"So I think they must have been brought into the game by the Water Rubik’s Cube." Lou Zigui said, "It’s a pity they never appeared again... hopefully they cleared the game."

After thanking Xu Huo again, Lou Zigui finally hung up the communicator.

Xu Huo handed the communicator to the Girl in the painting, asking her to help submit a screened list of wanted prisoners to the Municipal Government.

The Girl in the painting had been doing this work for a long time and began to negotiate terms, "After this job, I’m done. I want to go out and play."

Xu Huo was about to say something when suddenly a message came through on the communicator. It was from "Ding Dong Bleeding," who got straight to the point by revealing his identity: "I’m a municipal government player."

After a brief exchange, he got up, "Weren’t you saying you wanted to go out? Let’s go."

The Girl in the painting quickly put down her work and followed him. Zhu Xiaojin also wanted to join in, so the three of them headed to a nearby bar.

It wasn’t dinner time yet, but most players and local residents had already gone home, so places like the bar were even less crowded. As they entered, they noticed a woman with a tattoo on her forehead sitting by the bar.

"Are you Ding Dong Bleeding?" Xu Huo asked as he approached.

The tattooed woman gestured to the bartender to pour him a drink, "Try it. Before the Municipal Government fell, I loved coming here for drinks."

Xu Huo wasn’t very interested, but the Girl in the painting was adventurous. She tilted the glass up to her mouth, drank it all, smacked her lips, and asked the bartender for another.

Zhu Xiaojin sat next to Xu Huo, not participating in their conversation.

Seeing Xu Huo’s indifferent attitude, the tattooed woman had to speak first, "Did someone really clear the game?"

Xu Huo pointed behind him at Zhu Xiaojin.

The tattooed woman glanced over and said, "The number of wanted criminals submitted by the Municipal Government is quite a lot, but clearing the game generally requires dozens of wanted criminals. Even if you split them up, there wouldn’t be much per person. He couldn’t have cleared the game by pinning all the wanted criminals on him, right?"

"Since you’re a municipal government player, you should understand the game better than outsiders." Xu Huo said calmly, "If you came to find me, it’s definitely not just to clear the game."

Ding Dong Bleeding had previously not responded to other Law Enforcement Officers at all; this meant she either knew how to clear the game and didn’t need anyone’s help, or she had no need to clear it. Now, with her being a Municipal Government player, the latter seemed more likely.

For someone who doesn’t need to clear the game, the focus must be on the one-third game.

The city center is in that state, so those who originally worked for the Municipal Government must understand the inside story.

"You’re indeed a smart person." The tattooed woman smiled, "I’ve done some digging, and for you to get through to the Municipal Government so quickly, you must be a powerful player; otherwise, you would have been replaced by other players long ago. The fact that you survived the game and have someone who cleared it by your side further proves this."

"The smarter a person is, the heavier their curiosity. Trading a few armed robots and more than ten flying surveillance devices with the Municipal Government won’t sway you, but you must be really curious about what happened in Bu Liu City, right?"

"I can exchange it for this secret with you." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Xu Huo smiled but didn’t answer.

The tattooed woman swirled the glass in her hand and continued, "The one-third game contains Time Force and Spatial Power, which would be incredibly alluring to a Super Evolver like you. The core of the game is in the city center, the opportunity is right in front of you, are you just going to let it pass by?"

"You really know?" Xu Huo decided to be upfront, "The Municipal Government no longer exists, you’re a former municipal government player who can’t even enter the city center, yet you impersonate a dungeon player to apply for a Law Enforcement Officer’s identity. Whether there are still living people in the city center is a question mark. The only reason you came to me is that, whatever you’re planning, you need someone else’s help to get into the city center."

"Needing help from others could mean two things: either not being strong enough or using someone as a scapegoat. Which one are you?"

At this point, both parties’ attitudes and objectives were fairly clear. The tattooed woman held the secret of the one-third game but needed Xu Huo’s help, while Xu Huo believed this leverage wasn’t sufficient.

The tattooed woman was in a weaker position in the negotiation, and Xu Huo could walk away anytime. Her revealing her identity was actually a move to increase her stakes and showed her urgency.

A burst of laughter escaped, and the tattooed woman downed the drink in her glass, the glass tapping down onto the bar with a "clack," before she turned to look at Xu Huo, "Dealing with smart, capable people is always troublesome, everything’s like being stark naked, stripping the negotiation process to nothing, how boring."

"I’ve helped everyone save time." Xu Huo chuckled.

The tattooed woman leaned on the bar with one hand, resting her chin as she gazed at him, "You didn’t guess entirely right. The city center does still have people; there’s someone who used to work at the Municipal Government, because he’s the one who brought the one-third game."

"Is that so?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow slightly, "Then the first to suffer would surely be the Municipal Government players. Do you harbor a deep grudge?"

The tattooed woman squinted her eyes, "Hardly a deep grudge, just a madman indulged in science and the future, wanting to create a world without instances, thinking the things he discovered were miracles, not realizing they were death wishes. He’s now equally trapped in the one-third game and can’t get out."

She spoke as she pushed her communicator forward, showing emails exchanged with the Municipal Government, "These were sent by that person, containing coded messages. Possibly with the influx of dungeon players entering the city center, he found enough materials to log back into the Municipal Government’s system. Otherwise, maybe you players wouldn’t even have had a chance to become Law Enforcement Officers."

Xu Huo paused, "Hasn’t there always been contact with the Municipal Government?"

"Of course." The tattooed woman raised an eyebrow, "You think other players haven’t thought about this approach?"

It sounded like a trap.

"Are you suggesting I bring this person out?" Xu Huo asked again.

"Why would I care about his life or death," the tattooed woman snorted coldly, "he’s killed so many companions, he should have been dead long ago!"

After speaking, she looked back at Xu Huo, "I want you to destroy this one-third game."

Xu Huo laughed, "A space containing Space-Time Power, and it’s already formed a complete game. Are you joking?"

"I mentioned it’s a game brought by someone," the tattooed woman said, "The game’s host is in the city center, or it wouldn’t restrict player entry. That person inside is now willing to cooperate with us, providing the host’s location. As long as a Space-Time Dual Evolver goes in and destroys the host, Bu Liu City can be restored to normal!"