Chapter 375: Dinner Party Scene?
"Monkey Deng?" The three clearly knew the person, and they accepted the cigarette, but they weren't about to let it go. The two came to Xu Huo's sides, flanking him as they tried to steer him into an alley less likely to be caught by surveillance cameras. "Since you're a friend, don't be so distant."
Xu Huo obediently went along with them.
Half a minute later, the three thugs were on the ground clutching their feet and wailing. Xu Huo straightened his collar, picked up his umbrella, and hung it on his arm as he walked out.
"You're looking for Deng Xuan?" At that moment, a middle-aged man in a hat was leaning against the wall at the alley entrance, smoking. He tilted his chin. "Follow me."
Xu Huo lagged a few steps behind as he followed. The man led him through several alleys before stopping in front of a graffiti-covered metal door. Motioning for him to wait, he went inside.
This area appeared to have been built earlier, with facilities far less developed than the main city district. However, wherever high-tech could be used, it was—not only were there surveillance cameras, but some places even had weapons blatantly installed.
Soon, footsteps approached from inside the door. Deng Xuan looked surprised to see him, sizing him up before saying, "Little brother, you're out of the instance already? Made a fortune this trip, huh? Come on in, let's talk inside."
As he spoke, he stepped aside to invite him in.
Xu Huo walked over, glanced through the half-open door crack, and stopped outside. "No need to go in. Last time you said you could get your hands on some potions, right? I want to buy a few."
"No problem." Seeing this, Deng Xuan didn't insist. He closed the door a bit more and stepped outside himself. "What potions do you need?"
"Evolution agents, self-healing agents, and preferably anything else that can quickly boost physical fitness." Xu Huo paused, then added, "Can you get the advanced versions?"
The game currently issued the basic version, but corresponding A, T, and other versions existed, priced much higher than the basic one.
"That's easy," Deng Xuan agreed readily, then added, "We have both P1 and P2 evolution agents, and the price is two-thirds of the official channel."
Xu Huo's eyebrow twitched. "Diluted?"
"Of course not." Deng Xuan said with a smile. "We only sell, we don't produce. You know how it is."
Either they came from special channels or they were stolen goods, which was why the price was so low.
They set the transaction for five days later, and Xu Huo prepared to leave. As he turned, he noticed that the street he had just walked through had changed.
The middle-aged man who had led him in came out again to guide him back. Although they followed the original route, every place they passed changed behind them. When he looked back, the street scene and the entrances and exits were almost completely different from before.
"What's there to look at? Never seen a prop before?" The middle-aged man turned and shot him a glare.
Xu Huo said nothing and, after leaving the area, directly hailed a car to leave.
Only after the hovercar had completely driven out of that territory did the middle-aged man light a cigarette and head back. He walked into the alley, groped along a wall, and knocked. The wall suddenly dissolved, revealing a passage behind it. On both sides of the passage, houses and public facilities flickered between reality and illusion, as if a layer of ethereal shadow had been cast over a real street—or as if the street itself didn't exist, and it was merely a fake city constructed with holographic projections.
The middle-aged man pushed open the graffiti-covered metal door and entered. Inside was a roofed small courtyard. Deng Xuan stood to one side, and in the center was a large table. Seated at the table was a bald man with black patterns painted all over his face. Across from him was a hunched old man wearing a mask. Behind each of them stood three or four people, their faces flushed with anger, as if things weren't exactly harmonious.
"Did you see him off?" the bald man asked the middle-aged man.
"He's gone," the middle-aged man said firmly.
"Are you sure he didn't see what was in the courtyard just now?" the masked old man asked in a distorted voice.
"This courtyard uses a special prop. You absolutely can't see inside without entering," the bald man said with a hint of sarcasm. "Brother Zhao, instead of worrying about that, you'd better worry about yourself. Your people got cleaned out and left traces. Be careful the Enforcement Department doesn't trace it back to you."
"The cleanup is already taken care of. No one will trace it back to me. This transaction involves big players—you might not be able to handle it." The old man surnamed Zhao spoke calmly, unconcerned.
"Whether we can handle it is our business." The bald man raised his hand, and his subordinate immediately placed a crystal chip on the table. "Everything you need is in here. The time and place of the transaction."
The old man surnamed Zhao checked the chip before letting out a laugh. He placed a thin piece of paper on the table and stood up to take his leave.
The bald man watched them disappear from the spot, then nodded to Deng Xuan. The latter lowered a large metal shutter from the wall. Four beams of blue light scanned the courtyard from all four directions toward the center. When the rays converged in the middle, Deng Xuan said, "Brother Jing, all clear."
The bald man flipped over the paper on the table and clicked his tongue. "That Zhao guy makes money too easily. Giving a few vague locations with huge distances between them—are we supposed to send people to stake out every single place?"
Even so, he didn't pursue the matter. He tucked the paper into his pocket and asked Deng Xuan, "Who was that guy who just came?"
"A player who arrived in District 011 a few days ago," Deng Xuan said. "He bought some props from me. I told him to come find me here if he needed anything."
"Don't bring people here next time," the bald man said. "It's not safe."
"He's just a D-rank player. Should be fine, right?" Deng Xuan hesitated. "Looks like a rookie, doesn't know the market. I made a good profit selling him props."
"Should we take care of him?" the middle-aged man asked.
"No need. That Zhao guy will definitely make a move." The bald man patted the pocket holding the paper. "Alright, we've got real business to do."
The bald man's guess was spot on. After leaving the courtyard, the old man surnamed Zhao sent his men to follow Xu Huo.
Xu Huo was still riding around the city in the car, so he was quickly caught up to. The pursuer was quite cautious, keeping a fair distance. If it weren't for the number "7" floating above his head, Xu Huo might not have noticed him at all.
A little thought told him that the person tailing him was connected to that mysterious little courtyard.
That courtyard had used a prop. From outside the door, it was pitch black inside, with only the two feet near the entrance illuminated enough to see. Although he couldn't see in, he sensed at least ten people inside. With that many people, it couldn't just be a coincidence that they were having a dinner party, could it?
So he hadn't gone in.
Now that someone was following him, it was likely the other party covering their tracks afterward—either to confirm whether his appearance had an ulterior motive, or to eliminate a loose end.
"To the Yongxing Hotel." After hesitating for two seconds, he got into a self-driving taxi.
The man followed him all the way to outside the Yongxing Hotel. Seeing him walk in, he didn't leave but lingered nearby. Xu Huo observed him for a while through the telescope in his room and decided to give him a chance.