Chapter 2231: Grand Gift and Seeing Off
To avoid accidentally stumbling into an instance like last time, Xu Huo this time purchased a ticket with clearly defined trigger conditions. After getting off the train, he avoided the trigger area and went directly to the Double-Bright Bird Administrative District.
Even though a considerable amount of time had passed, the armed deployment in the Double-Bright Bird Administrative District was still more than double what it had been before. Players conducting random identity checks could be seen everywhere on the streets, and armed robots were scattered throughout the city. In non-special circumstances, people were not allowed to gather.
Noticing that some parts of the city hadn't been fully repaired yet, Xu Huo casually struck up a conversation with someone in a nearby shop, asking what had happened.
The locals were more than happy to recount their deeds of resisting foreign enemies. They warmly invited him to sit down and even provided some recorded clips to prove the courage and resourcefulness of the local players.
"Is that wanted criminal dead?" Xu Huo pressed further.
"Sooner or later, they'll die," the shop owner said with certainty. "How long has it been since those wanted criminals entered an instance? The moment they're back in the game, the accumulated count alone is enough to kill them seven or eight times over. Maybe they've already died in some high-risk instance, and no one even knows it yet."
That super item had been damaged by the Goddess, so Xu Huo still wasn't sure whether Dou Shengnan was dead or not.
"What a pity."
"Indeed, it's a pity," the shop owner replied smoothly. "A person guilty of heinous crimes, committing endless evil—it's a shame we didn't get to see her end..."
After chatting a bit more, Xu Huo bought some seasonal fruit and headed toward Double-Bright Bird Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Dian was at work as usual. When he came out of the company and spotted Xu Huo, he quickly waved him over. "Let's find a place to sit for a while before picking up the item. There are too many people in the company right now."
"It's been in the company for so long—hasn't anyone discovered it?" Xu Huo observed the person in front of him carefully.
"As long as there isn't a large amount of stored goods, no one usually goes to the empty warehouse," Dr. Dian said, still feeling a bit of lingering fear. "You got lucky... Are you done with what you needed to do?"
Xu Huo nodded. "I was seriously injured before. I also need to thank you for tearing up the instance declaration, which gave me the chance to leave this district."
Dr. Dian paused for a moment, then looked at him seriously. "What declaration?"
Both of them fell silent, neither bringing up the matter again.
Xu Huo wasn't sure if the disguise was too perfect, but the Dr. Dian in front of him seemed to be the same person he had met before entrusting the item. However, the fact that he could fool him and also knew the details of the battle with Dou Shengnan meant he was far from as simple as he appeared on the surface.
And then there was the "Time Tower"—a super item. Even if it only activated at fixed times, if the warehouse couldn't restrict its activation, and it had been sitting in Stellar Pharmaceuticals for so long without anyone noticing, that couldn't be explained by luck alone.
"Regardless, I'm truly grateful to you." Xu Huo had actually already mentally prepared himself for the possibility of not recovering the item.
Dr. Dian frowned. "Hurry up and take your stuff and your sister away. She's already been at my place for twenty days."
"You work at a pharmaceutical company, and you've helped me so much this time. I don't have anything else worthy of offering." Xu Huo pulled out a P0S Perfect Potion. "This is the Perfect Evolution Potion developed by Dr. Wu. I hope you like it."
If it had been money or something else, Dr. Dian might not have been tempted. But a Perfect Potion—developed by the legendary Dr. Wu, whom almost everyone in pharmaceutical research admired—he could no longer keep a straight face.
His hands reached out and touched the potion box first. "Is this really..."
Xu Huo nodded. Among the complete set of potions left by He Pu, the later ones had already been used by him. The initial P0S and P1S stages he had found elsewhere earlier, so he had kept them.
"It should be correct. I had someone check it. They all say so."
Dr. Dian's breathing quickened with excitement. He couldn't bear to open the box outside and was eager to go back.
"Doctor, let's at least retrieve the item first before we leave," Xu Huo said.
"Right, right, right," Dr. Dian said, unable to suppress the smile on his face. He pushed the box back toward Xu Huo. "You keep it safe first, so it doesn't get lost. Once we get to my place, you can give it to me. I have a special anti-theft room at home—no item can be stolen from there!"
"Are you very knowledgeable about the Perfect Potion?" Xu Huo asked an extra question.
"Not really," Dr. Dian said in a gentle tone. "But anyone who works at Stellar Pharmaceuticals dreams of getting their hands on Dr. Wu's potion. Having the potion feels like having a connection to that legendary predecessor. Countless people aspire to follow in his footsteps, and I'm no exception."
"One of our goals in researching evolution agents is to change the game world. But if anyone can truly change this world, it's only Dr. Wu."
That was indeed true. Just the Perfect Potion alone was enough to alter the evolutionary journey of every player in the game. And if every new player entering the game could take the Perfect Evolution Potion, within a generation or two, the Game Government and Stellar Corporation might not hold absolute control like they do now.
"It's about time. Let's go." Dr. Dian stood up. As he walked toward the company, he also arranged for the household robot at home to go buy groceries—he wanted to personally cook a meal to host Xu Huo.
Most of the people at Double-Bright Bird Pharmaceuticals had already left for the day. Dr. Dian gave him a temporary visitor pass and took him to the warehouse, where they successfully retrieved the "Time Tower."
Leaving the company, the two headed straight for Dr. Dian's home.
As they stepped out of the elevator, the Painting Woman was already waiting at the door. She rushed out in a flying leap, scaring Dr. Dian so much that he quickly hid behind Xu Huo... Of course, the Painting Woman wasn't welcoming him; she hugged Xu Huo, looking both excited and aggrieved, saying that he had promised to play together, so why had he run off alone again?
"A little accident happened." Xu Huo pulled her off. "Have you caused any trouble for the doctor these past few days?"
The Painting Woman immediately pulled out her communicator and began recounting her hard work over the past days. Not only had she taken over all the household chores, but she had also proactively offered to escort Dr. Dian to and from work to prevent him from being bothered by strange people. At night, she thoughtfully played him lullabies, and in the morning, she acted as his alarm clock.
On top of that, she had actively built good relations with the neighbors, frequently giving away cookies, cakes, and other items made by the robot, and hoping they would pay more attention to this lonely old man.
From the sound of it, Dr. Dian had been quite troubled.
"Want me to give you a shoulder rub?" the Painting Woman asked Dr. Dian.
Dr. Dian wished he could be eight meters away from her. But given that Xu Huo had just given him a grand gift, he forced himself to speak politely. "Your brother is here to pick you up. After dinner, you'll go with him."
The Painting Woman naturally still wanted to follow Xu Huo and have fun, but having already become familiar with human society, she appropriately expressed her reluctance to leave Dr. Dian.
Dr. Dian didn't want to talk to her at all. He turned to Xu Huo instead. "Let's hurry up and eat."