Chapter 484: What Do You Think of My Career Prospects?
In a highly technologically advanced environment, any news can spread very quickly. Within just a few hours, the scale of the mechanical parade had doubled or tripled. The 011 District Government had to step in to maintain order, deploying not only existing maintenance agencies and the Black and White Epaulets, but even diverting some military forces to the situation.
Fortunately, the government reacted swiftly, coming up with countermeasures overnight.
First, compensation was offered to those who died, were injured, or were frightened, though the specific compensation plan was not disclosed.
Second, the club was fined and ordered to suspend operations for rectification. The club's owner would also face prosecution and could potentially end up in prison.
However, anyone who could run such a business likely had a less-than-clean background. Naturally, the nobles had their own people to negotiate matters. As for the prosecution, they could simply push forward a scapegoat; there was no need for the real backstage boss to show up.
Whether driven by burning anger or instigated by someone behind the scenes, information about the club's backstage boss was leaked online. Hackers broke into the government system, sorting out the boss along with his entire network of connections, and even pointed netizens in the right direction.
Coincidentally, this matter was also somewhat connected to the Rongxin Group. One of the shareholders was a partner in the club, and the players who had been smuggled in came through Rongxin Group's connections.
It was far too easy for a large conglomerate to dig up dirt. Before morning even arrived, someone had filed a real-name report accusing Rongxin Group of murdering employees who had once been players—specifically, the two individuals used as sacrifices in the full-dive game.
Of course, this wasn't an isolated case. Once someone started, a flood of dubious accusations followed. Within half an hour of fermentation, Rongxin had transformed from a cross-industry giant into a black-hearted factory that exploited employees and disregarded their lives.
The mechanical parade blocked the Rongxin Group's headquarters building. No amount of robots could hold back the machines flooding the streets, especially with those deliberately causing trouble.
Just as dawn was breaking, Dr. Deng sent Xu Huo a message, saying he had gone to the headquarters for a study session and ended up trapped inside the Rongxin building.
Xu Huo figured Dr. Deng was just unlucky to have caught this situation.
A moment later, he replied, "The parade will be resolved in less than half a day. Just stay put."
High technology had its advantages, but also its drawbacks. With specialized interference devices for machines and specially established laws for illegal deportation, it was inevitable that this parade wouldn't last long.
Once the machines were confiscated, anyone still wanting to cause trouble would have to take to the streets. But if they were recorded, they could be sent to other districts under 011 during the subsequent cleanup, or even thrown into districts outside of it. Who would want to leave 011?
Putting down his communicator, Xu Huo stopped paying attention to the farce and went back to his room to sleep.
It wasn't until the afternoon, when he went to the study again, that he found Bai Kou already inside. The desk and floor were covered in mechanical parts.
"Is that a cannon barrel?" Xu Huo walked over to take a look. Her movements in assembling and disassembling were extremely skilled, and she could even spare a glance at a modification manual.
"A B-class energy cannon. One shot can wipe out three buildings clean. For something like yesterday, one blast wouldn't even leave ashes behind." Bai Kou said with a smile.
Xu Huo's gaze lingered on the white metal barrel for a moment before he asked, "Where did you get this?"
"Borrowed from the military equipment reserve," Bai Kou said. "I'll return it after I'm done."
"Does the Platinum Eye's military equipment all use this kind of energy?" Xu Huo searched the desktop; the closest thing to "energy" were the two brown thin sheets beside her hand.
"These are energy sheets made from leftover energy stone scraps mixed with some high-grade energy stones. Each sheet can only be used once—they're consumables." Bai Kou had already assembled a new cannon barrel: a handheld, one-meter-long white tube with a control screen at the tail and a slot underneath for inserting the energy sheet.
Xu Huo looked closely and noticed that the control screen was something she had added herself, replacing the original simple push-button operation.
"Idiot-proof operation is just a waste of energy sheets." Bai Kou's long fingers quickly tapped across the screen, pulling up several interfaces. "Remote positioning tracking, delayed bombardment, continuous obstacle avoidance—now *that's* perfection."
She then looked up at Xu Huo. "Did Mr. Dong tell you about my background? He talks too much for someone who's supposed to keep his mouth shut."
"You're very proficient with weapons," Xu Huo commented. It was probably far more than just modifying weapons.
"Can you make items?"
Bai Kou glanced at him. "Don't be too curious."
Xu Huo crossed his arms and smiled. "Now that you're staying at my place, a little reciprocity isn't too much to ask. Besides, I'm just trying to understand."
"Most items are created by chance. Professional Artificers need certificates and special items dedicated to item-making. Under normal circumstances, items that can be deliberately made aren't very high-level, except for those given by the game system." Bai Kou said flatly. "Whether it's weapons or items, they're all money pits."
"Energy weapons use special energy stones. What about items?" Xu Huo made the connection quickly. "Is it also a new type of energy?"
"For the sake of argument, yes." Bai Kou nodded slightly. "But the materials needed to make items are even harder to find."
"The stone He Pu left me—is that also a new type of energy?" Xu Huo pressed on.
Bai Kou shot him a sideways glare. "You're really annoying."
"Did I guess right?" Xu Huo acted as if he hadn't seen her displeasure. "Is it related to making items?"
"Why ask so many questions? Can you even make items?" Bai Kou retorted with a hint of sarcasm.
"Better safe than sorry. Maybe I'll need it someday." Xu Huo said bluntly. "Isn't that why He Pu left me the stone?"
Bai Kou paused. "I suppose that makes sense."
"That stone is indeed one of the raw materials for making items. But people who can become Artificers all have a special trait. I don't think you have a chance."
"The Super Player Paper Servant Master can make items, and his items can even be sold in the game." Xu Huo said. "Doesn't that prove this trait might not be inherent from the start?"
"The Paper Servant Master was originally a craftsman by trade, and his in-game profession is related. In other words, his original development path was that of an Artificer. It's just that he became so powerful as a Super Player that people overlook his original profession." Bai Kou finished and then asked, "What's your profession?"
"Passerby A." Xu Huo lifted his chin. "What do you think of my career prospects?"
Bai Kou was about to laugh, but seeing his serious expression, she said with slight surprise, "Are you serious?"
"There are all kinds of weird professions in the game, but Passerby A? What were your other two options? Could they be worse than Passerby A?" Bai Kou asked curiously.
"In my opinion, they're not as good as Passerby A." Xu Huo didn't reveal the other options the game had given him. Instead, he turned the conversation back. "You can get into the military equipment reserve, so you're not short on firepower. Are you here for the Eerie Sound Knights?"
(End of Chapter)