Chapter 2407: Chapter 2407: A Small Pending Matter

Under Lan Huaijie’s enthusiastic explanation, Xu Huo and the others became interested in his family’s factory and agreed to visit it together the next day.

"This Young Master Lan is quite passionate." After Lan Huaijie left, the female player lowered her voice and said, "It’s rare to meet someone who can’t wait to show off everything of their family’s wealth."

"Players like us are also one of the target customers." The fat player said, "Even if we know his family is in the weapon business, can we just go and rob them directly?"

"That’s true." The female player chuckled, "How could someone doing business in weapons be weak?"

The few of them were merely acquaintances without any deep connections, so after a couple of perfunctory remarks, they each returned to their rooms.

The night passed peacefully, and no one from the Fish Banquet came after them.

Early in the morning, Lan Huaijie had breakfast prepared, "These are all local specialties; see if they suit your tastes."

Despite the earlier circumstances, his thoughtfulness was still quite appreciated. After breakfast, the group drove to the factory.

"Flying over the core city of District 001 requires prior application, so for saving time, we usually use ground transportation." Lan Huaijie said.

The car drove from the villa area into the bustling city area, and then through it to the industrial zone of the city.

Here factories stand in crowds, most of them with facades made of special anti-peeping materials and very strict security. Not only are the number of monitors a multiple of other parts of the city, but the number of players also spikes sharply, and every vehicle passing any factory gate is concentratedly monitored.

"Could it be that all these are weapon factories?" The fat player couldn’t help commenting upon seeing the situation.

Lan Huaijie simply chuckled, "This whole area consists of my family’s factories."

The carriage fell silent for a moment, just as they reached their destination. The car stopped, and several players who had been waiting greeted Lan Huaijie first and then nodded to Xu Huo and the others.

It seemed Lan Huaijie often brought people for visits, so they weren’t interested in the identities of these people, and according to the usual procedure, they introduced some newly introduced machinery and the technical innovations in the factory, also showcasing some assembled weapons.

Xu Huo tried a few, "They’re nice, but unfortunately, I can’t carry them away."

Most firearms aren’t allowed to be placed into the prop column or luggage compartment, even disassembled, and this district’s weapon innovations still lag far behind the Eye of Platinum, so there are no weapons that can be put into the luggage compartment.

The fat player lovingly stroked a handgun, "Though they can’t be carried out, they can circulate within the district, and if you have the means, you could sell them for a high price outside."

The female player was more straightforward, "I’m not interested in things I can’t use."

After evolution, most districts no longer ban firearms, or they simply can’t ban them effectively. To save on prop consumption and evade certain district-specific restrictions on props, it’s common for players to buy firearms, though some players gradually abandon this option due to the limitations of firearms and their lack of flexibility compared to props, especially after their ability improves.

Of course, weapons with absolute lethality are another matter altogether. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

In short, for powerful players, firearms are like having a chicken rib in hand.

Xu Huo, however, was interested in buying a couple.

"What you’ve chosen are updated products, but there are already two or three generations of replacements available; why not take a look at those?" Lan Huaijie was surprised at his choice.

"No need," Xu Huo said. "I’m just buying to play with."

"I want this one," the Girl in the painting looked at the armed flying device next to them.

"Miss has good taste. This is currently the factory’s latest imitation weapon, nearly an exact replica of the real one, though its precision is slightly lacking," the accompanying technician immediately said.

"In such a large factory, you still need to copy others’ weapons?" the female player laughed.

Lan Huaijie explained, "Weapon research and development are classified information in any district, and it’s rare for anyone to selflessly share production technology, so we can only buy one or two to reverse-engineer."

"The genuine ones might be better, but my price is cheaper."

"That’s true," the fat player agreed warmly, "The game and those large weapon manufacturing companies have a monopoly on technology, not even giving others a sip of the soup. What’s wrong with learning from them to make some weapons?"

"Moreover, not everyone can afford the big companies’ weapons."

Just look at the Cross-Space Teleportation Device: after the game company monopolized it, many districts purchased these devices as consumables. Some could be used multiple times, while others would break after a single use. Due to lagging technology, this led monopolists like Hengxing Company to hold absolute discourse power, which extends far beyond mere transactions.

"Too bad I lack the money and technology, otherwise, I’d get involved too," the fat player sighed, unwilling to take his eyes off the handgun, "When props and devices no longer work, I’ll surely grab a gun and shoot up the game! Show them what it means to be a true man!"

"I didn’t expect you to have such ambition," the female player commended, "I thought you only took advantage of small gains."

"Only fools pass on getting a bargain," the fat player laughed slyly, leaning in toward her, "Beautiful lady, if there’s any business opportunity, keep me in mind. I could earn a little extra to support my family..."

Listening to their conversation, Lan Huaijie chuckled, "The game has very few places where props are restricted, so it’s unlikely there will ever be a situation where both props and devices fail."

Xu Huo merely listened, not joining in the conversation.

After about two hours, the visit was over. Upon leaving the factory, the fat player and female player prepared to depart, as they were not the main invitees but merely tagging along to evade pursuers from the Fish Banquet.

Xu Huo, on the other hand, intended to linger at Lan Huaijie’s place for a couple more days, though he had urgent matters to attend to first.

"If you don’t need to handle it personally, I can do it for you," Lan Huaijie offered.

Xu Huo declined his kindness, promising to return once he finished his business, prompting Lan Huaijie to finally bid him farewell.

An hour later, on a high floor of a leisure building in Chunyi City, what once symbolized wealth and status lay shattered, with bodies thrown against the décor. The walls had several large holes, and the floor-to-ceiling windows were entirely smashed. Amidst the debris, a woman covered in blood struggled fiercely.

Unfortunately, her limbs had been severed. Her well-maintained but scarred hands barely held onto the edge of a desk, trying in vain to move forward.

Xu Huo walked out from the center of the room, removing his blood-stained black gloves, casually setting a toppled chair upright, and grabbed paper and pen as he sat down, "Now, let’s carefully discuss my previous question."

"Who is the true owner of this building?"