Chapter 900: Game Government Library
Twenty-five catties was enough to change the boy's attitude, showing just how dire the situation was for those abandoned in the base city.
"How pitiful." Shangguan Xi forcefully rubbed the boy's head, then grabbed the food from the table and handed it to him. "Eat it all."
The boy angrily twisted his head away, but kept the food in his hands while his eyes fixed on Xu Huo. "You'll really give me twenty-five catties of food?"
Xu Huo nodded. "Is there a suitable guide in W18?"
"There is." The boy hesitated for a moment, then said, "But I can't make the decision for him. You'll have to negotiate with him yourself... but my ten catties of food can't be reduced!"
"You won't lose out." Xu Huo smiled slightly, gesturing for him to fill his stomach.
The boy tore open the food and started eating. Probably figuring he couldn't take it with him anyway, he ate quickly and didn't stuff any into his pockets.
"Did you eat anything in the past few days?" Shangguan Xi asked. "Don't eat too much at once and choke yourself."
The boy didn't even bother to acknowledge him, turning his back to continue eating.
Shangguan Xi pricked up his ears to listen to the sounds outside. "The swarm seems to have moved farther away."
Xu Huo opened the door and stepped out. The insect swarm on the rooftop had already retreated into the distance, leaving behind some poisoned corpses on the ground. He took out a box, loaded two insect bodies into the luggage compartment, then put 101 away. Turning to the other two, he said, "Let's hurry. It's best to set off before dawn."
They were on the eastern side of W18. The swarm was moving from the south toward the east, not heading toward the city center. So even though the swarm hadn't fully gone underground, they could still leave safely as long as they didn't provoke another hunting frenzy.
The boy was extremely cautious. He had no intention of taking them through the "secret passage" he used for hunting. Instead, he demanded that Xu Huo cross the city from above.
"As long as you don't make too much noise, you usually won't attract flying xenomorphs," he emphasized.
"Do you think we're stupid?" Shangguan Xi said. "A lot of buildings are occupied by xenomorphs. Those egg-like things are everywhere. Props can fly, but they can't be used indefinitely. Just lead the way properly. Who would want to stay here if there's a guide to W19? What do you players want from you native xenomorphic residents anyway?"
The boy instinctively touched his arm.
The surviving natives all had some degree of xenomorphic traits. That was why other base cities refused to rescue or accept them, and why even cannibal players wouldn't choose to eat them.
The natives left behind in the base city were merely existing, not living.
The boy hesitated but still refused, saying bluntly, "I don't trust you!"
Xu Huo glanced at him and raised a hand to stop Shangguan Xi. "Let's do it his way. Pick a safe route. We can take a detour."
Shangguan Xi didn't argue further. He took out an arrow-shaped prop, wedged it against the rooftop railing, and pressed it. The arrow shot out like a real arrow, piercing the railing of the opposite rooftop and locking in place. Then a thin cable connected the two ends, and a palm-sized iron plate popped out on each side, forming an aerial walkway about two palms wide.
Because the two buildings were far apart, the flimsy walkway looked a bit shaky.
Shangguan Xi patted the walkway, turned back to the boy, and grinned. "If you've got the guts, come on!"
With that, he stepped lightly onto the walkway and jogged all the way to the opposite building.
"Nice moves." Xu Huo clapped from a distance in appreciation, then used "Destination Arrival" to bypass him and land on a rooftop several hundred meters away.
The distance was too great, and without a fixed communication tool, it was hard to coordinate. But judging by the way Shangguan Xi lowered his head while retrieving his prop, he wasn't as cocky as when he first stepped onto the walkway.
His prop could travel through the air, but its range was limited, and it took more time compared to Xu Huo. So while Xu Huo could take a step and pause, Shangguan Xi had to repeatedly set up the prop, cross the walkway, and retrieve it.
After moving forward a bit more, Xu Huo suddenly spotted a library at the corner of a street.
The library was gray-white in color, standing out sharply among the abandoned buildings. It showed no signs of damage, and no mutated plants grew around it. Apart from being a bit faded, it seemed utterly out of place in this city.
"Wait for him here. I'll be right back." He set the boy down and directly used "Destination Arrival" to teleport to the library entrance.
The door reached the top of the building, and above it was a moving clock displaying standard A1 time—the time at the A1 wormhole point, supposedly calibrated to the stellar origin point. Of course, Xu Huo wasn't clear on the concept of the stellar origin point, but using this time as decoration indicated the library's importance.
A square lock-shaped electronic authentication screen on the door slid open automatically, prompting him to present his library card.
Xu Huo placed his card, which bore his number and nickname, onto the screen. The door opened with a sound. Just as he was about to enter, the "shared location" on his glasses alerted him again that the tracked target was approaching—Shangguan Xi thought Ding Wei had shaken him off, but that wasn't the case. Ding Wei had been nearby the whole time. As they moved toward the city center, he followed, and now he was near the library.
The target was still two to three hundred meters away. Xu Huo had no intention of letting her in. After entering the library, he closed the door.
Like an ordinary library, it was filled with massive bookshelves. But the books on them weren't real—they were holographic projections shaped like books. The shelves were curved, surrounding the center from both sides. In the middle of the shelves was an independent reading pod. When Xu Huo sat down, a projection screen appeared before him:
"Player number E556688, what information about this district would you like to know? You may choose from the following:"
"1. Politics; 2. Culture; 3. History; 4. Ecology."
He selected history first.
The next second, the reading pod flew into the air. Relevant information from the library formed a directory that appeared at his fingertips. By selecting any directory, the holographic projection would immediately play stored video and audio files, as well as dynamic scenes simulated from images and videos.
For the next hour, Xu Huo didn't leave the library. He browsed through the most recent sections of the information provided by the library across several categories.
The W37 base station was originally composed of multiple countries. After the first xenomorph outbreak, the weaker nations were nearly wiped out. The remaining major powers managed to establish safe bases, but the situation didn't improve much. There was too little space and too many people, leading to constant internal conflicts.
The leaders of these countries discussed and decided to build additional safe bases.
Since they had to build new safe bases, and the outside was so dangerous, they needed to drive people away.
(Chapter End)