Chapter 2888: Betrayal and Rumors
One billion white notes, merely requiring someone to provide the identity information of the relevant individuals in the photos and videos. Of course, the bounty didn’t just feature Xu Huo’s face, but also Nie Xuan, who had participated in the siege against Dou Shengnan, as well as Painting Woman and Dr. Deng, who were acquainted with Xu Huo—all information obtained from District 011.
Painting Woman’s face changed constantly, so that wasn’t a major issue. Nie Xuan had also been heavily disguised at the time. The only real problem was District 014; it could no longer guarantee that his identity wouldn’t be leaked.
Many people under the Dimension wanted to earn this money, and more began investigating the information on the wanted individuals.
In fact, finding out about Xu Huo wasn’t that difficult. When he first entered the game, he hadn’t disguised himself in many of the districts he visited, and quite a few people had seen and recognized him.
This was an anonymous bounty, and many began to wonder who had posted it and what deep-seated grudge they held, that even a little information was worth so much money.
Players in District 014 soon noticed as well. The Special Defense Department always had dedicated personnel collecting information from under the Dimension, so they caught wind of it immediately. Now, trying to shut the players up was impossible, so they arranged for players in other districts to expose the bounty poster’s identity, stating that the one behind the bounty was actually the Eerie Sound Knights. The reason for the bounty was simple: Dou Shengnan had been killed.
The Eerie Sound Knights were notorious troublemakers, having made enemies in many districts. Quite a few people hated them, so the bounty was soon flooded with information—people claiming they knew or had seen one of the individuals, or knew where their family lived. Some even asserted they had a personal grudge against someone and could personally lead the way.
Shi Sanjiu also noticed the post. Xu Huo was right beside him, having just mentioned Dou Shengnan’s matter. It didn’t take a genius to figure out it was related to him, so he said, “I’ll have people set up some smoke screens in districts where evolution hasn’t been around long, to confuse the issue.”
Nie Xuan also contacted Xu Huo around the same time. The Special Defense Department’s arrangements were similar—they had exposed the bounty poster’s identity early on to shut up the players in District 014. After all, no one wanted the Eerie Sound Knights running rampant in their district, especially since their recent plundering of people in District 017 was still fresh in everyone’s minds.
But that still couldn’t stop everyone’s mouths. So the Special Defense Department dispatched some players to other districts to fabricate identities and whereabouts for Xu Huo and Butterfly Lady, in an attempt to divert attention.
Xu Huo understood that all of this was futile.
It was only a matter of time before the Eerie Sound Knights found him. They might even learn from District 011 that he had already begun time evolution. Of course, after Dou Shengnan’s death, Jin Feixue had remained inactive, likely to confirm whether his control over time power relied entirely on items.
As long as he hadn’t completely vanished, tracking down a person’s whereabouts in the game wasn’t too difficult.
“Don’t bother,” Xu Huo replied to Nie Xuan. “Jin Feixue will definitely wait until District 014 merges to show up. When that happens, it might not just be the Eerie Sound Knights coming. Be prepared.”
“District 014’s fusion was always going to face players from the entire game. What’s one more Eerie Sound Knights?” Nie Xuan’s tone was unyielding. “If they’re thinking of kicking us while we’re down, District 014 will make sure they never leave!”
Aside from the Eerie Sound Knights, others trying to uncover Xu Huo’s identity and history were also secretly investigating—like the Holy Sword Society, like District 011. However, thanks to the smoke screens set up by many players pretending to be him, the investigation wasn’t easy. Even if real information slipped through, verifying it one by one would take time.
Of course, the nobles of District 011 could easily tell that the Eerie Sound Knights weren’t looking for some “Butterfly Lady,” but for Xu Huo, the inheritor of Rose Castle.
As time passed, the names, identities, and even the strength of the individuals on the Eerie Sound Knights’ bounty began to be gradually revealed.
Aside from Xu Huo, Dr. Deng was uncovered as a former employee of Stellar Pharmaceuticals. Painting Woman changed faces constantly, her information sparse and fragmented, so no one paid her any attention. Butterfly Lady was a real person, but she had long since vanished from the game. The one who appeared later was most likely an impostor, and it was hard to trace who that was.
The one most exposed was Xu Huo. The people of District 011 sold him out completely—his real name, age, player level, and the suspicion that he was a triple-direction super evolver in mental, spatial, and temporal aspects—all of it was leaked piece by piece. Of course, no one dared to mention his relationship with Huahan Werner, nor did anyone dare to release footage of him killing members of the Herta family. Simply put, they said everything they could, just omitting his location.
Xu Huo had rarely returned to District 014 recently and had little contact with people. The Special Defense Department would absolutely keep his information confidential. Only District 011 could know this much.
The Eerie Sound Knights’ photos and videos tried to hide district information as much as possible. Of course, those who had seen Xu Huo in different districts could still identify him. Although his face was different, it seemed that the identities of “Xu Huo” and “Butterfly Lady” overlapped.
But only the bounty poster, the Eerie Sound Knights, needed to verify the truth. Everyone else was just spouting a mix of truth and lies.
There were also plenty of hired trolls mixed in. Before long, everyone in the photos and videos was labeled a triple-direction evolution genius, even Dr. Deng. Someone even fabricated a hidden big-shot identity for him. Many people swore they had seen these individuals use their evolution powers, and freshly made videos appeared as well. For a time, “Xu Huo” seemed to spring up like bamboo shoots after rain in various districts.
Shi Sanjiu and Pu Yu also contributed. When it came to spreading rumors, these two had unimaginable influence. Soon, there were “eyewitnesses” identifying Xu Huo’s identity, claiming he was actually a genius nurtured by a player family from an A-class wormhole point. Killing a Dou Shengnan was nothing. The Eerie Sound Knights dared to put a public bounty on him—this time, they had bitten off more than they could chew!
Whether it was deliberate misdirection or genuine attempts to earn the money, the flood of true-or-false information quickly turned the bounty into a joke. Many people were mocking and ridiculing the Eerie Sound Knights in various creative ways.
Before long, the bounty disappeared.
* * *
The weather was clear. In a certain district of an A-class wormhole point, the Kenfina family, the top player family in the district, had gathered over a thousand key members for a dividend banquet.
This banquet wasn’t just to celebrate the family’s recent harvest, but more importantly, to solidify morale and make the Kenfina family more united.
At that moment, the grand palace was filled with laughter and joy. With a “ding,” the family patriarch, Oli Kenfina, stood in the center of the hall. His gaze gradually silenced the crowd, and everyone turned to look at him.
Just as this white-haired old man was about to begin his triumphant speech, a gentle breeze blew in from the main entrance. Accompanied by footsteps, the Kenfina family members began to freeze in place, one by one, starting from the doorway. By the time the footsteps reached the center of the palace, only Oli Kenfina remained free to move in the entire hall.