Chapter 1156: Cooperation
After the emergency meeting, the elite player team of the Special Defense Department began their operation. This time, they did not use local player reserves but instead dispatched personnel directly from Jing City via special aircraft.
The New Year had not yet fully arrived, but another bloody storm was beginning.
Of course, this was a classified operation by the Special Defense Department. Before clear results emerged, no information would leak out. So on the morning of the first day of the New Year, what exploded across the entire internet was the deadly battle between Special Defense Department players and civilian players in Tian City.
Endless secretly recorded clips nearly crashed the network. Various rumors and gossip flooded different platforms, but the central idea was only one: the government and the players were at war!
At this time, a wave of analysis experts emerged online. They confidently asserted that this small-scale player battle would directly determine the future direction of Zone 014.
If the Special Defense Department won, then things would continue as before—the Special Defense Department at the top, civilian organizations second.
If the civilian players won, then things would get interesting. This would mean the Special Defense Department had lost its authority. From then on, it would be constantly challenged by civilian players, and power shifts would occur within the Special Defense Department itself. Family forces represented by players would replace the original core personnel, completely overturning the previous personnel arrangements—the political landscape as it stood would forever vanish into the river of history.
Of course, netizens only grew more excited. The surge in player numbers brought ordinary people a sense of security but also immense pressure. Existing laws could hardly restrain players anymore, and among the mixed bag of players, some inevitably harassed the public. Especially as players grew stronger, those who might have previously followed the rules became bolder and more reckless. The typical example was Tian City—even Special Defense Department personnel passing through would get beaten, let alone ordinary citizens.
Thus, there was particularly strong support for the Special Defense Department.
However, the online frenzy lasted less than half a day before news spread about the Special Defense Department conducting evolution screening and forced evolution. Along with this came some videos as evidence—whether intentional or accidental, some of the filming locations were in Special Defense Department branches. If videos of evolvers dying couldn't serve as ironclad proof, then the testimonies of players who successfully survived almost completely swayed public opinion.
Of course, some said these players bore grudges because they failed to join the Special Defense Department. But the number of evolvers was too large. Some places and some people had sensed something was wrong. Previously, without solid evidence, any claims were just catching shadows. But with a flood of videos and witnesses from different locations, fabrication or coincidence became impossible.
The Special Defense Department reacted quickly. Within two hours, they issued a statement. First, they clarified that the department had been secretly investigating these rogue branches and laboratories before the New Year and had arrested relevant personnel the previous night. At the same time, they released some data showing that some people had indeed been forcibly evolved by local branches through illegal means. However, this group was very small, as blood sample data from various regions was stored at headquarters, and most cities lacked the authority to access it.
This slightly salvaged the Special Defense Department's reputation, but the crisis of trust was not so easily resolved. Since the start of playerization, almost everyone had given blood samples. Some had already used screening to force others to evolve. Even if this batch was eliminated, wouldn't there be a next batch?
As long as the data remained in the Special Defense Department's hands, ordinary people would always feel a sword hanging over their heads.
First came the player battle, then the Special Defense Department's thunderous operation. In just half a day, the internet was in an uproar. But soon, various voices were drowned out by the arrest news released by the Special Defense Department—at this moment, any photo could capture netizens' attention.
Of course, the direction of public opinion wouldn't show results anytime soon. But that evening, a small-scale player assault on a Special Defense Department branch once again pushed the public opinion to a climax.
Some might have been trying to take advantage of the chaos, others might have been genuinely outraged. In any case, a portion of people were incited, and evolution turned these incited thoughts into reality!
The Special Defense Department hadn't anticipated this situation. Restraining Xu Huo was no longer the top urgent task. Large numbers of players were pulled away and dispatched to unknown locations.
"Brother Xu, some unfamiliar faces have appeared near the neighborhood." Wen Xuelin and the others, who had been guarding the safe zone, sent Xu Huo a message.
At times like this, with people's minds unsettled, some abnormal behavior wasn't surprising. But Jing City was different—few players could stir up trouble here.
So the focus remained on those small and medium-sized cities, especially places with many player organizations.
However, Xu Huo was optimistic about the Special Defense Department. After all, they had "mass-produced" quite a few C-grade players and had enough capital to equip them with advanced items. In comparison, the player organizations could be considered dirt poor.
He expected this storm wouldn't last long, but he didn't expect it to end so quickly—Nie Xuan called.
"Already done?" Xu Huo teased. "The Special Defense Department's efficiency isn't bad."
Nie Xuan's voice sounded exhausted. "If I hadn't wrapped up, I'd have lost half my life in there... By the way, you didn't have to get involved. Even if headquarters hadn't acted today, the screening evolution incident would have come out anyway."
"After all, it's the New Year. Many players miss home," Xu Huo said slowly. "More people means better timing."
"Yeah, more people means better timing." Nie Xuan repeated.
After two seconds of silence, Xu Huo asked, "Got a list?"
Nie Xuan chuckled softly. "Think it over. Doing this means standing against the Special Defense Department."
Xu Huo didn't think so. "The Special Defense Department headquarters will soon go through a reshuffle. Minister Fan, who has to take the blame for this incident, probably won't have the energy to target me."
"Besides," he paused deliberately for emphasis, "don't underestimate the Special Defense Department and the government. Without a steady anchor, X Country would have collapsed at the start of game evolution. It's normal for a sharp tool to rust after long use. It can still be sharpened and used—it would be a shame to throw it away."
Nie Xuan chuckled lightly. "I appreciate your good intentions."
He didn't commit to anything but returned to the previous topic. "Since you understand so clearly, why be a thorn? Just milk the Special Defense Department for all it's worth."
"How is that being a thorn?" Xu Huo said matter-of-factly. "I'm a good person, so of course I stand on the good side."
"Bullshit." Nie Xuan muttered and hung up. Then he sent a list with photos attached. The information was detailed, including the frequent haunts of the listed individuals, as well as safe houses and their usage probabilities for emergencies, all calculated and marked as percentages.
It seemed he had been wanting to deal with these people for quite some time.
Xu Huo set down his teacup, stood up, and stretched his arms. Watching the sun sink in the west, he took a step forward and vanished from the spot.