Chapter 2645: Just Take It the Opposite Way
At a certain period in the history of Isle Country, the descendants of Peng Guan and the Supreme God Cult overlapped. That is to say, the descendants of Peng Guan were not completely purged over several generations after the death of the Gao-surnamed ruler, as historical records claim, nor was the Supreme God Cult continuously suppressed by successive rulers after the Gao-surnamed ruler, as history books state.
Whether the descendants of Peng Guan infiltrated and took control of the Supreme God Cult, or the Supreme God Cult used the descendants of Peng Guan to gain military force, the former Grand Archon going to the Tribunal to find Supreme God believers with the token in hand was certainly not without reason. After investigation, the current government believes that the Supreme God Tribunal did not have the strength to help Gao Hui, and moreover, they were all killed cleanly afterward.
However, the fact that the Supreme God Cult could still establish a Tribunal after several hundred years indicates that there must be some benefit behind it. The people of Isle Country had lost their faith due to years of war. If the Supreme God Cult could not mobilize public opinion, then it must represent some other kind of power.
The investigation materials compiled by the government established by Lian Qingkong were clearly limited, but they still firmly believed that there was no such thing as "legitimacy." At most, it was that the people or tokens that could prove the legitimacy of the regime lacked the soil for their existence, or that even if such things existed, they were insufficient to change the current situation.
This made Xu Huo somewhat believe that the assassin family to which Peng Guan belonged might indeed have been passed down to the present day.
As for those players who were assassinated, they were no longer important. As long as the so-called "National Heirloom Treasure" did not reappear, the deaths of those people held no value, even if the specific assassins were tracked down.
From this perspective, the value of Wu Zishuang's clue was greatly reduced, and Xiao Mei's clue was the same. The Isle Country government might soon produce the real thing.
The government players estimated the time and came to see them out. He Liang said unwillingly, "Finding the National Heirloom Treasure would also benefit you. You should at least show us some materials..."
Seeing no response from the other party, he added, "At least help us open a box."
The player seeing them out was cold as ice. "The National Heirloom Treasure is just a legend without evidence. Even if someone brought it here now, it could only serve as a mascot. Our country's current stability relies on the efforts of the Grand Archon and the players. Our legitimacy does not need a National Heirloom Treasure to prove it."
Clearly, the internal attitude of the Isle Country government toward the National Heirloom Treasure was not good. Apart from the occasional trouble caused by outer zone players, it was probably also related to the fact that they had shed blood and sweat to create the current situation, only to have it questioned by a rumor.
"Please leave!" the other party said.
The group could only head out. Xu Huo walked at the back, and as he was about to leave, he asked, "Was this recording personally made by Mr. Lian Qingkong?"
The player did not answer his question, but his impatient expression already provided the answer.
After they walked out of the government building, He Liang said, "Is there a problem with whether Lian Qingkong made the recording? Anyway, judging by this attitude, the Isle Country government doesn't intend to provide any help to outer zone players."
This was actually just a guess on Xu Huo's part. According to the recording, the National Heirloom Treasure did not exist and was useless. Faced with outer zone players who repeatedly came knocking, even resorting to kidnapping, torture, and killing government personnel and their families to find clues, the Isle Country government could have simply released some unimportant historical materials instead of giving a conclusion.
Of course, the damage to the materials might be one aspect. But since the materials were not damaged during the great war twenty years ago, the likelihood of them being damaged after Lian Qingkong seized power was relatively small. Even if they were lost, it would have been entirely possible to have people who had read these materials rewrite them. The fact that this was not done could only mean that the materials indeed contained some important clues, and Lian Qingkong had hidden some information.
At the very least, Lian Qingkong knew what the so-called "National Heirloom Treasure" actually referred to.
Outside, Wu Zishuang and Xiao Mei's instruments were blocked, so they didn't know the content of the recording. After coming out, Fei Jingyi recounted it to them. After listening, Xiao Mei clapped her hands and said, "That's settled. Lian Qingkong definitely knows what the National Heirloom Treasure is. When politicians speak, just take it the opposite way!"
Although from a different angle, Wu Zishuang also agreed with this view. "The earthquake event three hundred years ago should have been a news blackout by the ruling class, so there is no trace of it in historical materials. This suggests that there might be some secrets about the National Heirloom Treasure that are only circulated within the highest circles of the country."
"Doesn't that mean we're screwed?" He Liang said. "Every ruler of Isle Country kills off the entire family tree of the previous ruler. Emperors take turns sitting on the throne. Over several hundred years, all those powerful families and major forces have probably had their turn. Where are we supposed to find their descendants now?"
"Lian Qingkong definitely knows," Fei Jingyi said.
"I'm afraid we can't deal with Lian Qingkong," Fu Kuai said. "Not only is the government office area sealed off, but he himself is also extremely powerful. Many A-ranks might not be his match."
So breaking into the government building or kidnapping Lian Qingkong were both out of the question. He had no family, and the people he was relatively close to were like-minded player companions. Targeting any one of them would be like poking a hornet's nest.
As for those with more distant relationships, firstly, they really didn't know much, and secondly, they were unimportant and couldn't influence Lian Qingkong.
Even Gao Hui, who had provided a needle-in-a-haystack lead, was dead, and his body had been collected by the government. Now it seemed they could only try other avenues.
"What do you think the National Heirloom Treasure actually is?" Fu Kuai said. "I think there's a certain chance that Lian Qingkong is hiding the National Heirloom Treasure. Did he not produce it to completely shatter the illusions of other player forces because he couldn't, or did he do it intentionally?"
"Could it be that he did produce it before, but no one believed it?" Xiao Mei said. "Even if it's real, others might not necessarily recognize it."
"Then wouldn't the main task of this instance not be about the National Heirloom Treasure?" He Liang pressed hard on the table. "Is our key to clearing the instance actually to help Lian Qingkong crush the ambitions of other player organizations?"
"Who could possibly do that?" Wu Zishuang adjusted his glasses. "Unless we kill all the core members of those player organizations, but I doubt the government would allow that."
Player organizations were also a component of Isle Country's strength. The current state of mutual checks and balances, while also deterring neighboring countries, was already very good.
The group fell into silence for a moment.
The clues they had painstakingly investigated were essentially useless. With no better entry point in sight, it seemed like the entire district was blocking their path.
"Hey," Xiao Mei suddenly said, looking in a certain direction. "The masked man."
The others followed his gaze and indeed saw a person standing on the roof of a building several hundred meters away, very similar to the description given by Xu Huo and the Painting Woman.
"Is he targeting you, or us?" Xiao Mei glanced at Xu Huo. "Let me be clear first. If he's after you, then you should just eliminate yourself from the game. Save the rest of us the trouble."
Xu Huo's expression darkened, and he immediately stood up to leave.