Chapter 254: Final Negotiation

In a temporary command room located somewhere in the city, Minister Fan slammed documents onto his desk, fuming with rage: "Just look at the mess he's created! From the very establishment of the Special Defense Department, our analysis team has focused on studying this player—he should have been a key surveillance target!""It was you who wanted to implement some appeasement strategy and let him run wild, and now he's brought trouble right to our doorstep!"

"No matter how capable an ordinary person might be, their destructive range is controllable. But players are different—once a player goes berserk, countless more people will suffer!"

"In just one night, he's turned everything upside down. What does he want? What is he trying to accomplish!"

Team Leader Wu pressed his swollen cheek and said, "Judging from Xu Huo's consistent behavior, he holds favorable feelings toward us. This incident happened for a reason..."

"I don't think it's about reasons," Team Leader Song, sitting above him, interrupted. "I've also reviewed this player's file. Someone with such mental instability was bound to cause trouble sooner or later. If you ask me, we should either arrest or eliminate him. The Special Defense Department has plenty of excellent players—we don't need a mentally unstable person as our public face."

"Arrest? Eliminate?" A woman with attractive features across the table turned her tablet toward him. "Do you think he accidentally revealed his voice in that video? Look at these online comments—netizens have already defined this incident."

At that moment, the secretary connected the online content to the large screen. After just a few pages, the expressions of everyone in the conference room became subtle.

"Flames of Justice? Evolver Hero? The True Vanguard Player?" Team Leader Song slammed the table with a dark expression. "He's committing crimes, and yet he's being portrayed as righteous!"

"In the eyes of ordinary people, Xu Huo's actions could be considered heroic," the woman said calmly. "Treating Evolvers like animals, abusing and keeping them captive—this has provoked public outrage. Don't forget, our country is currently calling on young adults to undergo Evolver testing. Given the Yang family's special status, when this scandal breaks from them, everyone will think one thing."

"After becoming an Evolver, they might be controlled by power-hungry authorities and treated worse than pigs or dogs."

"Jiang Qiao," Minister Fan spoke up to caution her.

Jiang Qiao brushed aside her long curly hair hanging over her chest and smiled. "This is the truth. If you don't believe me, you can check online yourselves."

"But this isn't the most serious situation yet," she scanned the people around the conference table. "Some people are swallowing their anger for now, but sooner or later, they'll vent that frustration."

Everyone in the conference room fell silent. At any time, conflicts of interest are irreconcilable. As players become increasingly numerous, while deterrence by force remains effective against players, some national structures have already undergone adjustments.

And when these players grow strong enough to want to make their own rules someday, the country will have to make concessions.

Of course, to guard against potential situations, the country has transferred a large number of personnel from the military to maintain balance, but this still can't compare to the growth rate of Evolvers based on the entire national population.

"We should restrict the number of Evolvers," Team Leader Song said.

"That's the most unwise approach," Team Leader Wu immediately retorted. "The primary purpose of increasing player numbers is to counter players from other zones. Without sufficient core strength, everything is empty talk. Additionally, we can't control the number of Evolvers. According to registration reports from the past month, even if we don't actively increase Evolver numbers, Evolvers will keep multiplying. Like the earliest Evolvers, they're all undergoing natural evolution."

"That's exactly why we should use all our resources to gather the more capable players. This isn't just about maintaining order—it's also about ensuring our country can weather the coming storms."

"Then how do we handle this Xu Huo?" Team Leader Song looked at Minister Fan. "Are we just going to ignore him?"

Minister Fan had cooled from his initial rage by now. Xu Huo's location had been locked in long ago, with seven snipers ambushed around the hotel, waiting for his command.

Team Leader Wu watched him nervously. "Shouldn't we report this matter? Based on Xu Huo's performance in Harbor City, his mere existence alone holds strategic significance in player warfare."

Minister Fan thought for a moment before saying, "Send two people for final negotiations. If he intends to use his player status to commit atrocities, then there's nothing more to discuss."

"I'll go too," Jiang Qiao said. "I'm very interested in this person."

Minister Fan gave silent approval. As Jiang Qiao and Team Leader Wu were leaving, Team Leader Song kindly reminded them, "He definitely knows he's surrounded. Don't let yourselves get taken hostage."

After saying this, he left. Team Leader Wu stood there glaring, holding his face and hissing in pain.

"Look at how worked up you are. Do you want to take some medicine before going?" Jiang Qiao looked at him amusedly.

"Who has time for medicine now," Team Leader Wu said, picking up his briefcase and quickening his pace. "I need to go clarify things immediately."

Jiang Qiao kept pace with him. "In your view, what kind of person is Xu Huo?"

"Reasonably sensible. To be honest, what he did this time wasn't wrong. Some people can hardly be considered human," Team Leader Wu said after some thought.

However, upon arriving at the hotel, the first thing Xu Huo said when opening the door made his face swell even more: "I'm already a D-level player."

Members of the Special Defense Department had already experienced D-level dungeons. D-level dungeons are non-closed dungeons—as long as you have a train ticket, you can enter and choose not to leave. Xu Huo's statement was telling them that their external defenses were useless—he could enter the game and escape anytime he wanted.

Team Leader Wu's toothache intensified. He had been full of anger, but when he saw Xu Huo's completely emotionless face, he suddenly realized his aura had changed.

Shrinking his neck slightly, he walked to the sofa and sat down without saying a word.

Xu Huo, wearing a tank top and large shorts, poured two glasses of water for them, then sat opposite them, holding a liquor bottle.

"Your online reputation is quite good. Many people are calling you a hero," Jiang Qiao said, examining the man across from her and choosing a gentle opening.

"Is that so?" Xu Huo said indifferently. "It was nothing much. Consider it my contribution to the country."

Jiang Qiao smiled. "You were waiting for us to come, weren't you? Today we're here representing the Special Defense Department to have a chat. Where would you like to begin, Mr. Xu?"

"The Seventeenth Hospital," Xu Huo said, looking up at Team Leader Wu. "I mentioned this to you before. You must have looked into it by now."

"A hospital can't just suddenly disappear. I need to know what happened around the time I was admitted for treatment twenty years ago."

Team Leader Wu had indeed brought materials with him this time. "But the information I could find isn't much more than what you have."

He placed two bags of confidential documents on the table. "Twenty years ago, surveillance systems weren't widespread yet, and the Seventeenth Hospital was located in a very remote area. After the hospital disappeared, all internal surveillance materials vanished along with it. So the only evidence currently available is this abnormal equipment report."