Chapter 702: Smuggling on the Tracks
The Duchess seemed in a talkative mood, fanning herself as she said, "Not to mention the lower five districts, even counting all the districts in the entire E27 wormhole point, District 011 is still considered peaceful and stable. To this day, some districts have fallen to the Xenomorphs, with life within those districts devastated, the remaining humans huddled in a few small safe zones, struggling even for water and food."
"Have you been to those places, Madam?" Serin asked.
"District 011 also needs to establish diplomatic relations with other districts; interaction is unavoidable." The Duchess said lightly.
What value a district mostly occupied by Xenomorphs could have for District 011 to establish relations with—she didn't elaborate.
"I've been to many places, but after seeing them all, I still think District 011 is the best." The Duchess took a sip of wine. "If all game districts were to become like District 011 in the future, then the world would truly be at peace."
Xu Huo and Serin both smiled but said nothing.
Become like District 011?
District 011 wasn't as peaceful as it appeared on the surface. There were conflicts between foreign players and local forces, and fierce infighting among different government factions. To divert these contradictions, District 011 was turning its attention toward other game districts.
In essence, it was foreign war. District 011 could rely on its advanced weapons and strong player strength to plunder resources. Otherwise, the situation of several game districts combining to form today's District 011 wouldn't have come about.
The Duchess seemed to despise games, but in reality, she was the same kind of person as Ran Ying—different reasons, but the same goal.
"By the way, since you've just inherited the castle, according to tradition, you should hold a banquet. If you want to do charity, this is the first step." The Duchess said.
Xu Huo nodded. "It's already being prepared. I hope the Duchess will honor us with her presence."
The Duchess covered her lips with a smile. "I'll bring some more friends along then."
After a few more exchanges, the Duchess left, and Xu Huo went directly to the game base.
Passing through the security cordon outside the base, he walked over and picked up two boxes, rescuing Wan Tingfang, who was almost buried underneath them.
"You're back!" Wan Tingfang's eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Hurry up and give me a hand, these things are so heavy!"
Xu Huo also felt the weight. "Is there stone inside? Why not use a cart?"
"The indoor carts have all been requisitioned," Wan Tingfang said. "And the director won't let us use items for these things, so we have to do it ourselves."
"This stuff is heavier than stone. Captain Shi said it's a rare ore, brought back for sampling."
Xu Huo helped move two boxes. "Was this brought back from the previous mission?"
"You bet." Wan Tingfang said. "This is the first time I've heard of smuggling ore. A Dimension Train, of all things! And someone is smuggling ore. It's amazing."
"The train attendants are all unpaid workers. It's not strange for someone to bring in some smuggled goods to earn a bit of money." Xu Huo said.
However, ores like this could be placed in the luggage compartment.
"You hit the nail on the head; it was the attendants who did it." Wan Tingfang blurted out the whole story of the mission. "Originally, we received a notice to repair the tracks. Who would have thought when we got there, we found out the Dimension Train was overloaded!"
"Overloaded, can you believe it! Even a Dimension Train can be overloaded!"
"Even Captain Shi found it strange. We checked several nearby stations before intercepting that train. Good grief, the whole train was loaded with ore. We had to seal off a station to catch it."
"But from what the director said, it might be because some radioactive ore that interferes with the tracks was mixed in with these ores. We brought a batch back for final inspection."
"Radioactive ore? Won't it harm the human body?" Xu Huo asked.
"It's been checked. They say the effect is minimal." Wan Tingfang said nonchalantly. "Besides, we go in and out of games every day, visiting many places with mutated minerals, and nothing's happened yet."
The two chatted as they went upstairs, meeting She Ping, Cai Xiangxiang, and the others along the way. They were also helping to sort the ores. Several offices were completely taken over by the ore, and the members of the Orbital Supply Department were all covered in dust.
Shi Youzhi was using a detection device to classify each piece of ore. He just nodded at Xu Huo and handed him a device, telling him to help out as well.
Xu Huo took the device and, with Wan Tingfang's help, began sorting the ores in the boxes. As the device scanned, the screen would immediately display the ore's number and classification.
After scanning for a while, he noticed these ores had no specific names, only codes composed of letters and numbers.
"Does it mean it's a new type of ore if the device can't scan it?" Wan Tingfang asked Shi Youzhi. "If we discover a new ore, will there be a reward?"
Cai Xiangxiang chuckled beside her. "Why are you always thinking about such good things? If it can't be scanned, it's mostly because it contains many elements, and basic instruments can't classify it. You'd need more precise instruments to test it."
"For the ones that can be classified with the device in our hands, it's usually because a single element makes up over thirty percent. The classification isn't accurate either, but it's good enough for our initial screening."
Wan Tingfang sighed. "I knew it."
"But an ore that can affect the tracks is pretty impressive, right? Hasn't it been discovered before?" She thought for a moment and then asked, "If this kind of ore were everywhere and the tracks couldn't run, wouldn't we not have to do instances?"
"Have you forgotten about the initial train?" Xu Huo mentioned on the side.
The first time they got on the train, they hadn't entered a station.
Wan Tingfang realized this and shook her head helplessly. "That's true."
"Since trains can be used for smuggling, could someone use them to transport weapons?" Xu Huo asked.
"That's different." Shi Youzhi replied. "Players can't bring certain weapons onto the train—that's a mandatory rule of the train. Even if you try to carry them, they'll be stripped off when you enter the station."
"The game's detection intensity for weapons and ores is different. Even if someone manages to bring weapons on board through special means, they can't run very far on the tracks."