Chapter 2965: A Player-Dominated World
"Not hungry, not hungry, I'm not hungry!" Xiao Mei quickly shook her head, then lowered her head and said, "I didn't see your faces clearly. I won't tell anyone. Please don't kill me!"
"Why would we kill you?" one of them said. "You're not a Cannibal Player. Besides, it doesn't matter if you tell anyone. Who has the energy to care about others right now?"
Having just gone through a huge emotional rollercoaster, Xiao Mei couldn't help but sob. "I finally settled down in a big city. I just saved up enough money to rent a decent place. I don't want to die..."
The two players were helpless because they couldn't get out either.
"Look on the bright side—live one day at a time." The two men exchanged glances, then laughed out loud. They seemed to have a very open-minded attitude.
"Can I follow you?" Xiao Mei suddenly looked up. "Everyone else in the mall has already left. I don't dare go home alone. Can you take me with you? I know where the mall owner lives. He has a collection of many items!"
"Is the owner a player?" one player asked.
Xiao Mei shook her head. "He's an ordinary person, just rich. He's probably preparing to become a player in the future."
"We'll trust you this once." The two pulled her up and asked her to lead the way.
The mall owner didn't live far. The three didn't plan to rob him openly; they intended to use their old methods. But they didn't expect the box the owner used to store his items to be specially made. When they opened it, it triggered an alarm. The elderly man in the next bedroom was startled awake by the alarm and suddenly fell into a state of suffocation.
Hearing the sound of someone collapsing, the two players quickly grabbed the items and prepared to run. But at that moment, the owner came out with a gun and opened fire wildly in their direction.
The two were only D-level players, not quick enough to react. One of them was hit in the arm. Enraged, he kicked the owner flying.
The owner rolled onto the bed, dizzy from the impact. When he got up, he only saw three retreating figures. He looked into the next room and saw his elderly father's face had turned purple—he was already dead.
The owner called the police. Photos of the two players and Xiao Mei were sent to the phones of the Special Defense Department players on patrol—and they already had thousands of such wanted photos in their hands.
Even during this special period, the Special Defense Department strictly followed procedures for the violent incidents reported by residents, but they were given lower priority.
"More and more ordinary people are committing crimes." The Special Defense Department members had already reached this consensus.
It hadn't been long since they entered the instance, so players could still keep their composure. But ordinary people didn't have such strong psychological endurance. Aside from those who already harbored malicious intentions, most were adopting a "what's done is done" mentality. At this point, moral restraint plummeted. If time went on a little longer, legal restraint would also weaken, and the rate of ordinary people committing crimes would increase significantly.
"At this rate, no matter how many people we have, it won't be enough." The Special Defense Department players were also becoming restless. Many of them had families in Jing City. They had originally thought it would be safer here. Who would have expected an attack by the Eerie Sound Knights and being trapped in an A-level random instance?
And it was an A-level instance. How many people in the entire 014 Zone had actually completed an A-level instance?
In fact, the situation was more severe than imagined. Aside from impulsive crimes, many people had spontaneously gathered together, secretly planning to incite more people to demand answers from the government. Among them were those with ulterior motives, but in this high-pressure environment, many had lost their ability to discern the truth. They just wanted to get out, so they began to suspect the government's intentions in restricting players from evacuating ordinary people.
Soon, rumors that the government had abandoned the city began to circulate.
Some people on online platforms confidently claimed that the families of high-ranking officials living nearby had already been sent away. Others said government personnel had already evacuated, and that preventing players from evacuating and ordinary people from dispersing was only to close the instance, because they planned to come back afterward.
In addition, rumors that the government intended to kill some ordinary people to maintain the city's operations were also spreading like wildfire.
Fear spread like a plague through every corner of the city. If the players weren't strong enough, the streets would have long ceased to be as calm as they were now.
Xu Huo glanced at his communicator. Some players had posted all their analysis of the instance and the government's response strategies on online platforms, concluding that to clear the instance and save the city, reducing the population was the only viable option. As the news spread, it became distorted. Many people, after thinking it over, felt it made sense and could no longer wait quietly at home.
One by one, residents began taking to the streets.
In a super-large city with tens of millions of people, how could the few Special Defense Department players maintaining order possibly stop them?
"Someone's fighting." The Painting Woman craned her neck to look at the street in the distance. Even from two streets away, they could hear people arguing loudly over there.
"I want someone from the government to come out and give us an explanation! Why won't they let us leave!"
"It's been said it's for the sake of clearing the instance. What good does causing trouble now do besides making it harder to clear? Do you think running out will get you out of the instance?"
"Whether I can leave is one thing, but we can't be kept in the dark. What's really going on with this instance? People are dying almost every minute, and the government is doing nothing. Are they waiting until we're all dead to take action?"
"You're not the only one anxious—everyone is. Can you help clear the instance? If you're so capable, go ahead!"
"I'm not a player. It's not up to me to figure out how to clear it. I just want to know if the government really plans to sacrifice us. Why can the rich and powerful leave while we can't!"
"If you have evidence, show it! Stop spreading rumors and inciting people!"
"Everyone knows whether it's a rumor or not. What are you barking about, you lackey!"
Those who wanted the truth and those trying to persuade everyone to stay calm started cursing each other. As the argument escalated, it turned physical. The two sides were pulling and pushing, and it looked like it was about to turn into a mass brawl. The Special Defense Department players activated their devices to separate and isolate the crowd.
"Step back!" A team leader landed on a streetlamp by the roadside and shouted loudly at the people pounding on the barrier.
After the crowd quieted down, he swept his gaze over them with extreme coldness and ordered his team members: "Drive them back. Anyone who doesn't cooperate, take them down directly. No need to report."
More than twenty players appeared silently around the buildings on both sides of the street. They stared at the people on the ground with silent impatience, each one like an ink dot about to merge into the darkness.
Although the numbers were vastly unequal, the appearance of these players still made the people on the street hold their breath. They felt the pressure, and more importantly, they sensed the players' emotions. Many realized that they were inside the instance. Even if these players actually killed people, the government would certainly not pursue it afterward, since the mortality rate for ordinary people in random instances was already high.
The people who had been loudly demanding answers fell silent. Seeing those behind them starting to disperse, they gritted their teeth and quietly slipped away.
The team leader looked around, then in the next instant appeared on the rooftop where Xu Huo and the Painting Woman were standing. He slightly bowed his head in greeting. "Mr. Xu."
Xu Huo nodded. Without saying anything more, he called the Painting Woman and left.
When they returned to the safe zone, Minister Ji and a few others were pacing anxiously at the entrance. Seeing him, they hurried over. "Mr. Xu, what you said earlier to the siblings Xiang Yao and Xiang Mi... Do you have an idea for clearing the instance?"
Xu Huo looked into the safe zone. "Haven't you made a decision yet?"
Minister Ji paused, then heard him continue: "The game world is a player-dominated world."