Chapter 1351: Never Back Down
Oaths are ethereal and intangible. For most people, especially players fighting for their lives in the game, the weight of a single sentence is less than that of a piece of dried meat. Moreover, trying to gain trust by swearing an oath is inherently the way of the weak—Dai Song was certainly not weak in the ordinary sense, but compared to Bai Jing's group and Xu Huo, he was the weaker one.
A person might fearlessly shed blood for their beliefs, but they dare not sacrifice more of their compatriots in vain. Xu Huo's strength was clearly on a different level from ordinary C-grade players.
Dai Song had not disguised his face, so from his subtle expressions, heartbeat, and pulse, it could be judged that he believed what he was saying was the truth.
On Bai Jing's side, some had altered their appearances, while others had not. Overall, they also believed they were speaking the truth.
The "truth" perceived by both sides differed—a common occurrence even in daily life. From a purely positional standpoint, everyone subconsciously magnifies the aspects that are disadvantageous to them, and due to information discrepancies, the "truths" each side asserts can sometimes be contradictory.
However, from both descriptions, at least one thing was mutually acknowledged: the evolutionary disaster over twenty years ago. Whether it was the Ya Clan or the people of District 023 who now occupied most of the area, many had died.
"He's not lying." Xu Huo paused briefly before saying to Bai Jing and the others, then added as their expressions shifted drastically, "But what he knows isn't necessarily the truth. If Dr. Duo Er really was conducting live human experiments, a mere escort player wouldn't be worthy of knowing the inside details."
"So what?" the notebook player said, clutching his severed hand in resentment. "Just because he was deceived, does that make his killing innocent?"
Xu Huo completely ignored him and asked Bai Jing, "What channel did you use to obtain Dr. Duo Er's research content? Based on what I've seen and heard in the capital city, they likely don't have the conditions for that."
Perhaps District 023 had indeed been conducting live human experiments behind the scenes, but the likelihood of Twin Cities' involvement was slim. One reason was that Twin Cities was simply too poor. The Spring Bamboo Laboratory was considered one of the better facilities in the entire city, yet it still exuded an air of financial strain from the inside out. Even sending a person out had turned into an instance, as if it were a sign that this mission was never meant to succeed...
As his thoughts reached this point, Xu Huo paused slightly. Intuition gave him another idea.
"We've already confirmed it," Bai Jing said. "I can't tell you the method, but I can say for sure that not only the Spring Bamboo Laboratory, but both the capital city and the secondary city of Twin Cities participated in the live human experiments. Dr. Duo Er was a key figure. Killing him is the lowest-cost way to stop the experiments."
But at that moment, Dai Song threw an old leather suitcase onto the ground. Seeing Bai Jing and the others' wary expressions, he sneered, "Don't be so scared. It's not an item."
With that, he flipped open the lid, spilling out stacks of documents and some medicinal agents. "These are copies of the Spring Bamboo Laboratory's research results from the past year. Every single one has the signatures of all the researchers. The entire lab has been conducting genetic disease experiments for years. There are also records of patients voluntarily participating in the medicinal agent trials and the entire treatment process. To save those sick people, the lab's researchers have barely taken any salary in recent years. Those with spare money at home have even donated it voluntarily. Go look at those people—if not for the occasional aid from players, many of them would barely have enough to eat!"
"These people, people like this, sacrificed their lives one after another to give the doctor a smooth journey to the secondary city. They have families, loved ones. They dedicated their lives and livelihoods to saving hundreds of thousands of people in two cities. How dare you kill them casually without even producing solid evidence?!"
Dai Song roared, his eyes bloodshot. "You killed Dr. Duo Er. That means you've extinguished the hope of hundreds of thousands of people!"
"Don't make yourself sound so noble," Bai Jing said. "The materials you have might be real, but what does that have to do with the live human experiments?"
"These are two separate matters. Your ignorance doesn't mean it didn't happen. This year, we had one hundred and twenty-seven of our compatriots, alive or dead, sent into Twin Cities. Where did they go?"
Dai Song had mentioned this before. The captured Ya Clan members were all transferred to other cities. Of course, they had some idea in their hearts, but they had simply tacitly accepted it.
Now, with Dr. Duo Er dead, it had become one of the consequences of the live human experiments.
There was no point in continuing the discussion. Bai Jing's side believed Dr. Duo Er had to be held accountable for the live human experiments—in reality, regardless of whether Dr. Duo Er was truly the mastermind behind the experiments, the risk alone meant they had to stop him.
Dai Song's side, on the other hand, needed to treat the genetic disease. Even if repeatedly obstructed, they had to keep sending people out, even if it meant dragging their interceptors down with them in mutual destruction.
From either perspective, it was reasonable. But the two sides could never coexist peacefully, even if it meant consuming the lives of their own compatriots.
"If Dr. Duo Er really was the mastermind behind the live human experiments, it doesn't make sense for him to appear in Twin Cities. The main experimental site should be in other cities," Xu Huo said at this point. "A doctor who made you go to such lengths to intercept him—other cities should have taken corresponding measures. Have you found the laboratory where the experiments were conducted?"
Bai Jing and the others fell silent, not answering this question.
Xu Huo then looked at Dai Song. "Which cities were the Ya Clan members you sent out taken to?"
"I don't know," Dai Song said coldly. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
The people of District 023 were willing to be "accomplices" in the live human experiments.
"Where is Dr. Duo Er's body?" Xu Huo brought the topic back to Dr. Duo Er.
"We haven't found it," the notebook player said. "That person wasn't with the previous group of players. One of their companions is also missing. If he wasn't devoured by the alien species, then one of you killed him."
He stared straight at Xu Huo, believing that among the more than twenty players total, only he could pull off a trick under so many watchful eyes. As for whether Dr. Duo Er was alive or dead, it was hard to say.
For them, it would be best if Dr. Duo Er were dead, because that would mean they had lost their reason to fight. Everyone could go their separate ways without lingering in such a dangerous place.
In fact, in the few minutes they had been talking, the alien species driven back by the explosion had begun to approach again. In that short time, the surrounding vegetation had doubled in size.
Dai Song caught the implication in the other's words and looked at Xu Huo with suspicion.
"I haven't seen him since the ambush," Xu Huo said calmly, not offering much explanation despite being questioned. Instead, he asked Bai Jing for a contact method.
Bai Jing's companions looked at him as if he were insane, but after a brief hesitation, Bai Jing tossed him a special communicator. "There's a contact method inside."
(Chapter End)