# Chapter 1760: This Is Our Curse
This video was only a few seconds long and had nothing to do with current events, yet it suddenly became a hot topic—the reason being the surname "Duolaiti."
Duolaiti was a very famous surname in District 019. The previous Grand Archon bore the surname Duolaiti, and the fact that the current Grand Archon had been able to serve steadily for a hundred years was partly due to the influence of the Duolaiti family. Moreover, this family had produced players, with many geniuses emerging over the past century.
Like most players in District 019, these people usually didn't show themselves, only appearing when major events occurred in the district. But no one in District 019 would question their strength. So even though Mattley Duolaiti had stepped down a hundred years ago, people in the district were still familiar with him and his surname.
Xixi Duolaiti—the surname made this name newsworthy, but the name "Xixi" itself made those in the know fall silent.
Those connected to the Duolaiti family knew about Xixi Duolaiti's disappearance. Even those on the periphery, though unaware of what exactly had happened to this person, couldn't completely miss the news that someone was missing from the Duolaiti family. Even after a hundred years, it wasn't forgotten—at least the tracking chips now being made by high-level government officials had all originated because of this young woman.
Xixi Duolaiti had been missing for over a hundred years. Those who knew about this matter all believed she had long since died, her bones turned to dust. Who would have thought she would suddenly appear now? Those puppet limbs were made very lifelike. Though there was no head, the clothes, accessories, and the badge representing identity manufactured by the district government all revealed the puppet's identity.
All parties were waiting for the Duolaiti family's reaction.
In truth, this was no longer just the Duolaiti family's affair. Outer zone players doing this, deliberately using puppets disguised as corpses to stir up public sentiment, was tantamount to declaring war on the entire district government. However, the location where the video was uploaded and the possible whereabouts of the perpetrators had now been mostly investigated, with no trace of them found. They were skilled at disguise and thoroughly understood how Armed Robots operated, leaving no evidence behind.
"A carpet search would take a massive amount of time. The Message Collection Terminal has yet to analyze the intentions of those behind this incident. The fastest estimate is three hours. And if we delay in releasing information, in one hour the district government will lose 9% of its approval rating." The secretary in formal work attire briefly reported the most critical information for the government at present.
This emergency meeting was held online. Only the secretary was physically present. In the empty room with only a desk, twenty-eight figures under holographic projection surrounded the desk. The advanced technology could capture their movements in real time, even instantly conveying changes in expression. So when the secretary finished speaking, half of those present showed varying degrees of change in expression. No one thought the outer zone players who had orchestrated this were particularly important—what they cared about were the people of District 019.
"District 019's ability to maintain a hundred years of prosperity relies on the government and the entire district working together in unity. Once people's hearts begin to waver, their eyes will look elsewhere. People are our foundation. Under no circumstances can we allow the public to lose trust in the government."
The elderly man seated at the head spoke solemnly, then looked around at everyone. "Do you have any effective suggestions?"
Most of those who could attend this meeting were quite old. The white-haired elder to the left of the current Grand Archon said, "The text on the stone slab should come from the families of the victims. Over the past hundred-plus years, we have been working to eliminate the hidden dangers brought by the mining disaster, and we've done a decent job. A few puppets, a few deceptive words—if we take them too seriously, it will only cause unnecessary trouble."
"Capture a few outer zone players and end this matter."
After hearing this, the others present unanimously turned their gaze toward the secretary's side.
They weren't looking at the secretary, but at the former Grand Archon Mattley Duolaiti, who had been allowed into this meeting due to special circumstances.
This former Grand Archon was now nearly two hundred years old, but his spirit seemed very good. Living another twenty or thirty years wouldn't be a problem. Many people here knew about Xixi Duolaiti's disappearance. They had all seen what those puppets looked like—the hands and feet had been pierced through. It was hard not to imagine what kind of torment Xixi Duolaiti had suffered before her death.
And the disappearance of his youngest daughter had always been Mattley's heart's knot. Now someone had made puppets based on the real person, ten to one they had found the actual corpse. Tortured, then made into amber—any father would find this unbearable. Yet the proposal just made was equivalent to the government refusing to acknowledge Xixi Duolaiti's existence, cutting off his path to reclaim his daughter's remains.
Mattley Duolaiti was very calm. Before this, his gaze had been fixed straight ahead, probably looking at something. Only now did he raise his head. "Have you all read the reports submitted from various places over the past half day?"
"A hundred years, erasing history—we've done well?" He sighed. "If this matter had truly been forgotten, why would so many people be coming to the government demanding the truth today?"
"Those who bear the pain of District 019 will never forget their deceased loved ones. Parents, wives, sisters, brothers may have already died one after another, but descendants will not. You think hatred has disappeared, but it has only been set aside, passed down generation after generation through other means."
This was actually something both the perpetrators and the victims knew in their hearts. Today, perhaps outer zone players had acted on a whim and stirred things up, but the avengers of District 019 would never cease. If everyone were ordinary people, one or two generations might end it. But if descendants of the victims or others connected to them became players, the matter would never be finished.
"We should be fearful. Perhaps one day, someone who can turn the entire district upside down will suddenly appear, and that person will come for revenge."
Mattley Duolaiti raised the stone slab he had been looking at. "This is our curse."
The others fell even more silent. They knew they were in the wrong, and they also understood that once this matter was exposed, the District 019 government could collapse. Enormous guilt and pressure intertwined, forcing them to be unable to quickly formulate a reasonable response.
"You want to make the Human Bone Gem matter public?" asked the bearded man to the right of the current Grand Archon. "Once it's made public, District 019 will be turned upside down immediately. The loss outweighs the gain. Rather than dragging more innocent people into this internal chaos, it's better to drag it out for a few more decades. When the original participants have mostly died, the matter will naturally be resolved."
The others shared the same view.
"When people die, debts are cleared. By then, if someone still wants revenge, even if they grind my bones to dust, I'll accept it."
"District 019 has yet to produce a Super Player. Once chaos breaks out, those young people won't be able to control the situation."