Chapter 1663: While I'm Still in a Good Mood
The incident in Nan City wasn't a major problem, but Secretary Fang was quite clever. He placed great importance on those who "charged ahead," lending them items that concealed their identities and whereabouts, obtained through Hua Baoren's connections. He then used generous resources and rewards as bait to attract more cannibal players. With so many intermediate steps involved, any link could be severed. Even if a processing plant was discovered, Hua Baoren would be the first to take the fall, leaving the secretary himself untouched.
What was infuriating was that such a person wasn't even a player. He merely occupied a convenient position to manipulate those marginalized cannibal players, using them to harm ordinary people and undermine the Special Defense Department.
After the missing persons case was confirmed through Secretary Fang's confession under a truth serum, Xu Huo executed him on the spot, along with Manager Liu and the others.
When he had captured Manager Liu and his group, he had already passed on the locations of several cannibal player gathering spots they had revealed to Yu Qingqing. He suggested she handle those areas with her team, as it would be safer than relying on the Nan City Special Defense Department. As for Nan Mingzhu's side... Xu Huo had originally planned to wipe them all out, but he hadn't expected such an outcome.
Still, this wasn't entirely a bad thing. As the number of players increased, the Special Defense Department needed to consider how to handle the cannibal players. After all, many people, like Hua Baoren, had become cannibal players without fully understanding what they were getting into.
In front of this group, he called the Nan City Special Defense Department and told them to come take over.
"What will the Special Defense Department do to us?" someone asked uneasily.
"I suggest you don't think about running into the game, unless you don't plan on coming back," Xu Huo said, fixing them with a glare.
A few restless individuals immediately fell silent.
The Special Defense Department arrived quickly, accompanied by fully armed military police—conventional firearms were still quite effective against ordinary E-rank and D-rank players.
Xu Huo wasn't concerned with the cleanup. He found the person in charge and explained the entire situation from start to finish.
Upon learning that the current state of Nan City was caused by an ordinary person who had nothing to do with the game, the officer's expression was indescribable. After a long pause, he blurted out, "What a fucking genius!"
In truth, the cannibal players recruited by Secretary Fang weren't particularly powerful; most were cunning and deceitful. Leaving such people alive would only make them a social cancer. Xu Huo even reported several groups that were suspected of being entirely composed of cannibal players.
The Nan City Special Defense Department would certainly be busy for a while. After saying what needed to be said, Xu Huo left directly, but he didn't leave Nan City. Instead, he went to check on Yu Qingqing's situation.
The "Fickle Weather" organization had eight members, including Yu Qingqing—three women and five men. They split into two groups and quickly took down two cannibal player strongholds. However, these so-called strongholds were just a few idle cannibal players gathered together, waiting for Secretary Fang's "feedings." They were easy to deal with but yielded nothing of value.
"What a wasted trip!" Yu Qingqing, after contacting her companions, angrily whipped the corpses a few more times. "I thought this organization was rolling in wealth, but they're all broke. If I'd known, I'd have just robbed Nan Mingzhu's boss's safe!"
"Scum of society! Trash! Even dead, you're taking up space!"
Yu Qingqing lashed out with her whip, unsatisfied. Her companions were used to this scene, neither stopping her nor looking at her. After a few seconds of wandering gazes, one of them suddenly saw a blur and noticed a strange figure standing behind Yu Qingqing. He immediately shouted, "Who goes there!"
The four people present reacted instantly, assuming combat stances in perfect coordination. Yu Qingqing was no exception.
Xu Huo raised his hand to block the first few items thrown at him, his gaze sweeping over the group dressed entirely in black clothes, black pants, and black masks before finally landing on Yu Qingqing. "The Nan City incident is over."
"Cousin?" Yu Qingqing eyed him with half-suspicion. "Why are you wearing such an ugly face?"
Seeing that she didn't believe his identity, Xu Huo didn't mind. He pointed at the mangled corpse on the ground. "Don't do this kind of thing anymore."
Yu Qingqing put away her whip. "Are they even worth pitying?"
"It's not about whether they're pitiable. Don't actually turn yourself into a mental case." Xu Huo paused, then asked, "Have you seen a psychologist recently?"
Of course not. Yu Qingqing waved her hand grandly. "Ever since I became a player, all my illnesses have been cured."
"You haven't been to Professor Tang's place?" Xu Huo pressed.
"No," Yu Qingqing glanced at him. "Didn't you say you didn't trust that professor? Tang Guangbo has been contacting a lot of player organizations lately, offering free psychological counseling. Just the word 'free' told me he's no good. None of my team members went."
She paused here. "Cousin, it's not that I don't trust you, but there are too many scammers in the game. Last time, someone pretended to be you and almost tricked me out of a high-level item. How about this—tell me the last time you wet the bed. If you get it right, I'll believe you."
Xu Huo looked at her. "If you don't want that item, you can give it back to me."
"Oh, I was just joking!" Yu Qingqing beamed and immediately linked her arm through his, introducing her team members. "All members of 'Fickle Weather' have code names. I'm Sunny. This young lady is Cloudy. Her boyfriend is Shower. The guy next to him is Heavy Rain."
"The other four are Storm, Thunderstorm, Heavy Snow, and Light Snow."
"This is my cousin, Xu Huo. You've all heard of him."
"Hello, Cousin!" The three people in front of them, along with the four on the video call, all bowed to Xu Huo simultaneously.
"Hello," Xu Huo nodded politely.
"So, how's my team?" Yu Qingqing said proudly. "Every single one is a formidable character. But our identities are confidential, so I can only tell you their code names."
It was clear she was playing around, but she was playing seriously.
"Not bad," Xu Huo said. He had already observed them when he arrived—at least the three in front of him had quick reflexes.
"Is the Nan City incident really over?" Yu Qingqing's eyes sparkled again. "Is there anywhere the Special Defense Department can't cover? We could help out."
"I've already compiled a list of all the locations and people involved and handed it to the Special Defense Department," Xu Huo said, dashing her hopes. He then asked, "Why did you come to Nan City? You brought your whole team—it can't be out of a sudden burst of goodwill."
Yu Qingqing immediately let go of his arm. "You're busy, so go ahead. We'll talk when you're free. I'm in a hurry to get some late-night snacks..."
Xu Huo grabbed her. "While I'm still in a good mood."