Chapter 2756: Raising Birds Is a Nice Hobby
"Back when Cannibal Players were rampant, Monitor Punishment City even saw supply shortages. Some powerful Cannibal Players would personally go to select their 'ingredients.'"
The Gourmet paused before continuing, "Laws are originally made to restrain people, but some people cannot be restrained by laws."
"Zone 022 nowadays doesn't seem to rely much on Cannibal Players," the Photographer remarked. "The celebrity players in the advertisements all specifically note their player classification."
"That's because the zone has stabilized," the Scholar said. "The existence of Cannibal Players has itself become the zone's biggest problem. After a period of chaos, the government eventually stopped allowing Cannibal Players to appear in any public setting. They were gradually weeded out from government and important positions."
"There must be quite a few people like Mr. Wen."
"They live incredibly long. Cannibal Players are more prone to Degeneration sequelae than other players, yet Mr. Wen still looks fairly normal," the Photographer commented.
"There are always exceptions." The Gourmet added, "I suspect Zone 022 isn't unwilling to deal with them—it's that Cannibal Players who survive to old age are inherently gifted. Dealing with them comes at a certain cost. Besides, they once contributed to the zone. Some people surely hope they can age peacefully rather than be discarded as useless trash."
This raised a new question: if they chose the second option, would they become wanted targets of the zone?
From that perspective, the first option seemed safer.
Unable to reach a conclusion, the group decided to wait one more night and observe the situation. If the Shadow showed restraint, they could simply wait until the Estate Instance ended, or manually trigger its conclusion.
The Estate Instance players had already separated from Xu Huo and his group. While they were on guard against Mr. Wen, they were also wary of Xu Huo. Regardless of why Xu Huo and his companions remained in the estate, if they couldn't resolve Mr. Wen, eliminating the Instance players was another path.
When Xu Huo and the others returned upstairs from the garden, this group was sitting in the main hall, watching them with unfriendly eyes. Under the same high pressure, the Photographer's temper wasn't any better. He shot back a provocative glare, as if daring them to make a move.
Both sides seemed eager to act, but at that moment, Xu Huo glanced sideways. The two players who had just been about to stand silently sat back down.
"Xu!" Harry appeared at the top of the stairs, beaming. "I just had a chat with my uncle. He really appreciates your skills and wants to see you after dinner to have you give him a psychological treatment."
Xu Huo smiled. "That's wonderful. Has Mr. Wen's mood calmed down a bit?"
"Much better." Harry warmly draped an arm over his shoulder. "Come on, let's go to my room. I found a good bottle of wine from the cellar."
Ignoring the other players, the two went upstairs.
Harry wanted to gain Mr. Wen's favor, so while they tasted the wine, he shared quite a bit about his past with Xu Huo.
However, he wasn't very close to Mr. Wen himself. Most of the stories lacked detail and were filtered through a relative's rose-tinted glasses, leaning toward the positive. After a few drinks, he even said that if Mr. Wen left the estate to him, he would definitely hire someone to write his biography.
"Mr. Wen only chatted about everyday matters with you—nothing else?" Xu Huo asked. "I suspect he wanted to see me today because of the botanist's death. Could that have created a knot in his heart?"
"What knot?" Harry waved dismissively. "He used to be a player. He's seen plenty of dead people. What knot could there be? It's just that he's old and soft-hearted, worried that after he dies, he won't be properly buried."
"If he asks you about this, just comfort him properly. It doesn't matter that he's old and frail—he still has the government and me, his younger relative. Government personnel come regularly to check his health. Everyone cares about him. Don't let him feel like he's all alone."
Xu Huo smiled but said nothing. He felt that wasn't what Mr. Wen was truly concerned about.
"By the way." Harry suddenly set down his glass, staring into Xu Huo's eyes. "Don't think that just because you're a player, you can say or do anything. If something unexpected happens to him, the zone government will definitely launch an investigation."
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "I'm just here to earn some extra cash. It shouldn't involve anything that big. Besides, Mr. Wen was a player himself. He may be old, but that doesn't mean he's weak. I'd wager the two of us combined wouldn't be a match for him."
Harry burst out laughing. "You're really funny."
"Do you know the Enforcement Team members who came earlier?" Xu Huo asked. "I saw you greeting them."
"We have some connection." Harry leaned lazily back in his chair. "Can't help it—connections need constant maintenance."
"The one with the scar by his eye—do you have a conflict with him?" Xu Huo pressed.
Harry straightened up. "How did you figure that out?"
Xu Huo said tactfully, "When you were talking to the team leader, he glanced at you a couple of extra times."
A couple of extra glances... Harry automatically interpreted that as dissatisfaction with him, and said irritably, "He was originally from Monitor Punishment City. He only transferred to the field Enforcement Team after good behavior. Think about it—someone who 'behaved well' in a place like Monitor Punishment City—what kind of person could that be?"
"I heard his family has some background. He made a mistake and was sent to Monitor Punishment City, but he got out soon after. In the Enforcement Team, he forms cliques and pushes others around. The bunch around him are no good either..."
He paused there, then quickly said to Xu Huo, "When you see my uncle tonight, drop a hint for me. Maybe that guy has his eye on the inheritance and that's why he's hostile to me."
The estate's money was secondary. For a player like Mr. Wen, the high-quality items accumulated in his hands were priceless treasures.
"I'm just a psychotherapist. I doubt Mr. Wen will take my advice on personal matters," Xu Huo said tactfully. "Besides, you're his relative. Naturally, he should favor you."
Harry thought about it and figured that was true. He relaxed his body and gave Xu Huo another tip. "My uncle doesn't like hearing about player Instance stories. Don't ask about that."
Xu Huo nodded.
After a distracted dinner, Xu Huo was led by the butler to the fifth floor.
Mr. Wen received him in the study again. The frail old man was reclining on a lounge chair, covered with a blanket, his eyes fixed on the birds flying out from the greenhouse.
"You keep birds in your room?" Mr. Wen spoke after gesturing for him to sit.
"I saw Lady Tiwei's red-feathered hummingbirds and thought they were beautiful, so I wanted to try raising them myself." Xu Huo said apologetically, "I'm sorry for not asking your permission first."
"Those hummingbirds mostly flew in on their own. They're not part of the estate's property." Mr. Wen said indifferently. "Keep them if you like. Raising birds is a nice hobby."
"Does Mr. Wen like birds?" Xu Huo asked, his gaze fixed on the bird pattern on the blanket.