Chapter 1469: The Ultimate Outcome of Any Struggle is Power
Liao Ying played another video, showing Bai Kou leading the city government players out for cleanup. In the footage, she already had a few specks of blood on her, her expression extremely cold. She showed no mercy to players deemed criminals, regardless of age or gender. At the time, she was using a transparent flying blade, and often by the time she arrived, the opponent's head was already flying off.
The video was probably close to the end of the incident. There were almost no outer zone players causing trouble in the city left. The city government players were responsible for the aftermath, while the people from the Government Hall dared to chase outside to hold her accountable.
"You don't have the authority to promise that the city government will cover all losses in the city. Besides, you're not even a member of the city government, so you have absolutely no right to make decisions regarding this incident. The city government will definitely appeal this to the end!"
That staff member was too agitated. He waved his portable message collection terminal and shoved it right in Bai Kou's face, shouting, "Do you know how much loss there is today? The city government's finance department will go bankrupt..."
But before he could finish, he was shot dead by a player rushing over from a distance.
Bai Kou, who had long seen someone aiming a gun at him, didn't even blink. Only after the person in front of her fell did she take the message collection terminal, connected to the city hall, and said, "If the finance department goes bankrupt, use your family assets to make up for it. If you can't even come up with this amount of money, it proves you're not qualified to work for the city hall."
Then the screen went dark amidst shaking. After Liao Ying turned off the message collection terminal, he still sighed with emotion, "Every time I see these things, I can't help but feel my blood boil."
"Miss Bai Kou is indeed a person worthy of admiration." Zhao Jicheng's expression softened.
Everyone was immersed in Bai Kou's heroic bearing, but at that moment, an untimely voice sounded: "In the end, did the city hall pay the compensation?"
Liao Ying and the others turned to look at Xu Huo, whose expression was calm and showed not a trace of emotion. After two seconds of silence, Xin Rong said, "Because the central jammer wasn't activated, the losses weren't as severe as estimated. Everyone who registered at the city hall received compensation."
Xu Huo smiled. Then why did that city hall staff member chase outside to pick a fight?
"Seek and ye shall find." He paused and then said, "The final outcome can be considered a win-win for everyone."
"It wasn't exactly a win-win for everyone." Liao Wei said, "The player who shot and killed the city hall staff member was expelled for manslaughter and can never return to Platinum Eye."
Of course, this was just an insignificant little episode in the aftermath of that incident.
Although the subsequent developments were unclear, judging from people like Xin Rong, Bai Kou's iron-fisted actions had won the support of many passionate young people.
The gathering didn't end until early morning. After coming out, Xin Rong, who was a bit dizzy from drinking, specifically arranged for someone to see Xu Huo off, even mocking him for his poor alcohol tolerance.
Xu Huo, reeking of alcohol, lay in the back seat of the aircraft. He wasn't helped out until they reached Yongxing Hotel.
Following Xin Rong's instructions, the person took him directly to his room, helped pour a glass of water and placed it by the bedside, then left. When he came out, he happened to bump into an unremarkable-looking man walking into the room next door. That player just habitually glanced at him, then turned and entered the elevator.
Xu Huo slept for two hours before staggering into the bathroom.
The drunken demeanor disappeared the moment he closed the door. Opening his message collection terminal, he checked the full story of the incident six years ago, mainly the parts that Xin Rong and the others hadn't mentioned.
That incident wasn't an attack by external enemies. The Artificer who instigated the chaos hadn't been seduced into betraying Platinum Eye by others. Instead, he had accidentally discovered that the weapons company he worked for was conducting weapons experiments on living people in the outer zones.
Because of the environment in Platinum Eye, many Artificers developed weapons purely out of passion or as a profession. They didn't know much about brutal wars and didn't participate in weapons trading. Their basic understanding remained at the level of "weapons are used to fight external enemies, not to invade others or massacre innocents." That conscientious Artificer, during a system maintenance, discovered the company's weapons experiments. His worldview was shattered. Later, through other channels, he learned that Platinum Eye had more than just this one company doing such things. So he collected evidence and prepared to report it to the city government.
His original intention was only to catch the relevant people and make the matter public. But he didn't expect that some people with ulterior motives would take advantage of the chaos to attack Platinum Eye. The people he wanted to catch were also evacuated to a safe house under the protection of players. The intelligent robots dispatched by the city government began intervening against the rebel robots... Just as things were about to become irreparable, Bai Kou stepped in to prevent the situation from worsening. The death toll she announced filled that Artificer with guilt, and he shut down the robots.
The aftermath was more or less what Xin Rong and the others had said. Bai Kou led the city government players out to wrap things up. After a period of power struggle, the main person in charge of the weapons company exposed by the Artificer had all their property confiscated and was expelled from District 002. The companies involved, besides their industries in Platinum Eye, also had their experimental zones built in the outer zones taken over by the city government. At the same time, a large number of personnel were purged from within the city government, completing a small-scale reshuffle.
It was from this time that Bai Kou officially entered the decision-making layer of Platinum Eye. She was behind many political activities. Moreover, she was now a member of the command headquarters. She could intervene in any actions related to the security of Platinum Eye, effectively placing her at the core of power.
"The ultimate outcome of any struggle is power." The person next door was almost out of patience. Xu Huo turned off the message collection terminal, returned to his room, and collapsed back onto the bed.
He slept until dawn. After washing up and changing into clean clothes, he had breakfast, took a stroll, and then went back to the Mechanical Castle.
Bai Kou had just woken up. She was having breakfast in the small garden, her eyes half-closed.
Xu Huo was brought to the small garden by the player who had seen him out yesterday.
"Have you eaten?" Bai Kou asked casually. "If not, have some."
Xu Huo thanked her for her kindness and sat down beside her. "No rush, take your time."
Bai Kou squeezed jam between slices of bread and said nonchalantly, "You recovered pretty fast. It seems you're using Uncle He Pu's things quite effectively."
Both of them knew exactly what He Pu had left behind. However, it could only be used by those who had achieved perfect evolution from the start. It was useless for Bai Kou.
"Want to keep one as a souvenir?" Xu Huo asked.
(End of Chapter)