Chapter 371: Unregistered Citizen Certificate
Xu Huo entered the room, and a stack of metal square boxes that had been placed on a chair automatically lifted and moved to the table, joining those already there. They neatly stacked together and then shifted to both sides of the table.
Behind the boxes, a projection light flickered to life, though from his angle, he could only see a patch of static snow.
"You're the player who threw that train car onto the tracks, huh? Thanks to you, the Orbital Supply Department's budget for this month is pretty much all spent on towing and repairs." A messy, curly-haired head poked out from behind the boxes, belonging to a middle-aged man of some years.
Xu Huo gave an apologetic smile. "I didn't know at the time. I just wanted to get rid of the pursuing monster quickly."
"Given the situation back then, making that choice was understandable. But people who are still willing to deal with us afterward usually have one of two goals: either they want to infiltrate the base, or they want to join the base and escape the endless instances." The curly-haired man's hands kept sliding over the boxes, clearly only sparing a moment from his work to speak. "Which one are you?"
It wasn't surprising. A ticket was essentially a portable teleporter at any time. As long as they weren't in an instance, players could use the ticket to leave from anywhere. Ordinary means couldn't restrain players. Under normal circumstances, players wouldn't specifically come to the Game Government Base to register. Those willing and daring to come naturally had other motives.
Xu Huo didn't avoid the man's gaze and said frankly, "To settle down in a new place, at least I need a place to stay."
The curly-haired man lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. "The base doesn't provide any protection measures for players. If you're looking for base protection, you might have miscalculated."
Xu Huo smiled. "How could that be? The base is a fortress. If even a base built by the game isn't safe, then I don't know what place in the game is safe anymore."
The curly-haired man clicked his tongue, pulled out a metal square box, and opened it. Once the projection started, a bee-shaped aircraft aimed at his face.
"Answer if you know what I'm asking." He seemed casual. "Have you ever seen a player release a small Blood Aberration before?"
"No."
"Did you notice anything particularly unusual during the train ride?"
"That person has a deep hatred for the Orbital Supply Department. They must have come specifically to destroy the train." Xu Huo said. The Orbital Supply Department should have known this already, otherwise they wouldn't have arranged for people to be stationed on the train in advance.
The curly-haired man wasn't surprised. "Anything else?"
"That pursuing monster... it didn't seem like a living thing." Xu Huo used an uncertain tone. "When I fought it, I noticed it had no heartbeat."
The curly-haired man looked up. "You're a D-level player with only 20% evolution rate. How did you discover the Blood Aberration had no heartbeat?"
"Special evolution in hearing." Xu Huo said without changing his expression. "I can occasionally hear some unusual sounds."
"Your observational skills are pretty good, but that Blood Aberration was alive. Some individual xenomorphs undergo mutations during degeneration," the curly-haired man said. "That xenomorph had a cyst growing outside its heart. Its internal organ structure was already completely different from a human's. That's also why it grew wing bones."
"I see." Xu Huo answered a few more trivial questions before the curly-haired man tapped the communicator attached to his forearm. "Old Stone, come here."
Shi Youzhi arrived quickly. The curly-haired man said, "Take him to get an identity certificate."
Then he said to Xu Huo, "Whatever your reason for coming here, you helped us on the train. Consider this a thank you, so you don't have to apply at the 011 District Government office. The procedures there are troublesome."
Xu Huo expressed his thanks. Shi Youzhi glanced at him. "Follow me."
The two went to the room Shi Youzhi had entered earlier. Saying it was for an identity certificate, they actually only gave Xu Huo a diamond-shaped crystal chip, as thin as a layer of adhesive paper. It neither verified identity nor required inputting personal information.
"This is a citizen certificate. It's unregistered, with only a serial number. Anyone who gets their hands on it can use it. If it's lost or stolen, you can report it." Shi Youzhi said. "This thing is equivalent to a recognition certificate issued by the 011 District. You can use it to enter some high-end public places. It's valid in the main city of the 011 District's game zone and its subordinate districts."
"Not everyone can go to public areas?" Xu Huo realized that the advanced 011 District actually had a hierarchy dividing locals and outsiders.
"Of course not." Shi Youzhi gave him another look. "But there aren't many places that require identity verification."
"By the way, where can I go to buy and sell items?" Xu Huo asked further.
"There are many government-established trading posts in the main city. The prices are transparent, but they sell things quite expensively. There are also private shops run by players, and some underground channels in the nearby districts. But I advise you not to go to those places." Shi Youzhi warned.
Xu Huo smiled and thanked him, handing him a box of cigarettes bought from the hotel. "I'm new here. I don't have anything decent to offer."
Shi Youzhi snorted and took it.
The tobacco in the 011 District was long different from what Xu Huo knew as tobacco. Though called cigarettes, they were closer to potions. They could be drunk or vaporized.
The 011 District had a high degree of gamification, and its potions were rich in variety. Mild hallucinogens and stimulants added to cigarettes were legal, with all sorts of effects available. The pack he gave Shi Youzhi was specifically for relieving fatigue and was expensive.
Just then, Xu Huo's communicator flashed. Shi Youzhi glanced at it and paused his smoking action. "You know Ran Ying from the Enforcement Department?"
"I ran into her by chance after coming out of an instance." Ran Ying had called several times. He had only switched the communication to visual mode before entering the room.
Stepping outside, he answered. "Captain Ran, hello."
Ran Ying's projection appeared in the corridor. Her voice was cheerful. "Where did you run off to so early in the morning? Weren't we supposed to have a meal together?"
"That was your idea. I didn't agree." Xu Huo shook his head helplessly, then added, "But I do have some business. I came to the base to take care of a few things."
Ran Ying paused. "You have acquaintances at the base?"
"Not really acquaintances..." Before Xu Huo could finish, the glass door behind him opened. Shi Youzhi walked out and said to Ran Ying's projection, "It's me, Shi Youzhi. I called Xu Huo over to get his citizen certificate."
The communicator could only transmit the images of the two parties on the call in real time, not the surrounding environment, but the sound could still be heard.
Ran Ying raised her voice after hearing this. "Captain Shi, why are you stealing my thunder? I finally got to know a young man I like, and you go and get him his certificate. What am I supposed to do now?"
Shi Youzhi's attitude wasn't great. "The old way—throw money at it. You take a liking to someone new every few days anyway."
"Don't slander me. Those are all rumors." Ran Ying emphasized, then turned the topic back to Xu Huo. "Want to have lunch together later?"
(Chapter End)