Chapter 2794: Heart
Saying that District 022 was suspected of participating in the district massacre was just the surface; in reality, the Old Holy Sword Society had already found evidence. Regardless of how many other shady things District 022 had done, the matter concerning the Old Holy Sword Society was ironclad. The Old Holy Sword Society had lost many people as a result, suffering exceptionally heavy losses.
Comrades who shared the same ideals were killed. How could the Old Holy Sword Society swallow this anger? Having tracked down clues, they were bound to retaliate. Their relationship with District 022 and Ms. Ruo was one of life and death. The verbal arguments weren't really about seeking justice, but rather about conveying each other's intentions and making it clear to those involved that any action must come with a corresponding price!
"It looks like your plan isn't very thorough," Xu Huo said. "Besides killing for revenge, do you have any other tasks? Did Ms. Ruo use the gem to send you away in order to cover something up? What are you looking for?"
Gong Ying glanced toward the white-haired old man. It was obvious he had already fallen into a disadvantageous position. The only reason he was still holding on was to buy time for his companions.
"Do you really know Ms. Gong?" she turned back to ask.
"You can ask Ms. Gong about it afterward," Xu Huo said. "She should still remember me."
Gong Ying hesitated again before speaking. "District 022 has always been cooperating with the New Holy Sword Society. What we're actually looking for is a stronghold of the New Holy Sword Society."
There was no doubt that the New Holy Sword Society had participated in operations against the Old Holy Sword Society. But the New Holy Sword Society's growth and expansion within the game wasn't without reason. Whether acting as a black glove for certain districts or factions, or recruiting players without restraint, it all showed they had a knack for networking. It was only natural that they had entanglements with district governments, and it wasn't surprising that district governments provided them with hiding places.
In comparison, the Old Holy Sword Society appeared weak and isolated, even finding it difficult to track down the New Holy Sword Society's strongholds.
Xu Huo had killed quite a few members of the New Holy Sword Society. More than once, he had obtained maps of certain districts or countries from these individuals. Some were clearly marked, allowing him to pinpoint the district, while others only showed mountain ranges, rivers, or rough terrain distribution, making it hard to determine which district they belonged to.
Confirming that she wasn't lying, he took out some maps he had obtained. "These were all taken from members of the New Holy Sword Society. I'm not sure if they're related to their strongholds. Take them back and have a look; you might find something useful."
Gong Ying was naturally very grateful. The fact that Xu Huo was willing to give her the maps showed he had goodwill toward them. She just didn't understand why he wasn't willing to lend a hand.
"I don't owe the Old Holy Sword Society any favors," Xu Huo said, seeing through her thoughts, and took the initiative to explain.
Gong Ying understood, but she couldn't help feeling disappointed. Just then, signals were sent out in succession from the nearby small islands. Her expression relaxed, and she immediately said to Xu Huo, "We're pulling out. Thank you for saving me and for giving me the maps. I'll remember this debt of gratitude."
With that, she vanished from Xu Huo's grasp.
At the same time, the white-haired old man and the other Old Holy Sword Society members also retreated one after another. Soon, only the players from District 022 remained in the sky above the small island.
More and more people gathered around Xu Huo. Some, who had apparently already suffered losses at the hands of the Old Holy Sword Society, looked at him with hatred and murderous intent.
"Don't look at me like that," Xu Huo said with a smile. "I didn't interfere in your affairs."
"You let a Holy Sword Society member go," said an enforcement team leader.
"Is she really a Holy Sword Society member?" Xu Huo countered. "That's what you say, but they have no proof that they're the real Holy Sword Society either. Gong Ying and I spent a few days with Ms. Ruo, and we have some rapport. It's only natural to ask about the situation."
"Ms. Ruo, don't you think so?" He looked toward the center of the crowd.
Ms. Ruo's face had long lost its gentle warmth. Her cold, hard expression resembled a killing machine. She scrutinized Xu Huo, and suddenly her eyes darkened.
Her speed was very fast, but Xu Huo was already on guard. The moment she made her move, dark matter surged out from around him, blocking her traits and items. At the same time, "Time-Space Hand" took effect, cutting a large area of space into countless small pieces. Combined with a time resonance that could disable some items, he killed a quarter of the enforcement team players on the spot.
Some long-range attack items were blocked by the item barrier he released before they could even get close. Of course, this was just a supplement to "Time-Space Hand" and the space barrier. The real threat was Ms. Ruo; her attack methods were impossible to guard against.
Realizing she couldn't break through the dark matter, she switched to a more aggressive approach, using solid items as shields to completely encase Xu Huo along with the dark matter. She didn't know exactly what properties the dark matter had, but the fact that the space items and traits she used first couldn't affect Xu Huo at all told her that long-range attacks were ineffective. So she tried to buy some time with a sufficient number of items—just a few dozen meters away, some players had already prepared a simulator!
In such a short time, it was impossible to find a second batch of large-scale equipment, so they could only try to force Xu Huo into the blockade range.
But what Ms. Ruo never expected was that those solid items not only failed to generate the intended impact force but didn't even cause a ripple upon entering the dark matter, as if they had simply vanished!
Although he didn't have the advantage in speed, Xu Huo could use time items. In just a few seconds of combat, as he blocked Ms. Ruo's path ahead of time and forced her to change direction, "Fate's String" accurately struck her. Almost at the same moment, a Space Ray Blade pierced through her body, extracting her heart!
The metallic, gleaming heart pulsed like a real human heart. The connected artificial blood vessels hadn't even broken yet, but the removal of the heart caused immense trauma to Ms. Ruo. Even in her frozen state, it was clear that her pupils were gradually dilating.
"A heart?" Xu Huo was speechless. The game really had a twisted sense of humor when generating instance dungeons.
"Stop!" The enforcement team members who witnessed this scene were all furious. Using jamming devices and defense items, they charged through the death net formed by "Time-Space Hand," attacking Xu Huo recklessly, even willing to resort to suicide attacks!
"Fate's String" wouldn't last long. After a moment's hesitation, Xu Huo decided not to actually remove Ms. Ruo's mechanical heart. Knocking away the space items and devices on the nearby players, he activated the "Time Ring" to negotiate with Ms. Ruo.
The heart returned to her body. Ms. Ruo coughed up blood and clutched the wound on her chest, staring at Xu Huo. "I underestimated you!"
"I was just passing through District 022. I'll leave once I finish the instance. I didn't start any trouble," Xu Huo said. "Why are you all so defensive? Even if this district is strong, you can't treat every player from outside as an enemy."