Chapter 64. Found, Returned, the Xiao Family...
After Lin Xiaoxiao calmed down, she looked around and noticed that the names at the top of each task screen were all familiar names:
[1. Commander of Assassination Operations Division 2: Mu Dongye, Reward: 100 billion gold coins, three epic-level resources...]
[1. Assassinate the Commander-in-Chief of the Operations Department...]
1. Assassinate the current head of the Wang family...
1. Assassination...
Whether they are members of the five great families, members of families under the five great families, people of high rank and power, or talented new stars in battle... they are all well-known.
Lin Xiaoxiao stared at these task screens, a sense of curiosity in her heart.
Who exactly owns this auction house? Isn't he afraid that these people will band together and turn this place upside down?
Just as she was letting her thoughts wander and pondering deeply.
The staff member behind the service desk, who was typing on his personal terminal, pressed a notification bell. Wearing a half-mask that only revealed his chin, he asked softly, "Miss, what kind of task would you like to post?"
Lin Xiaoxiao came to her senses and softly stated her request: "I want you to help me find information about two people."
She had already thought about this issue when she got off the elevator.
In this place, if you don't want to attract attention, the best way is to post a task and find an excuse to wander around.
After all, ever since I stepped out of the elevator, that premonition of being summoned had become extremely strong.
Lin Xiaoxiao was almost 90% certain that the thing was inside this floor.
The staff handed over a registration form and a pen, placing them on the table: "Please register the name and characteristics of the person you are looking for."
Lin Xiaoxiao took the paper and pen and wrote down two names without hesitation: Lin Qiwei and Bai Yixiu.
Previously, after returning the box containing four high-level items to Chen Zhuoran in that secret realm, she became very curious: what were the original owner's parents' identities, why did they have such high-level items, and why were they sealed so meticulously?
In the original owner's memories, she could only vaguely recall two very blurry figures, the name that was constantly mentioned by others in her childhood, and past events.
I happened to arrive at this underground mission hall, and I needed to issue a mission as a cover.
Lin Xiaoxiao wrote down the original owner's parents' names without hesitation.
A few minutes later, she handed the completed form back.
The staff member input all the information from the form into the personal computer, speaking in a flat, emotionless tone, like a robot: "The standard reward for the mission is: 20 million gold coins, two gold items; and a 10% deposit in advance."
20 million gold coins? That's expensive!
Lin Xiaoxiao frowned. According to the staff leading the way, the standard price for checking personnel information here is between 200,000 and 1 million.
Why would the original owner's parents need 20 million plus two gold-level items?
She hesitated for a moment, then asked the question that had been bothering her: "Why is it so expensive?"
The staff seemed quite used to such questions and immediately turned the projection screen of the quantum computer towards Lin Xiaoxiao.
Pointing to the information items above, he showed Lin Xiaoxiao: "These two people have had listings for their information up to ten years ago. Basic information can be provided after a deposit is paid, but for more in-depth information, you'll need to place a higher-priced order to have someone investigate."
Ten years ago?
Lin Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at the information on the projection screen, and carefully read it through.
The message above consists of more than ten lines of text in bold and large font:
[In June of the year 4404 in the post-disaster calendar, **** has placed an order to search for the identities of Lin Qiwei and Bai Yixiu... Reward: 50,000 gold coins]
[In September of the year 4404 in the post-disaster calendar, **** has placed an order to search for the identities of Lin Qiwei and Bai Yixiu... Reward: 100,000 gold coins]
[January 4405 of the Post-Disaster Calendar, **** has placed an order to search for the identities of Lin Qiwei and Bai Yixiu... Reward: 250,000 Gold Coins]
...
The order placement was stopped three years ago, but the price for this search has risen to 5 million gold coins.
So, there might be some hidden reason behind the disappearance of the original owner's parents? Or perhaps they had unusual identities?
Otherwise, how could so many people be drawn to investigate their information?
Lin Xiaoxiao's mind raced as she tried to find some clue in her memories.
After waiting for more than ten minutes, seeing that Lin Xiaoxiao did not speak, the staff pressed the notification bell next to them again: "Do you want to issue an inquiry form?"
Lin Xiaoxiao, whose thoughts had been interrupted, nodded without hesitation: "Release."
