# Chapter 50: Fur and Skin
Xu Huo, who had almost been forced to watch an entire live show, didn't get free until nearly midnight game time.
The Skinner had given him the bedroom and gone to sleep on the sofa himself.
Only after things quieted down outside did Xu Huo sit up, his previous drunken demeanor completely gone. He contacted Peng Fengnian to confirm that the Skinner had indeed gone to the office before quietly slipping out of the bedroom.
He went to the fur room outside, put on the Skinner's gloves, and began examining every piece of fur.
Tang Pei and the others had checked this place during the day too, and what they saw was the same as what he saw now—all the furs hanging here were animal skins. But the Skinner had said there was human skin here.
If the human skin wasn't hanging outside, then it must be hidden among these furs.
Why would the Skinner hide human skin among animal furs? The answer was obvious.
He inspected every piece of fur and discovered at least three that had hidden layers. He wasn't sure if they contained human skin, but he didn't open them to check. He simply memorized their positions and characteristics before leaving.
In the small room next to the workshop, several players were waiting anxiously. Hearing the tap on the window, they quickly opened it.
Xu Huo jumped in and nodded to the group by way of greeting. "Outside, remember to call me Mr. Wang."
"So, Mr. Wang, what did you find?" Zou Weichang asked, arms crossed.
Xu Huo pressed the paper phone to his ear, ensuring Peng Fengnian could hear everything he said.
"The way to open the secret room is to push the entire wall backward," he said. "It's not difficult—two players can do it."
The group's expressions shifted. Qin An blurted out, "You actually got into the secret room? How did you manage that? How could the Skinner trust you!"
Xu Huo glanced at him and said calmly, "There's a radio on the office desk. The place where the Skinner opened this instance has recently undergone major personnel changes. I posed as an administrative staff member about to be transferred here through connections. At least for the next day or two, I'm safe."
"I heard from Peng Fengnian that each station actually connects to a very large area. The instances inside are independent, but the venues should be connectable. It's just that our levels are too low—we can only enter closed or semi-closed instances and can't leave the instance range," Qin An said. "We can only speculate that each station city has an administrator, but how it actually operates is completely unclear."
He stared at Xu Huo as he spoke. Since Xu Huo could bluff the Skinner with this story, he must know quite a bit about the inner workings.
"Are you a B-rank player, Mr. Xu?" he asked tentatively.
"No," Xu Huo lit a cigarette but didn't put away the lighter. "Peng Fengnian knows the specifics."
He didn't explain too clearly. Revealing the impersonation was only meant to extract more information from them.
"You've got guts. What if the Skinner didn't believe you and attacked?" Yang Can, who still had finger marks on his face, said admiringly. Even though he was also a D-rank player, after getting slapped, he was now somewhat intimidated by the Skinner.
"There's no method that comes without risk," Xu Huo repeated his earlier words.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's go find the Skinner's treasures," Zou Weichang said, eyes burning with intensity. "There must be plenty of good stuff in that secret room. Grabbing just one piece should be enough to clear the instance, right?"
Qin An frowned at him but didn't say anything, instead looking at Xu Huo. "Something worthy of being called a treasure would at least be something the Skinner considers important."
"If there are too many targets, it's actually harder to find the right one," Tang Pei also said. "Do you have any clues?"
"Peng Fengnian mentioned something about the Skinner to you before," Xu Huo said, tapping his cigarette ash into a water glass.
"The Skinner's knife can't be used during the day. What does that have to do with anything?"
"The Skinner's treasure probably isn't in the secret room," Xu Huo said. "Factory owner Carl and Skinner Carl are two identities. The first task corresponds to Skinner Carl, and his treasure is the furs in the fur room."
"When I came over just now, I found a few pieces of fur that might be treasures, but I don't recommend you go get them now."
"Skinner Carl, Factory Owner Carl—what's the difference? Aren't they the same person?" Xian Dazhi scratched his head.
Qin An reacted quickly. "That makes sense. The game introduction also mentions the Skinner's identity. He was a skinner before, but now his main identity is factory owner. Since the third task targets the factory owner, it stands to reason that the first task corresponds to the skinner identity."
"What if we're wrong?" Tang Pei said worriedly. "We don't have much time to access those things."
"I'll arrange to take the Skinner fishing tomorrow," Xu Huo said. "You can act then. The risk is relatively lower during the day."
"But I still think the key to the first task lies in those furs." He described the positions of the three furs and added, "I have one condition. If getting the furs allows you to leave the instance, you need to obtain the other two furs and hand them over to me before you go."
"You don't want to leave?" Tang Pei said in surprise. "As long as the ticket-holding player clears the instance, the accompanying random players can also leave. That way, you won't have to take more risks."
"You want to save the people in the pigsty, don't you?" Xian Dazhi immediately said. "Count me in!"
"Are you out of your mind? Playing hero?" Zou Weichang said darkly. "How do you plan to save them? Unless you can make the Skinner release them willingly, do you really think holding two pieces of fur will make that murderous maniac compromise?"
The others all thought this possibility was slim. Xian Dazhi muttered quietly, "We have to try at least."
Xu Huo currently had no better way to save people. To act, he needed these players' help. He didn't try to persuade them but said, "There's an order due in two days. The Skinner needs to skin those six little pigs alive and ensure the skins are delivered fresh to the dining table."
Tang Pei and the others' faces immediately turned ugly. They all knew those six little pigs were actually six children!
"I'm in!" Xian Dazhi said. "We can't let those bastards eat the kids alive!"
"I agree too," Qin An also said. "Once we get our return tickets, we can take a gamble. Maybe we really can save people. If not, at least we tried."
Tang Pei and Yang Can both nodded.
"Of course, I have no problem either. Let's set the action time for tomorrow." On the paper phone, Peng Fengnian's voice paused, then suddenly said, "The factory looks a bit strange."
"What kind of strange?" Xu Huo immediately became alert.
"It suddenly got closer..." Before Peng Fengnian could finish, the connection cut off.
"What happened?" Tang Pei and the others asked urgently.
"I don't know either. Remember the agreed time is tomorrow. I'm leaving now." Xu Huo finished hastily and climbed out the window. When he looked up, the tree shadows that had been faintly visible just moments ago had completely merged into the darkness, and that darkness seemed like something tangible, closing in on the factory from all directions!