Chapter 637: Xu Huo's Good Luck
The rope pulled Mr. Lin toward the ground. He struggled to kick off his shoes and fell straight down, but midair, he adjusted his position, landing on his back. Then several strong jets of air shot out from his back, sending him soaring high again!
"Bang!" A sniper bullet struck his shoulder from a distance. Mr. Lin wobbled in the air, and a leaf-shaped item appeared in his hand. Gripping it, he followed the leaf's erratic descent back toward the ground.
Special Defense Department personnel were still on the ground. Before he could land, a player shot up from below and flew rapidly toward him!
The leaf item's falling trajectory was irregular, but the flying player's path shifted constantly as well, following wherever the leaf went. Mr. Lin tried to shoot him down, but before he could raise his gun, a sniper shot pierced him. Then the flying player grabbed him, and the two accelerated toward the ground.
"Jelly bed!" A ten-meter-square bed appeared on the ground. The two plunged headfirst into the jelly, leaving only their feet sticking out.
The player who used the jelly bed pulled out his companion. Then another player tossed out a stone-plate-shaped item, which flew directly under Mr. Lin's feet. As it imprinted on his soles, it welded both feet to the plate. Another player stuck a thumb-sized metal item on his leg. With a "hum," the major bones in Mr. Lin's body shattered simultaneously!
Only then did someone loop a rope around him and pull him out. The Special Defense Department players cautiously kept a distance of over three meters from him. Several capture clamps were fastened around his neck and limbs, with no one holding them—the other ends simply lay on the ground, just to restrict his movements.
"I didn't expect the Special Defense Department to be so cowardly, not even daring to touch the things on me!" Mr. Lin taunted loudly.
Unfortunately, the Special Defense Department players weren't provoked. Two more players approached with instruments, opening a detector to scan him. They found several energy fluctuation values and nodded to the person beside them.
Mr. Lin was knocked unconscious by the remotely controlled capture clamps.
He wasn't out for long—he woke up in ten minutes—but the location had changed to a vehicle. This time, not only were his hands and feet bound with iron chains, but his clothes had also been stripped off. Instrument wires were attached to the side of his head and chest, and there was an unbearable pain in his back.
In front of him was a transparent glass screen. Someone sat behind it, but due to the item, he couldn't make out their face.
"Phone, belt, buttons, cufflinks—all items. Pretty wealthy." Nie Xuan, sitting behind the screen, spoke. "I believe that with your skills, you shouldn't be afraid to enter an instance, and you're not short on a couple of tickets. Yet you refused to leave even when surrounded. You must have a very important reason."
Being stripped wasn't a big deal, but Mr. Lin felt something connected to the wound on his back.
"You tampered with something inside my body?"
"A fatal micro-capsule." Nie Xuan said, "The opening is connected to the line on your back. Whether you forcefully break free or escape into an instance, once the line is pulled, you'll die from poison within three seconds."
"I thought the Special Defense Department was aboveboard, but I didn't expect such dirty tactics!" Mr. Lin fumed.
"Compared to you, we're amateurs. You didn't hesitate to drag so many ordinary people into this. Do you know how many children under ten have been swept up by the black rain so far?" Nie Xuan paused. "The capsule is just an insurance policy. I believe that if you wanted to run, you could still escape successfully. Yet you're still here wasting time with me... The item controlling the black rain—are you holding it?"
The values on the instrument changed. Nie Xuan's expression shifted slightly, and he signaled his men to start the car before continuing, "You didn't carry the item on you. You left it somewhere?"
"Items usually can't be used separated from their holder. Even if dropped, the distance can't be too far. Starting from the neighborhood where you were hiding, it shouldn't take long to walk out of the black rain's range."
Mr. Lin laughed after hearing this. "You can figure out that the black rain is caused by an item, so you should also know it's a high-level item. The range of a high-level item is beyond your imagination. Forget leaving this neighborhood—even if you drag me to the neighboring province, you can't stop the black rain!"
"I can kill you." Nie Xuan naturally knew that high-level items couldn't be judged by common sense.
"Go ahead!" Mr. Lin laughed louder. "If I die, someone will take over that item soon!"
Nie Xuan's eyes darkened for a moment, but he quickly composed himself. He strode out of the car and said to the players waiting outside, "Immediately use instruments to conduct a carpet search of the surrounding neighborhood. Don't miss a single inch of mud!"
"Team Leader Nie, can our instruments really detect high-level items?" a player asked.
"If high-level items also contain elements found in most known items, the instruments can detect them. Also, don't let any people or animals that haven't escaped from the neighborhood slip away," Nie Xuan said.
The Special Defense Department's detection instruments were essentially energy sensors—advanced machines brought back from other game districts. They could react to the energy released by items, displayed as fluctuations in detection values. However, they also responded to certain special metals and radioactive materials, so it couldn't be confirmed whether they worked on all items, especially high-level ones.
But there was no better option now, as the other two search operations had also returned empty-handed.
"Team Leader!" The secretary hurried over, looking grim. "I just communicated with Li Chun. She's unwilling to help."
Nie Xuan frowned. "Contact Xu Huo. He should have a way."
The call went to Xu Huo, but not from the Special Defense Department—it came from a secret safe base.
"Mr. Xu," the old man's powerful voice came through the phone, "At this critical moment of national crisis, I hope you can lend a hand. I, and the entire nation, will remember your kindness."
Xu Huo stood in the vast wilderness holding an umbrella, his eyes fixed straight ahead, his emotions unchanged by the no fewer than ten numbers constantly jumping and climbing in his field of vision. The Silent Figure was tucked in his pocket. He rested the umbrella on his shoulder and lit a cigarette with one hand.
Holding the cigarette to cover his mouth and nose, he said, "Li Chun's help in this matter is very limited. Even if she wrote down the entire Jing City in her name, it would be hard to catch those players. But I do have some good news."
"Southwest of the Special Defense Department Headquarters, at the foot of Wen Mountain, there's a sizable low-lying area. The Special Defense Department probably hasn't stationed players there. I encountered twelve players here."
"Maybe the black rain item is here. Even if it's not, this should be an important place."
"I'll send players to rendezvous with you," the old man said. "Wen Mountain and the Special Defense Department Headquarters will also be transferred to Li Chun's name."
Xu Huo didn't say much and hung up. He exhaled smoke and smiled. "What good luck."
(Chapter End)