Chapter 1005: Ornamental Plants
A giant flower stalk about three meters tall stood in the center of the venue. Its stem was short, and the flower lay close to the ground, with petals spreading over ten meters in diameter, layered upon each other. Both the stamens and petals were transparent, only the stem was pale white. From a distance, it looked like a crystal-clear glass sculpture.
The venue staff were introducing this giant flower.
“…It comes from the White Mist Grand Canyon, discovered by a botanist and named ‘Snow City’s Most Beautiful.’ As you can all see, its appearance is the best among the plants selected this time. Plants that grow to this size usually don’t have such crystal-clear flowers and stamens. What’s even rarer is that it hasn’t been artificially interfered with—it’s a plant that grew entirely in the darkness of Zone 002!”
The staff member’s high-pitched tone earned a round of applause. After the clapping subsided, he continued, “Besides its natural and rare characteristics, this ‘Snow City’s Most Beautiful’ has a very unique viewing point. I believe many of you have already heard about it and seen it. To be honest, I’ve seen it more than once, but the beauty gifted by nature is still breathtaking no matter how many times you watch it!”
“Let us witness it again!”
As the staff member exited, the spatial passage in the center of the venue slowly opened. Sunlight streamed through the gaps and shone on the giant flower. The flower seemed unable to withstand the sunlight; the moment it touched the light, its petals curled up. But in the next second, all the petals opened again, catching the chunk of meat that fell from the passage!
The bloody piece of meat was swallowed by the open stamens. Wet, squelching sounds mixed with strange crunching noises. After a moment, the chewed meat squeezed out a stream of blood, which instantly dispersed into the petals. Through veins barely visible to the naked eye, the blood rapidly spread throughout the entire giant flower.
In an instant, it was as if a network of blood vessels had been activated. But the overly dense veins made the giant flower look like it had turned completely red, shifting from transparent to deep crimson.
This state lasted only three seconds. The blood quickly receded, and the petals became clean again.
No one cared what the falling piece of meat actually was. After witnessing this “performance” that lasted less than ten seconds, everyone immediately clapped excitedly.
“What fell down?” Xiao Dou looked up and asked the adult beside him.
“Probably some bird or animal,” Dong Jingxuan said dismissively. “Spatial passages mostly connect to remote, uninhabited places. Occasionally, when they open, some birds accidentally fall in. They just get torn apart when passing through the spatial passage.”
Xu Huo glanced at the closed spatial passage. At the very least, he could confirm that the passage connected to the plant preservation hall was definitely not some remote, uninhabited wilderness.
What fell down was a person. More precisely, part of a person.
“Over there is another kind of flower that needs at least three people to surround it before it blooms,” Dong Jingxuan said. “Mr. Xu, let’s go check that out.”
Xu Huo followed along. The plants in the preservation hall combined Zone 002’s aesthetic standards with entertainment value. Some plants were indeed quite interesting.
“I wonder if they can survive in sunlight.”
“That’s simple. Get a few pots and try it out, won’t you?” Dong Jingxuan immediately called over the venue staff and asked them to pack some portable plants and send them to the Dong family residence.
After learning Xu Huo’s needs, the staff quickly produced a list. “These plants won’t wither from short-term exposure to sunlight, but it’s best to keep them in a dark room. If well cared for, they should have a lifespan of about three years.”
“Flowers, why keep them that long?” Dong Jingxuan waved his hand, telling them to pick the prettiest and most interesting ones to send. After saying that, he wanted to take Xu Huo to visit the animal hall, but Brother Lei stopped him. “Young Master Xuan, if you don’t go back soon, the master will probably be angry.”
“You can avoid it for a while, but not forever.” Dong Jingxuan sighed dramatically and suggested going back to be scolded first. Xu Huo could continue exploring under the Dong family’s company. If he needed anything or liked anything, the Dong family would cover the cost.
Xu Huo knew he wouldn’t meet any important figures from the Dong family, so he let Dong Jingxuan do as he pleased.
Brother Lei arranged for two players to stay behind: the peacemaker player and the female player taking care of Xiao Dou.
Xu Huo continued touring other themed preservation halls. With the local players guiding him, he also tried some specialty foods. Two hours later, he finally got in touch with Chi Minghong.
She had already found the instance venue. “I’ll go after I eat a full meal. Are you in this instance?”
“I’m not entering the instance for now,” Xu Huo replied.
“Alright then. I’ll find you to split the items after I come out of the instance.” Chi Minghong sent another message. “If you leave before I’m done, don’t blame me for hogging everything.”
The instance venue for the ticket Xu Huo used wasn’t in Snow City. He came here to find Dr. Zhang’s residence.
The address Luo Changren gave was an independent courtyard area not far from Snow City. The houses in this area were sold with the land. As long as the holder bought the land, they could do whatever they wanted with everything on it, including vegetation, animals, and underground resources.
According to several photos taken by photography enthusiasts from the outskirts, the area around Dr. Zhang’s residence was well-preserved. Unlike other subdivided areas that had been turned into large castles or commercialized, it was surrounded by a vast white forest.
While searching for relevant information, Xu Huo found a rental notice. The address was exactly Dr. Zhang’s residence.
The information on the rental notice didn’t match Dr. Zhang. Xu Huo then searched the contact info on Zone 002’s public network and found that the property belonged to an old lady named “Jin Li.” After her death, her adopted son inherited the property. There had been two renovation applications midway, but for unknown reasons, they were abandoned. In the end, the land remained unchanged, and Jin Li’s adopted son rented out the property.
There had been many tenants here. Dr. Zhang was one of them, and information about the other tenants wasn’t hard to find.
Because this property had gained some minor fame in the “supernatural curse” circle, some seemingly real tenant information had been made public. There were many theories, but two points were consistent: first, the area was within a natural magnetic field, making communicators and ordinary electronic devices unusable; second, all tenants who moved in died mysteriously within three years, either in the house or in the surrounding forest.
This included the original owner’s adopted son and his wife.
Dr. Zhang’s name was also on the list, but his “outcome” was listed as missing.
Unlike Luo Changren’s account, where the neighbor told him Dr. Zhang had left on his own.
Both versions were questionable, but Xu Huo believed Luo Changren’s story was closer to the truth. If Dr. Zhang was also investigating Dr. Wu’s whereabouts, then he was most likely a player. At the very least, like Dr. Deng, he moved between two identities, using non-player tickets to travel between different zones.
“Snow White’s Villa?”
(End of Chapter)