Chapter 2750: Side Mission
Xu Huo wasn't in a hurry to leave, but the others couldn't remain so calm. The Gourmet and the Botanist had a conflict, to the point where they glared at each other on sight, but as soon as Mr. Wen returned, they busied themselves with their own tasks.
The Botanist used the excuse of needing to do a final check, spending almost all his time in the garden except for eating and sleeping. He was actually there at night as well, but after midnight, the Butler would come out to remind him to go back to sleep.
The Gourmet's task was to regulate Mr. Wen's health, so aside from going to the kitchen, he would find time to meet with Mr. Wen in person to understand his physical condition. He frequently went in and out of Mr. Wen's study and bedroom.
The Scholar came to find Xu Huo twice, each time subtly attempting psychological suggestion. The thing he was looking for was likely related to Mr. Wen, so his main goal was to learn the location of Mr. Wen's personal belongings through Xu Huo.
On the second day, Xu Huo also met Mr. Wen—Harry strongly recommended it. He believed Mr. Wen's poor health was at least partially psychological, so he tried his best to convince Mr. Wen to see a psychologist.
Xu Huo played this role, but rather than seeing a doctor, Mr. Wen was more inclined not to refuse the goodwill of a younger generation. So from the start of the meeting, he stated clearly that he didn't want to undergo psychological treatment, only to chat casually.
Xu Huo went along with it, simply sharing some experiences and talking about flowers to suit his interest.
As for the private collection the Scholar wanted to inquire about, Mr. Wen did introduce some to him. Because of his love for flowers, many of his collection stories were related to them. The painting hanging in the most prominent spot in his study was a work from his wife's youth. The two had met through flowers, and the flower in the painting was his wife's favorite kind, also his most treasured item.
The Scholar hadn't told Xu Huo the specific item, only tentatively hinted at something precious and cherished, probably hoping he would pay special attention to these things after meeting Mr. Wen. But since it was only their first meeting, even if Mr. Wen had a desire to share, he wouldn't go into anything too deep. So the first conversation quickly ended.
After Xu Huo went out, it wasn't just the Scholar who came to find him. The Botanist and the Gourmet were also probing for information.
The Scholar was more tactful, but the Botanist was very direct. He laid his cards on the table, "I know you're a player too. I'm looking for a rare flower, but I've searched the entire garden and haven't found it. Now it seems it can only be in the space where Mr. Wen moves alone. Only you have been in his study. Just tell me what plants are in there, and I'll give you a high-level item as a reward."
"There aren't any," Xu Huo answered directly. "There are no flowers planted in Mr. Wen's study."
"Impossible!" the Botanist blurted out. "He loves flowers so much, how could he not plant them where he spends his daily time!"
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow slightly. "Haven't you heard the Butler say he's in poor health? The air in places where a sick person stays for a long time should be fresh. The flowers in Rose Manor have some scent, and it's best for someone unwell not to inhale them for long periods."
The Botanist was somewhat annoyed—not annoyed that he hadn't thought of this himself, but annoyed that he had already made an enemy of the Gourmet. The Gourmet was the one who went in and out of Mr. Wen's room the most, so he could verify whether Xu Huo's words were true or false.
But since he had made a promise, he didn't hesitate and paid Xu Huo a C-grade item.
As for what the Gourmet was looking for, the others weren't very clear. After all, he had even entered places the Butler normally didn't allow. If it were easy to find, he should have gotten it by now. The fact that he hadn't left yet probably meant the problem lay with Mr. Wen himself.
With the invitations sent out, two days later, guests began to arrive at the manor one after another.
When the first batch of arriving guests were mainly players, Xu Huo and the others realized that the manor had almost certainly become an instance venue. Not long after, the side mission notification popped up:
[Ding! Player Passerby A has triggered the side mission "The Aging Hero." Please complete the main clearance mission and side mission within the instance time limit.]
[Side Mission Hint: The twilight of a hero is always regrettable, but the dignity of a hero must not be violated.]
As usual, the side mission hint was vague. Xu Huo glanced over at the Photographer and the others, who were calmly scattered in various corners of the banquet hall.
The banquet started before dinner time and was set to last until late at night. Many guests wouldn't leave during this time but would stay overnight at the manor. Among these staying guests were players who had come with other purposes.
Whether it was an instance was also easy to verify—just find any player and ask. But Xu Huo didn't do that. Instead, he first gathered the Photographer and the others to ask about the side mission content.
There was no guarantee they had the same side mission, but if it was the same one, they needed to ensure it was completed properly.
Since it was happening in Mr. Wen's manor, the so-called "hero's twilight" naturally pointed to him first. Looking at the mission hint alone, preventing other players from causing trouble in the manor was the basic requirement.
"We need to figure out what kind of instance this is first," the Scholar said. "If it's an unlimited-time instance, then we'd be directly opposing the clearance players. If they don't leave, we can't complete the mission either."
The arriving players were all wearing protective items. It was hard to tell by sight alone what level of instance they were doing. So the best approach was for several of them to work together to subdue one player and first extract the instance content.
"A hero's dignity must not be violated," the Photographer said. "Do you think interrogating another batch of Mr. Wen's guests while we're guests here counts as violating his dignity?"
"Interrogation definitely won't work, but we can induce them to say it themselves," the Gourmet said. "We don't know each other. Pretending to be instance players shouldn't be a problem."
This was the basic information-gathering phase, and the group quickly reached a consensus. But shortly after the banquet began, they discovered that the later-arriving players almost equally suspected every other player. Not a single useful word came out of their mouths, and the more clever ones would even fabricate all sorts of nonsense.
After several rounds of probing, the Photographer and the others couldn't even determine whether these players' focus was on people or objects.
The most likely reason for this situation was that the instance had divided the players into factions. An even worse scenario was that every single player was an independent faction, making all other players enemies.
"No rush," Xu Huo said. "When the banquet ends, we'll go ask the servants in the manor."
If instance players wanted to gather information, they would definitely go through the fixed characters here. The Butler and the Badge Lady were hard to crack, but the other hired workers were much simpler.
Before the banquet ended, Xu Huo had already learned from the other servants the main information the attending players were inquiring about.
First was the situation of the banquet guests, mainly asking whether the players had come alone or with others. And after learning that Xu Huo and his group had been staying here before the banquet, these players not only didn't lose interest but repeatedly asked about their activities.
Forgot that today is Children's Day. Wishing all reader friends a heart as happy and pure as a child's! Happy Children's Day! ^_^