# Chapter 175: The Tracker's Handiwork
Xu Huo stood once again outside the sunflower courtyard. He didn't rush to leave but instead pondered when exactly he had fallen into another player's trap.
Tracing back from everything that happened in Fairy Tale City, none of the players he had encountered since arriving here had sufficient motive, including the cannibal player at the Delicious Sausage Shop. The only possibility was before entering the game, during that confrontation in Hai City, when some high-level player had done something to him.
Old Lady Bai had only offered a hint without telling him directly, so he still didn't know what exactly was wrong with him. If things continued like this, being found was only a matter of time.
Would he have to wander through games from now on?
Even with enough instances, staying in instance worlds during downtime carried the risk of being discovered, and constantly jumping between instances was not a good strategy either.
Turning his head to look at the two people standing and sitting not far away, he said, "You haven't left yet?"
"She said she wanted to wait for you," Tao Chengxin pointed at Sun Jirou.
Xu Huo looked at Sun Jirou. "Still want revenge?"
Sun Jirou shook her head. "I'm inferior in skill, so I have nothing to say. I want to make a deal with you."
Xu Huo gestured for her to continue.
Sun Jirou took a deep breath and said, "You're in trouble. I can help you get rid of this trouble, but the condition is that you give me the 'Tooth' that Old Lady Bai gave you."
"Impossible. Choose something else." Xu Huo said without hesitation.
Sun Jirou wasn't angry either. Meeting his gaze, she said, "This concerns your life safety. The person targeting you is definitely at least C-rank. Can you handle a high-level player now?"
"With an absolute gap in strength, intelligence simply can't compensate."
Xu Huo nodded in agreement. "So I plan to go directly to the next instance."
Sun Jirou choked for a moment, but then heard him continue, "Give me the real conditions. This trick doesn't work on me."
She smiled. "I didn't expect you to see through me. I just want you to owe me a favor."
Xu Huo then seriously examined her. From the train onward, Sun Jirou had presented herself as a pampered young lady—not high-level, but with plenty of money and bodyguards. She had been angry about her companion's death and wanted revenge, but when that proved impossible, she quickly adjusted her mindset and even wanted to make a deal with the person who had indirectly screwed her over.
Quite a well-rounded character.
"You come from an extraordinary background. You probably won't need my favor," he said.
"Who can say for sure?" Sun Jirou replied. "In the game world, it's not about who has money or who has the stronger fist. Rising from the grassroots in instances is much easier than in reality."
And those with assets but no player status were just fat meat in others' eyes.
"Don't worry, I won't make any excessive demands." Sun Jirou said. "I only want to ask you one thing. If you ever encounter a player named Wang Cheng or with the nickname 'Slap My Dad's Face' in the game, please help him no matter what."
"Is he your brother?"
"My younger brother." Sun Jirou said. "After our parents divorced, he went with our mother. Now he's also entered the game world."
"That nickname is really... frank and cute." Tao Chengxin laughed.
Sun Jirou turned back, took out a stack of white notes, grabbed Tao Chengxin's hand, and pressed the money into it. "This is my apology to you. I accidentally hurt you."
Seeing her apologize like this, Tao Chengxin felt a bit embarrassed instead. "I hit you too. You don't need to pay me."
Sun Jirou took out another stack of white notes and added it on top. "If possible, please look after my brother too."
"Easy, easy." Tao Chengxin's eyes lit up as she quickly stashed the white notes away. "But I can only do what's within my ability. I can't guarantee anything."
"I'm just doing my part as family. The rest depends on his luck." Sun Jirou said.
What followed was between Sun Jirou and Xu Huo. Tao Chengxin had already gained a lot from this trip. She said cheerfully, "I'll go first then. Hope we meet again."
With that, she disappeared from their sight.
Xu Huo and Sun Jirou found a tea room. Once inside, Sun Jirou took off her necklace and first explained the item's function: "This is a detection item. It can determine the composition of most things like soil, water, and air, and can also detect some special odors."
"I noticed you as soon as you got on the train. At first, I thought you were hiding your true strength, but you fooled me quickly."
"At the Block Steamed Bun Shop, did you also use this to confirm I was outside?" Xu Huo asked.
Sun Jirou was slightly surprised, then sighed. "There's really no mystery at all in front of smart people."
"That's right."
She held the necklace pendant and swept it from top to bottom through the air, finally stopping at his ankle. "Right here."
Xu Huo didn't feel anything. He looked down, but there was nothing unusual on his exposed skin either.
Sun Jirou took out a bottle of insecticide and, after he nodded, sprayed it. Soon, a thin piece the size of a fingernail fell off his skin. It was similar in color to skin and as thin as a cicada's wing.
She picked up the thin piece. "This is the embryo of a tracking lizard nicknamed 'See You in Three Years.' During the egg-laying stage, the mother lizard continuously produces and sheds such embryos. If attached to a person or object, even across stations, as long as conditions are suitable, the mother lizard will find it."
"Can this lizard's sense of smell cross space?" Xu Huo frowned.
"Whether it's smell hasn't been determined yet, but animal evolution is more complex and strange than human evolution." Sun Jirou paused and changed her wording. "Dolphins have a built-in sonar system in their brains that can locate objects less than five centimeters from over a hundred meters away, and rusty-spotted cats can construct a 3D jungle map in their brains. After the initial evolution, some animals have displayed extraordinary abilities that humans cannot achieve."
In other words, humans don't know how they do it either—they've only discovered the phenomenon.
"And this embryo can remain active for up to three years. During those three years, as long as the mother lizard doesn't die, it will continue tracking it."
Xu Huo looked at the "thin piece" in her palm. "Can it still be used now?"
"Of course. There doesn't seem to be a very effective way to block it yet." Sun Jirou handed it to him. "What use do you have for it? You can just throw it anywhere."
"To send a big gift." Xu Huo smiled slightly.
Sun Jirou hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have one more question."
"Go ahead."
"How did you see through Old Lady Bai's identity? I also interacted with her on the train, but I completely didn't realize they were the same person."
"I didn't see through their identities. I just determined they were connected." Xu Huo said.
"Both of them mentioned the Bear Claw Restaurant, and Old Lady Bai, disguised as a tour guide, went into the Bear Claw Restaurant herself to lure me in."
"Aren't you also curious why Fairy Tale City hasn't had a single baby born in twenty years?"