Chapter 2577: He Only Got a Mask
The sight of bloodshed made the spectators' emotions run higher and higher. As time passed, both mutated beasts were seriously injured, especially the cat beast. The tiger beast's thick, tough hide left it with nowhere to bite, rendering its natural toxins useless. Gradually, just as many thought the cat beast was about to be killed, the tiger beast suddenly charged forward and smashed through a blockade barrier—the blockade barrier devices were installed around the arena, both inside and out, and two had been accidentally damaged during the earlier struggle between the mutated beasts.
The arena's blockade barriers were at least three layers thick, and only the innermost layer had been breached, so the two mutated beasts had no hope of escaping the arena. However, it was somewhat surprising that the two beasts actually coordinated to attack the devices in the same spot. After the tiger beast launched its assault, the cat beast's broken leg quickly healed. When it failed to break through the second barrier, the cat beast even jumped onto the tiger beast's back, trying to climb over from above.
But two gunshots followed immediately. The mutated beasts shook their heads and collapsed to the ground, where robots came to retrieve them.
"Don't underestimate these mutated plants and animals," You Xin explained beside him. "Once they start playing tricks, they'll definitely refuse to cooperate in the matches anymore. The organizers will send them to amusement parks or straight to the slaughterhouse."
"It's not just mutated beasts; mutated plants can disguise and deceive too. Mr. Xu, if you're planning to go into an instance next, you'd better be careful."
Xu Huo nodded.
The two mutated beasts were retrieved, and the guests who had placed bets could carry over to the next match, with the option to choose a new favored side.
Xu Huo wasn't very interested. When the second match ended, after Painting Woman lost the money she'd bet, they left.
They'd had enough fun. Before it got completely dark, they switched to another aircraft and headed to the city where the writer Jing Shi lived.
It was already late when they arrived. They found a place to stay for the night, and the next day, Xu Huo had the You sisters take Painting Woman out to play while he followed the address Jing Shi had given him, carrying gifts for a visit.
Though it was abrupt, Jing Shi still received him.
"I won't be staying in Zone 001 for long, so I had to visit unannounced," Xu Huo said.
"It's fine," the old lady adjusted the shawl on her shoulders and said with a smile, "I haven't had such a pleasant chat in a long time. You're a young man with great ideas."
"The temperature changes quickly here. I have some cold-weather items prepared for guests—take a set when you leave."
Xu Huo thanked her first, then slowly steered the conversation toward "Time Power."
Jing Shi not only had a rich imagination, but more importantly, she had a certain foundation in using time power, so her ideas all had a basis. Some of her views differed from Xu Huo's, but they were interesting to hear.
It was just casual conversation, nothing urgent. The topics drifted back and forth, not always staying on time power. By lunchtime, an aircraft descended over the estate, and a teenage boy wearing clothes printed with clock patterns jumped out, rushing toward Jing Shi. "Grandma, I missed you so much!"
Jing Shi patted the boy's head and introduced him, "This is Grandma's friend, Mr. Xu. This is my grandson, Xiao Chuan. He's learning to make clocks from a teacher, just starting out."
Xu Huo's eyes fell on the boy's clothes. "That outfit looks familiar."
"It's an apprentice uniform. A lot of people wear it," Xiao Chuan said. "You must have seen other apprentices. My teacher is amazing—many people from other zones come here specifically to learn from him, trying every way to become his disciple."
Xu Huo smiled. "That sounds more like an Artificer."
"His teacher isn't an Artificer; he's a true master clockmaker," Jing Shi said. "He's sought after by players because one of the clocks he made once produced a time item."
Xu Huo showed appropriate surprise. "He's not an Artificer, yet he can create time items? How can other Artificers hold their heads up?"
Jing Shi shook her head. "Many naturally born items are tied to the craftsman's skill and the environment where the item was created. Plants and animals are evolving—perhaps these items are evolving too. This kind of evolution is unpredictable; humans can't compete with it."
After she finished speaking, she told Xiao Chuan to go wash up and prepare for lunch, as he had other classes in the afternoon.
Without avoiding the topic, Xu Huo naturally heard their conversation and said with a smile, "You're a famous writer. Have you never thought of passing on your craft to the next generation?"
"Everyone has different talents. Forcing him to learn something he might not excel at—if he doesn't truly love it, it's hard to keep improving along the way. A lifetime of effort would only lead to mediocrity in the end." Jing Shi said with great openness.
After lunch, Xu Huo stayed for another three hours before leaving. Before he went, Jing Shi invited him to come back the next day for more discussion. Not only had Xu Huo benefited, but she had also gained some new inspiration from their conversation.
Xu Huo said he would definitely come.
When he returned to the hotel, Painting Woman and the other two were already back. The floor of the room was covered with their spoils, and Painting Woman had even bought him a terrifying mask—honestly, it was so realistic it looked like a real human head, and a slightly swollen one at that.
She had one for herself too, and she was discussing with the You sisters about going out after dark to scare people.
Painting Woman seemed to have been planning this for a while, vowing to the You sisters that she would scare those thieves so badly they'd never dare to steal again... That's right, she'd been targeted by thieves again.
There were certainly many wealthy people spending money in Zone 001, but anyone bold enough to flaunt it like that had to be either a player or have hired bodyguards. Though Painting Woman had company, she looked too easy a target, and since the You sisters were locals, the petty thieves wouldn't go too hard on them.
Painting Woman was furious. If the You sisters hadn't stopped her, she would have killed someone right on the street.
Xu Huo didn't know how the You sisters had convinced her, but she happily changed her plan from "killing the thieves" to "scaring the thieves to death."
Jing Shi's hometown, Guang City, was much larger than the station city and had a bigger population. Though not as developed as the station city, it had all the basic infrastructure. The scenery was nice, tourism was thriving, and there were specially designated entertainment streets within the city, with performances every few days.
The reason there were so many terrifying masks was that some performances had ghost and monster themes.
Xu Huo only got a mask, while Painting Woman and the You sisters had full head-to-toe gear. They wore the gear under their coats, put the masks on top of their heads, and covered them with hats, waiting for dark to go out and scare people.
"What if today's theme is horror, and the streets are full of monsters? You won't be able to scare anyone."
There was indeed that risk, but Painting Woman didn't care. Pretending not to hear him, she urged the You sisters to hurry out.
But Xu Huo's guess turned out to be right. As they headed toward the cultural street, just past the entrance, a bloated human face suddenly appeared in front of them. Its swollen skin was oozing water, and with a twisted smile, it said in a strange voice, "Welcome to tonight's Happy Fright Night!"