Chapter 2626: Massacre
The short woman's withered yellow hair was plastered messily against her face. Her features were difficult to make out, but the deep furrows on her face showed she was not young and looked extremely haggard. Her hands were still reaching toward the female corpse a few meters away. After letting out a few meaningless howls, she suddenly stopped all movement, rolled her eyes upward to stare at the man beside her, and said, "I curse you, I curse everyone in your execution squad, may you die a horrible death..."
Before the last syllable had even fallen, the swarthy, burly man sliced off her head and tossed it to the ground. He said to the execution squad members maintaining order, "Go to District Three and conduct a thorough sweep. Kill everyone connected to this woman."
A portion of the execution squad split off, and even two vehicles from the convoy left the formation, carrying the corpse as they flew away from the city center.
This minor incident did not affect the mood of the execution squad or the ordinary citizens. The parade and cheering continued.
Xu Huo left the city center and used a teleportation item to reach the old city area where third-class residents lived in clusters. Both above and below ground, the area was packed with people. News of the execution squad's arrival had already spread. After two players maintaining order here killed a couple of third-class residents who were running around recklessly, most people began surging back toward their own dwellings.
"Anyone who fails to report their location information within three minutes will be dealt with as a deserter!" The armed instruments broadcast the message to every corner. In the vast old city district, silence fell in such a short time.
The execution squad that arrived shortly after obtained the killed woman's identity information from the duty players and headed straight for her residence. They began slaughtering anyone connected to the woman—neighbors, colleagues, friends. They accepted no excuses, asked no questions. If they found someone, they killed them. In that moment, screams and pleas for help became the only sounds in this old city district.
Under these circumstances, a player actually managed to crash through the players who had found him, dragging two children with him as he burst out of an old building in the old city district and charged into an underground passage.
Players and armed aircraft kept entering the underground from different passage entrances. Although the underground pipes branched out in all directions, to restrict third-class residents, some passages were only opened during specific time periods. So the execution squad only needed to block certain passage entrances to intercept people.
The player who escaped with the children was clearly not a high-level player either. He didn't even have two decent items, relying entirely on his legs to run through the sewer pipes. His only advantage was that he was relatively familiar with the underground routes.
But this could only buy him a little time. He didn't even have time to contact his companions. Less than half a minute after entering the sewer, the pursuing armed aircraft had already destroyed his micro-terminal.
The sounds of pursuers came from all directions through the pipes. The young player, drenched in sweat and water, looked around frantically and anxiously for any possible exit. But after glancing in all directions, he could only hesitate on the spot... There was no way out!
The sound of armed aircraft was already right on top of him. The young player's gaze hardened. Just as he was about to charge forward and fight, he suddenly stepped into empty space, sinking together with the two children into the spiritual gate within the puddle beneath his feet.
The armed aircraft and execution squad players naturally came up empty. But assuming the young player still had accomplices, they immediately contacted the ground team to seal off this area and also summoned high-sensitivity detection instruments.
Xu Huo transferred the three of them to an underground passage several kilometers away. The young player, temporarily safe, didn't know who had saved him. He quietly muttered a word of thanks, then followed the underground passage numbers to find a way out.
They were only temporarily safe. Once news of a player's escape was reported, more execution squad players would soon come to search. When the machines were activated and scanned, anyone still moving would become very conspicuous.
Xu Huo followed them on the ground for a while. After discovering that two players had come to pick them up, he changed direction, went elsewhere to create a bit of chaos for the execution squad, and then headed to the city exit checkpoint to line up.
Clearly, the unrest here had made many players from other districts feel it wasn't worth staying long. The checkpoint had a very long line.
"Sir, would you like someone to queue for you?" A middle-aged man with a simple, honest face walked over and asked cautiously. "Today's city exit checkpoint is strict, and there are many people. No cutting in line allowed either, so it will definitely take some time. If you pay me a little money, I'll queue for you. I guarantee I won't waste your time!"
There were many local residents here offering to queue for others, and the price wasn't expensive. There was also a rest area specially provided for travelers nearby.
Xu Huo paid the money. The middle-aged man gave him a number and handed him a drink before going to queue.
There were quite a few players from other districts in the rest area. People kept coming by to sell local specialties. The fresh-faced boys and girls were very good at reading people, accurately identifying which customers might make purchases and which customers would not only refuse to buy but might even hit or scold them.
Xu Huo, sitting inconspicuously in the corner, was mostly ignored. Only a boy who had been chased out for being tongue-tied stood near him for a long time before finally gathering the courage to ask.
Xu Huo picked out a few items, gave him a small tip, and then asked, "Why is the checkpoint so strict today?"
"Anti-government alliance members were found in the city. They're afraid they'll mix in and escape the city," the boy said.
"Does this happen often here?" Xu Huo asked again.
The boy nodded and pointed toward a certain direction in the city. "Heads are often hung on Execution Street. They say those hung up there are anti-government alliance members."
Xu Huo nodded slightly. Those who got caught, aside from the unlucky ones, were mostly those lacking in strength—people who couldn't even make it to the station. He had seen one of the corpses hanging under the parade convoy earlier at the station. It should have been an anti-government alliance member who died there.
Without asking further, he waved for the boy to leave.
Not long after, the holographic equipment throughout the city broadcast the faces of the young player and the two children who had escaped from the old city district. All three were now wanted, with a substantial bounty.
"They're even putting bounties on children. How cowardly must these people be?" a player from another district laughed.
"How can you underestimate children?" another person chimed in. "Children can grow up to become players, or become underground operatives for the anti-government alliance. Aren't they exactly the main force for inheriting hatred?"
"Being born here is really unlucky," the joking player said again. "But I heard that over in Moonhorn Duchy, things are much better. No anti-government alliance."
"If a country can rot this badly and still stand, you can imagine what the other two countries are like," another person joined the conversation. "Moonhorn Duchy doesn't have an anti-government alliance, but they have several regimes fighting among themselves. Their own people war against their own people. Most of the people buried in their public memorial cemeteries died in internal conflicts, and they still have the nerve to erect martyr monuments!"
"That's also a specialty of Moonhorn Duchy," the joking player said. "At least the ones who die there are people looking for death. Not like here, where they casually slaughter ordinary people."