Chapter 45 - The Secret Room

Red furred, that was Sima Xiao’er first shaking his head and then crazily trying to bite Xu Huo: This person clearly knew that he was a player, yet acted as if nothing was amiss, not even planning to let him out!

Xu Huo grabbed his pig’s snout with a large hand and said coldly, “If you wish to be discovered by the Skinning Artisan, then by all means continue to make a fuss.

The person who just killed the pig was the Skinning Artisan—do you want to know how he got that title?”

Sima Xiao’er stiffened, then began to scrawl on the ground with his forehoof.

Without needing to see, Xu Huo knew what he wanted to say, and said, “I can’t let you out for now.

An incomplete suture might delay the fusion with the pigskin.

Those people outside are ticketed players and won’t care about the life and death of the ones in the pigpen.

If you want to save the others, you’ll have to listen to me.”

After hesitating for two seconds, Sima Xiao’er finally nodded.

“You too,” Xu Huo said, turning to glance at the pigs crowding around.

“If you want to get out alive, you’ll have to listen to me.”

A group of pig heads frantically bobbed up and down.

“The later I’m discovered, the greater the opportunity to save people,” he patted the head of Red furred.

“You stay here and coordinate with me.”

“I’m leaving first, I’ll come back in the evening.”

After he spoke, he silently flipped from the pigpen to the outside orchard.

The Hao Wei Dao Fresh Meat Supply Factory was situated on a higher elevation of the hillside surrounded by numerous fruit trees; below the hillside, on the left side of the factory, there was also a river.

Around the river was an open area, and the trees extended outward into a forest.

Xu Huo glanced in that direction, circled around the warehouse and slaughterhouse to the front of the factory, and entered the front office.

Inside the office was a desk, behind which a bookshelf stood.

One side held philosophical and anatomical books, the other was filled with erotic gossip magazines and photo albums.

He casually pulled out two books, flipped through them, and then put them back in place before he turned his attention to the items on the desk.

To the left were stacked ledgers, and writing implements, such as paper, pen, and a little knife, arranged neatly; to the right lay a radio, a water cup, and a telephone placed haphazardly.

In front of the desk were two exquisitely material leather sofas, sandwiching a fragrant solid wood coffee table.

The teaware was delicate, the teapot didn’t contain any brewed tea, and the cups were evenly spaced around the teapot.

Directly opposite the wall hung a portrait of the Skinning Artisan; a shelf below it held a vase with fresh flowers in it.

This office was tidy and meticulous, creating a sense of dissonance.

Not having much time, Xu Huo didn’t linger.

He turned on the radio, setting the volume to the lowest, and began going through the ledgers while he listened.

In the ledger, orders sprawled across at least twenty different restaurants and shops, with delivery dates spread over three months.

The earliest order was due in three days—Bauhinia Restaurant wanted six six-month-old piglets, requesting the Skinning Artisan to flay their skin while they were still alive, and make sure the skin was wrapped around the piglets in a way that wouldn’t affect the customers’ appetite.

Xu Huo’s gaze settled on the emphasized words “appetite” for two seconds before closing the ledger.

By that time, the radio had finished the weather report and switched to current affairs news.

“…It is reported that the highest administrative official of this district has stepped down, and the successor is the grandson of Carmen Field, known as ‘Feld Morningstar’: Kairo Field.

He arrived this afternoon at 1 PM with his seven wives.”

“The lady who will soon become his eighth wife, from the most prestigious Jin Family of this district, Miss Jin Xue’er, personally greeted them and expressed her warm welcome to Kairo Field and his seven wives…”

“…Kairo Field’s arrival has led to quite a few personnel changes…”

Listening to the news, Xu Huo’s expression fluctuated several times.

As expected, the Dimensional Rift game not only can use instances to invade the real world, but it has also built a societal system, with people managing this society, complete with money and consumption.

Game administrators, players, and even ordinary people can all become part of this societal system.

Now, Xu Huo was beginning to believe what Professor Han had said on the preliminary examination train, that perhaps the game originated from an advanced civilization.

“Thud!” A sound came from the inner room, and a woman’s voice, blurred, said, “…stop looking… get to work first…”

Xu Huo immediately stood up, restored everything he touched to its original state, and left the office the way he came.

As he passed the slaughter room, he saw that the other two players had already returned to the workshop, and the four were cleaning.

Looking at the sky, he picked up the sack and walked out towards the orchard, choosing a hidden spot to stash it away.

The Skinning Artisan came back quickly; following him, the face of Yang Can was so swollen his eyes could hardly open.

The other players didn’t dare to ask any questions because the Skinning Artisan was in a fury.

“You useless bunch, can’t even sweep the floor clean!”

“You dare to apply for a job like this?

The one willing to hire you must be out of their mind!”

“No dinner tonight, you’ll all work through the night!”

After saying that, he slammed the door and locked the workshop’s front door.

“Are you okay?” Xian Dazhi asked Yang Can.

Yang Can opened his mouth and pointed inside, “Two teeth knocked out, just because I didn’t thread the bait right.”

The others fell silent, and after a while, Qin An said, “If we don’t clean this place up tonight, I reckon we’ll all get slapped tomorrow.”

Hearing this made everyone’s teeth ache, and Yang Can asked, “Did you guys find anything?”

“Ask Tang Pei,” Zou Weichang said, nodding toward the female player.

“To the right of the corridor in front is the cold storage and the office; to the left leads to a large fur room, full of whole skins of rare animals, some so well treated they shine, probably the Skinning Artisan’s collection,” Tang Pei said.

“The very back is the bedroom.

Qin An and I measured it, and the bedroom is only half the length of the fur room, so there should be a hidden room on one side.

Compared to the furs outside, the real collection should be in there,” Tang Pei continued.

“Did you get in?

What’s inside?” Xian Dazhi quickly asked.

Tang Pei shook her head, “Couldn’t open it.

We tried every mechanism we could think of, no use.”

“Don’t you have a master key?”

Tang Pei exhaled, “Qin An used his X-ray vision, and the hidden room is almost as secure as a bank vault.

The door itself is half a meter thick, we couldn’t even find a keyhole, so no way to pick the lock.”

The disappointment was evident on the faces of the other three players.

Yang Can, with a twisted mouth, said, “Thought this task would be the easiest, didn’t expect it to be this tough.”

A door and wall comparable to a bank’s vault excluded almost any form of brute force.

Although they were Level D Players, they had no heavy-duty weapons at their disposal.

“We’ll have to figure out a way to open that door,” Qin An said.

“Otherwise, even if we forced the door open, we wouldn’t be able to get to the collection before the Skinning Artisan takes care of us first.”

“Ask Peng Fengnian,” someone suggested.

Tang Pei nodded, took out a paper phone and put it to her ear.

Before she could explain the situation, her expression changed.

After a while, she said to the others, “Peng Fengnian says, there’s another player here.”