Chapter 586: Resort Under the Night
Xu Huo told her the location, saying that in two days he would go to Water City to attend a gathering organized by the Twin Serpents organization, and he invited her to come along.
Yan Jiayu agreed readily, and they set a time and place to meet before hanging up.
"One more person," Sima Xiao'er said dejectedly. "Brother Xu, one invitation can only bring two people."
Guan Sheng and Qian Xuwen already took up two spots.
"Then we'll get two more invitations." Xu Huo stopped Qian Xuwen's movement and sent a message to that Brother Liang asking if there were any extra invitations. He added, "Not through the Special Defense Department."
Before Guan and Qian arrived, they had received orders from Team Leader Wu. Their main task was to cooperate with Xu Huo's operation, observe and listen more, and not act on their own for other matters.
Brother Liang replied quickly. They had three invitations in total, which could bring six people, and they could spare at most two spots for him.
"Add one more," Xu Huo bargained. "I have another friend."
Brother Liang took a long time to reply but eventually agreed.
Afterward, the Painting Woman also arrived in Yang City. After staying for two more days, the group finally set off for Water City, the location specified on the invitation.
Previously, people from the Special Defense Department had investigated the gathering site—an abandoned old factory area that hadn't been fully demolished yet. Many eyes were on it, but no abnormalities had been spotted so far.
To be cautious, Xu Huo didn't meet up with Brother Liang and the others. Before entering Water City, he split off from Sima Xiao'er and Zhou Ning, bringing Guan and Qian with him.
After checking into a hotel, he contacted Yan Jiayu again and told her to go directly to meet Brother Liang.
Thus, when the gathering time came, they set off from different directions toward the factory area.
By the time they arrived, many people were already lingering nearby. These individuals either had their faces covered or wore masks, keeping their distance from each other without striking up conversations.
"There are too many people," Xu Huo said, also wearing a mask. He hid in a patch of shadow after getting out of the car.
"Everyone brought companions, so it's a bit crowded," Guan Sheng said.
That wasn't what Xu Huo meant. Leaving aside the companions, a rough count showed at least twenty people present with invitations. If the Twin Serpents gathering wasn't purely for exchanging information, inviting so many players was clearly unusual. With too many people, the situation would be hard to control.
"Could there be Twin Serpents members mixed in among them?" Qian Xuwen speculated.
"Hard to say." Guan Sheng glanced outside and lowered his voice. "They're here."
It was Brother Liang and his group. Yan Jiayu and the other two each followed an invited player, pretending not to know each other.
More people arrived gradually. When it reached one in the morning, three players wearing black robes and black hats walked out of the factory. They carried three boxes and stopped in the middle. The one in the center said, "Please come forward with your invitations. The gathering is about to begin."
The surrounding players looked at each other, hesitating to step forward. A few seconds later, Yan Jiayu subtly signaled Xu Huo's direction, then pushed Brother Liang's group forward.
After checking the invitations, the black-robed player gave each of them a bottle of Evolution Agent and directed them into the factory behind them.
"Giving out Evolution Agents just for coming?" Yan Jiayu asked curiously. "With so many people, do you have enough Evolution Agents?"
Evolution Agents were very tempting to ordinary players, but the black-robed man wasn't afraid of being robbed. He smiled and said, "Just a regular Evolution Agent. Our Twin Serpents have always treated players as brothers and sisters. Why wouldn't we share?"
It felt a bit like a cult.
"Also, Twin Serpents has a rule: one invitation can only bring two companions. Please have those who exceed the limit leave voluntarily. If anyone causes trouble, today's gathering will be canceled. Whether you want to buy, sell, or exchange information not available on the market, none of it will be possible."
This effectively held the players hostage. Most had come for those purposes, but someone refused to accept it and said loudly, "Are you three the only guides? There are so many players here!"
The implication was that they could force the guides to lead them.
The black-robed man chuckled. "We're just guides. Not all players attending the gathering are from Twin Serpents. If you break the rules, word will naturally spread. Friend, since you're going anyway, don't hold everyone up for your own sake."
"That's right," someone chimed in. "Don't tell me you're scared, haha!"
"What a coward!"
The provoked player walked over angrily. After checking his invitation, the black-robed man pointed him to the middle position. He and his two companions entered ahead of Yan Jiayu's group.
After they went in, others stepped forward one after another, but some were directed to three other factory buildings nearby.
"Why are we being split up?" a player questioned.
"The real gathering location isn't here," the black-robed man explained. "To avoid drawing attention, we have to take separate routes."
With four rooms and about seventy to eighty people roughly evenly divided, each group had around twenty players. The crowd wasn't too worried, though many complained about the long wait.
Xu Huo was last. He handed over his invitation, and the man simply took it, casually set it aside, gave him a bottle of Evolution Agent, and directed him to the factory where Yan Jiayu was.
After all the players were divided, the three black-robed men each entered different rooms, leading the groups deeper into the factories.
Four rooms with only three people meant one of them had to handle two rooms. He said, "There are too many people today, and we're short-staffed. Someone will come to pick you up later. Follow me for now."
Thus, Xu Huo ended up with Yan Jiayu, while Brother Liang and his other companion were separated.
All three groups left the factories, but in different directions. Xu Huo's group was led into a basement of one factory, where they found an underground passage. The black-robed man said, "It's safer to leave this way. There will be cars waiting outside."
No one objected. They filed in, following the black-robed man out of the tunnel. Cars were indeed waiting. Once they were all aboard, the black-robed man brought out a row of masks in various colors but identical styles, letting them choose freely.
There were six colors: red, black, white, blue, green, and yellow. Xu Huo picked a black one, while Yan Jiayu tacitly chose white.
Thus, all the players in the car wore the same masks. When they got off, they also received identical black robes. Once dressed, it was nearly impossible to tell who was who.
"What the hell is this!" the troublemaking player fumed. "So secretive! Are we there yet or not?"
"We're here, we're here," the black-robed man said cheerfully. "Right here."
Everyone turned to look and realized the cars had brought them to a resort that hadn't been put into use yet. The basic facilities were complete. As they walked in, they could see a lush ecological building. Across a lake, they spotted another group of identically dressed people heading toward the building, with the leading black-robed man waving in their direction.
"That's the other batch of players," Guan Sheng said.
(Chapter End)