The middleman glanced him up and down with a hint of disdain and said, "What risk could there be? If there’s any risk, it’s on me. With that face, you’d want to get in for free, but others might find it an eyesore... Your sister, on the other hand, could get in for free."

The Girl in the painting quickly expressed, "We need to go together."

The middleman was much kinder to her, "Beauty is also a weapon. Sister, you’re so beautiful, it’s no problem to bring someone along."

A player came over to wash her hands before the middleman stood up, clapped his hands, and opened the office’s wardrobe. Various clothes, jewelry, shoes, and gems were displayed, all looking very expensive.

"Sister, you’re so beautiful; how can you wear such ugly clothes? Come, let me dress you up."

The Girl in the painting pretended to be at a loss, glancing at Xu Huo until he nodded, then she followed the middleman.

The middleman let her change several outfits, finally settling on a black long dress, and picked out a gemstone necklace for her. He circled her twice and nodded in satisfaction, "Embellishment, this way your beauty can be better displayed."

"Alright," then the middleman clapped his hands, "Leave your contact information and go back first, I’ll reach out when it’s time."

After saying this, he winked at the Girl in the painting, "Sister, you must come."

After Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting left, the middleman smiled broadly and dismissed the others in the office, then contacted someone, "A mermaid came today, without an invitation. Arrange for someone to bring her in when the time comes... Oh, and there’s a burden, just find an opportunity to handle it... Once the door opens, I’ll go over there... There’s not enough mermaid... Alright, I’ll figure something out..."

Listening to her words, Xu Huo understood that the so-called other channel was still the entrance to the Fish Banquet, only those without an invitation needed someone to bring them in.

This made things much simpler, but simple as it may seem, it also indicated that the management of the Fish Banquet was very strict, with no loopholes at least in terms of entry.

"Do we have to stay here?" the Girl in the painting was not satisfied with the sudden change of environment.

"We’re very poor right now," Xu Huo was forging an invitation, "Keep your invitation inside your clothes, don’t let anyone see it."

"I have a feeling that person is a fraud," the Girl in the painting leaned over to him, "Like a human trafficker."

Xu Huo could see that, the so-called "mermaid" was probably just a game element.

"If she wants to sell us, can we kill her?" the Girl in the painting asked again.

"Depends on the situation," Xu Huo replied.

"Then we’ll kill her once we’re out," the Girl in the painting decided.

Perhaps the invitation to the Fish Banquet was a special item itself; forging one would surely not be identical, but considering their identities, having a fake invitation was quite normal.

After waiting in the small inn for two days, the middleman finally contacted them, gave them an address, and told them to wait for someone to pick them up.

Accordingly, Xu Huo went, not expecting the car that came to pick them up to have a municipal government license plate.

"Is the Fish Banquet organized by the municipal government?" Xu Huo asked an untimely question.

The driver looked displeased, impatiently said, "Stop asking!"

Seeing Xu Huo really not asking again, the driver added begrudgingly, "With you people who abandon a good life to seek death, it’s endless!"

Even the Girl in the painting could see that the driver didn’t want to do this job.

"If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to come," the Girl in the painting told him.

This hit the driver’s sore spot, who suddenly swerved, tossing them both to the same side of the car window, then to the other side.

The car was swerving like a drunk on the road.

"Don’t mind her," Xu Huo continued their persona, "what my sister said wasn’t meant to mock you; she truly thinks you could change jobs if you’re unhappy. After all, you’re a player, a healthy person, with more choices than ordinary people."

"We’re going to the Fish Banquet to earn some money for her throat treatment. She can’t speak, and some props can’t be used."

Upon hearing this, the driver slowed down, looked at them with a hint of pity, but didn’t say anything.

The Girl in the painting acted up, turning to ask Xu Huo, "Brother, can my throat really be cured?"

"Yes," Xu Huo followed her lead, "You can’t just follow me forever."

"Don’t die," the Girl in the painting performed even more sincerely, "Let’s get you treated for regression once we have money."

Xu Huo patted her head and said no more.

The player in front seemed touched, remaining silent for a long time before saying, "In such a dangerous place, why bring your sister?"

"I wouldn’t feel at ease leaving her outside alone," Xu Huo said with a smile.

The driver said no more and met up with a white car halfway, following it afterwards.

The two cars drove around the city for quite a while, seemingly waiting for something, until at one turn, the white car drove onto a less populated street and stopped under an ancient tree.

Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting also stopped. As they got out, the player in front pretended to open the door, turned around, and whispered, "Don’t go, run!"

However, just as he finished speaking, a player from the middleman’s side flashed to the car, gripped his shoulder, and said expressionlessly, "You can go now."

The man gave them a deep look, having no choice but to drive away.

Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting were taken to the tree, looked up, and found a small fish-shaped card hanging from the ancient tree. Was this the entrance?

"Hand me the invitation," the middleman said to Xu Huo.

Xu Huo handed over the fake invitation.

The middleman sneered as soon as he saw it, casually threw it aside, then knocked on the card.

In fact, as he approached the fish card, Xu Huo felt the invitation in his clothes slightly heat up. Immediately, a passage opened up in the tree, and on the two steps stood a man wearing a jellyfish mask. He spotted the Girl in the painting, nodded to the middleman, then reported through a micro terminal, "Two people," and said, "Come in."

Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting stepped onto the steps one after another, and the door behind them disappeared. The jellyfish mask man handed them two masks, "Put them on."

The masks only covered half the face. The Girl in the painting received one with a mermaid pattern, while Xu Huo got a clownfish.

"Rules of the Fish Banquet, wear the masks to move around freely, masks can’t be taken off at will..." The jellyfish mask man hadn’t finished speaking when he saw the masks on the two change. The Girl in the painting’s mermaid turned into a clownfish, while Xu Huo’s clownfish became a sharp-toothed piranha.

"Piranha... you have an invitation!" The jellyfish mask man turned to run and pressed the micro terminal on his arm.

But Xu Huo wouldn’t give him the chance and restrained him on the spot, but just as he was about to question him, the man unexpectedly went into convulsions, then collapsed on the ground, bleeding from his mouth and nose.