Jiang Chengfeng grinned, "Hunting players from the Eastern District."

As expected, Xu Huo didn’t say much. Jiang Chengfeng was very outgoing, watching him rummage through the underground facilities of Agor and said, "Do you also fancy these things?"

It’s not that he underestimated Agor’s economic strength; many of the instruments here were extremely advanced and could fetch a good price if sold. It wouldn’t be surprising if other players did this, but Xu Huo didn’t seem like someone who lacked money.

"Even a mosquito is meat, let alone this is a drumstick." Xu Huo picked up a manual next to a large instrument. To ensure absolute control over its technology, Agor installed self-destruct programs in many of its instruments: if the ownership changed hands but the verification information wasn’t updated in time, the instrument would self-destruct upon first use by the new owner.

Cracking the identity verification took time and was not cost-effective, and selling them directly wouldn’t fetch a high price. However, there were many instruments in the headquarters’ underground lab that hadn’t been enrolled in identity verification yet. These new machines were what Xu Huo wanted, and he contacted the Special Defense Department to find a spacious place to receive the instruments, leaving the price to be negotiated later.

The machines with identity verification could be potentially dangerous, so he did not choose those and took all the new machines instead.

Jiang Chengfeng spoke nonchalantly and acted without hesitation; not only did he take the instruments, but he also grabbed a lot of potions, generously sharing many with Xu Huo.

Xu Huo stored the compact potions in his luggage bay, and soon, this brief "harvest time" passed as armed robots, previously hampered by instrument interference and mutant plant obstructions, gradually regained their mobility. They replaced the Eastern District players who had withdrawn from Yuquan City, beginning to eliminate anything that might threaten the city.

The toxic gas in the air affected the Eastern District players the most, so under Teacher Zhao’s compulsory orders, more than half of the Advanced Players who had undergone surgery withdrew from Yuquan City. The remaining ones couldn’t even care about the players from the Outer Zone and their own district who were reveling in the city; they had to pacify and rescue ordinary people and find enough antitoxin. There were people inspecting the water storage center, so armed robots and armed flying devices became more active in the city.

There was no need to confront the armed robots at this time, so Xu Huo and Jiang Chengfeng left the Agor Headquarters.

Along the way, they saw Eastern District players who had died from poisoning, and some ordinary people forced to run to nearby shops and malls because their homes were destroyed. Most of them wore gas masks and hadn’t shown signs of poisoning yet.

"Almost everyone in the Eastern District is equipped with protective masks and suits, but the Western District has it the worst," Jiang Chengfeng tutted.

It’s unclear how Teacher Zhao arranged things over there, but when passing by the water storage center, the Resistance Army was already trying to seize the sluice gate.

"Of course, the Eastern District prioritizes saving the people of the Eastern District. If there’s not enough antitoxin, they might directly abandon the Western District people." Jiang Chengfeng glanced at the huge wall between the East and West Districts, "No one’s taken down the wall yet."

Xu Huo remained silent; the Resistance Army wasn’t foolish enough to directly tear down the wall between the East and West Districts, as it would only worsen the situation in the Eastern District with no other benefit. The Western District people were certainly disadvantaged, but being disadvantaged doesn’t mean being kind, especially since most of the Advanced Players from the Eastern District had retreated outside the city, and even if they came back prepared with protective gear, it would take time. With so many people in the Western District, it wouldn’t work without some form of restraint.

Because of sufficient preparation combined with the help of armed robots and abundant living resources, each person in the Eastern District had a "rescue manual," so the people of the Eastern District remained relatively stable.

However, it was different in the Western District.

When the black fog spewed out, nearby people quickly showed signs of poisoning. The "Western District Cleanup Plan," which had loomed over the Western District people’s heads, seemed to finally become a reality. People panicked, ran for help from the inspectors, armed robots, and the Resistance Army. Of course, amidst the panic, violence was not absent; nothing was surprising under desperation, and for a time, the Western District was filled with screams, cries, and slaughter.

The Resistance Army, following their orders, promptly maintained order locally and publicly announced that the black fog was not a lethal poison, and that the leader, Dove, was working on a solution in the Eastern District to secure the antitoxin.

Previously seeming inhumane in the eyes of the Western District people, the inspectors now released armed robots and flying devices to control those leading disturbances and those taking advantage of chaos to kill and loot. The Dark Power, with its tentacles penetrating various parts of the Western District, also worked to maintain stability on its turf. Fortunately, the Western District mainly housed ordinary people, and even those with Player Levels weren’t very high, so no significant casualties occurred.

But this was only temporary.

Advanced players from the Eastern District began gradually returning. Xu Huo and Zheng Yuci’s battle had made them realize that the poisoning incident might be irreversible; Agor and top officials of the Municipal Government had never shown up or taken responsibility for the incident. Thus, the Eastern District players, led by figures like Teacher Zhao, temporarily ceased hostilities to negotiate with the Resistance Army.

The chips and toxins in the brains of the Eastern District players hadn’t been completely removed, so they weren’t safe. It was an open secret that "White Blood" could easily take their lives. From now on, for a long time, they were more vulnerable than ordinary players. The negotiations aimed to unite players within Yuquan City and to guard against external threats.

Only the Resistance Army had truly understood what "White Blood" was. If both sides shook hands and reconciled, players from the same district wouldn’t have opportunities to exploit them; otherwise, players from the Eastern District might be forced to distance themselves from Yuquan City.

The content of the negotiations was unknown to outsiders, but within less than half an hour, the fight between the Eastern District players and the Resistance Army had completely ceased, and both sides began cooperating to clean up the Outer Zone players wreaking havoc in the city. Moreover, the storage water containing antitoxin was distributed; the Eastern District opened a pipeline managed by the Eastern District players, the Western District by the Resistance Army, both monitoring each other, prioritizing the distribution of water to players and severely poisoned young adults and children.

The scene looked somewhat chaotic, as some rules hadn’t been properly established in haste, but things were generally heading in a positive direction, and restoring normal order was only a matter of time.

"I have to go." Jiang Chengfeng received a communication and said regretfully to Xu Huo, "We’ve been through life-and-death together now. Let’s meet up again if we get the chance."

Xu Huo waved to him and turned towards the water storage center.

Teacher Zhao and Dove were looking for him.

The Advanced Antitoxin reserved in Yuquan City could also treat "White Blood’s" poison, but the reserve was limited and costly. Diluted, it was far less effective than the water in the storage tank, so they planned to ask Xu Huo for more antitoxin without shame.

Of course, they weren’t asking for free and offered very generous terms in return.