Witness to Friendship
The non-game-area simulation device was, in the end, merely a device that restricted a player's Personal Panel unilaterally. It didn't actually free them from the game.
Hidden rewards like My Heart is Gloomy could still take effect. In a way, they were like Heart of Innocence, which could still be used even when Tickets didn't work—a back door the game opened for whoever obtained them.
"Save me!" Leijie Lian shouted as soon as she came to her senses.
"Please calm down." The short-haired female player offered a brief reassurance, then looked at Xu Huo again. "I can represent the District Government right now. You have nothing to worry about."
"There's no rush." Xu Huo smiled, showing no sign of being aware that he was surrounded. Instead, he lowered his head to look at Leijie Lian. "Can you tell me how you got this item?"
Now that she had found her courage, Leijie Lian said, "You were lying to me. It wasn't true that no one was coming to save me—you brought me away from the manor! Give me my things back!"
Xu Huo shook his head slightly and pointed at the players not far away. "Do you think they're far from me?"
"What do you mean?" Leijie Lian didn't understand.
Xu Huo raised his hand and casually flicked it through the air. Almost simultaneously, all the lockdown devices covering the mountains and forest broke down. The unmanned aircraft circling overhead lost control, swayed, and crashed into the trees, sending up sparks one after another.
Ignoring the players whose expressions had changed dramatically, he continued looking at the little girl in front of him. "They aren't ordinary people, and they aren't uninvolved. They came to save you. Can you bear to let them die here?"
Leijie Lian knew