Whether There Was a Connection
Fei Xian hadn't left the commercial district entirely. The place he was headed to was just behind the shopping street, in one of the connected Small Buildings. The area looked deserted, but a lot of Players were concealed nearby, and security was tighter than on the shopping street up front.
Fei Xian entered the room after passing the biometric scan at the door. Then he opened a concealed panel inside and went down to the basement.
There was no secret Laboratory or other shady place below. It was an office. An old man in a wheelchair was sorting through documents on his desk. A few maps with no labels were visible, and the one placed on top was a map of the major Safe Zones in District 010. Most of the cities in District 010 had been destroyed, so the map was quite rudimentary, showing only approximate distances and terrain.
"What is it?" The old man asked without looking up when he heard someone enter.
"Mr. Yuan." Fei Xian first bowed respectfully, then said, "Someone came looking for Dr. Joyce."
Only then did Mr. Yuan raise his head. "Do you know why?"
"He only said he was here on someone else's behalf. I didn't want to risk leaking anything, so I didn't ask too much and pretended not to know him." Fei Xian paused, then added, "But he said someone told him Dr. Joyce was with us."
Mr. Yuan stopped what he was doing. "Was he telling the truth, or was it a bluff?"
"He seemed sincere." Fei Xian frowned. "I just don't know who let him in on it."
"It doesn't matter who," Mr. Yuan said, shaking his head slightly. "Dr. Joyce has been to so many places. Someone was bound to remember him."