Chapter 576: Looking for Trouble?
Dai Wenqian had cultivated his composure to a high level. Not only did he not get angry, but he said, "We don't have any irreconcilable conflicts either. I'm not here to dredge up old grudges this time, but to discuss a transaction with you."
"Doesn't the Special Defense Department care about players like you?" Xu Huo set down his water glass.
"The Special Defense Department isn't fast. Even if they come to a conclusion, it won't be applied to us first," Dai Wenqian said. "You should still have some spares on hand. Sell them to me. You can name your terms."
Xu Huo laughed upon hearing this. "Quite the bold claim. I wonder if you can offer better terms than the Special Defense Department."
Dai Wenqian was silent for two seconds before saying, "Xu Huo, there's no need for us to be so confrontational. In the current situation, wouldn't a strong alliance be better?"
"The government-recognized player associations and the player organizations established by the players themselves—their numbers and scale are both large. Although the Special Defense Department has also absorbed quite a few players, they won't feel comfortable using civilian players. As far as I know, the Special Defense Department has been selecting suitable people from the military to become players, and it's been quite effective."
"Once the military players rise, there won't be any place for us. If you want to survive, it's always right to plan more for yourself. Besides, I still have so many players under me counting on me."
"You're the same. You can enter the game, but you can't just abandon your family, can you?"
"For now, it hasn't come to that. But if a real situation arises, do you think the Special Defense Department people will be so easy to deal with?"
After hearing him out, Xu Huo finally said, "I'm not worried about the Special Defense Department threatening me by using my family. But what you said reminds me—when I got back, I received a message from my family saying someone has been watching them nearby. Was that you?"
His tone didn't change, but Dai Wenqian could sense the threat through the phone.
"Your family is under the Special Defense Department's protection. How would I dare?" His voice turned slightly deeper. "Xu Huo, cooperating with me has no downsides. There are more and more players, and their methods are hard to guard against. You don't want to come home for a visit one day and find yourself surrounded and chased by a bunch of players, do you..."
Xu Huo hung up the phone directly and turned to send a message to Team Leader Wu.
"I'll have Team Leader Song restrain his people," Team Leader Wu replied quickly.
Not long after, Sima Xiao'er returned and skillfully prepared the meal.
After eating, Xu Huo saw him looking idle and asked, "Don't you usually participate in training?"
Liu Jia had also joined the Special Defense Department. For players lacking basic skills, the department would provide training.
"I've finished the physical training, but I can't handle the rest." Sima Xiao'er scratched his head. "The branch office hired special teachers to give lectures, teaching us how to analyze instances. I just can't learn it."
"Don't laugh at me, Brother Xu. In my first few instances, I got through by bribing other players. My brain just doesn't work that way—I can't analyze instances. But finding the strongest player is always the right move."
"What if you encounter a solo instance?" Xu Huo asked.
E-rank instances were all multiplayer. There were no clear groupings or hostile relationships. In most cases, all players shared the same goal, so cooperation was common. But things would be different later on. As players leveled up, the instances would also increase in difficulty.
For example, the Rose Castle instance boss's disguise, the infiltration of non-instance players, and the ghost-catching game disguised as a clearance requirement in the Deep Blue Laboratory—all of this happened even with restrictions on the venue and number of participants.
"I know the instances will only get harder in the future," Sima Xiao'er said dejectedly. "But I just can't think of the things others can. What can I do?"
"Does the Special Defense Department arrange for players to mentor other players?" Xu Huo changed the subject.
"They do, but there are very few people for it." Sima Xiao'er said. "Everyone's busy leveling up now. Hands-on guidance isn't realistic."
"Player status can be paused." Xu Huo revealed. "Once you reach D-rank, you can apply to the Game Government or the District Government to pause your player status. You won't have to do instances every month."
Sima Xiao'er was overjoyed. "There's such a good thing?"
Xu Huo glanced at him. "The application isn't that easy either. The minimum requirement is to work for one of those two governments."
Sima Xiao'er beamed. "It's better to work for my own country than for someone else. I'll apply once District 014 develops later."
Xu Huo appreciated his optimism and asked further, "Has there been any special incident in District 014 recently?"
"I know a bit about this," Sima Xiao'er said. "Some strange magnetic fields have appeared in remote mountains and forests. Experts who went in to explore didn't find anything else, but they said it's a sign of District 014 merging with the game. Eventually, District 014 will become part of the game, and instances will appear here, blurring the line between instance worlds and the real world."
Xu Huo nodded. This was inevitable. It was just unclear what standards a new district had to meet to fully integrate into the game.
But for now, full integration wasn't a good thing. Once high-level players could move freely in District 014, a considerable number of high-level players would be needed to maintain order.
"Nothing else much," Sima Xiao'er thought for a moment before adding, "But I heard from people in other departments that some strange people have been buying property in a few big cities recently."
"The government is very strict with household registration now. Every asset transaction is recorded in detail, and that's how they found these people who suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
"Illegal identities?" Xu Huo became interested.
"Legal, actually. Too legal, in fact." Sima Xiao'er said. "They're using the IDs of missing persons."
"There have been quite a few missing person cases recently. Many people have records. No matter where these people came from, their IDs and the facial recognition in the system all match. But some people did say they shouldn't be the real person."
"Also, no matter what these missing persons did before or whether they had money, after they 'came back,' they spent money to buy property or shops in prosperous areas. But the shops they opened are usually repair shops or toy stores."
This sounded familiar. Normally, players wouldn't care about property or household registration. They had no use for it. But last time in Hai City, the Painting Woman had obtained the right to use paper over a vast area by acquiring land use rights from the government. This meant that the District Government's authority over household registration and property was recognized by the game, and through this method, it could affect certain props.
"Are these people players?" Xu Huo paused before asking again.
"They seem like it, but they don't. They don't seem to have to enter instances." Sima Xiao'er said. "The Special Defense Department also investigated. If there's anything special, it's that they sell things at extremely high prices. They accept both our paper currency and White Notes."
"Are there any such shops in Ting City?"
"Not in Ting City." Sima Xiao'er sized him up. "Brother Xu, do you know what these shops are for? Are you looking for trouble?"
(Chapter End)