Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 1133: Player Autonomous City

Chapter 1133: Chapter 1133: Player Autonomous City

The two injured individuals first wanted to retort, but upon seeing the man sitting across from them, they immediately swallowed their words and changed their tone, saying, "We were only responsible for the rendezvous, the ones who went in are the real experts."

Derisive laughter came from the other side of the table.

"It seems you still don’t want to live," Xu Huo said.

"Wait!" the first player to speak exclaimed, "Everything we’ve said is true! Our lives are in your hands, we wouldn’t dare to lie!"

"If you don’t believe us, you can check the messages on the Pioneer Player forum. There are quite a few rumors about Bian Ling that have been leaked by insiders of the Special Defense Department, only the names have been censored!"

Xu Huo’s phone had run out of battery, so he used theirs and indeed found some marginalized news.

"When these messages were first released, they were very hot, but in the end, they were suppressed. The mentioned murders and prop robberies have never been proven... Maybe they were proven but not announced. Anyway, people keep talking about it, but Bian Ling was never punished. She holds positions in both the Special Defense Department and Jing City’s separate defense agencies, plus she’s a genius player. Such minor issues could hardly affect her."

"Country X now is not the same as before. In the past, powerful people committing evil deeds would at least cover them up to avoid public uproar, but now Player Level is everything, and the voice of the original state apparatus doesn’t carry much weight anymore."

This was also the truth. In fact, compared to other new zones, Zone 014 was still relatively stable. Just look at Zone 009, which had recently fully integrated with the game world, to see that once state institutions lose their deterrent power, chaos is inevitable. If there are Player Organizations or other organizations that can control the situation, there might be stability. If not, the result will be prolonged chaos, and everyone living in that zone, players included, will face a significantly increased difficulty in surviving.

Looking at the safe zones established in Ting City, Zone 014 managed to stabilize the situation early on. At least the first group of players that developed were still within the government institutions, although the internal power center might shift.

Of course, in order to maintain the original power landscape, the state will definitely work hard to cultivate its own people, especially those families that have deep roots. Only then won’t the country’s situation undergo earth-shattering changes.

However, "If that Bian Ling really smeared the country’s name as the rumors say, the Special Defense Department won’t just sit idly by."

Xu Huo closed the Pioneer Player forum interface.

The Special Defense Department isn’t stupid, or rather the original power-holders weren’t stupid. It’s no longer the era dominated by hot weapons, and just when Country X is making great efforts to increase the number of players, governmental bad news would bring more severe consequences than before. Overthrowing the government might not be achievable in the short term, but killing a few people is simple.

Country X is only so big; where can people hide?

The country is a long way from developing fully, but for a single player to level up is much simpler. In the current situation, just any Rank-C player could kill their way into a safe zone, but would the state really dare to attack a safe zone with super-large weapons?

Therefore, under such circumstances, the likelihood of those in power being assassinated greatly increases, even if just for their own safety, rumors like those associated with Bian Ling cannot be ignored.

"Perhaps because she’s stealing from the Special Defense Department’s possessions..." another player said, "the Department finds it awkward to deal with her."

Xu Huo pinched the bridge of his nose, "Don’t know who you take for a fool."

He took out a vial of Truth Serum, "Let’s try and see if it’s effective or not."

Clearly, these two didn’t have the strongest wills, and after one injection they spilled everything. What they said roughly matched their previous story, except it wasn’t Bian Ling who contacted them directly. They only knew of someone named "Bian Ling" through colleagues who were leaking information. The authenticity was questionable, and they had neither witnessed the information channel themselves nor had they personally seen internal members making contact with Special Defense Department insiders.

This could be verified by the information on their phones.

However, the phone did reveal another interesting matter.

In just the three months of his absence, three "player-governed" cities had emerged within Country X.

The so-called "player-governed" is just a euphemism for players controlling local power. The reality is that local Special Defense Sub-Departments could no longer control the local players. Although the Special Defense Department and local government still ostensibly hold authority, they dare not confront the local players head-on—quite like the underground forces holding sway in secret, too entrenched to be moved.

And these three cities have also become places some players aspire to reach.

Of course, there are definitely more cities like this, but only these three have become nationally known, and even the headquarters of the Special Defense Department can’t afford to sort out the situation, letting it develop unchecked.

One incident that made a big noise was when a captain from a local Special Defense Sub-Department led a team through one of these cities, only for the entire group to be cleanly wiped out and the transported goods stolen.

After this, Minister Fan specifically sent people to handle it, but not a single place in the entire city—from the local government and Special Defense Sub-Department, to official Player Organizations and civilian Player Organizations—could find any trace of information, not even about the missing goods which never showed up on the market.

Top to bottom, they were united as one, and Minister Fan’s first group of envoys returned utterly defeated.

If it can’t be handled within the rules, naturally, there are ways outside of them. After the people from Jing City’s Special Defense Department left, a group of players entered the city, declaring a secret war against the local players. However, this conflict lasted only three days and ended with half of the invading players dead or wounded.

This was a battle that made them famous and also indirectly declared the end of the era when the government held complete control.

Of course, the Special Defense Department would indeed be capable of thoroughly removing this cancer, but it would require substantial manpower and resources, and the timing isn’t right. So, the situation was left unresolved.

That’s how these "player-governed" cities came to be.

Among the associates of the two individuals Xu Huo captured, it seems some had dealings with members of Tian City’s underground organizations.

"If you ask what advantage Country X has over other countries, it’s the large number of players."

"If you ask where the disadvantage lies, it’s in the same large number of players."

Xu Huo couldn’t help but say.

Considering Tian City’s population size, and the number of officially tallied players, the total is well over one hundred thousand. Even if we discount those who have only touched the threshold of being a player, there are still several thousand, even tens of thousands, who are relatively outstanding and can survive several rounds in the game.

If these people were to unite, the Special Defense Department would not dare to kill them all in one go.

Of course, looking at the bigger picture, naturally, the more players the better, otherwise when Zone 014 fully integrates with the game world in the future, it will be another tragedy of being the meat on the chopping block.

After handling the two men, Xu Huo went back to the safety zone.