Chapter 2485: Definitely Getting Involved
Thus, after getting off at the next station, the group took a returning train back to the station they had missed earlier.
This station city was a small to medium-sized city, famous for its cuisine. The old lady wanted to find someone, and the others didn't need to follow. Since it was already late, they simply found a hotel to stay at. Those with business attended to it, while those without found a place to rest and eat.
Bubble Bean didn't want to follow the old lady again, so this trip for the old lady was escorted by Xu Huo, Painting Woman, and the two Wan Clan members.
From their previous contact, they only knew the general area where the bookstore owner lived. The old lady's communicator didn't have a photo of the bookstore owner, so they first went to a well-known school in that area, hoping to find the bookstore owner's child.
This wasn't hard to inquire about. They spent a little money and learned the child's whereabouts, but the school teacher said the child had been picked up early today by a nanny robot.
Painting Woman secretly found the bookstore owner's home address from the school's registration records, and the group immediately headed to his house.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped outside the residential area, they were targeted by several players and some robots.
Indeed, they were being watched by robots.
The moment they entered this range, all the surrounding robots, including surveillance instruments, were covertly observing them.
"What's going on?" The two Wan Clan members sensed something was wrong and were ready to escort the old lady away at any moment.
The old lady was stubborn. She had no intention of leaving just like that, insisting that she must bring her final delivery to a perfect conclusion.
"Then let's go," Xu Huo said. "Even if the bookstore owner is a fugitive, it doesn't have much to do with us."
The old lady glared at him in displeasure.
Xu Huo just smiled.
They applied for a visit at the robot security station, and soon the owner's residence replied, inviting them up.
The security level of the area where the bookstore owner lived was clearly different. Many houses in the neighborhood had shielding settings that could not only block sound but also prevent player prying to a certain extent. However, even so, Xu Huo could tell that the two neighboring households of the bookstore owner were both occupied by players. They appeared to be living normal lives, but their attention was always on the owner's house.
Inside the owner's house, there was no one except a robot.
The robot was the one greeting them.
After inviting them in, the robot served them tea and then asked the purpose of their visit.
The old lady explained that the bookstore owner had placed an order at her shop. "I need to see the owner in person to finalize the drawings and colors."
The robot regretfully gave them the same answer as before. "I have no authority over my master's whereabouts. You can leave the Cat Whisker Fruits here, or wait here for the master to return."
The old lady was very disappointed. "Only the guest can decide their preferences. I won't leave a half-finished product behind."
Xu Huo took a sip of water, his gaze sweeping over the four corners of the room, then politely asked where the restroom was.
The robot arranged for a cleaning bot to guide him there.
After washing his face and coming out, Xu Huo said to the old lady, "Why don't you leave the Cat Whisker Fruits here, along with some paint tools and such, and let the owner fill in the colors himself?"
The old lady said angrily, "Then it wouldn't be a fine piece made by me! I'm old, and you want me to ruin my reputation on my last transaction?!"
"At your age, you value reputation above all else." Xu Huo smiled at the robot. "How about giving us your master's emergency contact information? We'll try contacting him first. If we can't reach him, we'll move on to the next delivery."
Seeing him trying to make decisions for her, the old lady quickly said, "We can wait for him for two days."
Xu Huo glanced at the two Wan Clan members and nodded in agreement.
The robot gave them a contact method and also left their contact information, saying it would inform them if the master returned home.
As they were leaving, Xu Huo grabbed two Cat Whisker Fruits from the old lady's basket and placed them in the robot's hand. "This is for you."
The robot quickly refused. "We cannot accept gifts on behalf of the master."
"It's fine, we have plenty. And this is for you." Xu Huo warmly wrapped his hand around its mechanical fingers, gently pushing them back, then nudged the displeased old lady and the others out. "We're leaving! Goodbye!"
The door closed. The old lady didn't want to talk to him and strode away swiftly.
The two Wan Clan members, looking serious, followed closely behind.
As they went downstairs, Painting Woman asked, "Do robots like gifts too?"
"Who knows," Xu Huo said flatly. "It didn't cost anything anyway."
"She seems very angry." Painting Woman pointed at the old lady ahead, who was carrying her basket and walking briskly.
"There's plenty more, and it's not worth much. Doing a small favor is fine." Xu Huo said, "Our task only goes as far as letting her complete the delivery."
They left the residential area, but players followed them. Not only that, the city's mechanical systems seemed to have been activated all at once. In many blocks, even the surveillance instruments in shops were recording their every word and action from subtle angles. No matter where they went, at least three or four lenses were pointed at them.
Back in the hotel room, Xu Huo first had the waiter bring food, then closed the door and called the two Wan Clan members for a talk.
"Things have come to this point. You can't convince me that this trip is just about delivering some Cat Whisker Fruits," Xu Huo said. "Being able to mobilize a city's information network and surveillance instruments goes beyond the scope of an ordinary incident. The bookstore owner's robot's permissions have likely been compromised as well. All of us, including the old lady, have been recorded."
"It's hard to say whether the owner is alive or dead, but the suitcase in the bedroom wardrobe should contain a person—probably the owner's child."
The two Wan Clan members immediately reacted and moved to go rescue them.
"Are you sure you can get the person out?" Xu Huo analyzed calmly. "Not to mention the number of players guarding the area, even if you manage to fight your way through and succeed, where will you take the child? Back to the Wan Clan? And how do you plan to arrange for the old lady?"
Snatching the person and escaping weren't the hard part. The problem was how to handle the aftermath. Their identities were out in the open, representing the Wan Clan. Even if they fled to another district, the Wan Clan wouldn't be able to stay out of trouble.
But unexpectedly, the two were firm in their stance. "No matter the reason, the child is innocent. The grudges of adults shouldn't involve them. So the Wan Clan is definitely getting involved in this!"
"Can you be sure it's a child in the suitcase?"
The two Wan Clan members looked at him seriously.
"Sure," Xu Huo nodded. "It should be bait used to test us. That suitcase can block detection instruments, but the material can't completely isolate Super Evolution Power."
One of them immediately contacted the head of the Wan Clan.