Chapter 1006: Small Tunnel
Female player Zeng An happened to see the content Xu Huo was browsing and said with a smile, "How come Mr. Xu is interested in this kind of peculiar geological phenomenon?"
For players, it was perfectly normal for people to live in a rental house for less than three years. They could die anytime, anywhere, in any random way, completely unrelated to the supernatural or curses ordinary people imagined.
For things like this, players would at most pay attention to the special magnetic field mentioned earlier.
"There are natural magnetic stones under this forest, which is why electronic devices can't be used," Zeng An explained. "That's not unusual. There are quite a few places like this in District 002. The government sent people to inspect it, and the final conclusion was a magnetite mine. But since it's private land, it hasn't been developed yet."
"Hasn't the heir already died?" Xu Huo asked.
"Snow City is very peaceful, and having many relatives is normal." Zeng An smiled. "If Mr. Xu is interested, you can go take a look. The scenery there is quite nice."
Xu Huo declined.
Not long after, the peacemaker player traveling with them received a phone call and formally invited Xu Huo to the Dong family mansion.
The Dong family's residence was a manor, a considerable area divided into several sections. The core members and direct relatives of the Dong family lived in different places, and where Xu Huo was headed was Dong Jingxuan's home—a six-story manor.
It wasn't the largest manor in the area, but in terms of size, it was at least ten times the size of Rose Castle. The manor was divided into a main building and auxiliary buildings. The main building was in the center, with the auxiliary buildings on both sides, not far apart.
Zeng An led Xu Huo and Xiao Dou to the auxiliary building on the right. Dong Jingxuan was already waiting for him in the living room and had prepared some game items in advance, all popular in Snow City.
"Let's go hunting." Knowing Xu Huo wasn't interested, Dong Jingxuan immediately became excited. "I'll have them release a mutated tiger. The leg meat of mutated tigers from District 002 is the most tender. No matter how you cook it, it's delicious. Doing it yourself makes it even more flavorful."
Xu Huo, however, looked at a building covered in climbing plants that was relatively far away. "What's that place?"
"The botanical garden." Dong Jingxuan said. "Nothing special to see, just some flowers and plants. There's no access control. You can go anytime if you want."
"Hunting is more fun. You've probably never played like this before!"
"Master Xuan, Mr. Xu is a player." Zeng An reminded him. Which player hadn't killed a few mutated beasts?
Seeing Dong Jingxuan's disappointed expression, Xu Huo said, "Playing around a bit is fine."
"Great! I'll go change clothes!" Dong Jingxuan left cheerfully, his whole being radiating a signal of pure joy.
"Didn't he get scolded?" Xu Huo turned to ask the square-faced man.
The square-faced man said expressionlessly, "How could the young master be wrong? If anyone gets scolded, it's us."
Xu Huo nodded sympathetically and added, "You guys really are quite negligent."
The square-faced man's face twisted, but Xu Huo raised a hand to calm him down. "Just think, if Dong Jingxuan had died or been kidnapped, getting scolded now would be an easy way out."
The square-faced man couldn't help but clench his fists until they cracked. After holding it in for a moment, he said, "Outmatched in skill. Say what you want."
Xu Huo acknowledged his words.
The square-faced man turned and left in anger. "I'll wait outside!"
"Why make things so unpleasant? Mr. Xu isn't planning to stay long at the Dong residence anyway." Zeng An said.
"Precisely because I'm not staying long." Xu Huo smiled instead.
Zeng An seemed to catch on and shut her mouth.
Soon, Dong Jingxuan came out fully armed. A specially made suit of armor covered him from head to toe, but it looked lightweight and didn't hinder his movements. He said to Xu Huo, "Hunting is very dangerous for ordinary people, so I have to wear protective armor in the past."
"Let the kid stay here. He can find something to play with."
Xu Huo had no objection, so he left Xiao Dou behind and followed Dong Jingxuan and the square-faced man to the hunting ground.
Crossing a river led to the Dong family's dedicated hunting area. Besides being separated from the manor by the river, the hunting ground was also surrounded by protective netting. There was no dedicated entrance or exit; entry was made by descending from the air via a special aircraft.
Once inside, they happened to run into other members of the Dong family. Several players who looked like bodyguards were guarding a young girl, who was watching a live broadcast. She was clapping excitedly at a young man piloting a single-person aircraft through the forest, "Brother Qifeng is amazing!"
Dong Jingxuan immediately curled his lip.
The girl noticed them too. She turned around and gave Dong Jingxuan a smile. "I heard you got called out and scolded by Third Uncle just now. Did you cause trouble outside again and need the family to clean up your mess?"
Dong Jingxuan snorted coldly. "Sorry to disappoint you. I'm doing great. Not only did I not get scolded, I even got an extra allowance."
The girl looked at him suspiciously. "Cousin, don't put on a brave face. The day before yesterday, Third Uncle was asking my dad for money to tide things over. How could he possibly give you an allowance?"
"What do you mean 'asking Second Uncle for money'? That's operating capital. Everyone in the family can take some." Dong Jingxuan looked her up and down. "You don't think just because your dad manages the money, it's his, do you, Dong Yanqiong?"
Dong Yanqiong didn't take the bait. She haughtily turned her head to the holographic projection in front of her and said, "Brother Qifeng, you heard that. He's bullying me as soon as he gets back. You have to teach him a lesson!"
Dong Jingxuan walked straight over. "Dong Qifeng, if you've got the guts, let's have a brotherly duel!"
Dong Qifeng, who had just killed his prey, turned around and, with the help of a player, returned to the resting area in seconds.
He took a sip of water handed to him by a player and said, "Are your bones itching again? Weren't you supposed to be touring the whole district? Back already after just a few days?"
Exposed as soon as they met, Dong Jingxuan didn't blush or gasp. He pulled Xu Huo over and said, "I made a good friend outside this time and couldn't wait to bring him back to introduce to my dad. This friend of mine is really strong. So? I'll bring him. Do you dare to compete with me? Neither of us is allowed to use items. You bring one person, and we'll see who hunts a mutated tiger first!"
Only then did Dong Qifeng spare a glance at Xu Huo.
Xu Huo smiled slightly and nodded at Dong Ting and Dong Yu, the siblings standing behind Dong Qifeng.
Dong Yu immediately told Dong Qifeng who Xu Huo was.
Knowing that Xu Huo was a player who had come to District 002 on a C-Class train, Dong Qifeng looked at Dong Jingxuan with a smirk. "Fine. If you lose, you give me all the savings in your account and go study for the second half of the year without coming home."
Dong Jingxuan hesitated briefly before agreeing. "If I win, you give me the Small Tunnel Grandfather gave you!"
"That little bit of money wants to exchange for my Small Tunnel?" Dong Qifeng chuckled, but he agreed anyway, casually pointing to a B-class player following him.
"The Small Tunnel is a space item that allows a single person to freely shuttle through space." Dong Jingxuan whispered to Xu Huo. "The genetic code those carjackers wanted was for activating this item."
(End of Chapter)