Chapter 2926: Outside Ting City
Although Ting City had been "transferred" to the Painting Woman, as a symbol of friendship between the nation, Xu Huo, and the Painting Woman, its basic defenses were exceptionally well-maintained. The Special Defense Department had also given Team Leader Wu certain conveniences in some aspects. Therefore, when a player attack incident occurred, instrument barriers were activated both inside and outside the city early on, and thermal weapons and personnel from all sides were already in position.
Under full city alert, the people living here were highly tense, but no major chaos broke out. Even when two new random instance entrances appeared, they were quickly isolated by the Special Defense Department, and the losses were not significant.
Additionally, Yan Jiayu, Zhou Ning, Yuan Yao, Liu Jia, and Shen Xin had all gathered in Ting City under the arrangements of the Special Defense Department.
Liu Jia and Shen Xin had been temporarily transferred here, while Yan Jiayu and the other three had just returned from finishing an instance.
The Special Defense Department branch where Shen Xin and Liu Jia worked was originally not too far from Ting City. The two were not top-tier combatants, but they couldn't simply leave the Special Defense Department and go back to their own homes. Team Leader Wu used some connections to bring them over, not only hoping they could contribute some effort but also intending to protect them.
The place where Xu Huo originally lived was relatively close to the branch, but after the last attack incident, the Special Defense Department had re-designated a new area specifically as his personal residence. For the convenience of both parties, it was located in the very center of the city. After the original commercial street was destroyed, this area was cleared out. The Special Defense Department built and placed some important facilities here, surrounding Xu Huo's residence.
Now was a special period. The Special Defense Department had set up a temporary command post here, and Team Leader Wu, Sima Xiao'er, and others had long been stationed there.
Yan Jiayu and the others gathered together, chatting idly while keeping an eye on the situation within the country.
The online platforms were now flooded with bad news. Besides outer zone players scrambling for resources and local zone players from other countries deliberately causing trouble, there was an even more frequent surge of crimes emerging everywhere. The pleas for help online had become an ocean, and just looking at it was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
"The players and armed forces from various places should be handling this, right?" Yuan Yao murmured. "I wonder how many people will die this time..."
"I don't understand. In this environment, disaster could fall on anyone's head at any moment. Why don't people think about protecting themselves or uniting against the outside? Instead, there are still those taking advantage of the chaos to loot. Aren't they afraid of death?" Liu Jia said.
"Most of them probably think there's no tomorrow after today, so they're releasing the evil in their hearts," Shen Xin said. "There are many such people in the game, regardless of gender or age. Anyone who usually seems honest and good could suddenly change face."
"Fortunately, Ting City is still being maintained well," Zhou Ning paused, then said, "I just don't know when Xu Huo and Li Chun will be back."
Yan Jiayu hadn't mentioned to the others that Li Chun was trapped. As for Xu Huo, "He might not have come out of the instance yet."
"I wish Brother Xu would come back soon," Yuan Yao said, touching his chest. "My heart hasn't stopped pounding. I'm really worried that some reckless wanted criminal will come to Ting City. Then I won't know whether to run or not..."
"Don't jinx it!" Shen Xin quickly interrupted him. But just then, the communicator in the living room rang, and a holographic projection automatically popped up. Sima Xiao'er's figure appeared before them. "Several players are heading this way!"
Yan Jiayu and the others immediately went to the command post and asked the tense Team Leader Wu, "What's the situation?"
"The leader is a notorious wanted criminal. They just destroyed two bases, plundered a batch of unprocessed game resources from another branch, and are now heading in our direction."
"Their goal isn't just to plunder resources. Based on their performance over the past day, they like using densely populated cities as bait to lure and intercept elite players from the Special Defense Department. They've already killed three local elite squads. Now, two teams sent by headquarters are following behind them!"
On the monitoring instruments, it was very clear to see two groups of people arriving near Ting City one after the other. The group in front moved at varying speeds, as if deliberately waiting for those behind.
"Who's following behind?" Yan Jiayu asked.
"The leaders are Zhao Jin and Bai Xiaohua. Both are A-class players and skilled in tracking and blocking. But they haven't been able to stop these people so far. I'm afraid..." Team Leader Wu didn't finish his sentence, but the remaining meaning was clear: the two elite squads following behind simply couldn't kill this outer zone player team led by the wanted criminal.
"I'll go meet them." Yan Jiayu flexed her hands and feet. The next moment, she was outside the city. She directly intercepted a player, holding a one-meter-long black metal rod in her hand, and swung it at the opponent's face!
This player had a defense item and initially didn't take it seriously. But he didn't expect the rod to be so powerful that the A-class defense barrier was easily broken through without any effect!
Seeing the rod already before his eyes, the man used an item to bypass Yan Jiayu and charge straight into the city. He thought he could enter smoothly, but the moment he landed, a gust of wind came from behind him. At the same time, his body was restrained by the item. In the corner of his eye, he only saw a pair of gleaming eyes staring fixedly at him...
"Smack!" The head burst like a watermelon under the metal rod, blood and brain matter splattering several meters away, leaving only the body falling limply toward the ground.
Yan Jiayu flicked the blood off the rod, turned around, and looked at the dozen or so players who had suddenly stopped behind her. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes were cold. "Withdraw from District 014, or be beaten to death by me. You choose."
The leading wanted criminal had clearly seen her kill that person just now, but he didn't care. Instead, he laughed. "I'll give you two choices too: kneel down and beg for mercy, or kill yourself."
Yan Jiayu was not shaken at all. She swung the rod and stepped forward. However, to become a notorious wanted criminal, this man couldn't be without real skill. He moved his right hand in the air, and several threads so thin they were almost unnoticeable flew rapidly!
Yan Jiayu only noticed these threads when she got closer. There seemed to be a needle at the end of each thread. She instinctively tried to knock away the fine needles flying toward her, but unexpectedly, they smoothly bypassed the rod, wrapped around its shaft, and yanked hard!
The threads, which looked like they could be easily snapped, were not only incredibly tough but also extremely powerful. Yan Jiayu's arm was pulled upward by the force. She steadied herself, then saw several more flying needles heading toward her. She immediately retracted the metal rod and retreated. But as she withdrew from the needles' range, dozens of people from the city were suddenly lifted and suspended in midair, all facing her direction!
The wanted criminal, who had been threading the needles, glanced at the elite squad chasing from behind, then looked back at her and smiled. "You can choose now. Kneel down and beg for mercy, and I'll release five people. If you're willing to trade your life, I'll release ten."