Chapter 2473: The Leisurely Daily Life of the Town
Before the old lady could refuse, the female passenger who had spoken earlier came over and supported her. "I happen to be heading into town anyway, so why don't we go together?"
The old lady pulled her hand away, patted her leg to indicate she was perfectly fine, and added, "A flying vehicle will come to pick me up soon."
This district's technology was already advanced enough to support such convenient instruments. As long as the old lady used her terminal to call for help, a flying device would arrive shortly. The built-in monitor could even give her a preliminary diagnosis first, determining whether she needed to go to the hospital. If not, it would simply take her home.
The old lady thanked them for their kindness and took the basket from Xu Huo's hands.
Watching her bend over and carry the basket down the mountain alone, the female passenger said, "Some elderly people are just like that. They don't like interacting with others, nor do they care much for convenient instruments. They rely more on their own legs and hands."
"Don't worry. If something really goes wrong, emergency medical devices will send her to the hospital for treatment immediately."
Xu Huo nodded, then asked her a few more questions about carving techniques on fruit pits before leaving the mountaintop.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, the Painting Woman darted out from the side. The cat was no longer with her, but she now had several small fur balls made from clumps of cat hair—her spoils of war.
Of course, her plucking of cat hair had also earned some people's displeasure, especially when she showed off the fur balls. Someone nearby even muttered sarcastically, "No class."
The Painting Woman heard it but pretended she hadn't. Happily, she told Xu Huo how she had driven the cats away, explaining that the cats had actually been trying to steal her medals, not the dried fish.
That was a bit unusual. Back in town, Xu Huo had the Painting Woman take out the medals she had obtained earlier and let different cats sniff them one by one.
Unlike the Painting Woman, the cats loved all the medals, rubbing against them incessantly, with some even drooling.
This made Xu Huo curious once again about what material the Light Gentleman Medal was made of. It was one thing for the Painting Woman to like them, but even the cats in District 001 were drawn to them. This hadn't happened before...
Seeing his gaze linger on the medals for so long, the Painting Woman warily pressed the several medals against her chest and mouthed, "These are mine."
"They're yours." Xu Huo smiled. "But since both you and these evolved cats like them so much, the materials used must be quite special. They might even assist in evolution."
That would explain why they instinctively gravitated toward the medals.
The Painting Woman didn't understand, but now that the medals were in her hands, she certainly wasn't going to give them back. She quickly hid them away again.
"Forget it. We'll deal with this later." Xu Huo decided to take a stroll around town and bought a bottle of specially made perfume for the Painting Woman.
Once they had completely shaken off the cat pack, the two of them had plenty of time to slowly explore the entire town.
However, the weather quickly turned overcast, and by dinner time, it suddenly started raining. They could no longer stay outside. Xu Huo found lodging near the town center, and from the room's window, they could see Cat Whisker Fruit Mountain.
In the drizzling mist, a few clouds drifted to the mountaintop. The Painting Woman happily took a photo, then circled the mountain and the clouds together. "Doesn't this look like a cat's head?"
Xu Huo glanced at it. "I thought you didn't like cats."
"Just looking is fine, isn't it?" The Painting Woman said matter-of-factly. "As long as they don't bother me."
"Meow!" As she spoke, a cat stood on the adjacent balcony, with an unadorned Cat Whisker Fruit at its feet. It pushed the fruit forward, clearly offering it to them.
"You're not trying to trade this for a medal, are you?" Xu Huo reached out and pulled the fruit over. Upon closer sniff, the fruit did have a faint scent.
The evolved cow cat, now larger and more beautiful, jumped from the windowsill into the room, shook off the water from its fur, and familiarly leaped onto the sofa to lie down, its green eyes fixed on them.
If a Cat Whisker Fruit couldn't get a medal, at least it could get them a place to stay.
The Painting Woman took a video of the cat from a distance, nodded in satisfaction, then shoved the cow cat off the sofa and lay down herself.
The cow cat let out a dissatisfied meow but wisely moved to the nearby footstool to sleep.
"It must understand what I'm saying, right?" the Painting Woman asked Xu Huo.
"Why don't you ask it and find out?" Xu Huo said flatly.
The Painting Woman picked a few questions she thought were simple, like identifying objects or colors. But the cow cat showed no reaction, glanced at her, and then looked away.
The Painting Woman, whose brain worked differently, didn't think the cat couldn't answer such simple questions. Instead, she thought her questions were too easy. So she pondered for a moment and rephrased, "Do you know how to clear the 'Journey of the Cat Whisker Fruit' instance?"
Jumping that much in difficulty?
Xu Huo looked at the cow cat. The cow cat narrowed its eyes, looking utterly disdainful, then moved to a spot farther away from the Painting Woman.
The Painting Woman persisted, varying her questions. She asked if it knew what kind of Cat Whisker Fruit was the most beautiful or the most special, and whether it knew which Cat Whisker Fruit was planning to go on a long journey... Her questions were quite imaginative.
Amid this one-sided questioning, Xu Huo slept straight through until the next morning.
The next day, the sky still hadn't cleared, but the travelers had already started moving about. The Painting Woman and the cow cat were no longer in the room. Xu Huo washed up briefly and went downstairs for breakfast.
Bubble Bean and Ling Ling were already halfway through their meal. They waved him over to join them. "It's crowded during breakfast time. Squeeze in."
Xu Huo sat down and gestured with his eyes toward a table in the corner. "What's going on over there?"
Three players were seated there, occasionally staring at them with unfriendly expressions.
"My fault," Ling Ling said. "I had a run-in with a local player yesterday while looking for clues. That family has quite a bit of influence. They thought I had ulterior motives, so they sent a few players. It's nothing serious. We'll be leaving town soon anyway."
Xu Huo nodded. Just as his food arrived, another group entered the shop. The leader was an ordinary person, and the four of them clearly knew the three in the corner. After exchanging glances, both groups headed toward Xu Huo and his companions.
"Mind if I sit for a moment?" The middle-aged man in glasses sat down directly in the only empty seat nearby, looking at Ling Ling without much courtesy. "Madam, yesterday you took a Cat Whisker Fruit from my elderly father's yard. That fruit was his most cherished possession, a keepsake left by his late wife. If possible, I would ask you to return it."
"Furthermore, I don't believe that Cat Whisker Fruit can help you clear the instance."