Chapter 3124: Carmen in His Youth
Seeing his sincere expression, the group couldn't quite tell whether he truly meant it from the bottom of his heart or was being sarcastic. However, Ms. Ryan did not continue this topic. Instead, she shared some interesting anecdotes from the district and introduced some of the Field family's businesses, telling them that if they were interested, they could go wine tasting or try other forms of entertainment.
Regardless, the meal was a pleasant one for both host and guests, with neither side bringing up any dampening topics.
However, after the meal, one of the twelve accompanying players mentioned that he had to leave due to some business. Being able to get up close to Carmen Field's relics was a rare opportunity, and the other players couldn't understand what could be so urgent.
That player was also helpless. "Something came up at home."
Not wanting to pry, Sen Sen simply said a few words of consolation before having someone temporarily shut down the blockade barrier near the estate, allowing him to leave.
The Field family was busy, but Xu Huo and the others had nothing to do, so after the meal, they went to see Carmen's relics. Skipping the previous rooms, they went to one of Carmen's resting rooms, or rather, a meditation room.
"This is where Grandfather used to study," Sen Sen said, pointing to the sparsely furnished room. "Don't let the simplicity fool you. The walls are embedded with special ores collected from different districts. Some have special attributes, while others carry special energy that can influence a player's body to a certain extent and promote evolution."
"Could they be special Primordial Stones?" asked Cuitan. He had heard that there were some rare Primordial Stones in the game that were beneficial to the body when worn close to the skin, but such stones were basically monopolized by the Game Government and occasionally given to players as extremely special rewards.
"There are two pieces," Sen Sen said. "But they're not of particularly high quality. The effect of meditating here varies from person to person."
"Anyway, the afternoon is still long. Would you like to stay and give it a try?" she asked the group.
"Is there anywhere else?" Xu Huo wasn't very interested in the meditation room. "I've booked a trip to other battle sites, and I'm a bit pressed for time. I can't linger here too long."
In other words, if the Field family was planning to set conditions before showing him anything truly valuable, there was no need to waste both sides' time.
Sen Sen's expression didn't change. "I'll convey your meaning to my family. The meditation room is open anytime. Let's go to the next place first. It preserves some of Grandfather's training recordings."
The group's spirits lifted. This was the main event.
Xu Huo followed them to the holographic building. While they watched the recordings, Sen Sen quietly slipped out.
A middle-aged man appeared at the end of the corridor, standing where light and shadow intersected, his stern face looking at Sen Sen. "Is it possible?"
Sen Sen shook her head slightly. "Wealth, power, even Grandfather's relics—their appeal to him is just so-so. After the others changed their attire, they cared more about their appearance to varying degrees, but he showed no change at all. This indicates that external things can no longer disturb his emotions."
Since they couldn't stir his emotions, they certainly couldn't attract him, and naturally, they couldn't be used as leverage for the Field family.
"A peerless genius has his own pride," the middle-aged man said, not finding it strange. Geniuses throughout history had always been like this. How could they show weakness in front of superiors? They might even look down on them in their hearts.
Sen Sen didn't think so. "He was able to activate the Box Mirror, which means he must have undergone a secondary evolution in the mental aspect. As for what he saw, no one knows. But I think he definitely saw more than I did, more than anyone else in the family. Grandfather might have really left behind something very important, just not for us."
The middle-aged man's face darkened slightly, and he let out a very light snort, as if expressing dissatisfaction. It was hard to tell whether that dissatisfaction was directed at outsiders or his own people.
After a pause, he said, "Smart people are all selfish."
Pretending not to catch the deeper meaning in his words, Sen Sen added, "What I mean is, he's different from other geniuses, and different from any player I've ever seen."
The middle-aged man immediately understood. "Is there a problem with his mental evolution?"
"Hard to say," Sen Sen said. "Normal people have seven emotions and six desires. Even the most powerful players are driven by their own desires. But when I used my trait on him, I didn't see any particular changes, even in front of the Box Mirror. The conversation was also very normal."
"There are only two possibilities. One is that his desires have long since surpassed those of ordinary people. The other is that his mental evolution has reached a level where he can evade traits, not only controlling his emotions well but also mastering his own thoughts."
"The former is manageable—mentally unstable players aren't uncommon. But if it's the latter, Seventh Uncle, we need to be careful."
The young woman's face showed a coldness completely different from before. "People like that are harsh on themselves and even harsher on others. If you offend him, you never know how many years he'll hold a grudge."
The middle-aged man, called Seventh Uncle, sighed softly. "Wait until your Third Uncle comes back to make a decision."
Sen Sen nodded. "Tell Third Uncle to hurry. He's pushing."
Seventh Uncle quickly disappeared from the corridor, while Sen Sen returned to the room where Xu Huo and the others had entered, slowly pulling out a long cigarette and lighting it.
Pink smoke rose, gradually obscuring her face and masking the faint sarcasm on her expression.
Inside the room, Carmen Field's figure truly stood before them. It seemed to be a specially recorded segment. He cheerfully greeted Xu Huo and the others. "Whoever comes, I will live forever in your memories along with this recording."
"There are two ways to achieve immortality: one is through your own body, the other is through the memories of others. I, of course, choose the latter."
"If you're interested, you can save this recording. That way, you'll be participating in my immortality plan."
The disjointed words sounded more like the whimsical fantasy of a young man, but the Carmen in the recording already had graying temples. His face didn't look particularly old, but he was certainly no longer young.
"Mr. Carmen is full of vitality," Li De said admiringly. "I heard that when he was young, because he foresaw that he would have conflicts with his family members, he spent most of his time wandering outside and rarely came home. Having a home was like not having one."
Xu Huo had also heard this rumor. It was said that because he foresaw he would kill a large number of Field family members, he chose to exile himself. However, judging from the traces he left in the estate, his relationship with the family was still harmonious.
After the greeting, what appeared next were several segments of Carmen training his control over time-space power and gravity. In the recording, his gravity manipulation was still not very proficient. As he practiced, he muttered to himself, "A chicken rib, nothing more. How could it compare to gravity?"