Chapter 153: A Place with Simple and Honest Folk
"What about you? Any gains?" The man beside her interrupted her words and asked.
The young man's mouth twitched. "I went to an aromatherapy shop yesterday. I don't know what happened, but when I woke up early this morning, the two people who tried to rob me had mysteriously disappeared. I got so scared I ran out immediately."
The long-haired female player and the big man weren't much better off either. "The place we stayed at last night was called the Bauhinia Flower Restaurant. The establishment itself wasn't a problem, but most of the guests staying there were cannibals. Once night fell..."
She didn't finish the sentence, but just from that hard-to-describe expression, one could imagine the miserable state of a place full of cannibal diners.
"What kind of hellhole is this!" The woman with the injured face pounded the table.
"This Fairy Tale City is too strange," the long-haired female player said. "Whether they're locals or tourists, everyone here loves telling stories. You can't walk ten meters without three or four people coming up to you to peddle inside information, all of it horrifying content. After listening, you only have one feeling..."
"No place in this city is safe." Someone suddenly chimed in from behind. The group turned around to see a young woman carrying a backpack.
The backpack woman walked over and said generously, "I'm a player too. We should be here for the same instance."
"I arrived earlier than you. I got here at noon, and there were two other male players with me, but they've disappeared without a trace."
"Are the two people you're talking about one with a buzz cut and one with an eyebrow piercing?" the long-haired female player asked.
The backpack woman nodded.
"They've already gone missing," the young man quickly interjected. "At the Beauty Aromatherapy Shop."
"I see." The backpack woman wasn't surprised. She sat down beside them. "After yesterday, you should have a preliminary understanding of this Fairy Tale City. Everyone here can casually rattle off ten or twenty stories, but I estimate we might only need to hear one. If we act separately, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. I propose we team up."
The others exchanged glances, and the long-haired female player nodded. "I have no objections."
The other three also nodded.
"Let me introduce myself first. I'm Tao Chengxin, an E-level black player," the backpack woman said.
"Sun Jirou, also an E-level player." The long-haired female player shook hands with her, then introduced the big man beside her. "His name is Shen Tai, my friend, also an E-level player."
"I'm Tang Yuan, the 'two' character, not the 'circle' character," the young man quickly followed up. "I'm a white player."
The man and woman beside him glanced at him, then said, "Wang Qiao, Gao Baimei."
These two were also E-level players.
"If the two people who rode with me have disappeared, then there are only six of us left," Tao Chengxin said.
"There's one more," Sun Jirou said. "A male player. Tang Yuan and the others have all seen him."
"That's right, wasn't he taken away with you?" Wang Qiao turned back to ask Tang Yuan.
Tang Yuan shook his head. "I'm not sure either. He went into the Bear Claw Restaurant yesterday and never came out."
"Bear Claw Restaurant?" Sun Jirou paused. "Bear Claw Restaurant and Beauty Aromatherapy Shop were the places the old lady on the train pointed out to him."
After Tao Chengxin pressed for the details, she said, "Then he was probably deceived. The locals in Fairy Tale City aren't very honest."
Gao Baimei snorted. "A diner had already told him the restaurant served human meat, and he still dared to stay there. Who does he think he is, some big shot? He doesn't know his place!"
"Serves him right for dying!"
"Who are you calling 'serves him right'?" Accompanied by the voice, a large bunch of black grapes was thrown onto the table, causing everyone around it to stand up. Shen Tai flexed his muscles, ready to fight, but turned around to see Xu Huo carrying a huge pile of snacks and fruit as he walked over.
"It's you!"
"You're fine?"
Tao Chengxin and Sun Jirou's voices rang out simultaneously. The two looked at each other, and the latter asked, "Have you seen him before?"
"Ran into him." Tao Chengxin mentioned it briefly. She had met Xu Huo once in the morning at the entrance of the Yongxing Club.
Xu Huo came over to the group, first glancing at the young man named Tang Yuan. "You took quite a beating, huh. Those two are dead, right?"
This sudden statement put the other players on alert.
Tang Yuan stared at them. "You don't think I killed those two, do you? They were so strong, how could I possibly be their opponent?"
Just looking at his account, there was no problem. After all, everyone present felt the city was abnormal. Disappearances of one or two people while staying at an inn were nothing. But omitting the process and only looking at the result made the matter worth pondering. Why did the two seemingly stronger players disappear while Tang Yuan was fine?
"Playing the pig to eat the tiger, huh," Gao Baimei sneered.
Just as Tang Yuan was about to defend himself, Xu Huo interrupted him. "I didn't say he killed anyone. Why are you all so worked up? How about some fruit?"
Tao Chengxin glanced at him. "Do you even know what kind of stuff this fruit was grown with, and you dare to eat it?"
"It's not human, anyway," Xu Huo said carelessly as he sat down.
"How do you know?" Sun Jirou sized him up.
"I asked," Xu Huo said matter-of-factly. "What else is a mouth for?"
Sun Jirou choked. "And you believed what they said? The old lady on the train who gave you the coupon was clearly sending you to your death."
"How could that be?" Xu Huo waved his hand dismissively. "The folk customs here are simple and honest, and the people are warm and hospitable. How could they harm anyone?"
"Simple and honest? Warm and hospitable?" Sun Jirou wondered if she had heard wrong.
"Exactly," Xu Huo said, peeling a black grape the size of a baby's fist. "As long as you buy something, they'll answer any question. Whatever you want to know, they'll tell you."
"And you dare to believe what they say?" Wang Qiao and Gao Baimei had been so scared yesterday they didn't dare stay at an inn, only to find that even the cats and dogs in the city weren't normal. If the animals were this vicious, it was hard to imagine what those people who smiled all day would be like at night!
"If you don't believe them, why are you so scared?" Xu Huo looked at them in surprise.
The two were left speechless.
At that moment, Sun Jirou said coldly, "In that case, where did you stay last night?"
"Why should I tell you?" Xu Huo retorted. "I invited you to stay together yesterday, and you refused. Now that you've suffered a loss, you want to come and take advantage of me?"
"Everyone, calm down," Tang Yuan quickly tried to mediate. "Isn't the most important thing right now to complete the mission?"
"That's right. If you have any clues, you might as well share them for everyone's reference," Tao Chengxin said. "In return, everyone can share the information they've gathered. We can put it together and maybe find a breakthrough."
Xu Huo ate his grapes, sweeping his gaze over the group. "I do have clues, but is your information valuable enough?"
Sun Jirou frowned beside him. He had said the same thing yesterday.