Chapter 581: Twin Serpents Invitation
Compared to Huang Junjie's anxiety and Tan Yang's pensive mood, Vice President Pu Kang and the others present were not as tense. Pu Kang said, "Let him come. I don't believe he can still walk out of here once he's inside."
Tan Yang turned to Huang Junjie upon hearing this. "In your opinion, is Xu Huo the kind of person who holds grudges?"
"It's not about holding grudges," Huang Junjie said. "All smart people share one trait—they don't place much importance on conflicts with others. It only matters if you cross their path. But he's not unreasonable. Maybe he came to Yang City for something else, and he just happened to run into Wang Meng on the way."
"However, this kind of thing with Bao Jiali really needs to be dealt with. As more and more players appear, if the First Association wants to grow stronger, it must first establish a solid foothold in public opinion. If people start seeing the First Association as a cult-like criminal organization, it does us no good. Players also have families, and which family doesn't have relatives? Compared to ordinary people, players are still the minority."
"You make a good point," Tan Yang said. "I'll have someone else take over Wang Meng's side."
"Should we have a few people keep an eye on Xu Huo?" Pu Kang asked.
"Just have someone watch his movements from a distance," Tan Yang said, still haunted by the memory of Xu Huo teleporting across the city. "Don't let him notice, and don't interfere with him."
"I'll handle it," Pu Kang said with a smile.
Huang Junjie frowned. "I don't think that's necessary. Don't create unnecessary trouble."
Pu Kang slapped him on the back. "You're too timid. Even the Special Defense Department treats us with respect, let alone just one player. Huang Junjie, you're supposed to be the strategist of the First Association—don't undermine our own authority."
"The Special Defense Department just doesn't have the time to deal with us right now," Huang Junjie said irritably. "Wait until the border situation is settled, and then you'll see."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Pu Kang said. "Isn't our cooperation with the Special Defense Department precisely to gain legitimacy? Even if they come back to us later, they'll go after the cults first."
"Speaking of cults..." Huang Junjie pulled a hard-shell envelope from his drawer. "What are you going to do with this?"
*
"Twin Serpents Invitation?" Xu Huo looked at the black hard-shell envelope that had appeared on his desk just a few minutes after he'd stepped out. Seeing that Sima Xiao'er recognized it, he asked, "What's the story behind it?"
Sima Xiao'er picked up his notebook and opened the Vanguard Player Forum, pulling up a hidden post. "Look at this, and you'll understand."
"In a big forest, there are all kinds of birds. Not all players are career-oriented. Some are superstitious and love to act mysterious. The Twin Serpents organization is one of them."
"Last time, when I was heading back from Flower City, I ran into a group that was also a cult. They were later absorbed by the Twin Serpents. Instead of stalking people anymore, they now post encrypted messages on major player-focused platforms. If you crack the code, you can log in and get an invitation with an address."
"It's the same kind as the one on the table."
Xu Huo briefly skimmed the post. "Are they recruiting members or looking for targets?"
"Not sure exactly," Sima Xiao'er said. "Strangely enough, a lot of people in the Special Defense Department have opened this post, but only a few received invitations."
"Those who got the invitations also went to the addresses on the envelopes. When they got there, it was just a group prayer session—everyone prayed in front of a bronze statue for ten minutes. The rest of the time was basically socializing. For example, if you wanted to exchange game information, item information, or even trade, it lasted two hours, and then everyone went home."
"Didn't they analyze the criteria for selecting targets?" Xu Huo asked.
"It seems random," Sima Xiao'er said. "The Special Defense Department tracked a few sessions and then stopped caring. I didn't expect them to still be sending out invitations everywhere."
Xu Huo pondered for a moment, then tore open the envelope with the silver twin serpent pattern on it, pulling out the invitation inside. "An address, with the time set for five days from now."
"Are you going?" Sima Xiao'er asked. "If you want to exchange information, you might as well do it on the forum."
Xu Huo set the invitation aside and glanced outside before saying, "We'll talk about it in a couple of days."
"Does this Twin Serpents organization have some kind of problem?" Sima Xiao'er perked up. "I knew they couldn't just be hosting tea parties!"
"Brother Xu, can you take me with you when you go? I'll run errands and help out. If I earn any merit, I'll give you all the Special Defense Department bonuses!"
Xu Huo withdrew his gaze, turned around, and poured himself a glass of water. "So eager to earn merit?"
Sima Xiao'er smiled sheepishly. "Earning merit means getting promoted. With higher authority, I can apply for advanced items."
Xu Huo didn't agree immediately and brushed him off with the same "we'll talk later," but Sima Xiao'er seemed excited and eagerly invited him out to eat.
Having watched the "Old Master Handicraft Shop" for two days, Xu Huo had a pretty good idea of what kind of place it was.
On the surface, it looked like an ordinary shop. After closing, the interior would become pitch black, making it nearly impossible to see anything inside from the outside. Last night, a few thieves were stealing along this street but walked right past the shop as if they hadn't seen it, heading straight into the luxury boutique next door.
To some extent, this shop was more like an instance dungeon venue, with the ability to ward off outsiders.
Yang City was also a bustling metropolis with plenty of wealthy people. Some rich kids who weren't players but had their eyes on the shop's goods came in no fewer than ten groups over time. In the end, they all left obediently, including the two who had argued with the owner.
The same went for players. In two days, only one person managed to buy something.
Additionally, Team Leader Wu had informed him over the phone that the Special Defense Department had tried to get advanced items by raising prices, but they were rejected. They didn't dare to rob the place outright—Sima Xiao'er didn't know this, but in another city, someone had tried to rob a toy store. The next day, the store was empty. Not only were the items gone, but even the decorations had been stripped clean, as if the shop had never existed.
From this, the Artificers' goal was clear: they only wanted ore.
Only they knew exactly what kind of ore could be traded. If the Special Defense Department wanted good items, they would have to bring the mined ore to them.
In an instant, many hypotheses flooded Xu Huo's mind. After connecting the information, he suddenly thought of another matter: Was the underground nest in Clown City really only home to a single Nuwa Stone?
The diary mentioned in the Little Flower Red Red Building instance dungeon referred to this underground nest, suggesting that players from other districts could also enter it. Assuming that a special stone like the Nuwa Stone had appeared not only in Clown City, then wouldn't the nest fungi being studied have attracted the attention of the Game Government or other factions?
"Maybe it was left behind..."
The Nuwa Stone Xin Lang had given him could also have been a coincidental leftover piece of ore.
Taking out his phone, he sent a text to the Painting Woman, asking her to take a photo of the Wormhole Flower.
(Chapter End)