Xu Huo had never met Dr. Deng with his true face, and of course, he had no intention of doing so for the time being. Dr. Deng was not trustworthy, yet the knowledge he possessed in the field of potions was something Xu Huo needed.
Whether to kill or keep this man wasn’t such a pressing issue; there was no need to deal with him just yet. It was better to see what he planned to do first.
After making a noncommittal appointment with no set time, Xu Huo put the matter aside.
Next, he prepared to deal with the Ghost Shadow he had brought back from the Deep Blue Laboratory.
He had Mr. Dong prepare a sealed room, and upon entering, Xu Huo took out the Ghost Shadow from the luggage compartment.
The thing could envelop faces, so he first put on the "Oxygen Supply." While in the luggage compartment, the Ghost Shadow was relatively well-behaved, but as soon as he let go, it careened around the room like an exploded balloon. Finding nowhere to go, it slapped itself against the wall, moving a step for every step Xu Huo took.
The Ghost Shadow looked like an unfinished painting; at first glance, it seemed quite realistic, but it couldn’t withstand closer scrutiny, good for a scare only at a glance.
Xu Huo knocked twice on the door panel, and the room began to shrink.
The Ghost Shadow sensed something was amiss and started to run all over the walls. Unfortunately, it couldn’t escape no matter how it ran, and instead, it was getting closer and closer to Xu Huo.
Noticing that it mainly tried to avoid him and had not taken the initiative to attack, Xu Huo paused and said, "You can’t only be powerful in that laboratory, can you?"
The Ghost Shadow stayed flat against the wall, dead still, as if acknowledging his words.
"Then what’s the use of catching you?" Xu Huo said with displeasure as if he had made a very unprofitable deal, then said to the outside, "Lock it up."
The already small room that could only accommodate three or four people suddenly split in half from the middle, confining the Ghost Shadow to the other side. Hearing the thumping against the wall, Xu Huo raised an eyebrow, "Well, it’s got quite some energy."
After leaving the room, he said to Mr. Dong, "Please keep it locked up for a few days."
Mr. Dong nodded, and as he closed the door, he asked, "Should I prepare Madame Butterfly’s meal for today?"
Xu Huo heard the hint of wanting to see him off in his question, but then there was the sound of a car stopping outside. He smiled and said, "I’m afraid you’ll have to prepare as usual, make the normal meals, maybe she’ll leave if she loses her adversarial mindset."
Mr. Dong appeared somewhat reluctant, but quickly agreed to do as he had said.
Downstairs, indeed, Bai Kou had returned, bringing with her a pile of product boxes full of her clothes and shoes, which she unapologetically laid across the living room sofa.
Seeing Xu Huo and Mr. Dong come downstairs, she took out one of the boxes, "This is your suit."
Xu Huo was quite surprised, "There’s no need to be so formal; I can prepare my own."
"No need to thank me," Bai Kou said with a smile. "Duke Tal picked it out for you."
As soon as Xu Huo opened it, he knew why the Duke had been so kind as to prepare a suit for him—a bright red suit with matching shoes, something no normal person would wear even to a wedding.
"Are you going to wear it?" Bai Kou asked casually.
"Do I even have to say?" Xu Huo put the box aside carelessly and asked her, "Are you interested in taking a trip to the orphanage?"
Bai Kou immediately understood his intentions, "You want to use charity to knock on the door of the Nobles’ circle in Zone 011?"
"It depends," Xu Huo said as he took his coat and umbrella from Mr. Dong.
Bai Kou showed little interest and deliberately ordered some complicated meals from Mr. Dong before heading upstairs.
Xu Huo didn’t mind, and went to the welfare institute alone.
The last time he’d taken those children to the welfare institute, the place was crowded and in disarray, and the staff were reluctant to take in more children. But today, everything was clean both inside and out.
He stopped a passing employee, "Where have all the children gone?"
"There are guests visiting today; they are in the auditorium," the employee, who seemed to remember him, said, "The two kids you brought here are hiding in their room and being uncooperative. Are you here to take them away this time?"
Xu Huo shook his head, and the employee went off towards the auditorium with a stern face.
Xu Huo turned to find the dormitory. Noble patrons typically funded the institute, so the accommodation was decent. When he arrived at the door, he saw the two children squatting in front of their bed, staring blankly at the sky outside, with some scattered mechanical parts on the bed and floor.
The younger one noticed him first and exclaimed in surprise, "Uncle Clown!"
The older one also turned his head at the words but was more restrained and simply called him uncle.
Xu Huo put down the daily necessities he had bought for them, "What are you doing staying here?"
"We’re doing manual labor," the older Yang Qing said. "This can be exchanged for money."
"Why aren’t you in the auditorium? I heard the visiting guests have prepared gifts for every child," Xu Huo said.
"It’s all stuff that looks good but is useless," Yang Qing said. "And if it’s worth anything, the welfare institute staff wouldn’t give it to us anyway."
"Uncle Clown, I don’t want to stay here; I want to go home," the younger Lü Sihao asked tentatively. "Has my dad come back?"
The welfare institute checked the children’s identification upon entry; if they had family, they wouldn’t be admitted.
"Wait until you’re older, then go back and see for yourself," said Xu Huo before glancing outside, where someone was approaching.
"...This is the children’s dormitory; every standard is strictly in accordance with government requirements, and we’ve also prepared different scents from Monday to Sunday to ensure they can sleep peacefully," said the director of the welfare institute, all smiles as he spoke to a middle-aged noblewoman. His face fell, however, when his eyes fell on the group inside the dormitory, especially when he saw the items on the bed that hadn’t been cleaned up in time.
"What is this?" the noblewoman asked, looking at the things on the bed. "Do the children need to do manual labor? Isn’t the government subsidy and our donations enough for these children’s education?"
The director hurriedly laughed it off, saying it wasn’t the case, and that this was just a pastime for the kids, not a requirement of the welfare institute.
"Is the lady truly concerned for these children?" Xu Huo interrupted the director and addressed the noblewoman.
The noblewoman looked at him, "And you are?"
"A passerby," Xu Huo stepped forward, smiling, "Instead of questioning the truth of the matter, why doesn’t the lady consider replacing the director? After all, without a change of personnel, even if he promises not to have the children labor to subsidize the welfare institute in the future, he will think of other ways to recoup the losses. If his anger falls on the children, aren’t they even more innocent?"
"Losing their parents is sad enough; surely the lady feels that they are already suffering the pain of their parents’ deaths at such a young age, that’s why you came here personally. Given that, why expose the children to the adult world so soon?"