Players, Please Board the Train

”You speak quite interestingly.” The noble lady sighed after listening, then said to the female secretary beside her, ”Inform the Duke to find another reliable person to serve as the Director.”

With a simple sentence, she decided the Director’s fate, causing the other staff members present to lower their heads guiltily.

Having dealt with the Director, this noble lady lost her mood to continue touring the Welfare Home and left directly with her entourage. The already dismissed Director followed behind, apologizing non-stop. After the crowd had gone far, that female secretary turned back and handed Xu Huo a business card. ”Madam appreciates your abilities. If you’re interested, you can come to Madam’s company for an interview.”

Xu Huo smiled and accepted it, then watched her leave.

”I know that woman,” Yang Qing said, standing behind him. ”She is Duke Tal’s wife. I heard people here say she’s promiscuous and especially likes to seduce men younger than her.”

”Kids shouldn’t listen to gossip,” Xu Huo said, casually stuffing the business card into his pocket.

”Are you going to become a kept man?” Seeing he was about to leave, Yang Qing hurriedly said, ”Even though being a clown doesn’t earn much money, a man must have backbone. How can you live off a woman!”

Xu Huo didn’t directly answer his question. Instead, he said, ”Don’t use me as a benchmark for justice and morality.”

Yang Qing looked very sad, as if his spiritual pillar was about to collapse.

Xu Huo smiled. ”So young, yet you think so much. Your mechanical parts are coming along well. I’ll bring you a few books next time I come. If you want to leave this place early, study hard. Otherwise, forget about eating candy; you might not even have food to eat in the future.”Leaving the dormitory, he went to the Director’s office to visit the already dismissed Director who hadn’t yet handed over his duties, and then he left the Welfare Home.

A few days later was the time for the gathering. Wearing the formal attire gifted by Duke Tal, Xu Huo went with Bai Kou to the most famous private club in District 011—A1 Time.

”This club’s name comes from the Clock Tower at C9 wormhole point. It sounds quite laughable—a bunch of people who have never been to an A-level wormhole point even have to align their naming with A-level wormhole points.”

”Is the Clock Tower’s time the same as A-level wormhole points?” Standing on the luxurious metal-tiled floor, Xu Huo casually responded.

”A-level wormhole points are the earliest game wormhole points to appear. The game system’s time is based on the A1 wormhole point, set according to the orbital time of a certain star. It’s said the game partition closest to this star is the starting point of the Dimensional Rift.” Bai Kou said, ”Many game partitions pride themselves on aligning their time with this star’s time. They’re crazy.”

”In fact, they have no idea how to calibrate this time; they just follow the Clock Tower at the C9 wormhole point.”

Xu Huo had seen the C9 Clock Tower in Decibel Town. The largest clock Master Nise placed in the town was claimed to be set to the most accurate Clock Tower time.

”Isn’t time important in the game?” Xu Huo didn’t believe this was simply about yearning for a game zone with greater strength.

Bai Kou, however, glanced at him. ”At least for the vast majority of people, it is.”

With a soft chime, the elevator stopped at the club floor. Two servers guarding the door each handed them a feathered mask.

Bai Kou took hers and proactively linked arms with Xu Huo. ”Let’s go.”

The two walked into the dimly lit corridor. Before they reached the room door, the highly recognizable figure of Duke Tal proactively came out to greet them. ”Madam, you’ve finally arrived. Everyone has been waiting for you.”

After speaking, as if he didn’t see Xu Huo, he directly invited Bai Kou inside.

Xu Huo didn’t mind, following behind the two into the room. With a quick scan of the situation inside, he unexpectedly saw two acquaintances.

One was Ran Ying of the Black Epaulets, and the other was Vicen Meni of Rong Xin.

Ran Ying recognized Xu Huo, raising her glass towards him with some surprise.

”So this is the famous Madame Butterfly.” A brown-haired man wearing a blue feather mask proactively walked up to Bai Kou. ”I wonder if I could have the honor of sharing a drink?”

Bai Kou opened her small fan, covering half her face, and said with a light laugh, ”What if I don’t grant that honor?”

The brown-haired man shrugged. ”Beauties are always thorny. Getting pricked occasionally is normal.”

After speaking, he sat back down. Duke Tal, however, said, ”Madam, don’t mind him. Palada is notoriously dissolute.”

”Even if Duke Tal has a special fondness for Madame Butterfly, there’s no need to slander me like this.” Palada made a gesture of clutching his heart.

People in the club laughed in small groups.

The group chatted amongst themselves for a while longer before someone ”remembered” Xu Huo. A red-haired man said, ”Although Rose Castle isn’t exactly a prime property, for ordinary people it’s still a decent asset. You’re quite lucky.”

”A few days ago, a friend of mine wanted to visit Rose Castle but was turned away by Butler Dong. Now that the castle’s master has returned, you should at least host a proper banquet, so everyone knows the castle has a new owner.”

”By the way, Palada,” the red-haired man turned his head, ”doesn’t your family have a distant relative in the banquet contracting business? Why don’t you make the connection, so Mr. Xu can host this banquet with dignity.”

Palada glanced at Xu Huo. ”Seems there is such a relative. But I can’t just make introductions casually. If things aren’t done properly, wouldn’t that embarrass Mr. Xu?”

At this point, logically, Xu Huo should have responded. However, he didn’t take the bait, instead saying, ”Uncle He Pu’s mourning period hasn’t passed yet. It’s not appropriate to host a grand banquet.”

After hearing this, Palada chuckled. ”Ellison, your enthusiasm isn’t necessarily appreciated by others.”

The red-haired Ellison’s eyes turned cold. ”In that case, I won’t insist.”

Among those present, there were only two or three young people. After they stopped talking to Xu Huo, no one else paid him any attention, not even Ran Ying actively speaking to him.

This cold treatment was meant to embarrass Xu Huo. In these people’s eyes, with his status, he certainly wasn’t qualified to integrate into noble circles, and Duke Tal’s intention in bringing him here was glaringly obvious.

”The program is ready.” Palada received an electronic message and immediately pressed a button on the armrest. The originally circularly arranged seats all moved back, and a small stage’s holographic projection appeared in the center of the room.

The light in the projection focused on the center of the stage. A moment later, a completely naked woman was pushed onto the center of the stage. Her makeup was exquisite, her eyes filled with tears as she looked around in panic. Upon hearing the roar of a Mutant, she trembled even more violently.

”Honored guests, the young woman you now see is a C-level player from the D22 wormhole point. We have suspended her player status. She is now merely an evolved person with enhanced physique.”

”And the opponent she will face will be determined by a draw among the guests. The draw right will now be randomly assigned to a VIP’s seat. Countdown begins: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”