Chapter 2670: Qi Congming

The young player took Xu Huo to an empty conference room and placed a thick stack of notebooks on the table. "These are Mr. Lian’s player notes, copied versions."

Xu Huo looked at the notebooks. Even as copies, they seemed to have been read many times, with the paper edges very worn.

"Thank you." He put the notebooks away.

The young player nodded, "We still have to take care of Mr. Lian’s funeral, so we can’t attend to you carefully. If you need any help in the Capital City, feel free to ask."

He paused and continued, "Originally, Mr. Lian intended to die in the sanatorium. It was because of your help that he could find a moment of peace. I remember this kindness."

After saying this, he bowed slightly to Xu Huo and then left the conference room.

Xu Huo wasn’t in a hurry to read the notes either. He called the Girl in the painting and two others to prepare to leave the government building.

The news of Lian Qingkong’s death had already been announced, with national mourning. In the Capital City, households started mourning on their own, and as they left the government building, many shops had already hung white flowers.

"I didn’t expect the old man to be so well-loved." Xiao Mei remarked.

"After all, he worked hard in Yu Country for twenty years," another added, "planning for the country until his last moment."

Next up was the settlement of the instance rewards.

The unlucky fellow had already mentioned not wanting team rewards, but the poison in him hadn’t been neutralized yet, so he didn’t dare to give up the team rewards just like that.

After Xu Huo gave him the antitoxin, he decisively gave up the team rewards and left Zone 039.

As for Xiao Mei, Xu Huo let the Girl in the painting bring her half-true list to the Capital City. She played a significant role on the way, so of course, she deserved a share of the team rewards. He gave her two options: either take two Level props or exchange for a Rank-A Spatial Instrument.

Xiao Mei chose the latter and was satisfied with her choice of a defensive Spatial Instrument, thus giving up the team rewards.

"I still have plenty of time to spend a few days in Zone 039. Remember me if something good happens." She said with a smile.

Xu Huo looked at her, "I advise you to leave early. Don’t forget there are puppets all over Zone 039 capturing players."

Xiao Mei felt a bit scared but quickly said, "I’ll just stay in the Capital City. There are many players here, no problem."

Seeing this, Xu Huo said nothing more. Just as he parted ways with her, Fu Kua appeared.

Fu Kua was one of the players who previously attempted to team up with the Defender Camp. He had also appeared among the retained players yesterday. Apparently, his detention time was short, so he wasn’t immediately transferred to a high-risk instance.

His reason for finding Xu Huo was simple; he wanted to know how he cleared the stage.

"I contacted the Defender Camp players before not to sabotage others’ attempts to clear the instance, but simply out of curiosity about what the National Treasure really is. Now that I know what it is, I’m curious about the process of clearing the stage." He looked at Xu Huo, "I can’t comprehend how you discovered that the National Treasure was actually a name list."

The three of them found a place to eat, where Xu Huo simply explained his thought process. After listening, Fu Kua was amazed, "Honestly, if it were me, I would never have easily concluded that the National Treasure was a name list. Frankly speaking, a name list isn’t very useful."

Even if it fell into the hands of Outer Zone players, they would have to spend a lot of time and energy attempting to use it to kill players from our zone, which would likely cause an uproar instead.

"That’s why it’s called the Illusory Spark; no one side would be content with just possessing the name list." Xu Huo said lightly.

Fu Kua nodded, "Looking at it this way, Lian Qingkong was the true wise one. If one truly relied on the so-called National Treasure, the end result would be unfavorable."

"I have another question," he paused and asked, "Is the name list you got real?"

"Partly true, partly false." Saying it’s half and half is an exaggeration. In fact, only the small part Lian Qingkong gave him was the real genealogy; the rest were randomly gathered for padding. But it didn’t matter as long as it was confirmed that the National Treasure was indeed the Gao Family Genealogy, and Lian Qingkong achieved certain objectives with this genealogy.

Fu Kua was amazed at his audacity, "What if burning it didn’t allow you to clear the stage?"

"Then I’d have to look again." Xu Huo smiled slightly.

Fu Kua opened his mouth as if wanting to say something but ended up with just one word, "Impressive!"

"Thank you for clearing things up for me." He straightforwardly got up and took his leave.

After dealing with him, Xu Huo noticed the puppet appearing nearby again, which was troubling. He had killed several puppets, yet they kept coming, indicating that the previously used removal prop was ineffective. Initially, leaving Zone 039 would likely have solved this trouble, but now he needs to find Gao Ming, and if those puppets truly belonged to the Suitcase Man, Gao Ming might be implicated.

The government had already set up a mourning hall. The funeral location was in the main hall of the government building, with Lian Qingkong’s photo and projection appearing within the building in a small range, while people came to lay flowers outside.

"... God of the Night, Mr. Lian’s alias twenty years ago, with the nation in darkness, he believed only by setting personal examples could the nation be saved. Not just him, everyone could be the God of the Night..."

Xu Huo listened to the eulogy, placed the flowers for the memorial on the ground, glanced at the ice coffin inside the building, and turned to the Girl in the painting, "Let’s go."

He didn’t go straight to find Gao Ming but intended to find a place outside the Capital City to deal with the puppets following him first, only to run into a dispute as soon as he left the city.

Due to Lian Qingkong’s funeral, the Capital City had been sealed off, temporarily not allowing Outer Zone players to enter. Those willing to wait could use the accommodations provided by Yu Country, while those unwilling to wait could leave, but forcing their way in was not an option.

Of course, some were anxious and unwilling to wait, but given the difference in numbers, most Outer Zone players would back off.

However, this time there was a pestering individual who wasn’t very strong, initially threatening loudly, then pleading, and finally claiming to have urgent information crucial to Yu Country’s government security.

Why would the Law Enforcement Team players believe him, yet that player refused to leave, eventually lying on the ground shouting loudly.

Players sent by Yongta and Moon Corner for the memorial were also stopped outside the city, watching the commotion, while the players from Yu Country were annoyed, "If it weren’t for your injuries, we would’ve beaten you already, get lost!"

The player lying on the ground continued to wail until a shadow loomed over him, causing him to look up with a scowl, "Get lost!"

"Qi Congming?" Xu Huo called his name.