Chapter 1843: Back to Square One
They were talking about Pink Hair.
Pink Hair had already killed that B-Class player, but he had made a bit of a mess of it. His entire body was splattered with blood, showing that his method of killing was extremely violent.
"No way, bro, was it necessary to go that far?" Big Comb-Over tilted his chin. "Anyone would think you were butchering a pig."
But Pink Hair just smiled nonchalantly, casually opening two bottles of cleaning agent and pouring them over his head. As he washed, he said, "Why didn't Old Xu leave the hotel behind?"
"You're thinking too highly of him," Deng Xiahei said.
Looking back at yesterday's events, it was most likely meant to provoke the Black Jackets into making a move. The desert was a particularly suitable place. The sandstorm the Black Jackets had created to interfere with their vision not only made the scene more dangerous but also helped to confuse people.
Of course, Deng Xiahei didn't know exactly what Chang Shoujie had said, but Xu Huo's goal was Dr. Joyce. Since he had made things clear with Chang Shoujie, he must have achieved his objective. Xu Huo wasn't a fool; why would he waste the resources in the hotel?
"You really said 'dying wish'?" Deng Xiahei said. "The players in your instance have all been killed. If you want to clear it, you'll have to find other people."
Pink Hair seemed not to catch the hint of dismissal in his words. He plopped down in the tent, casually grabbed a bottle of water from beside Deng Xiahei, gulped down half of it, then wiped his mouth and said, "I was just messing around."
He chuckled, not bothering to ask what instances the others were in.
Deng Xiahei felt this topic was going nowhere. Just as he was about to move further away, he suddenly saw Pink Hair pull out a notebook and start scribbling in it.
"You keep a diary?" he asked incredulously.
"A love letter," Pink Hair said, winking at him. "Been out for a few days. Kind of missing her."
Everyone present could guess that his girlfriend was probably already dead, but seeing his overly excited demeanor, they couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy. Deng Xiahei then asked, "Was your girlfriend a player?"
Pink Hair's expression froze. The smile, along with his easygoing demeanor, was drained away completely, replaced by a heavy, murderous intent. After a moment, he said, "Yeah, she was a player too."
This wasn't a good topic, so Deng Xiahei wisely shut his mouth. Chang Shoujie, however, glanced at him, his expression darkening.
Not long after, Xu Huo returned. He had obtained the instrument Dr. Joyce had left for Chang Shoujie.
Although it had been buried underground for a few years, the instrument was well-preserved. When opened, it looked brand new. However, it was an older model from a few years back, shaped like a watch, with the hands indicating direction.
"The direction the instrument points to hasn't changed. It should be a fixed location," Deng Xiahei said, leaning in to look at the faintly trembling needle. "But it only gives one direction. This place is huge. How are we supposed to find it?"
Xu Huo looked at Chang Shoujie. "Let's talk alone."
The "Snowflake Grand Hotel" was still in the desert. Xu Huo took Chang Shoujie to a suite, asked him to sit down, and then cut straight to the point. "About Dr. Joyce, how much more do you know?"
Chang Shoujie smiled. "You're a smart man. Don't you trust your own judgment?"
He was referring to how Xu Huo had deliberately set up a trap for Gao Dawei to see, and then used Gao Dawei to lure him in.
"It was a matter of expediency," Xu Huo said without a hint of apology. "I believe what you entrusted to Gao Dawei was true, but that doesn't stop me from thinking you're holding something back."
"What else do you want to know?" Chang Shoujie said. "Aside from matters concerning Zone 010, I can't help you with anything else." Even though he was degenerating and sick, Chang Shoujie's mind was still sharp. In one encounter, he guessed that Xu Huo's search for Dr. Joyce wasn't just a simple commission or to complete an instance; he had another purpose.
Xu Huo didn't let him take the initiative. Instead, he brought up another matter.
"Why do you think Dr. Joyce is so persistent about saving Zone 010?"
Chang Shoujie's expression shifted slightly, but Xu Huo continued, "Dr. Joyce once worked for the Stellar Pharmaceuticals Group. When Zone 010 underwent its cataclysmic change, he came to this land with the company."
"What could Stellar Pharmaceuticals do?"
"Did they participate in the destruction of Zone 010? Was the massive outbreak of mutant xenomorphs related to them? And was the Black Thorn disease something they created?"
"Zone 010, which was almost completely destroyed, doesn't even qualify as a place for experiments. Why did Dr. Joyce stay? Was it out of professional ethics, or guilt?"
Xu Huo slowed down his speech, watching Chang Shoujie's expression closely. This former player, who had exhausted his mind and energy for Zone 010, managed to conceal his emotions in an extremely short time and replied, "Regardless of the reason, Dr. Joyce has been helping Zone 010."
"Has he been in Zone 010 the whole time?" Xu Huo asked again.
"Zone 010 doesn't have enough resources," Chang Shoujie answered vaguely. Anyone with half a brain could figure that out. How could the conditions in Zone 010 possibly support Dr. Joyce's experiments? He probably even had to go out and buy his own equipment.
"He must have told you where he was before he left for the last time," Xu Huo said. "The instrument can only point to a general direction. I don't plan on backtracking. Why don't you just tell me the location directly?"
"You should also want to know Dr. Joyce's final whereabouts... Even if you can't find his body, you might find the last clue he left for you."
Chang Shoujie's expression became somewhat wistful. "That safe zone has already disappeared. Two years ago."
Xu Huo knew it was almost certainly the CK12 Safe Zone. CK12 had disappeared two years ago, and at that time, Chang Shoujie had already left the game. Perhaps Dr. Joyce had even tried to find him after returning.
"So I don't have any clearer clues either. Maybe Dr. Joyce went to a certain safe zone. If the positioning instrument can't find him, then he might really be unfindable," Chang Shoujie said.
As luck would have it, the direction the positioning instrument pointed was exactly near CK12. Xu Huo had come from that area, so he knew the specific location. And Dr. Deng had firmly stated that the man was dead. So Dr. Joyce might have died in the CK12 Safe Zone two years ago, and the tool he used for positioning was left inside the safe zone, which made sense.
After going around in such a big circle, it seemed they were back to square one.
However, with a positioning instrument, at least they could get a lead on Dr. Joyce's whereabouts. That was much better than blindly searching an entire buried safe zone city.
"I hope Dr. Joyce really did achieve something," Xu Huo said. More than the offspring of humans and xenomorphs, he sincerely hoped Dr. Joyce had developed a genetic agent to cure the Black Thorn disease.
The conversation ended there. He had Gao Dawei come up to get the man.
"That pink-haired man, is he someone you know?" Chang Shoujie suddenly asked.
"What's the problem?" Xu Huo paused.
"Normal clearance players would be more focused on instance clues. He's a bit abnormal," Chang Shoujie said, stopping just short of elaborating.
(End of Chapter)