Chapter 1985: The Pigeon
The barrier was broken, and the East District players naturally swarmed in. However, just as they were about to tear the two dead men apart, the masked youth's body directly turned into a loose shadow, disappearing before it even hit the ground.
Xu Huo's situation was similar. Probably affected by the light, combined with the obstruction of the defensive barrier, those outside only saw him seem to stumble slightly when the white light pierced his throat. They didn't actually see clearly what happened. But by the time the barrier completely disappeared, this person who should have been dead had vanished into thin air, even more thoroughly than the masked youth.
But whether they were truly dead or had escaped, the East District players present were powerless to pursue and could only stay behind to clean up the mess.
With that, this battle had to come to an end due to the forceful interference of the Outer Zone players.
The East District players suffered heavy losses, and although the Rebel Army also lost some people, seeing the East District players bleed made them happier than anyone else, so they retreated very decisively. At this point, leaving with the tickets, no one could stop them.
Having narrowly escaped death under the protection of their items, Xu Huo and the masked youth both fled in the direction of the Agor Headquarters building, but no East District players chased after them. The two occasionally changed direction, and when they happened to cross paths, they simply acknowledged each other and went their separate ways, not interfering with one another, until they were sure it was truly safe.
Not far from the Agor Headquarters, Xu Huo and the masked youth each stood on the rooftop of a building. The two adjacent buildings were only about a hundred meters apart. After a moment of silence, the masked youth spoke first, "I set up that situation, didn't expect you to benefit from it. How about we split it fifty-fifty?"
Xu Huo smiled. "Out of respect, I left you more than half of the people. It's just your bad luck, so you can't really say I stole the show, can you?"
"I'm not a petty person," the masked youth waved a hand. "If you can steal the show, that's your skill. Forget the split... But what are you doing here? Do you have a grudge against the East District players?"
"No grudge, I just prefer to be a righteous messenger," Xu Huo said with a straight face.
The masked youth was silent for a moment, then said, "Is there something wrong with your head? Maybe you should go see a psychotherapist too?"
"What are you here for?" Xu Huo countered.
"To blow up the building, of course," the masked youth said very frankly. "If the East District players dare to chase me, I'll tear their nest apart first."
Xu Huo gave a thumbs up, then said out of the blue, "Are you from the Holy Sword Society?"
As he spoke, he drew a clock face shape in the air, emphasizing the hands inside, which were shaped like swords.
The masked youth's entire demeanor immediately changed. His whole body was like a bow pulled taut, as if ready to be released at any moment.
"You guys should be looking for the white blood too, right?" Xu Huo ignored his tension and killing intent, continuing. "But based on the clues I've gathered, the white blood might not be some potion that promotes secondary brain development in players. You saw the Rebel Army's attitude. Even they don't value the potion, which suggests the potion might be fake."
The masked youth began to pace slowly on the rooftop. "So what? It's normal for a potion to have flaws. Since Agor Corporation dares to bet their future on it, it means the potion's benefits outweigh its drawbacks."
"Not necessarily." Xu Huo stared at him. "There's an A-rank Mental Super Evolver inside Agor. Why do you think they perform craniotomies?"
If the potion were really that effective, wouldn't direct injection or ingestion suffice?
"You're saying the changes in the East District players are because they underwent surgery?" The masked youth seemed to know quite a bit. "You actually believe that 'brain-cutting' talk?"
"Whether it's cutting the brain or putting something else in it, having that step means the white blood isn't the most important part. It might be useful, but it depends on who's using it." Xu Huo stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Have you heard of Zheng Yuci?"
The masked youth didn't answer, but he was clearly familiar with the name.
"Go meet him, and you'll understand."
"But be careful. It's more dangerous than you going head-to-head with high-level East District players."
With that, Xu Huo left the rooftop.
At this point, the several attack incidents in the East District had basically come to an end. He didn't know the results of the others, but from the messages sent by Qiao Qiao and the others, who hadn't directly participated, some of tonight's events were traps set by East District players to lure the Rebel Army, while others were active attacks by the Rebel Army. By now, everyone could see that whether it was the East District players or the Rebel Army, both sides were very familiar with each other's tactics, and they were acting to achieve their own goals while deceiving each other.
Regardless, with these continuous attacks over the past few days, the atmosphere in the East District had become thoroughly tense. From then until dawn, the streets were basically empty.
During this time, the Outer Zone players also made some efforts to clear the instance, such as trying to catch the pigeon or find its whereabouts. But because too many people from the Rebel Army had come out, and quite a few were acting under the name "pigeon," they ultimately came up empty-handed.
There was no help for it. After all, the Rebel Army players could directly hide in the station.
Xu Huo had previously placed a trait tracker on the black hooded person, so after dawn, he followed the trait's guidance to an area near a school.
The school hadn't suspended classes. At this time, students were gradually arriving for class. On the bustling street, Xu Huo came to a breakfast shop, went in, and found a seat.
There were quite a few people in the breakfast shop, so the seat he took already had several people. Sitting opposite him was a bespectacled, refined-looking man.
"What would you like?" a staff member came over to ask.
Xu Huo casually pointed at the man opposite him. "Same as his."
The people next to him were probably the man's colleagues. Seeing Xu Huo staring at the man, one of them asked, "Excuse me, is there something you need?"
"I'm a psychotherapist. I can see this friend hasn't been doing well lately, and I'd like to help him out," Xu Huo said with a smile. "But I'm certainly no match for the psychotherapists at Agor. I wonder if this friend would be interested in a consultation. It's free."
The others thought he was a newcomer just starting out, so they proactively offered to consult themselves. But since class time was approaching, they had to go teach, so they left their contact information.
In the bustling breakfast shop, after the other teachers left, it was as if they had been forgotten, leaving only Xu Huo and the bespectacled man sitting across from each other.
"Is there something you want from me?" the man asked.
"We've already greeted each other. We met last night, and I've come specifically to find you today. What else could it be?" Xu Huo said flatly. "Just clearing the instance. The Rebel Army's public leader... the Pigeon." (Chapter End)