Chapter 1456: A Man Like a Gem
Not all players entering the instance were that weak. By the time Xu Huo arrived at Gem City, several players had already tracked him along the trail. These people split into two groups, each with a player using a locating item. Both sides almost simultaneously found Xu Huo, who had changed his appearance, and they acted swiftly. To avoid accidentally injuring Gem City residents and being labeled criminals, one player used an item to forcibly teleport Xu Huo outside the city.
These players were all above average level. After exchanging blows with them for a while, Xu Huo feigned retreat, gave up the white gem, and fled back into Gem City.
What followed was a confrontation between the two factions. Both sides knew full well that Xu Huo had given up the most beautiful gem so easily only to make them fight to the death. So, after the gem appeared, they tacitly stopped their actions. After a brief and quick discussion, they decided to clear the instance together and split the rewards equally afterward.
Even if they wanted to make some extra profit, they would have to wait until after clearing the instance. After all, they couldn't touch anything in Gem City yet.
This was the lowest-cost method. If they delayed any longer, players from Moon City might catch up, and they wouldn't necessarily be able to clear the instance smoothly.
Unfortunately, their plan was good, but when they tried to enter the city, they found themselves blocked by an invisible barrier.
At first, they thought Xu Huo had done something, but after trying several different spots and still failing to get in, they realized they had been tricked.
"Why?" a player asked in confusion. "We made our move outside the city. Logically, even if it's a crime, it shouldn't fall under Gem City's jurisdiction. Why is Gem City shutting us out?" After pondering for a moment, they came to a realization. "It's that player! When he went to Moon City, he was received by the king and successfully obtained the most beautiful gem. He's an external envoy of Gem City!" Committing a crime outside Gem City might not be within its jurisdiction, but robbing a Gem City external envoy and the items they were sending back was a crime that Gem City did have jurisdiction over.
"No good. We have to find a way in! If we can't even enter the city, no one can clear the instance!" In fact, they probably couldn't clear it anyway. Gem City's defense against criminals was inherent. You could leave from the inside, but once you left, you couldn't come back.
That white gem wasn't important. Xu Huo's intention was just to shake off these people. He hadn't expected Gem City's inherent defense to be so reliable. These players, unable to clear the instance, certainly wouldn't hand the gem over to other players unless they completely stayed out of sight. If they still wanted to salvage some benefit, their best bet was to trade with the players who came chasing after them. That would buy some time.
After entering Gem City from a high altitude, Xu Huo went to the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden hid items collected by the king, as well as the destroyed puppets. Since the white gem hadn't been found in the castle, it was most likely hidden here.
The people from Moon City probably hadn't lied. Back then, the most beautiful gem that Gem City lent out might not have been real. If the people of Moon City had secretly swapped the gem, they wouldn't have been stubborn enough to let almost everyone in their family tree die rather than hand it over. Besides, those players weren't stupid. They would only resort to murder threats after searching fruitlessly or being unable to determine which gem was the most beautiful. This showed that there really was no ore in Moon City Castle that looked more like the most beautiful gem.
The problem was more likely on Gem City's side. Both Gem City and Moon City had the concept of the "most beautiful gem." The instance shouldn't have a discrepancy in judging the gem, so the "most beautiful gem" referred to a fixed gem. The gem was nominally lent to Moon City, but it was very likely that the King of Gem City had kept it, including the most beautiful gem he showed to outsiders—it might not be real either.
The housekeeping robot and Excavator 114 were carefully busy in the Rose Garden, but as the area they dug up grew larger, aside from more puppet limbs, they found no valuable clues.
"What are you looking for?" Maid Xiao Si appeared silently in the Rose Garden.
Xu Huo turned around. "A white gem. Your king took a gem that doesn't belong to him."
Xiao Si clearly knew about that white gem. "Someone once brought a white gem to the castle and said it was the most beautiful gem, but the king denied it. As for whether the gem was taken away or left in the castle, I don't know."
"You've never seen the most beautiful gem?" Xu Huo asked.
"Only the king and queen have seen it," Xiao Si replied.
"It's said that the king has shown the most beautiful gem to outsiders more than once," Xu Huo said, putting away the two robots and brushing the dirt off his hands as he walked out of the Rose Garden.
"Those who view the most beautiful gem can only enter the king's study alone," Xiao Si said, moving along with him from a distance.
"Has the queen ever mentioned what the most beautiful gem looks like?" Xu Huo glanced toward the castle.
"The queen doesn't care about such things," Xiao Si said, her gaze darkening as she got back to the point. "I told you before, you cannot enter the Rose Garden."
"Have I committed a crime?" Xu Huo countered.
"So I'm asking you to leave," Xiao Si said. "The queen is a very kind person. She doesn't like me beating people who haven't committed crimes. But if you refuse to leave, the situation will be different."
"I'll leave right away," Xu Huo said. He had no interest in fighting a humanoid item for now. He raised his hand and added, "But before I go, I'd like to see the queen one more time."
As he spoke, he vanished from the Rose Garden and appeared in the queen's workshop. The other Xiao Si in the workshop pinned him against the wall the instant he appeared!
Pressed down by an immense force, Xu Huo's back was against the wall as he watched Xiao Si conjure a handful of nails and, bypassing his protective suit, drive them through his arms into the wall.
Though he was hung up, Xiao Si didn't intend to hurt him. However, the next second, Xu Huo sank into the wall, then used "Goalkeeper" to push her back several meters. Before she could attack again, he spoke up. "No offense meant. I just wanted to have a chat with the queen. It's hard to talk while hanging on the wall. You wouldn't object to me coming down, would you?"
The queen raised her hand to stop Xiao Si's next move, smiling as she watched Xu Huo. "Why have you come back? Don't you miss your hometown?"
Xu Huo didn't answer the question. Instead, he took out a portrait of the third-generation king of Moon City and placed it on the table. "Your Majesty, have you seen this man before?"
The queen looked at the man in the painting, as if suddenly lost in thought. Her expression remained still, and after a moment, she said, "He was a very handsome man. His body always shimmered with a light like a gem."
"And his heart was as clear as a gem. Anyone who stayed by his side would be made to look ugly and filthy."
"So you stole his gem?" Xu Huo cut off her sentimental musings.