Chapter 3101: Restart Law
Xu Huo temporarily set aside Ding Xiang's return ticket and instead purchased a return ticket to other cities from Under Dimension. He still planned to visit Yangtao City.
Ding Xiang guessed that he might have boarded the island from Yangtao City, and wanting to go back for revenge was understandable. However, Alton Corporation had branches in many cities, and Yangtao City had likely sent quite a few players as well. Naturally, there were plenty on Challenge Island too. Going back now might mean he'd already run into trouble, so there was no need for him to make the trip personally.
"I'll trouble you," Xu Huo had already decided.
Ding Xiang didn't say more. "I'll get you what you want as soon as possible."
With that, the two left Challenge Island.
Xu Huo returned to the vicinity of Yangtao City via the ticket. This time, no identity verification was needed. The blockade barrier outside the city had already been broken by players who returned earlier. Chaos reigned at the moment, with the Enforcement Team and Armed Robots arresting people everywhere, and no one was paying attention to the blockade barrier for now.
He entered Yangtao City openly, not seeking out Alton Corporation's "middleman," but heading straight to the cabin area.
Due to the unrest in the city, residents of the cabins were prohibited from going out. Multiple Armed Robots had sealed off the perimeter, completely cutting off inside from outside.
Both old and new residents were extremely uneasy. Some used the excuse of needing food to try to go out and buy supplies, but the robots coldly warned them not to approach the cordon, or they would be considered openly resisting law enforcement. In that case, it wouldn't just be a simple arrest—the Armed Robots had the authority to shoot them on the spot.
The residents gathered together to think of a way, hoping to find some "back door."
Unfortunately, the "acquaintances" who had introduced them here, or the old friends who had been living in Yangtao City, were now too busy to care about them. At a time like this, staying home was the safest option. They just needed to wait patiently for the Enforcement Team to deal with the troublemaking players, and life would go back to normal.
Xu Huo entered the cabin and saw the same people he had come in with earlier. The young man still hadn't managed to move out of the cabin. After days of setbacks, his expression was listless. The middle-aged woman had bruises on her face and had lost the confidence she had when she first arrived. The middle-aged man, however, was in decent spirits, though a bit irritable.
Xu Huo hadn't made any special modifications to his appearance, so when he appeared, the others recognized him. Seeing him come in from outside without any alarm sounding, they felt a flicker of interest, but since they weren't very familiar with him, they didn't dare approach rashly.
Xu Huo was looking for the mother who had mentioned "Player Home" to him before.
She was still somewhat delirious, muttering to herself that her son was a player and that since there was trouble outside now, he must be out there helping.
"I'm about to go to Player Home. Has your son sent you any news?" he said to her. "Any message will do."
The woman quickly grabbed his hand. "Don't go, don't go. Once you go in there, you can't come out, you can't come out..."
Xu Huo gently but firmly held her thin hand. "Do you want to find out what happened to him?"
The woman froze, momentarily uncomprehending, then said after a moment, "He's already dead. Someone told me..."
Xu Huo calmly waited for her to calm down before continuing, "District 025 has a Case Restart Law. We can file a complaint at City Hall. Then your son's file will be unsealed, and no matter how he died, it can be reinvestigated."
The woman's eyes slowly focused on his face, and she stammered, "I remembered wrong. He's not dead. He told me he went to find his friends. He used to send me messages..."
"You've been waiting here for ten years. Isn't it to wait for an answer?" Xu Huo said.
If she only wanted to muddle through life clinging to the idea that "her son might not be dead," her life should have returned to normal long ago. It was precisely because she had already guessed the outcome that she couldn't let go of this obsession.
"Who are you?" the woman suddenly stared at him, bewildered. "Do we know each other?"
Xu Huo raised his hand, and a large stack of paper records about "Player Home" that she had hidden in her room fell into his grasp.
Now that terminals were widespread, writing was no longer necessary. But for safety—or what she considered safety—she had written down all the information she collected with a pen and stored it under her bed along with the Player Home brochure her son had copied.
Perhaps they thought it was unimportant, or that an ordinary person like her couldn't cause much trouble. She had repeatedly appeared near the Player Home where her son had disappeared, yet no one paid her any attention. She had recorded the daily comings and goings of Player Home staff, their rest, meal, and medication times, and some players she had seen who later vanished.
This information wasn't particularly useful—just surface-level details—but it was enough.
To ensure the fairness of the law, District 025 had a Case Restart Law. Any citizen had the right to use the Restart Law for any matter, regardless of the nature of the previous case. For example, regarding the woman's son's death, it might have been recorded in the files as a normal death from degeneration, with no other implications. But as long as she filed a request for investigation, the government department, after confirming she was of sound mind, was obligated to intervene and formally open a case.
The widespread use of lie detectors in this district made things very convenient. What would have required massive manpower and resources in other districts might not even take much time in District 025—just questioning the key personnel would suffice.
Of course, there were many ways to manipulate the process. For ordinary people, even if they used this law, the final result might be that the case was dropped. After all, in this environment, fabricating evidence wasn't difficult.
So someone needed to help from the sidelines.
Ding Xiang was from the Inspection Department, directly under the District General Government, and had the authority to access internal files. From her position, she could obtain a lot of information about the Yangtao City Player Home. This would ensure, as much as possible, that the information from ten years ago hadn't been tampered with. At the very least, none of the Player Home personnel involved could escape. If they were dead, that was another matter.
Due to legal restrictions, government personnel could not directly use interrogation methods on ordinary citizens. But Xu Huo didn't have such concerns. As long as he found the people, he could get what he wanted. Bypassing the heavily guarded Player Home would save the most time and avoid unnecessary trouble.
Given District 025's strength, one or two players from other districts couldn't do much. So taking the official route was a good option. He wouldn't have to go through all the trouble of investigating himself. As long as the case was filed under the Restart Law, someone would naturally deliver the findings to Yangtao City.
As for how far the operation could go, it depended on the efficiency of the District Government and the Yangtao City Government personnel.
Seeing her written records taken out, the woman's first reaction was fear, then anger. She tried to snatch them back, but Xu Huo didn't dodge. Instead, he handed them back to her. "If your son was really killed by Player Home, I can help you get revenge."