Chapter 154: Exchange of Clues

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Exchange of CluesNewcomers to the city who hear those whispered tales of terror that waft through the streets and alleys tend to have one of two reactions, most would probably not take it seriously, in a tourist city, it’s normal wanting to make a quick buck.

Then there are those like the two burly men and Wang Qiao, along with Gao Baimei, who believed the stories and were so scared they dared not check into any hotel.

Sun Jirou belonged to the former category, which is why she didn’t pay much attention when Xu Huo got serious about talking about the restaurant’s story.

Now, seeing his attitude, she wasn’t sure if he truly believed what the locals were saying or if he had simply avoided the Bear’s Paw Restaurant by luck.

"Aren’t we all in the same boat now?" Wang Qiao said, "What good does hiding clues do for you? You can’t possibly complete the task alone in this vast Fairy Tale City, can you?"

"You have a point." Xu Huo said with a smug wag of his finger, "Even without you, I can complete the task. I’m here merely to offer you a chance to catch a free ride."

While he spoke, he even cast a glance at Sun Jirou, "It all depends on whether you’re smart enough to take the opportunity."

Despite his ulterior motives, Sun Jirou wasn’t offended, "Terms can be negotiated."

The rest of the group looked at each other and acquiesced.

Wang Qiao, grudgingly, said, "The precondition is you have to ensure that your clues are useful."

"Of course," Xu Huo pointed at the notice board, then said to Sun Jirou, "Go take a look over there, and you’ll know I didn’t trick you yesterday."

"It’s just a notice board," Gao Baimei looked over indifferently, not understanding his point.

Shen Tai, who stood beside Sun Jirou, walked over and circled the notice board for half a round before he noticed the articles hidden within. He turned around and said, "These are all missing persons rewards."

Sun Jirou and the others hurried over and saw that the back of the notice board was plastered with palm-sized flyers, all different missing persons notices, roughly close to a hundred in total.

"So many locals have gone missing?" Tao Chengxin frowned.

"How do you know they’re locals?" Gao Baimei asked reflexively.

"Who would offer a reward for finding tourists from other places?" Wang Qiao said impatiently, "Only locals would look for someone missing."

"You’re right," Sun Jirou also noticed the pattern, "All these people disappeared near the residential areas."

She looked at Xu Huo, "You discovered this yesterday?"

Xu Huo snapped his fingers, "How about that? Is my sincerity sufficient?"

The group returned to their seats and began to discuss once more.

"What do you want?" Sun Jirou got straight to the point.

"You can trade items or pay for it," Xu Huo said, "I’m easy to talk to. If the clues I provide are useless, I can return the items to you after the task is over, on the condition that if anyone completes the task, they have to take me with them."

"How can you be certain that someone will tell you the way to complete the game after they finish the task?" Tao Chengxin said, "This instance might not be a group instance, the first to complete will undoubtedly leave the instance. Why would they tell you?"

"I’m not certain," Xu Huo said nonchalantly, "That’s why I want to collect a little benefit in advance."

"But if this instance is a group instance, and if one person completes it, then everyone does, wouldn’t that save us a lot of time?"

"That seems logical, there’s only three days for the task, and almost one is already gone. We haven’t found anything yet," Tang Yuan pondered.

Sun Jirou didn’t care about the money, "How many White Notes do you want?"

"You decide," Xu Huo chuckled, "The more you give, the more I’ll tell you; the less you give, the less I’ll say."

"Don’t be too greedy," Wang Qiao said with disapproval, "We have some clues in our hands too."

"You can also sell them to me, or trade," Xu Huo said, "But whether I buy them or not, that’s up to me."

The first to take out money was Tao Chengxin, who called for a car and, once inside, activated the sunshade mode to block the outside view.

"You can give a total price," she said, "If it’s not enough money, I can exchange other information with you."

"Five thousand," Xu Huo said.

Tao Chengxin hesitated for a moment before giving three thousand, "I’ve inquired a bit about the government office. It turns out that the government personnel of Fairy Tale City, except for the top tier, have all been replaced. The replacements are players from other districts, all belonging to one company."

"What company?"

"I couldn’t find that out," she said. "People from the government office hardly ever come to Fairy Tale City, except for transportation and receiving supplies."

After a brief contemplation, Xu Huo said, "I’ll count it as two thousand."

"I have two clues. First, the task seems to be related to the pollution event that occurred twenty years ago. Second, the person telling the story must be at least thirty-five years old."

Tao Chengxin was not surprised by the first clue, but the second startled her, "Why thirty-five?"

"I can’t tell you that," Xu Huo said with a smile. "Unless you want to trade some other clues."

Tao Chengxin hesitated for a moment before saying, "You give more specific details, I have a trait that can discern the truthfulness of speech. Even if we find the storyteller, someone needs to determine whether what they say is true or false."

Xu Huo’s interest was piqued, "To what extent?"

"Anything over twenty percent is judged as a lie." So Tao Chengxin knew he wasn’t lying.

After thinking for a few seconds, Xu Huo said, "Fine, I can share a bit with you."

"The pollution event from twenty years ago could actually date back two or three years more. Only those over thirty-five could possibly know the full story. The story required for the task should fall within this scope."

Tao Chengxin gave him a thoughtful look and, after a few seconds of silence, got out of the car.

The next to arrive was Sun Jirou. Without waiting for her to speak, Xu Huo went straight to the point, "Ten Thousand White Bills, the price is firm."

Sun Jirou didn’t bargain at all and paid the money directly.

Xu Huo still shared the two clues and then said with a smiling face, "Seeing as we are on the same path, I can tell you an extra piece of information."

Sun Jirou stared at him.

"This instance involves more than nine players."

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Sun Jirou pulled at the corner of her mouth and walked away.

The three who came after only bought half of the clues and set a time and place to meet again. Wang Qiao and Gao Baimei walked away cursing and swearing.

"Thank you for your patronage," Xu Huo said, beaming as he saw off the few people and then took a taxi to the largest shopping mall in the center of Fairy Tale City.

He stayed there for about half an hour before coming out and contacting the Guide who had given him a business card earlier.

The two met at True Love Plaza, and Xu Huo spent some money to hire the lady in the white dress as a tour guide to introduce the history and culture of Fairy Tale City.

They spent the entire afternoon strolling around Fairy Tale City. By the afternoon, petal rain began to fall in Fairy Tale City.

Artificially-induced petal rain.

A few elliptical airships hovered over Fairy Tale City, occasionally releasing small flying machines that carried water and petals to sprinkle evenly towards the ground. The entire city was filled with the scent of flowers within ten minutes.

The lady in the white dress caught a few water-laden petals in her hand and chewed them. Seeing Xu Huo watching her, she explained, "This is also a fixed program in Fairy Tale City. This rainwater is specially made sweet water and is edible."

"The customs of Fairy Tale City are well preserved," Xu Huo commented.

The lady in the white dress shook her head, "It’s just some formalities, not as good as before. I’ve heard from the elderly about what Fairy Tale City used to be like. That was the real Fairy Tale City."

Xu Huo’s face broke into a smile, saying casually, "Shouldn’t the people in a fairy tale never age? I haven’t seen a single old person on the streets."