Chapter 963: I Want to See the Mayor
"If you want your mouth shut, you'd better keep talking." Gao Xiaoyan's attitude toward him was not as good as it had been before they arrived at the training base.
"You're pretty good at burning bridges." Xu Huo wasn't bothered by her threat. Instead, he said, "What if I told you that I planted a time bomb in Ren Man's spiritual world? With that thing in place, not only will he stop evolving, but he'll also collapse from repeatedly using his spiritual power..."
Watching the numbers above the heads of the people in the car jump rapidly, he continued, "Would you change your mind?"
Gao Xiaoyan paused, frowning at him. "Are you messing with me?"
Xu Huo leaned back in his seat, relaxed. "You can take a gamble. What I said might be a lie I made up on the spot."
Gao Xiaoyan's expression darkened. Just by looking at him, she couldn't tell what emotions the man in front of her was harboring—or rather, the expressions and postures she could see might still be part of his deliberate performance.
The man sitting next to Xu Huo stuck a smiley face badge on him and then asked, "You're lying. It's an excuse you made up to buy time and find a way to escape."
"If you say so." Xu Huo's tone was somewhat perfunctory. Seeing that the smiley face on the badge didn't change, he paused and changed his wording. "But I did do something to Ren Man."
The man put away the prop before looking at Gao Xiaoyan. "The prop doesn't work on him."
Gao Xiaoyan was a pragmatic person. She said directly, "You let Ren Man go, and I'll let you go."
"You still don't understand what I mean." Xu Huo smiled. "I can leave whenever I want. It's just that I'm particularly curious. If you don't believe me, ask Teacher Ai."
Luo Changren, weak and having just been beaten up, sat weakly nearby and asked the question everyone present wanted to ask: "What does all this have to do with you?"
"Haven't I told you before?" Xu Huo countered.
Luo Changren was stunned, recalling that two hours ago, he and Xu Huo had had a seemingly real yet fake in-depth conversation. At the time, he thought it was just an excuse. After all, a player who had completed a dungeon in a game zone—especially one that used an entire station as the dungeon venue—would basically never come back a second time. Would a dungeon player take responsibility for the aftermath of the dungeon area?
No one would believe it if he said it out loud. Even if one in ten thousand people had good intentions, they wouldn't have the leisure to finish the dungeon and then bother with the mess of the dungeon site!
Back when Luo Changren was still a player, he had the same thoughts and views. And he had even been a doctor for a few years.
Everyone living in this world has it hard. What gives you the right to pity and save others?
The living are all ants.
Who would have thought that someone actually did it and worked hard for it?
Luo Changren's shocked expression gradually turned into deep thought, mixed with shame. Compared to him, who had destroyed a third of the base station for his own selfish desires, Xu Huo's actions could be considered "saintly."
After learning Luo Changren's identity, Xu Huo had lost any intention of taking care of the weak and sick. He said to Gao Xiaoyan, "Teacher Ai and your mayor are old friends. A reunion after a long separation—I believe Mayor Gao would still be willing to see an old friend."
Gao Xiaoyan didn't want to agree directly, but before she could state her conditions, the man sitting across from her interrupted with a cold expression. "Do two things in exchange for W37 keeping its promise. If you refuse again, there's nothing more to say."
Their eyes met. After a brief standoff, Gao Xiaoyan backed down first. "When we get to the Government Hall, I'll contact the mayor. Whether she sees you or not is up to her."
As she spoke, she suddenly stood up, grabbed Xu Huo by the collar, and slammed him heavily against the car window. "If anything happens to Ren Man, I'll travel across the game world to kill you!"
From the moment she stood up to grabbing him, Xu Huo made no unnecessary moves. Only after she finished speaking and glared at him angrily did he calmly state a fact. "Do you think you can catch a player in the game world?"
"Threats like that only expose your lack of confidence."
He pushed her hand away and pointed his chin at the seat behind her. "Sit down."
Gao Xiaoyan suppressed her anger, gave him a cold look, and then clapped her hands before sitting back down.
The car drove through the streets of W37 Base City. Through the window, they could occasionally see people crying and begging for help. Entire blocks of houses were burning, and the rescue efforts of the Enforcement Team were just a drop in the bucket. On the main streets, people with obvious symptoms of infection were already running rampant. The entire city seemed to be gradually turning into hell.
Gao Xiaoyan and the others silently watched the scene outside. Especially when they saw people bypassing the players and rushing toward the car, shouting for the mayor to save them, the same grim expression appeared on their faces.
"A living hell..." Luo Changren looked at Gao Xiaoyan, on the verge of tears. "Gao Zhen, who led W37 to where it is today, has also changed. This base station has no hope..."
No one paid any attention to the words of a weakling. No one even looked at him.
With the Enforcement Team clearing the way, the car quickly arrived at the Tree Crown Pillar. The commotion at the laboratory had mostly subsided, and the crowd had been evacuated. The group had an unimpeded path to the base's Government Hall—a building with only four floors, standing alone at the edge of a Tree Crown Pillar, overlooking the city from a height.
Xu Huo, Luo Changren, and the detained Shangguan Xi, Kuang Wenjun, and Pan Qiao all entered the waiting hall on the first floor. Also there was Zhu Feiyun, his face bruised and swollen.
His resentful gaze felt almost tangible, stabbing into Xu Huo's face. Xu Huo turned back and greeted him. "What a coincidence."
If Zhu Feiyun hadn't been held down, he would have pounced. He glared at Xu Huo hatefully. "Why did you impersonate me! Why did you impersonate me!"
Not only did a bunch of Enforcement Team players inexplicably surround and attack him, but the baseball cap guy, after confirming they had caught the wrong person, even beat him up to vent his anger!
He never thought that being a player could be so humiliating. He hadn't even done anything yet, and he got beaten up!
"Can only you wear a clown suit?" Xu Huo replied indifferently. "If you want to blame someone, blame the Enforcement Team for having bad eyesight and mistaking people. My clown suit is quite different from yours."
Zhu Feiyun was so angry he screamed, and only stopped when the baseball cap guy pressed his head into the chair. Then the baseball cap guy stood up and walked straight toward Xu Huo.
The man who had been following Xu Huo since they got in the car, suspected to be an A-level player, raised his hand to stop him. "He is Miss Gao's guest now. The mayor might receive him."
The baseball cap guy looked up in shock. "Why would the mayor receive him? He caused so much damage to W37! Who knows how long it will take to clean up the R1 laboratory, and the virus in the quarantine zone might have been brought in by him..."
"Zhao Jie!" The man stopped him. "He has been caught. If he is guilty, the mayor will naturally judge him. You should not question the mayor's decision."
I don't know if anyone has ever had the experience of being terrified. Last night before going to bed, I suddenly felt extremely scared. Even with the lights on, I couldn't sleep. When I fell asleep, I had a nightmare. In the dream, I wanted to call my mom, but before I could make the call, a woman lay down next to me. She said my mom told me to turn around. I didn't dare, so I bit her. When I woke up startled, I wanted to play on my phone for a while, but I still felt numb all over.
I've had nightmares that woke me up before, but turning on the lights always helped. Never in my life have I been as scared as I was last night. Even with the lights on, I couldn't stay alone. Cold sweat kept pouring out.
My mom said it might be because I ran into something during my hospital stay two days ago. I didn't feel anything in the hospital, but after coming home, I felt particularly weak. I don't know if it's because of my poor health.
PS: The author is not a mama's boy.
(Chapter End)