Chapter 937: Training Base and Connections
Emotions can create conflicts, and a small group that doesn't cooperate closely might easily fall apart due to emotions. Gao Xiaoyan's intentions were laid out in the open, and Xu Huo didn't mind, casually chatting with her.
After brushing off her veiled inquiries about his background and identity, he used the excuse of needing rest to end the conversation.
Gao Xiaoyan tactfully took her people and left.
"What does she mean by that? Trying to split us up?" Shangguan Xi, who had been holding back for a while, finally couldn't help but speak up after they left.
"It's not really splitting us up, at most she looks down on us," Zhu Feiyun shrugged.
Besides, they weren't exactly a tightly-knit team to begin with, so there was no need for an outsider to drive a wedge between them.
"I'm worried they won't let us clear the instance easily," Kuang Wenjun frowned. "There's still a stretch of road to W37. Who knows what might happen along the way."
As it turned out, Kuang Wenjun's concerns were justified. After the rain stopped and they resumed their journey, it was as if they had poked a nest of xenomorphs. They encountered one every few steps, causing heavy attrition, and everyone in the group was injured to some degree. Meanwhile, Gao Xiaoyan and her people basically stood by and did nothing, not interfering with their affairs.
There was nothing to criticize about that, but the attitude made everyone uneasy.
They finally made it near W37, and as Gao Xiaoyan had said, the bridge was still submerged in water, making it impassable for vehicles. The water level wouldn't recede anytime soon, so Gao Xiaoyan led them to a larger bridge a bit further away.
This bridge seemed to be a dedicated bridge for players from the W37 Base City. Before they arrived, the bridge, which was segmented on the piers, was gradually lowered.
The vehicle drove smoothly onto it. There were no personnel stationed on the bridge, but it was equipped with space-time item suppression devices, something often seen in some well-off game districts.
"I didn't expect W37's external defenses to be so tight," Shangguan Xi said. "No wonder they can withstand the hostility from other base cities."
"Look ahead," Pan Qiao reminded.
Everyone looked up and saw the gates of the W37 Base City at the end of the bridge wide open. Ten players stood above and below the gate respectively, and two large black vehicles, clearly different from ordinary off-road vehicles, drove out, then actively moved to the sides to make way.
After Gao Xiaoyan's vehicle passed, the black vehicles' window protections that blocked the view disappeared. One of the drivers waved and shouted in a rough voice, "Xiaoyan's back? Not driving today?"
Gao Xiaoyan leaned out of the passenger seat to greet him and then asked, "Uncle Zhong, where's Little Mantou?"
"He went to train. Do you need him for something?" Uncle Zhong glanced carefully at the vehicle behind. "Are these new friends you've made?"
"I found a teacher for Little Mantou," Gao Xiaoyan said happily, pointing at Xu Huo. "You go ahead, Uncle Zhong. I'm off."
The two vehicles passed through the city gate one after another. Players near and far cast a few seconds of respectful glances at the vehicle behind before looking away and going about their business.
However, once inside the gate, Xu Huo realized there were far more players here than he had imagined. Moreover, this place didn't feel like a large base city. The solemn atmosphere and the people walking around made it seem more like a training base.
"Why isn't there a prompt to clear the instance when we've arrived at the W37 Base City?" Zhu Feiyun instinctively glanced back at the cage. "The sample is fine."
"And no side quest has been triggered either," Kuang Wenjun said. "Logically, since we've come this far, if there were a side quest, it should have prompted us. Even if this isn't the W37 Base City, it can't be far. Going further ahead would definitely mean direct clearance."
"We need to trigger the side quest before clearing the instance."
"The instance only requires us to deliver the sample to the W37 Base City. Could there be a designated location?"
"If the side quest is related to Gao Xiaoyan, it should have been triggered when we met her," Zhu Feiyun said. "Could it be that the task isn't on her, but on her little brother?"
The people in the car fell silent, realizing that even if there was a side quest here, there might not be much valuable information to uncover.
"Sometimes you encounter this kind of task in the game too, like completing a specific task. These side quests are usually not very difficult, and the rewards aren't high either," Shangguan Xi lost interest. "Brother Xu, if we still don't trigger a side quest when we see Gao Xiaoyan's brother later, let's just go for the clearance. What we get in hand is what's real."
Gao Xiaoyan's vehicle stopped in front of a gray metal building. She called out to Xu Huo from a distance, "Don't worry, this isn't the real W37 Base City yet. It's a new city built by the mayor, specifically for training. After passing through here, it's still half a day's journey to the base city."
"Since Little Mantou is training right now, why don't you meet him first, and then I'll take you to the base city?"
There was no room for discussion anyway.
And at this point, the true difficulty of the clearance became apparent. The hardships along the way weren't the problem; the key was how to get into the W37 Base City once they were outside it.
This new city wasn't a fully enclosed city, but the wilderness beyond it belonged to W37's territory. Judging by the setup here, every stretch of the road should have equipment to repel xenomorphs, meaning that even if they bypassed the bridge and approached W37 from the sides, they would enter a monitored zone. Additionally, the cost of not taking the bridge was at least an extra day's journey, and the roads on either side were difficult to traverse.
Looking at the map, the environment around the W37 Base City was quite harsh. This area was originally a xenomorph-active zone. Logically, this new city, which seemed to serve a protective function, should have been built outside the base city. But W37 was willing to pay a higher price to carve out a road between the two cities, which inevitably seemed strange.
Xu Huo directly asked this question.
Gao Xiaoyan explained with a chuckle, "Although the base station is a bit backward, there are still plenty of talented people. We can't just rely on external technology."
"So this is a weapons testing base?" Xu Huo voiced her unspoken meaning.
"Not entirely," Gao Xiaoyan rubbed her chin. "Once we have results, we'll gradually add other functions. The base city is getting more and more crowded, almost at capacity."
Xu Huo had already followed her into the building. He looked around at the highly technological structure and said, "This place isn't bad."
"Years of hard work, and we've only built a small city. It's nothing," Gao Xiaoyan stopped in front of the elevator. "Let your friends go rest. You can bring the xenomorph too; it can take a break. After you meet Little Mantou, we'll go to the main city in the afternoon. It won't delay your clearance."
Xu Huo nodded to Shangguan Xi and the others and followed her into the elevator.
Now, only the ponytail man and the lightning-patterned man were following Gao Xiaoyan.
The elevator rose to the tenth floor. As they exited, the players and staff they encountered all greeted Gao Xiaoyan, addressing her as "Miss Gao."
"Do you hold a high position in W37?" Xu Huo asked curiously.
"Not really," Gao Xiaoyan said casually. "But the mayor is my aunt."
(Chapter End)