Chapter 3017: Instance Dungeon Here
Regardless of what Zong Lanzhi and Xiao Yue and the others thought, that night, their people still arrived in Jing City.
Although the list originally submitted to the Enforcement Department was not all the core members, in order to secure more seats for their own people in the department, they had provided enough names. Unfortunately, that list had now become Xu Huo's roll call. Anyone on it who failed to show up might face unpredictable consequences.
"Is he not going to deal with the starship matter?" Xiao Yue asked anxiously. "He just came out of an instance dungeon and now he's going into another one?"
"Those starships were empty to begin with. They were probably just probes from other districts to test his strength. Now that they know he still holds such a super item, they might not make another move." Zong Lanzhi's expression remained grim. "Besides, the other side only sent three ships. Perhaps they never intended to escalate things further."
As for Xu Huo's condition... Zong Lanzhi also had a Mental Super Evolver by his side, and Xu Huo's appearance suggested something had gone wrong with his mental evolution.
Unlike Spatial Evolution, Mental Evolution was a secondary development of the brain. It was hard to say how serious a small accidental issue in the middle of it could be. Since it acted on the brain, anything was possible.
If Xu Huo lost control... The thought flashed through Zong Lanzhi's mind, but he didn't believe the top genius of District 014 would lose control. Being able to master three types of Super Evolution in such a short time meant he couldn't possibly stumble on mental evolution. Even if he did, it would never reach the point of complete loss of self-control. His current demands were probably more out of impatience with them.
Realizing this, Zong Lanzhi felt both relieved and stifled. On one hand, he was glad Xu Huo wouldn't suddenly kill them all; on the other, he felt humiliated that they had to bow their heads just because Xu Huo wanted to vent his anger.
But when you're under someone else's roof, you have to lower your head.
"It might not be a bad thing," Zong Lanzhi said. "District 014 is at a critical stage of integration. There are already few high-level players with real strength, and so many Super Evolvers are all future combat power for the district. Killing us all would be a loss to the entire district."
"Even if it's a mental-type instance dungeon, it's unlikely to be an A-rank instance like the Wang Family Manor. Going in to closely observe how Xu Huo clears it will be helpful to us."
"You're quite optimistic," Xiao Yue said ambiguously.
Zong Lanzhi had many Super Evolvers around him, including Mental Super Evolvers. With Xu Huo as a safety net, this was a rare learning opportunity.
As for Xiao Yue's side, the people on the list were either young masters cultivated by local forces or wild cards with no formal background. Super Evolvers were extremely rare among them. Going in would only mean being beaten down and humiliated!
But no matter how unwilling they were, they had to comply.
Before dawn the next day, the two received a message containing only an address.
When Zong Lanzhi and Xiao Yue arrived, they found an abandoned tourist town. At the town's entrance stood a warning sign that read: "Instance Dungeon Here."
Zong Lanzhi and Xiao Yue exchanged glances, then nodded to their respective people before slowly stepping through the gate.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the scenery before them changed. The clear sky turned gray and overcast, and ahead of them was no longer the small town but the entrance to a hospital.
"Seventeenth Hospital," a young player following Xiao Yue read the hospital's name and couldn't help commenting, "Just the name sounds ominous. Sister Xiao, you guys have to protect me!"
About a third of Xiao Yue's group were dead weight. To gain support from local forces, the player organization had agreed to give them some of the Enforcement Department slots. In essence, these people were here to get official positions and pad their resumes. Now they had all become burdens.
"You've been in instance dungeons before. You all know what to watch out for," Xiao Yue reminded them again. "This is a mental-type instance. Don't look around randomly or think unnecessary thoughts. If you notice anything unusual, communicate with your teammates immediately. Don't act on a whim."
Everyone acknowledged, though some looked impatient. But before coming, Xiao Yue had explained the cause of this incident. They couldn't avoid it, nor did they dare show too much defiance.
Zong Lanzhi's group was much more stable. People without a certain level of strength wouldn't even dare to join their team. So after entering and receiving the instance notification, they actually felt relieved.
"C-rank instance. Shouldn't be too hard," Jiang Ke said in a low voice. "But I don't see Mr. Xu."
"Should we wait?" Xiao Yue asked.
"No waiting," Zong Lanzhi said after a moment's thought. "If he wanted to enter the instance with us, he would have come earlier. Just giving us the address makes his intention clear."
"Three clearance tasks. Completing any one of them will allow you to clear," Xiao Yue said. "Since it's not dark yet, let's familiarize ourselves with the hospital first."
The hospital's glass door was closed, and the security booth next to it was completely empty.
"This hospital is way too quiet. It can't be empty, can it?" One of Xiao Yue's people said as he reached for the door.
"Zhuang He!" Xiao Yue instinctively called out to him, but the next second, figures appeared behind the previously empty glass door. Not only at the entrance, but in the distant buildings, shadows seemed to flicker in an instant. The third inpatient building, in particular, looked as if it were entirely wrapped in metal cages, adding immense pressure.
Zhuang He awkwardly withdrew his hand and muttered under his breath, "This can't be my fault, can it?"
Xiao Yue took a deep breath. "In an instance dungeon, think less about useless things."
The two groups entered the gate. A nurse walking toward them smiled warmly and asked, "Everyone, please register at the outpatient building. Patients may tour the inpatient wards and treatment rooms accompanied by family members."
Zong Lanzhi and Xiao Yue exchanged a look. The former asked, "Can family members stay overnight here?"
The long-haired nurse turned back and smiled at him. "Of course not, unless the director permits it."
"Then can we visit the director?" Zong Lanzhi continued.
"Today is not the director's reception day. You won't be able to see him." The long-haired nurse's smile remained unchanged, her demeanor strictly businesslike.
After the group entered the outpatient building, two more nurses came over with registration books. "Patients, please come and register."
"With a hospital this big, can't you do electronic registration?" Xiao Yue was worried that writing names on paper might lead to unexpected trouble.
"We have that too. We register first, then input everything uniformly," the nurse said. "Our hospital always keeps double records. That way, whether the machines are damaged or the hospital catches fire, the patients' information won't be lost."
Just then, Zhuang He waved to the group and pointed to a sign hanging by the building's door: "Players, please be careful to distinguish between your own identity and that of the patient."