Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 954 A Preview

Chapter 954: Chapter 954 A Preview

But this isn’t the main point. Setting aside the genetic issue for now, the mass death of the infected isn’t unstoppable. With the lesson from W06 Base City, other surviving base cities should have a large stockpile of antitoxins. The fact that the SE virus problem has remained unresolved is illogical. Allowing the virus to survive within the infected is like a ticking time bomb—these vast base cities, there’s no way not a single player has found an antitoxin capable of a radical cure.

Since the SE virus weakens with transmission and over time, it’s evident that the developers aimed not merely to sever the future of certain base cities. Attaching these effects must serve a corresponding purpose.

Throttling Evolver genes would take at least fifteen years to show results. Contrary to what Teacher Ai said, the SE virus was created with killing in mind—possibly even as its primary purpose.

Whether in the base cities of the past or those of present, the rapidly growing population and the extreme scarcity of resources are the biggest problems.

"No specific antitoxin?" Xu Huo asked after pondering for a moment, "Base City 01 wouldn’t release such a virus without some way to save themselves."

Teacher Ai pulled a face, "There are such fools in the world who only look ahead and not behind."

"If there really was an antitoxin, not so many people would die." The square-faced man ran his hands through his hair, "One third of the population, how many children died within... I don’t understand, why does W11 still have the SE original samples?"

Though the square-faced man was a retired security guard from a government laboratory, he appeared to be under fifty years old. Compared to Teacher Ai’s anger, he held more sympathy for the ordinary people of Base W37 City.

"Is the law enforcement team after you because of the SE virus?" Xu Huo shifted the topic.

The square-faced man looked at Teacher Ai, who explained: "Xiong Qing was once a pharmacist for Base City 01. If the base government knew the SE virus was spreading, they would certainly suspect him, and my sudden arrival in W37 wouldn’t be overlooked by the government."

"It’s just that now with the outbreak, who knows if W37 will make use of the antitoxin reserves from the laboratory."

"Can the laboratory’s reserves even save that many people?" Xu Huo looked at the two of them, "And as you said, it will take at most forty-eight hours for the infection to cover the entire city, which might not be enough time."

"That’s not certain," said the square-faced man, Xiong Qing, "Before I left the laboratory, the government shut down a project on the SE virus. It was said that this project was focused on an antitoxin for the SE virus and seemed to have made some progress, but the professor in charge died of illness. Since the infectivity of the SE virus became less lethal, the project was abandoned. If we can get the research materials and the antitoxin, there might still be a glimmer of hope."

The two of them looked simultaneously at Xu Huo, who nodded understandingly, "I’ll call Gao Xiaoyan when I go out. If the antitoxin truly works, I’m sure the W37 government will restart the project."

Xiong Qing and Teacher Ai exchanged glances, hesitating.

"What?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.

"They might not believe what you say," Teacher Ai spoke up, "Even if Gao Xiaoyan trusts you despite past grievances, restarting the project and verifying the potion would take time. And if there’s only a small amount of the product, they might not use it on the general populace."

"What do you mean?"

"We need to get our hands on the potion," Teacher Ai said gravely, "Even if we can’t save the people of Base W37 City, we must prevent the virus from spreading to other base cities!"

"Player behavior during the quest also serves as one of the evaluation criteria. If we can save the base city, the rating will definitely not be below Rank-B. Saving lives is a very positive act in the game!"

"You came to us for this reason too, didn’t you?"

Xu Huo seemed persuaded, "Is there a map of the laboratory?"

"You’re really going?" Xiong Qing was surprised he agreed so quickly, "Currently, there are many players guarding the government laboratory. It’s dangerous to go."

"Let’s call it doing a good deed for the day," Xu Huo said with hidden depth, "Besides, I’ll play it by ear."

Teacher Ai fell silent for a moment before handing Xu Huo the laboratory map, saying, "We’ll head to the area near the city gate first and try to leave W37 if we get the chance. If you get the potion sample, come find us. We’ll wait for you for three hours."

"If you can’t get it, it’s alright. In the world of the game, no one should have to carry someone else’s life on their shoulders."

Xu Huo nodded in agreement, glancing out of the corner of his eye and noticing a map of W37 in Xiong Qing’s backpack. He asked, "You’re a Grey Player."

Xiong Qing covered his bag, "Yes, I can still use props, Old Ai’s player status is already suspended."

Xu Huo took the map and left, "I’ll find a way to attract the attention of the law enforcement team. You go according to the plan."

As a capable player, his attitude and actions were inevitably too good to be true; the other two watching his back were still half-doubtful.

Of course, Xu Huo knew of their skepticism, but that didn’t matter—he didn’t quite trust them either.

Yet, it was still necessary to make a trip to the government laboratory.

After leaving the jewelry store, he first went to find Shangguan Xi.

Shangguan Xi had also managed to escape the encirclement of the law enforcement team. When Xu Huo found him with the help of a tracker, he was unexpectedly in the company of Kuang Wenjun and Pan Qiao.

Since Xu Huo also needed help, he straightforwardly said, "I’ve triggered a side quest. If you’re willing to help, we can clear it together."

Kuang and Pan were shocked, with Pan Qiao blurting out, "You’ve found the third live sample?"

"Sort of," Xu Huo was vague, "Are you in or out?"

"Of course, we’re in!" Shangguan Xi rubbed his hands with glee, "Brother Xu, I knew I was right to follow you. Tell us, what do you need us to do?"

Xu Huo handed his glasses to Shangguan Xi, "You two are responsible for tailing Teacher Ai and that retired security guard Xiong Qing. Find out where they’re really heading, and report their position to me every five minutes."

"Kuang Wenjun will come with me. I have some things to take care of at the government laboratory."

A hint of hesitation in his voice, Pan Qiao said, "She’s not very mobile, maybe I should go instead..."

Kuang Wenjun interrupted him, "I’ll go."

With three in agreement to the plan, the fourth’s opinion didn’t matter. Xu Huo commanded, "Don’t let them die," before taking Kuang Wenjun with him to the Canopy Pillar using "Towards the Destination."

"Do you have an invisibility prop?" Xu Huo asked Kuang Wenjun.

"Yes, but it only lasts for a minute," Kuang Wenjun replied, looking up at the players guarding the Canopy Pillar, "Breaking through the defense line won’t be easy."

"That’s not a problem," Xu Huo put on the Invisibility Cloak. Instead of using the elevator, he went straight up from above. Holding "Three Seconds of a Lifetime" in his hand for a second, all the spatial restriction devices placed on the Canopy Pillar stopped working. As he landed on the aerial structure, he lit fires with his lighter, igniting many shops. In the ensuing chaos, he and Kuang Wenjun burst into a TV station building.