Chapter 792: Testing the Waters

Xu Huo could tell she hadn't eaten her fill, but she still set down her chopsticks at his signal. "Thank you, Uncle! This is the best meal I've ever had!" "This city was abandoned for a few years. Where did you come from?" he asked. "I've always lived here." Little Yuan said, "My grandmother and I were both born here. After my family died off, my grandmother took me in, but she passed away two years ago. Now it's just me." "Have you thought about going to other cities?" Xu Huo said. "Other cities have protection policies for children and teenagers. It'd be better for you than staying here." "There's no good place." Little Yuan lowered her head. "Everyone who left is dead. I've seen their bodies in the garbage dumps." Garbage dumps in small cities usually received domestic waste shipped in from other cities. Corpses wouldn't normally be discarded there—both the government and player organizations had to consider the risk of disease transmission. If bodies were being dumped along with the trash, they must have come through some shady channel. They chatted casually for a bit longer, then Xu Huo gave her ten yuan and sent her off. Before leaving, Little Yuan asked him, "Should I still bring you food later?" "Come by at the usual time and I'll give you the money." Xu Huo said. "Thank you, Uncle! You're such a good person!" Little Yuan left cheerfully. Xu Huo turned his wheelchair toward the window, then clipped the "Murmuring Sphere" onto his button. About five minutes later, the hotel room door was kicked open from outside, and a gruff voice rang out: "Resisting arrest—kill on sight!" Along with the shout, two very soft sets of footsteps entered the room, flanking left and right to close in on Xu Huo. But just then, the wheelchair swiveled around. One of the two players—the man—was sent flying by an invisible force. The woman made it to Xu Huo's side, but before she could make a move, she lost her weight and floated helplessly in midair. Panic seized her as her gaze met a mirror, and she went blind instantly. "I can't see!" she screamed, trying to retreat, but Xu Huo didn't give her the chance. The water jet gun severed her throat from a distance. Two more remained—one at the door, the other less than three meters away. Seeing their companions killed, they showed no sign of retreat. Instead, faces twisted with rage, they charged forward. The "Beautiful Rays" effortlessly sliced off one man's foot, and simultaneously, the Murmuring Sphere took effect. Xu Huo simply raised an air barrier before him, blocking most of their attacks, and as they frantically activated items, they unknowingly fell under the mental influence of the Murmuring Sphere. Hallucinations began to cloud their vision. They started firing wildly with their guns, and in the chaos, the one at the door actually killed his own companion! Even though the survivor was still lost in his delusions, Xu Huo had no interest in watching further. He finished the man off, then returned to the window. He didn't pull back the curtains, instead using the Scanner to check the players still lurking nearby. These players didn't possess high-grade items. With their vanguard dead, whether they were his companions or not, not a single one dared to come check what had happened once the sounds inside went quiet. And it made sense. Players stuck in a place like this were either too badly injured to enter dungeons or couldn't survive anywhere else. They were basically bottom-of-the-barrel types, incapable of causing real waves. Ignoring the corpses in the room, Xu Huo sat there all afternoon. By dinnertime, his left shoulder had regained feeling, though his arm and leg still hadn't recovered, so he couldn't walk or hold things properly just yet. Little Yuan arrived right on time. "The door's open. Come in." The little girl pushed the door open, saw the unsightly corpses on the floor, and stumbled back a step in fright. But she quickly steadied herself and forced herself into the room. "Uncle, do you need these people dealt with? I can call someone to help." Xu Huo smiled. "Call the Boss up to handle it." Little Yuan went and came back quickly. The Boss was long accustomed to such scenes. His gaze toward Xu Huo was cautious, and he only mumbled a vague mention of charging for furniture depreciation, barely daring to speak up. It wasn't until Xu Huo voluntarily offered compensation that he got to work in earnest—not only hauling the bodies away personally but also replacing the blood-soaked carpet. "Maybe switch rooms?" the Boss suggested with a hint of ingratiation. "No need." Xu Huo's fingers tapped against the wheelchair armrest. "The smell of blood is what reminds others of what happened here." The Boss couldn't argue further and left. Little Yuan followed at his heels downstairs—she was going to buy food. But this time she took much longer. When she came back, her clothes were torn, her lips were covered in blood, and when she opened her mouth, a tooth was missing. "They took my food and money... I'll pay you back..." Little Yuan's voice trembled as she spoke. "I've saved some money... I can sneak back and steal it from them tonight... Uncle, please don't kill me..." The wheelchair creaked forward, each sound making the little girl tremble. When the wheelchair stopped, she dropped straight to her knees and kowtowed repeatedly. "Don't kill me... don't kill me... I'm useful... I'll repay the money... In a few years when I grow up, I can earn even more..." Xu Huo watched her for a while before speaking. "Why didn't you run? I can't walk. I might have to leave this place before my injuries heal. All you'd have to do is hide for a few days." Little Yuan's tears dripped down with soft patter after patter. She choked out, "I wanted to run too... but I didn't dare... No one has ever been this good to me except my grandmother... I was afraid that if I ran, I'd never meet a good person again..." Xu Huo let out a sigh. "I can't take you out of here." "I know—only players can use train tickets!" Little Yuan looked up. "When I grow up, I'm going to become a player too! I can leave this place on my own!" "Uncle, you're so powerful, you must be able to get me somewhere else!" She clung to Xu Huo's foot. "Even a remote mountain forest!" "You can't leave here?" Xu Huo said. Little Yuan shook her head. "They won't let girls leave, because girls can be sold for money. When we turn ten, we get sent away... I don't know where they go, but I sometimes find their bodies in the garbage dumps... They die horrible deaths, covered in wounds... their eyes wide open..." "Have you told anyone else about this?" Xu Huo's expression didn't change. "I didn't dare..." Little Yuan looked at him pleadingly. "I'm almost ten now..." Xu Huo didn't respond to that. Instead, he said, "You can go now. No need to come back tomorrow." Little Yuan's eyes dimmed instantly. She seemed well-versed in the art of survival—she didn't cling or beg, just turned and ran off. Xu Huo heard the thunder outside. After a moment, he called the Boss up and asked, "Where do the people who robbed my money hang out?"