Chapter 1887: Departure
The notion of an illusion was, of course, just a feeling. Xu Huo didn't have any conscious awareness of mental interference either. It was as if this fragment of the future had randomly presented itself before him—having little to do with him, and he just happened to be an observer.
Pink Hair glanced at him sideways. "I really can't stand people like you who lack self-awareness. Don't you know this might get you a bag over your head?"
"You think I'm showing off?" Xu Huo finally looked at him. "Have you systematically studied Super Evolution?"
"Not everyone can undergo Super Evolution, and the situations of Super Evolvers are different too..." Pink Hair's matter-of-fact words trailed off here. Realizing something, he said with a hint of mockery, "Don't tell me you still haven't figured out what's going on?"
"Just starting out, still unclear," Xu Huo said nonchalantly, but he didn't let him off the hook verbally. "Though this kind of trouble is probably beyond your experience."
Pink Hair's face darkened again, but he really had no say on the topic of Super Evolution. He sighed, "There are so many geniuses in the world, but unfortunately, none of them are me."
"Aren't there special Evolution Potions on the Player Platform?" Xu Huo mentioned.
"With all those side effects, would you dare use them?" Pink Hair countered.
"I wouldn't," Xu Huo answered honestly, then brought up the previous question. "You didn't clear the Instance?"
"I did, thanks to you. I was also in the Lighthouse Instance." Pink Hair took another gulp of wine, thought for a moment, and added, "You can help them for a while, but you can't help them forever. There will be more Outer Zone Players coming here."
"That's Zone 010's own problem," Xu Huo said. "I just lent a hand. I don't have to take responsibility for them."
Pink Hair laughed softly. "During the day, I was thinking whether I should kill a few more people before leaving. But now, I don't think it's necessary. Situations like the Sand Sea Safe Zone will happen again and again. Constantly losing out to Outer Zone Players will cut into Zone 010 people's flesh like a dull knife."
"Isn't that good? Just what you want," Xu Huo said.
Pink Hair twitched the corner of his mouth, downed the rest of his drink in a few gulps, and left a note with his contact information under the Dimension. "Looks like you also have a grudge against the Game. Maybe we'll have a chance to cooperate in the future."
"I'm off."
With that, he vanished from his seat.
Xu Huo glanced at the note and casually swept it into his sleeve.
The banquet downstairs didn't stop until late at night. Xu Huo made do with sleeping in the chair for the night. Early the next morning, Deng Xiahei and the others came to say goodbye.
Juan Er and the others had been stuck in Zone 010 for too long and couldn't wait to leave. Especially Juan Er, who said with a grin, "Haven't seen my kids in ages. I wonder if they still remember their dad."
The group had gotten along well during this Instance, so everyone was cheerful at the farewell. They left first, followed by Deng Xiahei and Xiao Hui.
After everyone was gone, Xu Huo went downstairs. Gao Dawei and the others were surprised to see him. "We thought you'd already left!"
Xu Huo didn't say much. He walked to the dining table and asked Chang Shoujie, "Has Melissa eaten?"
Chang Shoujie nodded. "We've prepared a clean room."
Xu Huo looked at Melissa and reached out his hand.
Little Melissa stared at him, then twisted her body and lunged over. Xu Huo took the child's hand and said to Chang Shoujie and the others, "I'm taking her out for a walk."
The others didn't know what he was planning and looked at Chang Shoujie. Chang Shoujie only said, "I'll arrange for a few people to follow you at a distance."
Xu Huo didn't refuse and took little Melissa downstairs.
Because of the height difference, holding hands was inconvenient, so once downstairs, he let go and let Melissa walk on her own while he slowed down to match her pace.
The child didn't fuss or make noise. She obediently followed him. She wasn't very talkative, but she was curious about new things. Whenever she saw something novel along the way, she would go over and touch it.
Xu Huo watched her the whole time. When she got tired, he would appropriately carry her for a while. But children's energy always seemed especially abundant at certain times. After resting a bit, she wanted to get down again. She was interested in shiny objects, would look at herself in mirrors, and then turn back to tug at her protective suit.
Xu Huo didn't rush to stop her. Instead, he raised his hand to measure her height, then his own, and patted his clothes.
Little Melissa seemed to understand what he meant. She stopped tugging at her protective suit, but she developed a new fondness for climbing. She would use both hands and feet to climb onto steps, then stand at the top and jump down. The first and second times, Xu Huo stopped her, but the third time, he let her fall.
The Zone 010 players following behind almost couldn't hold back from jumping out. But little Melissa scrambled right back up, seemingly loving this activity. She continued climbing the steps and even chose a higher one.
After falling twice, she learned on her own to adjust her posture mid-air to avoid hurting herself. After a few more tries, she figured out without being taught that rolling on the ground could absorb the impact and prevent injury.
She was smart beyond her years and unafraid of pain.
However, Xu Huo didn't sense any Time Power from her. When he tried to perceive the surrounding Time Rays, nothing changed like it had yesterday.
This left him puzzled. In theory, he should have foreseen the future of Zone 010 and Melissa through Time Power, but he couldn't grasp the trigger. It wasn't like the clear perception he had with Mental Evolution or Space Evolution.
Yesterday, he thought the trigger was Melissa. After trying for so long today, he had gained nothing.
Melissa's laughter interrupted him. The little girl had climbed onto an undamaged stone sculpture. Standing on its uneven head, she puffed out her chest and looked into the distance.
Xu Huo walked to the statue and opened his arms. "Come down."
Melissa could already understand the meaning of this gesture. Without hesitation, she jumped. Xu Huo caught her and set her on the ground. From his spoils, he picked a B-grade short dagger and placed it in her hand. Then he held her hand and used the dagger to cut through a stone step nearby. After that, he turned back and moved to cut her other palm.
Little Melissa held out her arm and shook her head. She knew it would hurt.
Seeing she understood, Xu Huo let go. He then picked out a necklace made from an instrument and hung it around her neck. Casually, he flicked a nearby pebble at her. When the stone hit little Melissa, a pale blue force barrier released by the instrument blocked it.
"Understand?" Xu Huo patted the pendant, signaling her not to take it off.
Little Melissa applied what she learned. She turned around, climbed the steps, and jumped down. Sure enough, the instrument automatically formed a barrier to protect her upon landing. She got up from the ground and smiled at Xu Huo.
Xu Huo waved at her, then used his Ticket to leave Zone 010. (End of chapter)