The next second, she paused as she was about to take out her anonymous gold cards, only to find that she had 12 anonymous gold cards with a face value of 100,000 yuan left in her storage space.
She could easily withdraw the 2 million gold coins from her account, but that would leak her private information.
The hundreds of thousands of gold coins placed in a corner of the space, stored in a box, were untouchable; they were her reserve ammunition for battle.
As if sensing Lin Xiaoxiao's predicament, the staff member standing next to her gently suggested, "Guest, we offer a resource-to-coin exchange service. Each item only incurs a 1% service fee based on its total value."
Lin Xiaoxiao then directly exchanged thirteen [Silver-level] items from the staff member.
Then, after paying a 2 million deposit to post the task, I successfully obtained an anonymous silver-gray communicator.
The staff member spoke in a flat tone, expertly outlining the process: "The basic information has been sent to the communicator, which also includes a task tracking software. You can clearly track the task details there..."
"After you complete the task, a staff member will contact you to collect the remaining payment. The penalty for skipping out on the order will be severe, so we hope you will abide by the order rules as agreed."
"Finally, we wish you the information you seek. The Dark Side Mission Grounds welcomes you back again!"
After putting away the anonymous communicator, Lin Xiaoxiao hugged the black cat.
The staff member next to me gestured: "If you want to look around here, don't follow me."
She then shook off the staff who had been following her and casually walked toward the direction of the strong call.
After walking for a few minutes and passing more than a dozen registration desks,
She stopped at the very edge of an oval-shaped ornamental fishpond, 4 meters wide and 6 meters long, in the far corner.
Dry mist was constantly spraying around the fishpond, which was filled with colorful, mythical beast-like fish with long fins that looked like fairy wings.
In the very center of this fishpond, a 2-meter-high artificial mountain was built, complete with mountains, water features, waterfalls, paths, sculptures, and miniature landscapes. Together with the clear, emerald-green fishpond below, it creates a harmonious and exquisite scene.
But Lin Xiaoxiao didn't have time to admire the fish pond. She immediately noticed a seemingly ordinary stone, about half the size of a basketball, half submerged in water and half exposed in mid-air, at the bottom of the artificial hill.
Found it, this is it.
She hugged the black cat in her arms tighter, grabbed one of its paws and pointed it at the rock, making it look to an outsider as if she were pointing at the ornamental fish with the cat's paw.
He lowered his head and whispered, "Brother Cat, I want that stone. Could you get it for me?"
The black cat glanced at her impatiently with its emerald green eyes, then waved its paw, and the stone instantly fell into a whirlpool that had appeared out of nowhere.
Lin Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief when she got the stone and was about to tell the black cat, "Let's go."
Then a commotion could be heard from not far away:
"Damn it, is there a woman here holding a black cat?"
"Can anyone tell me where the woman holding the black cat is? There's a reward for reporting her; here are five anonymous gold cards with a face value of 100,000 each."
"I just saw that woman over here, heading in that direction."
...
After a moment of panic, only two blurry footprints, one deep and one shallow, remained on the edge of the fishpond.
Lin Xiaoxiao and the black cat had already disappeared from the spot.
After more than ten minutes, it felt like being tumbled through a turbulent time flow in a washing machine, rolling around 360 degrees without any blind spots.
The person and the cat landed in a rather dimly lit alley. The walls of buildings were on the side, and the blue bricks on the ground were covered with dust and stains. Not far behind them were several large garbage cans piled high with trash.
After falling out of the vortex, Lin Xiaoxiao's first reaction upon landing was to find a corner, lean against the wall, and vomit profusely.
The black cat sat to one side, its tail swishing impatiently from side to side, its eyelids drooping slightly, looking at her with disdain from the corner of its eye.
'Ugh—', 'Ugh—'...
A man completely covered except for his eyes, came down from the building warily after hearing the noise. He went around to the entrance of the alley at the back to check for any signs of danger: "Who's there?"
The black cat raised its right paw, its five sharp claws extending from its fur, and made a grabbing motion in mid-air.
Before the man could even get close, his head and body were completely separated in the next second. Bright red, rusty liquid sprayed irregularly into the air and then fell down.
The black cat glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao, who was still vomiting in the corner, flicked its tail, got up, and stepped into a vortex. Two minutes later, it reappeared in the same spot.
