Chapter 2658: Everyone Has Something to Do
"Damn their ancestors to the eighteenth generation, I’m telling you, those two scumbags are up to no good, probably been messing around together for ages!" Xiao Mei hid inside an abandoned building, while setting her tracking prop outside. She shouted at the Girl in the painting about ten meters away, "Use any good props you’ve got, just holding back won’t do us any good!"
The Girl in the painting ignored her. She was controlling a few Paper Planes to intercept Wu Zishuang’s Shuttle prop, but in doing so, her position was exposed. The opponent clasped his hands in the air, instantly crushing the stone pillar she was hiding behind. Following that, Fei Jingyi’s Flying Silk prop formed a cloth-like barrier, blocking her path and wrapping her up tightly in just a few moves!
"What kind of help are you?" Xiao Mei complained resentfully from a distance, "still need me to save you!" She pressed the bracelet on her wrist, and the Flying Silk immediately returned to its original state, falling to the ground. She took the opportunity to scoop up the Girl in the painting using an instrument and escaped on a flying prop, tossing a small-range Poison Gas Bomb at Fei Jingyi and Wu Zishuang as she circled around them.
Fei Jingyi and Wu Zishuang emerged unscathed from the smoke, watching without rushing to chase. Sure enough, the next second, Xiao Mei and the Girl in the painting smashed directly into a barrier that suddenly appeared in mid-air. Following a muffled crash, the two fell from the sky.
"Let’s see where you’ll run now," Fei Jingyi’s hands formed a scissor-like cross with her index and middle fingers. Two invisible forces twisted like scissors, instantly cutting through several buildings and latching onto Xiao Mei’s Defensive Barrier.
Xiao Mei kept deploying Defense Props, but Fei Jingyi’s characteristics were too strong. Her Defensive Barrier couldn’t hold up; layer by layer, they broke apart in front of her. She couldn’t hold back and shouted at the person next to her, "What are you waiting for? Use the props already!"
The Girl in the painting took out a Communicator and typed for her to see: "I can hold up."
After reading, Xiao Mei retorted coldly, "I must be out of my mind to communicate with someone as insane as you."
Before the Defensive Barrier could be completely destroyed, Fei and Wu on the other side abruptly changed their expressions. Wu Zishuang swiftly distanced himself from Fei Jingyi at lightning speed and, with just a glance, began to flee with all his might.
Fei Jingyi was left frozen in place, unable to move. Her face and the back of her exposed hand visibly aged rapidly. In the blink of an eye, she was nothing but skin and bones. A gust from the building blew her, breaking her into segments as she fell to the ground.
"Holy shit!" Xiao Mei looked in horror at the person who had already died before hitting the ground. She then looked up at the man and woman who appeared in front of them and immediately said, "I quit passing the level! You can have that cleaner!"
Xu Huo glanced at her before asking the Girl in the painting, "Are you okay?"
The Girl in the painting only got some dirt on her clothes, which she patted off before pointing at herself.
"Buy new ones later," Xu Huo said. "Let’s get out of here first; quite a few people are watching."
Xiao Mei dared not run and obediently followed them to a nearby hotel.
Once the door closed, Xiao Mei released the cleaner she found.
As she said, the woman was somewhat disoriented, standing blankly and accepting food and drink from others without any fuss.
Xiao Mei took out a piece of paper, "Do you remember this?"
The woman’s face showed fear and avoidance, and she muttered unclear words of "Don’t kill me," shrinking into the corner of the room.
"See, I wasn’t lying. It was tough to get those things out of her," Xiao Mei shrugged, "But that tag isn’t of much use anymore."
Xu Huo helped the woman up, sat her down, and gave her an injection before asking, "What’s your name?"
The woman’s emotions stabilized considerably, and after a moment of confusion, she replied, "Nini..."
"Do you remember the year you were born?" Xu Huo asked again.
It took a lot of effort for the woman to slowly reply, "New Calendar year 57... Daxue picked me up from the mud..."
"What’s your mother’s name?"
"Yuhua..."
Xu Huo was patient, asking questions about the woman’s childhood. Only after she adapted did he begin asking about the Judgement Court, how she settled near the Capital City, how she started working at the Judgement Court, what kinds of Believers she encountered there. He even inquired about their clothing and dietary preferences. However, he deliberately avoided mentioning anything prior to the woman losing her hand.
Xiao Mei’s timidity faded as her patience ran out. She couldn’t help but ask, "What’s the use of these questions?"
With all the Believers from the Judgement Court dead, knowing their interests and past experiences was pointless; their friends and neighbors already swallowed by Player forces.
"Why wouldn’t it be useful? Most of the Judgement Court Believers are Players, this information is very valuable," Xu Huo said.
Xiao Mei didn’t catch that the Judgement Court Believers were Players from the woman’s incoherent narration, but she was interested in this conclusion, "Yu Country Government announced that all the Judgement Court Believers are dead. Could all the ones who died have been substitutes?"
"That’s really interesting. Could it be that Supreme God Sect’s Cultists are the National Treasure? They didn’t help Gao Hui, nor did they aid Yu Country. Could they still be helping Lian Qingkong after twenty years?"
"This is a crucial point," Xu Huo said, pausing suddenly, glancing outside.
Besides the new dolls, there were the Players who had been following him since he left the newspaper, now increased from two to five.
Of course, there were also local Players—many witnessed Fei Jingyi’s death. Whether out of curiosity or ulterior motives, some had found their way to the vicinity.
"It’s getting annoying," Xu Huo pondered, then turned to Xiao Mei, "Do you still want to pass the level?"
"Of course I want to!" Xiao Mei observed his expression closely, "But if I can’t pass, there’s nothing I can do; lingering is better than dying."
"Help me with something, and I’ll team up with you to pass the level. How about that?" Xu Huo asked.
"I think I can hold out a little longer," Xiao Mei immediately changed her tune, but quickly added, "Don’t make it too difficult for me."
"It’s simple, just spread a fake rumor." Xu Huo looked out the window, "Everyone will have something to do, and everyone will be happy."
Xiao Mei left the hotel before dawn, first tracking down Wu Zishuang’s whereabouts and subtly revealing that Wu Zishuang held key instance clues.
Wu Zishuang’s counterattack was swift, immediately biting back at her and Xu Huo, spreading information through the Collection of Information Terminal that they knew the whereabouts of the National Treasure—standard back-and-forth between opposing factions. But for some reason, many seemed to truly believe Xu Huo had clues, drawing increasing scrutiny and more and more eyes surveilling outside the hotel.
Xu Huo left the Capital City, heading to a nearby resort city. It was an abandoned city, with nearly no residents and mostly dilapidated buildings. Yet, it housed a resort built under Gao Hui’s family’s name.