Chapter 2408: Chapter 2408: You Got Captured Again?
The woman, nicknamed "Attracting Wealth and Treasure," looked at him with full of resentment and murderous intent, speaking intermittently, "You think you can walk away unscathed after killing me... soon someone will come to deal with you..."
Xu Huo stepped on her struggling fingers, "You’d better not use the prop in your hand, or it won’t be as simple as broken arms and legs."
Blood foamed from the woman’s mouth, and she let go with her other hand. An already activated device fell to the ground—a locator that the security players on this floor were equipped with.
"Your bodyguards already sent their location, didn’t they? Too bad no one came even to their death; is your locator useful?" Xu Huo said flatly, "Just list a few names, whether they come to find me or I go to find them, the result will be the same."
The woman could no longer support herself, barely turning over to lie on her back, staring dazedly at the ceiling, "I can’t live... you must die too..."
After waiting for a minute and no players showed up, seeing she was about to pass out, Xu Huo reluctantly gave her a shot of potion, intending to extract some valuable information while she was still alive.
The woman’s consciousness soon became muddled, but when Xu Huo asked who her boss was, blood surged from her mouth and nose. Her body with diminishing functions only mildly convulsed, ultimately failing to utter a single word.
Xu Huo frowned slightly; evidently, she had a chip implanted as well, triggered either by hypnosis or medication, causing her to die instantly.
It’s much like the situation with the waiters in Fish Banquet.
Now she is dead, without any support arriving, Xu Huo’s gaze swept around the room, finally settling on several toppled doll ornaments on the ground.
He casually picked up one, flipped it over to see the brand name on the back of the doll—it wasn’t a well-known company, so he quickly found the address of the small factory through the Collection of Information Terminal, located in Chunyi City.
Putting the doll in his pocket, Xu Huo pulled open the door and walked out, calling the Girl in the painting waiting outside, and headed straight for the small factory.
Logically, with the building attacked and the woman and her bodyguards continuously sending distress signals, related personnel should have responded long ago, yet the factory remained peaceful and quiet; only a few Rank-C Players were smoking together.
This fake factory used as a cover was extremely perfunctory; they didn’t even use the basement for detaining people, instead finding a windowless room in the factory where over a dozen people, both male and female, were cramped together. The players had been injected with potion, keeping them awake but unable to move, while most were ordinary people, curling up in corners.
No one was wearing clothes; only a blanket was spread in the middle to separate the men from the women.
Inside was someone familiar.
Xu Huo directly entered the factory, took clothes hung on the rooftop, and then entered the room.
To someone suddenly appearing, besides a few players getting a bit agitated, the others just glanced and then deeply lowered their heads, striving to minimize their presence.
Xu Huo tossed the clothes to them, then walked to the female player leaning against the corner, "How did you get caught again?"
The woman was the female player previously deceiving and fishing, also forcibly sent to Fish Banquet as a mermaid. Lucky for her, during escape, she bumped into him, leaving Fish Banquet Building earlier, thinking she safely returned home. Unexpectedly, she was caught again so quickly.
This time she recognized him and the Girl in the painting, her eyes instantly red, pleading silently with her eyes for them to save her.
The Girl in the painting, already squatting in front of her with clothes in hand, asked curiously, "Are you playing art?"
The woman couldn’t speak, desperately signaling her to cover herself with the clothes.
Fortunately, the Girl in the painting didn’t make things difficult, placidly draping the clothes over her, then turned back to Xu Huo, saying, "She’s become mute too."
"She’s not mute." Xu Huo bought several potions on the gaming platform, letting a few other women who could still move inject them into the players.
Those who could move made no noise, quietly dressed themselves, refraining from peeking at the players, merely waiting quietly—perhaps due to prolonged negative experiences imprinting this silent survival mode into their minds, although this unusual silence felt unsettling.
Soon, the female player could move, first sincerely thanking Xu Huo this time, then requesting him to take everyone away together.
"They were all captured, and the final result will be one of two—those with superior looks sent to Fish Banquet, while the others were given to some big shots in the city."
The female player nearly spoke through gritted teeth, "Those people, treating us, treating humans as what!"
The other players recovered somewhat after their gratitude, eagerly leaving, whether teleporting elsewhere or hiding in the game, at least taking control. Xu Huo turned to ask the few women willing to help actively, "Do you have anywhere to go?"
One woman answered bravely, "No... and even if we manage to escape now, we’ll be captured again tomorrow."
Xu Huo looked again at the female player, "Can you accommodate them?"
The female player pondered momentarily before deciding, "I do know a place, but it may not be able to take everyone."
After she finished speaking, she listened outside for any movement, "Let’s go quickly before anyone notices."
Her container prop couldn’t hold everyone, so the rest were placed in Xu Huo’s "staff dormitory." He let the female player leave first, while he searched for the factory’s accounts and then destroyed it.
This time, he didn’t use the "Big Mushroom Cloud"; Xu Huo controlled the range, which, though small, remained a significant event for a city. Before leaving, government players responsible for urban security and Player Organization members were already converging.
Evidently, many of those present knew the place’s nature, yet upon arrival, they didn’t proceed with rescue, rather watching the factory-guarding players struggle amidst the fire.
Xu Huo didn’t linger long, proceeding to meet the female player.
The two rendezvoused in a densely populated residential area; once seeing him, the female player breathed a sigh of relief, leading him out of the residential area into a distant apartment building.
"This is where I stay," the woman explained, "It’s very safe; those people won’t find it anytime soon."
Inside the not-so-spacious rented apartment, the woman first served tea to Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting, formally introducing herself.
Her real name was Wu Xing, not initially from Chunyi City, moving here later. She lived here for five or six years, thus understanding the area fairly well.
"Originally, Chunyi City didn’t engage in human trafficking; around five years ago, a local family somehow connected with people from Fish Banquet, thereby collaborating with some local forces to provide Fish Banquet with convenience. Initially, they only coaxed some players into Fish Banquet, undoubtedly, most didn’t return. Gradually, it developed into searching for people with outstanding appearances to send in..."
Wu Xing tugged at the corners of her mouth, her expression mournful yet sarcastic, "Even amidst the relentless blows from various factions in other districts, as their homeland shatters, people persist tirelessly in selling their compatriots."
