Chapter 657: Don't You Want Revenge After Being Beaten?
"As long as the kid is fine." Xu Huo rarely showed a look of approval toward the Painting Woman. "You did well. I'll give you overtime pay later."
The Painting Woman lowered her head shyly, then added, "A few people got away."
"Don't worry about them. The Special Defense Department will handle it." Xu Huo took Tong Tong's hand and walked out of the secret room, turning left and right through several chambers until they reached one with a window. "We'll go down from here."
But instead of moving, he stood by the window without moving. The Painting Woman turned to look at the wall behind her. "Is there something there?"
Xu Huo stared at the wall covered in graffiti. Only after the person standing behind it had moved away did he withdraw his gaze. He lowered his head and smiled at Tong Tong. "Are you scared to go down from the window?"
Tong Tong's small eyes glanced toward the window, his face clearly showing fear, but he immediately said, "I'm a man. I'm not scared. Even when those bad guys caught me, I didn't cry!"
"Then who was the one dropping golden beans earlier?" Xu Huo teased him.
"That was Sister Li Chun hurting me!" Tong Tong blushed as he defended himself, then stepped forward and hugged Xu Huo's leg. "You jump. If I cry, I'm not a citizen of Country X!"
Xu Huo chuckled. He scooped the child up with one arm and held the strings with the other. "Close your eyes if you're scared."
He and the Painting Woman leaped from the ninth floor. To take care of the child, he deliberately slowed their descent and landed lightly.
Setting the boy on the ground, he said to him, "Go home with the uncles and aunties from the Special Defense Department."
Tong Tong grabbed his clothes. "Brother, won't you and Sister Li Chun come with me? The uncles and aunties from the Special Defense Department are totally unreliable. Those bad guys kidnapped me right from under their noses!"
The Special Defense Department members who had quickly surrounded them looked somewhat embarrassed. Xu Huo pressed down on the child's head. "Don't talk like that in the future, or someone might hit you from behind."
"They'll take you back. I have other things to do."
"What things?" The little child's face was full of adult-like worry. "What if those bad guys come to kidnap me again? I'm not scared, but I'm worried about Mom and Dad. You know, older people are easily frightened."
Xu Huo ruffled his hair. "What I'm going to do is take care of this. Once it's done, no one will dare come to our house anymore."
A light, casual sentence, but the surrounding Special Defense Department members could feel a storm brewing, especially Team Leader Wu, who rushed over. "Xu Huo..."
Xu Huo turned to him, his expression calm. "Did you receive the big gift I sent the Special Defense Department?"
Team Leader Wu's expression was complicated. "That water is very useful. Even mildly poisoned people can recover in a short time."
"Good." Xu Huo patted Tong Tong's back, signaling him to go over. "The child is in your hands. I hope you can send him home safely."
Team Leader Wu took Tong Tong's hand. "Don't worry this time. I'll escort him personally. There won't be any more slip-ups... Whatever you're planning, be careful."
After borrowing a car from the Special Defense Department, Xu Huo waved goodbye to Tong Tong and left with the Painting Woman.
"Team Leader, should we send someone to follow him?" a team member asked. "I have a feeling he's not up to anything good..."
Team Leader Wu sharply cut him off. "He's not a Special Defense Department player. Whatever he does is none of the department's business. Has the cleanup of the building started?"
The team member's scalp tingled at the reprimand, and he immediately organized people to enter the building.
Xu Huo drove to their previous base.
After confirming that the water in the reservoir was effective, the Special Defense Department drove all the xenomorphs toward Wen Mountain. The follow-up would be handled there, so the blockade around headquarters was lifted, allowing Zheng Liang and the others to get out.
Once communications were restored, Zheng Liang received a call from a friend, who told him the information he had requested had been found.
The person Nie Xuan had sent to pick them up was also a player. After overhearing the phone conversation through a prop, he immediately reported the matter to Nie Xuan.
"Smuggling channel?" Nie Xuan hadn't expected that, under the current circumstances, someone was still operating across the border.
It wasn't unusual for some shady channels to exist between countries, but after the player incident broke out, the border had become Country X's first line of defense. Especially after the small-scale war, all the old cross-border channels had been cleaned up.
Of course, the situation was different now. Ordinary military force might not be enough to stop players, so he made a call to verify.
The channel his subordinate mentioned wasn't on the border guards' elimination list, meaning it was a new one.
"Don't interfere with this line for now. Just monitor it. I'll report this up the chain." Nie Xuan ended the call, sat alone in silence for two seconds in front of the conference table, then chuckled lightly. "Looks like your space prop isn't as useful as you thought."
After a brief pause, he dialed Team Leader Wu's number. "Has the prop we discussed giving to Xu Huo been finalized?"
*
After leaving the Special Defense Department headquarters, Zheng Liang relayed the purchased information to Xu Huo.
"This line was opened by a new player, but they've only been bringing people into the country from abroad, not sending anyone out..." Zheng Liang said hesitantly. "There are foreign identity documents available, but it's chaos overseas right now, with viruses raging. I still think it's too risky."
"I'm taking Li Chun with me." Xu Huo was writing a list, not even looking up. "Prepare one set of identity documents."
Seeing his stubborn attitude, Zheng Liang was furious. "Fine, fine, fine. You're tough, you're amazing. Go ahead and wade into the muddy waters!"
Gu Yu came over and patted him. "You've been up all night. Go rest."
Zheng Liang left in a huff. Gu Yu walked behind Xu Huo and, after a moment, bit her lip and said, "I actually guessed what you're planning. Does it have to be done now? If you wait until your player level is higher, the success rate would be better, right? There's no need to rush."
"Doing it now will have the best effect." Xu Huo stopped and looked at her. "I don't do things without confidence."
Gu Yu couldn't help but smile. "I know you plan ahead. Anyway, you have a ticket. If things go wrong, you can escape into the game. At worst, you can come back later."
Xu Huo nodded slightly in agreement.
Seeing this, Gu Yu didn't disturb him further. "Let me know if you need any help. We can handle the preparations."
As she was about to leave, she heard Xu Huo ask, "Have all the players returned?"
Gu Yu's voice relaxed. "Most are back. The rest might have entered the game. We should know in a couple of days."
"I'll compensate everyone afterward." Xu Huo added, "The antidote you have will last for a while. Check the specifics yourselves."
Gu Yu nodded and left the room.
Xu Huo had already finished his list. He put down his pen and opened his personal panel, searching for space props through the bounty platform. "Fifty-Fifty Vent" had been used once in Zone 014 and couldn't be used again. Although his plan didn't require a space prop for now, it was better to be prepared.
(End of Chapter)