Chapter 2930: Their Respective Battlefields
Xu Huo had not shown his face in any previous public announcements, so it was normal for these players not to recognize him. However, he hadn't changed his clothes, so it was reasonable that some people identified him through that. Still, after their initial surprise, they quickly regained their composure.
The barrier of "Sky Light Domain" couldn't be breached even by top-tier A-grade items, so how could he possibly kill them through the barrier?
Thus, among the five, only one decisively withdrew from Zone 014 upon spotting Xu Huo. The remaining four didn't even have a chance to speak before they were locked down by time power, rapidly aging and dying.
As the four corpses fell to the ground, Xu Huo turned around to greet Nie Xuan.
Nie Xuan's expression relaxed slightly. "Good thing you arrived in time, or these few would have gotten away."
Xu Huo gestured with his chin toward the two still frozen below. "Do you want to take them back, or kill them on the spot?"
"Kill them," Nie Xuan said. "We can't just arrest everyone. The Special Defense Department doesn't have that many places to hold them."
A Space Tangent drifted silently through the forest, and the two players fell just as quietly.
Nie Xuan didn't even have time to collect the bodies. "I have to go to the next location immediately. A special team will come to retrieve the corpses and items."
He glanced at "Sky Light Domain" as he spoke. "Is this item yours?"
Xu Huo nodded. "A borrowed super item."
Nie Xuan paused for a second. "How long can you use it?"
"Probably a few hours," Xu Huo said. "Enough to intimidate the outer zone players."
"Any movement from the Jing City Safe Zone?"
He was referring to the safe zone where the Xu family had originally lived. The Special Defense Department had initially planned to relocate all the family members of the safe zone to a secure location. Later, because Xu Huo had given word, the people in that safe zone hadn't been completely evacuated. However, as the situation changed, the Special Defense Department couldn't help but transfer all the ordinary people. Now, aside from a few players placed there in advance, the place was basically empty.
"Not for now. The Eerie Sound Knights went silent after being pursued by players for a while. Their whereabouts are currently unknown," Nie Xuan said. "But based on the words of some wanted criminals, it can be inferred that they followed the Eerie Sound Knights to Zone 014. Otherwise, why would a batch of notorious wanted criminals suddenly appear?"
"I estimate they're already in X Country. They haven't shown themselves yet, so it's unclear what they're planning."
The enmity between Zone 014 and the Eerie Sound Knights began with the previous super item announcement incident. Xu Huo later killed Dou Shengnan because of this. Since they already knew he was from Zone 014, both sides were well aware of the origin of this grudge.
Xu Huo killed Dou Shengnan. To take revenge, the Eerie Sound Knights would naturally use X Country as a hostage. Originally, his family was the primary target, but since they had already been evacuated in advance, anyone in X Country could become a hostage.
And hostages, of course, the more the better.
"Have you arranged people at the water sources?"
Nie Xuan understood his meaning. "No activity so far."
"A single district merging into the game isn't worth that much attention. But since the Eerie Sound Knights can attract wanted criminals, it's hard to guarantee they won't draw in super players as well."
The mere fusion of Zone 014 wasn't enough to attract a super player. Even a super item wouldn't hold that much appeal for a super player, unless it was something on the level of the Field Battle Angel.
Of course, the Eerie Sound Knights had been active in the game for so many years; it was hard to say they didn't have backing. But looking at the current situation in Zone 014, there were no signs of other forces intervening yet.
Generally speaking, unless one possessed the strength of a top-tier A-grade or super player, it wasn't that simple for a player or player organization to flatten a city. However, if they tampered with water sources or the air, the number of ordinary people affected would be incalculable.
The Eerie Sound Knights had lured in wanted criminals but were hiding without showing themselves. They could only be laying the groundwork in advance. And since they had already probed Xu Huo's trump cards, they should know that ordinary traps were useless. Since this was revenge, the people of X Country were also among their targets...
Although he had anticipated that the Eerie Sound Knights wouldn't directly challenge him to a one-on-one fight, realizing that these people might use a slow, grinding method to exact revenge, Xu Huo frowned slightly and said to Nie Xuan, "Don't bother with other things for now. First, find the Eerie Sound Knights. Super players aren't the main focus; their target is definitely ordinary people."
Evolution could be achieved through potions, but taking potions carried certain risks. It might not achieve the effects of prolonging life or strengthening the body, and could instead quickly lead to weakness and degeneration. This was common knowledge among ordinary people in other districts who used potions. However, in districts with a longer history of evolution, the potion quality was better, and this risk was better controlled.
Zone 014 was far from the point where potions could be used. However, ordinary people could promote evolution by injecting the blood of evolvers who had not taken evolution agents. In other words, ordinary people could become players through artificial means. But there was an important process when ordinary people began to evolve—the desire for gluttony.
This desire for gluttony would persist until after cannibalism or the initial trial.
As for why some people evolved naturally while others needed blood injections, this was essentially a process of natural selection. It couldn't be said that the former were more talented than the latter, but the batch of players who emerged at the beginning of a district's evolution rarely experienced degeneration or mutation shortly after evolving. Ordinary people who became players through blood injections had a certain probability of failure.
Therefore, X Country was very strict in screening candidates for blood injections. At the same time, those who had received evolver blood injections would be monitored until they boarded the train.
What if someone now injected ordinary people with evolver blood without considering the consequences?
With no one to restrain them, more people would succumb to the desire for gluttony!
Nie Xuan also realized this, his brow furrowing. "It seems killing you alone isn't enough to satisfy their hatred. Destroying the foundation of X Country and even Zone 014 is the ultimate revenge..."
He didn't voice the more far-reaching implications. If the Eerie Sound Knights operated skillfully, the once-thriving Zone 014 might even be aborted midway. If the district's potential was lost, other districts would surely come to carve up the breeding ground—and even if they didn't, the Eerie Sound Knights would definitely invite them!
"I'll report this immediately. Leave the search to me," he said at once. "As for the outer zone players in other combat zones, they're yours to handle."
"But you need to be careful too. They might be hiding to drain your stamina and patience."
Xu Huo nodded. "If you find any leads, hand them over to me for verification."
Once they had settled the matter, they immediately split up to head to their respective battlefields.
Over the next half hour, Xu Huo shuttled across the country, resolving troubles in over a dozen combat zones. By the time he returned to the screen in Ting City, he was stained with blood here and there.
But the good news was that after he dealt with these dozen or so groups of players, several other first-level combat zones were successively downgraded or disappeared: the deterrent effect had been achieved.