Chapter 384: The Closed Station
Just a single encounter and they wanted to kill him to silence him. Xu Huo was quite interested in what they were trading.
He went through several private channels and detective agencies to gather some recent information on the Rongxin Group, but unfortunately, their confidentiality measures were quite good. What could be leaked were only vague pieces of information. The only notable thing was that Rongxin's medical equipment company didn't just deal in equipment—it also dabbled in some arms business.
However, although District 011 ostensibly didn't allow private groups to trade weapons, in reality, as long as high taxes were paid, the government would turn a blind eye. Most large-scale groups were involved to some extent. With Rongxin Group's massive size, it would be strange if they weren't.
Investigating the black-market industries of a large group wasn't easy. The core figures within the group all had player protection, especially Vison Meni. According to the information exposed online, he was a B-rank player whose strength was no less than an A-rank player. He had only left the game later due to special reasons.
A blatant target was hard to strike. After observing that medical equipment company for two days, Xu Huo selected a logistics staff member. After figuring out their daily routine, he rented two rooms near their home and the places they frequented as surveillance points.
After setting all this up, he took some time to look after Zheng An.
The obituary for Zheng An was posted on Rongxin Group's public network the day after the Palace Night Tour, along with a fairly large funeral. Some videos of the funeral were released, but certainly no extra people would show up. After the funeral, the family was well appeased, and things were calm within Rongxin Group.
After shuttling between the two surveillance points for a few days, Xu Huo suddenly received a call from Shi Youzhi, saying he needed a helper for something and asking if Xu Huo was free.
Xu Huo naturally agreed and went directly to the base.
Shi Youzhi was giving orders to a team of suited men. Besides Xu Huo, there was another female player wearing casual clothes. As soon as she spoke, Xu Huo recognized her as "Tiger," the one who had shared a room with him during the Palace Night Tour.
"Let me introduce you. Xu Huo, Wan Tingfang." Shi Youzhi introduced them to each other, then pointed to two members of his own team. "These are Ai Jia and She Ping. They'll explain some precautions to you."
Shi Youzhi hurriedly finished speaking and had everyone board the vehicles. The eighteen people were split into three large trucks. These trucks were the largest tonnage vehicles in District 011, with pointed fronts, rounded rears, and a short conical load on top of the carriage. Parked there, they looked like small buildings. They weren't usually seen in the main city area. Xu Huo had encountered them twice—they were also hover-vehicles, never touching the ground while moving.
"Can a car this big even fly?" Wan Tingfang, whose appearance and build were somewhat androgynous and whose personality was carefree, slapped the silver metal shell.
"Hurry up and get in. Stop talking nonsense." She Ping glanced at him impatiently and entered the carriage first.
Each vehicle carried six people—two in the driving cabin and four entering from the rear.
After getting in, Xu Huo understood why only six people were assigned per vehicle. Most of the truck's carriage floor was filled with a silver cube, leaving only the curved rear area for a few people to sit. The vehicle seemed almost custom-built to the dimensions of this silver object.
"What is this thing? It's huge!" Wan Tingfang exclaimed as the vehicle began to hover and move.
"An Orbital Repair Instrument." Compared to She Ping's coldness, Ai Jia was much friendlier. "The tracks for the Dimension Train can't be repaired manually, so specialized repair instruments are needed."
Xu Huo glanced at the silver object. He couldn't see what was inside from the outside, but anything capable of repairing dimensional tracks must be a product of a technologically advanced game district.
"Can District 011 even repair tracks?" Wan Tingfang said in surprise. "No wonder so many players want to stay in District 011."
"Not exactly," Ai Jia said. "The Orbital Repair Instruments are transported from other districts. The Game Government has clear regulations that no district government can produce repair instruments privately."
"Did some tracks get damaged somewhere?" Xu Huo spoke up. "Did another Blood Alien attack happen?"
She Ping turned to look at him at this point. "You're the one who helped Brother Shi last time?"
"I wouldn't call it help. I heard you still had to go retrieve the carriage. I'm really sorry about that," Xu Huo said with a smile.
"Being able to help is a good thing," She Ping said. "Our Orbital Supply Department is unwelcome wherever we go, and we lose a lot of people. If you're willing to lend a hand at a critical moment, you might just save one of our colleagues. Retrieving a carriage is nothing."
"Don't let his cold face fool you. He's actually a warm-hearted person." Ai Jia put an arm around his shoulder and patted it, then said to Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang, "There's been a lot going on at the base lately. Everyone's in a bad mood."
Wan Tingfang looked a bit nervous. "Are we going onto the Dimension Train? Will we run into high-level players?"
"Don't worry about that. We're not getting on the train this time. A station in District 011 is damaged, and they called us over to fix it. There won't be any danger," Ai Jia said.
The convoy of three vehicles and eighteen people arrived at a station city two thousand kilometers from the base city at extremely high speed. Unlike the base city, this station was located in a stretch of desert. City buildings could be seen only from a great distance, while the station itself was a transparent, massive glass house. Two parallel tracks ran through the glass house, extending into the endless distance in both directions.
From the outside, the tracks didn't appear damaged, but as soon as people got off, they sank up to their knees in the sand.
"This sand feels like snow when you step on it. Is it a special regional product?" Xu Huo asked.
The others got out of the vehicles one after another. When Shi Youzhi walked over, he said, "It wasn't like this before. There was once a player attack incident, and this entire area was altered by a trait. No building could stand firm on the ground, so the city was forced to relocate. But it's fine for people to walk on."
After speaking, he waved his hand. Under the control of three personnel, the truck carriages opened from the top to both sides. Only then did Xu Huo see that the conical object on the roof was connected to the instrument inside the carriage.
Once the carriages were fully open, the instruments automatically activated under Shi Youzhi's authorization and slowly flew in a line toward the glass house.
The three massive repair instruments entered the station and landed on the tracks. Detection data was fed back to Shi Youzhi's controller, and a large amount of data was projected in midair. He glanced at it briefly and said with a smile, "Minor issue. Two hours and it'll be done."
The other personnel cheered. Shi Youzhi then said to Xu Huo and the others, "Most of our Orbital Supply Department's work is like this. Sometimes we have to wait for days. It's very tedious."
Wan Tingfang couldn't hide her envy. "I think a little tedium wouldn't be so bad."
Shi Youzhi didn't say anything more. His gaze returned to the working instruments. The other staff members weren't just standing around waiting for the machines to finish; they took up a defensive formation around the station.
Xu Huo's brow furrowed slightly. The next second, he saw She Ping draw a gun, aim it at a sand dune not far away, and pull the trigger...!
(Chapter End)