Chapter 988: News of Yan Jiayu
The information available through official channels was relatively scarce, and some of it Xu Huo had already seen under the Dimension, giving him a general understanding of Zone 002. However, he wasn't here for an instance this time, so a rough overview was sufficient.
After skimming through the books on the shelf, he lay down to rest and casually browsed the information on E27.
The news from zones that had fully integrated into the game was more complex. Xu Huo paid particular attention to Zone 001, where an announcement about the Field Clan signing an agreement with Stellar Pharmaceuticals to establish a presence caught his interest.
The highest administrative officer at the E27 wormhole point was Carol Field of the Field Clan. As early as the Skinner instance, this person had become the leader of the Game Government at the E27 wormhole point. So far, none of the zones Xu Huo had visited had any Stellar Corporation branches. Of course, Stellar Corporation was highly likely the actual operator of the Dimension Crack game, so it wasn't surprising that its subsidiaries were concentrated in wormhole points that entered the game early. However, it was unexpected that the Field Clan could persuade Stellar Pharmaceuticals to set up in E27. It seemed that families that had entered the game early and cultivated their power were not to be underestimated.
Whether the Fields were among the actual controllers of the game was hard to say, but even if they weren't, those who could enter the game's management system should understand how the game operated.
Zone 001 would have to be visited sooner or later.
As for new zones like Zone 014, there wasn't much information. Aside from the subsequent addition of Zones 015, 016, and 017, only the Super Item incident in Zone 014 still had some buzz. The theory that the player who "stole" the Super Item might have been the Box Carrier had become a hot topic. Due to the leak of the Si Fang Palace instance strategy, many players had specifically gone there, drawn by the reputations of the two super big shots, the Box Carrier and the Paper Servant Master. No one knew what had happened in between, but the rumors grew increasingly absurd. Some even claimed that the Paper Servant Master had missed out on the Super Item in Zone 014 because of the "Field Battle Angel" and was now hunting down the Box Carrier to make up for it, supposedly proving that the Box Carrier was the one who stole the item.
Of course, anyone with a brain wouldn't believe this speculation, but more people were keen on the grudges and romances of the big shots, automatically filling in the backstory.
In reality, Super Players were just like those people on this train: they had met, but not exchanging blows would be hard to believe.
Anyway, the matter had fizzled out.
Xu Huo casually scrolled through some posts and unexpectedly came across a help request from an ID called "Abbot." It seemed she had entered a zone but couldn't find the instance site. The three maps she bought in the zone were all fake. Following the addresses on them, she had rushed to three widely separated locations but still hadn't entered the correct instance. She wanted to know how to deal with such an instance or if there was any positioning item that could help locate the instance site.
The game was full of all sorts of bizarre questions, and this request wasn't out of the ordinary. Some players offered paid solutions, but the requester failed. She also mentioned that the zone was particularly large and lacked convenient transportation. Local vehicles were far less effective than long-distance teleportation items, and she was short on funds, unable to afford high-level items. In the latest map she obtained, the instance site had moved to the other end of the zone, meaning if she wanted to go, she'd have to cross the zone again, and she was running out of time.
Xu Huo looked at the map and instance background she provided, canceled his anonymity, and sent a message to this one-star member account: "Yan Jiayu?"
Yan Jiayu knew his player nickname, and they quickly confirmed each other's identities.
"Is there not a single honest person in this zone? Why is every map sold in different places different!" Her irritation was palpable even through the text.
Xu Huo sent over the information clues he had seen.
"You mentioned this zone is particularly large, with every inhabited city unusually far apart, no stopovers or transfer points, inconvenient transportation routes and tools, and cities don't even interact with each other."
"Among the maps they gave, more than four-fifths of the city locations are the same, but the remaining fifth, including the instance site you need to go to, differs. This suggests these cities drew the maps without exchanging information. Based on their own cognition, the maps should be accurate for circulation within the city."
"Since the maps aren't wrong, it's likely the instance site is moving. Check if there's a common pattern among the cities with different locations. If the pattern is similar, follow the movement trajectory of the city closest to you."
"The game background mentioned that the instance site is always in the direction of the sunrise. See if the orientation in your zone is chaotic. Generally, even cities far apart shouldn't be too difficult to travel between, though it takes more time. If this zone has spatial divisions, causing discrepancies in city cognition, then the maps and reality won't match. Since different cities see the instance site in different locations, and the zone's orientation is chaotic, the instance site might not have moved at all—your senses are just off."
After sending the message, he also gave her the "Shortest Distance Between Two Points Is a Straight Line" item that the Special Defense Department had given him earlier through the platform.
"This item can only be used twice. After that, you can give it to someone else or hand it over to the Special Defense Department. Don't force a third use."
Yan Jiayu quickly replied with a "Thank you" and a smiley face. Xu Huo figured she had a plan and said, "Next time, let's set a time to host you properly."
Last time in Zone 011, when the attack incident occurred, she had to leave early from the castle visit, so it wasn't a fully enjoyable gathering.
"No problem," Yan Jiayu replied. "By the way, do you still need the Light Gentleman medal? I got another one."
Having an account under the Dimension meant she had also reached C-level.
"Not for now. I'll ask to borrow it if needed."
"Sure, sure," Yan Jiayu said. "I'll let you know the good news when I clear it."
"Say hello to Da Mao for me." Xu Huo sent one last reply before logging out of the Dimension. He went to the Bounty Platform and bought two lighting items, a protective suit with night vision shielding, and a psychotherapist certificate certified by Stellar Pharmaceuticals, attaching a photo of his fake face.
After doing all this, he rested for a while, ate the lunch brought by the flight attendant, told them not to prepare dinner, and then went to sleep.
He slept straight until the next morning. When he woke up, the pain in his chest had completely eased. After washing up, he planned to go for a walk. Opening the door, he ran into Liang Yi coming out of the next room. He nodded slightly in greeting.
Liang Yi looked even worse than when he had last seen her. Clearly, she had been injured again after yesterday morning and had no choice but to come to the VIP room.
"I'm going to Zone 002 too," she said.
(Chapter End)