Chapter 2467: A Boring Place
The so-called "independent city" was originally supposed to be a country, but this country was destroyed when the zone began its evolution. In the end, the remaining people of this country were mostly concentrated in this city. At that time, the other national regime that had eliminated this country's government was also replaced. The newly established district government, in order to appease the few remaining people of the destroyed country, simply allocated Cat Pupil City to them, allowing them to manage their own political affairs. The city could also establish its own player law enforcement team, free from the jurisdiction of higher-level governments.
Of course, as time passed, aside from handling its own administrative affairs, this city was no different from most cities in the zone. Although it retained some cultural heritage from its original country, the zone was so vast and had so many races that it was normal for each race to have different cultures and languages. This was hardly special. Moreover, after so much time, even the usual festivals, celebrations, and dietary habits had been assimilated. Coupled with the weakening of the concept of "nation," the young people who grew up in this city later on didn't even know about the past of their elders.
Of course, there were no incidents here that seemed detrimental to the city's stability, such as demands for more autonomy or protests. At least, that was the case according to news reports. Although the materials in the library recorded a few internal conflicts among the city's high-level officials, they were mostly glossed over because they weren't worth extensive description. Before and after the division of Cat Pupil City, some people might have had other ideas, but unfortunately, everyone was weak back then, and with the players being powerful, they couldn't stir up any trouble. As for now, everyone was living well, and not many people were foolish enough to cause trouble.
Overall, Cat Pupil City was also a very peaceful city. The district government had provided much assistance during its construction, so the city developed well, advancing in both material and spiritual aspects. Even the culture of loving cats had gained widespread recognition, making it a place with a high level of happiness.
Cat Pupil City was different from Cat Whisker Town. It had a developed economy and released a variety of information, such as new city construction, festival activities, the introduction of new business partners, or government-funded competitions. There were also obituaries of well-known figures—some artist died of illness, some government official died of illness—and trivial news like public facilities being damaged by external players.
Overall, it looked thriving and prosperous.
Xu Huo specifically looked into the personnel composition of Cat Pupil City's high-level government. He found that, aside from the initial political party differences when the city was first divided, as time passed and some core members died or left, several small parties had gravitated toward the largest party, gradually being replaced or eliminated. Now, the main personnel in the high-level government were descendants of the military and political officials of the original destroyed country.
With only one city's territory, the positions were limited. So many people couldn't all stay here to develop; some of them must have gone to other cities to develop.
Just like the secretary surnamed Wan from Cat Whisker Town, after the zone's great integration, she entered a larger power center.
Some of these people's identity information could be found. He briefly looked at their current situations. Most of them had gone into business, and only a very small number had entered the city governments of different cities. Those who could reoccupy a place in different power circles were mostly from families with relatively strong players.
"What a boring place." When Xu Huo stepped down from the terminal machine, another player had just come out as well. After expressing his opinion, he met Xu Huo's gaze and smiled slightly. "Don't you think this is a boring place?"
"How is it boring?" Xu Huo responded.
"Too peaceful. Whether players or ordinary people, it's as if they've evolved morally. There aren't even a few violent crimes in a whole year. No killing, no bloodshed—can it still be considered a game zone?" The man scratched the hair on his forehead and added, "Based on my experience, in a zone like this, either the crimes have been transferred elsewhere, or they're hidden deep... If they don't dare to put it on the surface, then it must be something only a truly boring person would do."
"That's not necessarily true." Xu Huo walked toward the door. "It might be precisely because there's been too much bloodshed that they have to hide it."
That player was also leaving, walking right in front of him.
"The number of missing person cases in this zone is very low."
"Official records—some might be true, some might be false." Xu Huo glanced back at him. "Besides, does the disappearance of an outsider even count as a disappearance?" The man seemed thoughtful. He looked up and saw the giant projection screen outside displaying an advertisement for "Spider Lock" and its derivative products. He curled his lips. "True. The better something sells, the greater the demand."
"Nice to meet you." He said to Xu Huo, "My name is Wen Xin."
"Xu Zhi." Xu Huo nodded, acknowledging the greeting.
The two walked out of the library, and Wen Xin mentioned that the instance he was working on involved a medical formula. Upon learning that Xu Huo wasn't in the same instance, he expressed some regret and said goodbye to him.
"If we run into each other again when this is over, we'll have a drink together."
People came in all kinds. It wasn't strange to occasionally meet someone outgoing and familiar like this. Xu Huo didn't linger outside the library, but as he left, he noticed he had picked up a tail.
The locals of this zone generally had higher brow bones. The person following him had very obvious local features. It didn't seem like a random selection, because besides him, both Wen Xin, who had left, and another player were also being followed. However, the other two quickly moved out of his perception range, and their current situation was unclear.
The library was a bit far from Yongxing Hotel, but Xu Huo didn't take a car the whole way. Instead, he selectively made brief stops at two squares, a park, and a government office building before walking back to the hotel.
However, the person following him left near the hotel and didn't reappear afterward.
There were definitely many players near the hotel, but none were specifically watching Xu Huo. So after the tailing player left, he didn't send anyone to take over.
"Mr. Xu?" A hotel staff member approached and handed him a note. "Miss Xu left this for you."
Xu Huo opened it and saw the neatly written words: "I went out to play."
"Did she leave alone?" He gave the staff member a stack of tips.
The staff member's attitude became much warmer. "There are surveillance cameras at the hotel's entrances and exits. According to Zone 001 regulations, surveillance footage from the hotel's public areas can be provided to guests."
As he spoke, he opened his personal terminal and used his staff privileges to connect to the monitoring device. The image from the hotel entrance was very clear. It showed the Painting Woman coming out of a handicraft shop across the street, where she was called over by a woman. The two exchanged a few words, and then the Painting Woman followed the woman, but not before leaving a message.