Chapter 603: Generous Xu Huo
"You've made a great contribution this time. I'll put in a good word for you when we get back." Nie Xuan said amiably.
Sima Xiao'er was so happy he nearly jumped up.
Nie Xuan stopped outside the restaurant, looking at the black bacteria on the ground. "This is going to take some effort to clean up."
Xu Huo, wearing his prop shoes, came out and immediately wrapped them up before tossing them into the luggage compartment. "Better not touch it. This stuff will probably cost a whole detox fungus to deal with. But the Special Defense Department could study this bacteria—it's not uncommon for players to use poison or pollutants in the game."
Nie Xuan replied, "Team Leader Song may not be good at much, but he's pretty capable when it comes to things like this."
Both of them chuckled after speaking. Xu Huo said, "I'm going back to the hotel to wait for someone."
"When are you heading back to Ting City?" Nie Xuan checked the time. "I'll be finishing up here and going back too. I can take you along."
"Tomorrow. I'm meeting a friend for dinner." Xu Huo gestured with his chin toward Team Leader Song, who was approaching. "Team Leader Song, want to join?"
Team Leader Song's face turned green. He kicked a flowerpot sitting outside the restaurant and yelled at the Special Defense Department members looking over, "What are you staring at? Get back to work!"
Xu Huo chuckled. "Don't be so angry. What if there's a contaminant on that flowerpot? Regular antidote won't help."
Team Leader Song instinctively moved to check, but lowered his head and caught himself. Instead of trading barbs, he turned and walked away.
Xu Huo noticed Nie Xuan's gaze lingering on Song's back for a few seconds, so he said, "Things are pretty lively in the Special Defense Department."
Nie Xuan withdrew his gaze. "It's always lively. But as long as they can get things done, it doesn't matter."
"Now that you're back, it seems the border issues are mostly resolved," Xu Huo said.
"One thing after another, never-ending." Nie Xuan didn't look relaxed. Days of rushing around had left him visibly tired. "We're better off in District 014, but that's both good and bad. Internal and external imbalances keep the situation unstable. Still, the detox fungus you brought back is a timely relief. Having some hope is good."
Xu Huo nodded. "Then get to work. We'll talk later."
Nie Xuan still had Sima Xiao'er follow him. Just as they left the Tao Le Club, Xu Huo received a call from Zhou Ning. She had returned to Yang City, but patrol cars were sweeping the streets. Anyone outside had to have their identity verified, with special focus on out-of-town players. She told him to avoid patrol cars when heading back to the hotel.
"Do patrol personnel often clash with players?" Xu Huo had seen plenty of such news before.
"Can't be helped." Sima Xiao'er knew the inside story. "We've said it countless times—going out at night isn't safe. But some people just can't stay cooped up at home. When something happens to them out there, their families storm the Special Defense Department, questioning the patrol players' competence. They're all ordinary people, so we can't do much to them, and the detention center can't hold that many."
It was an unavoidable situation. Compared to other countries, this was actually better.
Xu Huo and Sima Xiao'er took a car back into the city. Sima Xiao'er had credentials, so even though they were stopped for checks several times along the way, they didn't lose much time. But after entering the city, Xu Huo clearly noticed that there were more people and cars on the streets than a few days ago—families with their belongings, as if they had moved in from elsewhere.
He searched online for information, but unfortunately, all major platforms were now dominated by the Twin Serpents incident. In no time, "professionals" had already laid out the full story, expressing both admiration and concern for his confrontation with the Special Defense Department.
In short, his fake face was all over the screen.
"No wonder those colleagues kept staring at you earlier—it's because of this!" Sima Xiao'er was scrolling through his phone too, giving a thumbs-up excitedly. "I'm with the Special Defense Department, but I have to say, Brother Xu, that was awesome just now. Besides Captain Nie, you're the person I admire most!"
Xu Huo took off his fake face. "Ask your colleagues if something's happening in Yang City."
Sima Xiao'er struck up a conversation with a patrol officer right on the roadside. After a moment, he came back with news. "There's a sudden heavy fog near the area along the national highway, so they're evacuating the local residents first. Don't worry, bro, it's still far from Yang City. Are you hungry? Want to go have hotpot?"
Sima Xiao'er, who had nearly been turned into hotpot himself, had zero psychological hang-ups. He planned to invite Zhou Ning and the Painting Woman, who had come back later, to join them. But since many shops in the city were closed today, they bought ingredients and cooked at the hotel instead.
After a hearty dinner and a good night's rest, by the next morning, reports about the foggy area near Yang City finally appeared online.
The official notice from the Special Defense Department stated that a random instance might be forming, but so far, no one had gone missing. All nearby roads were blocked, and helicopters were not allowed to pass.
Random instance entrances came in many forms. Some were small and inconspicuous, swallowing only a few people. Others appeared with mass disappearances, but usually, it was only after people went missing that a random instance could be confirmed. The appearance of this foggy area broke the usual pattern of instances.
There were related questions on the Pioneer Forum as well, until a paper by Tang Guangbo provided the most reasonable explanation.
He believed this was a manifestation of District 014's real world merging with the game world. Since the Special Defense Department had already made it clear that game zones would eventually become full game venues, the existence of the foggy area might be a precursor to the birth of a fixed instance.
Of course, it wasn't necessarily the birth of a fixed instance. It could also be an environmental change caused by the merging process. Such changes would inevitably expand the scope of evolution. From now on, the people of District 014 would have to worry not only about cannibal players, xenomorph toxins, and small animal mutations in the city, but also large-scale plant and animal mutations. They needed to prepare in advance for attacks from mutated creatures, build defensive structures, stockpile supplies, and strengthen supervision over key resources like reservoirs and planting bases.
Additionally, Tang Guangbo specifically emphasized the mutation of toxic substances. Besides naturally poisonous things, there were also pollutants created by humans in the past—bacterial mutations were even more terrifying than toxic plants and animals.
In fact, some had already experienced nature's backlash. Under this post, a player revealed that a garbage processing plant near his home had produced a bacteria that made people itch all over. It spread through the air and could be transmitted between people. It wasn't fatal for now, but there was no good treatment. Walking down the street, the whole town looked like they had a plague, their faces covered in pus-filled bumps—a living hell!
With District 014's environment deteriorating, there were already comments on the forum about settling in other game zones. However, the original poster was attacked, with the general sentiment being that he was a coward who could even abandon his family.
But the poster replied to others, saying he knew a way to transfer ordinary people to other zones. If they wanted to know, they could buy the information from him.
Some believed him and wanted to buy, while others questioned and attacked him. Xu Huo didn't finish reading that thread. He registered a small account and generously posted the method for obtaining non-player train tickets, along with some information about the Game Government and gray players.
(End of Chapter)