Chapter 2802: Secret Maneuvering
“But I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet, have I?” Lei Xiaohe said with a smile. “They just gave me a little hint.”
“Think about it—if the district really starts to fall into chaos, how are we outer zone players supposed to clear the instance? Of course, we have to hurry up and clear it and leave. Otherwise, by the time we want to go, we won’t be able to!”
“I don’t think it’s just about wanting to leave,” Zhou Juanjuan interjected. “If something really happens that throws the district into turmoil, there will probably be plenty of places the district government can’t keep an eye on. Burning, looting, and killing would be a lot easier.”
“Sister Juan, how can you say that? What kind of person do you take me for!” Lei Xiaohe said with righteous indignation. “My original intention was absolutely to find a way out for friends from all over!”
“Brother, even if you can’t be a good person, you shouldn’t do those despicable things,” Li Wei said, patting him on the shoulder. “Taking advantage of the district’s chaos to kick people when they’re down—that’s no different from an animal.”
“Oh, come on, why don’t you believe me?” Lei Xiaohe said urgently. “I don’t have that kind of ambition. At most, I’d quietly steal a few things for the thrill. Otherwise, how would I even earn a commission?”
“Have you cleared the instance?” Xu Huo suddenly asked.
Lei Xiaohe put on a shy smile. “I got lucky.”
Three of the four people in the room rolled their eyes.
“Brother Xu, believe me, I just want to use this chance to get my hands on the information,” Lei Xiaohe quickly said. “Of course, I can’t say I have no ideas. District 022 doesn’t treat outer zone clearance players like people. What’s a little theft from them? If I can’t get my hands on props or instruments, I’ll settle for some ore or gold. The bulk of that stuff is in the government’s warehouses anyway, and it doesn’t involve ordinary people.”
“I’m not some murder enthusiast. I just want to make some money. Killing isn’t necessary.”
To be honest, even Li Wei and the others were tempted by his reasoning. Most players weren’t exactly well-off. If they had some money, they’d want to buy good props to improve their survival rate. Forget about opposing the district government—if a major incident happened in the district, they could easily find some remote cities to make a small fortune.
“Forget about the stamping,” Xu Huo said directly. “You won’t be earning that commission.”
“But I’m very interested in the information you mentioned. Call those three players over, and I’ll talk to them. If the information is useful, I’ll pay you a commission.”
Lei Xiaohe was quite disappointed, because many players had contacted him wanting to get stamped, and some had even paid deposits.
“Brother, are you really not considering making this money? Tens of thousands per person!”
“Does he look like someone who’s short on cash?” Li Wei said with a laugh, then urged him to contact the people.
Disappointed as he was, Lei Xiaohe pulled himself together and got to work. Soon, he had results. “Only one person is willing to come over.”
The group waited two hours in the hotel. A handsome man appeared at the door. As soon as the door opened, he greeted Xu Huo and the others warmly and politely, one by one.
In just a few words, he got straight to the point.
The man brushed back his long hair. “My information came from the family member of a government employee. She said her husband and his two lovers were all very busy. She also mentioned being sent to a small town for a vacation. When I pressed her, she told me that District 022 might be attacked soon, and many places could be affected. High-ranking government officials might even be ‘targeted’ specifically, so naturally, they’d send their families away as a precaution.”
“You all know how District 022 treats outer zone players. They’d love to treat every outer zone player coming to clear the instance as their expendable resource. Retaliation was bound to happen sooner or later. When I got this news, of course I wanted to add fuel to the fire.”
Lei Xiaohe glanced at Xu Huo and couldn’t help interrupting. “Didn’t you say you knew some places that might be attacked?”
“That’s a different price,” the man said with a smile. “District 022 often has attacks from outer zone players, but the scale this time is clearly different. Knowing in advance which places will be in chaos gives us a lot more options. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”
He leaned back comfortably on the sofa, looking at the people across from him. “Don’t tell me you went to all this trouble to find out about this just to be good guys?”
Leaving aside the question of being good guys, the fact that news had leaked in the past couple of days clearly wasn’t just a matter of government employees failing to keep secrets. Someone had deliberately let the information slip, hoping to drag the players coming to clear the instance into the mess.
If it happened suddenly, people might not react in time. But if they knew in advance and were prepared, the situation would be completely different. At the same time, this could be a test of the district government. Before the fire had fully spread, they would naturally want to protect their important assets first.
Seeing that they still hadn’t spoken, the man added, “How about this? I’ll tell you some of the government’s movements, and you help me clear the instance.”
“Whatever you want to do has nothing to do with me. I’m not asking you to cooperate.”
He paused and added, “One or two people, or even a handful, can do almost nothing in a large-scale war.”
In other words, holding him alone was pointless—it wouldn’t change anything.
Xu Huo thought for a moment, then contacted the diplomat who had come earlier, asking if they were willing to send a group of clearance players away.
The other party quickly gave a negative answer.
The man was also very casual. He simply got up and left, winking at them as he went out the door. “See you around if fate allows.”
“The district government really doesn’t know how to plan,” Lei Xiaohe said indignantly. “Wouldn’t sending more players away just save them trouble?”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Zhan Erliu said. “They say there’s going to be an attack, but no one knows how big it will be. Maybe the district government is waiting to catch them all in a trap. Even if that’s not the plan, refusing to let players clear the instance means they can settle accounts later. It’s easier to control players who haven’t cleared the instance than those who can leave anytime.”
“The Capital Mansion area definitely won’t be peaceful,” Zhou Juanjuan said, without too many thoughts. “Just don’t destroy the instance and make all my efforts come to nothing.”
“You haven’t cleared the instance yet?” Lei Xiaohe found some psychological comfort. He sat down on his own, picked up a bunch of grapes, and started eating. “Then you’d better be careful. District 022 holds grudges. If you don’t manage to leave, you might get retaliated against later.”
“Say something nice,” Li Wei said, glancing at him.
Lei Xiaohe grinned, finished the grapes, and then packed all the fruit from the plate into his bag. “Brother Xu, I’m going to take a look around. If I get any explosive news, I’ll let you know first!”
Xu Huo paid him some money. “Talking too much might get you noticed by government players.”
Lei Xiaohe gave him a look that said, “Trust me, I’ve got this,” and left cheerfully.
With nothing else to do, after dinner, Li Wei and the others went about their own business. Xu Huo browsed District 022’s large-scale weapon sales list.
In a large-scale war, good energy weapons and instruments were often more useful than players. If District 022 was selling them externally, it might be worth trying to buy some.