Chapter 933: Death is Luck, Life is Also Luck
"We're players from W37. Since your goods are being sent to W37, why not just hand them over to us?" The young woman washed her hands with the help of the lightning-patterned man, shook them off casually, wiped them on her clothes, then walked toward the vehicle. "Let me see what it is..."
Kuang Wenjun and Zhu Feiyun immediately blocked the car door.
"Don't be so tense," the young woman said. "I just want to check it first."
Xu Huo nodded to Kuang and Zhu. Zhu Feiyun opened the car door. Just then, the anesthetic on the xenomorph wore off. Hearing the sound and movement, the young woman nodded. "It's a xenomorph, no mistake."
The lightning-patterned man drew a long blade and made as if to step forward. "This kind of thing can't be brought back to the city."
The people on Xu Huo's side were visibly tense. The young woman raised her hand to stop him and smiled at Xu Huo. "You called us over for this, right? Hand it over to us. How we handle it has nothing to do with you."
"We had a prior agreement." Xu Huo raised his bracelet. "The way to complete the task is to record the journey. That means both we and the xenomorph have to enter W37 Base City for the task to be considered complete."
"Coincidentally, we've long admired W37 Base City and want to see what kind of city it is that makes other base cities so wary they'd resort to spreading rumors to slander its ruler."
"Haha!" The young woman let out a hearty laugh that didn't match her appearance. "Bro, you're pretty sharp. You want to enter W37, right?"
"So what?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Does W37 Base City not welcome outside players?"
"Of course not. No base city at this station would reject outside players." The young woman came over and slung an arm around his shoulder. "We'd be thrilled if you settled down here!"
"Come on! I'll be your guide!"
The matter of killing the xenomorph was dropped just like that. None of the woman's companions showed the slightest opposition. After she dragged Xu Huo away, the ponytail man walked over to Shangguan Xi's group and smiled gently. "Do you mind if I ride in the same car as you?"
Shangguan Xi and the others were alert and wary, but clearly, they no longer had any say in the matter.
Fortunately, the other players didn't come over. The ponytail man took the driver's seat, while Xu Huo got into the young woman's car.
After the muscular man used a prop to load the pile of wild cattle, the two vehicles set off again.
Ignoring the intense stares from the back seat, Xu Huo experienced a moment of unparalleled driving skill before speaking. "Are you really from W37?"
The young woman smiled. "Did I agree too quickly?"
"Don't be so suspicious. Like I said, every base city welcomes outside players. Even if you're from W11, it doesn't matter. If the conditions are right, you can become people of W37. Many people come to W37 and end up loving it."
Xu Huo thought of the unique "circular job-hopping" at W37 Station. After a pause, he said, "Let me be clear first. We're only responsible for transporting the xenomorph to W37. We don't know anything else."
"Don't worry, don't worry!" The young woman's attention was on the steering wheel. Even though she was driving all over the place, she was still enthusiastic. After a while, she said, "My name is Gao Xiaoyan. And you?"
"Xu Gou." Xu Huo's vision jolted violently. "Did you just learn to drive?"
"Not really," Gao Xiaoyan admitted frankly. "It's a side effect of my trait. I just can't drive well."
"This is the first time I've heard of such a side effect."
"That's because you haven't seen enough. Most practical traits have side effects."
"Is that so? Then I must not have met any powerful players."
"Don't worry. When we get to W37, I'll introduce you to players with all kinds of weird side effects."
"No wonder W37 can stand apart from other base cities. Do you all get resources from the game?"
"How could that be? No matter how many players there are, they can't support that many ordinary people. Fortunately, the station itself has plenty of resources."
"Doesn't W37 do business with other base cities?"
Hearing this, Gao Xiaoyan turned to look at him. "If there were no interactions, W37 would be a dead city. Even if it's just for the players from other base cities, we have to keep the business going."
"I heard you take in infected ordinary people. Is that true?" Xu Huo asked again.
"That's right. You're pretty well-informed." Gao Xiaoyan lifted her chin.
"A player told me. He was bringing his family to seek refuge in W37, and we traveled together for a while..." Xu Huo paused before continuing. "But they died shortly after we parted ways."
Gao Xiaoyan didn't press for details. Instead, she said, "This kind of thing happens all the time. To put it bluntly, there isn't a single inch of soil in this station that hasn't buried a corpse. Death is luck, and life is also luck."
Xu Huo's eyelids drooped slightly, then he changed the subject.
Gao Xiaoyan was very talkative. She chatted with him the whole way, covering everything from the general situation of W37 to the lives of ordinary people—farming, construction, food, entertainment. She could talk about any topic and did it well. Her companions, however, never joined in. Just like the earlier proposal to kill the xenomorph, they didn't oppose any of her decisions.
During the evening rest, Gao Xiaoyan had her companions roast a cow and enthusiastically shared a special W37 liquor with them.
Xu Huo took a sip. Bitterness filled his mouth.
But Gao Xiaoyan and her group drank it with gusto. The woman smacked her lips and said, "This is the only plant that can survive and be used for brewing near W37. The taste might be lacking, but it's the fruit of our labor. I think it smells better than any other liquor!"
Xu Huo played along and clinked glasses with her.
While everyone was dividing the meat, Shangguan Xi leaned in. "Brother Xu, are we really going to W37 like this?"
"Isn't it good to hitch a ride?" Xu Huo said calmly. "Going with locals can save us a lot of trouble."
At the very least, the bridge and the group of players lurking nearby wouldn't be an issue.
"That's true..." Players had exceptional hearing. Even if Shangguan Xi lowered his voice, he couldn't completely prevent others from hearing. Using a prop might seem like picking a fight, so he opened his mouth but didn't say anything more.
Gao Xiaoyan's group didn't seem to care about their wariness. They drank and ate as usual, as if they had no guard up against them.
But when Zhu Feiyun moved closer to the campfire midway, the ponytail man reached out and blocked him. The man smiled gently. "Let me cut the meat for you."
Kuang Wenjun and Pan Qiao saw Zhu Feiyun's small move clearly. Obviously, Gao Xiaoyan's side had noticed too. As a dagger with cooked meat flew toward Zhu Feiyun, the atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Gao Xiaoyan scraped the meat off the cow bone lazily and said in a languid tone, "I'm treating you to drinks and meat, isn't that enough? Or do you want to eat our flesh too?"
(Chapter End)