# Chapter 154: Exchanging Clues
Newcomers who heard the terrifying stories circulating through the streets and alleys generally had two reactions. Most people wouldn't take them seriously—tourist cities, after all, needed to make some extra money.
The other type was like those two burly men, Wang Qiao, and Gao Baimei, who believed the stories and were too scared to even stay in a hotel.
Sun Jirou was the former type, so when Xu Huo spoke with such gravity about the restaurant incident, she didn't take it seriously either.
Now, looking at his attitude, she wasn't sure whether he genuinely believed what the locals said or had simply avoided the Bear Claw Restaurant by luck.
"Aren't we all in the same boat now?" Wang Qiao said. "What good does hiding clues do you? This is a huge Fairy Tale City—do you think you can complete the task alone?"
"Well said." Xu Huo shook his finger smugly. "Even without you, I can still complete the task. I came here to give you a chance to hitch a ride."
As he spoke, he glanced at Sun Jirou. "It all depends on whether you're smart enough to take it."
Despite his ulterior motives, Sun Jirou wasn't angry. "Terms can be negotiated."
The others looked at each other and had no choice but to compromise.
Wang Qiao said reluctantly, "On the condition that your clues are useful."
"Of course," Xu Huo pointed at the bulletin board, then said to Sun Jirou, "Go take a look over there, and you'll know I didn't screw you over yesterday."
"Isn't it just a bulletin board?" Gao Baimei glanced at it, not understanding his meaning.
Shen Tai, who was beside Sun Jirou, walked over and circled the bulletin board halfway before discovering the trick. He turned back and said, "The back of this is completely covered with missing person reward notices."
Sun Jirou and the others quickly walked over. Upon closer inspection, they found the back of the bulletin board densely plastered with palm-sized slips of paper, all different missing person notices. A rough count put them at nearly a hundred.
"So many locals have gone missing?" Tao Chengxin frowned.
"How do you know they're locals?" Gao Baimei asked instinctively.
"Who would post a reward for finding a tourist?" Wang Qiao said impatiently. "The ones looking for people would definitely be locals."
"That's right." Sun Jirou also saw the problem. "These people all disappeared near the residential areas."
She looked at Xu Huo. "You discovered this yesterday?"
Xu Huo snapped his fingers. "So? Is my sincerity enough?"
The group returned to their seats and sat down to talk again.
"What do you want?" Sun Jirou cut straight to the point.
"You can trade something for it, or buy it with money." Xu Huo said. "I'm easy to deal with. If the clues I provide turn out to be useless, I'll return your items after the task is completed. But on one condition—if someone completes the task, they have to take me along."
"How can you ensure that someone who completes the task will definitely tell you the clearance method?" Tao Chengxin asked. "This Instance might not be a group Instance. The first person to clear it would immediately leave the Instance—why would they tell you?"
"I can't ensure that." Xu Huo said nonchalantly. "That's why I want to collect some benefits upfront."
"But if this Instance is a group Instance, then one person clearing it means everyone clears it. Doesn't that save us a lot of time?"
"That makes some sense. The task only lasts three days, and almost a day has passed already. We haven't found anything yet." Tang Yuan said after thinking it over.
Sun Jirou didn't care about money. "How many White Notes do you want?"
"You decide." Xu Huo grinned. "The more you give, the more I say. The less you give, the less I say."
"Don't go too far." Wang Qiao said discontentedly. "We have some clues too."
"You can sell them to me, or trade them." Xu Huo said. "But whether I buy them is up to me."
The first to pay up was Tao Chengxin. She called a car over, and as soon as they got in, she activated the sunshade mode to block outside view.
"You can give me a total price." She said. "If I don't have enough money, I can exchange it for other information."
"Five thousand." Xu Huo said.
Tao Chengxin hesitated for a moment, then gave him three thousand. "I found out some news about the Government Hall. It turns out that all the government personnel in Fairy Tale City, except for the highest level, have been completely replaced. The replacements are players from other districts, all belonging to one company."
"What company?"
"I couldn't find that out." She said. "The Government Hall people almost never come to Fairy Tale City except for transporting and receiving supplies."
Xu Huo thought for a moment and said, "I'll count that as two thousand."
"I have two clues. First, the task should be related to the pollution incident from twenty years ago. Second, the person telling the story must be at least thirty-five years old."
Tao Chengxin wasn't surprised by the first clue, but she was shocked by the second. "Why thirty-five?"
"I can't tell you that." Xu Huo said with a smile. "Unless you trade me another clue."
Tao Chengxin hesitated for a moment before saying, "If you're more specific, I have a trait that can verify the truthfulness of statements. Even if we find the storyteller in the end, someone needs to determine whether what they're saying is true or false."
Xu Huo became interested. "How accurate is it?"
"Anything over twenty percent deviation is judged as a lie." So Tao Chengxin knew he wasn't lying.
Xu Huo thought for a few seconds and said, "Alright, I can tell you."
"The pollution incident from twenty years ago can be pushed back at least two or three years. Only people over thirty-five would know the full picture of this matter. The story required by the task should fall within this scope."
Tao Chengxin looked at him thoughtfully, was silent for a few seconds, then got out of the car.
The second to come was Sun Jirou. Before she could speak, Xu Huo said directly, "Ten thousand White Notes, no bargaining."
Sun Jirou didn't haggle at all and paid directly.
Xu Huo gave her the two clues as usual, then said with a grin, "Since we're traveling together, I can tell you an extra piece of information."
Sun Jirou stared at him.
"This Instance doesn't just have nine players."
No kidding.
Sun Jirou twitched the corner of her mouth and left.
Of the remaining three, only two bought half the clues. After agreeing on a time and place to meet again, Wang Qiao and Gao Baimei left cursing.
"Thanks for your patronage." Xu Huo beamed as he saw them off, then took a taxi to the largest shopping mall in the center of Fairy Tale City.
He stayed inside for about half an hour before coming out and contacting the tour guide who had given him her business card earlier.
The two met at True Love Square. Xu Huo spent some money to hire the white-dressed girl as his guide to introduce the history and culture of Fairy Tale City.
They spent the entire afternoon wandering around Fairy Tale City. By the afternoon, the city began to rain flower petals.
Man-made flower petals.
Several oval-shaped airships circled above Fairy Tale City, occasionally releasing smaller flying devices. They carried water and flower petals and evenly scattered them toward the ground. Within ten minutes, the entire city was filled with the scent of flowers.
The white-dressed girl reached out to catch a few water-soaked petals and put them in her mouth to chew. Seeing Xu Huo looking at her, she explained, "This is also a regular program in Fairy Tale City. This rainwater is specially made sweet water, edible."
"The customs of Fairy Tale City are well preserved." Xu Huo said.
The white-dressed girl shook her head. "Just some formalities. It can't compare to the past. I've heard old people talk about what Fairy Tale City used to be like. That was the real Fairy Tale City."
A smile appeared on Xu Huo's face as he casually said, "Shouldn't the people in fairy tales never age? I haven't seen a single old person on the streets."