Chapter 2346: Chapter 2346: There’s Always a Leak in the Wallet

After Xu Huo finished listening to the whole story, he said, "Then you’d better be more careful. If you get thrown in jail, no one’s going to bail you out, and my investment can’t just go down the drain."

Dr. Deng’s hand, which was applying medicine, paused. "You really have no shred of human warmth in you. I’m already this badly hurt."

"No torn muscles or broken bones, doesn’t count as serious injury," Xu Huo said. "You really do need to be careful, and stop walking into other people’s traps."

Of course Dr. Deng knew he’d been quite well-known recently in Zone 011 because of the Werna Family. "It’s not that bad, is it? You’re just a Rank-B player, after all."

"I am a Rank-B player, sure, but the Werna Family definitely has plenty of Rank-A Players who’d be glad to see me disappear from this sector," Xu Huo said. "That’s why I’m reminding you to be careful. Doing time is a minor thing. Losing your life is not worth it."

Dr. Deng hesitated for a moment before saying, "I’m starting to suspect they’re specifically targeting me to beat up..."

"Keep that level of caution," Xu Huo patted him on the shoulder. "Don’t go out unless you have to."

With lingering fear in his heart, Dr. Deng immediately stated that he would definitely go out less in the future.

"Right, and don’t even think about moving somewhere else to live," Xu Huo added as he stood up.

Ignoring the injuries on his face, Dr. Deng smiled. "Even if you told me to leave, I wouldn’t. The lab’s already built; no point wasting it. Oh right, I’ve been thinking of buying a new model of experimental equipment. Tell Mr. Dong for me, or you can just give it to me directly."

"I’ll discuss it with Mr. Dong," Xu Huo didn’t refuse him outright.

Afterward, he went to ask Mr. Dong whether Dr. Deng often asked him for money.

Mr. Dong nodded. "Now that the lab is up, he often asks to add things—sometimes equipment, sometimes Potions—the prices are sky-high."

The lab had been approved by Xu Huo; it was originally meant to push for breakthroughs in Potions. The Big Head had already been spent, so there was no need to pinch pennies too hard on the follow-up, but they still had to save where they could—after all, even the money from the Werna Family was finite.

"Just keep an eye on what he’s buying and keep proper records," Xu Huo said. "The upper limit is half of the castle’s deposits."

Hearing this, Mr. Dong’s expression subtly darkened. "Do you have any idea how much that is?"

Werna had given him a generous share of dividends; they came in every year. The exact figure wouldn’t be clear until the money actually arrived, and as for whether that number was padded, at the current stage it was definitely only higher, not lower.

"Give it to him," Xu Huo said. "This is my biggest investment so far."

Potions and Poison actually didn’t play that important a role in the game, because most instances’ environments were relatively safe. Even when they weren’t, a Protective Suit and some Antitoxin were usually enough. As for those Rank-A and above pathogens and toxins, if you ran into them it just meant you were unlucky. In any case, ordinary pathogens and toxins had a hard time penetrating a Protective Suit.

The reason he was spending so much money on Dr. Deng wasn’t just for the Poison and Antitoxin under research. For daily experimental convenience, Dr. Deng also cultivated some samples, including all kinds of poisonous plants and fungi. The fact that King Fungus couldn’t be mass-cultivated was a pity, and besides, King Fungus was parasitic inside his body and loved to eat toxins and pathogens. He really wanted to figure out what exactly that thing was and whether there were any hidden issues.

It was just a pity that Dr. Deng didn’t specialize in fungi.

Of course, even if it wasn’t for King Fungus, this investment was still worthwhile. The incident of spreading poisonous fungi in Zone 014 last time was a very good example. As more and more people entered Zone 014, there was no guarantee someone wouldn’t use similar methods.

A specialist coming out of Stellar Medical—his experience and resume were worth their weight in gold.

By late night, Shi Sanjiu replied. Based on the information provided by Xu Huo, he’d gotten someone to obtain an invitation to the Fish Banquet, and this invitation came from a player with quite a background; that person probably knew where the entrance would appear next time the Fish Banquet opened.

Shi Sanjiu sent over the invitation and the address together, and also told him that these kinds of private venues frequented by Noble Offspring in the game were rarely "good places." By "not good" he meant that once players entered, their abilities were likely to be restricted, while the Noble Offspring would have overwhelming power.

That was pretty much in line with Xu Huo’s speculation: the Fish Banquet was actually a hunting ground. Although Shi Sanjiu hadn’t asked out the specifics, he could guess what it was like inside just based on his understanding of his own kind.

"Don’t underestimate these private locations that float outside the sectors and instances," Shi Sanjiu further warned. "Places like that are just like those random instances in the game that pop up everywhere and keep a bunch of powerful players as enforcers—they all have backdoor permissions. You only find out what’s going on after you go in."

"The people going in and out might mostly be those who rely on their family and guides, but the boss is definitely someone with real power. And their interests aren’t limited to Props and materials. Players are one of the things they’re fond of as well."

Catching the implication in that sentence, Xu Huo thanked him.

Controlling players was difficult, but not impossible. The most common method was to implant remote-control chips into the player’s brain or heart. These chips were hard to remove or destroy, and once the connection was lost they could even become killing devices. He’d seen it in some of the sectors he’d visited before, and the ones at Advanced Wormhole Sites would only be more formidable.

Of course, all of this depended on the chip being implanted into the player’s body quickly and without getting caught.

Backdoor permissions... he wondered if they would restrict Tickets. If so, then it really was a dangerous place.

Even though quite a few people on Beneath the Dimension said the Fish Banquet was a free hunting ground, it was hard to say whether it restricted player permissions. Forget backdoor permissions; didn’t B37-008 Zone achieve the same effect in a small area just by using instruments?

Xu Huo glanced at the address, then started preparing the items he’d need before departure. The rest of the daily necessities were handled by Mr. Dong; his main focus was buying and configuring new Protective Suits, Props, and instruments.

A Mechanical Suit Set was a pretty good option. It wasn’t as comfortable as normal clothes, but it could avoid a lot of problems.

For that, he specifically picked out two sets of Rank-A Mechanical Suit Sets on the bounty platform—Super A-Class ones were too expensive to afford; two Rank-A sets with Passive Defense and Auto-Start Function were about enough.

On top of that were Interference Devices. Even though he’d gotten a Strong Jammer with "terminal theft" in the last instance settlement, it never hurt to be prepared. You couldn’t go wrong buying a few more of these great things; they’d come in handy sooner or later.

These two categories were the main ones. For the other items he needed, he roughly drew up a list, and as long as his finances allowed, he gradually bought them all the next day.

Seeing Mr. Dong’s face looking worse and worse, he couldn’t help saying, "You need input to get output. The money will be earned back sooner or later."

Mr. Dong’s expression was strained. "Sir’s wallet is just like this castle—there are always places where the wind leaks in."