Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 846: Striking a Deal

Chapter 846: Chapter 846: Striking a Deal

"Is this a time-related item?" Xu Huo turned to ask Mr. Dong.

"It should be," Mr. Dong replied.

The sand had stopped flowing back to the top; the glass could no longer maintain its shape and shattered on the table.

Without Bai Kou’s assistance, Xu Huo was also unable to perceive the subtle changes in space. He handed the hourglass back to Mr. Dong, "Let’s talk about this later."

Mr. Dong had no choice but to take the hourglass away and said, "Mr. He Pu does not wish to hand over the Rose Castle to Miss Kou Kou."

Xu Huo knew that, but still asked, "Why?"

His inheritance of the Rose Castle was not exactly legitimate. Mr. He Pu had only mentioned finding an heir, and it was Mr. Dong who had made him the actual inheritor. Perhaps Mr. He Pu had given special instructions, but Xu Huo did not know much about the castle.

"Mr. He Pu said so," Mr. Dong resumed his role as the stern, unsmiling butler who strictly followed his master’s orders.

Secrets that could be easily divulged were no secrets at all. Seeing that he was unwilling to elaborate, Xu Huo placated him with a few casual remarks.

Miss Kou Kou certainly wouldn’t get her hands on the Rose Castle anytime soon.

However, Mr. Dong seemed particularly anxious whenever the topic arose.

Xu Huo just smiled. Compared to Bai Kou, he was just a Level D Player and easier to deal with.

He was not foolish.

"Did Miss Bai Kou say she would come back for dinner?" Xu Huo asked.

Mr. Dong, with a straight face, replied, "She will return before dinner."

Xu Huo nodded, "There are fresh ingredients from other zones at the market, prepare some dishes she likes."

Mr. Dong acknowledged and quietly left the room.

Xu Huo then went to the side building to release Dr. Deng.

After being left out for two days, Dr. Deng’s condition was worse than before, especially upon seeing the non-player tickets placed before him.

"Zone 011 is in such a state, the Black Epaulettes will not have the time to look for me," he said, his expression grim.

"If you are aware of what’s happening outside, you should know that Base City is almost ready to be rebuilt. With Black Epaulettes and government players all around, there’s no place for you to stay. Better leave early and start anew in another zone," Xu Huo said.

Dr. Deng’s face twitched at some part of Xu Huo’s speech, "I’m not leaving."

"Acting stubborn at your age?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow, "I’m willing to send you away now, but tomorrow, that might not be the case."

Dr. Deng calmed down upon hearing this and assessed Xu Huo, "In fact, you don’t want to drive me away, otherwise, you wouldn’t have come to talk to me."

"You are someone of value," Xu Huo said. "It would be a shame to kill you, but you can’t produce anything of equal value to trade with me. I never engage in lossmaking deals. You’ve already tricked me once when I arrived in Zone 011, after I leave this door, let’s act as if we’ve never met."

Dr. Deng appeared somewhat irritated, just as he had been when refused his previous suggestion to go to Zone 009. He asked, "I want to ask again, have you really not obtained the Perfect Potion?"

"I’d like to ask you the same question," Xu Huo looked at him, lifting his eyelids, "You’ve been tracking Dr. Wu for so long, and you received news from Zone 009 so timely. Have you really never gotten your hands on a potion?"

"You’ve been here for days and seem not to have taken any potions," he continued, "Although you’re not a player, every Evolver needs an Evolution Potion. You wouldn’t have already started the perfect evolution process, would you?"

"How daring of you!" Dr. Deng laughed disdainfully, "Saying that about you is more believable than saying it about me."

"If I told you I have undergone perfect evolution, would you believe it?" Xu Huo said. "Or, in the name of science, would you give me all your information and any potion you’ve obtained?"

Both men laughed. After a while, Dr. Deng spoke up, "I don’t have the S-Version Drug, but I do have some information about the Perfect Potion. Even if you obtain the Perfect Potion, you cannot verify its authenticity through the game’s backend, and players themselves don’t have the means to discern its authenticity, so this information is very important."

"But if I give the information to you, I will have lost my leverage."

It was obviously no longer effective to claim the goal was to relieve player sequelae by using a better potion or researching the Perfect Potion. So he revealed one of his cards, intending to trade the information for a consequentially substantial condition.

"I’m more interested in your information channels," Xu Huo said. "Unless you have a direct method to confirm the authenticity of potions, no amount of information you provide would be of use, as potions don’t automatically disclose their components."

"That’s another deal," Dr. Deng shook his head and said, "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t even offer this information."

"You wouldn’t believe how many people want the Perfect Potion; the more who know the details, the worse it is for the true researchers."

Xu Huo chuckled, "So you really went there for research? May I ask, will a lack of skill spoil the experimental samples?"

Dr. Deng’s expression immediately soured, "My abilities are not that poor!"

Xu Huo raised his hands in a gesture of "if you say so," causing the man opposite him to turn nearly blue with anger before saying, "What do you want to trade for the information?"

"Your blood," Dr. Deng said bluntly.

"Do I look like an idiot to you?" Whether or not Xu Huo was in the process of perfect evolution, he certainly wouldn’t give his blood to a pharmacist so casually.

"Then find me an experimental subject," Dr. Deng said. "I’m not leaving; I’ll stay here to decode the potion. If I can come up with an Evolution Potion close to the S-Version, we need someone to experiment on."

The side building fell into silence. Xu Huo looked at him, "Why not use animals?"

"Using humans is obviously best for experiments regarding Evolvers," Dr. Deng brushed off his opinion without a care, "Or, find a player who’s about to devolve; the experimental results would be even more clear."

"Information," Xu Huo tapped the table, "I don’t have an experimental subject for the moment, if you’re in a hurry, make do with yourself."

Dr. Deng’s mouth twitched, "Well then, I’ll stay."

"You should have a prop to alter appearances, right?" Xu Huo said, "Stay hidden a few more days."

Dr. Deng reluctantly took out a paper document, appearing quite hesitant as he placed it on the table.

Xu Huo pressed his hand on the file and turned it towards himself, flipping it open in front of Dr. Deng.

The first thing that caught his eye were several photographs. P0 and P1 were the same blue color as the potions he had seen before, while P2 and P3 were light green.

At least the colors matched.

In addition, there were notes on some of the potential components of the Perfect Potion, though it wasn’t a hundred percent certain use for each was indicated.

Guessing at basic ingredients?

Xu Huo looked at Dr. Deng skeptically, but Dr. Deng signaled him not to rush, "The most important information is at the back."

Xu Huo quickly browsed through the thin stack of papers and on the last page, he found a line specifically highlighted: "The Perfect Potion can produce a special reaction with the Wormhole Flower."