# Chapter 379: Mask Game
Deng Xuan stared at the young man in sportswear until he turned back the way he came before reaching out to grab his shoulder. "Friend, are you looking for someone?"
The young man looked at him strangely. Deng Xuan released his grip. "Sorry, mistook you for someone else."
The young man nodded and walked out. Deng Xuan spoke into his communicator behind his back, "Brother Jing, I'm heading back first."
Deng Xuan left the store and walked into the crowd. Two companions outside also dispersed in different directions.
Xu Huo drank his juice and chose a different direction. Deng Xuan and his group had only focused on him for less than half a minute; they hadn't paid him any attention since he left the beverage shop. But two other people spaced farther apart kept their eyes on him until he left the mall area, and one of them followed him all the way to the comprehensive transit station.
Pretending not to notice he was being followed, he entered the station but didn't board a vehicle. Instead, he sneaked over to the luggage storage area, picked a well-dressed passerby, swiped their electronic card to access a mobile storage locker, rummaged around inside for a bit, then closed it. As he left, he accidentally knocked over half a cup of juice he hadn't finished.
He didn't bother with the spilled juice and hurriedly walked out to board a maglev train.
The person following him didn't come after him but turned back to the storage locker. As soon as the target's attention shifted, the Friend Value began to drop. Xu Huo knew he was checking the locker.
He rode to the next stop, entered a restroom, changed into his clown suit, took out the "Elusive Screaming Chicken," and fed it some juice.
Feeding the Screaming Chicken allowed it to track a target, but the prerequisite was that the target must also have come into contact with the same substance—like a grain of rice or gum stuck to a shoe sole, or juice pulp mixed with special materials.
The station's cleaning robots would arrive within a minute to clean up any stains. The tracker had gone to check the storage locker. If luck was on his side, the Screaming Chicken would lock onto the target.
"Gurk!" The big rubber yellow chicken tilted its head, its red eyes bulging. It kicked off his hand, landed on the ground, flapped its fake wings, pecked at the floor symbolically a few times, then started walking out.
Xu Huo took out the pre-prepared sticker flyers and followed it out of the station.
In District 011, many businesses used props to attract customers, so it wasn't uncommon to see entertainment props on the streets. A rubber chicken walking ahead of a clown handing out flyers didn't draw any attention.
Thirty minutes later, Xu Huo spotted the middle-aged man who had been following him. He tracked him through the bustling commercial area to a real-person simulation game building.
This avant-garde entertainment venue had been set up by a company that had spent big money buying dungeon guides to create holographic simulation games. These were specifically for people who wanted excitement but didn't want to risk actually entering the game.
Xu Huo picked up the Screaming Chicken and hooked it onto his belt, then started circling the building. By the time he'd handed out most of his flyers, the chicken's head finally stopped pointing at the game building.
This time, the middle-aged man didn't linger on the street. He took a vehicle to a residential area and got out in front of one of the buildings.
In District 011, slightly upscale residences were marketed as natural oxygen bars. Both the exteriors and interiors of the buildings had private gardens. Although each building was independent, they all had anti-riot electronic walls. Without a keycard, you could only walk through the external corridors.
Seeing that the man didn't plan to go out, Xu Huo went to a nearby private reading room. He checked the game building and this residential area online and found they were both properties under Rongxin Group.
Rongxin Group was very famous in District 011, with businesses spanning real estate, home furnishings, film and television, gaming, and many other industries. Their advertisements were everywhere on the streets. They had substantial capital and an ambiguous relationship with the government. Ran Ying, as a captain in the Enforcement Department, had even endorsed this company's holographic games.
Xu Huo had only been in District 011 for a short time and had only interacted with a few people: Ran Ying from the Enforcement Department, Shi Youzhi from the Game Base, and the fence Deng Xuan.
He had arranged a transaction with Deng Xuan, but the other party had come in aggressively. Obviously, it was because of the player Xu Huo had captured.
He definitely wasn't going to release that person. Originally, he had planned to return to District 014 for a while. But now this matter was getting interesting. Getting the props could wait.
Xu Huo followed this middle-aged man for three days before he finally saw him meet with another tracker. The two greeted each other from a distance on the street and then entered the game building one after the other.
"Sir, would you like a mask?" A young, attractive girl came over to greet him. "Today, Rongxin has released a new animal-themed palace night tour game. It's only 9,999 for the experience. This is a new customer discount—it won't be available tomorrow! And you get a free simulation mask!"
The so-called simulation mask was just a curved screen the size of a human face that used animal images to simulate human expressions. It wasn't high-tech in District 011.
"Sounds interesting," Xu Huo said.
The young girl led him into the building. The entrance was a circular hall with a sales counter in the center. Elevator doors were spaced every few meters around the perimeter, with guests coming and going at all times.
Under the girl's guidance, Xu Huo chose a cute white sheep cartoon mask with a pink face and said with a smile, "I hear girls like cute things."
The young girl pursed her lips and smiled. "Sir, you're so funny. With your handsome looks, you'd have plenty of girls liking you even without playing cute."
A square beam of light projected down from above the sales counter. The mask descended at a steady pace. The girl took it, helped Xu Huo put it on, then led him to the elevator. In seconds, they were on the 30th floor.
"We have single-player mode and multiplayer mode here. In single-player mode, you get an entire operation pod to yourself. For multiplayer, it's usually three to five guests sharing a room. In both modes, you can move around freely. Special prop rooms ensure you won't bump into walls or fall. Everything you do in the room will be faithfully reflected in the game. Also, since this is a palace night tour, the game provides a free game gown. Sir, you can choose whatever you like."
Following her introduction, Xu Huo toured the rooms in the corridor. He caught a glimpse of the man who had met with the middle-aged man entering one of the multiplayer rooms. Xu Huo chose that same room.
"Perfect, there's one spot left. This is a five-person room."
Five fully enclosed cocoon-shaped operation pods were arranged in a circle in the center of the room. When the girl pushed open the door, one of the operation pods was just closing.
"I'll open the operation pod for you." The girl pressed the invisible button outside the pod to open the door and said, "Once you confirm entry into the game, the operation pod cannot be opened from the outside. You'll be perfectly safe inside. If you want to interrupt the game, you can do so yourself. Enjoy your game."
Xu Huo walked in. Following the operating instructions, he put on a pair of in-ear headphones. The pristine white interior of the operation pod immediately transformed into a luxurious room with a somewhat Baroque architectural style.