Chapter 183 - 182: Press Conference

Chapter 183: Chapter 182: Press Conference

"Go find the next one—"

That sentence could be interpreted in many ways.

As Feng Ling walked, she asked Li Qing beside her, "What do you think? What does ’the next one’ refer to?"

Li Qing pondered for a moment before answering cautiously, "The Maze."

"I think it’s the Maze too." Feng Ling nodded slightly.

"Why?" Huangfu Miaomiao asked, hovering around the two of them. "Why not an Inspector?"

Feng Ling said, "I can’t see what good it does them to target an Inspector like this. Of course, it’s not that there’s no benefit at all, but what I mean is... was it necessary to go this far? To go through all the trouble of collecting Cards, stuffing a Squirrel, and launching a suicide attack. And for what? What did they get out of it?"

Huangfu Miaomiao was also a bit confused. "...Uh, for points? A Pollution Body that’s lost its mind should be easier to kill than Ye Zheng herself."

"But they didn’t kill Ye Zheng," Feng Ling mused. "Besides, if ’go find the next one’ means dealing with the next Inspector, I think that’s a bit unrealistic. For the Squirrel plan to succeed, it needs to meet at least three conditions—"

Feng Ling held up her fingers, pointing out each condition. "First, the Star Association must have more than one Squirrel Card. Second, the Star Association must know the Inspector’s personal information and movements. And third, the Star Association must collect enough of the right Cards to inflict Pollution on an Inspector. I believe this last point is the hardest to achieve."

Li Qing nodded beside her. "Exactly. If they don’t choose the right Cards, or if the quantity isn’t enough to get the Pollution Value over 50%, the plan won’t succeed. Besides, Cards are resources. Using them all just to pollute an Inspector... I think the cost outweighs the benefit."

Feng Ling was also pondering this suspicious point.

"Ye Zheng said the Squirrel she killed dropped at least a dozen Cards. The Alien Species could have used those Cards to increase their own power, but instead, they’d rather waste a dozen or so Cards just to turn Ye Zheng into a Pollution Body. That kind of tactic is just..."

Her voice trailed off. Feng Ling pressed her lips together, her brow furrowed.

After a moment, she slowly began to speak again. "It’s almost as if they’re deliberately keeping her alive to torture her, to punish her... Yes, this must be a punishment. Ye Zheng did something that harmed the Star Association’s interests, so the Star Association’s Alien Species retaliated against her."

What had Ye Zheng done?

Like other Inspectors, Ye Zheng had participated in many operations and killed many Alien Species.

If one had to point to the most notable thing she’d done recently, it was killing the Maze Master of Daling Forest.

Feng Ling sorted through her thoughts and declared, "The Star Association’s goal has always been the Mazes. They want to kill all the Maze Administrators and make every Maze merge with this world. But Ye Zheng’s act of killing the Maze Master interrupted that fusion, which is why she earned the Star Association’s hatred and retaliation. Perhaps this is the Star Association’s warning declaration to humanity."

She looked down and asked Huangfu Miaomiao, "From what I recall, Alien Species don’t usually go out of their way to provoke Inspectors, right?"

Huangfu Miaomiao nodded. "Yeah. Even though we log into human bodies, our lives are still precious. We have to pay a huge amount of points every time we log out. So, if you’re just thinking about earning points, there’s no need for a player to pick a fight with an Inspector. It’s better to hunt Pollution Bodies or lone Card Holders. It’s easier and safer for players."

From a player’s perspective, any human holding a Card is a monster, and monsters of the same Level give the same point reward.

But killing an Inspector is obviously much harder, not only because Inspectors have superior combat abilities, but also because they’re often accompanied by a Special Attack Team. Guns and artillery would greatly hinder a player’s movements.

So if you just want to earn points, killing an Inspector has a very low cost-benefit ratio.

And yet, this time, the Star Association went to great lengths just to turn Ye Zheng into a Pollution Body.

’To shake the military’s morale?’ Feng Ling wondered. ’Ye Zheng’s situation can be hidden from the public, but the team members who were with her at the time have probably guessed what happened to her, more or less. In the future, if the research institute discovers another Maze spreading pollution, they’ll have to be very careful about which Inspector they send to handle it.’

"What are you going to do?" Li Qing asked her.

"I’ll find a chance to talk to Su Yuqing first..." Feng Ling replied, a little vexed. "What Cards an Inspector holds is top secret. To be able to inflict such severe Pollution so precisely means one of two things: either there’s a mole in the Inspector’s team, or the Star Association has a player with the ability to see other people’s Cards."

The three of them chatted as they walked back to the sales office.

The center of the first-floor lobby originally held a sand table model, but Su Yuqing later had people come in to redecorate, removing the model and replacing it with a long sofa set.

The wall full of LCD screens, once used to play real estate ads, was now functioning as a television, currently showing the morning news.

The news was about the northern cleanup operation, and Feng Ling saw some familiar faces on the screen.

She found the remote on the sofa and turned up the volume.

On the screen, Admiral Yan Lingfeng was facing the camera with a solemn expression, saying:

"This operation lasted a total of two days and two nights. We deployed 81 Hunters, with 6 fatalities and 23 injuries. The preliminary estimate for the number of Pollution Bodies eliminated is 637. The mission was completed successfully, and the pollution has been brought under control. On behalf of the Northern Military District, I extend my highest respects to these Hunters!"

A reporter below asked, "Will more Pollution Bodies appear in Daling Forest? Can the safety of residents in nearby towns be guaranteed?"

Admiral Yan replied, "We have erected a perimeter fence around the polluted area and installed special detection instruments. Based on the data from these instruments, the contaminated zone is gradually shrinking. I believe that in the near future, we will ultimately reclaim the land that belongs to humanity."

Feng Ling thought silently, ’That’s probably going to take a very long time. According to Li Qing, the pollution in zones A, B, and C will enter a decay period. At best, it will take a few months to disappear completely; at worst, it could take several years.’

So, if you want to eliminate a Maze, it’s best to enter it while it’s still intact and kill the Maze Master.

Otherwise, if the Alien Species from the Star Association interfere, it becomes very troublesome.

What a headache.

Originally, Mazes were dungeons for the Alien Species. They had nothing to do with humans and no effect on the human world. But now, after the Star Association’s machinations, the Mazes have been pitted against humanity.

At that moment, another reporter asked, "There were a certain number of casualties among the Hunters this time. Does the main bureau have any plans to expand recruitment?"

The person who spoke this time was a middle-aged man sitting to Admiral Yan’s right. He looked somewhat familiar to Feng Ling; she seemed to recall seeing him at the last meeting in Yuquan City.

"Considering the special nature of the Hunter community, expansion must be handled with caution. We plan to increase the number of Hunters to two hundred and provide them with free training guidance and medical services. The Hunting Star International Group will provide more details on these matters at tomorrow’s press conference."

Feng Ling was taken aback.

Ah...

’So this is the company Pei Xianjue was talking about.’