Chapter 2761: Mutual Pursuit

Players with higher evolution rates tend to be more perceptive. Even without secondary evolution, they can still sense the power of space-time, just not accurately judge it.

This is the ability brought by evolution.

Similarly, secondary evolution also enhances a player’s perceptiveness, particularly spirit evolution. Although this woman named Red Stone had a prop, Xu Huo could sense her strong psychic power, which was quite contrary to her petite and somewhat listless appearance.

This is a formidable individual.

"Hello, everyone." After Red Stone briefly greeted the players present, she distributed the plans. Xu Huo and his team’s mission was to infiltrate from different locations of Punishment City. The main aim was to destroy the instruments placed inside, particularly those restricting spatial artifacts, and then to distract Punishment City’s personnel, allowing enough time for Red Stone’s people to accomplish their tasks.

"How many of you are here?" asked Lei Xiaohe, the player who previously persuaded Xu Huo to join the operation.

"You don’t need to know that." Red Stone replied, "Your primary task is just these two; we’ll take care of the rest."

"Who are you rescuing?" another player asked.

"You don’t need to know that either." Red Stone said the same thing.

"Not willing to say anything, who knows whether it’s a trap?" someone added, "Your Zone 022 loves to amuse yourselves with Outer Zone players."

Red Stone placed a box on the table, and once the lid was opened, there were more than twenty props stacked inside, "You can pick any piece as a down payment, though they aren’t great props, they are more than enough for your trip."

"Whether you leave right after reaching Punishment City or simply check in, one prop’s value is sufficient."

"But if you can properly cooperate with my actions, after completion, you can settle for a few more props."

"The props for settlement have already been placed in a fixed location. Once you get the key, you can retrieve the goods yourself without any interference."

As she spoke, she showed the key, a triangular key representing a public storage locker. Such lockers were special facilities insured by the District Government for storing valuable items; they had their own operational trajectories and wouldn’t be fixed in one place. No matter where in the city a person is, as long as the key is successfully activated, the items inside will be delivered by flying robots.

These storage lockers are hard to tamper with.

A player cautiously verified the authenticity of the key and nodded to the others.

"Anyone who doesn’t want to participate can leave now," Red Stone added.

After a few seconds of silence, a player stepped forward and picked up a prop from the box. Once in hand, his expression relaxed slightly.

Xu Huo also picked up one.

It was a Rank-B prop. Although not very practical, the quality spoke for itself. Such props were desired by some low-level players and ordinary people, and weren’t cheap at all.

"Really rich, aren’t you afraid we’ll take the props and run away?" someone muttered.

There’s always the possibility, but the remaining payment is still there. The promise of an additional reward is sure to motivate action.

The planned operation was set for two nights later. After Red Stone had outlined the approximate area for him, she left, and Xu Huo, Lei Xiaohe, and thirteen others stayed at the hotel to rest.

Some were enthusiastic, while others were worried. Xu Huo sat in a corner with his eyes closed, and only after Lei Xiaohe circled in front of him several times did Xu Huo speak: "Anything up?"

"It’s just that their generosity seems a bit excessive." Lei Xiaohe sat down next to him, "Though they say it’s for creating trouble, what if Zone 022 finds out our identities? Being wanted would make it hard to clear the level."

"More than that." Xu Huo smiled, "If we can’t clear the level, we’ll be stuck here, and the consequence of being caught is being locked in Punishment City."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Lei Xiaohe quickly interjected, "Don’t say such unlucky things."

"Didn’t you understand these before agreeing?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I did, I’m just a bit anxious." Lei Xiaohe scratched his head, "I naturally have poor mental resilience, which is why I never gambled, but this time the money they offered is too tempting..."

"Did you draw any points?" Xu Huo suddenly asked.

Other players turned to look.

"Definitely not!" Lei Xiaohe assured, "I’m not from Zone 022, where would I get points from, even if I wanted to, they wouldn’t agree."

At this point, a player sneered, "Better not, if this hits a snag, you won’t escape either."

Lei Xiaohe rolled his eyes, "If you don’t want to go, just leave. Who can blame you for wanting to earn money?"

"I say you don’t need to worry too much." The curly-haired female player in a corner said while smoking, "They’ve planned how to play but we don’t have to follow suit."

"If it’s truly a trap, we’ll show them a good deal."

The woman had a charming face and spoke with a special charm. Under everyone’s gaze, she smiled lightly, "At that point, leave a few people outside, if nothing happens, it’s fine; if something does, we’ll just blow up Punishment City, let Zone 022 hear the bang!"

This drew several cheers.

Inside Punishment City, the methods to control players mainly involve drugs and instruments limiting the use of props. Even if they could sever connections with the game, they wouldn’t dare use them recklessly since their people also need props.

The female player continued, "If necessary, get some hostages in there; I don’t believe they can ignore the costs."

"Wouldn’t that just escalate the conflict?" someone else said, "Being a wanted criminal isn’t fun."

"Not daring, huh?" The female player exhaled smoke and squinted at him, "If you chicken out halfway, nobody will blame you."

The tactic was clear to everyone, but it worked, especially in front of so many players. Whether to run or not is a decision for two days later; for now, reputations could be preserved.

"Handsome," the female player turned to Xu Huo, "I noticed you’ve been paying attention to the woman named Red Stone, is there anything off about her?"

"She is a Psychic Evolver." Xu Huo admitted.

"Zone 022 is a major zone; having many Secondary Evolvers is normal." The female player added, "That shouldn’t be anything, should it?"

Xu Huo smiled slightly, "I just smell a con artist."

"You certain?" a tall, strong man asked, "Could this really be Zone 022’s pastime?"

"I don’t know the real situation, but if you want to find out, keeping the appointment in two days will do." Xu Huo said.

"Hm!" the female player laughed softly, "This does need some careful consideration."

Two days passed quickly; more players showed up for the meeting than Xu Huo expected, only two had left. Before reaching the designated meeting point by Red Stone, each team had left contingencies outside to ensure a retreat.

Outside, after checking the time, the group silently split, heading towards their destinations as agreed beforehand.