At this point, Lin Xiaoxiao had stopped vomiting.
She had just finished rinsing her mouth and was wiping it with a handkerchief, her voice weak and feeble: "Black Cat Boss, I'm all better now, let's go."
Turning around, she saw a pool of crimson blood on the ground, a lump split in two, and a head facing her, round like a watermelon, with a pair of terrified eyes staring at it.
She immediately turned around, squatted back down, and vomited again.
The black cat grunted, its mouth twitched, and its whiskers trembled slightly. It squatted on a slightly cleaner spot on the ground, its tail slapping back and forth, sending dust flying into the air.
For the next two and a half days, Lin Xiaoxiao followed the black cat, teleporting around everywhere.
From initially vomiting to being unable to get up, to panic, and then to numbness and indifference.
Later, I witnessed the black cat dealing with a professional dressed in the same clothes, completely covered up.
I can now calmly remark without even noticing: indeed, human potential is limitless; as long as you push them a little, they'll get used to anything.
Lin Xiaoxiao, who was following the black cat, had witnessed the events many times and could roughly guess that the black cat's purpose in coming this time was to collect the black and red token.
As for the fact that the people Black Cat dealt with were dressed very similarly, it is very likely that they all came from the same place or organization.
After visiting the last place.
The black cat yawned, packed all the tokens into a ball, stuffed it into a vortex, and then, as if it had completed its mission, returned to its lazy state.
The black cat took her back to the vicinity of the Xiao family and nestled comfortably in Lin Xiaoxiao's arms, closing its eyes and pretending to sleep (ps: at first the black cat didn't want Xiaoxiao to carry it, but later it found it really comfortable not having to walk, so it started to treat Xiaoxiao like a human sedan chair).
As Lin Xiaoxiao stood in front of the Xiao family's gate, holding the black cat, she looked at the familiar carved metal gate, let out a long breath, and subconsciously relaxed the tense muscles in her body.
Even though they haven't been apart for long, less than a month, why does she feel like it's been a lifetime?
Just as Lin Xiaoxiao was sighing, a fiery red figure rushed towards her from inside, followed by a familiar figure.
Redtail tugged at Lin Xiaoxiao's trouser leg, her voice trembling with emotion, "Where have you been all this time?"
Lin Xiaoxiao held the black cat in her arms, looked down at the red-tailed cat pawing at her leg, and explained gently, "I was teleported to another place by a magic circle in the sky during this time. Be good, I'm back safely, and I even brought you and Xunbao gifts."
Not long after, Lin Xiaoxiao was embraced in a warm embrace. Xiao Weizhi rested his stubble-covered chin on her head, held her tightly in his arms, and said in a hoarse voice, "You're back. I'm sorry!"
We agreed that I would come to find you, but you ended up having to travel all that way to find me.
Lin Xiaoxiao hugged Xiao Weizhi's waist back, buried her head in his chest, and subconsciously softened her voice: "Yes, I'm back."
Xiao Weizhi gently kissed Lin Xiaoxiao's hair: "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
He scooped Lin Xiaoxiao up in his arms and carried her inside, his steps hurried, as if a ferocious beast were chasing him.
After washing up and changing her clothes, Lin Xiaoxiao originally wanted Xiao Weizhi to clarify what he hadn't finished saying a month ago.
As a result, she fell asleep as soon as she sat down in the chair.
When Lin Xiaoxiao opened her eyes again, it was already past midnight. She was alone in the room; Xiao Weizhi was not there, and she didn't know where he was.
She put on a coat, got out of bed, and pushed open the door, only to be startled by Sister Luo, who looked like she was standing guard at the door.
Sister Luo clasped her hands in front of her lower abdomen and said with a smile, "Miss Lin, you've been sleeping for so long, go and have something to eat first. Young Master is waiting for you in the study."
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement; she was indeed a little hungry.
After finishing a bowl of hot noodles in the restaurant, she turned and went upstairs to her study.
The study door was not closed, leaving a gap of about 5 centimeters, from which warm yellow light spilled out and shone into the dimly lit corridor.
Lin Xiaoxiao raised her hand and bent her right index finger, preparing to knock on the wooden door with her knuckle.
Xiao Weizhi's voice came out: "The door is open, come in."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao changed her knocking motion to pulling the door open.
