Free Web NovelChapter 2495: Chapter 2495: Trapped in Pharmaceutical City
The agreed meeting place was a park, with a relatively open view and a large flow of people. It was proposed by the cat owner who said it was close to his office.
It’s unclear who posted the missing cat notice, and the cat owner might not be real, but in search of clues, everyone decided to go to the meeting.
The Wan Family duo and the elderly lady stayed near the park, while Xu Huo and his two companions entered the park. Bubble Bean actually bought a cat to show, partially concealed, making it hard to tell if it was real.
After waiting for a while under an apricot tree, a middle-aged man hurriedly approached, first introducing himself and then asking to see the cat.
Following Xu Huo’s signal, Bubble Bean handed the cat to the man. After inspecting it, the man stood up disappointedly and said, "This is not my cat."
"Not?" Bubble Bean raised an eyebrow. "That’s a pity. If I can’t find the owner to exchange for money, I guess I’ll have to stew it for a bit of soup."
The middle-aged man’s face changed, and he quickly said, "Since you don’t like this cat, why not sell it to me? I can offer you double the market price."
Bubble Bean’s face hardened, "Why should I sell it to you?"
"My cat is lost and can’t be found. This cat looks similar; taking it back could provide some comfort." The man said, "Please sell it to me. I’ll offer you three times the price!"
Even though three times the price didn’t come close to his reward, Bubble Bean didn’t trouble him further. Instead of giving the cat, Bubble Bean handed over a Cat Whisker Fruit, "Compared to the cat, you want this more, right?"
The man looked confused, "Is this a gift?"
"I didn’t sell you the cat, so how could it be a gift?" Bubble Bean impatiently pushed him, "Do you want it or not? Someone entrusted me to deliver it! I searched several places but couldn’t find the person. Since the cat is yours, this should be yours too!"
After speaking, he dropped the Cat Whisker Fruit and turned to leave.
The middle-aged man hurriedly called after him, "This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s change locations!"
They moved to a restaurant, where the middle-aged man first ordered some dishes and then said, "This restaurant offers a high level of privacy. If the guests do not make requests, the waitstaff won’t disturb them."
Once the dishes were served, the man carefully examined the Cat Whisker Fruit and said, "Are you sure this is the Cat Whisker Fruit someone entrusted you to deliver? Not to question unnecessarily, I just want to confirm the identity of the person who sent it. Was it a young person?"
"An old lady," Bubble Bean said while eating, "An old lady with no sense."
The man choked for a moment, carefully inspected the Cat Whisker Fruit, and after some hesitation, asked, "Did she mention anything else? Perhaps about the information on this Cat Whisker Fruit?"
"How would I know?" Bubble Bean said, "Anyway, all these fruits look the same to me. Can’t you tell if it’s real or fake?"
His argument made a lot of sense, so the middle-aged man began closely examining the carvings on the fruit’s core, seemingly with difficulty. He invited Xu Huo and the others to eat while saying he needed some time. If the Cat Whisker Fruit was real, he promised to reward them handsomely.
Throughout the entire process, Xu Huo remained silent, absentmindedly sipping water while watching the middle-aged man act.
After about a dozen minutes, the man solemnly said, "The information on the Cat Whisker Fruit is very important to me. I appreciate you bringing it tirelessly."
Saying that, he opened his terminal, "I can pay you the reward right now."
Not refusing a free offer, Bubble Bean accepted it using his terminal. For delivering a Cat Whisker Fruit, it was indeed a generous reward, though not enough to be tempting.
"Alright, our business is done." After the meal, Xu Huo and his companions got up to leave. The middle-aged man didn’t ask them to stay, politely seeing them off.
Afterward, the man indeed walked in the opposite direction, and no one suddenly appeared to follow them.
"Could it really be true?" Bubble Bean wondered.
"If it were real, he wouldn’t have stared at the Cat Whisker Fruit for so long." Xu Huo had already asked the old lady which Cat Whisker Fruit was real. To ensure their success, he left the real one with the old lady, using the fake one to fish for information.
Whether the person who came was genuinely there to receive the Cat Whisker Fruit or to obstruct them, they had achieved their purpose. However, the situation now wasn’t quite as they expected.
"Let’s rendezvous with them first," Xu Huo suggested.
After meeting up with the Long-haired Player, he raised a question, "Could it be they claimed the Cat Whisker Fruit was real just to reassure you?"
"I’m not sure," Xu Huo said, "The person didn’t seem to genuinely recognize that kind of writing."
"Could it be a trap to lure the old lady out?" Bubble Bean speculated.
"Very unlikely," the Long-haired Player replied. "They found us in Fengxing City, and they could probably do the same in Pharmaceutical City. They might find it inconvenient to act here, but they could easily monitor us from a range we can’t detect."
"So what’s next?" Bubble Bean sneered, "Did they just invite us for dinner?"
"Didn’t you feel anything was off during dinner?" the Long-haired Player asked.
"Everything seemed fine," Xu Huo said. "There was no suspicious item in the food, like poison or micro trackers."
The Long-haired Player felt uneasy, immediately suggested, "Let’s stay near the Municipal Government."
There’s no point in running anymore, and the nearby stations are all small. Those tracking them may tear any further disguise apart. It’s better to stay in Pharmaceutical City; at least it’s not their opponent’s territory.
Besides, the cat the old lady spoke of hasn’t been found yet. Without delivering the Cat Whisker Fruit, they need to think about their next steps.
As they headed toward the Municipal Government, a street they passed suddenly emitted a large volume of smoke. The thick scent mixed with medicinal odors filled the air, engulfing them like a snowstorm before quickly dispersing.
"This area is dense with pharmaceutical factories that often release such smoke, though it doesn’t impact the environment," the Long-haired Player explained.
The people on the street were unfazed, resuming their activities once the fog dissipated.
"Something feels off," Bubble Bean instinctively said, "Should we change locations?"
Looking at the smoke rising slowly into the air and dissipating, Xu Huo realized it would be the same anywhere in this city as long as they stayed.
"We can’t leave now," he said.
"Did you notice something?" Bubble Bean immediately became nervous.
Xu Huo didn’t elaborate and chose to find a hotel near the Municipal Government, running into some Law Enforcement Team members helping to find a missing player when heading upstairs. Seeing them, they assumed Xu Huo and his companions were locals and said nothing more. They advised two Outer Zone players ascending with them to be careful not to get deceived, then assured the searching player that his friend might have gone elsewhere to play and suggested waiting a bit longer.
