Chapter 938: Xu Huo's Conditions
Gao Xiaoyan was clearly not an ordinary person with connections; being merely the mayor's relative wouldn't be enough to make players obey her.
"Mr. Xu, come take a look at our W37 training room." Stepping out of the elevator, Gao Xiaoyan led him enthusiastically to the nearest room.
The walls of this corridor were made of a special transparent material, allowing one to see the training inside from outside. In the room Gao Xiaoyan mentioned, a middle-aged man was fighting a mechanical mutant in the darkness. Xu Huo watched for a while and noticed it wasn't just simple combat. The middle-aged man was periodically subjected to external constraints—sudden full-body paralysis from electric shocks, the floor abruptly sinking, or being sucked against the wall and fixed in place...
"Simulated item effects?" Xu Huo asked.
"Exactly," Gao Xiaoyan nodded. "Practical experience is the only way to gain real skill. Relying solely on combat experience from instances is far from enough, and in those situations, a single mistake could cost you your life."
"There aren't many geniuses, but fortunately, ordinary people can still improve through hard work."
As she spoke, she walked forward, and Xu Huo followed behind, quickly glancing through the other rooms. All of them simulated combat under the interference of traits and items. Of course, they weren't facing real people, so when the trainees used items, the intelligent system would judge whether the items and traits took effect based on real-time data and feed that back to the robots.
It was essentially a real-person simulation.
At the end of the corridor, they stopped again in front of another room.
Inside sat a young man. He had no opponent, just sat there with a pained expression, eyes tightly shut, his forehead covered in sweat.
A monitoring staff member handed data to Gao Xiaoyan. "The power released by Ren Man's brain is very unstable. Compared to before, today's data looks worse. The fluctuations have dropped from 8,100 times to 5,500 times. That's not a good sign."
Gao Xiaoyan looked at the fluctuating data lines on the projection—sometimes strong, sometimes weak—and her face darkened. Watching the young man in the room, she said, "Super evolution usually happens by chance. Not every player gets that lucky break. Two months ago, Xiao Mantou entered a mental interference-type instance, and after coming out, he showed signs of secondary evolution."
"Generally, during secondary evolution, certain physical indicators become abnormal. There's already targeted research on these indicators. Although scientists don't know how to successfully complete a super evolution, detecting the changes before and after evolution isn't a problem."
"Normally, for the brain to complete a secondary evolution, the mental power value needs to stabilize above 10,000 times. Xiao Mantou's highest was 9,000, but it kept dropping afterward. According to specialized research data, once it falls below 5,000, it's basically considered a missed opportunity for this evolution."
"No guidance from professionals?" Xu Huo asked, also watching the increasingly pained young man inside. "No scientific, targeted training? His condition doesn't look good. Rash stimulation could lead to an accident."
Gao Xiaoyan turned to look at him. "I don't want to see an accident either. That's why I wanted to find someone who has truly undergone mental super evolution to help."
Xu Huo smiled. "Every player who undergoes super evolution bears enormous risk, especially mental evolution."
"No, that's not what I meant," Gao Xiaoyan denied. "Mr. Xu misunderstood."
"Super evolvers don't make up a high proportion of players. Finding one on short notice isn't easy. You've seen Xiao Mantou's situation. Compared to people like us who rely on hard work, he has more talent."
"All we can do is find more information and safer methods, but that can't compare to a real super evolver. If super evolution could be replicated, the whole world would be full of super players by now."
"If Mr. Xu can do us this big favor, W37 Base City will surely offer generous rewards. Of course, clearing the instance is also a given."
Xu Huo hesitated briefly before saying, "Let me think about it. Call him out first."
Gao Xiaoyan nodded to the person beside her, and the staff member shut down the testing system. The room lit up, and the young man, Ren Man, opened his eyes wearily. Seeing Gao Xiaoyan standing outside, he got up and came out.
"Xiaoyan Jie."
Gao Xiaoyan handed him a handkerchief and then introduced Xu Huo's identity.
When he heard that Xu Huo was a mental super evolution player, Ren Man's bloodshot eyes lit up briefly before dimming again. "It might not help. Secondary evolution of the brain is inherently more complex than secondary evolution of other parts of the body. He managed to complete super evolution, but I might not be able to. I might only evolve to become smarter."
Gao Xiaoyan didn't rush to comfort him. Instead, she said, "Your values almost reached the critical point. If it were just intellectual evolution, there would have been results by now. Data analysis points to signs of super evolution. Since we've finally found a genuine evolution player, it's worth a try."
Ren Man was persuaded and looked at Xu Huo. "Let's start now."
But Xu Huo shook his head. "I haven't agreed to help yet."
"Name your terms," Gao Xiaoyan said readily.
"First, I want two B-grade combat-type items. Second, I want to meet the mayor. Third, I want to stay in W37 for a while, and during that time, I hope you will accompany me alone," Xu Huo stated his conditions.
The first two were manageable, but after hearing the third, no one present except Gao Xiaoyan could keep their composure. Ren Man, in particular, raised his fist and swung at Xu Huo. "Don't you dare!"
Xu Huo didn't move. Gao Xiaoyan blocked him.
"Xiaoyan Jie!" Ren Man stared at her in shock. "Are you actually going to agree to his terms?"
"Even if he can successfully guide me into evolution, I won't use you as a bargaining chip!"
"Let me make this clear—even if you agree, I won't nod. I'd rather give up this opportunity!"
"You can think it over," Xu Huo said, ignoring the others and looking only at Gao Xiaoyan. "You know the value of a super evolver. Mental super evolution might have limited effects in the early stages, but as long as the talent is sufficient, once they reach B-grade or A-grade, one person can match an entire army."
Gao Xiaoyan considered it briefly before saying, "The first condition isn't difficult, but I want to clarify the specifics of the latter two."
"Would you mind telling me the purpose of meeting the mayor and the content of the companionship?"
Xu Huo liked dealing with smart people. "Sure."
"As a sign of respect, and I need a 24-hour guide. No physical contact required."
Gao Xiaoyan signaled Ren Man to step back. Ren Man stepped back awkwardly but remained wary, not believing Xu Huo's words.
"I'm just a C-grade player. The premise of my conditions is that you're willing to cooperate," Xu Huo said with a smile. "Of course, if it doesn't work out, the above conditions are void. Miss Gao just needs to let me pass."