It’s nothing major, actually, it was just that the Girl in the painting was seen by a few young teachers while she was indulging in unrestricted shopping. After the game began, ordinary people’s lives were greatly disrupted, and some people still haven’t adjusted. So when they saw the Girl in the painting, they wanted to teach her a lesson.

"We also brought money..." One of them, plucking up courage, said to Liu Jia, "We thought if Li Chun couldn’t afford it, we could pay part of it, we didn’t plan to make her pay for everything..."

But before finishing the sentence, they lost confidence again, because this restaurant was clearly way beyond what they could afford.

"I’m not the one treating today, let me ask around for you." Liu Jia smiled and turned to ask Xu Huo, letting Yuan Yao handle it.

"These young ones really are ruthless, bringing dozens of mouths." Yuan Yao looked pained, but generously said, "They’re just kids, how much can they really eat? Let them stay, I did say I’d treat."

Liu Jia had no objections and passed on his message. Then their dining place was changed from a private room to a large dining hall.

The aroma of the dishes quickly spread, and the kids, not knowing much, happily ate under the guidance of a few teachers.

The Girl in the painting mingled with them for a while, but upon realizing they were forcing smiles, she returned to the private room.

"Some people are really strange, what they say and what they actually think are completely different. If that’s the case, why even bother speaking?" She’s not one to indulge in sentimental moods, so after saying this, she focused on her lunch.

After the meal, Xu Huo asked about the recent situation in Ting City, and Sima Xiao’er didn’t hold back, directly telling him that compared to other cities, Ting City was very good. At least living here, players rarely interfere. In other cities, players often clash, causing uncontrollable fights that harm ordinary people; tearing down houses and rebuilding them is still a good outcome, but casualties are not uncommon. In such situations, if the Special Defense Department can’t catch the culprits, they just settle it with a fine.

"We’re used to it," Sima Xiao’er said.

It’s not hard to understand. The Special Defense Department makes concessions to ordinary players, which inevitably affects ordinary people. That’s the situation in Ting City, and in other cities, it might be much worse than Xu Huo anticipated.

"Is there no internal wanted list?" Xu Huo asked.

The game can have wanted criminals, so of course, districts can too.

"Very few are actually listed as wanted criminals." Sima Xiao’er subtly hinted, after all, they can’t afford to completely alienate a large number of players, "Moreover, even when they’re wanted, it’s very hard to catch them."

"Don’t worry about whether we can catch them now, there’ll always be a time when we can." Xu Huo said calmly, "The longer one lives, the more they fear the reckoning after autumn—show some resolve."

"My resolve doesn’t work." Sima Xiao’er scratched his head, "I even suggested capturing all those murderous players and throwing them in jail, but it’s just talk if we can’t do it. Besides, revealing our cards could offend people so much that it’ll be harder to manage them in the future."

"Let’s not mention other cities for now," Xu Huo said, "Go back and ask Chief Wu to compile a wanted list of those we can catch and kill directly."

Sima Xiao’er visibly perked up, "Brother Xu, are you stepping in?"

Xu Huo glanced at the Girl in the painting and said, "Let’s give it a try."

Without a second word, Sima Xiao’er contacted Chief Wu, and by the end of lunch, an urgent list was ready. Besides the wanted individuals’ information, it also included their criminal records, all fully substantiated evidence, with the Special Defense Department not intending to make any efforts to spare them—vicious criminals to the core.

Whether they’re still in Ting City or have changed their appearance, Chief Wu and the others didn’t know; it was left up to chance.

Xu Huo thought the same, so after the meal, she asked the Girl in the painting to browse through all the file information and then search the entire city for these people. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Even with today’s advanced network, paper is still used in various parts of the city. After obtaining Ting City, the Special Defense Department cunningly supplemented paper in many places in different forms, such as specially-printed cards, promotional pictures, public service announcement codes, etc., primarily to facilitate her control... See, the opportunity just came!

In just half an hour, the Girl in the painting had already pinpointed nearly twenty people.

Sima Xiao’er couldn’t believe it when he first saw it, "They’ve killed so many people and still dare to stay in Ting City? Aren’t they itching from changing faces every day?"

"Perhaps they just enjoy this feeling," Gu Yu said, "Right under the Special Defense Department’s nose, no matter what, they can’t be caught."

"Damn it!" Sima Xiao’er said through gritted teeth.

When the Girl in the painting found thirty people, Xu Huo took the addresses she had recorded, "I’ll go, I’ll be back soon."

After saying that, he vanished from the restaurant.

"Mr. Xu... he really is swift and decisive." A member of the Player Organization couldn’t help but say, curious as to whether he could really handle all thirty people.

In fact, dealing with these people was much simpler than imagined. Most of them are Level D and Rank-C players, with not many C ranks. Usually, they’re adept at disguising and entering instances, so as long as they don’t show their true faces in public, the Special Defense Department finds it a bit challenging to locate them. But when they’re relaxed, it’s a different story—if they dare to show their faces, the Girl in the painting finds them instantly.

It took less than twenty minutes to deal with these people, with only two being exceptionally lucky, entering an instance at the critical moment, missing Xu Huo.

Upon returning to the restaurant, the Girl in the painting compiled a new list.

Processing these people in the same way, the bodies were packed with Prop containers and handed over to the Special Defense Department for handling.

After finishing with the list given by the Special Defense Department, Xu Huo then said, "Ting City can have a public wanted list in the future."

Chief Wu on the other end of the communicator couldn’t contain his laughter, "Public, it will definitely be public! This already processed list will be made public on the Special Defense Department’s website!"

Sima Xiao’er and the others left quickly, since there were after-effects to deal with. However, Gu Yu felt there was no need for him to go to such lengths to help the Special Defense Department, as publicly opposing so many players is not a good thing either.

"There will be more public wanted lists like this in the future." Xu Huo said, "It serves as a deterrent. It’s been two years since entering the game, yet still vying for small gains at home—it’s somewhat unambitious."

"I agree with that." Gu Yu nodded, "Many people don’t know the priorities. My concern now is game integration. I want to move my family to the Outer Zone and come back after it’s stable."

"I’ll stay here and fight alongside Zone 014, but my family doesn’t have to."

As she spoke, she took out some documents, "This is the district I have in mind."

"A Rank-B district?" Xu Huo glanced at it, "Are you considering a long-term stay there?"