Chapter 2646: A Scourge
"Brother, don't be anxious." He Liang pressed a hand on his shoulder. "We're not the type to turn our backs on people. With so many people around now, he definitely won't dare make a move."
Wu Zishuang watched Xu Huo's expression carefully. "If it's the people Fu Kuai mentioned, they shouldn't be this blatant either. There might be another reason."
Fei Jingyi nodded upon hearing this. "Maybe it's related to the instance."
"You're all such good people, huh." Xiao Mei said irritably. "If it really comes to a fight, no one knows who'll run the fastest."
"Let's find a way to open He Liang's box." Fei Jingyi said. "Right now, that's our only clue."
He Liang had no objections. He'd already thought of every method he could.
"Zone 039 doesn't have any professionals. It's best to take it to an outer zone to open it." Wu Zishuang offered proactively. "If you can trust me, I know a friend in this field. I can ask him for help."
"Why don't you first ask him if there's a way to open it directly? Borrowing some tools would work too." He Liang showed no intention of taking the box out again.
Wu Zishuang didn't mind. He immediately sent the detailed photos He Liang had given him through his personal panel and soon received a reply.
"It requires special instruments to ensure the item remains intact while opening the box, and it'll take quite a bit of time."
He Liang clearly didn't trust him. "I've also asked friends in other districts. They said opening this box would at least require a district like Zone 001 to have a certain chance of success. Your friend isn't coincidentally in Zone 001, is he?"
Wu Zishuang gave a faint smile. "Cooperation can only proceed under mutual trust. Given the current situation, I don't think we have any basis for cooperation."
He stood up, nodded politely to the others, and left first.
"Why not just cut it open and take a look," Xiao Mei suggested. "It's better than staring at it helplessly."
He Liang snorted, then vanished in a flash.
The remaining few couldn't trust each other either. Fu Kuai left a contact method, telling them to reach out if they needed help.
Fei Jingyi reluctantly tried to persuade Xiao Mei and Xu Huo to move together with her. After all, there was safety in numbers. The masked man might have followed Xu Huo here, but that didn't mean he wouldn't target others. Splitting up would make it easy for them to be picked off one by one.
Xiao Mei naturally refused. She suddenly spat out a mouthful of smoke and disappeared from sight.
Fei Jingyi looked helplessly at Xu Huo. "I know a place where outer zone players often gather. Mr. Xu should be safer there."
Xu Huo thanked her but didn't leave immediately. Instead, he placed a tracking device in front of the Painting Woman. "Follow Xiao Mei. Don't let her die. Be careful of Fei Jingyi and Wu Zishuang. Don't believe anything they say."
"Are you leaving this place?" the Painting Woman asked. "That puppet has been following you."
"I'm going to Gao Hui's hometown." Xu Huo said. "I'll contact you when I get back. If I haven't returned in three days, wait for me here."
The Painting Woman took some money and ore that could be exchanged for cash from him, then slung her bag over her shoulder and left.
After watching the Painting Woman depart, Xu Huo glanced at the puppet's location before using a teleportation item to go to Gao Hui's hometown.
Gao Hui's information was recorded in his autobiography after he took office. Whether it was true or false was unknown, but it mentioned that his rise to power began in his hometown, Mie City. Of course, other supplementary materials written by others stated that Gao Hui's family had some influence locally. With his parents' help, he entered the national system and, during the still-turbulent times of the nation, rose through the ranks smoothly, becoming increasingly powerful.
As for the bloody struggle before he took office, detailed records could no longer be found. Some people said they had heard from their elders that he had used unscrupulous means to eliminate his political rivals, thus successfully becoming the Grand Archon. Of course, all the forces that supported him were later purged.
His hometown, Mie City, was no exception. The local residents first ransacked his home and his family's businesses. Later, the place was looted by people from other areas who had been displaced by the war. Many who had left their homes even came specifically to this place, their purpose being to vent their anger.
The first thing Xu Huo smelled when he emerged from the spatial passage was a foul stench. As far as the eye could see, there were piles of garbage and flowing black water. The city's buildings had long since turned into ruins. Apart from passing players, basically only garbage trucks came and went.
Mie City had become a dedicated garbage dump.
Xu Huo arrived at the place where Gao Hui once lived. The spacious courtyard had long been replaced by a mountain of trash. On the ground around the garbage mountain, some insulting words were still partially visible.
They had destroyed it thoroughly.
He only paused for a moment before heading towards the nearest town to Mie City.
The people of Mie City had been caught in the crossfire. The entire city's population had migrated outward. Their first consideration would naturally be nearby cities. Even if they hadn't stayed there, someone must know where they went.
Xu Huo was lucky. In Lingshui Town, he found a household that had originally been from Mie City. They had moved here twenty years ago. Because they had relatives living here, they weren't driven away like other Mie City residents. And this place had fortunately escaped the war.
An old man told him everything he knew.
Gao Hui, originally named Dou Hui. Before he was born, his parents believed he would achieve great things in the future and that an extraordinary person needed an extraordinary name. So the whole family changed their surname to Gao—changing surnames wasn't uncommon in the Isle Country anyway, as wars were frequent and few people cared about surnames. The Gao Hui family was wealthy and influential. At the time, many people in Mie City knew that a child destined for greatness had been born into their family, though many secretly mocked them.
But unexpectedly, after Gao Hui was born, the Dou family's business thrived, and their relatives' official positions grew larger and larger. So Gao Hui's parents adopted several more children, giving them the surname Peng.
There were always people who understood history. Gradually, many realized what the family was up to. However, they didn't think the family was trying to ride on the coattails of the Gao surname rulers and the Peng officials. They just thought the family had raised a few followers for their young master.
In fact, those children surnamed Peng had gone missing one after another before they even reached adulthood. Outsiders knew this because the school teacher had reported it to the police. The matter caused quite a stir at the time, but in the end, it was brushed aside.
Gao Hui himself liked to bully his peers when he was in school. His reputation at school wasn't good. However, he was very clever. Not only did he get good grades, but he could also represent Mie City in competitions against other cities. After becoming an adult, he entered government work, and his promotions and transfers were very frequent.
When he was stationed in Mie City, he introduced some polluting factories, which fattened the government's coffers. He was heavily criticized for this at the time, but it didn't affect his rise through the ranks. After he was transferred away from Mie City, the entire city was overjoyed.
Later, he went to the capital, where he became famous, eventually becoming an existence that the people of Mie City couldn't even hope to reach. It was said that some people went to ask him for favors, but they didn't succeed. When they returned, they spread bad words about him everywhere.
Ordinary people couldn't control changes in national policy. But once Gao Hui became the Grand Archon, the people of the Isle Country lived in misery every year. Moreover, some of his decisions led to increased internal conflicts, more and more player wars, until some people, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward to overthrow the government.
"Did the Dou family have any relatives surnamed Gao?" Xu Huo asked.
"Of course not," the old man said. "But I heard people say that Dou Hui's mother used to boast that their ancestors were of the Gao bloodline, which was why her son was so remarkable."
"Everyone just took it as a joke. A scourge like him, trying to gild himself."
"His family even went all out with it. They built a Gao family ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, erected statues, and fabricated a fake genealogy, stubbornly claiming they were related."