Chapter 3164: It Is an Endless Cycle
"If any information leaks, Stellar Pharmaceuticals will relocate or destroy the original laboratory at the fastest speed," Bookworm replied.
"Then you can indeed find such a place?" Although Xu Huo knew Bookworm was highly capable, being able to infiltrate Stellar Pharmaceuticals' information network was truly unexpected.
Bookworm did not answer directly but said to him, "Your direction is wrong."
"Your search for Stellar Pharmaceuticals' secret laboratory is likely to use the laboratory's special channels to enter an A-level non-ticket wormhole point. Even if you find it, the possibility of successfully using the laboratory's internal teleportation channel is very small."
"The laboratory's internal channels may not directly reach the A-level wormhole point."
In other words, even if he found it and successfully passed through, the place he arrived at might be a transfer station or a dangerous trap, with the upfront cost far exceeding the final gain.
"For now, I have no other way to obtain the specific location of the A-level non-ticket zone," Xu Huo added.
There were moving and shifting zones in the game. Who could say that the non-ticket zone was always fixed in one place? How could instruments be used to locate it?
The positioning instrument he obtained in Zone 017, named "Distant Homeland," came from a Game Government personnel, but the floating pointer's target location kept changing, meaning cross-zone instruments requiring specific positioning data were difficult to use.
"You can buy it from a Super Player," Bookworm suddenly said.
Xu Huo paused. It couldn't be that all Super Players' Super Instances were like Shi Shuai's, snatched from A-level wormhole points, could it?
Before he could ask further, Bookworm again indicated that knowing the specific location of a certain non-ticket zone was meaningless. He had chosen the wrong direction, and then ended the conversation.
This time, Xu Huo didn't know which direction he meant was wrong—whether it was wrong to find the non-ticket zone through Stellar Pharmaceuticals, or wrong to search for the A-level non-ticket zone itself.
Bookworm had broad information channels and was skilled at analyzing data. Even if Xu Huo hadn't directly asked how to get to the non-ticket zone, the other party should have known his purpose. But this last sentence seemed to imply other meanings...
However, the other party clearly didn't intend to delve deeper. Xu Huo closed his Personal Panel, looked at the love letter collection on the table, and then thought of the Instance Authorization still stored in his luggage compartment: there were really quite a few things to do.
For the next three days, he didn't go out or receive any guests, politely declining all the visiting cards sent over. On the evening of the third day, the Vilna Family sent word that Mr. Huahan had returned and intended to meet him at a small estate of the Vilna Family.
Xu Huo confirmed the news with the butler before heading to the Vilna family estate.
Though called a small estate, it was actually quite large in area, surrounded by vegetation so that ordinary vehicles and aircraft couldn't pass through. Entering it, one could see that the castle was almost completely covered by tall trees, giving the entire estate a feeling that sunlight couldn't penetrate.
However, the temperature inside was quite pleasant.
Here, Xu Huo met members of the Vilna Family, including Quintus Vilna and Ashis Werner, father and son, as well as other Vilna family members he had met at previous banquets.
Today seemed to be a special day. The Vilna family members had solemn expressions and wore darker clothing, which instead made Huahan Werner, dressed in a white formal suit, stand out conspicuously.
Unlike the others, Huahan, coming down from upstairs, had a smile on his face. He looked at Xu Huo, "Let's go to the study."
Nodding in greeting to Quintus Vilna, Xu Huo followed Huahan out of the hall.
"Today is my wife's death anniversary," Huahan brought up the reason for this atmosphere once they reached the study. "I've long said there's no need to come for memorial services, but they insist on coming every year. She's been dead for so many years."
Huahan hadn't originally been named Vilna. He had changed his surname after marrying a woman from the Vilna family and hadn't changed it again after his wife's death.
"Should I pay my respects?" Xu Huo asked.
Huahan flipped the photo on the desk outward. "Bowing to the photo is the same."
Xu Huo did as he was told and bowed before the photo.
After he finished, Huahan put the photo back in place and began talking about Xu Huo's matters.
"You visited the Field family?"
Xu Huo nodded. "I gained some insights."
Huahan smiled. "Looking for me so urgently, you've encountered a problem?"
Xu Huo roughly recounted his experiences at the Field family and in the Instance venue. "I want to know, is the future seen in prophecies truly unchangeable?"
"So this is what you're thinking about." Huahan's expression turned slightly serious. "Unfortunately, I can't give you the answer either."
Xu Huo was somewhat disappointed but could understand. Super Players were the top combat power in the game, but that was all.
"When I was young, I also once foresaw the future. After multiple verifications, I found the future unchangeable, so I did a bold and foolish thing." Huahan said with some nostalgia. "Since a future me exists, doesn't that mean the current me can't die no matter what?"
Xu Huo found it hard to hide his surprise.
"You guessed it," Huahan chuckled lightly. "While testing Time Power, I directed faster time onto myself."
"But as my body uncontrollably aged and fear of death set in, I pulled back at the critical moment."
Xu Huo couldn't comment. This was indeed a testing method unimaginable to ordinary people. At least he wouldn't do it himself.
Huahan looked at his own aged hands. "This is the price paid for youthful recklessness."
Pausing for a moment, he looked back at Xu Huo. "Don't pursue changing the future. It is an endless cycle."
Xu Huo humbly accepted the advice from his senior, then proceeded to ask about Curved Time.
This time, Huahan had no suggestions for him. "There are indeed Time Rewind items in the game. Such items might involve Curved Time, but no Artificer has ever truly been able to create one. They often appear as effects under accidental circumstances."
"If Carmen Field lost because of this, then his loss wasn't unjust."
Because no one could have more resources than the Game Government. If Carmen tried to win this way, he was destined to fail.
"No one witnessed that battle?" Xu Huo couldn't help asking. In fact, he was also well aware that if the Game Government also held Time Rewind items, then any factor that could become a variable would be eliminated, especially the Super Players who watched.
Huahan, however, brought up another matter. "There are rumors that Carmen Field's mother came from a non-ticket zone, and as an outstanding descendant, he was qualified to be absorbed into the non-ticket zone."
"Presumably, there aren't many such outstanding people in the non-ticket zone either."
Xu Huo was somewhat surprised because the materials and records preserved by the Field family clearly identified Carmen's parents' identities.
"This is just a rumor, but if the rumor is true, then he was different from other players." Huahan said meaningfully. "He had a contact in the non-ticket zone."