Chapter 828: The Base
The Enforcement Department had retreated in defeat. Unless they wanted to escalate the matter, they wouldn't be storming Rose Castle again anytime soon.
The scope of the leak regarding Dr. Deng and the Perfect Potion might not be very wide.
First of all, Dr. Deng himself wasn't reliable. What he leaked might not necessarily be information about the Perfect Potion; the Enforcement Department's version of events was actually more plausible.
If there really was a leak, judging by the Enforcement Department's attitude and preparations, either not many people knew about it, or they didn't take it very seriously. There were too many possibilities.
But as long as he could still stay in District 011, there was no problem.
As for Dr. Deng, let him cool his heels for now.
Early the next morning, Xu Huo took Xiao Yuan to the school they had arranged in advance.
Having an aristocratic status made it very simple to get an identity or enroll a child. As long as he gave prior notice, the relevant institutions would handle all the procedures in advance. He just needed to bring the child there.
After familiarizing Xiao Yuan with the new environment, Xu Huo handed her over to the teacher. "You have a communicator. You know how to contact me and Mr. Dong. If anything happens, find us first."
Xiao Yuan nodded vigorously. "Uncle, I will definitely study hard."
Xu Huo left the school and went to the Game Government Base.
Shi Youzhi was out on a mission. Xu Huo applied for authorization from San Yang and specifically reviewed the maintenance records regarding dimensional storms.
After learning the whole story, San Yang said, "You were lucky. You encountered the lowest level of dimensional storm, and it was in the middle to late stages. If it had been even slightly higher level, even just getting caught by the storm's tail would have meant death, let alone the middle or late stages."
"Can't the track laying completely avoid storms?" Xu Huo asked. "The game should be able to predict most storms. Why not abandon risky tracks?"
Even if it couldn't predict storms with 100% accuracy, it could at least determine hidden dangers based on the spatial conditions near the track. Completely avoiding them shouldn't be difficult.
"The game wasn't this perfect from the start either. The more tracks are built, the more there are. Some tracks with hidden risks could be abandoned and rebuilt, but it's not cost-effective." San Yang smiled and glanced at him. "Compared to losing a train and some staff, the manpower and resources required for re-selecting, testing, and laying a new track are too great."
Xu Huo understood. "So if a track has a high hidden risk, the Game Government won't bother repairing it anymore?"
San Yang nodded. "This situation isn't uncommon, but as long as the track space isn't completely destroyed, they usually repair it. The preliminary work of track laying accounts for eighty percent of the entire project. The Game Government won't easily abandon a track."
He paused for a moment, then shifted to another topic. "Actually, this kind of risk isn't unavoidable either."
"Some Game Governments at wormhole points predict track risks. The time and ticket destinations are all announced. The chance of error is very small."
"Our base isn't that idle. If you want to know the road conditions at nearby stations, you can go to Eternal Star's affiliated businesses to buy the information. VIP customers can get relevant information for free there."
San Yang had a lot of documents to process every day, so after a brief conversation, he hurried Xu Huo out.
Coming out of his office, Xu Huo happened to run into Wan Tingfang. She looked surprised. "You're here to see Uncle San Yang too?"
"Just submitting an application," Xu Huo said. "You're back from the instance? How did it go?"
Wan Tingfang pointed at her shoulder. "Don't even mention it. Didn't get a single good item, and got cut twice. I'm here to ask Uncle San Yang for some potions."
With that, she pushed the door open and went in.
Xu Huo went to the adjacent office to watch the track maintenance records.
The dimensional storm he had encountered had only scraped a layer off the track. In these records, some tracks had even had deeply buried instruments unearthed, and they were still chosen for repair.
Compared to other types of maintenance, the number of records concerning dimensional storms was pitifully small, but the survival rate was much lower than encountering xenomorphs or player killings.
So encountering a dimensional storm was bad luck, but surviving one was exceptionally good luck.
Ordinary players basically had no ability to resist a dimensional storm. In one breath, life or death was decided.
Xu Huo opened his communicator to search for Eternal Star VIP customer qualifications, but only glanced at it before closing it. Instead, he searched for the single purchase price of a track weather forecast.
There were quite a few sales channels, but the most reliable was definitely Eternal Star. However, to purchase the weather forecast, he would need to check in.
He hadn't decided on his next instance yet, so he put this matter aside for now.
After returning the maintenance records, Xu Huo noticed a document about the Holy Sword Society on the adjacent desk. It wasn't an encrypted file, so he picked it up casually. It listed events caused by the Holy Sword Society in several areas within District 011, arranged chronologically, and predicted the Holy Sword Society's next target based on the event history.
Wan Tingfang pushed the door open and came in. She glanced at it casually and said, "The Holy Sword Society again."
"You know this organization?" Xu Huo looked at her.
"Among the organizations that oppose the Game Government, the Holy Sword Society is fairly well-known." Wan Tingfang sat down and drank two potions before starting to change her bandages. She gritted her teeth and tore off the sterile dressing, then poured potion over the wound, her face contorting in pain.
Xu Huo went over to help. "I haven't heard of any Holy Sword Society player activity in District 011."
"District 011 is relatively stable. The Holy Sword Society doesn't have room to operate," Wan Tingfang said.
"There's some necrotic tissue on the wound. I'll scrape it off for you." Xu Huo moved quickly. After scraping off the dead flesh, the wound started bleeding again. Wan Tingfang quickly covered it with a towel and said, "It's infected. I need to let some blood out."
After a few seconds, she asked, "Have you dealt with people from the Holy Sword Society before?"
"Not really," Xu Huo said. "But in the district I went to this time, members of the Holy Sword Society attacked the local government. The casualties were significant."
"In the game, it's either you kill me or I kill you. It's hard to tell right from wrong." Wan Tingfang said nonchalantly. "Anyway, none of them are good people."
Like other players, Wan Tingfang's attitude towards the Game Government and other player organizations was pretty much the same. While player organizations attacking the Game Government certainly caused casualties, the Game Government was no saint either.
"Dogs fighting dogs," she snorted.
"Indeed, the Holy Sword Society doesn't seem like a principled organization," Xu Huo said. "Slaughtering ordinary people just to oppose the Game Government is essentially no different from the game itself."
Wan Tingfang glanced at him, then tapped the document beside her. "It says the Holy Sword Society will seize opportunities to attack Game Government bases in many districts. Are we in danger here?"
"Didn't you just say it yourself? District 011 is very stable. The Holy Sword Society has no room to operate." Xu Huo smiled. "Speaking of which, District 011 is pretty good. If it were another district, you might really have to worry about this problem."
"What's in the base anyway? Just some documents and files. What's worth fighting for?" Wan Tingfang scoffed. "If you want items and money, robbing the exchange is much more practical!"
(Chapter End)