Players, Please Board the Train

The bounty platform provided quite a bit of transaction information, but in Xu Huo’s view, even the least effective spatial item would cost close to a million White Bills. Unfortunately, he was flat broke right now, and he still hadn’t fulfilled the doll dress promised to Little Pink Hat.

The Y Country players he had killed earlier weren’t particularly wealthy either. Their total White Bills didn’t even reach a million, making it pointless to buy an ill-fitting spatial item.

As for items, those Y Country players weren’t exactly well-off. The best among their belongings were three C-grade items. One was a camouflage cloak that allowed the wearer to blend into their environment—it came from the invisible player guarding the depression. It could conceal one’s form but not their breathing.

There was also a protective suit that secreted adhesive mucus—this was the relic of the player who had been tailing him halfway. When worn, the suit would automatically secrete a liquid with extreme stickiness, capable of adhering to any surface. The downside was that once stuck, it might not come off. This thing could only be used effectively with a special potion.

The third item was the ”Danger Makes You Blind” mirror from the player in the building. This item had excellent effects, but its activation conditions were troublesome: the target’s eyes had to be reflected in the mirror for it to work. It didn’t matter whether the target saw the mirror or their own reflection in it.

Even if the Artificer was willing to trade, Y Country would undoubtedly hold back in the transaction. The high-grade items they purchased would be limited, and giving them to more important players was only natural.

As for hot weapons, except for energy guns and cannons that consumed Energy Stones as ammunition, none could be stored in the luggage compartment. So there wasn’t much to prepare in advance. He split the list he had drafted into two copies—one he gave to Gu Yu for her to help with purchasing, and the other he posted on the Vanguard Players forum.

Of course, the Special Defense Department learned of the forum message immediately. Minister Fan and the team leaders sat together, all convinced that Xu Huo had lost his mind.

That he was going to cause trouble in Y Country wasn’t hard to guess. The Special Defense Department had even planned to keep it a secret for him, but he had gone and leaked the information himself. Even if the Vanguard Forum didn’t have foreign players, there was no guarantee that word wouldn’t spread through word of mouth. By then, no matter what he wanted to do, it would be ten times harder.

”Look at this list he put out—military bases, experimental bases, virus research institutes... Does he think he can find these places just by looking at satellites?” Team Leader Wu said loudly. ”The kid has no idea how high the sky is or how thick the earth is. Is he really going to cause chaos at every single location one by one?”The other team leaders remained silent. After a long pause, Team Leader Chang finally spoke up. ”Old Wu, don’t smile so obviously. You’re making it impossible for anyone to continue the conversation.”

Team Leader Wu coughed, then addressed Minister Fan at the head of the table. ”We have to help with this, right? Those players on the forum are just cheering him on blindly.”

Sure enough, as soon as Xu Huo posted that list, people below started organizing teams to go to Y Country for revenge. They were even enthusiastically providing all sorts of bizarre information, claiming sources from foreign friends and relatives, ”secret discoveries” during travels, or information that had ”accidentally leaked” from abroad.

In the eyes of Team Leader Wu and the others, not a single one of these was reliable.

”I have a question,” Jiang Qiao said. ”Is he really going to Y Country?”

”Haven’t you read Nie Xuan’s report?” Minister Fan replied. ”He’s already found his route.”

”I’m not doubting his determination. I’m just questioning the success rate of this operation,” Jiang Qiao said. ”Getting into Y Country via foreign aircraft is too difficult. It’s almost impossible to avoid detection. He’ll probably get intercepted before he even sets off.”

”With all due respect, this infiltration plan of his is far too simple. There’s no way it’ll succeed.”

To professionals, Xu Huo’s arrangements indeed seemed laughable. Not to mention that this was a special period when Y Country would only tighten entry controls—even under normal circumstances, this plan would be hard to pull off.

”It’s a shame we don’t have spatial items that can cross hemispheres,” Team Leader Lü said slowly at this point. Under everyone’s slightly surprised gaze, she continued, ”I don’t understand what everyone is agonizing over. No matter what he wants to do or whether he succeeds, it costs us nothing. The Special Defense Department doesn’t intend to start an international war, but we genuinely can’t monitor every single player.”

”Just like Y Country’s players ’voluntarily’ came to our country, how could our players completely obey the Special Defense Department’s orders? The player era has begun. Isn’t this underestimating them?”

Her words moved Minister Fan. ”Indeed, things are different now. The player era has arrived, and the government’s control will only weaken further.”

”But in this matter, the Special Defense Department can still contribute.”

He nodded to the secretary, who encrypted a file on the computer and uploaded it to the forum.

”Xu Huo will definitely see this document,” Minister Fan said to Team Leader Wu. ”Also, take all the items, potions, and White Bills approved by the higher-ups and deliver them to him.”

That very night, Team Leader Wu brought the items to Xu Huo’s residence.

Several large standing boxes were pushed into the room, lined up in a row. Team Leader Wu said, ”Your merits can’t be repaid with money or items, especially after saving so many people this time. But the nation still wants to show its appreciation. Here’s one hundred million White Bills as a cash bonus.”

”In addition, there are forty-six types of potions. These are all the potions above D-grade that we’ve collected from the games so far. Except for a few with limited stock, each has at least twenty copies.”

”There are items too.”

He nodded to the player beside him. That tall, uniformed man took out five items, released his hold on them, and placed them before Xu Huo.

”Three B-grade items and two C-grade items. This is the best the Special Defense Department can offer at the moment,” Team Leader Wu said. ”The nation isn’t wealthy yet, but it will be better in the future.”

”You’re too generous.” Xu Huo said the polite words, but his expression barely changed.

Unable to gauge his attitude, Team Leader Wu added, ”The item selection was arranged by the Special Defense Department. See if they’re practical. If you have other requests, you can make them.”

Xu Huo’s earlier words were sincere. Even if the Special Defense Department had later Evolvers bring large amounts of money into the game to exchange for White Bills, the items they could buy were still limited. How many players did Nation X have? Every high-grade item was accounted for, and some were even kept as strategic reserves. For them to spare so many at once for him was no small feat.

The Special Defense Department had shown genuine sincerity this time.

”Let me take a look at the items first.” He stored the items on the table into his item slot.

The first B-grade item:

[The Shortest Distance Between Two Points Is a Straight Line: A truth verified by long-departed predecessors. An Artificer who adored all manner of truths poured this into his life’s work, painstakingly crafting this item—and truly painstakingly spitting blood to do so.]

[It is said that this item passed through the hands of three Artificers. The first two died during its creation, earning it the title of ’Cursed Item.’ It wasn’t until the third Artificer that it was finally completed, but his subsequent suicide added yet another layer of mystery to it.]