Xu Huo quickly finished his portion and only when he started pulling over the second plate did he ask, "The castle has been turned upside down; has Mr. He’s body been found?"
Mr. Dong, the replica boss with absolute control over the castle, could even manipulate the building to devour players, so the fake He Pu should not be able to hide He Pu’s corpse.
"Perhaps Mr. He’s body isn’t in the hands of the fake He Pu."
Mr. Dong still showed no sign of disturbance, "The gentleman was just a passerby here; there’s no need to bother bringing him back after his departure."
After hearing this, Xu Huo felt as if that was expected; Mr. Dong seemed to care less about the real He Pu’s death and body than a normal person would.
"Will this castle continue to serve as the site for the replica?" he asked.
"No," Mr. Dong said. "The fugitive has been captured; no one else will die in this castle."
"Did you inherit this castle?"
"I am merely the butler."
"So how will this castle be dealt with moving forward?"
"Waiting for an heir."
"If this castle is auctioned, could I buy it?"
While the response was brief, Xu Huo paused for a moment before adding, "Did Mr. He leave a will?"
"Yes," Mr. Dong replied.
This answer was not too surprising; He Pu had collected so many items, it seemed unlikely he would be easily killed by a player who was involved in music. He was a man full of secrets; it was not weird that he had made arrangements for the people and things around him.
If there was a will, then the castle would not be auctioned off.
Having finished the second plate of fried rice, Xu Huo took out his lighter and lit a cigarette he had brought from Zone 014, casually asking, "Does Mr. He have any relatives in Zone 011?"
"Not sure," Mr. Dong answered, taking away the plate and meticulously wiping the already clean table with a towel.
The vast castle, bathed in warm yellow light, with a mute butler busily moving about.
Xu Huo spent some time in the dining room before heading upstairs; perhaps as Mr. Dong’s bad taste of humor, it was still the same room he had stayed in on his first night, although everything in the room had been replaced.
"What kind of special ability do you use?" Xu Huo’s hand rested on a vase with flowers. "The kind that can make objects reverse in time."
"Static Retrospection," said Mr. Dong, who was organizing brand new towels.
"It doesn’t work on living things?"
"And it can’t restore an object’s original state?"
"No, it can only maintain the appearance," Mr. Dong added another line, "Mr. Xu, you should rest early."
The next day before dawn, he went to the third floor. The room where the fake He Pu lived, and the adjacent music room, had been remodeled; it was clear Mr. Dong did not like him, and not a single original item or decoration was left.
The study was still a study, and he walked in to continue looking through the notes left by He Pu.
After delivering breakfast, Mr. Dong silently departed, and after looking through the notes for a while, Xu Huo raised his head to look outside the window, noticing that Mr. Dong had gone to the Garden Maze.
The Garden Maze behind him was set on fire, the burned rose plants could not come back to life, and Mr. Dong was clearing the charred remains to plant new ones.
Xu Huo suddenly felt a pain in his face, the facelift mask automatically fell off as if scraping a layer of skin directly from his face, swelling it up, his cheeks bulging as if he had stuffed buns in them. Even the self-healing potion didn’t work, so he had to go to the restroom to apply cold water compresses.
Approaching noon, Mr. Dong came to deliver lunch to him. Seeing his face, Mr. Dong brought some anti-swelling ointment. Although it didn’t reduce the swelling, at least it wasn’t painful anymore.
He stayed in the study all day. During this time, Ran Ying contacted him once, but he did not answer the call and indicated through a text message that he was not available at the moment.
Ran Ying was inviting him to dine again.
This time, Xu Huo declined, frankly stating that he was short on money, and that it was improper to keep letting a girl pick up the tab.
Ran Ying sent a video message. She had just taken a shower, wrapping herself in a short, tight bathrobe and absentmindedly drying her hair. She said, "If you’re short on cash, shall I get you a job?"
"It’s not going to be with the Enforcement Department, is it?"
"Although your player level isn’t high, you could handle an office job with no problem. We offer high salaries here; work for half a month and you’ll have the money to treat me to dinner."
The last sentence was said in a teasing tone. Xu Huo didn’t directly answer the question, but replied with "Busy with something."
He was more interested in the Game Government Base than the Enforcement Department.
But there was no rush.
Dinner was much more lavish than breakfast or lunch, and Mr. Dong even said, "The new chef has started working."
"So soon, the inheritance matter has been settled?" Xu Huo paused for a moment.
Mr. Dong responded with silence.
For the next few days, Xu Huo stayed at Rose Castle, spending most of his time immersed in books and notes. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any information about the Perfect Potion in He Pu’s possessions, but he learned a lot about the game.
He also felt that Mr. Dong was behaving strangely, treating him not at all as a guest but more solicitously, like before with the fake He Pu—no, even more meticulously, tending to every detail of his daily life.
About the matter with the chef: at first, he thought it was just a regular hiring, but they changed people twice in the middle, and the final chef’s cooking was more to his taste.
He had tested Mr. Dong along the way but got nothing out of it.
Strange as it was, Rose Castle was a very safe place, and he had no immediate plans to leave.
"I will leave this afternoon," Xu Huo said to Mr. Dong at lunchtime.
"Do you need anything prepared for you?" Mr. Dong poured him a glass of water and then asked, "What would you like for dinner?"
"Thank you, but it’s not necessary; I’m not sure I’ll come back," said Xu Huo.
Mr. Dong didn’t say anything more, politely seeing him to the door and watching from afar until he had walked a good distance away.
Xu Huo withdrew his gaze, his entirely new, ordinary face calm as he took a vehicle to leave the castle. According to his arrangement with Deng Xuan, he went to the transitional area between the Ancient City District and the main city.
He got off earlier than planned and went into a previously chosen shopping mall building to observe the square outside from the tenth floor.
After the agreed time, Deng Xuan appeared and entered a drink shop, sitting by the window to wait.
In the main city zone, all storefronts have partition facilities, and even a single-person seat can activate frosted glass privacy screens that prevent outsiders from peeking. For Deng Xuan, waiting for someone, sitting by the window made her very conspicuous.
Xu Huo effortlessly spotted two individuals among the moving crowd who were watching Deng Xuan; all three made eye contact and seemed to recognize each other.
Only when Deng Xuan began to check the time more frequently did he go downstairs, riding on his rented flying skateboard into the drink shop.
Deng Xuan appeared somewhat impatient, speaking into her communicator, "I don’t think he’s going to show up..."
Before she could finish, she suddenly saw a man dressed in sportswear, carrying a skateboard, heading towards her.
It was normal for players to change their appearance. Deng Xuan was about to speak when the man veered off toward the counter and bought a juice.