Players, Please Board the Train

Although the S-version Potion doesn’t need to be taken multiple times within a stage like other versions of potions, an upgraded version of the potion is still required after the evolution rate is increased.

Dr. Wu definitely didn’t place the potion here to give it to the Game Government, so one of his goals might have been to create true Evolvers who aren’t controlled by the flaws of the evolution agent. If that’s the case, the possibility of him leaving clues is very high.

There are basically no personal items related to him left in the laboratory, except for these paintings he gave out everywhere. They are large quantities of repeated paintings with identical styles, things even the Bolun Family didn’t pay much attention to.

However, he looked at the paintings for a long time without being able to discern any pattern, because there were no locations, times, or other symbolic markers in each painting.

Putting the paintings away, he looked up to meet Miao Yu’s gaze. ”Is something wrong?”

Miao Yu paused. ”Want some water?”

”I have some,” Xu Huo said.

Miao Yu nodded and turned to speak with Dr. Deng.

Just then, a dry clap of thunder sounded outside. Xu Huo turned his head to look out and saw dark clouds gathering and churning above the island. It looked like heavy rain was coming soon.

Dr. Deng tapped his wristwatch. ”This rain might last until evening... Will the Ghostly Shadow appear?””The dungeon is over, that wouldn’t make sense,” Chu Yuan immediately sat up from the bed, saying nervously.

Xu Huo looked at Dr. Deng. ”You were present when Zhu Rumin died, right? Did the Ghostly Shadow appear?”

”Whether it’s the Ghostly Shadow you saw is hard to say. To me, it looked more like an item, something that could cover a face and cause suffocation,” Dr. Deng said. ”Was the Ghostly Shadow you saw like a piece of paper?”

Among those present, only Xu Huo had fought the Ghostly Shadow. Although Chu Yuan and Gan Qing had seen it, they weren’t sure what the entity actually was or how it attacked.

”If no one among you used such an item, then the few players who died on the Kong Siblings’ side were probably killed by the Ghostly Shadow,” Dr. Deng said. ”The dungeon is finished, but that doesn’t mean the Ghostly Shadow won’t continue moving around in the laboratory.”

Xu Huo had caught the Ghostly Shadow, but that ghostly thing turned into powder inside the raincoat. At the time, he thought this was the Ghostly Shadow’s escape method, but after receiving the game notification, he changed his mind. This might just be a diversionary tactic by the Ghostly Shadow.

He and Chu Yuan had seen Ghostly Shadows of different genders, leading to the intuitive assumption that either there was more than one Ghostly Shadow, or that a single Ghostly Shadow could split into two, with the two parts replacing each other. So when the Ghostly Shadow turned to powder, the most likely action would have been to treat it as a failed capture and simply scatter the powder.

He didn’t do that, so the Ghostly Shadow was still in his luggage compartment.

There probably isn’t a second Special Item here.

”Since it’s connected to the game, the Ghostly Shadow might not necessarily come from below, but it’s better to be safe. We’ll take turns keeping watch tonight,” Xu Huo said. ”If something goes wrong, everyone should leave on their own.”

Dr. Deng subconsciously moved his position next to him. ”I’ll keep watch with you.”

Chu Yuan looked at his Boss with displeasure and deliberately said to Xu Huo, ”You better be careful. This old guy is up to no good. When he came with the Kong Siblings, he was already trying to plot against them. You took him hostage, yet he doesn’t resent you and instead keeps trying to be helpful. He’s probably also brewing some nasty scheme, like poison or knockout drugs.”

Dr. Deng was quite indignant. ”My stance is firm. I was coerced by the Bolun Family and don’t want to work for them. Mr. Xu is a good person willing to protect me for a while, and I’m very grateful. Don’t think of people as so malicious!”

Chu Yuan shrugged and ignored him. Dr. Deng felt his anger hitting a soft wall, making him even angrier.

”It’s fine,” Xu Huo said, pressing a hand on Dr. Deng’s shoulder. ”I’m a player. I should be able to handle one ordinary person.”

Dr. Deng immediately stated that he needed his protection and would absolutely not look for trouble.

”I wonder if Qiu Xiangdong and Tong Jian will bring people,” Miao Yu added.

These two weren’t in the laboratory, but they also hadn’t left the island. Just before Xu Huo came in, he had noticed these two hiding in separate locations not far from the laboratory. It was unclear if they were recuperating from injuries or waiting for something.

As the saying goes, everyone should be careful.

Everyone took their healing potions and rested. By evening, it was decided that Miao Yu and Gan Qing would take the first watch, while Xu Huo and Chu Yuan would take the second watch.

Rain began falling on the island in the afternoon, and it grew heavier and heavier. Looking through the curtain of rain, one couldn’t see anything.

By dusk, the two people outside the laboratory had left, perhaps moving to another place to take shelter from the rain.

Miao Yu and Gan Qing kept the first watch. When Xu Huo and Chu Yuan took over, Dr. Deng, who hadn’t dared to sleep, hurriedly followed. Seeing him volunteer, Chu Yuan gave him the opportunity and immediately fell fast asleep himself.

”I’m going outside to clear my head,” Xu Huo said before walking out. Once outside the door, he first lit a cigarette for himself, then offered one to Dr. Deng.

”I don’t smoke much usually,” Dr. Deng said as he accepted it, lighting it and taking a deep drag. ”It’s a bit cold on the island when it rains.”

”Is that so?” Xu Huo responded casually, his gaze falling on the distant Lightning Strikes. He added, ”What do you think about flying a kite during a thunderstorm?”

Dr. Deng looked at him. ”That depends on what kind of kite you’re flying. This island has dense lightning strikes, so the probability of being hit is very high. The person flying the kite would also be electrocuted to death. But with rain this heavy, a kite definitely couldn’t get airborne.”

”True,” Xu Huo said, glancing back toward the laboratory. He then walked a distance along the outer corridor before asking Dr. Deng, who had followed him, ”How much do you know about Professor Wu’s information?”

Dr. Deng instinctively looked inside, but Xu Huo shook the Sound-Muffling Figurine. ”They can’t hear.”

”Actually, not much. For any pharmacologist, Professor Wu is both a respected senior and a mountain they wish to surpass.”

Dr. Deng took a drag of his cigarette. ”He often changed his appearance and name to go to different Game Partitions. If the Game Government hadn’t discovered him, colleagues working with him would never have realized his identity. Also, it’s said he’s still alive. According to statistics from our internal pharmacology association, he’s lived for at least two hundred years.”

”So many people believe Professor Wu isn’t one person, but a title passed down through generations.”

”Since he’s the one who researched the S-version Potion, his evolution process might be different from others. Living to two hundred isn’t impossible,” Xu Huo said.

”No one knows about that,” Dr. Deng shook his head. ”But the appearance of the S-version Potion only happened in recent decades.”

If Professor Wu was an Evolver, then he must have originally used the evolution agent given by the game, making the possibility of perfect evolution nonexistent.

”Regarding his background, besides possibly having a child, what else is there?”

”That’s the mysterious part. To this day, no one knows his true appearance. The biological characteristics he left in each place were different. To exaggerate a bit, the Game Government might not even have figured out if he’s male or female.”