Chapter 666: The Man Xu Huo
"Players these days change faces more often than they change clothes. You can never be sure who anyone really is." Minister Fan cheerfully said to the person in charge of communications liaison from Country Y. "Country Y has invaded several small countries before. Could this be retaliation from someone else?"
The other party was so furious they directly cut off the communication.
It was only because District 014 hadn't suffered a devastating blow at the beginning of the game and had managed to preserve the concept of "nation" that major powers still had the energy for international socializing. Otherwise, they wouldn't have the strength left.
Yet this kind of public opinion battle was inevitable. Whether District 014's situation improved or worsened, whether the nation existed or not, wherever there were people, there would be hearts and minds to win. Having a positive image often had unexpected effects.
Minister Fan closed his notebook, his face glowing with satisfaction. "This makes me want to go have a drink. You don't run into such good news every day!"
The other team leaders wore similar expressions. Team Leader Wu clenched his fist and said, "This really saved face. I was thinking about how to slap them back, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly!"
"Xu Huo has some skills after all." Jiang Qiao smiled. "Good efficiency. At least the items we picked for him weren't wasted."
Although the photo didn't show his real face, the characteristic of moving between two safe zones was consistent with the item's effect.
"Is it really him?" Team Leader Chang asked amidst the joy. "Honestly, I find it hard to believe. A safe zone in Country Y, with so many players inside. Even if he succeeded, it shouldn't have been this fast. Less than half a day to finish the job."
"That's why any high-level player has strategic value." Team Leader Lu looked at Nie Xuan. "Team Leader Nie, what are your thoughts?"
Compared to the others' obvious delight, Nie Xuan remained as indifferent as ever. He said, "I'm thinking about how to handle the aftermath."
"Aftermath? You mean..." Team Leader Wu looked puzzled.
"The elite players in Country Y aren't weak. Xu Huo must have exposed many of his items during the process. When he fought the Twin Serpents before, many of his items were recorded and spread online. Several foreign players also escaped from the building where the Xu family child was held hostage. In a direct confrontation, they'll definitely report the information back afterward."
"Putting it all together, it's not hard to lock down his identity. Although the Special Defense Department also has strong combat players, they've never shown their faces and can't replace Xu Huo."
"Replace?" Team Leader Lu was slightly surprised. "You mean arranging someone to take credit for Xu Huo's achievement?"
Nie Xuan nodded. "The detox fungus incident already showed that safe zones can't fully defend against players. And this is still under the premise that District 014 temporarily has no C-level or above players. Remember when foreign zone players invaded before, and someone killed dozens of our players just based on a stolen list?"
"This situation is indeed worrying." Team Leader Wu said. "If the Xu family child had been killed this time, Xu Huo might have truly turned against the Special Defense Department."
Their relationship had never been smooth, and Xu Huo was an unpredictable person. A sudden fallout wasn't impossible. Setting aside his value as a player to Country X, just looking at this incident with Country Y—if he decided to take action, it would be impossible to guard against.
When safe zones became humanity's last bastion, an item that could turn metal to powder would be a nightmare for anyone.
Not to mention he had a player named Li Chun by his side who held a super item.
"I don't know what method he used to make that female player obey his every word." Team Leader Chang had interacted with Li Chun before and after the headquarters chaos. For the first time, he realized that silent people were harder to deal with than talkative ones. Simply put, she had a simple mind, stuck to her principles, and didn't care to engage with them.
Nie Xuan glanced at him. "The player who escaped from Li Chun's hands has returned from the instance. He found one of the Twin Serpents' leaders and revealed information about the super item."
Minister Fan narrowed his eyes. "Where is he?"
"Already dealt with. Along with everyone who contacted him, all electronic and written materials destroyed. He was interrogated before death. He wasn't stupid enough to sell this information in the game." Nie Xuan said. "Besides, since the foreign zone players left, there have been various speculations. But most people still believe the super item was taken by a high-level player. That's more reasonable."
After all, there were many witnesses.
"Good." Minister Fan crossed his hands on the table. "Xu Huo's family needs to be well protected. Move them to different locations regularly. No more kidnapping incidents. Also, does he have a relative who is also a player?"
"Yu Qingqing." Team Leader Wu said the name with a complicated expression. "Not the same kind of person as Xu Huo."
"Still, we need to take care of her appropriately." Minister Fan looked around the room, finally fixing his gaze on Team Leader Lu. "She's your responsibility."
Team Leader Lu agreed readily. "No matter how difficult she is, there's always a way to keep her in line."
"Are we being too considerate of Xu Huo?" Team Leader Chang hesitated. "I have no problem with preferential treatment for his family and generous rewards. What worries me is that he might be dissatisfied with the Special Defense Department's arrangements. Should we really send someone as a smoke screen to cover for him?"
"I don't think he cares about fame." Team Leader Wu said. "We'll explain it to him later. Doing this is also to prevent Country Y's players from retaliating against his family."
"That's true, but isn't a non-Special Defense Department player too strong?" Team Leader Chang said. "At least we should think about countermeasures. To put it bluntly, couldn't the Country Y safe zone incident repeat itself?"
"That's really not pleasant to hear." Jiang Qiao smiled. "Everyone knows about Wenshan Reservoir. Xu Huo's intentions are beyond doubt. He didn't haggle with the Special Defense Department. As for the Country Y safe zone, everyone knows the cause and effect. He wasn't just venting his own anger. At least I couldn't avenge our wrongfully killed compatriots. He did it. I respect him as a hero and trust his character unconditionally."
"Lanhua Safe Zone and Jiwei Safe Zone are so close. Looking at his choices, it's clear he's not someone who enjoys killing indiscriminately. In the end, the mental evaluation report from over a decade ago might not be accurate."
Jiang Qiao had more to say. Even if Xu Huo was truly antisocial, so far he hadn't done anything harmful to society and had made such great contributions. He sent back good finds from the game to the Special Defense Department without conditions. What more could anyone ask?
Besides, even if they tried to guard against him, could they actually succeed?
"Xu Huo didn't just go all out in the Country Y safe zone incident." Nie Xuan spoke at this point, his tone utterly calm. "He left a lot of room. What he did to the safe zone was only a lesson."
A lesson, not true revenge.
"Is the detailed report on the Black Rain incident out?" Minister Fan asked seriously.
(Chapter End)