Chapter 238: Brother, Let's Talk This Over
[Hungry Napkin: A napkin that loves food, fond of anything except soup juices. However, please note that when eating, it likes to spit out excess liquid, easily staining clothes.]
[Identification Fork: The birth of a new ingredient often requires boldness and courage. To avoid losing one's life to culinary cravings, a seasoned gourmet from the Eternal Star Restaurant invented this utensil. Simply pierce an object, and it can identify the food's composition and recommend consumption methods.]
The napkin was a piece of embroidery cloth that looked quite ornate, while the Identification Fork appeared to be just an ordinary utensil made of black metal.
Xu Huo toyed with the Identification Fork for a moment, then casually tossed it at Wei Da. The fork stuck into his shoulder, and before he could pull it out, the patterns on the fork projected a beam of light, and a holographic projection appeared in front of Wei Da.
A cartoon character wearing a chef's hat pulled its hands apart on both sides, and subtitles appeared before it:
"A thirty-year-old male with insufficient muscle, excessive fat, and long-term unhealthy daily routines. Contains trace amounts of toxins in the body. Consumption is essentially harmless."
"However, cannibalism violates moral ethics and culinary integrity. Consumption is not recommended."
Wei Da pulled the fork out, deeply uneasy. "You're not a cannibal player, are you?"
"No." Xu Huo motioned for him to throw the fork back. After wiping it clean, he picked up the two paintings and stood up to leave, adding, "See you tomorrow."
Wei Da watched him take away all the belongings he had saved up, feeling a pang of reluctance. But to save his life, he could only offer them willingly, hoping Xu Huo wouldn't go back on his word.
Xu Huo went to the next room, placed the paintings face down on the bed, then gently pricked his palm with the Identification Fork. The holographic projection appeared again:
"A healthy male with balanced body fat and no toxins. Has a history of long-term medication use. Consumption is harmless."
"However, cannibalism violates moral ethics and culinary integrity. Consumption is not recommended."
Long-term medication history?
Xu Huo frowned slightly. Both he and Wei Da were E-level players. Taking Evolution Agents shouldn't count as long-term medication, but in his memory, he had no recollection of taking medicine for an extended period.
He casually put the Identification Fork away and lay down on the bed, feeling out of sorts.
The Painting Woman slipped out from his clothes and, learning on the fly, used the reading function. "I want to eat something."
Xu Huo pointed to the cabinet beside them. "Look over there."
The Painting Woman rummaged through everything and took out all the food. But Xu Huo sat up and asked her, "Do you know any way to make someone lose their memory for a period of time without them realizing it?"
"You can use an item," the Painting Woman said, tapping the screen. "There are also thieves who specialize in stealing memories."
"Thieves who steal memories?" Xu Huo repeated her words.
"That's right," the Painting Woman said, stuffing a cookie into her mouth. "I had an owner who had his memory stolen. He died not long after. He told me that before he died."
"Did you have your memory stolen too?"
Xu Huo subconsciously shook his head. From his childhood, including his time in the mental hospital and the events surrounding his older brother Xu Zhi's death, he remembered everything.
In his memory, he had never taken medicine continuously for more than two months. But this contradicted the Identification Fork's conclusion. If he only considered the use of agents after evolution, he hadn't used them many times, and the dosage wasn't large.
He rubbed his fingers together gently and beckoned to the Painting Woman. "Come here."
The Painting Woman obediently walked over, and the Identification Fork stabbed into her arm. But there was no reaction.
Xu Huo looked up at her. "Don't resist."
On the second try, the fork pierced her arm:
"Ordinary aged paper, with a smell of mold and sweat. Inedible."
The torn arm healed itself. The Painting Woman pushed the fork out and held it in her hand, finding it very interesting. "I want to go stab that person outside."
Xu Huo didn't stop her. Soon, an angry roar sounded from outside. Not long after, the Painting Woman returned, but the fork was bent.
She carefully placed the item by the bedside and silently began to clean up the food wrappers and crumbs.
Xu Huo only glanced at her, then tested the fork on the bedsheet. Seeing it still worked, he put it away.
A night passed. The next day, the lights came on, and Xu Huo appeared in the exhibition hall right on time. Wei Da arrived a bit later and reflexively glanced at the painting frame in Xu Huo's hand before asking, "How do you plan to get through the third level?"
Xu Huo walked through the exhibition hall. He paused for a moment to look at a sculpture with a missing ear, then walked straight to the pillar blocking the door. Standing before *Stilled Time*, he knocked on the painting. "Stop playing dead. Come out."
Wei Da first looked at him in surprise. "There's someone in the painting?"
"Most of the paintings in the gallery are living paintings," Xu Huo said. "Didn't you guess that too? Anyone who touches the paintings at night gets eaten."
Wei Da nodded. "That's right. The game background mentioned that before the gallery closes every night, the curator confirms that all the paintings here are real. So before the players came in, there were no fake paintings here."
"Some paintings did indeed eat the players and become living paintings," he said, glancing at Xu Huo's hand, then added, "But not every painting should be alive."
"If the people in the paintings don't move, how high are the chances of players discovering the living paintings?" Xu Huo asked.
"You discovered this painting was alive a long time ago?" Wei Da suddenly understood. "No wonder. When you picked up the painting for Fan Shiji at the beginning of the instance, your behavior was a bit strange. That means Deng Yu and Da Xiong must have seen the living paintings too. But Deng Yu thought the living paintings were the fake ones, so he disappeared on the first night. He didn't go missing; he actively came to take a painting and got sucked into it."
"Da Xiong was scared by the living paintings and the monsters. He only came to try his luck when he realized he couldn't escape."
He paused, then asked, "Did you take Deng Yu or Da Xiong?"
"Da Xiong," Xu Huo replied.
"So that means Deng Yu was indeed taken by Gao Jun," Wei Da shook his head. "Everyone's hiding things pretty deep."
"The paintings that reveal themselves during the day are actually meant to attract the players' attention," Xu Huo said, taking out a lighter. "But it seems the daytime paintings aren't that special. I wonder if they can be burned."
The person in the painting still didn't respond, but the flat face seemed to carry a hint of mockery.
Xu Huo lit the lighter and held it under the painting frame. A few seconds later, the oil painting figure inside changed color in anger. "You dare to burn the painting? Aren't you afraid the curator will be angry?"
"It doesn't matter. If the curator comes, I can just leave the game," Xu Huo said with a smile, jerking his chin toward the sculpture behind him. "Besides, the curator can't move during the day either."
The oil painting figure shifted left and right in the painting. Seeing the flame chasing it to burn, it became even angrier. "Who told you it was the curator? It's just the security guard of the gallery!"
"If you say it's a security guard, that's fine too. It can't move anyway," Xu Huo said, not bothering to argue.
At that moment, Wei Da pointed to the portrait paintings not far away. "Aren't there plenty of other living paintings? Let's just burn this one to scare the others, so they won't be disobedient."
With that, he moved to dismantle the painting frame. The oil painting figure hurriedly said, "Brother! Don't be so hot-tempered. Let's talk this over!"