Chapter 1727: Is Psychological Treatment Included?
"We can eliminate them one by one." Shen Fei pulled the conversation back. "We need to rule out the mining group first."
The flying car was circling within the city, and they watched all the video footage. The disaster scenes were somewhat unsettling, and after a moment of silence, Xu Huo asked Shen Fei if they had previously sought out senior personnel from the Hais Group.
They had indeed tried, but with little success. Generally, these people wouldn't receive players from other zones, and even if they were coerced through threats, they might not provide useful information.
"Zone 019 can't be all about truth and beauty," Shen Fei said. "We found some dirt and threatened a few high-level executives, but only got a bunch of irrelevant stuff. Most of the older people have already retired, and those still working past a hundred years old wouldn't know any important information either."
Xu Huo had already circled a few people from the videos. He used Zone 019's facial recognition system to confirm their identities. Two of them had already passed away, while three others lived nearby—one within Boat Bay City and two outside the city.
He fed the new address into the aircraft.
Shen Fei and the other two exchanged glances, maintaining a tacit silence.
The aircraft arrived at a high-end residential area, similar to where Suo Lan's uncle lived. Without a legitimate reason, they couldn't enter. Xu Huo presented the company credentials and deliberately clipped the badge gifted by Haiyin Company onto his coat pocket. Through the residential management, he contacted the person who had once worked at Hais, stating the purpose of his visit.
Upon hearing that Xu Huo had chosen the Hais Group's corporate culture as his theme for the evaluation event, the other party declined, claiming recent health issues and ongoing treatment.
Shen Fei and the others looked at the surveillance instruments moving around outside the house and felt somewhat troubled.
It was really hard to find leverage on people in Zone 019. Those without power or influence rarely had opportunities to commit major mistakes, so naturally, there was no dirt to threaten them with. Directly detaining someone was difficult and came with consequences that outweighed the benefits.
Through this contact, Xu Huo learned the person's location. He chose a nearby hotel to stay in, saying, "I'll wait until nightfall. The other two are for you to eliminate."
Shen Fei was curious about how he planned to make the person talk, so he suggested leaving Zhu Zhongliang behind to help.
Xu Huo didn't refuse. Since they were cooperating, everyone had to contribute. So after Shen Fei and Ke Youming left, he immediately had Zhu Zhongliang impersonate a family member of a victim from that incident to contact the staff member.
The man named Pu Hui was now over 160 years old. Over 120 years ago, he had just started working and was only an ordinary employee. From his work history, he had left Hais within five years and then changed jobs many times, but never returned to the mining industry.
Zhu Zhongliang was clever enough. He used a voice changer to simulate an elderly woman's voice. He started hesitantly, asking if Pu Hui was a Hais employee, then began crying, saying she had been searching for her son all these years and only recently heard he might have died under the mine. The person who told her the truth also said Pu Hui knew her son.
Pu Hui was silent for a long time before asking, "What is your son's name?"
Zhu Zhongliang looked at Xu Huo, who casually pulled up a photo of an ordinary person from Zone 019 and hinted for him to blur the victim's appearance.
Zhu Zhongliang complied, deliberately mumbling a childhood nickname and then vaguely describing how obedient her son was, misleading the other party. After two minutes of this disjointed talk, he saw Xu Huo write the words "senile dementia" and suddenly stopped. After a two-second pause, he changed his tone and said, "Little darling... you haven't come to see me in a while... when will you come... Mom will cook for you..."
The call was cut off by Pu Hui.
After closing the message collection terminal, Zhu Zhongliang said, "You want to exploit his guilt? How can you be sure Pu Hui knows the inside story?"
"I wasn't sure before, but I am now." Xu Huo had already released his spiritual realm and had been watching Pu Hui's reactions since the call began. In the original accident footage, he only sensed something off about his demeanor. After testing him and seeing him frantically searching for medicine, unable to control his emotions, it was likely there were hidden circumstances unknown to outsiders during the accident.
Of course, this hidden circumstance could also be personal. But he had Zhu Zhongliang use a very generic face without a specific name—just a childhood nickname without a surname. It probably wouldn't coincidentally be his friend.
Zhu Zhongliang looked at him with a mix of doubt and belief.
Wait and see.
The chances of finding a lead on the first try weren't high. Xu Huo also kept an eye on Shen Fei's progress, but before they could reach their second target, three players arrived outside the residential area. They had somehow obtained identity verification and were about to enter.
Xu Huo immediately left the hotel, approached them from behind, and grabbed one person's shoulder. Before he could speak, the other person, wearing gloves, suddenly grabbed him back and turned around, saying, "I was prepared for someone sneaking up from behind like this. Now you're stuck, let's see how you run..."
The unfinished words died in his throat when he saw Xu Huo's face. Their hands were stuck together, eyes locked, creating an awkward silence.
The baby-faced woman beside them was on high alert. Not only did she stop the other companion from trying to help, but she also quickly slapped her boyfriend's hand to snap him out of it.
The man came to his senses and immediately withdrew the item, grinning at Xu Huo. "Big brother, is there something else?"
Xu Huo's expression was friendly. "A chat?"
Half a minute later, the three of them sat side by side on the hotel sofa.
The player named Zhao Yiming, his scalp tingling, said to Xu Huo, "Big brother, it's better to make peace than to hold grudges. Isn't that matter already settled? We're all here to do the instance, why make things difficult for each other? Look, instance time is limited. After eating, sleeping, and bathroom breaks, how much is left? Chasing and killing each other really isn't worth it..."
His voice grew weaker and less confident, but Xu Huo smiled. "What instance are you on?"
Zhao Yiming hesitated before answering, "The Dwelling of the Dead."
"Coincidentally, I'm on the same instance," Xu Huo said, sitting across from them. "You want to enter the residential area to find someone, and I do too. How about we go in together?"
Zhao Yiming took a moment to process before catching on. He immediately explained the origin of their identity verification. They had bought several free clinic work permits at a high price from a job agency. With these permits, they could enter certain residential areas and provide free medical consultations for minor ailments under the city-wide surveillance.
Xu Huo looked at their work permits. "Is psychological treatment included?"
(Chapter End)