Chapter 700: E27-001-01
Xu Huo nodded, took the towel he handed over and wiped his hands, then asked, "Is there anything that needs to be handled during the time I was away?"
"Your baronetcy has been recognized by the government, and the corresponding insignia and identity documents have been delivered. Additionally, the widow of Duke Tal has sent two invitations: one is for you to attend Duke Tal's funeral, and the other is for a charity gala. The Duchess will auction off the Duke's personal belongings to raise funds for charity."
Duke Tal had also been on that steamship. Xu Huo wasn't surprised he hadn't survived. He said to Mr. Dong, "Call the Duchess back. I'll visit her in a couple of days."
His baronetcy being processed so quickly was certainly due in no small part to the Duchess's efforts behind the scenes.
Mr. Dong acknowledged the instruction and also mentioned that several other nobles had invited him for outings or banquets. However, this time it wasn't because of Butterfly Madame, but because of his status.
The Black Epaulets had investigated Xu Huo after the steamship incident. The fact that he hadn't died on the ship meant he must have entered an instance later. The Duchess's maiden family had been able to marry into the ducal clan precisely because they had produced several capable players within their ranks — even though weaponry and equipment in District 011 were now very advanced, a player with potential, even if their energy level wasn't high, was still worth a noble family's effort to recruit.
Moreover, judging by the internal strife on the steamship, there were factional struggles among the nobles as well. The Black Epaulets' rise to power was actually the result of these conflicts. In such times, the role of players became critically important.
"Has Bai Kou been back?" Xu Huo asked again.
"No." Mr. Dong's expression and tone remained unchanged.
What Mr. Dong mentioned were all matters that Xu Huo, as the master of Rose Castle, had to deal with. When Xu Huo arrived at the study, he found that the formal invitations were far more numerous than Mr. Dong had mentioned, including one sent by Ran Ying.
To survive in District 011, he had to keep silent about what happened on the steamship.
Xu Huo didn't harbor strong feelings about Ran Ying bringing him onto the steamship. She was a capable woman, but they simply had different perspectives.
He set her invitation aside and asked Mr. Dong to brew a pot of tea. Only after the man had left did he call out the Painting Woman.
The Painting Woman had been holding it in for a long time. She couldn't wait to transform into human form and dash outside. Xu Huo stopped her and told her to change into an unremarkable appearance.
"You can stay here, but you must follow the rules we agreed upon."
The Painting Woman nodded and typed on her phone, "I promise I won't casually turn into other people's appearances. I'll behave myself, won't run around recklessly, and won't go around killing people."
The bluntness was a bit startling, but Xu Huo nodded in satisfaction. "Go find Mr. Dong. Ask him to prepare a room for you. Tell him if you need anything."
After a pause, he added, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The clothes and jewelry in District 011 are quite beautiful. Go pick some out for yourself."
The Painting Woman had experience. She sidled up to him. "Let's go together."
"Not this time. I have money now." Xu Huo said generously, "Buy whatever you like."
The Painting Woman beamed with joy and ran out. A moment later, Mr. Dong came in and said he would arrange for two maids to accompany the Painting Woman. "We also need to get her an identity document."
That wasn't difficult. Xu Huo left all the matters regarding the communication device and other items the Painting Woman needed to Mr. Dong to prepare. The Painting Woman also got a new name: Xu Chun.
After settling things with the Painting Woman, Xu Huo continued to check the messages on his communicator.
Some were sent from the game base — task notifications from Shi Youzhi.
Xu Huo was now a contract staff member of the base. While he enjoyed certain game policy benefits, he also had to fulfill his obligations. However, the Orbital Supply Department didn't have strict requirements in this regard. If players needed to do instances, they could go do instances and report back when finished. If they happened to complete a task, there would be corresponding rewards.
Therefore, the task notifications had a two-day validity period. If players missed that window, they wouldn't be assigned to the task. He had already missed two tasks.
That wasn't important. Xu Huo hadn't joined the game base to obtain a Gray Player identity to escape instances in the first place. What he valued was the game base's benefits. Good props weren't something you could buy just because you had money. Whether it was the auction venues in the game districts or the game base itself, there were certain restrictions on players purchasing props. Money alone couldn't monopolize high-level props, and some high-level props couldn't be bought with money — they could only be obtained through barter.
The final rating for the "Shared Eyes" instance was A. This time, he hadn't obtained a new trait. Among the props he received, the most notable was a C-grade prop called "Controlled Weightlessness." Its effect was somewhat similar to "Floating Balloon," allowing people or objects to become weightless and float. However, its range was wider than "Floating Balloon," affecting people and objects within a five-meter radius of the prop holder, with a time limit of ten seconds.
Although both were C-grade props, "Controlled Weightlessness" was clearly much more useful.
However, he already had several B-grade props, so C-grade props weren't particularly eye-catching anymore.
What he currently lacked were props suitable for combat. The Crimson Sword was convenient to use, but its weaknesses were too easily spotted and easily guarded against.
Apart from combat props, Evolution Agent was also something he urgently needed. Compared to other players of the same level, his 30% evolution rate was on the low side.
He put down the items on the desk and went up to the study on the third floor.
Using the "key" to open the "lock," he entered the partitioned space within the castle. He then picked up V. Vanshaw's photo album again and flipped to the page where the stone was kept.
This irregular black stone had a luster that looked more like metal. He had searched for relevant information online before, but there was no matching ore of the same type. So he didn't know what it was used for and had simply left it there untouched.
However, after the "Nuwa Stone" incident in Clown City, he had a new definition for this ore.
A stone that V. Vanshaw had deliberately collected was certainly not a simple ore. With the Nuwa Stone as a precedent, this could also be a special ore capable of affecting biological traits.
Wearing the Nuwa Stone allowed the King Fungus inside his body to continuously reproduce, achieving a permanent detoxification effect. He wondered what this stone's function was.
Of course, Xu Huo didn't expect it to have the same effect as the Nuwa Stone. However, ore was undoubtedly a very important resource in the game. Advanced energy weapons, and even high-level props, might use ore as raw material.
But V. Vanshaw had always been an enemy of the Game Government. The things he left behind should be of utmost importance.
He took out the diamond key and rubbed the numbers on its bottom: E27-001-01. This was a fairly broad address, corresponding to Area 01 of Sub-district 001 under Wormhole Point E27. A game district would be divided into smaller areas, but relative to a specific location, the range was very large.
The address was vague, but the diamond key appeared to be specially made. He didn't know if it would be easy to find.
Xu Huo took Vanshaw's arson news article from District 001 out of the photo album and left the partitioned space.