Chapter 1363: A Targeted Trap
"Nonsense!" The female player shouted loudly after hearing this, but she didn't say anything more, because defending herself on this matter was already pointless.
First, they couldn't confront anyone. Even if Dr. Duo Er were present, let alone not being there, would the Ya clan people believe what Dr. Duo Er said even if he was?
Second, even if the Ya clan believed it and it was proven to be a misunderstanding, so what? There was already old enmity, and those who died today wouldn't come back to life. There was no room for reconciliation between the two sides.
They had nothing to discuss, but Xu Huo did.
He used the "Goalkeeper" defense barrier to guard against any tricks from Number 3, then turned back to ask the female player and her companions, "You should know that Dr. Duo Er has substitutes, right?"
"Who are you?"
Both the Dongfeng Laboratory and the Ya clan held hostility toward Xu Huo, this sudden intruder, especially since he was actively meddling.
"Just an ordinary passerby. I'm only here to clear the instance. You can ignore me." Xu Huo's gaze shifted between the laboratory personnel and the Ya clan, his expression amiable.
That's what he said, but no one felt they could simply ignore him, especially the Ya clan. Number 3 had already sent out a signal, but the companions who had withdrawn outside hadn't come back in—it was unlikely they all encountered accidents; the only possibility was that they were blocked.
Xu Huo might not be alone.
"Are all the people from Dongfeng Laboratory here?" Xu Huo asked again.
The female player and her companions didn't know what he meant, but then they saw him take out a painting. After studying the slowly writhing face inside the painting for a moment, the group's expressions changed in unison: "You actually...!"
"Right now, this is still a living painting. It might not be later." Xu Huo put the painting away, taking in everyone's expressions. "Are all the people from Dongfeng Laboratory here?"
The female player glanced warily at Number 3 in the distance. "The main members of the laboratory are all here. The person behind me is the laboratory's professor and director, also a scholar dedicated to researching genetic diseases."
Judging by everyone's expressions, she wasn't lying. Xu Huo nodded, not surprised. Given the economic level of Twin Cities, it probably couldn't attract better talent. Precisely because there were only a few people, the three who came earlier to claim the live human experiment data seemed so convincing—if the laboratory had many people, it might not be as believable. On the contrary, because the laboratory was small, they could become the backbone as soon as they arrived, making operations simple. Even if they really used the warehouse to store live human experiment data, the laboratory personnel might not know.
Half true, half false. It could be explained as true or false. At this point, no one could say for sure.
But there was one key point: whether Dr. Duo Er was actually using the Ya clan for live human experiments, and whether, as the Ya clan claimed, he was using them to screen for genes more suitable for evolution.
Strangely enough, Dr. Duo Er himself hadn't come to Secondary City. All that came were his substitutes. As substitutes for Dr. Duo Er, these individuals had slight differences in memory. Since people could be created, forging memories shouldn't be difficult. Even if all of Dr. Duo Er's substitutes only had memories of treating genetic diseases, it didn't prove they had nothing to do with live human experiments. Memories could be twisted and altered; perhaps triggering some switch could release them—and the very existence of Dr. Duo Er's substitutes was precisely a characteristic of live human experiments.
Living clones were right before their eyes, and Dr. Duo Er could send so many substitutes to their deaths. Didn't that speak volumes?
In other words, whether it was Twin Cities or the Ya clan, even if they sat down calmly to negotiate, given these ambiguous pieces of evidence, they would never reach a result satisfactory to both sides.
Pausing briefly, Xu Huo took out "World Within the Painting" again and turned Dr. Duo Er's face toward Number 3.
"I've already seen several Dr. Duo Ers on the way," he said. "None of them admitted to participating in live human experiments."
"Whether you're Ya clan or not, Dr. Duo Er's own words might not be trustworthy, but you should also consider the reality."
"Twin Cities is this poor. I don't think they could have any new achievements in promoting evolution. If they really did, it wouldn't be sent to Twin Cities. I believe there are plenty of people in other cities in District 023 who would want it, and Dr. Duo Er wouldn't have taken so long to reach Secondary City."
"Don't interrupt me yet," he said as the other party was about to speak. "Let me finish first. Since your companions can't get in for now, why not listen to an outsider's opinion?"
Number 3 wore a mask, completely hiding his expression, but his silence was his attitude.
"First, as I just said, Twin Cities doesn't have the conditions for live human experiments. Even if it did, since the news has already leaked, other cities in District 023 should be more interested than you and wouldn't ignore it. But it seems that besides you and the outer zone players, there's no fourth party involved."
"Second, if the Capital City and Dr. Duo Er only needed to deliver a set of experimental data and one live person, there's no need to pay such a heavy price. Having Dr. Duo Er come to Secondary City in person fits the current situation better, since the genetic disease only spreads between these two cities."
"Third, the instance of escorting Dr. Duo Er to Secondary City is named 'New Hope.' Based on my understanding, instance names usually carry some emotional color. Since it's named 'New Hope,' I personally think saving the people of two cities is more fitting than new results from live human experiments."
In fact, instance names not only had black-and-white connotations but sometimes carried hints. From the instances Xu Huo had completed, they generally leaned toward the positive. As concluded from the initial trial train, this game wasn't entirely a dark game—at least on the surface—so the outer shell must lean toward justice and goodness, like the Light Gentleman medal obtained after destroying the Skinner's instance.
Thus, "New Hope" most likely didn't refer to live human experiments. Moreover, simply using Ya clan genes to enhance evolution in District 023 people hardly counted as new hope, especially since the Ya clan had short lifespans and their own evolution wasn't strong.
Overall, the people of District 023 were in a state of just having eaten their fill and fearing outsiders would covet their leftover grain. Excluding the New District Government, everything born here was actually insignificant. This "hope" naturally wouldn't rise to the level of the entire game.
But he didn't say these latter words.
Number 3 quickly said, "You mean this instance is a trap targeting the Ya clan?"
(End of Chapter)
Hai Yanshan