Chapter 2345: Brawl or Beating
The entrance to the Fish Feast was also very obscure, and there were many theories about it under the dimension. Those who claimed to have entered and exited—whether truthfully or not—described the place as a paradise for the ambitious, their words dripping with incitement, so the entrance was also described as extremely mysterious.
Some said the "Fish Feast" actively selected its guests, and the entrance would only appear before those holding an invitation. Others said there would be a special mark at the entrance, corresponding to the symbol on the invitation. Still others claimed the Fish Feast was held in a separate space, so the entrance was also a spatial gate—those with invitations were guests, while those without might stumble in by accident, but they wouldn't be considered guests.
There were many theories, and as for where the entrance appeared, there were even more. Many people claimed to have seen it at such-and-such wormhole point in such-and-such district.
Of course, those who claimed to have seen it might not necessarily be lying, since the Fish Feast venue itself was mobile and not fixed to any one district.
It seemed finding it was a matter of luck.
When it came to being well-informed, it had to be the people at the high-level wormhole points.
So he contacted Shi Sanjiu.
Shi Sanjiu had already come out of the instance and replied quickly after receiving his message, "I'll get back to you within a day."
Xu Huo closed his personal panel and let his gaze fall on the garden outside the window.
After sitting in silence for a while, he went downstairs, grabbed a pair of shears, and went to the garden to trim the flower branches.
Mr. Dong found a vase and asked him to pick some flowers to decorate the castle.
The castle had flowers blooming all year round, and no room was ever without them. In the past, Mr. Dong had taken care of all of this.
"Do you want to go out for a walk?" Xu Huo asked as he trimmed, "Or take the spiders you've raised to a competition?"
Mr. Dong wasn't very interested in traveling at the moment; he preferred to stay in the castle and take care of things, so he politely declined the offer.
Xu Huo didn't ask if he was bored, but instead mentioned that he could go for a stroll nearby in his spare time to enrich his daily life.
"You're managing the stock dividends, you can use that money."
At this, Mr. Dong's expression relaxed a bit. With more funds on hand, he could renovate the castle however he wanted.
By the time Xu Huo and Mr. Dong had moved the vases to each room, before they could even sit down for a drink of water, Xu Huo received a contact from the Enforcement Department asking him to bail out Dr. Deng.
"What crime did he commit?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Affray and use of contraband," the Enforcement Department officer said politely. "According to regulations, you need to pay a bail fee to take him away."
"No bail. Lock him up for a few days. Let him out when he's reformed." Xu Huo didn't hesitate at all.
"Do you have any conscience!" Dr. Deng's voice came through. "Who do you think I ended up like this for? Come save me quick!"
Xu Huo let out a cold laugh. "You don't stay home and work properly, you go out and fight, disturb public order—arresting you is the lightest punishment."
Dr. Deng choked, seeming to realize Xu Huo really wasn't going to bother with him, and quickly said, "Don't you want the potion for Black Thorn Disease? I've already developed it!"
Black Thorn Disease was a genetic disease prevalent in the "Wandering Melissa" instance. Not only did it shorten lifespans, but it also destroyed fertility. The district where the instance was located was on the verge of extinction.
Dr. Deng's former friend Joyce had devoted the last of his life to finding a cure for this disease. Xu Huo had also obtained some of Dr. Joyce's research results from the instance, originally bringing them back so Dr. Deng could develop a genetic potion to solve the problem.
"Are you sure?" Xu Huo narrowed his eyes, his tone unreadable.
"Pretty sure..." Dr. Deng said hesitantly. "Though it's not a complete cure, it's enough to solve their predicament..."
"Wait there." Xu Huo cut off the communication, got into his aircraft, and headed to the Enforcement Department.
It wasn't his first time at the Enforcement Department building. The difference was that last time he was working for the Game Government Base, and this time he was an "important figure."
Although he had clashed a bit with the Black Epaulets over the player infiltrating Rose Castle and being "accidentally" let go by him, he now bore the "Vilna" label, so the Enforcement Department didn't dare openly make things difficult for him. The person receiving him was quite friendly.
He smoothly retrieved Dr. Deng.
Dr. Deng wasn't in great shape—his face was bruised and swollen, and he was limping.
"Didn't they say it was an affray? Looks more like you got ganged up on and beaten," Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"Don't even mention it." Dr. Deng grimaced and cursed those people for lacking medical ethics. "We were talking just fine, why did they have to throw punches? I was just trying to break it up, and they ganged up on me? Shameless, aren't they jealous of my talent?"
"Speaking of talent," Xu Huo said with a smile, "why didn't you mention the genetic potion before? If nothing had happened today, were you planning to keep it to yourself?"
Dr. Deng snapped to attention and quickly said, "Absolutely not! I actually wanted to develop the real genetic potion before telling you—pursuing perfection is my motto... but using this version is fine too, since their situation is already what it is..."
Under Xu Huo's gaze, his voice grew quieter and quieter, and he finally lowered his head guiltily. "I meant well."
"Let's go back and see your results." Xu Huo couldn't be bothered to argue with him.
Dr. Deng had indeed made some progress based on Dr. Joyce's research. While it couldn't completely solve the Black Thorn Disease problem, it could delay the onset, thereby extending people's lifespans. Fertility would also recover to some extent as the condition eased—for the people of that district, this was already a breakthrough in their despair.
Because Dr. Deng had conducted repeated experiments, there was already a stockpile of the genetic potion. Xu Huo packed it all up and sent it to Chang Shoujie, asking him to try it on the locals.
Along with it, he sent a small container item for Little Melissa, which could hold snacks and toys.
The effects of the potion wouldn't show in a day or two, but Chang Shoujie quickly replied with a message full of endless gratitude. He also sent Xu Huo a video of Little Melissa reading. The child had grown a lot and no longer looked as dazed as before.
Dr. Deng, having been beaten, went to apply medicine to himself. "Let me know when there are results."
Xu Huo helped bring over some wound medicine. "What happened? And what's this about contraband?"
Dr. Deng hissed as he recounted the whole story.
He had actually gone to a gathering of medical doctors. The so-called contraband wasn't stimulants or anything like that, but special potions someone had brought specifically. They had all agreed beforehand to upgrade those potions.
With so many people, opinions clashed, and when they couldn't agree, it came to blows. Then, because the person who brought the potions was acting rather suspiciously, a neighbor reported them. The Enforcement Department came and rounded them all up.