Chapter 1634: Chapter 1634: The Impact of the Instance
“He’s quite fast,” Young Master Mo finally said after a while, “I wonder if he’s really entered another dimension.”
Without seeing it for themselves, everything was just speculation, so they couldn’t tell if Tong Qi, who vanished just like the others before, had really advanced further.
At night, another player disappeared, and a person from Zone 013 died.
Besides Xu Huo and his group, only three others remained in the mall.
It wasn’t until night that Xu Huo took off his protective mask and hastily replenished some food.
Sitting idly, feeling bored, and since Young Master Mo was dozing off, he put aside his reserve and initiated a conversation with Xu Huo.
During the conversation, having guessed his background, Young Master Mo suggested that Xu Huo should seek refuge with a major player clan; for someone truly capable, powerful clans would not be sparing with resources.
“You’re a very smart person; learning experiences shouldn’t be difficult. There’s no need to waste time in instances. Use instance guides to level up quickly, and once your level is high, you can then focus on accumulating combat experience, which would still be in time.”
Young Master Mo’s advice was a viable method for fast leveling, but Xu Huo said, “Rapid leveling also requires the Evolution Rate to keep up. No one can absorb too many Evolution Potions in a short period; taking them too frequently will have side effects.”
“This issue isn’t hard to resolve,” Young Master Mo said, “Nowadays, many district devices can help digest Evolution Potions. Besides, players mostly rely on props for combat. As long as props are used skillfully, they can make up for the lack of speed.”
This is how player clans think. Take Young Master Mo, for example: although he’s also a Rank-C Player with not much combat experience, he can still hold his own or even gain an advantage over players of the same level with props—despite him not being particularly gifted.
For someone like Xu Huo, the difference between learning experience early or late isn’t very significant.
After listening, Xu Huo asked, “If someone spends money to nurture players, there must be a way to restrain the players, right?”
In a game world where you might never see a familiar face once you escape, how do you ensure the loyalty of players who choose to take refuge?
“There are ways, but for truly skilled players, unless there’s absolute control, all methods are the same,” Young Master Mo explained, “Besides, if the conditions are too harsh, no one would sign a contract with player clans.”
An Artifact Maker can sign a contract through a gaming platform to ensure the payment for custom props, similarly, such contracts could apply elsewhere. However, employment contracts differ from trade transactions, involving various aspects, and cannot be completely airtight, so there’s considerable room for maneuvering within, unlike straightforward transactions.
From Young Master Mo’s attitude toward ordinary players, it’s clear that from his perspective, it doesn’t make much difference whether someone’s taking refuge or not.
The conversation eventually turned to the reason he came to Zone 013.
“To avenge a dead friend, you’re not a bad person,” Xu Huo commented.
“No need to mock me,” Young Master Mo replied, “I know this behavior is reckless, and I hadn’t considered that I might die in this instance before coming.”
“I don’t see it that way,” Xu Huo fiddled with the protective mask at his side, “The opponent might’ve deliberately revealed their name, perhaps waiting for you to come.”
This was just a possibility, but it highlighted how risky revenge can be. If such a player really was waiting here, even if Young Master Mo brought a Rank-B player, revenge might not be guaranteed.
Young Master Mo just pulled a smile, “What does it matter, when we can’t even find the person, let alone know who it is.”
“But in a way, it’s fortunate. His family wasn’t even willing to try. After finding out about this, they didn’t ask about his body’s whereabouts, nor cared about who ‘Midsummer Night’s Galaxy’ was that killed him.”
“They’re smart people.”
Xu Huo’s gaze was reflected on Young Master Mo’s sunglasses, “Do you have a problem with your eyes?”
Young Master Mo’s sunglasses were a prop, making it impossible to observe his eyes from the side.
Young Master Mo paused, then reached to remove his sunglasses, followed by taking out his right eye—a prosthetic eye.
After showing it, he put it back, “During my childhood, a player broke into my home, and after getting nothing, they took me hostage, demanding enough props from my family to let me go, while popping one of my eyes in front of them.”
“The delay was too long at the time, and a fresh eye couldn’t be transplanted, so I could only use a fake eye.”
“I see,” Xu Huo said, “No wonder you’re so hostile toward other players.”
“Don’t you hate them?” Young Master Mo’s words were filled with intense self-loathing, “Humanity has evolved, but moral character hasn’t evolved with it. Instead, more people, having acquired power, have continuously lowered their moral baseline.”
Xu Huo could feel his emotional change, probably influenced by the instance affecting his mental state, making him more likely to expose his true feelings when relying on fatigue for support.
“This is an eternal problem; the moral baseline is relative and unrelated to evolution,” he paused and then reminded, “Pay attention to your condition; you might be affected by the instance.”
Young Master Mo ignored him and instead pointed to a nearby corpse, “Do you think they were affected by the instance?”
Seeing him stuck on this topic, unable to break free, Xu Huo tossed him a bag of jerky, “Have something to eat.”
Young Master Mo caught it with a raised hand but didn’t eat it, slowly placing it aside, then walked to the corpses set neatly in the mall and drove a fine sword into one person’s eye.
The people were long dead, they wouldn’t react even if sliced into pieces, yet Young Master Mo frantically kept stabbing with his sword, slashing every corpse’s eyes, and when he finally gasped, he turned his attention to the three sleeping remaining.
Xu Huo had no choice but to knock him out.
“You weren’t completely out of your mind; you knew to pick easy targets, avoiding your own people.”
After throwing him to the corner of the wall, Xu Huo took the bag of jerky himself.
The lighting props in the mall were still on, but in this vast city, it felt as if only he was left.
With nothing else to do, he took out the Wisdom Sphere given by Chang Bei and began unlocking it.
This was made by Doctor Zhang, essentially a small prop containing a certain amount of Psychic Power. To successfully open it, one has to use spiritual power to unlock it. Chang Bei wasn’t a Super Evolutionary with Mental Powers. There must be a reason he gave this Wisdom Sphere; either he acted on his own accord or was instructed by Doctor Zhang. Either way, it was related to Doctor Zhang, so he might as well unlock it to see what was inside.
Beside Doctor Zhang, apart from Xue Lang, others should be somewhat intelligent, and before Chang Bei left Zone 014, he was relatively among the normal ones… Thinking of this, he recalled Chang Bei presenting himself as a woman, unsure if there was another transformation.