Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 1298 - 1299: Those Who Steal Will Eventually Go Bald

Chapter 1298: Chapter 1299: Those Who Steal Will Eventually Go Bald

Most of the books about that legendary figure have been bought back at high prices, but since they aren’t banned books, they can still be found if you look for them. Xu Huo happened to pass through a small city and casually chose an old bookstore, where he found two books in the corner of a bookshelf.

The storekeeper was relatively young. Seeing the books in his hands, he chuckled, "These old-fashioned heroic biographical novels are hardly read by anyone these days."

The time spent in the game for those in District 001 has been too long. Coupled with the somewhat excessive peace in recent years, especially in small cities that no one visits, many have forgotten that period of time just after entering the game. Without reminders, even young people wouldn’t specifically learn about that tragic history, and the cultural classes in District 001 don’t teach these things. So even if the books contain a lot about the initial experiences of District 001 in the game, it fails to resonate, and many skim without absorbing the content.

"So what kind of stories are popular now?" Xu Huo asked casually.

The owner pointed to the bookshelf next to the checkout counter, "End-time genre, usually starting with a catastrophic attack on District 001. Do you want to read it?"

Xu Huo indicated no interest.

The owner was also a seasoned novel enthusiast. He took out a novel of the same genre from the bag at his feet, "This is a novel I self-published. It’s yours, just remember to review it on the Collection of Information Terminal once you’ve finished. The address is printed on the book."

After speaking, he warmly gave Xu Huo a few pieces of fruit, smiling broadly as he saw him out the door.

Xu Huo reluctantly accepted the buy-one-get-two offer and returned to his aircraft to continue his journey, reaching the city where the Zhuang Family lived by afternoon.

Unlike the overly lively Card City or the extremely depressing Flower City, Xiangshan City was quite a free city. From the shops and pedestrians on the street, the pace of life here seemed very slow. It was an agricultural city, with vendors everywhere advertising "home-picked" and "freshly picked, freshly sold" as their business slogan.

Accordingly, there were far fewer surveillance drones, though they still managed to cover the main parts of the city.

However, Xu Huo first noticed the rays emitted by different spiritual powers scattered throughout the city.

He was wearing the Cubic Space, so when he stepped into the city limits, he naturally saw the rays in the distance. Of course, spiritual power rays are different from spatial rays. What he actually saw were devices, and upon discovering them, he looked again using spiritual power, only then did he find traces of spiritual power on those devices.

There were indeed props that could hold spiritual power, but those required a player’s actual operation. He hadn’t seen devices like these that did not need human control before.

Simultaneously, he also knew that those devices had detected his spiritual power, so he withdrew his power immediately after touching them.

"Young man, want some fresh vegetables?" An old lady with rosy cheeks came over to chat, "Absolutely fresh, no chemicals, just wash and eat."

Xu Huo bought two white gourds that could be eaten raw, tasted them and nodded, "They indeed taste better than elsewhere. Is there a secret to it?"

"No secret, it’s just this place," the old lady replied with a smile, "Look at all these surrounding mountains and waters, they’re all unpolluted. Any weapon factories, artifact workshops, and mines are far away from here. Even the air is better than elsewhere."

District 001 already had a super-large air purifier that can purify a city’s air in a very short time. However, it’s expensive, and only a few well-off cities can afford it.

Xu Huo glanced in the direction pointed by the old lady and said, "The hills and water are beautiful, truly a good place."

"The welfare is also good here, really taking care of the elderly. I would have had no need to do business if I could sit still!" The old lady seemed to take a liking to him, wanting to have a long chat.

Xu Huo listened for a while before asking about the Zhuang Family.

"So you’re looking for books," the old lady clapped her thigh, "You’re late. The author died a few years ago. I heard his son is also a writer. You should find him."

"Follow this road to the end, then make a right turn. Those houses at the foot of the hill are theirs, and there’s a fruit orchard inside. It’s the harvest season now, so you’ve got good timing!"

The Zhuang Family was easy to find, a ten-minute walk at most. A fruit orchard was in between, and you could see the rooftops from afar.

The orchard had no theft-prevention fence, and quite a few kids passing by would slip in to pluck a few fruits. As Xu Huo walked into the orchard, a bald-headed kid was directing a bunch of "minions" in fruit picking, imparting his "expertise" in fruit-picking. As they met, the bald-headed kid glared at Xu Huo before quickly leading the other kids away.

Xu Huo chuckled, picking up the fruit they accidentally dropped on the ground and tossing it over, "You dropped something."

He didn’t use much force, but the large fruit was somewhat heavy. When the bald-headed kid caught it, he stumbled backward and landed squarely on his behind.

The surrounding children laughed, and the little bald guy, flushed with anger, glared fiercely at Xu Huo and shouted, "You bald one!"

Xu Huo touched his thick hair, amused, "Aren’t you balder than me?"

"Fool, I shaved mine," the little bald boy jumped up, "It’s shaved, you’re the bald one! Thieves always end up bald!"

"I’m not here to steal fruit." Xu Huo took out the book from his backpack, "I’m here to visit the author of this book. Do you know him?"

The last page of the book had a photo of the author. After a glance, the little bald kid turned and ran, followed by a string of peers. As they ran, they called out, and fruits fell from their arms, causing passing adults to scoldingly chase after them.

Once the kids were gone, Xu Huo put away the book and walked deeper into the orchard.

This was no ordinary orchard. From the outside, it didn’t seem large, but he had walked in for at least ten minutes and hadn’t yet reached the residence of the Zhuang Family, and from his position, the houses still seemed just as far.

This orchard had mystical interference, possibly involving props, characteristics, or evolutionary power.

Xu Huo released his Spiritual World, opening the Mental Portal several times before he successfully moved forward a distance, though this didn’t mean he could get there in one step or go directly. The orchard was under spiritual power interference, and what the eyes saw wasn’t necessarily real, so he might not have been heading the correct way.

However, there was a relatively clear contrast in the intensity of the interference powers, and the weaker areas seemed to form a passage.

What seemed like a short journey took him nearly half an hour.

Exiting the orchard, he found himself at the Zhuang Family’s residence, a series of connected small courtyards. A man in his thirties was sweeping the fallen leaves and looked a bit surprised upon seeing him.