Players, Please Board the Train

In an environment of highly advanced technology, any news can spread extremely fast. Within just a few hours, the scale of the Mechanical Protest had doubled or even tripled. The District 011 government had no choice but to step in to maintain order. In addition to the existing maintenance organizations, both the White Epaulets and the Black Epaulets, and even part of the military force were deployed to the situation.

Fortunately, the government’s response was swift. Overnight, they came up with countermeasures.

First, compensation for the deceased, the injured, and those who were frightened, though the compensation plan was not made public.

Second, fines and suspension for business rectification for the club. The club’s owner would also face prosecution and might even end up in jail.

However, those who could run such a business usually didn’t have clean backgrounds. Naturally, someone from the noble side would negotiate a settlement. As for the prosecution, they could just push a scapegoat out to take the fall. The real boss behind the scenes wouldn’t need to show their face at all.

Whether driven by burning anger or by someone deliberately stirring things up behind the scenes, information about the club’s real owner was posted online. A hacker had breached the government system, not only exposing the owner but also mapping out their entire network of connections, even giving netizens clear directions.

Coincidentally, this matter was also somewhat related to the Rongxin Group. One of its shareholders was a partner in the club, and the smuggled players had used the Rongxin Group’s connections.

For a large corporation, digging up dirty secrets was all too easy. Before morning even arrived, someone had filed a real-name report accusing the Rongxin Group of brutally killing former employees who had been players—specifically, the two who had been used as sacrifices in the holographic game.

Of course, this wasn’t an isolated case. Once someone took the lead, many more dubious pieces of evidence began to surface one after another. Within half an hour of this fermenting, Rongxin had transformed from a large cross-industry corporation into a black factory that exploited employees and disregarded their lives and deaths.

The Mechanical Protest blocked the Rongxin Group’s headquarters building. No amount of robots could suppress the streets filled with machines, let alone deal with those deliberately causing trouble.As dawn was just breaking, Dr. Deng sent Xu Huo a message saying he had gone to the headquarters for training and was now trapped inside the Rongxin building.

Xu Huo figured Deng Xian’s luck was also a bit off, to get caught up in this as well.

A moment later, he replied with a message, ”The protest will be resolved in less than half a day. Just stay put and relax.”

Advanced technology was good, but it also had its drawbacks. Specialized jammers designed for machines, along with specific illegal deportation laws, doomed this protest from lasting very long.

Once the machines were collected, anyone who still wanted to cause trouble would have to take to the streets. But once they were recorded, they could face being sent to other partitions under District 011 during the post-event reckoning, or even thrown outside the district entirely. Who would want to leave District 011?

Putting down his communicator, Xu Huo stopped paying attention to this farce and went back to his room to sleep.

It wasn’t until the afternoon when he went to the study again that he found Bai Kou already inside. The desk and the floor were covered with various mechanical parts.

”Is that a cannon barrel?” Xu Huo walked over and glanced at it. Her movements for installation and disassembly were extremely proficient; she could even spare a glance at a modification manual while working.

”A Grade B energy cannon. One shot can blast three large buildings clean. Something like yesterday’s scene, one shot and not even ashes would remain,” Bai Kou said with a smile.

Xu Huo’s gaze lingered on the white metal cylinder for a moment before he asked, ”Where did you get this from?”

”Borrowed it from the Military Equipment Reserve,” Bai Kou said. ”I’ll return it after I’m done using it.”

”Does the military equipment from Platinum Eye all use this kind of energy?” Xu Huo scanned the desktop. The closest things to ”energy” were the two brown, thin sheets next to her hand.

”These are just energy scraps mixed with a bit of high-quality energy stone to make energy sheets. Each sheet can only be used once; they’re consumables,” Bai Kou explained. She had already assembled the new cannon barrel—a handheld white cylinder about one meter long. There was a control screen at the rear, and an energy sheet could be inserted below it.

Xu Huo looked closely and realized the control screen was something she had attached herself, replacing the original simple, easy-to-operate buttons.

”Fool-proof operation is simply a waste of energy sheets,” Bai Kou said, her slender fingers quickly tapping on the screen to pull up several interfaces. ”Remote positioning and tracking, delayed firing, continuous obstacle avoidance—now that’s what I call perfect.”

After saying this, she looked up at Xu Huo. ”Did Mr. Dong tell you about my background? His mouth is quite big for someone who can’t speak.”

”You’re very proficient with weapons,” Xu Huo commented. It probably went far beyond just modifying weapons.

”Can you make items?”

Bai Kou shot him a glance. ”Don’t be too curious.”

Xu Huo, however, crossed his arms and smiled. ”Now you’re living in my place. It’s only fair to reciprocate, and besides, I just want to understand a bit.”

”Items are mostly created by chance. Professional Artificers need certificates and special tools for making items. Usually, items that can be crafted by people aren’t of very high grade, with the exception of those given by the game system,” Bai Kou said flatly. ”Whether it’s weapons or items, they both burn through a lot of money.”

”Energy weapons use special energy stones. What about items, then?” Xu Huo made the connection quickly. ”Is it also a new type of energy?”

”You could say that,” Bai Kou nodded slightly. ”But the materials needed to make items are just harder to find.”

”The stone He Pu left for me, is that also a new type of energy?” Xu Huo continued to ask.

Bai Kou glared at him. ”You’re really annoying.”

”I guessed right?” Xu Huo acted as if he didn’t notice her displeasure. ”Is it related to making items?”

”You’re asking so many questions, but can you even make items?” Bai Kou retorted with a hint of sarcasm.

”Better to be prepared. Maybe one day it’ll come in handy,” Xu Huo stated frankly. ”Wasn’t that the purpose of He Pu leaving the stone for me?”

Bai Kou paused. ”I suppose you have a point.”

”That stone is indeed one of the raw materials for making items. But those who can become Artificers all possess a special characteristic. I don’t think you have what it takes.”

”The super player Paper Artisan can make items, and his items can even be sold in the game,” Xu Huo said. ”Doesn’t that prove this characteristic might not be something one possesses from the start?”

”Paper Artisan originally came from a craftsman background, and his in-game profession is related. In other words, his original development direction was toward becoming an Artificer. But he became exceptionally skilled and turned into a super player, which ironically made people overlook his original profession,” Bai Kou explained, then asked, ”What’s your profession?”

”Extra,” Xu Huo said, lifting his chin slightly. ”Take a look and see if my profession has any future.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Kou initially wanted to laugh, but seeing his completely serious expression, she replied with a touch of surprise, ”Are you serious?”

”The game has all sorts of bizarre professions, but ’Extra’? What were your other two options? Could they possibly be worse than ’Extra’?” Bai Kou was somewhat curious.

”In my opinion, they weren’t as good as ’Extra’,” Xu Huo said, not revealing the other options the game had given him, and steered the conversation back. ”If you can even get into the Military Equipment Reserve, you’re not short on arms. Are you here targeting the Phantom Sound Knights?”