Chapter 122: The Special Nature of Traits
"Are these potions really for us?" Hu Wenhu swallowed hard. "We don't have any money to pay you..."
Zhou Ning slapped him on the back of the head. "Even if we had money, we might not be able to buy potions."
She looked at Xu Huo as she spoke. "You helped me save my brother last time, and I still haven't figured out how to thank you. Now you're giving us potions again. Can I ask why?"
"Think of it as an early investment," Xu Huo said.
He wasn't brushing Zhou Ning off. He was genuinely interested in her trait, "Elder Medusa."
"Can you tell me about your profession?"
"My profession is Medusa," Zhou Ning said. "Back then, the game gave me three options: painter, teacher, and Medusa."
"Profession options are tied to the player's original occupation, hobbies, or even personality," Xu Huo said.
"That's right. Painting is my hobby. I usually take on some commissions. Before evolution, a client ordered a large oil painting of Medusa. I worked on it on and off for a year, so I chose Medusa."
Zhou Ning looked troubled. "But the first trait I got was 'Elder Medusa.' It's basically useless in combat."
The little snakes that came out of her hair and the illusion of a giant snake only looked scary. Players with evolved vision wouldn't be easily fooled.
"I should have chosen a more specific profession."
She seemed a bit regretful.
Indeed, looking at the players Xu Huo had encountered, regardless of profession, their evolutionary direction was mostly tied to physical ability or skills. At its core, it was still physical evolution.
Hu Wenhu and Shen Xin's traits seemed tied to animals, but they were actually physical enhancements.
Wu Qiuyi and Lin Pei—one was good at mimicking sounds, the other at tracking—could be seen as skills or as the evolution of a specific organ's ability.
Even he was no exception. "Tireless Legs" and "Insider's Perspective," along with his eye-related traits, all fell into this category.
It wasn't until he evolved his third trait—"A Sad Thing"—that his traits took a leap.
This was tied to his profession, but it was a special evolution refined and elevated from the characteristics of that profession.
Wang Xiaohui, who could create a barrier around herself when attacked on the First Trial Train; Zhou Ning, who could create illusions; and Wang Chaoqing, who could create shadow clones—they were all special evolvers.
This kind of special evolution was different from Cao Yan, a former member of the Holy Sword Society, whose body was poisonous. Their traits seemed to skip the medium and directly complete material conversion.
Of course, that might not be the most accurate way to put it, but Xu Huo didn't have a better explanation for now. For example, his extended trait, "Good Friends Give Scores," generated values based on the attention others directed at him. This kind of hyperdimensional brain evolution only appeared in sci-fi movies. From a realistic perspective, he couldn't explain it at all.
"You can think of it as special evolution," he said to Zhou Ning. "Among the people I've met, there aren't many players with special evolution. Although it might seem weaker than other players at first, from another perspective, these special players all have great potential."
"Really?" This gave Zhou Ning a huge boost of confidence. She made a motion as if sighing in relief, then said, "I know too little about the game. I really wish someone would put out some guides, so new players wouldn't have to stumble around blindly."
"Is there an evolver in the room?" Xu Huo gestured with his chin toward the room Zhou Xiao had just come out of.
Everyone tensed up. Zhou Xiao was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "Who said that? There's no one!"
"Mr. Xu isn't an outsider. It's okay to tell him." Compared to Zhou Xiao, Zhou Ning trusted Xu Huo a bit more. She said helplessly, "It's a student I taught when I was a substitute teacher. He's only fifteen. His parents and relatives aren't around, and the atmosphere at school isn't good. He didn't dare to go to anyone else, so he came to me."
"Has he eaten anyone? Has he taken any evolution potion?" Xu Huo asked directly.
"No, neither," Zhou Ning said seriously. "If he had eaten anyone, I wouldn't have taken him in. As for the evolution potion, we do have one bottle, but he hasn't been to the First Trial Train, so we didn't dare give it to him. We were afraid something might go wrong."
Not everyone has the courage to explore and try when facing the unknown. Being cautious and conservative is the norm.
"I'll ask him myself," Xu Huo said.
Zhou Ning led him into the room. A half-grown boy, with iron chains on both his hands and feet, was huddled in a corner, trembling. When he saw someone come in, a strong look of longing flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it, lowered his head, and ground his teeth audibly.
Zhou Ning didn't dare get too close. She told him to stand up and answer Xu Huo's questions.
Xu Huo repeated the questions he had just asked. He didn't see any signs of lying. He then asked, "I'd like to take a small blood sample from you. As compensation, I can give you one hundred thousand yuan. If exchanged for White Notes, that should be about a thousand, enough for three days' worth of food."
Zhou Ning, standing nearby, frantically nodded at the boy.
The boy had clearly learned some things about the train from them. "My bank card is in my backpack."
Hu Wenhu went to buy blood-drawing tools. Xu Huo sent Yu Qingqing a message asking her to transfer one hundred thousand yuan. She was quick about it and transferred one hundred and ten thousand.
Looking at the number in the transfer notification, 110,000, he allowed himself a faint, hidden smile.
He'd made a profit. After the blood draw was complete, Xu Huo prepared to leave. He motioned for Zhou Ning not to see him out, pulled the door open, stood in the doorway for a few seconds, then stepped back inside. "Have you noticed the neighbor across the hall?"
"It seems to be an unemployed middle-aged man," Zhou Ning said quickly. "Is there something wrong with him?"
"Both times I opened the door, he was standing behind his. He's probably been watching you. You should move immediately," Xu Huo advised kindly.
Zhou Ning also realized that too many people had been coming and going from her place lately. Given the current situation, she had to be careful.
"We'll leave tonight."
After leaving Anxin Xiaoyuan, Xu Huo had planned to go straight back, but he received a photo on the way. In the photo, Yu Qingqing was tied up like a pretzel to the foot of the bed, her mouth taped shut. The caption read:
"Not only am I not leaving, I'm going to eat hotpot!"
Xu Huo was in a great mood. He detoured to the supermarket to buy ingredients.
When he got back, the Painting Woman had been waiting by the door for a long time. Seeing the ingredients in his hands, the anxiety on her face vanished, and she happily took them.
She had learned some life skills over the past few days, and cooking hotpot was no problem.
"Mm! Mm!" Yu Qingqing was desperately trying to make her presence known in the room.
"She tried to chop me with a knife, so I had to tie her up," the Painting Woman quickly typed. "I didn't hit her. I even helped her get her phone."
"It's fine. You keep cooking the hotpot." Xu Huo waited until Yu Qingqing stopped yelling before walking into the room. He crouched down and tore the tape off her mouth. "Is this fun?"
Yu Qingqing opened her mouth to bite him, but he pressed his hand against her forehead, ignoring her fierce glare. He said calmly, "Let me teach you another lesson today. A lunatic who can be tied up is just an ordinary person. You think people are scared just because you pick up a knife?"
"Wait until you can scare people without a knife before you act like a lunatic. Until then, behave like a normal person."
"Come out and eat." He untied the knots and was about to stand up, but Yu Qingqing, now free, suddenly grabbed the kitchen knife from the floor and swung it at him!
Without even raising an eyebrow, Xu Huo grabbed her wrist, pressed his thumb down hard, and the knife clattered back to the floor.
"Still want to play?" he looked at the person in front of him. "Next time, I'll fight back."