Chapter 315: Spiritual Medium
Tan Yang was about to say something, but Xu Huo raised his hand to stop him. "This has nothing to do with sincerity or bargaining chips. I simply don't want to get involved in your affairs."
Tan Yang was quite surprised by his words. After a pause, he said, "Mr. Xu's actions in Jing City don't seem like someone who doesn't want to get involved."
"That was just me being in a bad mood and finding a few punching bags on the side." Xu Huo said flatly. "Instead of looking for me, you'd be better off approaching the Special Defense Department."
"The country can't possibly recruit all players. They should be very willing to support you in establishing an association."
"Many members of the association are unwilling to deal with the Special Defense Department." Huang Junjie said tactfully.
Xu Huo flicked his cigarette. "If that's the case, your association won't last long anyway. You might as well disband it early."
"What did you say!" A young man behind Tan Yang couldn't help but interject, but was silenced by someone beside him covering his mouth.
Xu Huo glanced at him then withdrew his gaze, calmly asking, "What will Zone 04 look like in the future?"
The group was puzzled by his sudden change of topic, their expressions showing confusion. Huang Junjie hesitated. "Are you referring to Zone 04's prospects?"
"A professor on the forum once said that perhaps sooner or later, the entire world will be merged into the game. By then, Zone 04 will have no distinction between game zones and reality zones, and all countries will become game grounds." Tan Yang immediately caught on. "But this has little to do with dealing with the Special Defense Department. We're establishing the association simply to give those surviving in the cracks a place to call home."
"If one day in the future, Zone 04 is merged into the game, it will inevitably have to interact with other game zones. If they have advanced weapons, will you buy them? If they have special items, will you buy them?" Xu Huo countered. "Outer zone players have even invaded Zone 04 before. Can you completely sever ties with them?"
"What's so hard about that?" The young man pulled away his companion's hand and quickly said, "The game world is so vast. Have players from every game zone come to Zone 04? Can't we just do business with other zones?"
Xu Huo laughed at that. "Outside Zone 04, we have no friends."
The game world was that cruel. It wasn't just the game treating newly formed zones as adversaries—all zones were enemies.
Tan Yang and Huang Junjie had already caught on. The young man, half-understanding, said, "Isn't it said that there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests?"
"Seems like you've thought it through quite clearly." Xu Huo gave a faint smile, then continued, "Even if weapons and items could be self-sufficient, what if in the future, essential survival resources become scarce, and the people who possess those resources are the ones who once invaded Zone 04?"
The scene cooled for a moment, then Tan Yang quickly said, "You're right. We've oversimplified the problem. Compared to our conflict with the Special Defense Department, the real life-and-death struggle in the future will be with other game zones, and even with the game itself."
"You have people in the hands of the Special Defense Department. You might as well use this opportunity for dialogue." Xu Huo stood up to leave, but Tan Yang also rose, his expression more agitated than before. "Mr. Xu, you can see so far ahead. Why not join the association and unite the players? We sincerely invite you. Won't you reconsider?"
"I have my own matters to attend to." Xu Huo didn't stop walking, but heard the person behind him say, "Mr. Xu, you don't have to refuse us so quickly. You can think it over and give us your answer later. Although you killed the Iron Triangle's people just now, their leader wasn't among them. We can go deal with him right now..."
"No need." Xu Huo didn't look back and walked straight out of the room.
Tan Yang still didn't want to give up, but when he chased after him, there wasn't even a shadow of a person outside the door.
Xu Huo went to Yuan Yao's location.
"Find anything useful?" he asked.
Yuan Yao was hiding behind a trash can keeping watch. Startled by his sudden appearance, he quickly gestured for him to crouch down. "Brother Xu, you're like a ghost appearing and disappearing. You nearly scared the heart attack out of me."
Composing himself, he lowered his voice and said, "When you guys were wrapping things up in the mall, there were indeed people watching from the sidelines. Probably four or five groups."
"Among them were Team Leader Song's people. There was a female player I recognized from seeing her come and go with Dai Wenqian. The rest had their faces covered, including one wearing a triangular mask. I figured that triangular mask guy had bad intentions, so I chose to follow him. Just now I heard him on the phone with a foreigner, getting chewed out like a grandson... That bastard sure enjoys being someone else's lackey!"
Xu Huo nodded. "Send his location to Team Leader Wu. No need to deal with him further. Go rendezvous with Zhou Ning and the others and take out the few players Dai Wenqian sent to the hospital."
Yuan Yao naturally complied, but asked, "Is Dai Wenqian trying to harm you?"
"His reach is too long. If he doesn't break a bone, he won't learn his lesson." Xu Huo said. "You go first. I'll follow shortly."
Yuan Yao wanted to say more, but when he looked up, there was no one there. A sudden cool breeze blew past, and he vigorously rubbed his arms. "Brother Xu hasn't kicked the bucket, has he? Even a ghost isn't as ethereal as him..."
Xu Huo didn't want to travel with him, but currently he could only influence people's minds. His body wasn't even substantial, so he couldn't participate in combat.
The few players on Dai Wenqian's side weren't strong. Zhou Ning's trait, combined with mental influence, would be enough to handle them.
He had more important things to do.
The three walking personalities scattered in the darkness returned to the hospital, which had just been searched by the Special Defense Department and bore traces of an explosion, looking like a complete mess.
But this was also the place where he felt the most abundant power.
When the hospital fell into darkness, he had actually regained consciousness. The secondary evolution had placed a heavy burden on his body, and there was no other way but to digest it himself. Unexpectedly, after the dimensional space descended, he suddenly discovered he could control the release of his mental power and successfully split off three people, entering Zone 04 from the dimensional space.
He and Professor Lan and the others had disappeared together. His main body was still in the dimensional space, but his mental power could cross this boundary.
He had tried to control objects outside but failed. Influencing others was limited to areas shrouded in darkness. In other words, without this medium, he couldn't directly apply his mental power to people.
Now he clearly felt it was becoming difficult. Mental control was nearing its limit, so he had to return to his body before that, using this method to understand the medium that served as a spiritual bridge.
Arriving at the warehouse, he lay down in his original position. The three figures overlapped and then vanished from the spot again.
Opening his eyes once more, Xu Huo saw a face with pursed lips magnified before him. He raised his hand to push against the other's forehead and slowly sat up. "Don't want your allowance anymore, do you?"
The Painting Woman looked at him aggrievedly, her fingers flying across the keyboard, then she said, "I was just worried about you."
Xu Huo paused. "Where did you learn that?"
The Painting Woman held up a small comic on her phone.