioritize survival," the key member said.

Minister Ji nodded. These elite squads were the cream of the crop. It would be nearly impossible to train replacements in a short time. They absolutely could not be allowed to be lost to a few wanted criminals.

"So far, no traces of Super Evolvers have been found," Team Leader Ming of the Strategic Group spoke up. "This is good news."

Compared to super items, the integration of a single zone and the game was indeed insignificant to a Super Evolver. They could plunder a zone's resources whenever they wanted; there was no need to rush for this.

"Still, we must be prepared. The damage a single Super Evolver can inflict is no less than that of these advanced players constantly emerging from instances," the elderly man seated at the head of the table said, looking at the constantly flicking screens in the center. A new round of battle reports had come in. Zone 014 had essentially become a battlefield.

"Everyone, what we are seeing now is not just cold data. Behind every report lies a massive number of sacrifices. Our people and our homes are being violated. Our nation is bleeding and weeping. Then let those invaders pay with their lives!"

The old man finished speaking and stood up, his voice resolute: "I declare that Country X is officially commencing a nationwide defense war. The deployment of players across all regions remains unchanged. All military reserves are to be committed to the battlefield. Local military forces are authorized to act according to circumstances!"

Woo... Woo... Woo...

New alarm sirens sounded across the country. In every place connected to electronic devices—holographic projections, advertising screens, television, radio—after the alarm ended, they all connected to the same channel. The old man's voice appeared in every city:

"Warning to all players from other zones: You have entered the territory of Country X. You must abide by our laws and cease all acts that infringe upon the personal and property safety of others. Otherwise, it will be considered a declaration of war against our country. At that time, Country X will spare no effort to annihilate the enemy!"

It was a very concise wartime ultimatum, and this ultimatum indicated that the war had fully erupted.

Xu Huo closed his personal panel and turned to look at the cabin door. The next second, Bai Kou opened the door and walked out.

The bloodstains on her body had not been cleaned. She looked much recovered, but her left arm had been replaced with a metal arm. The connecting device was violently inserted into the flesh and muscle, serving only as a temporary emergency replacement.

Their eyes met. She said, "I need to go back."

Xu Huo nodded. "I need to go back too."

"Good luck," Bai Kou said.

"Good luck to you too." Xu Huo took out a box. "Inside this is the Instance Authorization for the Box Carrier's super instance. Use it if you find it useful. Also, when I took the authorization, the Box Carrier's instance was in this zone. Although it's hidden in space, I suspect that without the authorization, he cannot take the instance away. That instance should still be here."

"No wonder the Box Carrier didn't use the instance to kill people this time." Bai Kou took the box, looked at him, and said, "Thank you."

Their gazes met for a moment, and then she vanished from before the cabin door.

Xu Huo turned back, nodded to Gao Ming, and then left Zone 039.