Chapter 658: The Special Defense Department's Grand Gift
The bounty platform offered quite a bit of transaction information, but in Xu Huo's view, the least effective space items still required close to a million White Notes. Unfortunately, he currently had no money in his pocket, and he still owed Little Pink Hat the prop dress he had promised.
The few Y Country players he had killed earlier weren't particularly wealthy either; their total White Notes amounted to less than a million, which wasn't enough to buy a space item that wasn't even particularly handy. As for props, those Y Country players weren't exactly rich. The best among their belongings were three C-grade items. One was a camouflage coat that allowed the wearer to blend in with the environment, taken from the invisible player who had been guarding the low-lying area. It could conceal one's form but not hide their breathing.
There was also a protective suit that secreted a sticky fluid, the remains of the player who had been tailing him halfway. Its effect was that once worn, the suit would automatically secrete a liquid with extremely high viscosity, capable of sticking to any surface. The downside was that once stuck, it might be impossible to remove. This item had to be used in conjunction with a special agent to be effective.
The third item was the mirror belonging to the player in the building, "Danger Makes People Blind." This prop had excellent effects, but its usage conditions were troublesome. It required the target's eyes to be reflected in the mirror for it to take effect, regardless of whether the target actually saw the mirror or their own reflection in it.
Even if they were doing business with an Artificer, Y Country would certainly hold back in their transactions. The limited high-grade props they acquired would naturally be given to more important players, which made sense.
As for thermal weapons, aside from energy guns and cannons that consumed Energy Stones, none could enter the luggage compartment. So there wasn't much to prepare in advance. He split the list he had written into two copies: one he gave to Gu Yu to help with purchasing, and the other he posted on the Vanguard Player forum.
Of course, the Special Defense Department learned about the Vanguard forum news immediately. Minister Fan and the team leaders sat together, all feeling that Xu Huo had gone mad.
It wasn't hard to guess that he wanted to cause trouble in Y Country. The Special Defense Department had even planned to keep it a secret for him, but unexpectedly, he had leaked the information himself. Even if there were no foreign players on the Vanguard forum, word could still spread through word of mouth. By then, no matter what he planned to do, it would be even more difficult.
"Look at this list he made—military bases, experimental bases, virus research institutes... Does he think these places can be found just by looking at a satellite?" Team Leader Wu said loudly. "He doesn't know his limits. Does he plan to go around causing trouble one place at a time?"
The other team leaders remained silent. After a while, Team Leader Chang finally spoke up: "Old Wu, don't smile so obviously. You're making it hard for everyone to respond."
Team Leader Wu coughed and said to Minister Fan at the head of the table, "We have to help with this, right? Those players on the forum are just going to stir up trouble blindly."
Indeed, Xu Huo had only posted a single list, and already people below were forming groups to go to Y Country for revenge, actively providing all sorts of strange information. The sources were supposedly foreign friends and relatives, or "secret discoveries" during travels, or information accidentally leaked abroad, and so on.
In the eyes of Team Leader Wu and the others, none of this was reliable.
"I have a question," Jiang Qiao said. "Is he really going to Y Country?"
"Haven't you seen the report Nie Xuan submitted?" Minister Fan said. "He's already found his route."
"I'm not doubting his determination, just the success rate of this plan," Jiang Qiao said. "Transferring through foreign planes into Y Country is too difficult. It's hard to avoid detection. He might be intercepted before he even sets off."
"To be blunt, his infiltration plan is too simplistic. There's no way it can succeed."
From an insider's perspective, Xu Huo's arrangements were indeed laughable. Not to mention that this was a special time when Y Country would only tighten entry controls, but even under normal circumstances, this plan would be hard to pull off.
"It's a pity we don't have a space item that can cross hemispheres," Team Leader Lu said slowly. Under the slightly surprised gazes of the others, she continued, "I don't understand what everyone is struggling with. No matter what he wants to do or whether he succeeds, it doesn't cost us anything. Our Special Defense Department doesn't intend to start an international war, but we truly have no ability to monitor all players."
"Just as Y Country's players 'voluntarily' came to our country, how can our country's players completely follow the Special Defense Department's orders? The player era has begun. Isn't this underestimating the players?"
These words moved Minister Fan. "Indeed, things are different now. With the advent of the player era, the government's control capabilities will only weaken."
"However, in this matter, our Special Defense Department can still contribute."
He nodded to his secretary, who encrypted a file on the computer and uploaded it to the forum.
"Xu Huo will definitely see this file," Minister Fan said to Team Leader Wu. "Also, send him all the props, agents, and White Notes that have been approved from above."
That very night, Team Leader Wu brought the items to Xu Huo's residence.
Several large standing cases were pushed into the room and lined up in a row. Team Leader Wu said, "Your contributions cannot be offset by money or props, especially since you saved so many people this time. But the country still wants to show its appreciation. Here is one hundred million White Notes as a cash reward."
"In addition, there are forty-six types of agents. These are all the D-grade and above agents we've collected from the game so far. Except for a few with limited quantities, the rest have at least twenty copies each."
"There are also props."
He nodded to the player beside him, a tall man in military uniform who took out five props, released their ownership, and placed them before Xu Huo.
"Three B-grade props and two C-grade props. This is the best the Special Defense Department can offer at the moment," Team Leader Wu said. "The country isn't wealthy yet, but it will get better."
"You're too kind." Xu Huo said the polite words, but his expression barely changed.
Team Leader Wu couldn't gauge his attitude and added, "The prop configuration was arranged by the Special Defense Department. See if they're practical. If you have other requirements, you can mention them."
Xu Huo's earlier words had been sincere. Even if the Special Defense Department had later Evolvers bring large amounts of money into the game to exchange for White Notes, the props they could buy were limited. How many players did X Country have? Every high-grade prop was accounted for, and some were even reserved as strategic materials. For them to spare so many for him was truly generous.
The Special Defense Department had shown considerable sincerity this time.
"Let me take a look at the props first." He stored the props on the table into his item slot.
The first B-grade prop:
[The Shortest Distance Between Two Points Is a Straight Line: A truth verified by long-departed predecessors. An Artificer who loved all kinds of truths integrated it into his lifelong work, painstakingly crafting this prop—truly painstaking.]
[It is said that it passed through the hands of three Artificers. The first two died during its creation, earning it the nickname "The Cursed Prop." It wasn't until the third Artificer completed it, but his subsequent suicide added another layer of mystery to it.]
(End of Chapter)