Chapter 2040: What You've Gotten, You Can't Abandon
Facing the guest, the butler was quite restrained. He smiled and invited Xu Huo to the guest room, letting him freshen up first, then went to find a set of Huahan Werner's clothes for him to wear.
"This is a formal suit from when the master was young. He has never worn it. It's somewhat different from today's popular styles, but young people have given this style a new name—they call it 'retro.'" The butler helped Xu Huo put on the jacket as he spoke. "Your build is similar to the master's, so it should fit you perfectly."
Xu Huo adjusted the collar while looking at himself in the mirror. The formal suit was deep blue, with buttons made of black gemstones—not overly conspicuous but very refined.
The butler showed a hint of a smile. "Indeed, it looks good."
"Bang, bang, bang." Someone knocked on the door outside, and then Huahan Werner's voice came through. "Are you done yet?"
The smile on the butler's face instantly froze. He bowed slightly to Xu Huo, stepped out first, and lowered his voice. "Master, please don't embarrass yourself in front of the guest again!"
"Alright, alright, I've got it." The sound of footsteps going downstairs followed.
The butler reopened the door, his cold expression returning, and invited Xu Huo downstairs for dinner.
The dinner was very lavish. The three-meter-long small dining table was almost completely covered. Huahan Werner was already sitting upright at the table, and only after Xu Huo sat down across from him did he say, "Try it. These are all the butler's signature dishes."
They were all dishes Xu Huo had never seen before. He tried them and found the taste quite good.
Huahan Werner originally wanted to have some wine, but the butler stopped him. His appetite was still good, and he ate even more than Xu Huo, the younger man.
The atmosphere of the meal was quite pleasant. After dinner, they went to the tea room for tea, and after sitting for a while, they returned to the topic of time power.
But this time, Huahan Werner didn't start with time rays. Instead, he mentioned the introduction of time from other zones.
"Introducing other times isn't as simple as just breaking through space to contact other time powers," he said. "Time within a space is unified, so it's very difficult for other times to intrude. It's not like a real thread that you can freely pull and tug. To put it more precisely, it's more like water flowing down from a space crack, or rain—its direction is fixed."
"This isn't something you can achieve through gradual progress."
"Isn't the evolution of time power different from space evolution, which expands and deepens in terms of both range and intensity?" Xu Huo interjected.
"Time evolution and space evolution are different." Huahan Werner mentioned this for the second time. "With space power, you can control and use it, but not with time power. You're only borrowing it. You can neither control the flow of time nor change the form of time itself. This is a world of difference from space power. If you go down the path of expanding range, you'll never make a breakthrough in your entire life."
Xu Huo paused slightly, meeting the other's meaningful gaze, and said, "Perhaps I still lack some talent."
Huahan Werner shook his head with a smile. "You were able to obtain the black box, which proves that your time evolution has been successful. Taking the right path means your choices weren't too wrong."
"But having too many choices isn't always a good thing either," he said. "You're a very smart young man. It's rare to see a player who can evolve both time and space simultaneously. Human thinking has specific patterns. Space evolution is affecting the progress of time evolution. You might consider making a choice."
As if not catching the deeper meaning in his words, Xu Huo smiled. "How can you abandon something you've already gotten? If you abandon it, aren't you denying your past self?"
Huahan Werner seemed to have anticipated his attitude. His expression remained unchanged. "Young man, being a little arrogant isn't a bad thing."
Xu Huo prepared to take his leave.
Huahan Werner didn't try to stop him and had the butler see him out.
As he was leaving, Xu Huo said to the butler, "I'll return the clothes after they've been cleaned."
"You may keep them." The butler smiled. "I won't see you out. A car will take you out of this district."
Xu Huo thanked him and got into the city's automatic aircraft, heading out of the district. Unexpectedly, halfway through, a barrier suddenly appeared ahead, blocking the road completely. At the same time, laughter came from a small castle building nearby.
He turned to look and saw several young nobles who had appeared at the Werner residence before, all people of considerable status in District 011.
"Someone who can walk into this district surely knows how to drive a car, right?" The few people upstairs looked at him, malice in their eyes.
The barrier blocking the way was a space barrier. It wasn't much for a high-level player, but using an item in this situation would put him at a disadvantage. Besides, in this noble residential district, starting a fight would put him in a bad position no matter what.
Xu Huo waved at the people upstairs, dissolved the space barrier, and continued forward.
Those noble scions didn't want him to leave so easily. One of them shouted, "How dare you use an item here!"
As he spoke, he flashed and appeared in front of the car—his intention was to stomp on the hood. But somehow, as he landed, his foot slipped, and he pitched forward. Then, inexplicably, his hands slipped too, and his face slammed heavily onto the car hood with a sickening "bang!"
Xu Huo sat motionless in the car, smiling as he looked at the man who raised his head. "It's not New Year's or a holiday. Such a big bow is too polite."
"Oh, wait, District 011 just had New Year's. Should I give you a red envelope?"
The man tried to move, but his hands and one foot were embedded in the car hood, completely stuck. Realizing this might not be an item effect, he immediately reached for an instrument. But at that moment, his gaze didn't leave Xu Huo. Their eyes met, and in his field of vision, the man and everything around him seemed to shrink, leaving only those eyes continuously enlarging. Accompanying that enlargement was an immense pressure—an invisible oppression that left him unable to move, unable to breathe. He felt like he was dying, his mouth wide open, trying to call for help but powerless.
"What's he doing lying on the car without moving? He went down and hasn't stirred." A woman on the small building frowned and was about to tell someone beside her to go check, when she suddenly saw Xu Huo turn his head. Meeting his gaze, her body stiffened, and her earlier attitude of watching the fun crumbled.
"There's no need for so many people to see me off this late," Xu Huo said at that moment, smiling. "Feel free to come visit Rose Castle when you have time."
With that, the car drove forward. The man who had been lying on the hood suddenly dropped, passing through the car body and appearing behind it, much to the shock of the others watching!
The noble scion, freed from the spiritual realm, gasped sharply and then coughed violently. When he turned back, he only saw the person in the car waving at them with his back turned, as if saying goodbye.