Chapter 1792: Leftover Contaminants
In the end, they waited until the grilled fish was finished, but none of those noble children showed up, nor did they send anyone else over to ask questions. As for the two of them here, they went back after the meal.
Naturally, things were peaceful after that, with everyone doing their own thing. During the day, they barely ran into each other in the villa.
Regarding the donation matter, Xu Huo contacted Mr. Dong to ask for more details.
Before leaving District 011, Xu Huo had instructed Mr. Dong that if he received a charity invitation, he could donate appropriately, and he could also participate in other fundraising activities. Generally, such activities didn’t require too much money, definitely not to the level of a “scatter-cash kid.”
“Lady Lily has donated quite a bit of money in your name,” Mr. Dong said.
“How much?” Xu Huo asked.
“Ten times the amount you left me for donations.” Mr. Dong wore a businesslike expression. “Because the money you left wasn’t sufficient, I only picked some of the more important social fundraisers and didn’t participate in other noble activities.”
After he said this, both sides of the communicator fell silent for a moment. A few seconds later, Xu Huo said, “Help me prepare a generous gift for Lady Lily.”
Mr. Dong immediately said no problem, and at the same time, he revealed another piece of news to him. The district government had recently been secretly searching for medical talent skilled in making antidotes. The reason was that during the last attack by the Eerie Sound Knights on District 011, they had played dirty, releasing contaminants and germs in some important places—although only Yu Guo among these people was known for germs, it was clear they all knew where Yu Guo’s infectious agents came from and could even get a bit more. Unlike Yu Guo, however, they couldn’t carry these germs with their bodies; instead, they brought them wrapped up tightly, which caused a delayed outbreak. This was also the main reason District 011 decided to join forces with other districts to issue a high bounty on the Eerie Sound Knights again.
“According to rumors, among the places contaminated by the germs is the district government’s centralized water source area. This water source area not only supplies drinking water for some important figures but is also used as experimental water for certain potions. The loss is enormous.”
“I see.” No wonder Lady Lily had proposed exchanging donations for an honorary medal. It seemed the district government planned to save this water source. The donations weren’t just for the bounty on the Eerie Sound Knights.
“Can you get a little?” Xu Huo asked again.
“I’m just a butler. Please don’t put me in a difficult position.” Mr. Dong hung up after saying that.
Xu Huo also felt he was asking too much, so after playing around for another three days, he returned to Rose Castle ahead of schedule.
Taking the gift Mr. Dong had prepared, he went to visit Lady Lily.
Lady Lily was picking out a suit for her younger brother. Seeing him appear, she immediately waved him over. “Come quick. Your build is about the same as my brother’s. Help him try on the clothes.”
Xu Huo handed the gift to the butler and said with a smile, “Congratulations. I heard your brother received an honorary medal as a Rose Knight?”
Lady Lily held the clothes up to him from a distance, measuring him, and said nonchalantly, “It’s just an honor bought with money. I spent a lot to get that title. The medal ceremony is in two days, so I have to prepare his clothes in advance.”
After saying this, her hand dropped again. “Forget it. Clothes that fit you won’t suit him. If my brother were even half as capable as you, I wouldn’t have to worry so much.”
“That’s his good fortune—having a sister to worry for him.” Xu Huo casually picked up a white suit. “How about this one?”
Lady Lily looked it over and nodded to the servant beside her. The servant stepped forward and took the suit.
The two of them went to the flower hall.
District 011 had fresh flowers all year round. The flower hall was filled with all kinds of blooms, some of which hadn’t been trimmed yet. Lady Lily said “have a seat” and continued picking up her scissors to handle the flower branches.
“If you’re really interested in the honorary medal, I could pull some strings, but it won’t be cheap. You’ll have to pay for it yourself.”
“Of course.” Xu Huo nodded, then brought up the matter of her donating in his name.
“That’s nothing,” Lady Lily said, throwing him a flirtatious glance. “You can tell I’m trying to win you over, right?”
Xu Huo had a faint smile on his face but didn’t follow her lead into an ambiguous atmosphere.
Lady Lily placed a pink rose by her lips, her eyes fixed on him, then gently bit off a few petals and chewed them slowly.
Xu Huo sat across from her, not avoiding her gaze, but also showing no other reaction.
Lady Lily gradually lost interest and turned to talk about the flower in her hand. “I used to think this kind of flower had no ornamental value—not intense enough in bloom, not bright enough. But ever since you moved into Rose Castle, I’ve started to find these flowers a bit more pleasing to the eye.”
“It just goes to show that nothing in this world is set in stone.”
“Men like you today and her tomorrow. Women are the same—today they think one man is better, tomorrow they think another is better… People are very fickle.”
“Since they’re fickle, they’re easily swayed and tempted.”
She slowly got up and walked toward Xu Huo. When she got close, she placed her left hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing it. After a few seconds, she leaned in close to his ear and lowered her voice. “What could tempt you?”
Xu Huo blocked her hand as it began to move downward. “Any further and we’ll cross the line.”
Lady Lily let out a soft laugh, withdrew her hand, and returned to her seat. “I want you to steal something for me. In exchange, I’ll definitely get you a nice title. ‘Rose Knight’ or whatever is way too tacky.”
“What is it?” Xu Huo asked straightforwardly.
“You probably know about the contamination of the government’s direct water source area. The contaminants placed by the Eerie Sound Knights have already been cleared out. Now they’re focusing on dealing with the spread of pollutants. These things haven’t been completely destroyed. Some have been taken by different nobles. Everyone wants to get a bit to study, so they won’t be helpless if they encounter it again in the future.”
“There’s a shipment heading to the Helta family’s secret lab soon. It’d be best if you could steal the whole vehicle. What you do with it afterward is your business… Aren’t you building a lab? You could use it yourself. I just want the Helta family to lose face.”
Lady Lily lounged lazily in her chair, twirling a small fan. “Just thinking about how, for the next half year, every time I see a member of the Helta family, I can mock them—it’s so satisfying.”
“I’ll think about it,” Xu Huo said.
“You need to be this careful about such a small matter?” Lady Lily seemed surprised, but then she changed her attitude. “I like how cautious you are. Whatever you do, don’t get caught. The Helta family members aren’t much, but their players are very capable.”
Xu Huo said he would be very careful and absolutely wouldn’t implicate her.
Lady Lily let out a “pfft” laugh. “Stay for lunch. The ingredients delivered today are pretty good. I plan to cook myself.” (End of chapter)