Chapter 851
"Can't these two things be done at the same time?" Xu Huo asked, somewhat surprised.
"No." Mrs. Lily said directly. "Contacting other wormhole points is dangerous in itself. Zone 011 needs enough players to stay behind; we can't send out large teams like before."
"Which side do you lean toward, ma'am?" Xu Huo countered.
"I'm a woman. I just want to run my business peacefully and see my family and friends live well." Mrs. Lily looked at him. "I don't like killing and bloodshed."
"But you men can't wait to burn and plunder every district, yet you don't realize that Zone 011 has made many enemies in E27. The incident at Base City this time is proof."
"When the day comes that players from other districts come knocking, the players can run, but where will people like us go?"
Xu Huo stared at the woman before him, then said after a moment, "With Zone 011's strength, that kind of thing shouldn't happen."
"Who can say about the future?" Mrs. Lily stood up, walked over to him, paused, then sat down beside him, lowering her voice. "I'm really glad you came."
The distance between them was ambiguous, but Xu Huo didn't move away. Instead, he said, "I'm just a D-rank player, here to fill a spot."
Mrs. Lily didn't make any further moves. Instead, she smiled and said, "You're a noble. Standing with me today also means standing against Ashis and his people."
Xu Huo wasn't particularly interested in the political infighting of Zone 011, but that didn't stop him from stating his position. "I chose to settle in Zone 011 just to have a few safe days between instances."
Mrs. Lily brightened. "I'm so glad you think that way."
"I'd like to ask you for a favor."
Having received her help and being on the same side, Xu Huo naturally couldn't refuse.
"I want you to help me kill someone." Mrs. Lily placed her wine glass on the table. "The target is a Mental Evolver. I've lost several people to him, so I hope that by the time the sun rises tomorrow, this person will no longer exist in the game world."
Walking out of the Duke's Mansion, Xu Huo piloted the aircraft back to Rose Castle.
The items Mrs. Lily had given him were still beside him. He switched to autopilot, pushed aside the props on top, and picked up the documents underneath.
The person Mrs. Lily wanted him to kill was a C-rank player, also a member of the Holy Sword Society. He had been captured alive during a skirmish two days ago and was being held in a neighboring city. However, tonight he would be transferred to another core city. There would be people intercepting and interfering along the way; Xu Huo only needed to get close to this player and kill him.
Logically, killing a C-rank player shouldn't be difficult, but this person was under the protection of the Black Epaulets. To reduce risk, the Black Epaulets had also used props to enhance his mental strength, ensuring he could still defend himself in a worst-case scenario.
This man was bait. Besides the information he had voluntarily given up about Leyton Millar, he had also lured out many others. However, the more people tried to kill him, the more certain Ashis's side would be that a noble in Zone 011 was cooperating with them. They hadn't been particularly secretive about his movements.
So, this transfer was essentially a tacit confrontation between the two sides.
That Holy Sword Society player wasn't easy to kill, otherwise Mrs. Lily wouldn't have thrown in a prop for him. But this woman was far from the naive and weak person she appeared to be. All that talk about Zone 011's future was just empty words; what she really wanted was power.
This favor was Xu Huo's letter of commitment. Once completed, he would be formally accepted by the nobles, but he would also be forced to choose a side.
When he returned to Rose Castle, Bai Kou was already back. She was well-informed and already knew what had happened at the Duke's Mansion.
"I need to go out. I might not come back." Xu Huo informed Mr. Dong.
Bai Kou gave him a second look. "You're planning to wade into this muddy water?"
"I still have to live in Zone 011. I need to show some goodwill." Xu Huo said. "Do you have other business in Zone 011?"
Bai Kou didn't answer. Instead, she said, "You'd better not show off your Spiritual Realm too much. There are too many players here now. You can't trap many people."
Xu Huo smiled, said "Thanks," and went upstairs first to inject the P2S Evolution Potion.
After the brief impact and dizziness, he felt a slight resistance when he moved.
He wasn't sure if it was an illusion caused by his heightened senses or a side effect from his body not fully adapting to the potion. He tested it; his speed and strength had both increased significantly from the baseline, but the feeling of resistance hadn't disappeared.
He opened his game panel. His evolution rate had already risen to 40%. Ordinary evolution potions wouldn't increase it by ten percentage points at once, so this was undoubtedly a genuine Perfect Potion.
"Why does this feeling occur?" Xu Huo moved his body. Although it didn't affect his movements, the fact that it was happening meant something was wrong somewhere.
He searched the online platform for information on the side effects of evolution potions. The official explanation was clear:
"Taking evolution potions multiple times in a short period, causing the evolution rate to increase too quickly, can lead to fatigue in the player's body. This usually disappears on its own after a period of time. During this period, please refrain from using any more evolution potions."
Fatigue phenomenon... The interval since Xu Huo's last use of the Perfect Potion wasn't very long. He knew that ordinary potions became less effective with repeated use, but he hadn't expected the S-grade potion to have this effect as well.
After adapting for a while, he disguised himself as a servant and left the castle. Once outside the old city district, he changed his identity again, took an aircraft, and headed to Xiang City.
Xiang City was the core city closest to Base City. That Holy Sword Society player would be interrogated at the courthouse there.
Based on the information Mrs. Lily had provided, Xu Huo arrived outside the courthouse building ahead of time.
Black Epaulets were already guarding the area. The cleanup tasks had mostly been completed during the day, so after nightfall, apart from the patrolling Black Epaulets, no one else came or went.
As long as people were coming and going, it was fine.
Xu Huo put on his Invisibility Cloak, opened his Spiritual Realm, and followed two Black Epaulets into the building.
Due to the special nature of the courthouse, electronic monitors were only placed on the perimeter, not inside. However, trap props had been set up inside. If he appeared within their range, he might trigger an alarm. So, Xu Huo followed the Black Epaulets as they checked the courtroom, the outside waiting room, the staff lounge, and the restrooms one by one.
While the Black Epaulets lingered in the outside waiting room, he left a simple mark on the decorative paintings on both sides. After coming out, he also damaged the water pipe in the men's restroom. After following the two Black Epaulets around for a bit, he didn't leave the building but instead went to the cleaning staff's changing room.
He checked the cleaning staff's work records and belongings, took a spare uniform, added a fake name to the staff roster, and then went back to the courtroom to take a look.
Zone 011 relied heavily on holographic projections, so during trials, apart from the accused who had to be present in person, the high-ranking government officials involved in the trial could all participate via projection. This maximized the safety of the high-ranking personnel.
(End of Chapter)