Chapter 1768: Early Conversation
Xu Huo's current situation could be seen on the Message Collection Terminal. The sky was filled with flying surveillance monitors. Seeing the constantly flashing alerts, he had no choice but to answer the call.
Probably not expecting him to actually dare to answer, the other side was silent for a moment.
"Can you get out?" The female player was still worried about clearing the instance.
"Probably," Xu Huo said indifferently. "Anyway, the painting is in my hands. I can clear it anytime."
The female player was speechless. After a moment, she said, "I can probably guess what you're trying to do, but this isn't going smoothly. Zone 019 hasn't really fallen into chaos. The Message Collection Terminal is buzzing with noise, but in reality, everyone is watching and waiting. Also, I heard the District Government has set up a zone-wide Jamming Device. Once activated, all Armed Robot commands will be overwritten, and they'll all become government combat power."
"Right now, the District Government is inviting the Mining Group people for tea, one company at a time. There are quite a few players in the Mining Group too, but basically no one is resisting. They're all cooperating obediently."
"Zone 019 is unlikely to fall into civil unrest over people who died over a hundred years ago."
"You're overthinking it. I never said I wanted Zone 019 to fall into chaos," Xu Huo said. "My goal has always been just one thing."
"Can that get you a high-score clearance?" The female player didn't understand. "The instance background has nothing to do with the mining disaster. Even if Master Solan has some connection to Old Lady Mei, the final result might not be what you expect. This is pure gambling, and it's not even worth it."
"The longer you drag this out, the more dangerous it gets. You'd better escape first... Is the painting really on you? Amber Square has been turned upside down. No one found the painting. Is it somewhere else?"
Not just her, but in anyone's eyes, Xu Huo angering the District Government for the sake of a possible high rating was unwise. Even if he did it, it might not guarantee a high-score clearance. Now, plenty of people wanted his head. Even if the District Government put on a show of protecting him, once they finished dealing with their conflict with the Mining Group and pushed out a few scapegoats, this storm would pass peacefully. And whether it was the Mining Group, the District Government, or other players in Zone 019, they would all take their anger out on him. After all, if it weren't for him, none of this would have happened.
The longer it went on, the more players believed that Xu Huo actually hadn't gotten the painting. Some had previously guessed that the "Ember Maiden" had already been collected by someone. Others had wild theories, thinking he was doing this just to make the District Government do the work for him and find the painting.
Of course, another voice had emerged on the Message Collection Terminal. Looking at the District Government's actions against the Mining Group, they thought the District Government might have been unaware, hence the investigation. And Xu Huo's claim that the District Government instructed the Mining Group to cause the accident just to stir up Zone 019 was malicious and hid a bigger conspiracy.
Besides, the evidence Xu Huo had shown earlier could easily be faked. After all, Zone 019 had advanced technology. Synthesizing a person was simple. What couldn't they film?
But the focus of this matter was no longer on Xu Huo. More attention had shifted to the District Government and the Mining Group. Heiles' grave, the insiders whose mouths had been forcibly pried open by local players, and some people who had voluntarily come forward with materials preserved for a hundred years.
People like Old Mr. Yue, though they didn't explicitly accuse the District Government of wrongdoing, still subtly expressed their doubts about that period of history as survivors.
They were being polite, firstly because they couldn't uncover the real truth and lacked key evidence, and secondly because Zone 019 was also their home. Turning everything upside down for people who died a century ago wasn't their goal. It was just that a hundred years hadn't erased the guilt in their hearts. They hoped to give those nameless people some closure.
The government harming ordinary people to obtain Human Bone Gems—this simple statement could make one tremble from the depths of their soul.
"Tian Tian in the Ditch" was much less polite. She didn't care what happened to Zone 019, so she teamed up with a few Storm Factor friends and exposed some dirty secrets of District Government personnel and the Mining Group.
The District Government had strict review procedures, but the fact that Matri Dolati still had considerable influence within the government showed that power and connections still worked here. Since that was the case, there were inevitably some rotten elements.
The Mining Group had even more dirty laundry. For example, a hundred years ago, the young master of the Tiantianle Group, who was young enough to order the destruction of two aircraft, killing hundreds of people. There was no shortage of all kinds of messes.
Thankfully, Zone 019 was a place full of surveillance monitors. Any random piece of information the Storm Factors threw out could blow up the Message Collection Terminal.
At the same time, because Zone 019 was a place full of surveillance monitors, the fact that the Mining Group's high-level executives could do whatever they wanted in such an environment was chilling. It also made people wonder how they managed it. Could they have done it without the District Government's cover-up?
The mining disaster was a hundred years ago, but the leaks included recent events. Traffic accidents were rare now, but occasionally someone would be "accidentally" caught up in a disturbance caused by Outer Zone Players and go missing or die. Or a certain family would unexpectedly get a chance to travel to another place or zone, and then simply vanish from the sight of relatives and neighbors...
The focus of the conflict had shifted to the Mining Group.
Xu Huo had nothing to explain to these female players. Whether they could clear the instance in the end depended on their luck.
As for the District Government's plan, it wasn't hard to guess. To avoid causing bigger trouble, using a few individuals from the Mining Group as scapegoats was the best option. And they themselves should atone for this.
"Do you need food or water?" a Government Player asked proactively.
Xu Huo had brought his own supplies and didn't need any external items. He also reminded them not to let Zone 019 players get close.
"Don't worry, there won't be any problems here," the square-faced player who had tried to talk to him earlier said in a deep voice.
After these brief exchanges, both sides fell silent again. Other Zone 019 players were not allowed to approach Xu Huo, and Government Players were not allowed to have further communication with him—everyone was waiting for the scheduled meeting the next day.
After a day of deliberation, Matri Dolati finally came to the small city in person. He didn't appear publicly. Instead, based on the approximate range Xu Huo could perceive, as reported by combat robots and players, he chose a suitable spot to enter and invited Xu Huo in advance.
There was a major disagreement within the District Government about whether Xu Huo would agree to a private conversation, but in the end, Matri Dolati overruled the objections and agreed, because Xu Huo had only asked to see him.
In a small building that had been used for holographic game entertainment, the original equipment was pushed to the sides of the room. A long table was placed in the center. After Matri Dolati sat at the head, the dozens of players who had come with him used items to either turn invisible or hide around the building.
"Can you come down and talk?" Matri Dolati said, looking ahead.