Back when Xu Huo first entered the city center, fresh faces in charge of surveillance from the Municipal Government had already come to the entrance area, keeping an eye out for when he would come out.

And when Xu Huo’s permissions suddenly got upgraded, Old Cai and the others couldn’t sit still anymore and came out too. Originally, they had specifically set up a position just to help Xu Huo increase his number of wanted criminals, saying he needed one or two thousand people to clear the instance. Of course this Municipal Government player didn’t believe it, so they deliberately stuck his numbers, then used the "communication cut" trick to stall for time.

The plan was to force Xu Huo to compromise and find a way to enter the city center... Who knew he would go in, and go in so smoothly—so smoothly that the permissions got changed. Whether that programmer didn’t die, or he changed it himself, the result was the same: in any case, he had already cleared the instance, and had indeed entered the core area of the Water Rubik’s Cube.

Through the internal system chat they were basically certain that the one replying definitely wasn’t the programmer Old Ding, but Xu Huo imitating Old Ding’s tone. Why he was doing this was unknown, but he had gone in, and to some extent was safe. Did this mean the area near the Water Rubik’s Cube core was safe?

Would he take the chance to sabotage the Water Rubik’s Cube, or interfere with it?

Or would he seize the opportunity to retaliate against them, plunging Bu Liu City into chaos?

Of course, aside from the original Municipal Government players, there were also Outer Zone players who had come over to watch the show.

Judging from the previous promotion of the Temporary Enforcement Officer position, many players had already realized that bribing the Municipal Government with money was also a good method. It was just that the Municipal Government was a bit too black-hearted and asked for a very high price; many players were reluctant to spend that money for the time being.

But Xu Huo’s promotion had been far too fast. Players guessed he might have something on people from the Municipal Government—that was also a possible method, but unfortunately those people from the Municipal Government were hiding way too well. Besides, the Municipal Government system might still be inside the city center, so catching Municipal Government players might not even help.

Position promotion couldn’t be completely useless. The players had rushed here to verify whether Xu Huo had cleared the instance through this method, and if he could transfer his identity to someone else, all the better.

Internal personnel changes in the Municipal Government used to be public, but what Xu Huo did in the city center was only notified through the internal system. As for why it suddenly seemed like all the players knew, that was thanks to those few Temporary Enforcement Officers.

Old Cai and the others also stirred the pot from behind. They made the worst-case assumption: that Xu Huo would come out safe and sound, having not only cleared the instance but also coming after them. The more people knew his clearance method, the messier the situation would get, and maybe Xu Huo would feel pressured enough to just leave.

"I knew that bunch in the Municipal Government were up to no good." Zhu Xiaojin was waiting as well. "Just watch, they’ve definitely already changed their appearances and are sneaking around among the cleared players."

"So many people came, they’re probably all here for Mr. Xu’s Municipal Government position." Mi Qiaonan said uncertainly, "He probably didn’t leave any loose ends; he might’ve already cleared and left."

"Whether he cleared or not is still uncertain." Zhu Xiaojin swept a glance around at the people nearby. "But if it were me, I’d definitely run the first chance I got."

"Have you known Mr. Xu from before?" Only now did Mi Qiaonan remember to turn around and ask the Girl in the painting, "Has he left?"

The Girl in the painting was playing a game. Hearing her, she waved a hand without saying anything.

Mi Qiaonan could only say, "Then we can only wait."

But as soon as she finished speaking, a figure passed through the city center’s barrier and walked out. He didn’t avoid the others; he even deliberately chose to come out at the same place he had gone in, and he hadn’t changed his face either. He seemed to be telling everyone that he had just taken a trip to the city center and walked out safe and sound.

Zhu Xiaojin clapped his hands. "Awesome!"

The Girl in the painting closed her game, leapt a few times and landed by his side. "Leaving now?"

"Wait a bit." Xu Huo took out his Communicator and dialed Shi Sanjiu’s contact.

The other party hadn’t entered the third game yet. Once the call connected he said, "Bro, you cleared the instance?"

"Yeah. I’ve got a shortcut to clear the instance for you, you coming or not?" Xu Huo asked bluntly.

"Coming, of course I’m coming!" Shi Sanjiu burst into laughter. "You wait, I’ll be there within five minutes."

Xu Huo hung up, swept his gaze over the nearby players who were itching to try something, didn’t use any Prop to activate a Defensive Barrier, and instead walked slowly to a square not far away. After switching terminals, he enlarged the projection screen to maximum, then started typing up his clearance experience for the One Third City instance.

Aside from using the Municipal Government channel to personally arrest wanted criminals, once your position rose high enough, you could authorize death sentences—that is to say, all the wanted criminals captured and submitted could count toward the cumulative number.

He also made public the fact that Municipal Government players controlled part of the system permissions.

Then came information about the One Third game.

He only summarized the key intel he had gotten from the first game. As for the second and third game, although he had already forgotten the content, he could infer that the second was related to Time Force, and the third was likely some kind of upgrade of Space-Time Power, with the difficulty increasing at each stage.

As for the origin of the Water Rubik’s Cube and the price of losing "the future," he didn’t mention those. He only talked about how "the past" and "the present" represented memory, and that if one entered the One Third game, it was best to put "the future" first when arranging the three, because the chips you lost were calculated in reverse order.

He posted this content on the Collection of Information Terminal, attaching the name he had registered under in the Municipal Government to guarantee the authenticity of the intel.

"What a good guy." Zhu Xiaojin couldn’t help giving him a thumbs up. "If you took this out and sold it, I bet plenty of people would pay for it."

"That’s just pocket change." Xu Huo’s expression was calm. "It’s nothing compared to cutting off One Third City’s future path. That’s much more satisfying."

The more players cleared the instance, the more people would understand the inside story of the One Third game, and in the future fewer dungeon players would come in. Whether it wanted to kill Super Evolvers or collect experimental data, there was nothing wrong with stopping it from getting its way.

"Exactly, exactly." Shi Sanjiu, who had already arrived, chimed in when he heard this, "It’s always been the game messing with us—we have to seize the chance to fight back. How can we just stand there and take the beating?"

Xu Huo tossed him the Communicator he had registered an account for in the city center. "You can use it directly."

Shi Sanjiu didn’t even check it. He took it, stuffed it into his luggage compartment, and patted Xu Huo’s shoulder gratefully. "If you ever need my help with anything, just say the word! I’ve got tons of Props and instruments, and if I don’t, I’ll find a way to get them for you!"

Xu Huo smiled slightly. "No need to be so formal. We hit it off, so let’s be friends."

"Good, then we’ll skip the polite talk." Shi Sanjiu said, "Promises to friends don’t have an expiry date with me! You can come to me anytime!"

Xu Huo nodded. "I’m about to leave now. Wish you a smooth clearance."

Shi Sanjiu didn’t care at all about those players eyeing them like tigers. He raised his hand and took out a round Jade Badge. "This is the badge that represents my family’s identity. With this, you can exchange ten billion White Notes at any Advanced auction house in any Rank-B Wormhole Point. They recognize this."