Chapter 1731: Death-Style Romance
For the instance "Dwelling of the Departed," Zhao Yiming's group and Zhu Zhongliang's group had similar thoughts. After searching through the cemetery, company staff, and the families of the deceased, they turned their attention to religious activities, leaning toward the idea that Hells Company had built a special cemetery for those who had died.
Now that it had been confirmed Hells Company had indeed falsified the death toll from the accident, the direction became even clearer. Those already taken away by their families were certainly not within the scope of the "departed." It had to be the nameless, unidentified dead that Hells Company had gathered for collective worship.
If Hells Company had also caused a mining accident for some reason in the past, it would fit even better. "Dwelling of the Departed" most likely referred to the people who died in that non-accidental incident.
"The scope has narrowed down a lot." Jiao Hongyuan said happily.
"We need to find those two people and get the truth out of them." Zhu Zhongliang immediately contacted Shen Fei and Ke Youming, telling them to come back.
Xu Huo then searched the terminal for information on the religion followed by Hells Company's upper management.
This religion was called "Seventeen Faces." The meaning behind the name had not been publicly disclosed, and its main business was weddings and funerals. Followers of this religion, whether handling funerals or weddings, liked to use the venues of "Seventeen Faces." Many of Hells Group's senior personnel were also members of this religion, and they were even the backbone. Most of the religious ceremonial sites were funded and built by Hells.
Seeing that they still didn't plan to leave, Jiao Hongyuan glanced at the projection screen, which wasn't shielded from others. "What does 'Seventeen Faces' mean? What kind of decent religion gives itself such a half-hearted name?"
Meng Xiaoman rolled her eyes. "This religion was propped up by Hells Group. It's possible the founders were all from Hells Group. Don't you know about 'Seventeen Faces'? Hells Group once found a natural seventeen-faced gemstone under a mine. It was perfect. I guess that's where the name comes from."
"That... doesn't seem likely." Jiao Hongyuan hesitated. "That casual?"
Meng Xiaoman immediately pulled up the exhibition data for that gemstone. "See for yourself."
"This gemstone doesn't look natural at all," Zhu Zhongliang chimed in, taking a look. "It's probably artificially cut. There was a period in District 019 when seventeen-faced gemstones were popular. This one is just a bit larger."
"This gemstone is different." Meng Xiaoman rotated the holographic image. "From the front, this gemstone looks red, right? But the back isn't like that. From behind, there are several more facets in the middle. Other seventeen-faced gemstones are cut by people, but this one is natural. And there are several facets inside the gemstone, not cracks."
"Some speculate that two different gemstones accidentally fused together under the action of magma, creating this accidental gem. Although you can see the facets inside, the outside of the gemstone is complete. It's unique, which is why it's so precious."
Xu Huo also saw the gemstone. The front emitted a wine-red luster, while the side and back overlapped with a faint amber color. As Meng Xiaoman said, several intact facets could be seen in the middle of the gemstone, as if it were a masterpiece of nature.
He stopped what he was doing and asked Meng Xiaoman, "Are there any other strange gemstones like this?"
Meng Xiaoman didn't understand why he used the word "strange" to describe these magnificent gems, but she still said, "I heard that about twenty years ago, a gemstone shaped like a rib was unearthed. It was named the Second Rib. There were also some gemstones with special patterns, said to have formed because special evolutionary matter got involved during the process. These have all been collected and are not for sale."
"A gemstone shaped like a rib... isn't that just a relatively pure color mixed into a colored stone? Do they need to make up a story to go with it? And 'Second Rib'? What's so special about the second rib?" Zhao Yiming scoffed.
"How can you have no romantic sense at all?" Meng Xiaoman glared at him. "The second rib is close to the heart, protecting it. If a man bought me that gemstone, wouldn't it mean he wants to protect me?"
Zhao Yiming was speechless. After a two-second silence, he said, "When we clear the instance, I'll buy you a set of protective gear. That thing is more useful than a second rib."
"So unromantic." Meng Xiaoman gave him a loving, reproachful glare.
The second rib... This was truly a death-style romance.
Xu Huo clapped his hands, pulling the conversation back. "There are two people. Let's split up."
The group had unconsciously begun to follow his lead. Zhu Zhongliang, who had originally wanted to wait for Shen Fei and the others to return, found it hard to speak up and instead proposed going with Xu Huo's group.
Given that Xu Huo had efficiently obtained two names from Pu Hui, Zhao Yiming's group also felt it was advantageous to stick with him.
"The 'departed' in the instance are most likely specifically referring to the people who died in that man-made accident. Now that the target is clear, there's no need to rush. We can take it slow." Zhao Yiming smiled at Xu Huo. "Brother Xu, Xiao Man and I definitely won't cause you any trouble."
Xu Huo had originally planned to bring them along anyway, so he told Zhu Zhongliang to stay and wait for Shen Fei and the other, while the three of them went to find the other informant.
Zhu Zhongliang had more thoughts than Zhao Yiming's group, but under Xu Huo's gaze, he still nodded in agreement.
The two people Pu Hui mentioned both lived in Chuanwan City, just in different directions. Given that Chuanwan City was quite large, Xu Huo's group used props to move and found one of the responsible persons before midnight.
This person was chosen by Xu Huo.
"It won't be easy to get information out of them," Zhao Yiming said. "Especially since they're involved in something so conscience-less. He won't talk easily."
Coercion and interrogation were not very effective in District 019. Some people implant chips in their bodies to monitor their physical condition in real-time. This chip can send a physical report to family members at any time. Without the person's own authentication, if the chip malfunctions or the signal suddenly disappears, it will trigger an alarm. Even abnormal heart rate fluctuations are within the reporting scope. Unless you plan to take the person away and never let them return, you have to be very careful.
Furthermore, even if you make the worst choice, the final answer you get isn't necessarily safe. District 019 is full of traps for players from other zones. It could easily cause unnecessary trouble. So, if you can't guarantee a clear pass, it's best to adopt a conservative approach.
Xu Huo had already sent his vertical pupil into the residential area to scout around. They were a bit unlucky. The room of this retired Hells Company executive and the communication terminal he wore both had spiritual power sensing instruments. If Xu Huo tried to interfere with him, the instruments would immediately issue a warning and notify his family.
"Tomorrow," he said, changing his strategy after a look. "He's going to a religious event tomorrow. We'll intercept him on the flying car."
(Chapter End)