Chapter 125: The Center of the Vortex

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: The Center of the VortexThe military-uniformed old man clenched his fist, "It seems they are convinced that the super props are in the hands of the Pioneer Squad."

"But in fact, we also don’t know the whereabouts of the super props." The white-haired old man turned to the computer, "Still unable to converse with them?"

"I have issued dialogue invitations through various channels, but no one has contacted us to this day." The head of the Special Affairs Bureau said, "However, we have discovered another matter, the players that were killed followed the personnel list that had been previously compiled."

"Wasn’t the list already destroyed?" The white-haired old man’s gaze sharpened immediately.

"Indeed, it was destroyed, and there’s no backup list, but the technology level of the game is far beyond our current achievements. Perhaps they obtained the list through other means." The head of the Special Affairs Bureau wouldn’t suspect his own people; that kind of bizarre killing method no longer needed to acquire a list from Inside Ghost.

"Just now, two more have been sacrificed." The head of the Special Affairs Bureau paused then said, "At this rate, the potential players we have struggled to acquire will soon be almost gone, and even if we get through this crisis, it’s unlikely that players will join the Special Affairs Bureau in the future."

"The only method left is to create a super prop, choosing the right person to attract the attention of outside players."

"But this task is very risky. We don’t have any items above Rank-B in our hands, which makes it difficult to convince other players."

Actually, the best method is to admit that there are super props in Zone 014, but the person holding this super prop can’t be a player from Zone 014.

In other words, it means diverting disaster. As long as they fail to produce the super props, the outside players won’t easily give up; this is just the initial stage, and more players will come to fight for it subsequently. However, if someone steps forward with a super prop at this moment and enters the game, the outside players’ attention will be diverted, allowing Zone 014 to exit the eye of the storm.

The only problem is, how to deceive the players?

"Has there been any news from the player who got the super prop?" The elder sitting at the head of the table asked with a face full of authority.

Everyone at the table focused their attention on him, and the military-uniformed old man said, "The Pioneer forum has announced protection measures for him, no player has contacted our people, and players who have seen the post have checked everything they could, the timing doesn’t match up."

"Players cannot trust the state; this is our dereliction of duty." The elder said seriously, "What has happened in the past hour proves our negligence. Even if the other party is a person from our country, with our capabilities, we are unable to protect them."

"A player who can acquire super props within a month should be protected by the entire world. I approve the backup plan. No matter the cost, we must create breathing space for this player!"

Everyone in the conference room had solemn expressions. The head of the Special Affairs Bureau was about to accept the command when suddenly his expression changed drastically. At the same time, a phone call came through to the conference room. The elder at the head gestured for someone to turn on the TV and then said, "Agree to the national broadcast."

The news on the TV screen immediately switched to a black screen, and in front of the flashing cursor, rows of text quickly appeared:

"Friends from Zone 014, hello."

"I’m delighted to greet you all in this way. We are the peace-loving Guile Sound Knights, and I am one of the members, Li Li."

"Our only purpose in coming to Zone 014 is to acquire the super props."

"After all, Zone 014 has billions of people, so we hope all new friends can help us

Then, the screen displayed a countdown and several blinking white dots, and when the numbers reached zero, the white dots explosively transformed into the shape of mushroom clouds!

All attendees in the meeting room suddenly rose to their feet, their faces ashen as they stared at the screen, but by then, the screen had already switched back to the original image.

Just two minutes later, the news reached the meeting room firsthand.

Two remote secret bases had exploded, engulfing the entire base and the researchers who had not evacuated!

"Bang!" A dignified elder slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Find them!"

The same events unfolded in other countries around the world, and the global populace, still not recovered from the riots and crimes, plunged into a new wave of massive panic!

This was of course aimed at ordinary people; for some experienced players, especially those who had come from other zones, it was nothing more than a remark.

Inside a high-class hotel in Jing City, three burly middle-aged men were standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, tasting wine. One of them said, "The Guile Sound Knights sure are notorious madmen. Wherever they go, they leave misery in their wake. Isn’t the peaceful ordinary world good enough? Wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to savor some wine and tea?"

"They were born from hooligans, and they traffic dangerous goods across the different zones, using this very method," another man laughed.

"And they think they can flush out the Super Props this way? Ridiculous," said the first man again.

"From what I’ve learned about this country over the past two days, they have a strong penchant for sacrificing the individual for the greater good. If Jin Dan is one of this country’s people, maybe he really will come forward on his own."

"We need to speed things up," the third man went back inside the room and picked up a pen to cross off a name from a list on the table. The name, obscured by the black ink, blended into a blur with the other fifty or so names.

Meanwhile, near a reservoir in Country Y, a child who looked to be about eleven or twelve years old was joyfully tipping several bottles of differently-colored potions into the water, puffing with anger, "The Knights went to Country X, the Super Prop must be there. That damn Flying Golden Snow Chicken thief is dead, and I’m going to Sea City to pluck his golden feathers!"

A few meters behind him, a gentlemanly man closed his book and looked up, his melancholic face wearing a hint of a smile, "You can’t beat him."

"Mr. Lawrence, you must be able to catch him," the boy replied, turning back.

The man known as Mr. Lawrence touched his own leg, "I’m just a cripple with disabled legs."

The boy hastily packed away the bottles and cans and ran back to his side, leaning on the wheelchair’s armrest, "One day I’ll surely be able to heal your legs!"

Then he moved behind to push the wheelchair, muttering to himself with a chuckle, "I really want to become an S-rank Player as strong as Mr. Lawrence."

The two then vanished from the spot.

Similarly, high-ranking players scattered around the world rushed to Country X at the first notice of the Guile Sound Knights’ actions.

Some believed they had the capability to contend with them, not wanting to let the Guile Sound Knights bag the Super Props. Others were there to opportunistically share in the spoils, or just for the excitement of the event. Regardless of their reasons, three days was enough time for them to take action.

Sea City.

As soon as the square’s monitor abruptly switched to text, Xu Huo instantly focused. Seeing that the Guile Sound Knights had set their sights on Sea City, he felt a sense of inevitability.

Jing City was too peculiar a place; even if he were to hide, he wouldn’t choose there. And for foreign players, aside from using special methods to find him, the best approach was to take hostages and negotiate with the nation, coercing the government to screen all players. Such a tactic could work in today’s world where nations held absolute power.

With this move, even if a country wanted to protect the holder of the Super Prop, it would have to bear significant risks.

He was just about to leave when suddenly he heard someone in the square shout, "Hey? Why is the ground turning black?"