Chapter 2639: Not a Single Answer Eliminated
After recording this information, Xu Huo added, "If that assassin clan really exists and is still active, they should have become players by now."
Professor Shi nodded slightly. "Things are different now. Besides players, who else can kill people without a trace?"
"Has the government never looked for the descendants of Peng Guan?" Xu Huo asked. "If the descendants of Peng Guan have such influence, they should be very helpful to the current national government."
"Who knows if they've searched or not," Professor Shi said. "But since they were active in the capital city, it wouldn't be surprising if they joined government agencies. Perhaps the government is aware of these matters."
"If they could recreate that bond between ruler and minister from back then, maybe Isle Country would get better and better."
As he spoke, he looked out the window. "Look at these tall buildings. They're all filled with elderly people. Their family and relatives are gone. The government wants to manage things but lacks the strength. People's hearts aren't united. No one wants to be the one forced to submit. Everyone fights for the top spot, leaving the country riddled with wounds."
Xu Huo noticed several volumes of books still being compiled on the nearby table. "Weren't the historical documents of Isle Country preserved?"
"Many were lost in the war," Professor Shi said, picking up a volume. "Paper books were impossible to find long ago. What was stored in terminals was scrapped along with the machines. These materials were gathered through every means I could think of."
"Didn't you discuss this with the government?"
Professor Shi shook his head. "Right now, just surviving is a monumental effort. Not many people truly care about history that can't be eaten or drunk. The transition from ordinary to integration with the game was a technological leap caused entirely by external factors. Many people feel it's fine to abandon the backwardness of the past."
"But in reality, the current Isle Country, Eternal Tower, and Moon Cape were all formed from the destruction and reorganization of multiple countries. Historical cultures and religious beliefs were already in conflict with each other. Add mutual hostility on top of that, and destroying or erasing each other's cultural heritage is far too common."
"If you're really curious whether the descendants of Peng Guan are working for the government, you can go inquire at the main government office building. You players have plenty of ways."
"But don't say you're an Instance player. Zone 039 is this chaotic largely thanks to players from other zones. Many people harbor hostility toward out-of-zone players."
Xu Huo nodded. "Thank you for telling me so much. Is there anything you need my help with?"
Professor Shi paused, somewhat surprised, and asked back, "Are you serious?"
Xu Huo said nothing, his face showing no hint of a joke.
"Nothing else, really. It's just that the water and electricity in this building keep having problems. And the elevator—there were supposed to be two, but only one got fixed. If it breaks again, a lot of people will be trapped upstairs... The outside walkways aren't convenient either. There are roads on both sides. Sometimes you have to wait a long time just to buy something from the shop across the street. Can't get new light bulbs either. The house is very dark..."
He rambled on for a while, then said a bit sheepishly, "Usually no one likes listening to me talk about history. I can't help but ramble."
"These are small matters." Xu Huo took out the household robot. "She can help check the water and electricity. After that, she can dig a passage from underground."
The city was full of small paths carved out by residents themselves, showing that the road administration wasn't doing much. Opening an underground passage nearby shouldn't be a problem.
Professor Shi was pleasantly surprised. "That's a huge help. The hardest thing to find these days is people."
Xu Huo left the household robot behind. "I'll come pick her up after I finish my business."
Professor Shi saw him to the ground floor and assured him, "Don't worry. We'll take good care of the robot."
Leaving the residential building, Xu Huo found the newspaper office based on the information in the papers and asked the reporter who wrote the articles about the situation at the time. The newspaper office had also preserved video recordings of the events. Since several deaths occurred in public places, and during public speeches, both the before and after were captured on film. Not only were the people around the victims visible, but long shots also showed the conditions near the venues.
If a player had done the deed, it wouldn't be strange for the video footage not to capture them. He was just here to try his luck.
Xu Huo had reviewed several bizarre assassination incidents from the past two years. Headshots were just isolated cases. Almost every victim died in a different way. The only thing he could confirm was that the person who acted used very good props. The few players who died had also taken protective measures, and defensive barriers had been set up around the venues.
The attacks weren't physical objects, so it was hard to tell from the videos which room the attack came from. He could only infer from the panicked mentions by the security players on site—phrases like "defense barrier intact" and "scene locked down"—that those present believed the assassin was inside the venue.
Of course, nothing came of it in the end. They couldn't detain the players. However, the player factions that lost people put considerable effort into investigating. According to one reporter, a player faction once screened everyone present at the venue, even players working for the government.
But the final result was finding nothing.
In the end, they could only conclude that the player who acted wasn't within the lockdown barrier, or that the assassination had a delay—meaning the assassin wasn't at the scene.
If they weren't within the lockdown barrier, there was nothing to be done. But a delayed assassination might involve a special evolution of a trait. Using a trait with a delayed effect is a very clear characteristic, easy to verify. Especially with such strong offensive power, it was almost certainly a high-level player. And the powerful high-level players within Isle Country all had names and reputations. Eliminating the ultimate beneficiaries would save most of the effort.
In essence, this meant they suspected the player was working under the current Grand Archon. After all, the few who died were all power-hungry and unscrupulous in their methods.
A year ago, several major player factions had joined forces to pressure government players into submitting to an investigation. The matter was only settled when the Grand Archon personally intervened. After that, those player factions behaved themselves and haven't caused much trouble since.
So in the end, whether the assassin was a government player was never determined.
Not a single answer was eliminated.
Having gained little, Xu Huo asked the reporter if there was a government official named "God of the Dark Night."
The reporter said they had never heard of such a person.
Not long after leaving the newspaper office, Xu Huo and his companion were tailed. At first, he thought it was government personnel, but the other party was bold enough to actively close the distance and rendezvous with another player. This clearly marked them as players from another zone.
Just the "Illusional Flame" Instance alone had two factions. It was hard to guarantee that other Instances wouldn't involve the "National Heirloom Treasure." He had specifically sought out Professor Shi and then gone to the newspaper office. Being targeted by someone with ulterior motives wasn't surprising.
To solve this problem once and for all, he found a secluded corner and dealt with them.
These two were clearly not from the same Instance as him. The materials collected in their luggage compartment were all about the current Grand Archon. The searches in their terminals mostly involved reasons for the Grand Archon's long absence, as well as the government's medical and pharmaceutical procurement records.