Chapter 162: Return to Bear Claw Restaurant
Tao Chengxin felt offended. "If you don't believe me, fine!"
Xu Huo didn't argue with her. Instead, he said, "Let's find the thing first."
"Is the thing in the painting referring to the teeth?" Sun Jirou ventured cautiously. "You seem to not believe what they just said."
"I believe in my trait. What they said is true," Tao Chengxin emphasized.
Xu Huo wasn't going to explain himself to the two of them. Returning to the bustling street, he casually asked someone for the location of the lost and found.
He bought two bags of fruit, and the shopkeeper became very enthusiastic. Not only did he point out several lost and found offices, but he also told them that if they wanted to find something, they could hire the guard squad for a fee, or go to a specialized auction platform.
"People in Block Fairy Tale City are very honest. They won't take what isn't theirs. If you can't find it at the lost and found, it's definitely been picked up by tourists and sold. Go check the auction platform. We locals wouldn't buy things from there. If you haven't lost it for long, it might not have been bought yet."
"Would you like to try some stir-fried algae clams?"
"No, thanks." Xu Huo took his things and left.
Sun Jirou couldn't help but glance at the shopkeeper again. Seeing him scoop a bowl of stir-fried algae clams into his own mouth, she remarked, "I've been through several instances, but this is the first time I've seen a city like this."
Warm and hospitable, seemingly honest and kind, yet eating the products of their own kind without any psychological barrier.
"This is a sick city," Xu Huo said. "Maybe that's why they don't have a next generation."
Sun Jirou looked surprised, but Xu Huo had already quickened his pace, so she didn't say anything more.
Tao Chengxin asked her, "You don't believe them either. Why?"
"Have you forgotten who tricked us into going to the Block Mochi Shop and the Bear Claw Restaurant?" Sun Jirou glanced at Xu Huo's back and continued, "Even if we don't go looking for her, that tour guide will come find us."
Tao Chengxin saw the coldness in her eyes, pursed her lips, and remained silent.
Xu Huo ahead wasn't deaf to their conversation, but he didn't interrupt. He first found a place to log into the auction platform.
The network platform of Block Fairy Tale City was quite different from District 014, with technology clearly much more advanced. In less than a second, not only did it find similar items, but the system also analyzed that the pattern on it was similar to the emblem of a mysterious organization from Block Fairy Tale City's past, though with minor changes.
"It seems the auction platform doesn't have it," Tao Chengxin said disappointedly. "Should we go to the lost and found?"
"Of course we should," Xu Huo said. "We only have one day left. If the game requires completing three tasks to clear, and we've finished the first two, we have to find a way to do the last one."
"Whatever that storytelling woman wants, giving it to her can't be wrong."
Tao Chengxin shared the same thought. "The lost and found offices are a bit far apart. We'll have to split up."
Sun Jirou instinctively looked at Xu Huo but didn't speak.
Xu Huo stared back at her.
"What are you looking at? It's obvious you've been burned by him before and don't trust him," Tao Chengxin said sarcastically, then turned serious herself. "Honestly, you're not messing with us this time, are you?"
Xu Huo didn't argue. Instead, he said, "If we had gone to find the female tour guide together earlier, and she told us there were a few shops where we could find the original old-timers of Block Fairy Tale City, would you have gone?"
Both of them paused.
That was a clue. Of course, they would have gone.
"Instances are risky. Be careful yourselves." Xu Huo didn't say more. He pointed to two locations on the map. "I'll take these two. You two find the rest. We'll meet here in three hours."
After he left, Sun Jirou pursed her lips and calculated her own direction.
Tao Chengxin held the map, her eyes darting around. Once Sun Jirou was far away, she followed in Xu Huo's direction.
"Don't follow me." Just as she reached a corner, someone spoke abruptly from the side. She stomped her foot to create distance, only then seeing Xu Huo leaning against the wall, as if waiting specifically for her.
Tao Chengxin dropped her combat stance, stood up straight, and smiled. "Who's following you? Can't I walk in this direction?"
Xu Huo's expression didn't change, but his cold eyes made his stance clear.
"Fine, I won't follow you." Tao Chengxin hesitated for a moment before asking, "I just don't get it. Since you don't believe the female tour guide, why are you out here helping her find something? This thing might not even be part of the task, and it might not be findable."
"I already gave my reason," Xu Huo said. "If you have so much free time, you might as well visit a few more lost and found offices."
"Stubborn as a mule!" Tao Chengxin glared at him angrily, then turned and left.
After confirming she wasn't following him, Xu Huo went to a nearby engraving shop. He handed the pattern he had memorized from the network to the craftsman. "Can you make this in an hour?"
The craftsman didn't even look up. "It'll cost extra."
Xu Huo paid half the deposit, then left and headed to a pet training shop not far away.
"Sir, if you're looking to tame an alien creature to keep as a pet, I'd recommend buying a complete set of equipment."
"The most popular item in our shop right now is this five-piece set."
"A sticky net, an extendable high-voltage rod, a folding cage made of imported tough metal, and a light-blocking cover."
Xu Huo glanced at the instruction manual the clerk handed him. The sticky net was made of a special metal that could withstand three alien creatures pulling at it simultaneously. The white bubbles at the net's junctions were a mutated resin mucus with very high adhesion. If the creature was really unruly, it could be remotely detonated, but the mucus required a special cleaning solution to remove; manual force or cutting wouldn't work.
Additionally, the metal folding cage could be collapsed or expanded, shrinking to the size of a cat carrier or enlarging to five times its volume.
"Can it hold an alien creature when enlarged?" Xu Huo knocked on the cage's shell and asked.
"Rest assured, sir, these are tested products. All the alien creature operations in our government hall use these cages, and there hasn't been a single escape incident yet," the clerk said enthusiastically. "If you plan to keep multiple pets, you might want to stock up on some tranquilizer. It'll make them more obedient."
"But we don't sell that here. You'll need to go to the shop on the corner. They also have the cleaning solution for the sticky net's mucus."
Xu Huo paid promptly, and the clerk threw in a free bottle of spray that could temporarily blind an alien creature.
After packing up his gear, he went to the corner shop to buy the tranquilizer.
This pharmacy mostly sold household-type potions. Besides the cleaning solution for the mucus, he also bought some insect repellent and sticky patches specifically for dealing with stray cats and dogs, which supposedly made it impossible for them to walk properly once stuck.
With his supplies ready, he headed for the Bear Claw Restaurant.