Chapter 164: Another Storyteller
A two-finger-wide plaque with a subtle jade-like texture—Xu Huo's first thought upon seeing the drawing was that it was a jade token.
The information he had found didn't mention the material used to make it, and he hadn't explained it to the master craftsman at the carving shop either.
The master, who had been busy working in front of the instrument, finally looked up. "Can't even make a door access card that's been obsolete for over a decade? Little brother, who are you looking down on?"
Xu Huo looked at the item in his hand and couldn't help but feel a sense of strangeness. "Door access card?"
The master took the paper he had drawn, pointed at the pattern on it, and said, "This kind of pattern is naturally found on a special metal produced elsewhere. In the earliest days, this metal was used for vault doors or confidential institution entrances. See these three forks at the tail of the pattern? The sensors are inside. The first generation was crudely made, requiring three sensors. Now they use synthetic sensors, and the pattern has been modified as well."
"Is that so?" Xu Huo took out the metal token he had obtained from the secret room.
The master adjusted his glasses without looking at him. "This door access card has built-in identity recognition and tracking functions. If you're not planning to rob the government hall's vault, you'd better get rid of it as soon as possible."
"Thank you." Xu Huo paid the remaining amount, picked up his cage, and left.
After coming out, he went to meet up with Tao Chengxin and the others. To his surprise, they hadn't found what the female guide wanted but had instead brought back Tang Yuan and another unfamiliar player.
"We ran into them on the way." Tao Chengxin gave him a meaningful glance and added, "Tang Yuan found the storytelling woman."
Xu Huo turned to Tang Yuan. "You found one too."
Tang Yuan nodded. "I just heard what Sun Jirou said, but the story you heard is different from mine."
Sun Jirou explained, "He followed Wang Qiao and Gao Baimei to the Fresh Sausage Shop and unexpectedly ran into the storyteller. Their version is the opposite of what we heard."
Xu Huo paused for a moment and asked Tang Yuan, "What about Wang Qiao and Gao Baimei?"
"They're still at the Fresh Sausage Shop." Tang Yuan said, "They didn't feel comfortable leaving all at once, so they sent me and Yang Sheng to find you."
"Yang Sheng was also encountered at the Fresh Sausage Shop."
"Such good fortune?" Tao Chengxin interjected. "You found the people and still thought of us?"
Tang Yuan smiled without speaking, but Yang Sheng, standing beside him with his arms crossed, said, "If it weren't for the third task, who would bother with you?"
Tao Chengxin snapped angrily, "You..."
Xu Huo cut her off and asked, "Do you know where to find the teeth?"
"The storyteller didn't say." Tang Yuan said.
"Then we'll have to ask again." Xu Huo thought for a moment and then asked, "What was the story you heard?"
Tang Yuan and Yang Sheng recounted it again.
The beginning was similar to what they had heard from the girl in the white dress. After the Evolvers appeared, the government hall began secret research and successfully developed a batch of evolution-enhancing potions, from which all players at the time benefited.
But the latter part was different. There were three categories of players: Black Players, White Players, and Red Players. Everyone knew Red Players were Cannibal Players, but the government hall at the time did not exclude Cannibal Players from their cultivation plans. Instead, they actively provided them with food, allowing them to serve the government alongside the other two types of players.
This model was originally beneficial to the stability of Fairy Tale City, but the situation changed abruptly when the first Xenomorph player appeared.
Unable to develop an antidote, the government hall planned to eliminate these uncontrollable factors in advance. However, this plan was learned by a group of players. These players joined forces, used the laboratory's potions to create a large number of Xenomorphs, indiscriminately slaughtered the residents of Fairy Tale City, created large uninhabited areas, and then tried to blend in with the survivors to escape to the Safe Zone.
Some of these players failed, but others succeeded. These successful players have been hiding in the tourist city ever since, threatening the government hall with the lives of the entire city's population, forcing them not to enter the tourist city.
Although the government hall was hesitant to act, they wouldn't sit idly by. They sent some players to sneak into the tourist city, waiting for an opportunity to kill these players.
"So the reason for the large number of Xenomorphs is that the Cannibal Players tampered with things?" Xu Huo summarized. "Why hasn't anyone given birth in Fairy Tale City to this day?"
"I heard it's a side effect of the potions from back then." Tang Yuan said, "I only got the gist of it. I'm not clear on the details. If you want to ask more, you'll have to find that storyteller."
Xu Huo put down the cage in his hand. "You've heard what we were told, right?"
Tang Yuan nodded. "The two versions are completely different. I don't know which one is true."
"So I don't believe either of them." Xu Huo said. "Unless someone can produce solid evidence."
"What solid evidence could there be?" Yang Sheng couldn't help but say. "Can they dig up the people who died twenty years ago for you?"
"Anything that has happened always leaves some traces. The storyteller can't possibly have no concrete evidence at all." Xu Huo said. "According to your version, the government hall is hunting down the Cannibal Players of Fairy Tale City, and the people we met are likely the ones they're looking for. Right now, only we can find them. If they want us to side with the government hall, they need to give us a reason. Otherwise, why should we wade into this muddy water?"
"What you're saying makes sense." Tang Yuan quickly nodded. "Why don't we go to the Fresh Sausage Shop and discuss it?"
"I'll wait here." Xu Huo said. "Either you have her come here, or I'll pretend I never heard any of this."
Not only Tang Yuan and the other man, but even Sun Jirou frowned. "Then we won't be able to complete the third task."
"If we can't clear the instance, there are other tickets. We can just go straight to the next Instance Dungeon." Xu Huo said bluntly. "Get this straight—we're only E-level players. What right do we have to meddle in a station city's decades-old grudges? Do we even have the ability?"
The words were harsh, but they were the truth. Their levels were too low.
"I agree." Tao Chengxin said. "If the government hall really wants to know the whereabouts of the players in the tourist city, they should be able to make this concession."
Tang Yuan and Yang Sheng seemed to be convinced by him. The former said to the latter, "Why don't you go find Wang Qiao and Gao Baimei and ask the storyteller together?"
Yang Sheng hesitated for a moment and then said, "Fine. No matter what you guys do, I'm going to complete the task."
He left after speaking, while Tang Yuan stayed with them.
They found a place to rest. Not long after they sat down, Tao Chengxin looked at Xu Huo's cage and asked, "What's in there? It smells a bit."
"A stray cat's corpse." Xu Huo said.
"Why did you pick up something like that?" Tao Chengxin was quite surprised by his actions.
"It looked pitiful. I was planning to find a place to bury it." Xu Huo said dismissively.