Chapter 2726: Return
"It could also be that they were influenced by mental interference and killed each other." Xu Huo checked Pu Yu's condition. She was in a similar state to Yan Jiayu earlier, with the main cause of unconsciousness being mental interference. "We'll ask her when she wakes up."
The two rested nearby. Thanks to Xu Huo's mental evolution, they could take off their helmets and eat normally.
Yan Jiayu used a pot to cook several packs of semi-prepared dishes. When the aroma spread, Pu Yu woke up. She opened her eyes and stared at them, her expression somewhat dazed, as if she couldn't distinguish whether the scene before her was real or fake.
"You're awake? Are you hungry? Want some?" Yan Jiayu lifted the pot.
Pu Yu took a moment to react before sitting up straight. "You... when exactly did we get separated?"
"Probably when we were running around in the underground passage," Xu Huo said. "But that relic area was definitely fake. Did you find the remains?"
Pu Yu shook her head. "The relics were all fake. How could anything I saw be real? Maybe my aunt's bones have already been devoured by mutant plants."
"Don't be sad. I have good news for you." Xu Huo took out the string of nameplates separately. "We found these when we fell into the crack in the passage. See if you recognize any of them."
Pu Yu's spirits lifted. She quickly took them and searched through them. Soon she stopped, stroking a nameplate engraved with ".Edwards." "This is her... I actually found her trail!"
The surprise came too suddenly. She couldn't help but burst into loud laughter. After laughing, she began to cry, her eyes filled with a mix of grief, anger, and elation. "From now on, everything will be different..."
Yan Jiayu handed her a bowl of soup. "With this thing, you can inherit the inheritance?"
If her grandfather was really dying, and she had taken out the family's resources to take such a big risk with hardly any protection, she might not be able to smoothly inherit the massive fortune. Moreover, the two missing A-rank players had some strength and were from the A-rank wormhole point. It was truly strange that they would be interfered with and subsequently disappear without any precautions.
"Property inheritance is protected by the Game Government. Once the name is officially changed, no one can take it away. Even if I die, the property will be distributed according to my will," Pu Yu said.
"Then I wish you all the best." Xu Huo raised his soup bowl.
The three clinked their bowls. After finishing their food, they prepared to ascend from the sinkhole. Pu Yu never mentioned the two players who had come with her again.
Before going up, Pu Yu gifted Yan Jiayu a life-saving item. "Before I get the inheritance, what I can give is limited. Miss Yan is about to enter a high-risk instance, so I'll give this item to Miss Yan first. Mr. Xu, if you trust me, your reward will be paid after I return to my family."
"You've helped me too. Between friends, no need to be polite," Xu Huo said. "Go ahead."
Pu Yu smiled. "If there's a chance in the future, you two must come to my home as guests."
Above the sinkhole, Yan Ping and the others were still waiting. Seeing them come out alive, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although the ticket channel hadn't opened yet, Pu Yu had to leave. She used a cross-district teleportation item to take her group away.
Yan Jiayu's body had basically recovered. Xu Huo planned to stay for two more days, so he first used the "Reversal Ring" to teleport her to another district, to avoid her missing her instance time while waiting for the ticket channel to open.
After everyone had left, he changed locations to rest and took out the Goddess Vine to plant it.
The belongings of the three golden-eyed players were unremarkable. As expected, since they couldn't even get a cross-district teleportation item, they probably didn't have any outstanding items or instruments. Their background was average.
However, when checking the luggage compartment, he found a holographic recording. It showed a disoriented middle-aged man slumped in a chair with several needle marks on his arm, mumbling something vaguely.
After listening twice, Xu Huo understood what had happened. The so-called distant relative the golden-eyed player mentioned wasn't his relative, but this middle-aged man's relative. Moreover, the player who held the suspected super item wasn't a super player, but just an A-rank player who had stumbled upon something good. But he was hunted everywhere, fled to this mobile district, and died here. Before dying, unwilling to accept it, he deliberately threw the obtained item underground and told his family about it, hoping that if a stronger player appeared in the family in the future, they could come and retrieve it.
After learning this news, the middle-aged man wanted to retrieve the item, but his own strength was insufficient, so he sought help from bounty hunters. However, before he could set out, someone extracted the information from him, followed by interrogation and coercion.
From learning the news to starting to select candidates and set out, the golden-eyed player had prepared for at least three months, including collecting information on the mobile district. When he initially took Xu Huo's bounty for the metal box, it was to get the box. Later, when he found he couldn't snatch it, he tried to win him over.
The golden-eyed player had signed binding contracts with other bounty hunters to prevent internal conflict. The contract had eight people in total. Using the excuse of finding a relative's remains and the lure of a high post-mission payment, he got these bounty hunters to accompany him on the search.
Of course, by the time Xu Huo encountered them, only three were left.
Regarding this super item, the middle-aged man had little information. He only knew that the distant relative had obtained it by chance. What it was called, how to use it, or where it came from—he knew nothing.
The only thing certain was that it was a very valuable super item, for which the middle-aged man's family had lost many people.
In the luggage compartment was a drawing, sketched by the golden-eyed player based on the middle-aged man's description. It was probably a pattern carved on the item or the box containing it. Based on these patterns, he had done a lot of research, learning that some Artificers liked to use specific patterns on mental-type items for easy identification. Combined with the information on the mobile district, he had been searching for special containers.
He just never expected that after at least half a year of preparation and action, someone would snatch it halfway.
If it was an item made from Primordial Stone, it might be like "Angel's Eyes," which could be stored in the item slot. However, Xu Huo had obtained "Angel's Eyes" through a small mechanism specially set up by Dr. Wu, and he hadn't endured much attack from the item himself. As for this one retrieved from the underground river, he would have to wait for the right opportunity to open and examine it.
At the very least, he couldn't do it in an environment like a mobile district.
The Goddess Vine grew quickly. As the vines lengthened, the roots also thickened, soon reaching the thickness of an adult's wrist. Xu Huo had to transplant it into a large box, tidy up the vine leaves, and put it back into the luggage compartment.
After confirming there were no omissions, the ticket channel opened, and he used his return ticket to go back to District 011.