Many passersby were stealing glances at her, but Ran Ying paid no mind, occasionally even smiling back at them. Upon seeing Xu Huo, she closed the magazine interface, stood up, and walked over.

Ran Ying was already quite tall, and with high heels on, she stood a head taller than Xu Huo. However, she seemed to enjoy this state, taking the initiative to loop her arm through his. “There’s a newly opened restaurant that’s quite good. They have fresh white fish lips. You’ll definitely get addicted after trying it once.”

“I don’t eat things farmed from Mutants,” Xu Huo said with a smile.

Ran Ying tilted her head to look at him, only smiling after a couple of seconds. “I like honest people like you. Don’t worry, they’re all natural species. In District 011, any food related to Mutants is strictly prohibited. You couldn’t eat it even if you wanted to.”

Xu Huo nodded readily and went to the restaurant in Ran Ying’s car.

In the private room, they could see films playing in the public areas of the city. There were no special effects or stunt doubles;
the films featured genuine players, with all-around realism.

“In District 011, players can engage in any profession. You could say it’s even more relaxed than before the game. Many ordinary people have secured a place for themselves here by virtue of being players,” Ran Ying said while eating. “Have you found a place to stay yet? Stellar Corporation is expensive and not suitable for long-term stays. If you want to rent or buy a place, I can help.”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Xu Huo said. “But I prefer to live a bit farther from the bustling city center.”

“Good taste. The Main City District isn’t that great anyway. District 011 is huge,” Ran Ying agreed.

District 011 was composed of several Game Partitions, connected via dimensional trains. The partition Xu Huo was currently in was the original territory of District 011 itself. This place was vast, no less expansive than Zone 014. Garden Castle Station was just one of its stations, relatively close to the core of the nuclear government and the Game Government base.

Of course, District 011 also had several important and relatively prosperous super-cities, but those cities were all far from the Game Government base.

“By the way, you just arrived in District 011, right? How do you know people from the base?” Ran Ying mentioned Shi Youzhi. “Although the Game Government established a base here, they only handle game-related matters. Usually, they just maintain order on the train lines and pick up trash, things like that.”

“Does the base have no official dealings with District 011?” Xu Huo asked, puzzled.

“Basically none. We don’t interfere with each other,” Ran Ying said, glancing at him before adding, “But you should be careful. The base often recruits newly arrived players to work for them, but those players don’t live long.”

“Why?” Xu Huo paused. “Isn’t working for the Game Government a good thing? I heard you can become a grey player and escape dungeons.”

Ran Ying chuckled. “Nothing that good. All the on-duty personnel in the Game Government base come from other zones. The players they recruit within the partitions are called auxiliary personnel;
they are never granted grey player status.”

“Grey players don’t have to do dungeons but retain the game program and can continue using items and characteristics. Auxiliary personnel aren’t so lucky;
they not only have to work but also enter dungeons. At most, they get some salary, with few other benefits.”

“Even so, that shouldn’t mean they don’t live long, right?” Xu Huo adopted a probing stance.

“The reasons are hard to pinpoint, but it’s a fact that the auxiliary personnel recruited by the base die quickly,” Ran Ying said, resting her chin on one hand while swirling her wine glass with the other. “You’ll understand once you’ve lived in District 011 for a while.”

Xu Huo looked rather disappointed. “My level isn’t high. To settle down in District 011, I was hoping to find a reliable place to be affiliated with.”

Ran Ying reached across the table and patted his hand. “What’s so difficult about that? I am, after all, a small captain in the Enforcement Department. As long as you don’t cause trouble, with me around, not many people in District 011 will give you a hard time.”

Their eyes met. Xu Huo smiled slightly. “How many people have you said that to?”

Ran Ying withdrew her hand, a tipsy blush appearing on her cheeks. “Oh, why bring up the past? Cherishing the present is the real truth.”

Xu Huo raised his glass to toast her. “You make a good point.”

The meal was quite enjoyable for both host and guest. Afterward, Ran Ying was called away by a bee-shaped communicator, saying there was an emergency to deal with, leaving Xu Huo alone.

Ran Ying had paid the bill. After leaving the restaurant, Xu Huo paid for a real-time station map, took the city’s public transport to glance at several important landmark buildings marked on the map, and then, using his citizen certificate, went to the so-called high-end public places.

These were essentially places like natural parks, amusement parks, and historical-cultural museums. These places had excellent environments and would even provide free emergency potions or free gift packs distributed by some companies. Probably due to the good living conditions, people came here to relax;
there was no crowding to grab gift packs.

Ordinary residents of District 011 also had identification, but it distinguished outsiders. Of course, this didn’t only include players but also some family members who migrated with players.

Although District 011 had policies to attract players from other zones to settle here, the citizen certificate was strictly controlled. A formal application required complicated procedures and a long time.

However, places requiring a citizen certificate for entry were, after all, a minority. Not having this document didn’t really affect normal life.

Still, this subtly created a hierarchy among people living in the same city. When Xu Huo came out of the library building, he saw some people, adults and children, being stopped at the entrance. People around them cast strange looks.

The so-called citizen certificate was probably like a VIP membership card for the city’s residents.

Places requiring a citizen certificate significantly decreased as one moved away from the core area of the Main City District. Not far from the ancient city district, there was an area with complex buildings. It didn’t look large on the map, but walking in, one found streets and alleys everywhere, like a deliberately constructed maze. There weren’t many robots and flying monitors in this area, but the ones that appeared were models equipped with heavy firepower that could be found online.

“Pah!” Xu Huo saw a man emerging from a small alley glance at a monitor in the sky and spit on the ground. Noticing Xu Huo, the man said aggressively, “What are you looking at!”

Xu Huo turned to leave, but three people had silently appeared behind him. One with blue paint all over his face said, “Brother, you’re dressed pretty well. Lend us some money to spend?”

Xu Huo pointed at the hovering flying monitor above. “You dare to rob with that thing around?”

The blue-painted man chuckled. “I’m just borrowing money. How can that be robbery? If you don’t want trouble, take out your wallet. Don’t count on law enforcement robots coming to save you either. They usually pretend not to see minor incidents.”

Judging by the environment, this was clearly a “low-law zone,” quite a distance from the base and the Main City District. These three didn’t look like players;
they were probably ordinary residents who had taken potions. They couldn’t evolve like players but could enhance their physical abilities and intelligence through potions.

Xu Huo tossed three cigarette packs over. “I’m looking for someone named Deng Xuan. Do you know him?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep