Chapter 2934: The Anomaly
"No, that's not right either," Yuan Yao said. "If this instance was really born because of Brother Xu, why would he become the instance's big boss? He's not even here!"
"It's indeed strange. Why are so many people claiming to have seen Xu Huo? Are there really that many people who have seen him?" Zhou Ning said. "He's still wearing a mask right now."
As things stood, the three identities of Xu Huo, X, and the current number one player saving X Country were not unified. Why did the people of Ting City know that the arsonist was Xu Huo, and also know that Xu Huo was the one who declared war on the outer zone players?
Yan Jiayu turned to look at Sima Xiao'er. "Team Leader Wu said before that he received an encrypted message claiming Xu Huo had a falling out with the Special Defense Department?"
"That's right," Sima Xiao'er said. "Wasn't he just hallucinating?"
"Maybe it wasn't a hallucination." Yan Jiayu thought for a moment, then said, "Don't waste time standing here. You guys find a way to leave Ting City and contact the outside. Keep an eye on the game platform at all times. Doesn't Xu Huo's residence have a reinforced secret room? Go inside and try to see if you can reach the outside."
"Then you guys be careful too." Sima Xiao'er and a few colleagues turned back.
"What the hell is going on?" Shen Xin was completely confused. "Why does it suddenly seem like everyone knows Brother Xu's identity?"
"It's not because of that," Yan Jiayu said. "I suspect Ting City has entered some kind of mental-type instance, or has been affected by a large-scale mental-type item."
"The information Team Leader Wu received seems absurd, but it actually makes sense. Although the Special Defense Department isn't as wary of Old Xu as the military is, they still have doubts in their hearts. They're even worried that one day Xu Huo might suddenly turn hostile or lose his mind."
"It's common for players to have unstable mental states. Other players are fine—no matter how out of control they get, things can be cleaned up. But Old Xu is different. If he were to break with the Special Defense Department, it would be a devastating blow to the country. So they rely on Xu Huo while also guarding against him."
This wasn't hard to understand. No one could entrust an entire country completely to a single person, even if that person was an absolute powerhouse. Xu Huo had the strength to turn the tide, but expecting him alone to handle everything during the fusion period would exhaust him to death. So compared to placing hope in one ultra-strong individual, the X Country government preferred to see a hundred flowers bloom.
The reservation in attitude meant a lack of complete trust, and complete trust itself was an incredibly difficult thing. Even parents and children, husbands and wives couldn't achieve it, let alone the Special Defense Department and an unattached player.
So Team Leader Wu's greatest inner fear was Xu Huo losing control.
"What about the others?" Liu Jia said. "Many people probably haven't even heard Brother Xu's name."
"It's most likely related to the arsonist," Yan Jiayu said. "Someone is operating in the shadows, not only implanting the impression in Ting City residents that Old Xu has lost control, but also shaping him into a terrorist hostile to the country."
"Could it be the Eerie Sound Knights?" Shen Xin said. "There are rumors circulating within the Special Defense Department that Dou Shengnan was killed by Brother Xu. The others want revenge but can't kill him anytime soon, so they're using this method to make the Special Defense Department target him?"
"That might be a bit difficult," Zhou Ning said coldly. "Given the current situation, not to mention that Xu Huo would never do such a thing, even if he really killed someone while out of control, the Special Defense Department would choose to turn a blind eye."
The words were harsh, but that was the reality. Even if the Special Defense Department now had the strength to go head-to-head with Xu Huo, they wouldn't do it, let alone when they clearly didn't.
"Could their goal simply be to slap Brother Xu in the face?" Yuan Yao said. "Killing people on Brother Xu's turf—isn't that a blatant provocation? Wait, does that mean we're in danger!"
Zhou Ning glanced at him. "The Special Defense Department people are looking for an exit. We'll search the city for traces of the Eerie Sound Knights. If we can't fight them head-on, at least we need to learn something about their situation."
"That's right," Yan Jiayu agreed. "Since we're trapped here, there should be Eerie Sound Knights members trapped here too. They can't have sent their entire force. Let's find them first."
The group quickly formulated a plan and relayed the message through encrypted channels to players scattered throughout Ting City. Of course, they alone weren't enough, but since the other side wanted to smear Xu Huo, they would inevitably have to show themselves in public again. That way, everyone in Ting City could be their eyes!
The brightly lit city fell into chaos. Players and ordinary residents were all rushing about. Amid the panic and fear, this night seemed especially long.
At the same time, Xu Huo had just dealt with a group of outer zone players holed up in a small county town.
Originally, this small county town wasn't on his itinerary. But while handling a group of cannibal players in another provincial capital, he unexpectedly discovered someone who had been tracking him. As soon as this person realized Xu Huo knew about it, he immediately turned and ran.
Xu Huo followed him to this small county town, never expecting to find over twenty A-level players lurking there!
To be honest, most A-level players were more stable than B-level players. First, there weren't as many A-level instances as B-level ones. Second, clearing A-level instances usually took more time. Aside from those lucky enough not to directly enter an instance range and able to run wild, most had to obediently complete their instances.
Moreover, because Zone 014 was in a special period, any concentration of A-level players would become a target of close surveillance. A small county town gathering over twenty A-level players, even if they were there to complete an instance, would attract the Special Defense Department's attention. They couldn't possibly be left completely unchecked.
According to the information Xu Huo had received, there were no large instances near the small county town, though there were two random instance entrances. But because the trigger points were small, few ordinary people accidentally entered, so the area was relatively stable, with few local zone players active nearby.
He looked around and discovered that besides these outer zone players, some local zone players were hiding about thirty kilometers from the county town, including some familiar faces.
Besides Tan Yang and Huang Junjie, whom he had dealt with multiple times, there was also a certain bed-and-breakfast owner named Zong Lanzi, whom he had met outside the space rift before.
Calling it a bed-and-breakfast was misleading—it was actually a super evolver club. The people traveling with her were probably also super evolvers. Although they were staying together with Tan Yang and other player organization members, the two groups kept their distance, clearly not sharing confidences.
Xu Huo took out his communicator and dialed Huang Junjie's number.
"Don't look around," he said directly after the call connected. "What are you doing here?"
Huang Junjie's heart tightened. He thought for a moment before replying, "We came this time at Zong Lanzi's invitation. Apparently, some peculiar evolved creatures have appeared nearby."