Chapter 1662: Chapter 1662: What Else Did You Expect?
For some people who become players, money is no longer a scarce resource. There are many ways to acquire money, and they don’t need to rely on similar organizations or sects. At this time, what they need is greater power and more connections. Take the previous Twin Snakes Organization; on the surface, it was a cult, but in essence, it relied on the core members’ network. It’s through these connections that they could obtain information in advance and avoid the watchful eyes of the Special Defense Department.
Hua Baoren’s sect clearly hasn’t reached that level yet. Currently, most of the activities involve internal members of the company, or players absorbed into the company’s internal membership. But once there are more people, everyone will quickly realize that ordinary currency doesn’t hold as much value in today’s society.
By that time, the model that Hua Baoren speaks of will naturally collapse. In a better scenario, perhaps everyone will go their separate ways. In a worse scenario, sect members will be assimilated and completely become predators.
“There’s no such thing as zero risk, but everyone can rest assured. Every member’s identity within the sect has been personally verified by me, and there are absolutely no issues,” Hua Baoren said. “After joining the Witch Mountain Sect, we will also regularly review members’ behaviors. If there’s a problem, we’ll expel them immediately to avoid causing trouble for others.”
The middle-aged man’s words were quite persuasive, or rather, there was no better path for the current Cannibal Players.
“Are you sure you can verify the identity of all members?” That voice sounded again, “Can you guarantee that the person standing in front of you has nothing to do with the missing cases?”
This time, not only did Hua Baoren feel strange, but the other people in the venue also found it odd. Someone turned back looking for the source of the voice, “Who’s speaking? Come out and let us see!”
“Nonsense! You’re stubbornly placing the blame for the missing cases on us!”
The crowd searched everywhere, but before they found the target, the person spoke again, “It seems Chairman Hua isn’t very familiar with the people he employs. Why don’t you ask Secretary Fang beside you?”
Secretary Fang, a young man who always kept a civilized demeanor while serving as a background figure behind Hua Baoren, turned pale when the topic shifted to him. Just as he was about to explain, he suddenly felt a pain in his neck, reached to touch it urgently, and pulled out a syringe.
“Muscle relaxant…” Before he finished speaking, Secretary Fang fell to the ground, his eyes still open, but his limbs had lost strength, and his tongue was thick.
This was the muscle relaxant Xu Huo obtained from the Special Defense Department. The effect is average; in games, the better muscle relaxant leaves people unable to move their limbs but still able to speak.
But it doesn’t matter as long as he can’t run away.
The venue descended into chaos, and some people tried to run to the door immediately. However, the door had already been sealed shut, and despite their clumsy attempts to use their props to open it, they couldn’t. In panic, people kept asking questions about the voice in the air like “What exactly do you want?” and “Who are you?”
It was then that Xu Huo appeared before everyone, walked to Secretary Fang’s side, picked up the tablet that had fallen to the ground, and then opened the projector in a corner of the venue to display the chat records from Secretary Fang’s private account.
He used encrypted communication methods. Although they were called encrypted, in reality they merely omitted the subjects and emphasized locations and quantities.
“Do these things look familiar?” Xu Huo asked Hua Baoren.
Hua Baoren, seasoned in facing great challenges, quickly calmed down and realized that Xu Huo’s statements might not be baseless. He carefully examined some numbers in the content and then said, “Some are familiar. These should be the numbers selected each time.”
“After becoming a Cannibal Player, I spent quite a lot of money on gathering intelligence. Even if we kill people, we select from those who have already committed crimes. When needed, we pick from the existing list, and each time the number is different… The frequency and quantity here have long exceeded what the company needs daily.”
Speaking, he glared at Secretary Fang, “You dare do such atrocious things behind my back!”
Secretary Fang’s eyeballs kept trembling, seemingly desperately trying to deny.
Hua Baoren wasn’t one to believe what anyone said at face value, so he turned back to Xu Huo and asked, “Who exactly are you? You probably aren’t from the Special Defense Department, right? Or do you want to pin all the missing cases in Nan City on me?”
“You’re overthinking it.” Xu Huo brought a few people from the “staff dormitory.” Apart from Manager Liu from the slaughterhouse, there was a driver responsible for transportation and a worker at the processing plant.
These people had their limbs severed but could still speak. As soon as they came out, they eagerly accused Secretary Fang and, in a tirade, revealed the several bases that Secretary Fang had established under his orders and his use of company resources to purchase props lent to Cannibal Players for attracting them.
Listening to this, Hua Baoren’s face turned grim. Moments later, he laughed in anger and kicked Secretary Fang, “Well, well, I didn’t expect the secretary I hired to be so capable! With such skill, why are you even a secretary?”
Xu Huo’s gaze swept over them. “Before coming here, I originally planned to conveniently resolve a problem for the Special Defense Department so that they wouldn’t be too busy to accidentally let an important figure escape…”
Hua Baoren’s eyes widened, “You plan to kill us all!”
Quite a few people’s legs went weak with fright, hurrying to declare that they had never killed anyone. Even if they had eaten those who had gone missing, they were completely deceived, claiming they never wanted to live such a life, and so on.
Xu Huo raised his hand to signal them to quiet down, then said to Hua Baoren, “You wish to carve out a place for people who accidentally become Cannibal Players, and that’s not wrong. But as I said before, whether it’s you or the Special Defense Department, neither has a method to effectively constrain all Cannibal Players, whether by legitimizing their identities or forming an organization. It would only bring harm, not benefit, to the entire zone.”
“So, give up your negotiations with the Special Defense Department about this matter. Dissolve the Witch Mountain Sect, and stop the kind of sacrifices no one dares to see anymore.”
Hua Baoren naturally understood the issues Cannibal Players face. After listening, he felt as if his passion had been thoroughly doused. He couldn’t help but say, “Must Cannibal Players live like rats in the gutter once they become one?”
“What else? Shall we grant you an award for your ‘kindness’?” Xu Huo raised an eyebrow, “You should be grateful that ordinary players hold the upper hand in Zone 014 now. If Cannibal Players were in control, do you think your chances of becoming a hunter would be greater than your chances of becoming prey?”
No matter what the state’s attitude towards Cannibal Players might be, this group can never be publicly acknowledged. Once “cannibalism” is permitted, it won’t be long before the normal human social system collapses.