"So I think the water Rubik's Cube brought them into the game," Lou Zigui said. "Unfortunately, neither of them ever showed up again... I hope they cleared it."
After thanking Xu Huo again, Lou Zigui finally ended the call.
Xu Huo handed the Communicator to the painted woman and asked her to submit the Wanted Criminals he'd selected to the municipal government.
The painted woman had been at it for a long time, and she was starting to set terms. "Once I'm done with this, I'm never doing this job again. I want to go out and have some fun."
Xu Huo was about to reply when a message suddenly came through on the Communicator. It was from Ding Dong Bleeding, who introduced herself without preamble: "I'm a Player with the municipal government."
After a brief exchange, he got up. "Didn't you want to go out? Let's go."
The painted woman promptly dropped her work and followed him. Zhu Xiaojin wanted to come along too, so the three of them set off for a nearby bar.
It wasn't dinner time yet, but most Players and local residents had already gone home. Places like bars were even emptier, so when the three of them went inside, they saw a woman with a tattoo on her forehead sitting by the counter.
"Are you Ding Dong Bleeding?" Xu Huo asked as he approached.
The tattooed woman motioned to the bartender to pour him a drink. "Give it a try. Before the municipal government collapsed, I used to love drinking here."
Xu Huo wasn't particularly interested, but the painted woman was eager to try it. She picked up the glass and downed it, smacked her lips, then asked the bartender for another.
Zhu Xiaojin sat beside Xu Huo and didn't join in their conversation.