Chapter 3118: Mr. Carmen's Little Hobby
The night passed peacefully. By the next morning, when Xu Huo and his group walked out of the castle tower again, aside from the woods near the building still bearing the marks of destruction, the more distant parts of the estate and everything beyond it had been almost entirely covered by newly grown mutant plants. They looked neatly trimmed, very orderly.
The staff served breakfast and then asked Xu Huo about the restoration of the area outside the tower, implying that replanting and trimming might affect the view and they were worried about disturbing the guests.
Xu Huo naturally had no objections, and the others had none either. Of course, to ensure the guests had the best experience, the Field family later invited them to another castle tower to choose clothing and attire.
Professional designers would assess their physiques and ask about their preferences before selecting suitable formal wear for them.
The luncheon was considered the Field family's welcome banquet, not too formal, so the attire was relatively simple. The evening banquet's formal wear, however, was much more elaborate, as some important members of the Field clan would also attend, having made a special trip back from out of town.
Even Li De and the others, who had been dismissive of the Field family, couldn't help but feel tense. Although the Field clan had not produced another figure as brilliant as Carmen, Carmen himself had teachers in his youth. For such a large family to exist for over a hundred or even several hundred years in the game, they must have absorbed a great deal of talent. Their long-term survival meant the family's overall strength was not weak. Those who had made a special trip back were likely very powerful players as well.
The pressure brought by such a disparity in strength was far beyond what identity or class could compare.
"You seem to look down on the Field family. Why?" another outer zone player asked Li De. "Do you have a grudge?"
"Not really," Li De said. "I respect Mr. Carmen very much. But there are rumors that the reason the Field family wasn't affected during that war back then was because someone from within betrayed Mr. Carmen. Otherwise, how could the Field family have been preserved after Mr. Carmen fell?"
"Surely super players and district wars don't come with a pre-agreed rule of 'don't harm the family'?"
"Couldn't it just be because the Field family has deep foundations?" the questioning player said.
Normally, the fact that the Field family could transition smoothly after Carmen's death would rely on their strong overall strength—financial resources, manpower, and their relationship with the Game Government, all indispensable. Besides, when people mentioned Mr. Carmen, they didn't separate him from the Field family. So Li De's claim sounded more like a baseless conspiracy theory.
"Who knows?" Li De said bluntly. "I think, if the Field family really had such deep pockets, why didn't they fully support Mr. Carmen? Doesn't that just mean they were only looking out for themselves?"
"If it were me, I would have spared no expense to protect Mr. Carmen. How many people like him are there in the entire game world?"
Some people harbor malicious thoughts toward beautiful people and things, while others do their best to uplift them. It's not that they think others' lives and glory are more important than their own, but rather a human pursuit of beauty and goodness.
"One of us is missing," Cuitan interrupted the topic.
"That girl named Sensen left with the Field family people last night," another said. "Is she a member of the Field family?"
"Possibly," Cuitan said. "She mentioned she had been to the ruins many times. Only family members would visit that frequently."
"Playing that game, huh," Li De said disdainfully. "Is being a Field that impressive?"
"Being a Field isn't that impressive, but you can't just announce your surname to everyone you meet," Sensen Field said as she approached the tea room, smiling. "By the way, my real name is Sensen."
The people present were a bit skeptical. Compared to other disclosed Field family members, this name seemed far too casual.
Sensen didn't explain further. Instead, she looked at Xu Huo. "Our chance meeting is a kind of fate. How about I take you all on a tour of my grandfather's residence?"
Carmen Field had three wives. The second and third each left children, and those children produced a third generation, so there were likely many people who called him grandfather.
"Mr. Carmen's residence is open for exhibition?" Xu Huo asked an extra question.
"This is just one of the places my grandfather lived in, not too private. Besides, my grandfather enjoyed nurturing talented young people. If he were still alive, he might have wanted to meet you in person," Sensen said. "I hope this trip to the Field estate can bring you new inspiration. My grandfather, and the family, would surely be very pleased."
The other players had no say in this matter and listened quietly. Xu Huo only nodded without saying much.
Sensen seemed oblivious to his indifference and began introducing some small items in the building. Many were things Mr. Carmen had brought back, including not only exquisite decorations but also living items that roamed freely within the building.
Living items were items with a certain degree of consciousness, such as the Painting Woman, Mr. Dong, the curator who had given Xu Huo the glasses item in the Art Museum instance, and Little Pink Hat. They didn't necessarily have complete human forms or thoughts, but they possessed autonomy. Many had been given certain restrictions by the game at their birth, while others, like the Painting Woman and Mr. Dong, were uniquely unbound by game restrictions.
In general, living items had their own behavioral patterns and were no longer things players could activate or deactivate at will. It wasn't surprising that Carmen Field could find living items, but seeing the multi-legged octopus carrying a rag and a bucket as it crawled across the ceiling, everyone was still amazed.
After all, in 001 District, where even androids were basically standard, seeing such a simple and unadorned cleaning method... it could only be described as very nostalgic.
"It has some obsessive-compulsive tendencies. It doesn't like its living space getting dirty," Sensen joked. "Good thing we changed our clothes and shoes before coming in."
The octopus on the ceiling came down and began wiping the floor along the path they had taken. One rag wasn't enough, so it switched to two, then two became four. Its tentacles moved so fast they left afterimages, and then it headed straight for Xu Huo's group.
"We'd better hurry," Sensen said. "Otherwise, it'll start wiping the soles of our shoes one by one."
Instead of being anxious, the group seemed eager to try it. Having an octopus wipe their shoes—what a novel experience!
But as the octopus grew larger and its tentacles stretched longer, that eagerness quickly vanished. Being hung upside down and having the soles of their feet scrubbed—what a life stain that would be!
The group quickly moved to a room upstairs. Sensen closed the door, finally blocking the pursuing cleaning octopus. She turned to Xu Huo and the others. "There are some special ores and items here, all collected by my grandfather. He once said he found inspiration from them. Feel free to look around."