Players, Please Board the Train

”Did he tell you anything about the contents beforehand?”

”No.” Mr. Dong’s reply was succinct.

Xu Huo pressed a bit further but found he genuinely didn’t know. It could be an item, a potion, or something else entirely; there was no specific direction.

”Did He Pu die of illness? What illness did he have?”

”Organ failure.” Mr. Dong said, ”It was incurable.”

Xu Huo immediately realized something. ”Was it because of evolution? Did he stop taking the evolution agent?”

”The evolution agent was useless.” Mr. Dong said, ”After Mr. He Pu fell ill, the evolution agent lost its effect.”

He didn’t intend to continue this topic. ”What would you like for lunch, sir?”

”Anything is fine.” A shadow of worry clouded Xu Huo’s brow. The evolution agent lost its effect... was it because the evolution failed?

As early as in Decibel Town, he knew that some people, even after taking the evolution agent, could experience Mutant transformation or symptoms of decline. The information he saw back then involved ordinary Evolvers, not players. Thinking about it now, everyone was using a defective evolution agent, and players were similarly unable to avoid this phenomenon. It’s just that player mortality was higher, and some died in dungeons before this situation could manifest.He Pu was able to commit arson twenty-eight times; presumably, his player level wouldn’t be low either... So even high-level players might very well be unable to avoid the side effects brought by the evolution agent.

No wonder there were so many notes on potion research in the study. He Pu must have wanted to try and overcome the defects of the evolution agent himself.

He had been to so many Game Partitions... would he know about the perfect evolution agent?

Xu Huo’s heart raced for a few seconds before returning to its normal pace. He had searched through all the notes in the study and hadn’t found a single word about a perfect evolution agent. Asking Mr. Dong yielded no clarity either. He wondered if this place might still be hiding other things.

Glancing around the study, his gaze fell upon the diamond key, then shifted after a moment to the Projection map.

He stayed in the study until the afternoon before going out. Madame Butterfly was having afternoon tea in the garden and cheerfully waved him over. ”Look, these are the butterflies Duke Tal sent.”

Several golden butterflies, each as large as a palm, struggled inside a glass cabinet. They had been tied up with ribbons and placed on the table as a gift.

”They’re about to die, aren’t they?” Xu Huo went over and sat down.

”They’ll live for twenty minutes at most.” Madame Butterfly’s smile remained unchanged as she admired the butterflies’ wings fluttering rapidly in their struggle. ”The more beautiful something is, the shorter it lives.”

”Did He Pu die because of evolution side effects?” Xu Huo suddenly asked.

Madame Butterfly gave him a strange look. ”He was that old; dying of old age wouldn’t be strange.”

Xu Huo paused. ”According to the records in the photo album, his age shouldn’t exceed sixty.”

”That photo album is all about arson cases, isn’t it? He himself never appeared in them.”

Actually, even if he had appeared, it might not be possible to tell a person’s age. Even without relying on items, there were some potions that could preserve youth.

”His psychological changes.” Xu Huo said. ”He showed clear growth during his arson spree. At first, he still had sympathy for ordinary people, but it was almost invisible in the later arson cases. However, he wasn’t setting fires out of a playful mentality either; he was retaliating against the Game Government.”

”Based on his mental journey, I estimate he was under sixty. Forget players, even ordinary people who haven’t taken evolution agents don’t necessarily die at sixty, let alone the fact that his illness period likely exceeded five years.”

”He never told me his real age either.” Madame Butterfly took a sip of tea. ”I’m not his mother; why would I know such details?”

”You want to know what he left for you, don’t you?” She smiled. ”Stop beating around the bush. I won’t reveal more until you complete what I asked. Otherwise, use your clever little brain to figure it out.”

Xu Huo wasn’t in a hurry either. He poured himself a cup of tea and leaned back in his chair. ”Even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. Without any clues, it’s not called guessing; it’s called imagining out of thin air.”

Madame Butterfly pushed the pastries towards him. ”The cook Mr. Dong found has good skills.”

”How long have you known He Pu?” Xu Huo asked, feigning casualness.

”For many years.” Madame Butterfly rested her chin on her hand and thought. ”Can’t remember the specifics. He was doing well back then. I even went with him to set two fires; it was quite fun.”

”Do you know how to set fires?” she asked.

This woman clearly knew He Pu’s former identity.

Xu Huo nodded. ”I have one of his items.”

”V. Fanxiao’s Tool of Crime?” Madame Butterfly straightened up and asked. Upon receiving a confirming nod, she suddenly laughed, especially happily saying, ”Really? That’s too funny.”

After laughing, she added, ”In that case, there’s quite a fate between you two. Hard to say if it’s coincidence or inevitability.”

Xu Huo didn’t speak, shifting his gaze to the blooming roses beside them.

She could accurately name the item and knew He Pu’s past identity; their past connection ran deep.

However, it wasn’t the relationship he had previously speculated. Madame Butterfly also wasn’t as mature as she appeared; she was a genuine young woman. Their relationship seemed more like father and daughter.

But Madame Butterfly’s speech lacked the gravity one would expect towards a father; they weren’t truly father and daughter.

”Are you He Pu’s adopted daughter?” Xu Huo turned back, interrupting the person playing with the flowers.

”You’re really annoying.” Madame Butterfly let go of her hand. Blackness spread from beneath her feet. As the flower fell, the entire garden melted into the darkness along with it. The table, chairs, and teacups all vanished.

The two remained seated, facing each other. Xu Huo smiled slightly. ”Don’t be so angry. You know I’ve undergone Secondary Evolution too. Your mental attacks might not be effective against me.”

”Not necessarily.” Madame Butterfly raised her hand and clenched the air, as if pulling a zipper, opening a seam in the blackness. This zipper, lying between the two of them, also seemed to open a seam on Xu Huo’s head, as if he had become a flat photograph.

A butterfly flew in.

Madame Butterfly appeared at the entrance of a staircase. The surroundings were still black. She glanced behind her, and butterfly wings grew from her back. She flew along the steps, heading deeper.

She accelerated several times during the flight. However, the dark, spiraling staircase seemed endless. Despite having traveled a considerable distance, every place looked like the staircase entrance, with no light visible ahead or behind.

Madame Butterfly stopped. Another zipper appeared in front of her, sliding from top to bottom. The zipper opened into an oval-shaped opening, moving backward to swallow her.

Unfortunately, beyond the portal were still steps.

”Won’t you let me in?” she spoke. ”Next time, I might not be so polite.”

”Lacking that much patience? I walked for days back then.” Xu Huo’s voice sounded from the steps ahead of her. As he appeared, the steps began to transform from black to white. The snowy white color instantly spread across the entire spiral staircase. Countless bookshelves and doorways surged out from the darkness, rotating and assembling around the staircase in succession, forming complete, Circular Tower-like floors that extended deep beneath their feet, impossible to see the end at a glance.