Chapter 1298: The Rise of District 001
That Super Player had returned. After only a month apart, he seemed to have become even more formidable, killing several Special Forces members one after another, and finally the researcher himself.
By then, the researcher had been driven nearly insane by prolonged mental pressure.
Because more people had died, and enormous financial and material resources had been expended, and because the Super Player, as the victim, was more likely to garner sympathy, many people gradually changed their stance and condemned the researcher. After all, everything had started with him. The Super Player had once again proven his excellence—whether in scientific research or as a player, he could be a pillar of the nation. Yet, because of a mediocre person's jealousy, he had been forced to stand against the country.
Under the fear of death, endless abuse, and sporadic sudden attacks, the researcher frantically defended himself. He insisted he had only made a small mistake; the real killers were the city government and the research institute. He hadn't even been the one holding the gun, so why should he suffer this torment?
Every day, people argued or debated with him, until the day of the final chapter arrived. A message answered his repeated questions.
"Because when you raised that syringe, you already had malicious intent. Whatever your reasons, it doesn't matter. You deserve to die."
Such a message wouldn't normally stand out, but the researcher saw it and directly asked if the sender was the Super Player.
That was when things blew up. The researcher then started a live stream on the internet and sat waiting in front of his computer.
He was certain that reply had come from the Super Player, and he provocatively used that statement to condemn the Super Player's act of murder for revenge. After all, at its core, the Super Player was also killing people, and no reason could justify that.
Of course, his main goal was to drag the Super Player down with him. If the Super Player didn't kill him, he could live. But if the Super Player killed him in front of so many people, he would become the center of the next public opinion storm, and his family and friends would also be targeted... However, he had misjudged the mentality of a player who had fought for his life in the game. The opinions of the outside world weren't that important, especially when he was already very powerful.
The result was obvious. The researcher was killed in public.
Although many believed the Super Player had crossed a line, in the age of players, which player didn't have blood on their hands? As the number of players grew, the living space for ordinary people shrank and became more difficult. At that point, people began to praise someone like the Super Player again—at least he hadn't implicated others in his revenge, while other players no longer treated ordinary people as human beings.
What followed was a dark period lasting several years. The population of District 001 plummeted to the point where ordinary people were killed and humiliated on the streets, and no one dared to intervene. As for the government, it had long since become a shell. Its members were either dead or scattered. Players could switch positions at will whenever they felt like it.
Finally, a player organization systematically struck down several player factions, gradually changing the situation in District 001. The Super Player contributed behind the scenes.
Over the years, he had become a powerful B-rank player. During the subsequent reorganization of District 001, he rose to A-rank. After obtaining a Super Item, he faced a large-scale invasion by players from other districts.
Unlike District 014, which had managed to defend itself by sheer luck, District 001 was severely damaged and took a long time to recover. In the plan to cultivate a large number of excellent players, the Super Player's research played a crucial role.
What happened later was predictable. District 001 developed rapidly and attracted the Game Government Base. The Super Player also successfully advanced. However, this was when the side effects of his evolution began to manifest. Because he had used a large amount of Evolution Agent early on, other potions had little effect once the side effects appeared.
And so, this legendary figure with a tumultuous life eventually died of illness.
Logically, someone who had made such a significant contribution to the resurgence of District 001 deserved a statue in every district. Yet now, almost no one mentioned him. Some people didn't even know he existed... The reason was that the credit had been taken by the Han Clan. Although his research was published under his own name, it was entirely handled by the Han Clan's enterprises. His name was downplayed, and since few people connected the famous research professor with the Super Player, over time, his contributions and achievements were erased.
However, it was clear that he had a good relationship with the Han Clan. He even gave them a protective talisman before his death.
Xu Huo couldn't help but think of the current Han Clan descendants. Someone like Han Yi was being groomed as the family's successor, which showed that the Han family members who had once saved the Super Player's family in their time of need had failed to properly educate their own offspring.
The materials also mentioned the Super Player's family. Because this legend spanned a long period, his parents and sister had long since passed away. The Super Player himself died before reaching sixty, which was also quite some time ago. Therefore, his nephew's generation was already quite old, and his grandchildren were now in their prime.
They no longer lived in Fresh Flower City but had moved to a city in District 001 with a pleasant climate.
After the Super Player's death, his first nephew had written many books about him. The one Xu Huo was holding was one of them. However, after a period of popularity, these books were recalled and destroyed by the government for some unknown reason, and no similar books were published afterward.
This plot seemed like a predictable story of ingratitude, so simple that even a ten-year-old could fill in the psychological motivations of both sides.
Regardless of whether the nephew had embellished his uncle's image in the books, it was an indisputable fact that the Super Player had preserved the Han Clan's control over the mineral veins. However, considering how he had dealt with the researcher who turned him into an Evolver—patient, ruthless, and with a strong mind unaffected by external influences—it was clear he was not a naive person. Could he not have foreseen this?
Looking at the generations of his family, apart from him, there seemed to be no other players. They couldn't protect themselves. Although District 001 had created a relatively safe environment for ordinary people, the Han Clan's descendants would inevitably have their own thoughts. People's minds were unpredictable. Maybe one day someone would get the idea to deal with them, and ordinary people simply couldn't defend themselves.
There might be unknown circumstances behind it.
Xu Huo flipped to the front of the book and found the author's name. He then searched for relevant information on the Message Collection Terminal and easily found the city where this deceased writer's family lived.
He decided to make a trip.
(End of Chapter)