Chapter 2946: The Courage to Resist
When Xu Huo's message was received, both the Special Defense Department and the military personnel breathed a collective sigh of relief. This not only meant that Xu Huo was safe, but also that others trapped inside could be rescued.
As player messages were exchanged, the people in the Jing City meeting room finally learned some details about the instance. Hearing that anyone who entered would inexplicably fall asleep and struggle to wake up, everyone unanimously felt the situation was tricky. No matter how difficult an instance was, there might be a breakthrough, but if people couldn't even wake up, how could they clear it?
The most pressing issue was that the two Totem squads that had entered earlier had also vanished without a trace. They had gone in to rescue people, but now they needed rescuing themselves...
The old military officer felt embarrassed and didn't dare speak. Minister Ji pressed further, asking when Xu Huo would return.
The player responsible for communication with the Hai City side reported, "Mr. Xu doesn't seem to plan on coming out... Wait a moment, we just received a video from inside the instance, recorded by Mr. Xu."
The video was quickly transmitted to the meeting room. Against a wisteria backdrop, Xu Huo stood beneath a tree and said, "Everyone, in two hours, I will begin the second round of eliminating intruders."
That was all he said. He didn't even bother with extra threats. His calm face showed no trace of emotion.
After a brief silence in the meeting room, Minister Ji said, "Geniuses are always special. Xu Huo's style has always been like this. It's good that he doesn't cause trouble."
Having dealt with players for a long time, a low-maintenance player like Xu Huo was a rare find. Some people either demanded this or that, or relied on their abilities to act arrogantly. The Special Defense Department couldn't afford to fall out with them, and their smiling masks were practically welded to their faces.
Others present might not be used to Xu Huo's attitude, but Minister Ji felt no discomfort at all. He even wished all players could learn from Xu Huo.
"Should we release the video?" the old military officer asked. To be honest, he felt these words might not have much deterrent effect on the troublemaking outer zone players.
"Release it," the elder at the head of the table said. "Even if it doesn't intimidate outsiders, it can let our people know that the hero will return at any time."
Moments later, Xu Huo's video was connected to the national network, appearing on every functioning television or communication terminal.
Many well-informed people already knew he had gone to He Hai City. The wisteria background confirmed this. The fact that his video could be transmitted showed that the instance posed no threat to him. He would rescue people and return to Zone 014!
X Country erupted once again. The later-arriving outer zone players were confused, but when they saw the subsequent video of Xu Huo killing people broadcast on the national channel, they immediately understood—with a god of death like this, no wonder the players who came earlier were always so cautious.
Even if Xu Huo was far from reaching Super Evolver level, his Time Power alone was already beyond the reach of most players. Looking across the entire game world, how many Temporal Super Evolvers were there?
Whether the outer zone players had calmed down or not, the people of X Country, who had to deal with crises day and night, once again ignited with confidence. The voices of doubt diminished, and more ordinary people focused their energy on monitoring the outer zone players.
That's right—even ordinary people who feared players began to take the initiative. They used communicators, cameras, phones, and those who had the means used aircraft to monitor players appearing around them from all angles. The bolder ones even dared to track them from a distance. Hot blood couldn't burn out their courage. Some people roared and shouted:
"You can kill one of me, but you can't kill all my compatriots! Everything you do is being recorded. If I die, someone will naturally avenge me!"
This was something players had never seen in the chaotic zones of the past. In other zones, resistance was often passive. Most people's first reaction was to hide and beg for mercy. Only when they truly couldn't survive would they resolve to resist. But in X Country, everyone seemed to defy common human instinct, showing no fear of death. Even the frail elderly and weak children erupted with a fierceness that was truly stirring!
There were many players, but the number of ordinary people was even greater. No matter which city a player walked into, they were within people's sight. Every move they made was relayed and broadcast online like a relay race, allowing X Country's players to deal with them selectively.
Some admired this united spirit, others feared Xu Huo's eventual reckoning, and of course, some were provoked into massacres. But this spirit could not be killed. It meant that ordinary people were no longer completely passive against players—they too could pick up the sword of revenge!
Meanwhile, inside the wisteria instance, Xu Huo found an unusually massive wisteria tree.
Wisteria was a vine, and it was normal for it to rely on trees for growth. But this one was different from those he had seen before. Not only did the wisteria not excessively drain nutrients from the tree, but it actually allowed the tree to grow exceptionally tall. This single tree occupied ten times the area of other trees of the same species.
The enormous shade hung over them like a dark cloud, seemingly without end.
"This tree is way too big!" Jin Xiang, following behind, said. "I've never seen such a huge tree. I can't even see the top!"
Xu Huo walked around the tree for a look. The roots of the wisteria and the tree had grown together. It looked intimidating, but this couldn't be the cause of the entire space's abnormality. Without any obvious Spiritual Power fluctuations, how could merely some hypnotic pollen cause players to die in their sleep?
Could it be that the problem wasn't these mutated plants?
He stomped on the hard soil beneath his feet, then crouched down, casually pulling out a piece and placing it into a detection device.
"Grade A nutrient soil. Suitable for cultivating most mutated plants."
The grading of items in the game was mostly the same as player levels, with Grade A and S being the highest. The soil in this space was indeed overly fertile, no wonder the mutated plants grew so well. But these were still ordinary mutated plants, far from reaching the level of the Goddess Vine.
"Have you collected the species?" Xu Huo asked without looking up, as Jin Xiang walked back over to him.
"I'm collecting them. There aren't many unfamiliar species here, so it's going fast," Jin Xiang said. "Brother Xu, what are you looking for?"
"Looking for the cause," Xu Huo handed him the tool. "Help me dig up some soil."
Since they were here anyway, he might as well bring some back to plant the Goddess Vine.
Jin Xiang started working efficiently, digging as he spoke. "There are so many bizarre instances out there. Some even have monsters and ghosts. Surviving is enough. Why bother figuring out every single one? Besides, there are all kinds of energy in the game, most of which we've never encountered or even imagined. Even if it's right in front of us, we might not recognize it, let alone understand the principle... Hey, there's a huge rock here, and it's glowing!"