Chapter 2972: His Advantage
When the hat was lifted, the child inside revealed a rosy-cheeked face, breathing steadily as he slept, completely undisturbed by the continuous crying around him.
"Still alive." Zong Lanzhi murmured.
"Zong... Zong!" The player who came with him, Jiang Ke, called out twice, his face pale as he asked, "What do we do now?"
"Send the bodies to the nearest temporary shelter." Zong Lanzhi said. "And these people, take them to a safe place too. Don't let them block the streets."
Jiang Ke turned to look at the pitch-black street, feeling a chill creeping up from his feet. He took a deep breath and called for the others to help.
At the same time, the Special Defense Department's emergency evacuation had also begun. With bloody examples right before their eyes, whether players or ordinary residents, everyone obediently followed the arrangements.
After three consecutive groups were sent away without any new cases of suffocation, the government side finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. But thinking that this was bought at the cost of so many lives, they couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in their hearts.
"Players act aggressively, but when handling national affairs, one must be gentle, and then gentler." Minister Ji said privately to Nie Xuan. "A single careless policy affects millions of families. You are usually cautious in your actions, but sometimes your methods are too tough, which isn't a good thing. In the future, at the Enforcement Headquarters, you must take this as a warning. The tougher Zong Lanzhi is, the more steady you must be."
Nie Xuan turned to look at him. "You're not planning to deal with Zong Lanzhi?"
Minister Ji sighed. "What else can we do? They are all Super Evolvers, important resources for Zone 014."
Nie Xuan revealed a mocking smile. "Always about the bigger picture. Are you telling me that with just a few deaths, Zone 014 would be finished?"
"When handling national affairs, you cannot act on impulse." Minister Ji's expression turned stern. "Judging everything by your own standards will eventually lead to big trouble... Besides, in the end, this was a judgment error by the players executing the orders. Even if we pursue joint liability, the punishments would be nothing more than a scratch to Zong Lanzhi."
"They are surging with momentum. Push out one Zong Lanzhi, and another will pop up. And Zong Lanzhi's greatest advantage right now is that he made a huge mistake."
Because he made a huge mistake, he would inevitably have to make concessions in the subsequent political games. And because of this mistake, divisions would arise between him and the various forces behind him. Keeping them in check against each other was always better than having them unite to cause trouble.
Nie Xuan remained silent.
"You know all this. But not everything in the world is black and white, and distinguishing right from wrong isn't always necessary." Minister Ji patted his shoulder. "I have high hopes for you. Swallow this anger. Do it for the future of the country."
While the government players were busy, Xu Huo wasn't idle either. He took the Painting Woman to search various parts of the city, hoping to find Instance Authorization documents or other clues by chance.
The two of them brought Big Mao along. Everywhere they went, papers flew through the air. The government players had already been notified in advance and did not interfere. Occasionally, other curious players came out to investigate, but upon seeing the abnormally flying papers, they all retreated.
Before they had covered much ground, Xu Huo discovered a villa area occupied by a Location Item. He stopped outside and, through the doors and windows of the Location Item, saw many people lying inside. They looked like they were sleeping, but their faces showed an abnormal red color, and some had red patterns growing on their necks and chins—likely poisoned.
Not finding any trace of players nearby, Xu Huo first sent the Painting Woman inside to investigate. Only after confirming that no one was there did he cut open the door of the Location Item and check the condition of the unconscious people inside.
"The patterns on their bodies are really pretty." The Painting Woman also looked at a few people, even pulling open one person's clothes to point at the red patterns growing from the center of their chest.
Xu Huo had already administered antidotes to a few of them. Seeing the red patterns gradually fade, he said, "Notify the Special Defense Department to come and pick them up."
The Painting Woman fiddled with the communicator for a moment, then nodded at him.
"Cough!" A young woman who had just received the antidote was the first to wake up. She looked around blankly, and when her gaze settled on Xu Huo, it took her a moment to react. Then, with a delighted expression, she said, "It's you! I know you! I've seen you on TV! Did you come to save us? Did you save me?"
The Painting Woman walked over and pulled the woman up, curiously circling around her. "You smell really nice. Much nicer than the others."
"I use perfume." The young woman quickly pulled out her phone to share. "It's this one."
The Painting Woman nodded, indicating that she wanted to buy it too.
The young woman's excitement was hard to contain. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at Xu Huo. "I've always wondered what the number one person in Zone 014 looks like. I never thought I'd actually see you in the flesh!"
She searched her pockets, then flipped open the inside of her coat, looking a bit embarrassed. "Um, could you give me an autograph? I'll definitely pass it down as a family heirloom to my descendants!"
Xu Huo took the pen she offered and drew an "X" on her clothes.
"I know the big shot X! So you're him!" The woman was beside herself with excitement. She spun around twice before whispering, "I met my idol!"
As her emotions fluctuated, the patterns that had just disappeared on her face began to grow back, and her face and neck started turning red again. Her eyes also looked abnormal.
"Calm down first." Xu Huo signaled her to settle down. "Don't you feel anything wrong?"
"I'm a little dizzy..." Before she could finish her sentence, her eyes closed and she collapsed toward the ground.
The Painting Woman grabbed her arm and pulled her up, looking at Xu Huo for instructions.
"Leave her here. Let the Special Defense Department handle it." Xu Huo glanced at the others who were waking up one by one, then turned and walked out.
The Painting Woman was decent enough not to just drop the woman on the stone floor. Instead, she used two other still-unconscious people as cushions.
The Special Defense Department arrived quickly. Having heard about the poisoning, they brought testing equipment and antidotes.
"Mr. Xu." The team leader immediately came forward to greet him.
"That's a Location Item. Move the people out before treating them. Be careful, and keep enough people both inside and outside." Xu Huo said.
The other nodded and immediately began making arrangements.
The Special Defense Department was experienced in rescue operations, so Xu Huo didn't need to worry about the follow-up. Just as he was about to leave, he saw several figures carrying people as they quickly passed through the mist.
Catching a glimpse of the Special Defense Department uniforms on the people being carried, he directly blocked their path and opened a Spiritual Gate to teleport them back.
The fleeing figures were initially confused, but the moment they saw Xu Huo, their expressions changed. They dropped the people on their backs and tried to run, but in the next second, under the intense mental pressure, their knees buckled, and they slammed straight onto the ground!