Chapter 705: The Reformed Poster
(To be revised later) "Of course I want it," Xu Huo said. "But compared to that, my life is more important."
Dr. Deng studied him. "I didn't think you were someone afraid of death."
"This has nothing to do with being afraid of death. Everything I do is based on me being alive. What use is an evolution agent to a dead person?"
Dr. Deng clearly hadn't expected this outcome. He stood up with some anger. "For a Perfect Evolution Potion, countless people would risk their lives. I never thought you wouldn't even take a small risk. I misjudged you!"
"Taking risks has to be worth it. You yourself said the information might not be true," Xu Huo continued. "Besides, how many people in the game are trying to find Dr. Wu? Why would he happen to appear in a district that's about to fully merge with the game?"
"I had my doubts too, but this lead is worth following. I have connections. Didn't Deep Blue Laboratory also find traces of Dr. Wu?" Dr. Deng looked at him probing. "Are you really not curious at all? Are you so sure the information is false?"
"I just don't believe it would be that coincidental," Xu Huo said. "How many players would go to a district undergoing game fusion? I'm more inclined to think someone is fishing."
Dr. Deng's expression shifted, but he quickly said, "Since you don't believe it, forget it!"
He turned to leave, and Xu Huo didn't try to hold him back with any reverse psychology. Instead, he had Mr. Dong escort him out.
Dr. Deng paused for a few seconds after walking out the door, looked back, and then left in frustration.
"Sir, are you not interested in the Perfect Evolution Potion?" Mr. Dong returned to ask.
Xu Huo was very interested. What he lacked right now was the Perfect Evolution Potion, but Dr. Deng wasn't trustworthy.
His identity was questionable to begin with. Although he claimed to have been fired by Stellar Corporation, that might not be true. In this game, probably no one desired the Perfect Evolution Potion more than Stellar Corporation. Setting a few decoys was nothing. Moreover, as a "dismissed" researcher, his network was a bit too extensive.
Of course, the information might not be false. Dr. Deng had been tracking Dr. Wu, so he might know more "inside stories" than others. But coming to him, a D-level player, on his own initiative seemed a bit strange.
Anyway, the matter in District 009 hadn't been settled yet. It wouldn't hurt to wait a couple more days.
Xu Huo paused and asked Mr. Dong, "How is that 'ghost' doing?"
He was referring to the "Ghost Face" prop he brought back from Deep Blue Laboratory. He had stored it directly in the luggage compartment and brought it back. Like the Painting Woman and Mr. Dong, it had some autonomy, though it didn't seem very smart. So last time he returned, he handed it over to Mr. Dong, and it had been locked up in the castle ever since.
Mr. Dong looked toward the wall. The wall there automatically extended, its surface melting like mud, layer after layer peeling off before quickly spitting out the "Ghost Shadow."
The "Ghost Shadow" stuck to the floor was exceptionally well-behaved, not moving at all, not even activating its half-real, half-fake ghost face. It lay there like a piece of scrap paper.
"Given up resisting?" Xu Huo walked over. But before he could crouch down, the paper suddenly whooshed up and flew toward his face to wrap around it!
This thing's favorite trick was wrapping around people's faces. He dodged to the side, but at that moment, the Painting Woman ran down from upstairs, and the two papers unexpectedly faced each other.
The "Ghost Shadow" that had flown halfway turned around and fled, but it was too late. The Painting Woman reached out and grabbed it, though she threw it away again the next second.
The freed "Ghost Shadow" immediately stuck to the wall and scurried away, until it was sure it couldn't escape the castle. Then it shrank into the farthest corner and stayed still.
Meanwhile, the Painting Woman nervously checked her new clothes before smiling at Xu Huo. "Do I look good?"
Xu Huo nodded and pointed at the dirty thing in the corner. "I can't catch it. Get it down tomorrow and wash it clean."
The Painting Woman had helped Mr. Dong with work during the day and didn't think anything was wrong now. When she used to live with Xu Huo, she was the one who did the cleaning. So she went upstairs, changed out of her new clothes, put on an apron, came down, and grabbed the "Ghost Shadow," declaring she couldn't stand such a dirty thing running around her house.
The "Ghost Shadow" completely lost its ability to resist in her hands. It was pinned down in the bathtub and washed for half an hour, blow-dried, and sprayed with perfume before being brought to Xu Huo's room.
Xu Huo was about to sleep at this point. Seeing the Painting Woman squeeze out from under the doorframe with the "Ghost Shadow," he said, "Forgot our previous agreement?"
The Painting Woman looked aggrieved. "I didn't let anyone see me."
"I said you can't come in and out of my room freely. Did you knock?" Xu Huo looked at her.
The Painting Woman quickly nodded, then dragged the "Ghost Shadow" out and knocked on the door.
Xu Huo pulled up his blanket. "If there's something, talk about it tomorrow."
There was silence for two seconds outside the door, then the knocking started again. After a while, Mr. Dong came upstairs and took her away.
But early the next morning, when Xu Huo opened his door, he saw the Painting Woman squatting by his door, playing with the "Ghost Shadow" out of boredom. The poor "Ghost Shadow" was balled up by her and didn't dare to stretch out, rolling around wrinkled on the floor.
"Didn't sleep?" Xu Huo asked.
The Painting Woman didn't need sleep. She handed him the balled-up "Ghost Shadow." "It was disobedient, so I taught it a lesson."
Xu Huo reached out to take it. This time, the "Ghost Shadow" didn't run but obediently stayed in his hand.
He easily stored it in his item slot and opened his game panel to check the details.
[Congratulations, player Passerby A, for obtaining a special item.]
[The Reformed Poster: Its creator was a famous stalker who had been imprisoned three times for following others. Each time she was released, she declared that the law would never make her give up her hobby—until she fell in love with her last target, a beautiful and kind-hearted person. She made this poster, which could change its appearance based on the holder's inner beauty, hoping that when the woman on the poster became a peerless beauty, the target would accept her feelings.]
[But who would ever fall in love with a stalker? After that, she believed that a beautiful face and a beautiful heart could not coexist. So she changed the poster's function and gave it the ability to kill its target.]
*
[As a stalker, she really has reformed, hasn't she?]
"What a tragic person," Xu Huo said after reading, sympathizing with the item's owner for three seconds before studying how to use this special item.
The "Reformed Poster's" greatest function was tracking, and it was much more convenient than items like the Screaming Chicken or Balloon. By displaying a target's photo, portrait, or some particularly distinctive features, or by directly identifying the real person, the poster could track them.
Most of the time, it would stick to solid objects like walls, floors, or furniture to move. Of course, it could also detach itself. Its only flaw was that besides tracking, it also had a "killer" function, often taking the opportunity to kill its target.