Chapter 2976: He's a Bit Strange
Gu Yu gave her a look that was hard to describe. If Xu Huo were really that kind of person, why would she even bring it up? Precisely because Xu Huo wasn't that kind of person, because he still had a sense of right and wrong in his heart, he was more easily coerced by others. Rather than letting him end up in a dilemma, it was better for him not to get involved from the start.
"I'll consider it carefully." Xu Huo nodded.
After that, the three of them skipped the topic. Gu Yu had been helping out in Ting City for the past couple of days, and now that things there were almost wrapped up, she had to rush to another city to help at a friend's request.
After eating, she left. Yu Qingqing followed Xu Huo and the Painting Woman to his residence.
Once inside the house, Yu Qingqing hesitated for a moment before saying, "Cousin, I think Tang Guangbo is a bit strange."
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow slightly. "Strange how?"
"Wasn't he always on very good terms with Ms. Fang? He was like a dutiful son, always attending to her every need. But I saw them a couple of times recently, and I noticed Ms. Fang didn't look too good. She seemed a bit haggard."
Yu Qingqing continued, "At first, I thought Tang Guangbo might be cheating on her. Ms. Fang is middle-aged and this is her second marriage—well, not quite married yet. But since Uncle Xu's second marriage was so happy, and she got scammed so badly in her middle age, I decided to tail Tang Guangbo for a couple of days to help her get some payback."
"But I didn't catch him cheating. Instead, I found out that every night, he locks himself in a small compartment in his office, writing and drawing. Except he wasn't writing on paper—he was writing and drawing in the air. I couldn't make out what it was."
"I suspected he might have gone crazy from doing psychological counseling for players all day. So while he was away, I sneaked a camera device into his office."
"This is what I recorded." She opened her communicator and projected the saved video footage into the middle of the room.
The shot started with her enlarged face as she adjusted the angle facing the desk. After finishing, she even fixed her hair and made a funny face at the lens before leaving the office.
But a minute later, she appeared in the frame again. Her purpose was clear—she reached out and grabbed the device, and then the footage went black.
"Isn't that strange?" Yu Qingqing turned off her communicator. "That's everything I recorded."
"The thing is, I have no memory of going back in there a second time. It wasn't until a few days later, when I came out of an instance and planned to check the results, that I found the device in my own bag."
She said with a lingering fear, "Could it be that Tang Guangbo hypnotized me? He didn't plant some kind of suicide suggestion in my head, did he?"
"Have you had any memory lapses during this time?" Xu Huo asked.
Yu Qingqing thought carefully and shook her head. "Except for the time I spent in instances, I've been carrying a recorder with me at all times."
"Then it shouldn't be a big problem," Xu Huo said. "Tang Guangbo is from another district. From now on, don't go near him."
Yu Qingqing couldn't hide her surprise. "He's an Outer Zone Player? Why didn't you tell me before!"
"I did warn you not to go for psychological treatment," Xu Huo said.
"Your hint was way too roundabout!" Yu Qingqing exclaimed. "How was I supposed to guess he was an Outer Zone Player? After all, he's been with Ms. Fang since the very beginning of the evolution, and he has experience working abroad... That experience was fake too, I suppose."
"What about Ms. Fang..."
Xu Huo had some understanding of Tang Guangbo's situation through the Special Defense Department. He had always had doubts about this person, and the Special Defense Department had been keeping an eye on him. However, he had indeed helped a lot. As long as he hadn't come to 014 with malicious intent, the government wasn't planning to interfere with him.
Before the district fusion, Tang Guangbo seemed to have developed something that could promote the mental evolution of players. Xu Huo wasn't sure what it was exactly, but from what Nie Xuan had revealed, it was mostly hypnosis combined with other methods. It hadn't yet entered the experimental stage.
For an academic fanatic like Tang Guangbo, it was normal for him to do things that ordinary people couldn't understand in pursuit of his research at any time. But current signs indicated that, unlike Dr. Zhang, he hadn't been experimenting on living people. His research leaned more toward theory, and without a new breakthrough, there was naturally nothing to be radical about.
The government also wouldn't allow him to become another Dr. Zhang. They had already arranged people around him under the guise of protection—both close protection and remote surveillance, leaving no gaps.
"I understand the situation. I'll handle it later," Xu Huo said. "The hypnotic amnesia was just a warning. Don't be so reckless next time."
"It's not my fault. I just think the Special Defense Department guys are useless. They didn't even tell you about Ms. Fang's situation." Yu Qingqing felt that the Special Defense Department's treatment of Xu Huo wasn't good enough, at least not caring enough about his family.
"Is he also a Mental Evolver?" she asked again. "How does he compare to you?"
"I don't know." Xu Huo said indifferently, "If you have nothing else to do, go home first."
"You're brushing me off again." Yu Qingqing knew that pestering him about things he didn't want to talk about was useless, so she pulled a box out of her luggage compartment. "I brought you something from outside. It's good stuff!"
"I know." Xu Huo's expression didn't change. "Random instances are appearing everywhere. Go straight home and don't wander around."
Yu Qingqing nodded. "I'll buy a few things in Ting City and then head back. You should go home early too."
After Yu Qingqing left, Xu Huo opened his communicator and began browsing the hot news from various countries in District 014.
Beside him, the Painting Woman opened the box and pulled out a few pieces of ore used for making props, along with some dazzlingly beautiful gems. She wasn't interested in the ore, but she liked the gems very much. Then she pulled out several custom-made accessories, like brooches and cufflinks. Finally, she took out a bottle of potion with a label on it from the box.
"Childbirth Secret Recipe?" The Painting Woman turned to ask Xu Huo, "What is a Childbirth Secret Recipe?"
Xu Huo, sitting on the sofa, glanced up and felt a bit speechless. "It's an aphrodisiac."
The Painting Woman understood and asked again, "Are you going to take this medicine? Is your yang energy insufficient?"
"I don't need it. If you want to eat it, go ahead." Xu Huo's attention returned to his communicator.
The Painting Woman opened it and took a taste, then spat it out with a look of disgust, as if thinking, "How can something this terrible exist in the world?" She then unceremoniously tossed the potion into the trash can.
The situation in District 014 was stabilizing. Xu Huo was now mainly looking at the status of instances born within District 014.
Random instances caused the most casualties. Once inside, it was hard to get out in a short time. There were also quite a few high-level instances, but the number of A-rank instances wasn't large. For now, there were no ticket instances that no one had cleared.
Of course, some players had also found good things in instances. Based on the information voluntarily or involuntarily revealed, the quality of props in District 014 during the fusion period was quite good, which also indicated that the district's evolution quality was relatively high.
The Holy Sword Society hadn't shown its face. The Eerie Sound Knights had been completely wiped out. With no Super Players or other large player factions making a strong intervention, the integration phase between District 014 and the game should be considered a peaceful transition.