Chapter 644: Decoy and Transport Mission |
The gilled Mutants charged straight toward the Special Defense Department headquarters. The five players scattered throughout Wenshan also retreated from different locations, with Special Defense Department players hot on their heels. This wasn't just because of the Mutants, but also due to the originally planned bombing operation.
The bombing was scheduled for thirty minutes, but due to shifting circumstances, it had already exceeded that timeframe. The Special Defense Department had issued new orders to proceed with the bombing regardless.
Xu Huo also received a call from Team Leader Wu. He asked again about the current water quality report and learned that the composition of the black rain hadn't changed much. Then he suddenly realized something else—the depression might be one source of the black rain, but it wasn't necessarily the only source.
Assuming the special properties of the item allowed the depression to sustain such massive rainfall, then the period when they purified the depression should have caused a qualitative change in the rain over the Capital City area.
Why were the Mutants carrying items toward the Capital City? After the players from Country Y failed in their mission to guard the items, why did they also retreat toward the Capital City?
Numerous thoughts surged up simultaneously, only to be dismissed in an extremely short time. Xu Huo dialed Nie Xuan's number.
Nie Xuan was still interrogating that player. They'd used items and drugs that affected mental clarity, but hadn't extracted much useful information. After all that effort, the only conclusion they'd reached was that this player was just a decoy, but they couldn't kill him either.
"Found any useful leads?" Nie Xuan didn't waste words, cutting straight to the point.
"Do you know the Mutants under the depression are heading toward the Special Defense Department?" Xu Huo asked. "Mutants have no thinking ability—they only know how to run in straight lines. The surveillance should show which direction they're going."
"The Mutants and the players left guarding the depression should be handling both decoy and transport missions," Xu Huo said quickly. "If the players are discovered, the Mutants transport the items. If the players aren't discovered, the players would be responsible for the transport. I estimate that one of the operating conditions for this high-grade item requires a large area of open-air water source."
Nie Xuan's fingers flew across his keyboard. "So any location with an open-air water source along the Mutants' movement path should be the second target for the lurking players. As long as we find the second contaminated water source along this line, we can disrupt their plan!"
"It's not necessarily a contaminated water source—clean water sources can't be ruled out either," Xu Huo said.
Nie Xuan paused. "You mean the true source of the black rain isn't surface water?"
"I can't be certain of that, but the rainfall ratio doesn't add up." Xu Huo had already sent Painting Woman out with the Nüwa Stone and items. He omitted mentioning the change in water quality at the depression and continued, "Bombing Wenshan now is meaningless. The Mutants are more useful than those players. I'll have Lichun keep them here."
"Stop bombing Wenshan?" Nie Xuan sent signals to the people beside him as he spoke. "Can the reservoir in Wenshan save the ordinary people who've turned into Mutants?"
"If the Special Defense Department can keep the black rain from falling everywhere, it should be possible," Xu Huo said with a laugh.
"Good!" Nie Xuan swept away his earlier gloom. "Wenshan is yours. We won't drop the ball on our end either—we'll definitely catch those people in advance!"
Both of them were sharp. Since Xu Huo didn't explicitly mention the black rain item, Nie Xuan naturally wouldn't ask how he'd deduced the arrangement for transporting the items.
Nie Xuan's communication quickly reached headquarters and the safe area. The order to bomb Wenshan was rescinded. Zeng Tai and the others also received instructions to abandon pursuing the lurking players and return to guard headquarters.
The Special Defense Department elites had the advantage in numbers—they'd killed three of the enemies but lost two of their own comrades. The group was pressing their advantage, wanting to avenge their fallen companions, so they couldn't help but be confused when they suddenly received this order. Zeng Tai immediately started arguing with Team Leader Wu, and before much was said, he smashed his phone.
"Headquarters handed them over to Xu Huo," the Tall Thin Player said, his expression cold as he stared toward the depression.
"Jian Yuanjie, don't talk nonsense!" Zeng Tai shouted irritably. "No matter how strong Xu Huo is, he's only one person. There are still five players left, and they're scattered everywhere. What, did he learn a clone technique or something?"
"Didn't you just say he killed one of their people without even lifting a finger?" The female player Zhu Yuchan looked thoughtful. "He might have methods beyond our understanding."
"What bullshit methods—I don't believe one person can kill five players!" Zeng Tai said angrily. "Think what you want, but I'm going after those bastards!"
Jian Yuanjie blocked him. "Follow the orders!"
Their eyes met, and Zeng Tai backed down, grinding his teeth in frustration. "Fine—I'll just watch how he deals with those people!"
None of them were particularly happy about it, except for Wang Chaoqing, who was running at the front, looking thrilled. "Isn't it good that you don't have to risk your lives? What's wrong with you people?"
Zeng Tai, who had nowhere to vent his anger, rushed over and grabbed his collar, raising his fist to punch him. But at that moment, a dark shadow suddenly flew swiftly over their heads. Zhu Yuchan chased it with her flashlight and realized it was a living person wrapped up like a white mummy!
"That's one of the lurking players!" Her expression shifted.
"He's wrapped from head to toe—how did you recognize him?" Zeng Tai asked in surprise.
"Are you blind? Can't you see the shoes on his feet?" Wang Chaoqing slapped his hand away.
Zeng Tai really hadn't seen clearly, but several other players confirmed it. Only then did they realize the person was flying backward toward the depression. The group stopped their pointless venting and hurried to headquarters to intercept the Mutants.
Back at the depression, Painting Woman used the paper Xu Huo had stored to drag over the two unconscious players. She pulled out the "World Within the Painting" and stuffed them inside before heading up Wenshan to place the Nüwa Stone and King Fungus into the reservoir.
"Why are we planting it here? There's no mud here—nothing grows." Painting Woman chatted idly from the side. The Gentleman of Light medal that Yan Jiayu had gifted was now hanging around her neck.
"It can survive without mud." Xu Huo held the kite string wrapped around the box, sitting at the entrance to the reservoir, flipping the cube back and forth in his hands.
He'd tried destroying it with items and putting it into boxes or the refuge, but this thing really couldn't be broken. Even the "Life Core" had no effect on it. And if he tried putting it into an item, even the original item couldn't be returned to the item slot.
Painting Woman noticed Xu Huo wasn't paying attention and snuck into the "World Within the Painting." In no time, the two squeezed oil painting faces on the canvas started moving. But less than thirty seconds later, she came slinking back out, looking dejected as she sat down to the side, pretending she hadn't done anything.
Xu Huo turned to look at her.
"I didn't mean to," Painting Woman said guiltily. "I didn't even get to talk to him—he coughed up blood and died right away."