Chapter 1986: Killing Intent
Xu Huo's words did not cause any change in expression on the man sitting at the dining table. His eyes were cold. "Then try to see if catching me will let you clear the instance."
"Unfortunately, my clearance task isn't you." Xu Huo smiled. "I've been in Jade Spring City for quite a while now. I have one clearance option left. I wonder if the Rebel Army can lend a hand."
The man pushed up his glasses and looked up at him. "What if we don't help?"
Xu Huo didn't rush to persuade him. Instead, he brought up another matter. "I'm not sure if other Outer Zone players feel the same way, but I find quite a few incongruities in this war between the East District and the Rebel Army."
"Because of the existence of Zheng Yuci and the 'White Blood,' Agor Corporation's demand for Local Zone players isn't as high anymore. If the method of cultivating East District players can be infinitely replicated, naturally, a steady stream of players will be attracted. That's why they secretly control the number of newborns."
"Under this premise, the Rebel Army has become experimental resources, openly captured without any suspicion or blame."
"Draining the pond to catch the fish isn't a wise move, but I see that by using the White Blood to set up their scheme, they seem intent on wiping out the Rebel Army in one fell swoop. This situation suggests either they no longer need the Rebel Army, or they urgently need a large batch of ready-made test subjects. Either way, it makes little difference to the Rebel Army."
"The Rebel Army wouldn't be completely unaware. From deliberately revealing the existence of the 'White Blood' to Outer Zone players, and knowingly stepping into the East District's trap without hesitation, it's clear that the Rebel Army not only knows but also intends to use this to achieve their own goals."
"The Rebel Army's biggest goal is, of course, to overthrow Agor Corporation and retake control of Jade Spring City. But this goal is obviously very difficult to accomplish, so they have to settle for the next best thing: seize or destroy the 'White Blood' and deal a heavy blow to Agor Corporation."
"You clearly know what role Zheng Yuci plays in player modification. That's why the multiple engagements last night were all about going with the flow. On one hand, they depleted the East District players; on the other, they told Agor that the Rebel Army had taken the bait."
"Whether Zheng Yuci is a player or not, the fact that he has several A-Class players guarding him is undeniable. I suspect the Rebel Army doesn't have enough strength to break through their protective layer and kill Zheng Yuci, so they prepared two plans."
"A direct confrontation is inevitable. Unless the Rebel Army can hide in another district and never return, this battle is unavoidable. If they can kill Zheng Yuci in the process, that's best. If not, they need to activate a backup plan."
"As for this backup plan, bypassing the A-Class players protecting Zheng Yuci to strike is the lowest-risk method."
Xu Huo paused here. "The Rebel Army captured the psychotherapist from the base and then released him. That shouldn't have been just to interrogate information about Zheng Yuci. Who was the one who infiltrated?"
"Pigeon, or the Strategist?"
At this point, even with his strong mental fortitude, the expression of the man opposite him changed.
Ignoring the other's blatant killing intent, Xu Huo pointed to his own throat. "Do you know why the East District players who acted last night didn't pursue me and that masked player?"
"Because you're Outer Zone players." The bespectacled man's voice was low, his eyes sharp as he looked at him. "Spending energy to chase down two not-weak Outer Zone players isn't worth it for the East District."
It was the same for them if they made a move now.
"There must be people within Agor helping the Rebel Army, right?" Xu Huo asked. "Where is the real 'White Blood' kept? You can't possibly be completely in the dark, can you?"
But the man gave a cold, insincere smile. "You can see that we're putting on a show. Can't you see why we're doing this?"
Whether it was deliberately falling into the trap, using this method to infiltrate their own people into Agor Headquarters, or targeting Zheng Yuci, it all came down to one reason: they couldn't achieve their goal by destroying the 'White Blood.'
Since Zheng Yuci and the 'White Blood' were essential conditions for the strength of East District players, killing him or destroying the 'White Blood' were both ways to cripple Agor. Did the Rebel Army not know that the success rate against Zheng Yuci was extremely low? But only by doing this could they divert the attention of the East District players.
After all, a major battle was unavoidable. If it could buy an opportunity for their comrades infiltrating Agor, sacrificing most of the Rebel Army would be worth it.
"The White Blood isn't really at Agor Headquarters, is it?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"What do you think?" The man didn't give a direct answer. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a matchbox-sized metal box, opened it, and placed it on the table. "What do you think the 'White Blood' really is?"
The groove in the box held a very small metal chip. How small? Even in the eyes of players who had undergone multiple evolutions, it was pitifully tiny. If not for a piece of glass covering the groove, even a single breath could blow the chip away.
This thing, less than half a millimeter in size, had been taken from the brain of an East District player.
"I can't kill you, and I don't want to waste energy trying," the bespectacled man said. "If you're using the 'White Blood' to clear the instance, why not try this? The potion is nonsense, but this was indeed taken from an East District player's brain. If it weren't crucial, they wouldn't have performed a craniotomy to embed this thing into their brains."
When Xu Huo saw this thing, he even felt momentarily fooled. Many East District players undergo surgery to implant anti-jamming devices in their heads, but those are usually placed under the skin. For such a miniature chip, with the East District's current technology, there would be no need for such a large craniotomy. Moreover, it was a chip. If it affected a player's emotions through some special stimulus, the problem could be solved by simply removing it once the player developed psychological issues. There was no need to record the course of the illness in the affected player.
However, verifying whether this was the "White Blood" was simple. He reached out to take the chip.
Just as his hand was a finger's width from the metal box, the small box suddenly disassembled and reassembled into a metal syringe, stabbing straight toward his palm!
At the same time, the bespectacled man, who had been watching him closely, also shot out his hand like lightning, his five fingers aimed at his throat!
The barrier formed by Space Rays blocked the syringe and the man's hand just in time, but their killing move was clearly not this. When the man made his move, a prop also struck from behind Xu Huo, even breaking through the defense barrier of an A-Class prop!
Before Xu Huo could take out a prop to block it, his entire body was pulled sideways by a force. Along with the considerable noise of the chair scraping, the other people in the breakfast shop looked over.
(Chapter End)