Not all the incandescent lights in the study were turned on; only a few warm yellow spotlights and one or two floor lamps were on.
The warm yellow light shone into the study filled with books, making it feel exceptionally warm and tranquil.
Having shaved off all his beard, Xiao Weizhi, dressed in a gray casual outfit, sat on the sofa in the corner, facing the study door.
In front of him was a table with a pot of tea, two cups, two plates of snacks, and an empty sofa.
Jiang Bo stood with his head down to Xiao Weizhi's right rear, one hand behind his back and the other hanging naturally at his side, his posture straight and composed.
Xiao Weizhi stood up from the sofa, took a few steps forward, reached out and pulled her close, asking gently, "Have you eaten?"
Lin Xiaoxiao was led inside by Xiao Weizhi, and answered softly, "I'm full."
After she sat down on the small sofa, Xiao Weizhi turned around and returned to his original seat. Uncle Jiang stood by the table, picked up the teapot to pour tea, and then placed one of the cups in front of Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao didn't pick up the teacup in front of her. Instead, she looked up and stared sharply at Xiao Weizhi across from her, getting straight to the point: "Can you tell me why you created such a 'vacuum world' full of actors for me?"
Xiao Weizhi leaned back on the small sofa, his hands resting on the armrests on either side. Looking at Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes, which were already showing signs of sharpness, he felt a mixture of admiration and inexplicable sadness.
I admire her because of her growth; I'm sad because he wasn't there for her during that growth, and she had to face and endure it all alone.
He let out a soft sigh, his smile bitter, his tone somewhat self-deprecating: "Because I am not capable of protecting a treasure like you."
"The only way to divert some people's attention is to create a persona of a control addict who will stop at nothing for love and keep a canary in a cage."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao looked surprised, her mouth slightly open, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Thinking back on some of his habits, I inexplicably feel like complaining: his strong desire to control doesn't seem like an act, but rather something he's born with in his bones, always wanting to have everything under control.
Think back to when they were in the secret realm, all of the Dragon Fang team members were completely under his control. He knew their habits and lifestyles inside and out, and would take the initiative to stop them when they got too out of line.
When the team members get angry, they can't help but complain about Xiao Wei's nickname of "control freak".
Realizing she had been daydreaming, Lin Xiaoxiao shook her head and asked again, "What do you mean?"
The study fell silent for a moment.
Just as Xiao Weizhi was organizing his thoughts, trying to figure out how to say it in front of the woman he liked while still saving face for her.
Uncle Jiang, standing to the side, explained in a deep voice: "Because the Xiao family is currently just an empty shell, strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Your appearance is not icing on the cake for the Xiao family and the young master, but a death knell."
“If you and I weren’t bound together by a forced, life-or-death relationship, I would have personally sent you away from the Xiao family and taken this ticking time bomb to the ends of the earth.”
Xiao Weizhi reminded him in a deep voice, "Uncle Jiang, that's too much."
Jiang Bo stared at Lin Xiaoxiao with icy coldness, then took a few deep breaths, lowered his head, and retreated to stand behind Xiao Weizhi's sofa.
Lin Xiaoxiao frowned and bit her lower lip.
Seeing Lin Xiaoxiao's expression, Xiao Weizhi felt a pang of unease. He quietly and briefly explained the current situation of the Xiao family: "When I was 17, my father led more than 80% of the family's elite professionals into a 3S-level secret realm. Since then, there has been no news of him, and no one knows whether he is alive or dead..."
"My grandfather is currently afflicted with a [Legendary] curse, which is being suppressed at the Imperial Supreme Sanatorium..."
“My younger siblings were sent to live with my father’s mentor… So what Uncle Jiang said is true, the house is indeed an empty shell right now, except for me.”
After listening, Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly understood.
No wonder she has lived here for so long. Apart from that one chance encounter with Xiao Weizhi's twin brother and sister, she has never seen any of his relatives.
She took over the Xiao family at the age of 17. Her younger siblings were forced to live with other people. Her grandfather was also cursed. There were also assassinations and attacks from time to time. Such a life... wait, a curse?
The isolation magic circle in the sky, the Xiao family being targeted, the auction house, Young Master Mu, cursed props, and the cursed grandfather.
Lin Xiaoxiao instantly pieced together all the fragmented information...
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