Chapter 2123: Tracing the Investigation
The entire hypnosis session lasted only half an hour. The woman woke up at the last second of the thirtieth minute, and upon opening her eyes, she saw Xu Huo sitting back behind the office desk. She couldn't help but say, "I feel like I had a nightmare, but the second half was very soothing."
"That means your stress has been well relieved," Xu Huo said.
"Is this hypnosis?" the woman asked curiously. "I felt completely awake the whole time, like I actually went on a real trip. I've never had such a novel experience with hypnosis before."
"People's experiences differ at different stages. Your inner self has already found the answer; it just needed someone else to guide it out," Xu Huo said with a smile.
The woman smiled and nodded. "I hope I can run into you again next time."
The woman walked out of the treatment room and left the clinic with her friend. After they left, Xu Huo also departed. He had obtained a business card of a high-level executive from Haiyun Technology from the woman.
As for the company's confidential information, low-level employees like the woman wouldn't know it, but internal changes within the company couldn't be completely hidden from others. During the hypnosis, the woman revealed that a few days ago, she had seen a high-level executive getting beaten in the office, as if he had messed something up. Additionally, the company's recent welfare items that should have been distributed were being delayed repeatedly, and the finance staff had been working overtime for several days straight, all with grim expressions.
Xu Huo found a relatively cheap place to rent and then contacted the local black market organization to purchase information about that executive. Probably because the Message Collection Terminal was prone to leaks, the seller opted for the most primitive delivery method—face-to-face transaction, cash on delivery.
He set the meeting location at a nightlife venue near his residence, with the time set for 1 a.m. Before that, he swapped all the items he was wearing for C-grade and B-grade ones, changed out of the clothes used to hide his evolution rate, put on a C-grade protective suit, and made simple modifications to his facial features before heading to the appointment.
He arrived neither too early nor too late. The seller was already waiting for him—a young man in his early twenties, smoking a cigarette while sizing him up. Amid the deafening music, the two of them went one after another into the back corridor of private rooms. At the end of the corridor, the young man signaled for him to take out the money.
Xu Huo did as instructed. The young man snatched the money, counted it, and then grinned as he tossed the file folder in his hand to Xu Huo.
Weighing it in his hand, Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Paper documents?"
"The more primitive the method, the safer it is," the young man said with a smile. "You're so careless. If you leave traces on the Message Collection Terminal, won't we all suffer the consequences?"
Xu Huo's voice deepened. "What do you mean by that?"
The next second, the door to the adjacent private room suddenly swung open, and several syringes flew toward him!
"Ding! Ding!" The needles embedded themselves into the wall and floor, but just as Xu Huo made a move to escape, a force suddenly pinned him in place. Then a needle pierced his back. As the liquid was injected, he slowly collapsed to the ground.
"Thought you could run!" The young man kicked Xu Huo, and after confirming he was unconscious, he said to the woman who had walked out of the room, "Sister Lan, this guy was buying information about the Tian family. Should we just deal with him directly?"
Sister Lan took a drag of her cigarette without even glancing at the man on the ground. She had someone search him for items. "I've already arranged it with the Tian family. Someone's coming to pick him up. Throw this guy in a room for now. He got a big dose of that needle; he'll be out for at least an hour. Give him another shot after an hour."
The young man was left to watch over him, so he complained, "Who knows how many clueless players come to the district every day? Killing him would save so much trouble. Why bother handing him over to the Tian family?"
Sister Lan slapped him backhandedly. "Just do as you're told."
The young man lowered his head and dared not say anything more. After Sister Lan and the others left, he dragged the man into the room, closed the door, and looked at the person lying on the floor. He walked to a corner of the room, turned off the surveillance hidden inside a decoration, then returned to Xu Huo's side, unbuttoning his cufflinks as he said, "You're going to die anyway once you're with the Tian family. Might as well make yourself useful as a punching bag."
Twenty minutes later, Sister Lan's subordinate led a middle-aged man into the room. The middle-aged man first scanned the person on the floor, then frowned. "Is this the advanced player you mentioned?"
"That's right, it's him." Sister Lan's subordinate glanced at the bruised and swollen man on the ground and quickly said, "My subordinate was a bit careless and made him look ugly. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
The middle-aged man didn't say anything. Instead, he took out an instrument to perform a basic scan on the man, confirming that his appearance hadn't been altered and that he wasn't hiding any items on his body. He even cautiously checked the concentration of anesthetic in his blood. Only then did he take out a container item to put the man inside and casually handed a stack of cash to Sister Lan's subordinate. "Send me anyone like this in the future."
Sister Lan's subordinate nodded repeatedly and watched as the middle-aged man directly opened a portal in the room. After the portal and the man disappeared, he spat, "Rich people are something else—can't even be bothered to walk two steps... Where the hell did that kid go? Told him to keep watch, and he can't even do that right!"
The room door opened and closed, and the sound of footsteps faded down the corridor. A moment later, the door to the adjacent private room opened, and Xu Huo stepped out. He released his spiritual realm and moved to the tallest building nearby.
He had used the trait "Target Lock" on the young man who had replaced him. The young man was now inside the container item, so he couldn't lock onto his target for the moment, but once the man came out of the item, he would be able to pinpoint his location immediately.
Additionally, he had gathered new information from Sister Lan and the others. The company executive he had been investigating didn't have the surname Tian, and none of the main positions at Haiyun Technology were held by anyone named Tian. Whether this was for identity protection or other reasons, that executive was undoubtedly related to the Tian family. When the local forces learned of the transaction, their first thought was to lure him out and hand him over to the Tian family. This Tian family had considerable influence and was connected to Haiyun Technology, so they should know at least some inside information.
Ten minutes later, the chain formed by the trait tracking appeared. Xu Huo roughly located it, but before he could pinpoint the exact location, the chain suddenly disappeared.
He stopped outside an area clustered with mansions. Staring at the dense array of defense instruments and various monitoring devices, he took two steps back to increase the distance.
The residences were surrounded by extensive woods and lakes. From too far away, it was difficult to use certain items, let alone the defense barrier outside.
The Painting Woman, walking on another street, waved at him from a distance and then pointed at a nearby transport vehicle, planning to sneak in the same way she had infiltrated the Rabbit Ear Amusement Park.
Xu Huo didn't stop her, but the security in this mansion district was clearly much tighter. She managed to get on the vehicle, but when the car was inspected at the gate, it immediately triggered an alarm. The security guards then released a containment instrument, sealing the entire vehicle, and sent robots to conduct a thorough search of the transport truck!