"If I weren't a Player trying to clear the level, I wouldn't have stopped at asking which cat-whisker fruit was the real delivery this time." Xu Huo's voice was calm. "I could've made my move before you arrived. Surely I haven't been trailing you for days just out of respect for my elders."
It was harsh, but true. If Xu Huo and the painted woman had been after the old lady's information from the start, they'd had plenty of opportunities to act along the way. There'd been no need to travel with them or risk intercepting the local Players who'd tried to stop them.
Just then, the long-haired Player's earpiece beeped. He paused for a moment, apparently receiving a message from his companions, then said, "You really are impressive. A mental-type Super Evolver, and you're carrying a time item. At your level, I doubt anyone could easily impersonate you."
"So, are we making peace?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
The long-haired Player nodded, murmured a few words to reassure the old lady, then said, "The bookstore owner's child has been rescued. A few of their other companions fought the people guarding the house. It seems the other side only wanted to make things difficult for us. They weren't fighting to the death."
The people who'd intercepted them on the train were clearly not the same group that had laid an ambush at the bookstore owner's home. They'd abducted the child and waited, and the person they'd been waiting for was probably the old lady.
The long-haired Player showed the old lady a badge. "This can prove who I am. You live in Cat Fruit Town, so you should recognize it."
The old lady was suspicious now. She took the badge and examined it carefully. Only after a moment did she