I Don't Agree to the Terms

Chapter 935 494: Too Many Small Fry in a Shallow Pond

"The construction progress of the civilizational stabilizer is going well, and it should be successfully completed by the end of the month." Liu Ze looked at the intelligence from various places and was very pleased.

As one of the three deputy directors of the Player Management Bureau, he has considerable authority.

"With the civilizational stabilizer, the kingdom can achieve greatness for everyone, perhaps we can also become players." Another deputy director, Dong Luo, commented.

This special device known as the civilizational stabilizer was obtained from a very ancient player.

Unlike the naive Qin Ji, Liu Ze and Dong Luo understand the true strength and nature of the players, often choosing not to interfere with them. Moreover, if they have a good relationship with players, the players might help with any troublesome matters.

Although they also desire to become players, they are not as radical as those anti-player forces, rather, they are more peaceful and maintain a friendly relationship with most players.

They occasionally receive gifts from players, such as the birth of the Transcendent item system, which was made possible because of their good relations with players—resulting in the items being sent to them, which ultimately led to the development of Transcendent items.

"Becoming a player aside, it's good enough to make the world a bit more stable." Liu Ze didn't think that far ahead, but the idea of greatness for everyone intrigued him. According to that ancient player, once successful, everyone would achieve immortality.

Of course, there are drawbacks, such as population explosion and changes in kingdom culture, but those are concerns for later.

Initially, Liu Ze and Dong Luo had some doubts, so they arranged for specialized personnel from the Player Management Bureau to conduct research. After testing the data on the blueprints, they concluded that the information was indeed true, meaning that once construction succeeded, immortality was just the beginning, with even more effects to follow as the stabilizer operates.

Thus, they were quick to apply for it and immediately began construction.

Even with the power of the Player Management Bureau, the resources needed for the stabilizer are substantial, but they managed to proceed, albeit at the cost of some hardship to the populace. After all, the kingdom's investment of resources would inevitably impact the entire country, most directly through rising prices and material shortages.

"How's the investigation on Qin Ji?" Dong Luo changed the topic.

"He's too slippery to find definitive evidence of being an anti-player, but he seems a bit suspicious lately." Liu Ze said while handing over a set of intelligence: "Fortunately, not all was unfruitful. There's reportedly a base suspected to be in the Shakala Desert."

"I suspect he's sheltering anti-player individuals there, and I've arranged for a special operations team to investigate."

Dong Luo received the intelligence and quickly reviewed it: "It's currently certain that Qin Ji is definitely involved with those anti-player forces. If we follow his trail, we might capture a large number of them."

"The only issue is these people might not be easy to handle."

As a deputy director of the Player Management Bureau, Dong Luo knows a lot. Many anti-player forces are basically linked to families of former players who've lost their player status; they aren't willing to let their families decline. And seeing the transcendence and power brought by players, they naturally don't want to give up.

So they're certainly thinking of becoming players again, aside from the unrealistic hope of a miracle, there's only the dubious rumor that killing a player can grant their status.

No matter how small the odds, they have to take the gamble; player families aren't willing to revert to ordinary people.

"What's difficult about handling them? They might have influence in the kingdom, but could they be bigger than the bureau?" Liu Ze said disdainfully.

Currently, due to a lack of conclusive evidence proving they are anti-player forces, no action has been taken, partly because of the respect for the player status in their family. Otherwise, if they lacked such background, whether there's evidence or not wouldn't matter, they'd just be dealt with.

Once you're dead, no amount of scheming would matter.

Though he spoke brashly, Liu Ze didn't dare actually kill without evidence.

Otherwise, such actions would upset other player families, where the players themselves haven't died yet, so the bureau must consider the impact. Otherwise, regardless of how indifferent to worldly matters the players might be, hearing grievances from family might lead them to intervene.

Being indifferent doesn't mean they lack desires and emotions.

"We should continue to dig into Qin Ji's connections." Dong Luo steered the conversation back, then said: "A month ago, he met with Dr. Gu from the research institute—the one who invented the energy engine furnace. Following that, Dr. Gu was sent away for an inspection."

"I suspect Dr. Gu either met with an accident or is now part of the anti-player forces. If they are turning energy technology into weapons..."

Dong Luo didn't finish his sentence, but his expression was very serious.

Liu Ze understood what Dong Luo meant, simply that if energy weapons indeed materialize, then Qin Ji would likely have further plans.

"So you think Dr. Gu is inside that base?" Liu Ze asked gravely.

"That's right. If it's confirmed, I plan to use the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cannon to directly level that base." Dong Luo stated immediately.

"This… There's no need to deploy the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cannon, is there?" Liu Ze hesitated.