Players, Please Board the Train

Chapter 389: Event Separation

Xu Huo did not deny it and added, "My hometown hasn't been gamified for long."

Wan Tingfang waved her hand dismissively. "You're very capable, with so many powerful items. My profession is a fisherman. If a dungeon run doesn't get a high rating, I don't get any good items either. It took me several years to become a C-level player, though I'm probably at the very bottom among C-level players."

"How many more dungeons until you reach B-level?" Xu Huo asked casually.

"Who knows?" Wan Tingfang's answer was equally casual. "The higher the dungeon rating, the fewer dungeons needed to advance to the next level. But I always just barely scrape by, and occasionally there are one or two dungeons I never even clear to the end. Leveling up is slow. What about you?"

"I'm doing alright, mostly C and D levels," Xu Huo said.

"Then you've been a player for a shorter time than me, but you might reach B-level before I do." Wan Tingfang sized him up. "But your physical strength seems weaker than the average C-level player. Is your evolution rate not high?"

Xu Huo smiled without answering.

Wan Tingfang finished the strong liquor in her glass and extended her hand. "Consider us officially acquainted. If I edge you out and become the base's auxiliary personnel, don't hold a grudge."

"The feeling is mutual," Xu Huo said, shaking her hand.

Afterwards, the two left the bar and went their separate ways.Xu Huo returned to the rental room. He confirmed that no one had entered the room during his absence before going inside. First, he used the telescope to observe that the logistics staff member was at home, then he opened the projection to watch the previously recorded footage.

That person's activity pattern was the same as the previous two days: normal work during the day, returning home with groceries after work, then cooking dinner for his wife and daughter. After dinner, he helped his daughter with homework, put her to bed, and then worked overtime for a while.

Right now was his overtime period.

Xu Huo watched by the window for a while before turning back to rest.

Around midnight, the lights that had gone out in the surveillance feed suddenly turned back on. The logistics staff member hurriedly changed into his work uniform, grabbed his briefcase, and left the residential building.

Xu Huo, who had been somewhat tired, perked up. He changed into the cleaning robot repairman's uniform and followed.

He trailed the man all the way to a commercial dock on the east side of the base city.

The docks in District 011 were different from those in Zone 014. The large shipping containers were replaced with small room-like, temperature-controlled storage units. These storage units were all equipped with automated flight devices. To store or retrieve goods, one only needed remote control, and they could also be programmed to swap positions automatically.

This was a measure taken to combat theft. Every storage unit at the dock had a movement program. Within a certain time period, the units would automatically swap positions. Apart from the auto-generated position program and the person holding the controller, no one else could possibly know the location of a storage unit with a specific number.

There were other people at the dock. Xu Huo parked the car outside and used the telescope to observe the activity inside. Sure enough, not long after the logistics staff member entered, the stacked storage units began exchanging positions.

Across the entire dock, at least half of the storage units started moving. The white rooms, devoid of any external identification markings, became impossible to track to their original positions after just a few swaps. Moreover, there were so many of them that it was impossible to know which specific units the logistics staff member was operating.

After about half an hour, the logistics staff member and several colleagues finally walked out of the dock.

Xu Huo's gaze lingered on the man's briefcase for a long time before he looked away. He remained hidden outside the dock until the man had left, then returned to the rental room via a different route.

For the logistics staff member to rush to the dock in the middle of the night to swap storage unit positions, it definitely wasn't a company drill. Those storage units likely contained something very important.

Previously, the Rongxin Group was hunting internal traitors. If it was indeed a staff member who had leaked some company secrets, normally measures would be taken before the incident or immediately after it happened, not waiting until now.

But according to information found online, three Rongxin Group cargo ships were scheduled to dock within the next week. With such a large cargo volume, it meant these storage units should have been emptied out by now, if not all, then at least partially. Why would the Rongxin Group come to swap the positions of empty storage units?

Xu Huo's train of thought paused here. Perhaps it wasn't to swap the storage unit positions, but to rewrite the program.

There were over ten thousand storage units at the dock, belonging to different conglomerates and companies. There should be a preset movement program to ensure no conflicts between the different parties. Changing positions frequently would definitely be inconvenient. So, these logistics staff members were probably there to update the movement program.

This indicated that these storage units would soon be storing a batch of important goods. Considering the business of that branch company, it was highly likely to be privately purchased weapons and firearms.

If this speculation held true, then Rongxin had purchased a batch of weapons. However, an internal staff member leaked this information. That's why Vicen Meni, while proselytizing, also dealt with his own people and tried to catch the contact person to follow the trail and find the backstage buyer opposing him.

Xu Huo immediately lost interest.

After daybreak, he went to the Game Government base.

Shi Youzhi came out to meet him with dark circles under his eyes, clearly having not slept all night. Many others hadn't slept either. Compared to the quietness during his last visit, the base building today was bustling with busy staff members everywhere.

"I was just speaking offhand yesterday," Xu Huo said with a hint of apology. "If a major game partition is about to erupt in war, the early stage shouldn't be this calm."

"Your suspicion isn't unfounded. I checked the maintenance records since District 011 became a game partition. Several sub-partitions coincidentally had stations damaged. That's just too much of a coincidence."

"Did you find any leads?" Xu Huo paused before asking, "The players who ambushed us showed their faces. Can their identities be traced?"

Shi Youzhi raised his hand and tapped in the air. Some photos were projected into the room. "The person whose arm you chopped off has been found. A D-level player who arrived in District 011 not long ago. All the content that could be extracted from the surveillance videos is here. I've been looking at it all night, with no results."