Chapter 1434: The Hidden Thread
There were also ordinary people working as bounty hunters in Gem City, but they all came from countries outside Gem City, such as Moon City. As people of this fairy tale world, if these bounty hunters also had the ability to identify criminals at a glance, they shouldn't be mixing with players to indiscriminately catch outsiders—the news Li Kun brought back yesterday, combined with what he had seen in the city today, indicated that these bounty hunters were targeting ordinary people from out of town.
In the same fairy tale world, the people within it should follow the same rules. Based on this inference, the residents of Gem City could not directly determine whether a person from the fairy tale world standing before them had committed a crime.
But there was another small issue: the people those bounty hunters caught were not actual thieves. And since the laws of different countries in this fairy tale world varied, it was possible that different nations had differing perceptions of the same person's "criminal behavior." That is, the outsiders caught might not have committed a crime in the eyes of Gem City residents, but were considered criminals by the bounty hunters.
Although the probability was low, it couldn't be completely ruled out. Under this premise, the residents of Gem City should be able to know whether everyone had committed a crime or not.
Regardless of which scenario was true, the likelihood that the outsiders in this fairy tale world were the thieves was greatly reduced, while the probability that the thief was a Gem City resident increased.
If the residents of Gem City could visually identify criminals, the scope for the thief to hide would shrink even further. After all, if everyone could do it, the thief could only hide by blending in with the Gem City populace.
Of course, Xu Huo still believed it was more likely that the people of this fairy tale world could not mutually identify criminal behavior.
However, news from the Pudding Tavern indicated that the king knew far more about the thief than what had been publicly announced. For some reason, that information had not been shared with the bounty hunters. It was just that no one had left the city yet, and the number of outsiders who had been caught was already considerable. Coupled with the fact that the residents of Gem City were not as purely devoted to truth, goodness, and beauty as they had initially assumed, the conclusion remained the same: the thief was a Gem City resident hiding within the city.
Looking back at the side quest now, the "rebellion" of some citizens, the king's concealment of information about the gems, and the disappearance of the craftsman who was skilled in using gems—all seemed to be connected by a hidden thread.
After listening, Yan Jiayu first nodded. "I saw a bounty hunter catch a merchant from Moon City today too. The people of Gem City didn't all come out like they did last night when they surrounded the players; they just chimed in with condemnation."
"Among the players, there were also local bounty hunters mixed in. They were certain the merchant was a thief, but the king's castle hasn't withdrawn the bounty."
Still, she had a different thought. "This is a fairy tale. Could it be that the 'one month ago' mentioned in the background actually just happened? Time in fairy tales isn't necessarily normal."
"It's also very possible that a player who arrived first stole the gem. Maybe it was a very special gem, or perhaps it was even an item."
"If that's the case, then subsequent players would almost never be able to clear the first task," Xu Huo said.
Instances usually didn't give absolutely impossible clearance tasks. Players could leave whether they cleared it or not. If the player who stole the gem had left the instance with it, then it would be forever impossible for anyone to recover the stolen gem.
And a player leaving the instance while leaving behind an ore that could be easily taken along clearly didn't make sense.
"Could it be that every time a new batch of players enters, the king loses a gem?" Yan Jiayu voiced a question from the depths of her heart.
The players were both the thieves and the retrievers.
Xu Huo paused, then said slowly, "The first task would still be impossible for anyone to complete."
If a player had stolen the gem, whether they escaped Gem City or left the instance, the remaining players would have no way to play. And the player who stole the gem naturally couldn't become the gem retriever to return it and clear the instance. They would have to hand the gem over to another player.
If Yan Jiayu's idea held, then the stolen gem could be infinite. The game wouldn't allow players to exploit this loophole. If a specific gem was designated, who would act as the thief?
At least so far, all the players had been very calm, trying to enter the castle through legal means—except for the one who was kicked in last night.
"Hmm..." Yan Jiayu thought for a moment, then nodded firmly. "That way, it makes more sense that a Gem City resident stole their own king's gem."
"And the appearance of a side quest is probably hinting that there's something wrong inside Gem City."
"We need to get into the king's castle to find clues."
Entering the king's castle was a must, but that didn't mean there were no clues outside.
Then Yan Jiayu brought up Duan Cheng. "We agreed to divide the work, but he broke the agreement and secretly followed me. That guy is very suspicious."
"He came in to find items," Xu Huo said flatly. "Maybe there's some good item in the king's castle."
"Who knows?" Yan Jiayu didn't care. "Anyway, I've already found three items."
Besides the two Duan Cheng knew about, on her way back, she had saved a child who had rolled down from a high place, then helped him catch five little chicks. In return, the child gave her a little red flower, an E-grade item. It wasn't very useful, but it indirectly showed that there were many items in this instance—so many that you could bump into several just by going out for a walk.
Xu Huo didn't have that kind of luck, so he felt that besides looking for clearance clues, searching the king's castle was very necessary.
Yan Jiayu, accustomed to her good fortune, generously said, "I'll share some with you when the time comes."
"Then thank you very much." Xu Huo smiled. Seeing that it was about time, he said, "Let's start preparing for tonight's performance."
Many tools weren't needed, but to make the performance look authentic, some preparation was required, especially for things like puppets and toys.
Xu Huo was mainly performing magic. Though it was called magic, it actually involved using Super Evolution power to remotely pick up or put down things, or teleporting, and then using items to fly. That was about it.
Yan Jiayu had many more acts to perform: a protective suit that could change forms ten times in a row, a bubble machine that could blow bubbles big enough to lift a child, plant seeds that grew rapidly in half a minute, a saw that automatically softened when it touched a person, a whistle that could lure birds to land... and so on. The finale was Big Mao's "Stone Statue Resurrection" act, along with a lion-riding interactive session.
Looking at the complete list she had drawn up, Xu Huo paused briefly, then said, "I can see you've put a lot of heart into this performance."
Yan Jiayu was delighted. "I've been preparing for a month. I originally planned to perform it for my master when I got back. He's old and loves a lively scene. Today, I'll just practice first!"
It really wasn't necessary. The network in Zone 014 was very developed, and players' various flashy stunts online were probably numerous.
(Chapter End)