Chapter 541: Canyon Encounter
"I've heard from Yi Mao and the others that some people can go their whole lives without working." Zhuo Wangsun said. "In other game districts, if such a policy were implemented, the government would probably have collapsed long ago. Clown City has a considerable population, yet it's managed to maintain itself so well."
"After all, they send so many people into the Cleanup Zone every year." Xu Huo mused. Clown City's population-attracting policy and the cleanup missions were essentially canceling each other out. Since the cleanup missions seemed meaningless from the perspective of eliminating Xenomorphs, could it be for experimentation?
That didn't make sense either. Infections like Jin Dong's weren't severe and had no value as experimental samples.
"Can you see any issues with this map?" Master Tu couldn't help asking.
Xu Huo glanced at him but didn't say much. Instead, he turned to Zhuo Wangsun. "I'm planning to check out the canyon area."
Zhuo Wangsun naturally indicated he would go too. "What about these two kids?"
"Leave them here." Xu Huo said.
Zhuo Wangsun looked at Master Tu and the others.
"We won't do anything to those two children." Master Tu said.
"Can your words be trusted?" Zhuo Wangsun countered.
"If you're really worried, you can send the kids back to the ground fissure." Master Tu said. "Since Gao Peng and the others have been killed, the remaining people won't go down into the fissure to catch anyone."
Xu Huo changed into a protective suit, pausing as he pulled the hood over his head. He swept his gaze over Master Tu and the others. "You're all coming with me."
"Why?" The young people panicked, one after another saying they didn't want to leave the building, that they were no match for the Xenomorphs, and that they definitely wouldn't survive outside.
"I'm not negotiating with you." Xu Huo pulled out his gun holster, tucked the pistol into his waistband, then picked out a few decent submachine guns from their supplies and stored them in his luggage compartment. Only then did he say, "You can choose to die here or shed your last drop of blood for Clown City."
Master Tu ground his teeth. "Isn't this just sending us straight to our deaths?"
"You can choose not to go." Xu Huo said flatly. He turned and nodded to Zhuo Wangsun, picked up Xue Gao, and jumped directly through the hole in the second-floor floor. After landing, he put a bullet in the chest of the burned, shaved-headed man, then pointed his gun at the others. "Grab your things and get out."
The first and second floors weren't soundproof. In fact, the people downstairs had heard most of what was said upstairs. In total, there were over twenty people—some angry, some despairing—but even with guns in their hands, they didn't dare fire at Xu Huo.
Master Tu and his group quickly came down as well. After distributing food and water to the others, they put on their protective suits and trudged out of the building with dejected expressions.
"Where are the kids?" Zhuo Wangsun asked Xu Huo. "Send them back?"
"You watch them. I'll be back soon." Xu Huo took Yu Wan and quickly left the building, heading to the place where he had first encountered Yu Wan.
He placed the two into the underground passage and instructed Yu Wan, "Hide here. Don't come out, and don't go back. If someone comes, hide deeper inside. I'll come back for you when I'm done."
Yu Wan urgently grabbed his hand and gestured: Will you die?
Xu Huo paused, left him two antidotes, and gave him a pistol. "Do you know how to use it?"
Yu Wan nodded.
"Good." Xu Huo made no promises. He pulled the manhole cover back into place.
The city was still some distance from the canyon. Under the scorching heat, Master Tu and the others, who hadn't exercised in a long time, were already exhausted before they even left the city. Complaints were rampant, but after Xu Huo shot two young men who had started scheming, the rest quickly fell back into line.
Zhuo Wangsun didn't fully understand his intention in bringing these people along, but when he looked ahead, he saw a group of half-dead individuals mixed with two Xenomorphs—Xu Huo had covered himself entirely in a protective suit. Without glasses, he looked like a normal person.
"Which district are you from?" He struck up a conversation with Xu Huo. "Compared to Clown City, my hometown is much more backward. It only entered the game not long ago. I was pretty lucky, had a small fortune, and got a huge advantage on the preliminary train."
"I just don't know when I'll become a D-rank player."
"If your rating is high enough, a few fixed instances can get you to D-rank." Xu Huo said. "But besides leveling up, the biggest advantage is probably the extra luggage compartment for storing supplies."
Zhuo Wangsun laughed at this. "That benefit isn't very obvious. Just one luggage compartment—it's even more of a rip-off than the preliminary train."
"The game's attitude toward players is the same as Clown City's attitude toward warriors." Xu Huo said. "Except Clown City's cleanup missions can end, but the game cannot."
Zhuo Wangsun slowly sighed, staring at the road ahead with a sudden thought. "Could Clown City itself be a game? Like real-life combat?"
He shook his head and dismissed the idea himself. "That shouldn't be possible. What government would be crazy enough to go this far? Killing so many people—it's not just a matter of strong psychological fortitude anymore."
Xu Huo didn't respond. Instead, he looked ahead and said, "Someone's coming."
A moment later, several people rushed out from a nearby grove, shouting at them, "Don't shoot! We're not Xenomorphs!"
"Xenomorphs!" Someone in the group fired in panic. Half of the people who came out died on the spot. One wounded person fell to the ground, wailing, "I'm not a Xenomorph! Why are you killing me?!"
"Everyone stop!" Zhuo Wangsun charged forward and kicked away the person who was about to shoot again. "Are you deaf?! Didn't you hear him shouting?!"
The kicked man was equally furious. "They've already been infected! If we let them come over, we might all be doomed! You might want to die, but we don't!"
With that, he ignored the obstruction and raised his gun again. But before he could pull the trigger, his head jerked violently, a spray of blood erupted, and he collapsed to the ground.
Everyone turned to look at Xu Huo, who had fired the shot.
After quelling this brief conflict, Xu Huo walked over to the two survivors. "Where did you come from?"
Still shaken, the two stammered, "The canyon... from the canyon..."
Before they could finish, a person suddenly shot out from the grove, leaping over ten meters into the air to look down at them. "I thought it was just a few small cats, but I didn't expect so many to come at once!"
With that, he opened fire downward.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Bullets sprayed across the ground, but they clearly deviated from their original trajectory, hitting no one. As Master Tu and the others tried to flee, the hovering player looked down at the line on his arm and frowned in warning. "Mind your own business!"
Xu Huo didn't give him a second chance to raise his gun. He yanked the kite string, pulling the man down. At the same time, Zhuo Wangsun drew his long blade and swung at the landing player, but the strike was deflected by bullets that followed closely!
"There are more people in the grove!" Zhuo Wangsun shouted back. But Xu Huo had already used the small note launcher to inject a needle into the player opposite him, pulling the man in front of him and resting his longsword against his neck.