Chapter 2514: United Capital
Xu Huo found no gains on his end, and Bubble Bean also returned empty-handed.
Although they had successfully met Mi Fei, he never opened his mouth, and after hearing that phrase "self-directed and self-performed," he became even more resolute.
"If he had any hesitation before hearing that phrase, after hearing it, all his hesitation vanished, as if he was determined to fulfill the Wan family's wishes."
Bubble Bean, while sarcastically commenting on Xu Huo, also cursed the Mi family and the Wan family, "Are these people all crazy? What's worth them doing this? Isn't living good? What a joke, the Wan family even has a newborn child! A bunch of lunatics!"
The clues on both sides were cut off, and for insignificant characters like Mi Fei, even if they tied him up to threaten the Mi family or the military district, it would be a waste of time.
"There are too many players around Lady Sheila, making her trail hard to find. The military district, the enforcement team, and the Mi family are all tough nuts to crack. If we try to follow the clues step by step, there won't be enough time..." Bubble Bean scratched his hair. "I don't want to be stranded in this district. Do you have any other ideas?"
"Go to the United Capital," Xu Huo said. "Since the people below don't know the inside story, we'll go straight to the biggest one."
"You mean Valen?" Bubble Bean paused. "I'm afraid we won't be able to see him."
Not to mention that he was currently at the center of public opinion, even as a candidate for the Council, he was surrounded by many protectors. Directly contacting him was simply impossible.
And using other means would likely get them targeted by players quickly.
"Let's give it a try," Xu Huo said. "Relying solely on us to find the Wan family's whereabouts is almost impossible, let alone..."
Let alone the fact that this matter was no longer just a simple kidnapping case involving the Wan family.
At 11:30 PM, Xu Huo and his two companions arrived at the United Capital.
As the city housing the district government, its prosperity was astonishing. There was little difference between night and day. In the sky, on the streets, and in the shops, there were flying vehicles and pedestrians everywhere. Armed robots maintaining urban order were a common sight, and armed flying vehicles patrolled from above. The entire city was almost completely covered by defense devices and jamming devices. Once any trouble occurred, these devices would activate automatically.
The United Capital did not allow players to use space teleportation items or devices, so Xu Huo and his group were only teleported to the edge of the city. From there, they used the city's internal transportation teleportation points to reach the outside of the district government building.
The district government's office building occupied a large area. As the political core of District 001, it was never short of visiting citizens and tourists day and night. As soon as Xu Huo and his group came out, they were swept forward by the crowd.
Of course, there was no shortage of media workers outside the building. Earlier that day, Valen had just announced his withdrawal from the election. The fervor hadn't subsided yet. Media workers and Valen's supporters had almost blocked the area around the district government solidly. Many people were sitting in protest outside, demanding that Mr. Valen retract his decision to withdraw from the election.
Regarding why he suddenly withdrew, the people of District 001 naturally had plenty of discussions. When something like this happened, bystanders would first think of his competitors. But unfortunately, after announcing his withdrawal, Valen didn't reveal any further information. Voters could only let their imaginations run wild. Conspiracy theories abounded on the message collection terminals, with all sorts of claims being made.
"What a big move," Bubble Bean remarked with emotion. "Almost the entire district government is in a state of disconnection. No wonder no player dares to cause trouble here."
Non-Game Area Simulators weren't easy to build, nor could every district under a B-level wormhole point have one. For example, in the previous B37-008, although they had also set up intra-city space teleportation points in many cities, the Non-Game Area Simulator wasn't always active; it was only used when needed.
Of course, this might have been considering the convenience of local players. But overall, this district was quite wealthy.
"I was thinking of posting a video on the message collection terminal to invite that Mr. Valen to meet us," Bubble Bean said, scrolling through his communicator. "But there are countless such videos. Those people are trying all sorts of creative ways to meet him, using every channel, and every channel is jammed full."
The contact information for the district government and Valen, both public and private, was the same. Either the lines were busy or they were flooded with countless messages. Even contacting a relevant person was very difficult.
However, this wasn't entirely impossible. Important figures in the district government had dedicated residences. Such places housed many people and had some private channels, but it would take some time.
Xu Huo and his group were quite lucky. They only wandered around the vicinity for a while before encountering one of the staff members going out.
Regardless of what this person did or who they worked for, after confirming they were an ordinary person, Xu Huo hypnotized them, giving only two simple instructions: first, to go to Mr. Valen's residence, and second, to tell any person inside the residence the two words "Wan Dong." Then they found a place nearby to sit and wait.
Logically, such a method wouldn't lead to meeting the person. But unexpectedly, less than twenty minutes after the staff member went in, a player came to find them, saying they would take them to see Mr. Valen.
As they followed the player into the district government, Bubble Bean was still somewhat incredulous. "He's not going to lure us in to kill us, is he?"
"If that's the case, we'll just have to raise our hands in surrender," Xu Huo joked.
Bubble Bean wanted to laugh too, but the player leading them suddenly turned back to look at them. That single look froze his expression on his face. He had once encountered a Super Player by chance. Although there wasn't much difference in evolution rate between Super Players and some top-tier A-level players, the aura of a Super Player was different. It wasn't just the pressure from their immense power; it was a special temperament that transcended the human category. At that level of strength, everyone else was like ants to them. That one encounter was like an ant passing by their feet. A Super Player wouldn't look at an ant a second time, but the ant would tremble in its soul from that single glance.
He felt that way now.
All words and emotions were suppressed. Bubble Bean became as silent as air.
"You're a fun puppet. Can I borrow you to play with?" The Painting Woman, oblivious to the atmosphere, trotted up to the player ahead and pointed at the thumb-sized puppet hanging from their wrist.
The emotionless mechanical voice from the communicator, in such a setting, felt like walking on stilts over a minefield. Bubble Bean watched the person ahead nervously, fearing with every character that popped up that they would turn hostile and kill.
"Sure," the person said with a kind smile, taking the small puppet with bouncing legs off their wrist and handing it to the Painting Woman.
Just as the Painting Woman reached out to take it, Xu Huo quickly pressed down on her arm. As he stepped forward, Time Power also poured out from the spatial gaps.