Chapter 1329: Bottom Line
Qiu Ming turned his head to look directly at Xu Huo. "You want to let him go? Aren't you afraid he'll tell other players about us?"
"In a normal district, even if locals and foreign players have a grudge, it wouldn't reach this level. Haven't you noticed? Whether it was those players we encountered earlier or this child, they must have a reason for having to kill foreign players."
Xu Huo didn't make it too explicit. In reality, hatred is a very costly behavior. Even if District 023 blamed all foreign players for what happened to their hometown, they couldn't possibly have such determination to target every single foreign player who arrived in District 023.
First of all, the cost alone wouldn't work. How many outer zone players were there? Could they really kill them all?
Secondly, this seemingly misdirected anger wasn't enough to unite all the survivors with one heart. Even if the people of District 023 held beliefs different from those of outer zone players, and faced life and death without hesitation, there must be something greater than life itself supporting them.
Even for such a young child.
From this perspective, the answers were actually just a few.
"A reason for having to kill outer zone players?" Qiu Ming didn't understand. "We haven't killed anyone..."
"That's exactly why we need to ask clearly," Cao Qinglin interjected. "If there's a misunderstanding, we can clear it up. It also saves us from having to lay a hand on a child. Can you live with that in your heart?"
Qiu Ming had no choice but to give up. He threw the boy to the ground, and seeing that the boy still had the dried meat he had given him tucked away, he angrily reached for it. But at that moment, a loud shout came from a distance: "Stop!"
Before the three of them could turn around, a cyan light shot straight toward them from afar!
Unsure of the effect of this cyan light, they first deployed a defensive barrier. Xu Huo took the opportunity to scoop up the boy. At the same time, the cyan light that had been approaching them dissipated on its own about ten meters away.
Yellow sand blew in with the wind. Two players with visible injuries appeared at the spot where the cyan light had stopped. They stared at the child in Xu Huo's hands, and after confirming he wasn't dead, they said, "Give the child back."
"Why should we give him back?" Xu Huo pressed down on the boy's raised head with his other hand. "He was trying to lead us into an underground river. You know very well what's down there. A kid this young trying to die together with us—you people are really something, even brainwashing children."
"That's not..." Before the two opposite could speak, the boy tried to defend himself, but Xu Huo had already sealed his mouth.
"We didn't know about this." The female player, who had a head injury, exhaled to calm herself and said, "We just came back from a game. He might have been afraid you would hurt him... Since it's a misunderstanding, could you please let him go? We can apologize on his behalf. Besides, you need to hurry into the instance. There's no point in wasting time here."
"I've never heard of someone trying to kill because of a misunderstanding," Xu Huo said flatly.
The other man was impatient. "Then what do you want? We're all players. Why make things difficult for a minor who hasn't even come of age? If you want to vent your anger, I'll be your opponent!"
"I've been waiting for you to say that," Qiu Ming said, cracking his knuckles. "Kid causes trouble, adult takes the beating—that's the truth!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he charged at the two.
Two against one was clearly a disadvantage, and since Cao Qinglin saw that Xu Huo had no objection, she followed to help.
That man and woman weren't particularly powerful, and they were already injured. In no time, the man was captured by Qiu Ming. When captured, he told the woman to run first and said, "Let Mr. Chi avenge me!"
As he spoke, his hand clenched and then relaxed, but his palm didn't open, and the thing in his hand didn't fall out.
Sensing his struggling movements, Qiu Ming discovered the object in his hand. His face darkened. "Are all of you in District 023 from a suicide squad?"
The spatial barrier wrapped around the man's hand didn't release until Xu Huo walked over and took the item from him. "It should be an explosive-type item."
Xu Huo didn't chase after the woman who had run away. Instead, he crouched down and looked at the man pinned under Qiu Ming's foot. There was a burn scar two fingers wide on his face. "You want to kill every passing player. Can you even kill them all?"
The man was very stubborn. "Kill one, count one. If we don't kill you now, you'll come to kill us sooner or later!"
Xu Huo was just curious about this reason, so he pressed for an answer, but the man refused to speak. His face showed the same look of readiness to die as the boy's.
"Boom!" A firework shot up not far away. The man said joyfully, "You can't escape now!"
Xu Huo set the boy down beside him and stood up to look toward where the firework had risen. In an instant, the man in the headscarf appeared in his field of vision again. Accompanying him were the masked man, the female player Jian Yue who had been fighting Cao Qinglin, the woman who had just escaped, and four others.
"Let them go," he said, and then released the spatial barrier that had been trapping the boy.
Qiu Ming let go as instructed. The man immediately grabbed the boy and rushed toward the headscarf man's side, saying urgently, "Mr. Chi, these people..."
The headscarf man, Mr. Chi, raised his hand to stop him. He looked sternly at the boy. "Did you receive the message I sent back earlier?"
The boy lowered his head. "I received it, but I thought I could lead them to the underground river and let them die in a random instance."
Mr. Chi raised his hand and slapped him across the face. The slap stunned the other two who didn't know the situation. The man quickly said, "Mr. Chi, what mistake did Xiao Lai make?"
Mr. Chi said grimly, "A few hours ago, I sent word back telling you not to interfere with passing players."
Only then did the man understand. He immediately tried to explain for the boy, but Mr. Chi didn't give him a chance to speak. "The people of District 023 must keep their promises. That is the bottom line!"
The man didn't dare speak again. Tears welled up in Xiao Lai's eyes. "I know I was wrong! But they're so strong. Even Mr. Chi couldn't kill them. Once they reach the safe zone, someone will definitely come to hunt us down!"
"Once a person loses their bottom line, they will eventually break through their limits one after another. And sooner or later, they will abandon their homeland and their fellow countrymen. Go back and reflect."
Mr. Chi coldly ended the conversation. He then walked toward Xu Huo. "This was my oversight. But Xiao Lai wasn't on the contract, so he can't bear the consequences of breaking it. Wherever you need to go, I can have someone guide you. It will definitely be safer. Consider it my apology."
Xu Huo smiled. "I thought the bet you mentioned was for those who signed the contract. I didn't expect it to include other companions as well."
Mr. Chi's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this. "We don't want to be enemies with every player who comes to District 023, but we have no choice."
His words tactfully expressed their difficulties, which was a concession.
(Chapter End)