Chapter 2512: The Truth
Over at the Mi family's place, Bubble Bean had also come out. Earlier, when Xu Huo and the others had entered the Mi residence, the Mi family had urgently summoned several players to guard the perimeter of the courtyard. But such a defense was far too weak—it would have been easy to just barge in. However, remembering Xu Huo's instructions, he waited until something happened at the Wan family's side, and only after the Mi family members were lured away did he sneak in.
He met Mi Fei with ease. The young man was locked in a room, his spirits low.
After a brief standoff, Bubble Bean explained his purpose, had Old Lady Gui testify, and showed him footage of Wan Dong being kidnapped. Only then did he try to persuade Mi Fei to reveal what he knew.
Mi Fei's expression was pained, but he kept his hand on the alarm and refused to relent. Bubble Bean probed him with a few more questions but got no answers.
By then, some Mi family members had already turned back. Bubble Bean had no choice but to leave. As Xu Huo had instructed, he left Old Lady Gui behind.
Perhaps because of the commotion at the Wan family's, the Mi family members spotted him but didn't give chase. Bubble Bean needed to meet up with Xu Huo outside the town, so he ran along with the crowd on the street. Before long, he ran into Painting Woman.
The two of them headed for the agreed-upon Cat Whisker Fruit Tree Mountain. When they arrived, they saw no sign of the others. After stopping to find a hiding spot, Bubble Bean began to feel something was off. The Mi family members had been lured out, but they weren't paying any attention to the Wan family's situation at all. He had seen from outside that those who gave chase were all going after Xu Huo and the others, as if they had no idea something had happened at the Wan family's...
"Could this be a trap?" he frowned, turning to ask Painting Woman. "Did he tell you anything else? His main goal shouldn't be Mi Fei or the Mi family, right!"
At first, he thought this extortion stunt was meant to pry information out of Mi Fei, or at least to grab a couple of Mi family members for direct interrogation. It wasn't hard to predict that the Mi family wouldn't want to meet with players from other zones. Considering Xu Huo's abilities, grabbing a Mi family member or a player was probably the same. Given that Mi Fei was under house arrest, it was clear he couldn't know much more inside information—it would have been better to just catch a Mi family player.
But the commotion at the Wan family's was too big, and he was starting to have doubts. Were they doing all this just to quietly find out the Wan family's whereabouts? If they made too much noise, there was no guarantee the Wan family members wouldn't be moved or killed.
"Hey!" he called out to Painting Woman, who ignored him.
Painting Woman didn't even spare him a glance. She sat on a tree branch, playing a game, acting as if she hadn't heard him.
Bubble Bean took a deep breath and held back his frustration.
At the same time, Xu Huo and the others, who had already escaped the town, were finally cornered by the pursuing players.
But the ones blocking their path weren't from the Mi family.
The place they passed through was a mountain near Cat Whisker Fruit Town, already a fair distance from the town itself. Unless there was a major disturbance, the two sides probably wouldn't easily communicate. Just as they thought they had shaken off the Mi family members, over a dozen military district players appeared, effortlessly surrounding them.
The blockade barrier shimmered with a faint light. Buzz Cut's face darkened as he growled at Xu Huo, "Your people went too far! They brought the military district here! How are we supposed to get out now?!"
Xu Huo paid him no mind. His gaze was fixed on these military district personnel, and he already had an answer in his heart.
These people were clearly lying in wait here in advance. It had only been two minutes since the explosion at the Wan family's, yet the military district hadn't been recalled. This meant they had already arrived outside the town before the explosion. The only way they could have so accurately predicted their position was if they were working with the Mi family.
In other words, when the Mi family was being extorted at their doorstep, they decisively chose to notify the military district. That's why the Mi family gave them whatever they asked for—they knew the items wouldn't leave anyway, and they wanted to test how much Xu Huo and his group actually knew.
At this point, the Mi family members didn't even show their faces. The answer was right in front of them. The Mi family, the military district, and the Enforcement Department all knew the inside story of the Wan family's kidnapping. They were holding this position to control the flow of information. If they wanted to completely seal off the news, they could have restricted communications and barred players from other zones from entering or leaving. The fact that they didn't meant they wanted the news to spread.
The news could spread, but the truth couldn't.
Seeing the situation was bad, Player Number One and Player Number Three wanted Buzz Cut to use the newly acquired items and instruments. Unfortunately, the military district had already started calibrating the Non-Game Area Simulator. Once that thing was activated, items would fail, and with the instruments jammed, they would be left to fight these people hand-to-hand.
"You guys have fun!" Player Number One took off first.
"You've really screwed me over this time!" Buzz Cut gritted his teeth. With the game channels cut off, they were just ordinary people with slightly better physical fitness. How were they supposed to escape from the encirclement of military district players?
As he spoke, the military district players had already attacked. These people, trained in special combat techniques, moved in perfect coordination. Their offense and defense wove together like a tight net. Both Buzz Cut and Xu Huo were forced to retreat step by step.
They deliberately tried to separate the three of them. Of course, at this point, any cooperation could be thrown out the window. Finding a chance to escape was the real priority!
Buzz Cut and Player Number Three tried to move toward the instruments, but the military district players not only intercepted them in advance but also sent more people their way.
Forced into a corner, Buzz Cut had to throw out the fake storage device. "This is what you're looking for!"
But the military district personnel didn't even glance at it, letting the storage device fall to the ground.
These military district people were like machines. They only followed orders, with no communication whatsoever. Xu Huo fought them while observing their state, finally locking onto a player standing next to the instruments.
"The military district was involved in the Wan family kidnapping," he said. "I'm guessing that's right, isn't it?"
That player's expression didn't change, his cold gaze fixed on everyone inside the blockade circle.
Seeing this, Xu Huo continued, "The Wan family has operated in Cat Whisker Fruit Town for over a hundred years. At the beginning of the evolution, they protected the town, later adopted orphans, helped their neighbors, and even now, when District 001 is doing well, they still do good deeds within their power."
"Someone like that could be called a spiritual symbol."
"But you created a tragedy just to frame your political opponents. I wonder if the Wan family, when they learn the truth, will resent you, resent District 001. They devoted their entire lives, only to end up as insignificant, disposable pawns."
"Is this how you treat ordinary people in your own district? The politicians of District 001 have such petty ambitions!"
The military district personnel remained unmoved, silently carrying out their orders.
Xu Huo paused briefly, then changed his angle. "Was this operation led by Lady Sheila?"
At the mention of that name, the player dressed as an officer finally showed some emotional fluctuation. But then Xu Huo dropped even more bombs. "Mr. Warren's announcement of his withdrawal from the election was probably a strategic retreat. Once the Wan family incident goes public, he can return to the election as a victim. I never thought the Wan family, tucked away in a remote little town, could serve as a stepping stone for someone thousands of miles away."
"After it's done, how do you plan to deal with them? Given your disgusting methods, you're probably going to kill them to silence them, right?"