Chapter 1949: Don't You Find It Terrifying When You Say It Yourself?
"You can think of me as just a passerby." Xu Huo raised his hand, and two chairs appeared in the basement. He sat down first and gestured for the masked player to sit as well.
The masked player already had one hand on the floor. Upon hearing this, he immediately launched himself upward, his body shooting out like a projectile—only to reappear in the basement the next second.
He emerged from the wall near the stairs, facing Xu Huo directly. The moment their eyes met, he was silent for a moment before saying, "I can't get out, can I?"
Xu Huo nodded slightly and pointed to the chair opposite him again.
The masked player slowly stepped forward and sat down.
"First of all, I have no ill intentions," Xu Huo said. "As long as you hold a ticket in your hand, I can't take your life."
This was a reminder to the masked player that Xu Huo held the upper hand.
The masked player didn't respond. His body language didn't change at all, and his face was covered, making it impossible to read his emotional state at the moment.
Xu Huo, of course, didn't press the issue. Instead, he continued his own line of questioning. "I saw several East District players in the West District and noticed that almost all of them were wearing items or instruments that conceal their body information. Is there a reason for that?"
Hearing that Xu Huo wasn't probing into the Rebel Army, the masked player relaxed slightly. "The East District was established by a tech company. No matter how powerful they are, they can't get that many Outer Zone players to risk their lives for them. Using a few tricks to conceal their strength and make others wary is standard procedure for them."
Concealing and modifying body information could indeed prevent outsiders from determining one's true evolution rate, thereby affecting judgments of player rank. However, the jamming instruments used by East District players were extremely powerful, giving them an overwhelming advantage over West District players and those who were unprepared. But to say that the East District relied on this to secure their power was pure fantasy. Relying solely on instruments, any high-level player could bring a city to its knees—as long as they possessed a high-level jamming instrument.
The instrument Xu Huo used to interfere with the long-haired player's equipment was the S-class jammer he had obtained from a cannibal player. But it was clear that those East District players were genuinely powerful. And there was also the spatial power that had covered the street earlier. He had a feeling that person wasn't among those inspectors.
He didn't say this directly. Instead, he asked, "Doesn't the Rebel Army have any way to counter these instruments?"
He took out the thin metal sheet given to him by Chen Wu, a member of the Old Holy Sword Society, from his ear. "Don't you all have these?"
He had been nearby earlier, and although he was at a distance, he had also felt the power released by the pipe instrument. However, the effect on him was less severe than on others. This suggested that instruments like this metal sheet, which could resist interference, were standard equipment for inspectors—perhaps even for all East District players. With such a massive quantity, if the Rebel Army couldn't even procure these for their own players, weren't they overestimating themselves by trying to cause trouble in the East District?
The masked player recognized the item. From the slight movement of his head, it seemed he was looking at Xu Huo. "This thing isn't easy to get. Almost all instruments in the East District have unique serial numbers. If one is stolen, the East District can remotely disable it—unless the internal system is immediately modified or the remote control is cut off. The West District doesn't have that kind of technical personnel."
"I see. It's not that there are none, just that there are very few." Xu Huo nodded knowingly.
The masked player's upper body twitched, but he held back from saying anything.
Xu Huo weighed the metal sheet in his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not from the East District. I got this from someone else."
He pulled out the corpse of the East District player he had killed and briefly showed it.
Seeing the body, the masked player was both surprised and confused. "Your counter-interference instrument didn't fail?"
"Just a little trick." Xu Huo deliberately kept it vague and steered the conversation back. "Have you seen East District players like the ones tonight before? I mean the ones who went crazy."
"Crazy?" The masked player's voice was both angry and sarcastic. "This is how they frame the Rebel Army for their actions! Although sometimes you have to pay a price to accomplish great things, we would never use this method to gain a reputation. We're fighting to resist the East District, to live like human beings! If we treated human lives like the East District does, what difference would there be between us and animals?!"
"So this kind of thing has happened more than once?" Xu Huo rubbed his chin and asked again, "Has it happened in the East District?"
Although the masked player was agitated, he hadn't completely lost his senses. How could he leak such intelligence?
Xu Huo didn't seem to mind. He changed the subject. "Whether in the virtual game or in the words of some Rebel Army members, you can hear things like 'many people in the East District secretly support the Rebel Army.' Many people in the East District support the Rebel Army... Don't you find that terrifying when you say it yourselves?"
This actually covered two aspects. First, there really were many East District people secretly supporting the Rebel Army. Second, it was merely a rumor meant to shake people's resolve.
The rumor was easy to understand—it was just psychological warfare. Politics isn't just about brute force; insidious brainwashing is also an important tactic. Hearing it enough times, some in the Rebel Army might start to believe it. For two opposing factions, this was like creating an easily exploitable weakness in the enemy's humanity.
But if there really were East District people supporting the Rebel Army, the problem might not be so simple.
The East District and the West District were already in opposition. Even ordinary residents of the East District wouldn't be willing to accept West District people, especially when such acceptance might come at the cost of their own interests or even their lives. Unless someone was carved with "truth, goodness, and beauty" from bone to skin, any East District person helping the Rebel Army would have to consider whether their own blades might one day turn on themselves, their friends, and their family.
So this support was most likely coming from the East District Government or Agor Corporation.
Whether it was internal conflicts of interest or someone deliberately orchestrating it, this was bad news for the Rebel Army. They would either be used as pawns or walk straight into a trap.
"What do you mean?" The masked player was alarmed and suspicious. "Are you trying to make us doubt each other?"
Xu Huo took out the list written by the shop owner. "I've been to almost all the people and places on this list. Three of the people have connections with the inspectors, and the personnel at two of the strongholds have most likely been replaced. The one on the floor here is someone I found at one of those strongholds."
"I've only been in the West District for a few days, and I already know that you, the Rebel Army, are plotting to cause trouble in the East District. Do you think the East District doesn't know?"
The masked player's chest heaved unevenly. After a long moment, he said, "Are you planning to help us?"
Hearing the sarcasm in his tone, Xu Huo let out a light laugh. "I'm here to clear the instance. Next, I'm going to the East District. If the Rebel Army is willing to provide me with some convenience, we can be mutually beneficial."
"I know the player who killed people isn't from the Rebel Army." As he spoke, he raised a finger and, from a distance, destroyed the masked player's mask item and helmet item.
(End of Chapter)