Chapter 2660: Hehe
The other side remained silent, but Xu Huo did not let it go. He pressed on forcefully, "Give me a definite answer."
"No." Wan Ping seemed to have communicated with someone before giving him that definite answer.
Although it was expected, Xu Huo felt a slight disappointment. In a situation like searching for a needle in a haystack, the closest person to the "National Heirloom Treasure" was Lian Qingkong. If even he had no leads, finding it would be extremely difficult.
"Is there any other clue you can provide me?" Xu Huo continued to ask.
"Besides sincerity, the prerequisite for cooperation also requires leverage," Wan Ping said. "As I said before, even if threatened, we will never yield."
After all, it involved so many people. It was normal for the descendants of the two surnames to be cautious. Xu Huo understood completely. If it weren't for the need to stabilize him, this negotiation probably wouldn't have happened at all. Precisely because he was uncontrollable and they knew little about him, the descendants of the two surnames adopted an ambiguous negotiating stance. If it were someone like Lian Qingkong, who could directly threaten all the descendants of the two surnames, they would probably turn hostile without hesitation.
This was nothing.
The other end of the communicator fell silent, but a rhythmic "tap tap tap" sound began, like fingers knocking on a hard surface.
After a moment, Wan Ping took the initiative to ask, "You can state your terms."
"Wait," Xu Huo said, cutting off the communication.
He casually set the communicator aside, adjusted his sitting posture, and leaned slightly forward. At the same time, a thin, small man fell out of a Spiritual Gate. Without giving the other party a chance to escape, Xu Huo said, "You've been following me for a long time. Except for when I left the Capital City, there have been at least two shifts of people taking turns tailing me. Yesterday, you even followed me to the resort. Judging by your appearance, it doesn't seem like you're after clues about the National Heirloom Treasure."
"I'm new here and don't know many local players. The chances of me making enemies are slim. So it must be related to what I'm investigating."
"So many players are investigating the National Heirloom Treasure. I've only been looking into some common clues, which many people have probably already checked. Yet you've been persistently following me without showing obvious hostility..."
"Let me guess. Is it because the information I've gathered happens to involve the descendants of Peng Guan?"
"Or is there something in those assassination cases that caught your attention?"
"Neither, then."
"In that case, it must be the God of the Dark Night."
Xu Huo paid special attention to this player's expression. It showed little difference from when he heard the first two options. The player paused slightly. "Looks like you don't know."
This player, who had been watching from a distance, didn't know. But the newspaper reporter he had questioned earlier clearly reacted to the title "God of the Dark Night." Gao Ming had said this person used to work for the government. The reporter knew, but the player now working for the government didn't. Either this person had been dead for a long time, or they had already become a high-ranking official.
Realizing the other party meant no harm, Xu Huo let him go. "Alright, go back, wash up, and get some sleep. Stop watching me."
The thin player's shock and wariness didn't fade, but he was also surprised that Xu Huo was so easygoing.
Xu Huo had finished everything he needed to do today. He didn't bother with this person anymore and turned to go upstairs.
Originally, he planned to visit Lian Qingkong at the Government Building early the next morning, but he was woken up by Xiao Mei before dawn.
"The Message Collection Terminal has exploded!" Xiao Mei projected a video in the room. A player with a tightly covered face appeared, greeted them amicably, and then got straight to the point. "I believe everyone probably doesn't know much about me, so let me introduce myself first."
"You can call me Star. I came from another district."
"To be honest, I don't really like District 039. Not only is the environment harsh, but there aren't many people worth mentioning. But since I'm here, I have no choice but to grit my teeth and get through the Instance Dungeon."
"Why is this guy so annoying?" Xiao Mei said. "I want to slap him twice just looking at the screen."
"I've had bad luck. I got stuck in an Instance Dungeon that no one has cleared in twenty years. Not only have the clues been mostly destroyed by this chaotic district, but even if there were clues, they've probably been wiped clean by the Stranded Players."
"As they say, a mighty dragon cannot crush a local serpent. Matters in District 039 naturally need to be handled by the locals."
"So I warmly invited some player organizations and relatives of government officials to be my guests," he said, displaying a freshly taken photo. "This is our group photo."
It wasn't until the photo appeared that this projection message truly got to the point.
The scene in the photo was likely inside a Location Item. Old and young people were crowded together, looking at the camera in terror. In front of them were three players, including the masked man. All three were holding up signs with prank emoji faces.
"Everyone can see, right? We're having a great time as host and guests. They're all very happy, just waiting for their relatives to come pick them up."
"I don't know who has the National Heirloom Treasure. I hope the person holding it will voluntarily hand it over. Once I get the National Heirloom Treasure, I'll let all these people go."
"But I think there are too many people in this world who won't cry until they see the coffin. So before carrying out the ultimate mission, let's do a compliance test."
"Over the next two hours, I want to see a Stranded Player's corpse every five minutes. If I don't see one, I'll have to use your family members as substitutes."
A man and a woman were pulled into the projection. As the two screamed and begged for mercy, the masked man made a gun shape with his fingers and "shot" each of them. Two bodies fell, each with an irregular bloody hole in the center of their foreheads.
"Their parents work in the government, embezzling and taking bribes like pros. They're not good people. Don't thank me. Hehe!"
This projection message ended there. Although internet access was limited, those who could get online were mostly enraged by the arrogant words and brutal methods. Almost everything on the Message Collection Terminal was discussing this incident. There were quite a few Outer Zone Players, but compared to the number of players in one district, they were nothing. Many people demanded that the government and player organizations step in to kill and drive these people away.
Because of the National Heirloom Treasure Instance Dungeon, the Isle Country bore the brunt. Not only the government but also player organizations mobilized, all tracking down the whereabouts of these people.
However, it was far too easy for players to hide, especially with two other countries that didn't interact much with them. Even if players investigated the clues of their missing family members, they couldn't find any valuable leads.
In fact, besides the families of some important figures, these people had also kidnapped some ordinary people as hostages.
If it were just ordinary people, the government would never yield. Forget government reputation or national righteousness—the Isle Country was constantly at war, and no one cared about the lives of ordinary people. But the masked man had captured the relatives of some players, who were scattered across different player organizations. The relationship between the two sides was already strained. If things fell apart over this, the Isle Country government would certainly have a hard time.
Weighing the options, the government issued a wanted notice.