Chapter 2126: Two Students
"Just chatting, that's all. If we can't reach an agreement, we don't have to talk. Why flip the table?" Xu Huo's figure vanished from in front of the counseling room, then reappeared downstairs. The two players who had followed the woman immediately gave chase, but Xu Huo retreated outside the school and said to the pursuing players, "Zone 008 is a place governed by law. If I had done anything harmful to a student on school grounds, the school would have the authority to fire me. But chasing me outside the school to fight—that would be illegal on your part. Besides, I didn't do anything illegal or against the rules inside the school."
Indeed, to maintain order and allow everyone to live in a world accepted by the majority, the strong establish rules and must also abide by them.
Seeing that he had no intention of fighting, the two players indeed did not pursue him out of the school gate. Instead, they warned him, "Please do not approach the school again. If you are detected by the school's surrounding surveillance more than three times, you will be flagged as a potential criminal. At that point, your physical characteristics will be uploaded to the Message Collection Terminals of all players in Zone 008, and any player, whether law enforcement or not, can arrest and kill you!"
Xu Huo's expression remained unchanged. He nodded to indicate he understood, glanced at the woman, and then left the school.
He didn't go far, instead waiting in a nearby park.
Over ten minutes later, a small flying device approached and tossed him a miniature terminal containing two secretly recorded clips.
The first clip showed five adults, along with three students, communicating with a man in a special uniform about the process of memory reset. In the projection, the man explained the potential side effects of the memory reset and how long the effects could be maintained with medication. The three students, accompanied by their parents, listened either attentively or perfunctorily, their faces and eyes showing only impatience with the questioning.
The second clip showed the three students gathered together, looking somewhat flustered. One short-haired boy told another long-haired boy to get the "person" to his family's underground facility. The long-haired boy, annoyed, grabbed his hair and shouted, "I said earlier we should just have some fun and be done with it! We could have handed the person over to my second brother, put them on a spaceship, and been worry-free! But the medicine you brought had too strong an aftereffect—the person is nearly beaten to death! How is my second brother supposed to clean up this mess?!"
"Might as well go all the way and just kill them—cleaner that way!" the short-haired boy said viciously.
The long-haired boy was furious. "Too late! The person has probably already been detected by nearby alarms. If they suddenly disappear or die, the Enforcement Team will definitely investigate to the end!"
"We should have dug out the tracking chip on them earlier..." The short-haired boy's face was full of regret. He then looked toward the camera's direction and nudged his companion. "How about we make him take the blame?"
The third person, who wasn't in the projection recording, probably said something, but there was no audio. However, judging from the expressions of the short-haired and long-haired boys, it seemed the third person had convinced them. The footage ended there.
Xu Huo spent a small amount of money to buy an identification instrument from a shopping platform. A few minutes later, the instrument arrived. After confirming the authenticity of the two pieces of footage, he sent another message to the school staff member:
"I want to take a trip to a nearby city. Any good recommendations?"
The woman quickly shared several travel guides with him, one of which mentioned a local school famous for its architectural style.
Xu Huo traveled to that city overnight. It was quite far from his current city, but thanks to Zone 0081's advanced transportation, he found the school within half an hour. He also easily located the two students from the recording, because as outstanding student representatives, their interview clips were played on loop on public screens, with a clickable holographic projection version available.
Due to their prominent family backgrounds, these two didn't keep a low profile, so finding their off-campus residence wasn't difficult either. However, two players were on rotating shifts living in their house. The good news was that the players watching over them were only C-grade players.
The two students basically moved between school and their residence, and in an environment filled with surveillance devices, they rarely encountered any danger unless attacked by players.
But while thorough surveillance ensured safety, it also brought a sense of oppression. Having every move monitored was an unpleasant feeling, especially for teenagers. Emotion monitoring instruments could cause social death at any moment, or even get someone labeled a criminal. So, when they wanted to do something less than good, the little birds in the safe house would secretly sneak out.
Xu Huo arrived at just the right time, catching the two as they sneaked out of the house. The players responsible for protecting them had already noticed but didn't stop them. Instead, they resignedly grabbed their coats and quietly tailed them.
The two were regulars at entertainment venues, spending lavishly, with many people clinging to them. After drinking a bit, the long-haired boy spotted his second brother and secretly followed him. But just as he reached the door, it opened from the inside. A player withdrew his sharp gaze and said respectfully, "Fifth Young Master."
The long-haired boy slipped into the room and scanned the several numbered metal boxes in the middle. Four of them had indicator lights on, showing they were in operation. He smiled. "Second Brother, still haven't found any good prospects?"
The man addressed as Second Brother also had long hair. His face had been cold, but it softened slightly when facing his younger brother. "This isn't a place for kids. Go back early."
The long-haired boy grinned. "Fu Jie is having a great time. Several older women are clinging to him. He'll probably stay here overnight."
The Second Brother frowned disapprovingly, but before he could scold him, the long-haired boy patted the two empty boxes. "Let me pick two people for you. I guarantee your clients will love them."
The Second Brother's brow relaxed. "You have good taste."
The long-haired boy smugly led the two players out. Soon, he selected a man and a woman from the dance floor. Someone then announced that the two had won a night of unlimited consumption on the second floor. Once they were upstairs, a few glasses of drugged alcohol later, they obediently stripped naked for inspection to confirm they had no diseases or other unpleasant marks. With the Second Brother's nod, they were taken to a nearby booth to be cleaned.
"Second Brother, I picked well, didn't I!" the long-haired boy said, seeking praise. "Let me stay and play here for one night!"
After receiving approval, he left the second floor satisfied.
"Clean them up, spray on the perfume the client likes, and send them over," the Second Brother said, checking his watch before leaving with two people.
The room was left with the two "delivery" players.
The man and woman soon put on the pre-prepared clothes and masks, walked into the boxes, lay down, and closed the lids.
"Ready," said the person who had cleaned them, locking the metal boxes from the outside.
The two players loaded all six metal boxes into a Container Item, then stepped through a Space Teleportation Portal. (Chapter End)