Chapter 782: The Other Side's Danger Level
"Everyone," said the black trench coat player holding the iron box, sweeping his gaze across the crowd. "I mean no harm to any of you. I simply hope you can help me with a small favor."
"The owner of this hotel took a very important prop from me, but they're a troublesome figure, so I have no choice but to borrow all your lives for a moment."
As he spoke, the original players in the banquet hall and the security players who had rushed over all moved closer to him, surrounding him and his companions. At the same time, a streak of light like a meteor flashed outside the hotel building, charging straight toward the banquet hall—visible through the only floor-to-ceiling glass window left intact.
But the few intruding players who were surrounded showed no sense of urgency. The black-line player, the metal player, and two other masked players retreated to stand beside the black trench coat player. Just before the encirclement of players could make a move, and before the light outside the window could crash into the building, the iron box in the black trench coat player's hand transformed into a ten-centimeter-tall glass octagonal pillar. He pinched both ends and pulled, and a semi-transparent barrier shot out from the glass pillar, expanding into a massive pillar three meters high and about ten meters long!
When the pillar was pushed out, the air twisted and distorted slightly. As the players either attacked or prepared to defend, a black line shot across the floor, dragging Jiang Jiang and the player protecting her into the pillar's space—this made the players, who had suspected the pillar was some kind of defensive prop, all strike out. Unfortunately, they were too late. The moment Jiang Jiang and the other were dragged into the pillar space, the octagonal pillar space fully materialized, even temporarily isolating prop effects!
"Boom!" At the same time, the light outside the window smashed into the building with immense force, so powerful that the metal panels sealing the floor-to-ceiling windows shook and deformed. However, when the light struck the pillar's surface, it exploded like sparks and vanished, as if it had no effect at all.
Two seconds later, cracks appeared on the pillar's surface, and then it shattered like broken glass, instantly disintegrating.
The black trench coat player and his group were unfazed. The player protecting Jiang Jiang had already been killed. The metal player grabbed Jiang Jiang by the throat, shoved her forward, and shouted with a laugh at the players rushing in from outside: "Your treasure from Zone 009 is in my hands! If you want her dead, just make a move!"
Many players had arrived outside the hotel, all piloting aircraft imported from other game zones. They wore uniforms and half-masks on their faces, with no distinctive features, but they were all genuine players. Among them, a man with a silver mask stood on an aircraft, completely unimpressed by the threats. He said, "Release her now, and you can leave Zone 009 safely. This is your final warning. If I don't get a satisfactory answer, the Maocheng Xuantian Player Organization will hunt you down with full force until you leave Zone 009."
The black trench coat player remained composed, but the metal player and the others looked uneasy. Before the metal player could speak, someone in the banquet hall shouted, "President Chang, you can't just ignore our lives!"
President Chang, with the silver mask, frowned. "I warned you all beforehand not to gather during this critical period. Running into this kind of trouble is your own bad luck."
In other words, he wouldn't intervene. Whether they lived or died was up to fate.
The banquet hall erupted into chaos. Many people, losing all dignity, sat on the floor wailing and crying, while others knelt and begged. Only a very few felt angry enough to curse President Chang and the other players.
Hostage situations like this were not uncommon in Zone 009. Over the past few years, there had been countless cases, but very few could even be considered barely resolved. Most hostage incidents ended with a large number of casualties. The root cause was that the real decision-makers were player organizations, not the government.
Ordinary people were weak. They lacked suitable combat power and couldn't morally blackmail player organizations. When faced with such situations, all they could do was resign to fate or hope the player organization they encountered had a conscience.
Of course, player organizations wouldn't sacrifice themselves to ensure the safety of hostages, let alone obey the demands of the hostage-takers.
Having seen such incidents many times, ordinary people had also come to terms with their fate. When encountering such situations, they could only blame their bad luck.
What good was wealth? What use was past power? Without the ability to protect themselves, they were no better than stray dogs on the street.
"Whoever can protect me, I'll give them a million White Notes!" a wealthy man on the spot began bidding. "Per person!"
Many were tempted.
The players in the banquet hall could be roughly divided into three types. The first were those responsible for protecting the hotel or under private hire, like the player guarding Jiang Jiang. The second were original Zone 009 players who didn't want to take risks but just wanted to stay in the hotel and wait out the chaos. The third were players like Xu Huo, who had traveled from afar and were just looking for a place to rest.
Props and potions weren't cheap, and most players had financial difficulties. Hearing the offer of a million White Notes, some naturally took action. Moreover, this wasn't a high-risk task. They didn't need to get involved in the fight between the Xuantian Organization and the black trench coat player. They just needed to find the right opportunity to take the employer away.
Some people began to move.
Others weren't stupid and also started shifting toward the wealthy man who had made the offer.
Unfortunately, the black trench coat player was determined not to let them go. The metal sealing the windows began to spread and grow, gradually covering the floor and ceiling. Meanwhile, the black lines creeping along the floor, hard to guard against, began attacking players. Two players who reacted too slowly were dragged over to the black trench coat player and killed.
Xu Huo avoided the black lines at his feet and used "Truth Transcends All" to assess the black trench coat player and his group:
[Based on known data from both sides, the other party's danger level is approximately equivalent to a hyena facing an unarmed human with a gun.]
[Based on known data from both sides, the other party's danger level is approximately equivalent to a hippopotamus facing an unarmed human with a gun.]
[Based on known data from both sides, the other party's danger level is approximately equivalent to a brown bear facing an unarmed human with a gun.]
...
Among the five, the strongest was the black trench coat player, followed by the metal player. The black-line player, who specialized in long-range attacks, and the two masked players were roughly on the same level.
Although the prop's assessment suggested that Xu Huo's side had a significant advantage, the other party couldn't possibly have all their props equipped, so their true strength likely had a baseline.
However, once the silver mask player made a move, the situation would become even more chaotic.
Casually pulling a chair from the nearby rest area, Xu Huo kicked it toward the black trench coat player and his group. He appeared in front of the metal player, grabbed the opponent's hand, and forcefully twisted it outward while simultaneously raising his foot to block the opponent's incoming kick.
His trait, "Truth Transcends All," bypassed the effects of props and traits. He snatched Jiang Jiang away, and as the black trench coat player and his group looked on in shock, he raised his hand and said, "Please, have a seat."