"It’s good to see the child is safe." Xu Huo rarely showed a smile of appreciation to the Girl in the painting, "You did well. I’ll give you overtime pay."
The Girl in the painting shyly lowered her head and then said, "A few people got away."
"Don’t worry about them, the Special Defense Department will handle it." Xu Huo led Tongtong towards the secret room’s exit, turning left and right through several rooms until they reached one with windows, "Let’s go down from here."
Having said that, he stood by the window without moving. The Girl in the painting looked back at the wall behind her, "Is there something there?"
Xu Huo stared at the wall covered in graffiti. He only looked away after the people behind it had gone far away, then he lowered his head and smiled at Tongtong, "Are you scared to go down through the window?"
Tongtong’s little eyes glanced at the window and his face clearly showed fear, but he said immediately after, "I’m a boy. I won’t be scared. Even when the bad guys caught me, I didn’t cry!"
"Who was the one shedding golden beans just now?" Xu Huo teased him.
"It’s because Sister Li Chun hurt me!" Tongtong’s face flushed as he defended himself, and then he stepped forward to hug Xu Huo’s leg, "You go ahead and jump. If you cry, you are not a person from Country X!"
Xu Huo couldn’t help but smile, picked up the child with one hand, and with the other hand, he grasped the strings, "If you’re afraid, just close your eyes."
He and the Girl in the painting jumped down from the ninth floor. To take care of the child, he deliberately slowed down their descent and landed lightly.
After setting the child down, he told Tongtong, "You’re going home with the uncles and aunts from the Special Defense Department."
Tongtong grabbed his clothes, "Aren’t brother and Sister Li Chun going to accompany me? The uncles and aunts from the Special Defense Department are unreliable. Those bad guys kidnapped me right from their hands!"
This left the rapidly gathering members of the Special Defense Department slightly embarrassed. Xu Huo patted the child’s head, "Don’t talk like that in the future. Otherwise, you might get hit with a sneak attack."
"They will take you back. I’ve got other things to do."
"What things?" The little child was filled with an adult’s worries, "What if those bad guys come to kidnap me again? I’m not scared, just worried about my parents. You know that older people are very timid."
Xu Huo ruffled his hair, "The thing I’m going to do is exactly about that. Once it’s done, no one will dare come to our house again."
His light remark, however, made the surrounding members of the Special Defense Department sense the storm brewing, especially the hurriedly arriving Chief Wu, "Xu Huo..."
Xu Huo turned to him, his expression calm, "You received the big gift I sent to the Special Defense Department, right?"
Chief Wu’s expression was complex, "That water was very useful. People who were mildly poisoned could even recover in a short time."
"That’s good to hear." Xu Huo patted Tongtong’s back, signaling him to go over, "I’m entrusting the child to you, hoping you can safely send him home."
Chief Wu took hold of Tongtong, "This time you can rest assured, I’ll personally deliver, no more mistakes... no matter what you plan to do, be careful."
After borrowing a vehicle from the Special Defense Department, Xu Huo waved at Tongtong and left with the Girl in the painting.
"Chief, should we send someone to follow him?" An agent inquired, "I always feel that what he’s going to do isn’t good..."
Chief Wu sharply cut off his follow-up words, "He’s not a Player of the Special Defense Department. What he does is none of our business. Has the cleanup work for the building started?"
The agent was so rebuked that he quickly organized people to enter the building.
Xu Huo drove to the previous stronghold.
After confirming the effectiveness of the reservoir water, the Special Defense Department herded all the aliens toward Wen Mountain. The follow-up matters would be resolved there, so the blockade near the headquarters was lifted, and Zheng Liang and others were able to escape.
Once communication was restored, Zheng Liang received a call from a friend, informing him that the information he had requested was obtained.
The person Nie Xuan had sent over to pick them up was also a player. After hearing the conversation content through an artifact, he immediately relayed the matter to Nie Xuan.
"Smuggling channel?" Nie Xuan hadn’t expected that under the current circumstances, there would still be people crossing the border.
Some unsavory channels operating across various national borders were nothing unusual, but after the player incidents surfaced, the border had become Country X’s first line of defense—especially after minor-scale wars, where those previous cross-border channels had all been cleared out.
Of course, the situation was different now. Ordinary military forces might not be able to fend off the players, so he made a phone call to verify.
The channel mentioned by his subordinate was not on the extermination list of the border warriors, revealing it to be a new one.
"Don’t worry about this line for now, focus on surveillance. I will report this matter upward," Nie Xuan interrupted the communication, staying silent for two seconds in front of the conference table, and then chuckled. "It seems your spatial artifact isn’t that reliable after all."
After a brief pause, he dialed Chief Wu’s number. "Have we agreed on the artifact to be given to Xu Huo?"
After leaving the Special Defense Department Headquarters, Zheng Liang conveyed the information he had purchased to Xu Huo.
"This line is newly established by a player. However, he has only been bringing people into our side from abroad, never sent anyone out..." Zheng Liang said with a hint of hesitation. "The overseas identity information is also available, but with the chaotic international situation and the virus rampant, I still think it’s too risky."
"I will take Li Chun with me," Xu Huo said listlessly while making a list, not looking up. "Prepare the identity information for one person."
Zheng Liang, seeing his unyielding attitude, couldn’t help but get aggravated. "Fine, fine, you’re tough, you’re bold, go wade through the muddy waters if you want!"
Gu Yu came over and patted him. "You’ve been up all night, go rest."
Zheng Liang left discontentedly, and Gu Yu approached Xu Huo from behind. After a while, she pursed her lips and said, "Actually, I guess I know what you’re going to do. Does it have to be now? When your Player Level goes up, success will be more likely later, so there’s no need to rush."
"Now is the best time to do it," Xu Huo stopped and glanced at her. "I don’t undertake tasks I’m not confident about."
Gu Yu couldn’t help but smile. "I know you always plan ahead. Anyway, we have tickets; if anything goes wrong, just escape into the game. At worst, we can always come back later."
Xu Huo nodded slightly in agreement.
Seeing this, Gu Yu did not want to disturb him any further. "Let me know if you need help with anything; we can still manage the preparations."
As she was about to leave, she heard Xu Huo ask, "Have all the players returned?"
Gu Yu’s voice relaxed, "Most of them have. The rest might have entered the game. We should have results in a couple of days."
"I will compensate everyone afterward," Xu Huo added. "The effects of the antitoxins you carry should last a while. Measure your individual situations accordingly."
Gu Yu nodded and left the room.
Xu Huo had finished making his list and set down his pen. He then opened his personal panel and searched on the reward platform for spatial artifacts. The "Fifty-Fifty Open Air Window System" had been used once in Zone 014 and could not be used a second time. Although a spatial artifact was not immediately necessary for his plans, it was always good to have contingencies.