Chapter 2091: The Mental State of Players
Unsure if "Dr. Wu's" residence could be found so easily, Xu Huo and the others still followed their previous method, splitting up to search through company employees and rival companies.
"Actually, there's a simpler way," Meng Wenguang said. "Since it's related to a home invasion robbery, and the time resets at 9:17 PM, we just have to wait until 9:17 and see where the robbery occurs."
"Is Dr. Wu definitely connected to the home invasion case?" Feng Hui asked, puzzled. "Why must we focus on the home invasion?"
Meng Wenguang glanced at Shen Liang. "Because legend has it that Dr. Wu's wife and daughter might have died in a home invasion."
Dr. Wu had indeed left behind images of his wife and daughter in many districts, but the game world was vast. Even if he ran through one district every day, the data he could leave behind was extremely limited. Moreover, the number of instances or other related materials involving such robbery incidents was enormous. Not everyone who encountered them could determine whether they were related to Dr. Wu. In other words, even if someone stumbled into an instance Dr. Wu had visited, they might not know who Dr. Wu was.
Xu Huo's source of information came from the Old Holy Sword Society. The members of the Old Holy Sword Society had accumulated data from countless districts and instances, so it was no surprise that there were information gaps. Some advanced players might not even have heard of Dr. Wu.
The method Meng Wenguang mentioned was indeed the fastest. Since the crime rate in Pumpkin City was low, as long as they identified the time of 9:17 PM, they could simply wait for the rabbit to come to them.
But the problem was that they didn't know if time would reset at 9:17 PM. If the time mechanism of this place used the home invasion tragedy as the cutoff point, waiting until 9:17 PM would be too late.
The best plan was to find Dr. Wu's wife and daughter before the tragedy occurred.
"I don't get what Dr. Wu is thinking," Shen Liang said. "He's been at this for so long and still hasn't saved his wife and daughter. Why use these fake images to mess with us players? Even if we can find his wife and daughter before the tragedy happens, can we actually bring them back?"
"Whether we can save them or not doesn't matter. The key is that the instance requires it, so you have to do it," Xu Huo said.
Shen Liang's stamina hadn't fully recovered yet, but judging by his attitude, even if he recovered, he didn't seem keen on searching for the address. He sounded somewhat self-destructive. "I must have committed countless sins in my past life to end up in this game. There are so many districts in the game, and so many instances in those districts, yet I just had to get a ticket near here. I've been stuck here for who knows how many days. Maybe the moment I step out, I'll end up in a high-risk random instance. It's just a matter of sooner or later."
Feng Hui probably wanted to comfort him, so she said, "If you're lucky, even a high-risk random instance might have a clearance guide."
Shen Liang let out a cold laugh. "Don't put your faith in luck. Let me tell you, my luck has never been good. High-level instances usually cover a wide area, and the same location might have multiple instances. It's not surprising that there's no clearance guide for such places. But what about low-level instances? Those tickets clearly state which instance you're going into. Some fixed instances have batches of players going in to grind levels, and even the gaps between the floor tiles have been thoroughly explored. I thought I'd find an instance like that to coast through and get basic rewards, treating it like a vacation. But..."
He slapped his thigh, a strange excitement on his face. "Guess what? When it's my turn, either the instance upgrades or the instance changes. Not once have I been able to just lie back and clear it. Even ungrouped instances are like this, let alone grouped ones. Some people can just survive until clearance, but I have to fight from start to finish. Damn it, why be a player? In my next life, I'd rather be a tree getting pissed on every day than be a player!"
Feng Hui fell silent.
"Who's staying here?" Meng Wenguang asked.
"I'll stay," Xu Huo said. "The Little Star Company's information is crucial. More players will definitely come here later."
Meng Wenguang had no objections. He headed to the rival company, while Feng Hui's target was the company's employees.
After the two left, Xu Huo stayed outside the studio, focusing his attention on the surrounding area to prevent anyone driven mad by hunger from causing trouble here.
Not long after, he received a message from Yue Rui, confirming that the address she had found was fake. She also brought back a very important piece of information: the place she had visited, judging by the wear and tear on the daily necessities, had never been lived in. However, every room was cleaned very thoroughly. Even the entrance had some old shoes placed there, and the sofas and bedrooms were filled with toys, snacks, and other items. The expiration dates on the snacks were also very recent.
"There's probably more than one fake residence like this."
As a key technical figure in a tech company, there were many people who wanted to either win over or eliminate "Dr. Wu." He was even more dangerous than his frequently public-facing boss, Mr. Landau. Using fake addresses to protect his family was perfectly normal.
But this would increase their workload for investigation. They didn't know if they could finish before 9:17 PM.
"His wife and daughter were killed, which means Dr. Wu wasn't home at the time or afterward. What's the point of guarding the company here?" Shen Liang, who was lying in a corner of the corridor staring blankly into space, suddenly spoke up. "Are you planning to wait here until 9:17?"
"Depends on the situation," Xu Huo said.
The time of 9:17 PM and the possible events were already clear, but there were three other times on the time tower, especially 12:03 AM. 9:17 PM was the time of the home invasion, which was very important. What about 12:03 AM? What important event happened after the robbery?
Shen Liang hadn't pressed them for more information about Pumpkin City earlier. They had voluntarily mentioned the 9:17 PM time, and now he didn't ask for details either. Instead, he asked another question. "Only people holding time items can enter the real Pumpkin City. To leave, do you also need a time item to work?"
He wasn't the only one thinking this. The players who would gather here later would all think the same way.
Unless they never mentioned the time tower.
Xu Huo didn't look up. "Only a minority hold time items, but after Pumpkin City opened, you all came in."
Shen Liang twitched the corner of his mouth. "That's true."
Then he fell silent again.
Half an hour later, the third group of players arrived outside the Little Star Company. There were five of them, two looking haggard, while the other three were in slightly better shape.
The two sides met but didn't start a fight. One player, who seemed very approachable, took the initiative to talk to them. "When did you guys come in?"
"Around noon," Xu Huo said before Shen Liang, who was beside him, even took off the cloth covering his face, sat up, and stared at them with vacant eyes. "We stumbled in without a clue. Do you have any leads?"
(End of Chapter)