Chapter 1960: Fishing and Being Fished
Xu Huo went to meet the last person first.
The place they agreed upon was an open-air beverage shop. It was almost dinner time, and for the East District, where leisure time was abundant, this was the perfect time to come out for a pre-meal tea. Therefore, the shop was very crowded, and anyone in any attire would not attract special attention here. Of course, this was also not a good place for conversation or combat, as there were flying vehicles everywhere.
Following the characteristics described by the other party, Xu Huo found the man in the peaked cap and sat down opposite him. "Hello there."
The man had a fierce look but spoke very politely, "What should I call you?"
"Lao Wu." Xu Huo still used the fake name from the virtual game and asked, "How did you figure out my Instance mission?"
The man's expression was calm. "You deliberately made a big deal about those things in the game, wasn't it just to attract attention?"
"An ordinary clearance mission wouldn't require that at all. You simply wanted people to come to you for cooperation. Whether it's East District players or the Rebel Army, they definitely know more than Outer Zone players. Outer Zone players might not know what 'White Blood' is, but they certainly do."
The man had already used an item around them, ensuring that people nearby could see them but wouldn't pay too much attention or hear their conversation.
"If that's the case, it seems it was effective." Xu Huo said. "Are you from the East District or the Rebel Army?"
"Neither," the man across from him took a sip of water. "I'm the same as you; I need to clear the game. But I only have one clearance mission left."
"White Blood?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"Ten more days. If I can't clear it by then, I'll have to face a Random Instance when I get out. I can give you the information about White Blood for free, but you have to cooperate with me to clear the game." The man said.
"That's only fair." Xu Huo nodded.
"Words are useless." The man pushed out a contract. "You need to sign this. That way, no matter who gets the White Blood first, and whether we cooperate or not, the game will recognize our partnership... After all, I'm providing the information for free, so you're not losing out."
Xu Huo glanced down at it, then looked up at him again. "Do you think I'll sign it?"
"This is just an ordinary piece of paper, not an item." The man explained.
Xu Huo just smiled without speaking. Any player would be reluctant to sign their name on a contract handed over by a stranger. The authenticity of the name didn't matter; what mattered was that the process itself might fulfill the activation conditions of an item, especially some tricky single-use items. One careless move could cost you your life.
Seeing that Xu Huo showed no sign of relenting, the man withdrew the contract and immediately stood up. "Then there's nothing to talk about."
However, in the next second, his expression changed drastically as he looked across at the man who had been leisurely sitting in his chair—he was now pressed right up against him, a short blade with a sharp whistling sound already pressed against his neck!
The man instinctively fled.
After the person disappeared, Xu Huo stood up from his seat, ready to go to the second meeting.
There were no Mutant Plants around the guest table. He compressed his Spiritual Power to the area around the table while simultaneously layering a Space Barrier on the periphery. Yet, even after doing all this, the capped player still hadn't noticed, which meant his player level wasn't high.
Of course, some players rely on Instance guides to level up quickly without their actual strength keeping pace. However, considering the situation in Jade Spring City, such people should be rare. Even if they existed, they probably wouldn't use "White Blood" as bait. And given that the other party failed to use a Space Teleportation Item and directly used a ticket to escape, this was most likely a low-level member of the Rebel Army.
He had already made his identity quite clear in the virtual game. The Rebel Army finding him obviously wanted to leak the information about "White Blood." If their goal was to deal with the Agor Corporation and the East District Government, they should have pretended to be an Outer Zone player seeking cooperation directly, rather than first bringing up "White Blood," which isn't widely known.
The Rebel Army was deliberately trying to draw the attention of Outer Zone players to "White Blood."
Xu Huo still hadn't even gotten a handle on what "White Blood" actually was. It was true that his "eloquent speech" in the virtual game was meant to attract the attention of the East District people and the Rebel Army. As other clearance players had said, the information blockade in Jade Spring City was extremely tight, and they were especially vigilant against Mental Super Evolvers, making it very difficult to gather information. Getting into the information chain of the East District people or the Rebel Army was a relatively faster method.
The core members of the Agor Corporation and the Rebel Army weren't easy to find. Whether it was the leader, Pigeon, or "White Blood," the chances of getting important information by asking outsiders were very slim. Moreover, at this time, both sides were likely lying low because of the anniversary celebration, making them even harder to track. Getting them to actively seek cooperation with Outer Zone players was the fastest way.
Unfortunately, the person sent by the Rebel Army was too low-level and too timid. They just tested the waters and ran away before even revealing the information about "White Blood."
Xu Huo then went to meet the "Middle-aged Man" from the game.
The person was a middle-aged woman. She was sitting on a bench in the park, looking a bit forcedly calm. Especially when Xu Huo walked towards her, she even shoved her clenched fists into her coat pockets to hide her emotions.
She had chosen a good spot, surrounded by lush Mutant Plants.
After the two sat down, the woman first handed him an earpiece, then covered her mouth and nose with a special mask before speaking: "What you said in the virtual game earlier was quite interesting, but it was just a general plan. The details would probably be difficult to implement."
Xu Huo nodded slightly. "Whether it's blowing up a building or coercing a transaction, neither is really a good method. Implementation is difficult and requires good timing. I was just speaking casually."
"You're not a player, are you? Interested in this?"
The woman pursed her lips and then said, "What if the East District really has this intention?"
"You mean the East District originally had the idea of taking the West District as hostages?" Xu Huo rubbed his chin. "If they really planned to do that, they've probably already made meticulous preparations."
"Yeah." The woman said reluctantly. "So many people, and they wanted to use them to exchange for the lives of one or two individuals."
"This is just my personal opinion, not a condemnation." She added to Xu Huo. Many players distinguish between ordinary people and players. If the East District could defeat the Rebel Army, the sacrifice of the West District would be considered worthwhile by many.
"I don't care about the Rebel Army, nor do I firmly stand with the East District." The woman continued. "I wait for someone in that stone cave every day. I want to ask an Outer Zone player to do something for me. The reward is the information on one person from the bounty list." (End of chapter)