Chapter 391: The Castle, Completely Transformed
Xu Huo followed along, and at that moment, the hidden door across from Shi Youzhi's office opened. Ai Jia beckoned him inside. Inside were other base members he had seen before, including She Ping, another female team member Cai Xiangxiang, and a short man named Sun Chuan. They were the ones who had used the bubble-blowing machine and poured black water in the desert on the first day, respectively.
Sun Chuan was quite lively and grinned at Xu Huo, saying, "There's a good show to watch."
The "good show" they were talking about was what was happening in the room opposite. The projector faithfully transmitted the situation over to their side.
The first to speak was Ran Ying. "Captain Shi, a man should be fair. Although we don't usually interact much, we've never had any conflict. Why did you inexplicably arrest my people?"
"Did I catch anyone?" Shi Youzhi's expression was calm. "Didn't that kid hide in an instance the moment he saw me? The person isn't even in my hands, yet Captain Ran comes running over here to accuse me. Does your Enforcement Department have nothing better to do every day?"
Ran Ying snorted. "Of course I know you didn't catch him. I'm asking you why you moved against Enforcement Department personnel and cut off our communications. What, are you looking for a fight?"
"Your Enforcement Department people aren't behaving themselves," Shi Youzhi said, looking at her coldly. "I warned you about this before. Tell your people to stop hanging around the base. I can't guarantee I won't deal with a couple of them if my mood turns sour."
"Having people watch the base and causing trouble with the station repairs... Ran Ying, are you trying to get the Game Government Base to withdraw from District 011?"
Hearing this, Ran Ying's expression darkened. She stared at him for a long time without speaking.
"What would happen if the base withdrew from District 011?" Xu Huo asked the other team members.
"The Game Government establishing a base in a game district represents a high level of recognition for that district," She Ping explained. "Generally, cities with game bases are more stable, and the probability of high-level players attacking the city is lower."
Although the District 011 government and the game base didn't interfere with each other, since the Game Government existed, it was certain that some game districts were under its management. This meant the Game Government had policies for dealing with players. High-level players attacking the Game Government would certainly face retaliation. Coupled with technological development, cities with game bases were relatively more stable.
This was very important for the growth of a game district.
But behind this lay an invisible threat: the game "Dimensional Rift's" control over players. Players and game districts might seem powerful, but if the Game Government was determined to destroy a district, it wasn't impossible.
So for a game district to challenge the Game Government required more than just courage.
On the other side, Cheng Bing stepped in to mediate. "The station repair issue isn't under our Enforcement Department's jurisdiction. Isn't Captain Shi taking his anger out on the wrong people?"
Shi Youzhi was also being difficult. "This is an internal coordination problem within your District 011 government. It has nothing to do with me. Why don't you just stop repairing the station? After all, no tickets will be issued from the closed stations until the repairs are finished. Having fewer players come to District 011 isn't a bad thing."
At this point, Ran Ying seemed to have calmed down. She said stiffly, "Don't worry. When I go back, I'll negotiate with the other departments. I won't delay Captain Shi's affairs."
"That would be for the best."
"But Captain Shi, remember this: this is District 011. Our players are absolutely not people you can touch whenever you want. If there's a next time, don't blame me for turning hostile." Ran Ying warned, "There are many ways to make a person disappear. I don't believe the Game Government would remove a base just for one person."
"If everyone just did their own jobs properly, there wouldn't be so many complications," Shi Youzhi retorted.
Ran Ying left in a huff. Shi Youzhi stood in the room for two seconds before walking out.
Sun Chuan and Cai Xiangxiang frantically turned off the projection and, along with the others, tacitly turned their backs to pretend to be busy.
The hidden door opened. Shi Youzhi stood at the entrance with a stern face. Instead of immediately finding fault with his team members, he looked at Xu Huo. "Don't you have anything to do?"
Xu Huo smiled and walked away. The closing hidden door slowly cut off the sounds from the room.
After leaving the base, he didn't rush to find Deng Xuan. Instead, he went back and cleaned up the two surveillance points. After erasing his traces, he left wearing the clown suit, taking intermittent rides towards the old city area.
That street network, like a spider's web in the lower city, was too dangerous to enter again. So Xu Huo didn't get too close. Deng Xuan often came out to move around, so there was a chance to run into him outside.
He wandered nearby for almost two hours before encountering someone. Deng Xuan was arm-in-arm with two other drunk companions, discussing where to go to relax.
Xu Huo stepped forward and offered a sticker flyer, but they rudely brushed him off.
Looking at the three of them, Xu Huo silently withdrew his hand and walked past them.
He went to a self-service store to buy some food and water, then found a paid single-person rest room to sit in. Staring at the flying vehicles zipping by outside, he pondered his next move.
Deng Xuan's side was no longer of much value. Even if something really happened, his chances of being involved were low.
The commotion at the docks might not be real. If he wanted to find out more information, he would have to go to the station.
He took out his communicator and searched for the hot news in the base city over the past two days. Three out of ten articles mentioned a name: Madame Butterfly.
Madame Butterfly... Xu Huo's scrolling finger paused briefly beside the woman wearing a butterfly mask. Then the screen popped up with more information about Madame Butterfly. Aside from a vague identity introduction, most of it was gossip, mostly saying that since she arrived in District 011 not long ago, she had been closely involved with high-ranking figures, with countless lovers. Her fame was largely due to her promiscuous nature.
"...According to reliable sources, Madame Butterfly will visit Rose Castle this afternoon with Duke Tal."
Xu Huo turned off the communicator, quickly finished the remaining food, went out, hailed a car, and headed straight for Rose Castle.
The castle was still the same as before, with roses blooming all around it. The parts that had been burned down were completely restored. The front gate had even been renovated, with tables and chairs set up in the garden, making it look completely transformed.
Besides Mr. Dong, new servants had been added.
"You've returned." When Xu Huo appeared at the castle's front gate, Mr. Dong was already waiting at the entrance, as if certain he would come back. Once again, he took Xu Huo's coat and said, "The master's bedroom has been redecorated. I will deliver your coat and umbrella to your room."
The strange feeling surfaced again. Xu Huo asked, "Is the castle receiving guests this afternoon?"
"Duke Tal and Madame Butterfly." Mr. Dong took a wet towel brought by a servant and handed it to him. "Duke Tal is a friend of Mr. He Pu. Mr. He Pu's baron title was obtained with his help. He called earlier to say he would be coming to pay his respects to Mr. He Pu."