Chapter 1725: Identity Is What You Make It When You're Away From Home
The "Ember Maiden" instance, tracing back to Master Solan's past, showed that in her interpersonal relationships, many were connected to the mining industry, and most had even been injured because of it.
In the "Dwelling of the Departed," "living without a soul" sounded like a religious statement. Under normal investigation, the focus should be on the religion itself, but this religion was a derivative of the mining industry. Its essence still lay with the mining conglomerate. No matter where the "Dwelling" ultimately fell, starting the investigation from the mining conglomerate was always the right move.
Both instances were connected to the mining conglomerate, but the "Dwelling of the Departed" was more obvious than "Ember Maiden," and the former's direction was even certain.
The mining conglomerate was just one of many possibilities in the "Ember Maiden" instance, but it was the main participant in the "Dwelling of the Departed," and it very clearly linked the present with the past, more like a hint of something.
Over the past century, manual labor had been gradually phased out, and very few people died in accidents. As a piece of history, a hundred years was enough for people to forget it. But since the instance was born, there was at least a certain probability that the "Dwelling of the Departed" was "fresh."
Did missing the deceased require a continuous hundred years?
"What a coincidence, you're here too?" Shen Fei and his two companions, Ke Youming and Zhu Zhongliang, also entered the same restaurant. "Looks like we're fated to meet."
"Yeah, want to sit together?" Xu Huo smiled and pointed to the seats next to him.
The three were all frugal, ordering the cheapest food in the restaurant. Shen Fei proactively explained, "Don't laugh at us for being stingy. It's really that the cost of living in District 019 is too high. We usually have to buy items and potions, and the little money left over has to be shared with our families. When we're out, we save wherever we can."
"How could I?" Xu Huo agreed and casually chatted with them. He learned that Shen Fei had actually tried to cooperate with many players before. But don't be fooled by how peaceful District 019 seemed, with players who looked like tourists everywhere on the streets, and troublemakers getting dealt with quickly. In reality, players from other zones weren't that safe.
There were plenty of people who specifically targeted players from other zones.
"I heard that District 019 has a device that can isolate space without attracting the attention of the robots," Xu Huo said. "The government sometimes uses this device to deal with players from other zones."
The three of them all changed expression slightly. Ke Youming said, "We've been here for almost a month and haven't heard of that."
Of course, when these things were brought up, the first thing players would think of was their own situation.
"Do you think there might be such a device inside the Hiers Group itself?" Shen Fei couldn't help but ask.
The three, who had repeatedly tried to enter the Hiers Group, couldn't help but show a look of relief.
"Is the information certain?" Zhu Zhongliang asked.
Xu Huo nodded. "I heard it from someone else. I haven't actually seen it, but it wouldn't be surprising if District 019 had such a device."
Shen Fei agreed wholeheartedly and said, "Wanting players from other districts to not break the law is harder than changing your gender. But since we haven't encountered any wide-ranging incidents in all this time, it seems either they get dealt with quickly, or they use special devices to isolate them from the crowd, and we just don't know about it."
"It looks like we need to be even more careful in our future actions."
"I was just saying, those players don't seem to have high levels, so why haven't they gotten into trouble for luring players from other zones?" Ke Youming couldn't help but say. "Maybe they have this kind of item in their hands. They're players from District 019."
To be honest, for high-level players to do this kind of thing in an environment like District 019 was somewhat beneath them. How could the District 019 government allow them to exist?
"A big forest has all kinds of birds. Besides, it's not certain those people are from District 019," Shen Fei said more rationally. "If you want to do bad things, there are plenty of ways."
Getting back to the point, he asked Xu Huo where he planned to start. They had been there for a long time and could help him eliminate some worthless leads.
"First, go to Haiyin Media." Xu Huo gave an answer they didn't expect.
Thirty minutes later, they were standing in front of the Haiyin Media building with freshly printed media worker credentials.
Haiyin Media was a company under the Hiers Group, considered a mid-tier media company. However, this company was formed by the merger of three media companies that had been deregistered: "Haishi," "Haikui," and "Hailang." And Haishi had handled public relations for mining accidents many times a century ago, being well-versed in publishing articles and reports.
"What are we doing here?" Ke Youming was puzzled. "The information on those victims is all on the message collection terminal."
Xu Huo had already prepared a material overview in advance. He adjusted his glasses. "Of course, we need more original materials. With later news reports, you can only see what they want you to see."
"Isn't it the same now?" Zhu Zhongliang said. "Things they concealed before, they're not likely to reveal now, are they?"
Xu Huo didn't answer this question because the receptionist from Haiyin Company had come out. After meeting the person in charge, he took out a pre-prepared material overview, which listed the simple handling procedures of some large companies, including Hiers and Tiantianle, for mining accidents.
"We are working on a special feature about the inheritance of corporate culture, intending to submit it for review in the 'Ship Bay Star' program. We hope your company can provide some assistance," Xu Huo said with a full smile. "The Hiers Company is a landmark enterprise in Ship Bay City. It shouldn't just be technological innovation that is praised. The corporate spirit passed down through generations is the most valuable thing."
Anyone could say pleasantries. The person in charge of Haiyin Media didn't open the door wide just because of a few nice words. Instead, he first verified their identities. "You've only been employed for half a month?"
"Yes," Xu Huo said without changing his expression. "We are current students at Ensi College, mainly here to complete our coursework practice. But we will take everything seriously."
"So you're students from Ensi College," the person in charge's expression softened a bit. "Ensi College produces elite talents. I didn't expect you to be out doing coursework practice at this time. Isn't the whole college on break because the dean is seriously ill?"
"We applied through a special channel," Xu Huo said. "Part of the reason we chose this topic is also because of the dean. The dean has mentioned those fallen martyrs many times, not wanting us to forget our predecessors. We were born too late and haven't experienced it, so we wanted to gain a deeper understanding."
"I see." The person in charge got up and searched on a large terminal in the next room, selecting some material sets to hand over to them.
"Please send it to our company's shared terminal," Xu Huo gave him an address.
The person in charge complied, then smiled and said, "Since you're here, why don't I treat you to a meal? You're new here, you must not have had a chance to try the specialties of Ship Bay City."
Xu Huo said apologetically, "We want to present the results to the dean as soon as possible."
(Chapter End) Source: /txt/35960/32925308