Chapter 1853: A Tug of War
The crowd fell silent, subtly observing one another. After a long pause, a player noticeably shorter than the others stepped forward and said, "I think it's pointless to look for players from CK12 Safe Zone. If the newborn was really delivered by their hands, they definitely wouldn't abandon the child. But as everyone knows, since CK12 disappeared two years ago, we've barely heard any news from them."
"Wouldn't it be easy for a player to take a child away? Why would they leave it until now for an Outer Zone Player to get there first?"
He turned and looked up at Xu Huo on the upper floor. "So either CK12 gave up on this child, or this child isn't real at all—just something the Outer Zone Player cooked up to clear the instance."
His words gained approval from others. They wanted to know the specifics of the child's situation rather than being blindly coerced.
Mr. Yuan and the others also looked at Xu Huo. The Polar Safe Zone didn't have enough manpower, but with over a hundred Advanced Players here, the strength disparity between the two sides was undeniable.
The pressure from a hundred players made the already tense Deng Xiahei and Juan Er feel like they were facing a great enemy.
A player who looked refined and cultured stepped forward from below and loudly questioned Xu Huo, "How can you prove that the child in your hands is the newborn from Zone 010?"
Xu Huo held Little Pink Hat with one arm while gently stroking her head with the other. "After all this talk, not a single person is willing to put in any effort for the future of Zone 010. It seems you don't really care whether this child lives or dies... Let's just kill her."
As he finished speaking, the hand on Little Pink Hat's head exerted pressure, and Little Pink Hat cooperatively struggled, kicking away the wrapping cloth to reveal her lower legs—covered in strange skin but otherwise identical in form to a human toddler.
"How dare you!" The player who had demanded proof from Xu Huo lunged to snatch the child away, but with several B-rank players backing Xu Huo, breaking through the Defense Barrier was difficult. When he tried to use his trait, "Life Flashback" blocked him, and fragments of his trait usage appeared in the space between the two buildings.
The player failed to gain any advantage and fell back to the ground. Xu Huo looked down at them from above. "My request isn't too difficult. I hope you'll have an answer for me in an hour."
With that, he wrapped Little Pink Hat back up and retreated from the window.
The room was sealed with power, making it impossible to spy on what was happening inside from the outside.
The Zone 010 players, having tested Xu Huo's stance, could only retreat to the meeting room with reluctance.
"Someone's got us by the throat. We have no choice but to obey," Mr. Yuan said.
"Bang!" The bearded man who had spoken earlier slammed his hand on the table. "Nothing good ever comes from getting involved with Outer Zone Players. In my opinion, the child in his hands isn't even from our district—he's just using this to threaten us!"
"The key is that we can't be sure whether he actually has the child or not," said a female player with long wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and brows. "Besides, none of us have ever seen the child. Whether the one he's holding is real, or the child is hidden somewhere else, it's hard to say."
"Has there ever been a shortage of Outer Zone Players using newborns to coerce us?" the short player said with a dark face. "It looks convincing, but for all we know, he's shaking in his boots!"
"Saying these completely meaningless things right now is pointless," the female player frowned. "Find a way to get the child over here."
She looked at the short man. "Liu Chen, I remember you know players from CK12 and have been there many times."
The short man, Liu Chen, felt targeted. "Liao Xiaoyi, I respect you as a senior, but don't dig a pit for me. Who here hasn't had dealings with CK12 in the past? Wasn't the mutual exchange between Safe Zones a consensus after the great disaster in Zone 010?"
"I heard that Dr. Joyce did go to CK12 after Chang Shoujie disappeared," said Lu He, the player who had attacked Xu Huo. "He completely lost contact two years ago."
"Dr. Joyce and Chang Shoujie had an extraordinary relationship. He might have left clues with Chang Shoujie," said the bearded man, Gao Yong.
"Chang Shoujie is here too," Mr. Yuan finally dropped this bombshell. "He's in the room on the right. You should have seen him just now."
The players had certainly scouted the situation in the opposite building, but they never expected the man in the wheelchair to be Chang Shoujie.
"I thought he was dead," said a younger short-haired female player, Ban Yan. "Chang Shoujie has appeared, and he's with the Outer Zone Player. Could the child be real?"
The people present might not have much regard for Chang Shoujie, but they had no doubt about his efforts and sacrifices for Zone 010. If it weren't beneficial to Zone 010, he would never bow his head, even if he were chopped up and fed to the dogs.
"Is it really Chang Shoujie?" Liu Chen muttered.
"It's easy enough to verify," Liao Xiaoyi said, walking to the window. "Brother Chang, come out and say something!"
Chang Shoujie was pushed to the window by Gao Dawei, who also placed a prop so he could look down.
"It's you. How is your brother?" Chang Shoujie asked after a moment of recollection.
"My brother is dead. I'm the one managing the Safe Zone now." Liao Xiaoyi's eyes turned cold. "Thanks to you, Q3 Safe Zone lost nearly half its players. Otherwise, my brother wouldn't have died later in the Sand Sea Safe Zone's retaliation."
"My apologies." Chang Shoujie remained expressionless. "The living people of Zone 010 will remember his sacrifice."
Liao Xiaoyi was enraged by these words. "What's the use of saying these hypocritical things? Why don't you die so the living can remember you? Why cling to life after losing your player status?!"
"That's going too far!" An older player stepped in to stop her. "Mr. Chang spent most of his life working for Zone 010. Saying things like this will dishearten others!"
If people were blamed for sacrifices that happened under Chang Shoujie's leadership, who would be willing to advocate and work for Zone 010 in the future?
"Sacrifices are inevitable to get things done."
Liao Xiaoyi had nothing more to say and turned away in anger.
The man who had spoken walked into Chang Shoujie's line of sight. "Zone 010 has no ungrateful people."
Chang Shoujie made no comment. The man continued, "Now I want to ask: Is the child in the Outer Zone Player's hands truly from our Zone 010?"
Chang Shoujie was an old player. Even without his player panel now, he could still precisely control his heartbeat, breathing, and expression, completely unafraid of the other's probing. He answered firmly, "Yes."
The man below gave a slight smile, then retreated back into the meeting room. Immediately, the opposite building was covered by a prop, becoming invisible and inaudible.
Chang Shoujie withdrew his gaze. When he turned his head, he found Xu Huo leaning against the window next door, watching him.
Their eyes met, and Xu Huo smiled at him. "Do you think what I told you last night was true or false?"