Chapter 1951: East District Inspector Roll Call
"Han Cong can't be reached anymore." The fat old man said. "Yesterday he told me he wanted to look at some document or other and asked me to help him write a work summary. I gave him the password and let him handle it himself, but when I checked this morning, the document was only half-finished, and no one answered his communicator."
"Could something have happened to him?" Xu Huo asked with some concern.
"He left the Inspection Department building on his own." Li Song said flatly. "Last night's incident—he was probably drawn by the commotion outside. You know what the situation in the West District is like now. Everyone else is hiding, but he had to go and throw himself into it. If something happened, he can't blame anyone else."
Xu Huo fell silent, then cautiously glanced downstairs again, only to be spotted by someone with sharp eyes. A brick immediately smashed against the window.
The glass in the Inspection Department building was specially made, not something that could be shattered by a single brick, but the increasing number of marks on it was still nerve-wracking.
"Are there any other exits from the building?" Xu Huo said, as if struck by a sudden whim. "Staying here isn't a solution. We should find a place to hide. Or maybe go near the Shadow Wall—they wouldn't dare attack the Shadow Wall directly, would they?"
"If someone really did attack the Shadow Wall, the East District probably wouldn't just sit by and do nothing, right?"
But Lin Guang patted him on the shoulder at that moment and shook his head slightly.
"Do you think the East District players would care whether we live or die if they made a move?" Another team leader said.
Everyone fell silent. This was a self-awareness they all possessed.
"Only those who care about their comrades and their own people would be restrained." Li Song sighed and said. "Look at those black-clad thugs with knives and guns. If it were pitch black, they'd stop themselves too, afraid of accidentally hurting their own people."
"It's the same with players. They have all kinds of props, all sorts of effects. One-on-one, they're all experts. But if you put them in a group, their own people might end up holding them back, and they'd have to consider their companions when using props."
"Though it's not pleasant to say, the East District players really don't care about our lives. If we stay put and behave, maybe they'll lend a hand when they remember us. But if we cause them trouble, we'll be the first to die."
Xu Huo sat down, looking a little dazed. "I thought becoming an inspector would at least mean a better life..."
No one said anything. No one had the heart to comfort him at a time like this.
All the doors and windows of the Inspection Department building were sealed tight. All they could do was wait.
Whether it was because the East District suddenly had a change of heart, or because the situation in the West District had truly become severe, an hour after their conversation ended, an aircraft appeared in front of the branch building.
The entire shell of the silver-gray aircraft was metal. The cockpit had no windows, replaced by electronic eyes mounted on the outside, so those inside could see out, but those outside couldn't see in.
The side hatch opened, and two players dressed in inspector uniforms landed one after another, then walked straight toward the main entrance of the building.
The aircraft maintained a certain altitude, so it didn't cause much disturbance on the ground. But the street was already blocked by black-clad thugs, and the area outside the building was packed tight with no way through. Yet these two inspectors deliberately landed outside the crowd.
The street fell dead silent. The people who had been shouting loudly half a minute ago now seemed to have had their tongues cut out. As they watched the approaching figures, they timidly backed away, spontaneously clearing a path down the middle, without even needing a single glance from the inspectors.
This was the oppressive pressure brought by high-level players who had been through countless battles. Not just those petty thugs, but even the players lurking nearby quieted down.
The closed doors of the Inspection Department reopened, and the two players walked into the reception room prepared for them. Getting straight to the point, they said, "Hand over the list of people for this training."
Not just Xu Huo and Lin Guang, who had only recently arrived, but even Li Song and the others were taken aback.
"What's this about?" asked a man with a small ponytail tied at the back of his head.
"The West District is in chaos. A lot of people are talking about the cleanup plan..." Li Song cautiously probed. "I thought you two came to deal with the unrest."
The ponytailed man gave him a cold glare. "That's none of your concern. The list."
Li Song swallowed his saliva and told the fat old man to fetch the list, then explained, "The list was prepared in advance, but some of the people on it are already dead..."
The ponytailed man casually swept aside the list the fat old man handed over. He even used a prop, sending the man flying to the wall along with the papers. Amid the rustling sounds, no one in the room dared to look. The fat old man who had been knocked away didn't even dare to make a sound, just lying on the ground clutching his injury.
"Forget it. Everyone's here anyway." The ponytailed man stood up, swept his gaze over the crowd, raised his hand, and began selecting people himself. The younger ones—Xu Huo, Lin Guang, and two other inspectors—were chosen. When they were selected, a black line appeared on their bodies, and they were frozen in place.
"Too few people." The ponytailed man added two more team leaders.
The team leader who had claimed he wanted to retire in the West District shrank back at the sight of the black line and quickly said, "I'm too old. I should leave the training opportunity to the younger..."
Before he could finish, the East District inspector who had been silent made a sealing gesture at him, enjoying the terrified expression on his face as he found himself unable to make a sound. "Who do you think you are, to dare refuse the East District?"
The atmosphere in the room became even more oppressive than before.
"Slap!" The ponytailed man lightly clapped his hands. "Don't be so nervous. The East District chose you for training because we value you. If you pass the training, you can stay and live in the East District. You won't have to live in fear like this anymore."
He was referring to the situation outside.
No longer living in fear? It seemed that Li Song and the others only looked like frightened birds when they saw the East District inspectors. Forget being called out—even when the two of them took a breath, everyone pricked up their ears in alert.
"Put these on them." The ponytailed man tossed out a few "poison thorn" bracelets.
Li Song and the others quickly came to help. Once the bracelets were closed, the hollow needles inside immediately pierced into the wrists of Xu Huo and the others.
"These are positioning bracelets. Let me tell you in advance: once you enter the East District, you are not allowed to wander around freely. If you violate the rules before the training is complete, the potion inside the bracelet will kill you immediately." The ponytailed man gave a brief warning, then signaled to his companion that they could leave.
The two East District inspectors, along with the six West District inspectors, drew considerable attention as they walked out the main door. But that was all. Those who had been scared out of their wits didn't dare to come forward and ask questions, and they even made the path wider, all of them lowering their heads like dust on the ground.
In this increasingly suffocating atmosphere, a child who had come from nowhere squeezed through the crowd, grinned foolishly, and threw a stone at the ponytailed man.
(Chapter End)