Brother

"Since you're visiting, you should at least greet your host," the Skin Stripper said tentatively. "Did Mr. Wang used to work at the Tax Bureau?"

Xu Huo didn't answer his question. Instead, he looked him up and down with disdain. "You think you're important enough to greet my brother-in-law?"

Without waiting for him to reply, he went on, "There's no point asking so many questions. How many days can you stay here? Is it really worth cramming at the last minute?"

"That's true." The Skin Stripper was big and burly, and when his expression softened, his smile gave him a bit of a simple-minded, hulking air. "A moving site like ours, which travels between different stations, definitely can't compare to a Super Player at a permanent station."

Xu Huo's fingers paused. He kept his expression neutral and said, "You have to have ambitions."

The Skin Stripper laughed. "Once I get back from the E27 wormhole point, I'll have a chance to raise my Dungeon level again. Then my slaughterhouse can become a big processing plant. I'm a master at making canned meat, but no one's ordered all that pork. It's going to waste."

"Speaking of food," Xu Huo said after listening to him, changing the subject. "When are we eating?"

The Skin Stripper was brimming with enthusiasm. "I just slaughtered a few pigs today. The meat's fresh!"

Xu Huo said with distaste, "It's filthy and stinks. How are we supposed to eat that? I saw live fish earlier. Let's kill them and eat them fresh."

The Skin Stripper was disappointed that he hadn't gotten to show off his knife skills and cooking, so he bellowed for a player to come over.

Tang Pei arrived. The Skin Stripper looked at her, then at Xu Huo. Seeing him glance only briefly at the woman's chest before losing interest and looking away, he brightened at once and ordered, "You lot, cook the fish."

Then he ignored Tang Pei and invited Xu Huo to sample his collection of liquor.

Tang Pei dawdled, hoping to get some hint from Xu Huo, but he didn't even look at her. With no other choice, she could only do as the Skin Stripper had said.

By the time the fried fish was brought over, Xu Huo and the Skin Stripper had already finished a bottle of hard liquor. They were chatting about women.

"...The women at E27 aren't any good. They don't feel right." The Skin Stripper curled his five fingers as if grabbing something.

Xu Huo's collar was open, and his face was a little flushed from drinking. Leaning against the sofa, he sipped his liquor and said, "Women you find outside can't compare to ones you raise yourself. Give them the best Potions and food from childhood, and you can make them look however you want."

The Skin Stripper was enthralled. He tipped back a large gulp of liquor, wiped his messy beard, then picked up a piece of fried fish and stuffed it into his mouth. He crunched it up, bones and all, and swallowed. "I'd heard of people raising them to eat, but I never thought anyone would raise them for... other uses. They must be quite something, huh?"

Xu Huo smiled knowingly.

The Skin Stripper's boisterous laughter rang out from the meeting room that had been turned into a temporary dining room. Three players went into the bedroom one after another, then came back out. Along with Tang Pei, who had kept watch, they were all sweating by the time they returned to the Workshop.

"We still haven't found it." Qin An sounded frustrated. "We don't have any mechanism or luck-based items. Searching by hand is just wasting the time we fought so hard to gain."

"Maybe opening the Secret Room requires a special item," Tang Pei guessed. "That could be why we can't find it."

"Then what do we do?" Xian Dazhi looked at them, at a complete loss. "I'm dumb and uneducated. I can help as muscle, but I'm no good at thinking."

Zou Weichang was furious at the sight of him. "If we really have no other choice, we'll do what I said. Let's avoid angering the Skin Stripper as much as possible for these fifteen days, then leave with our Tickets when the game time's up."

Qin An had considered doing the same, but Tang Pei gritted her teeth and said, "I don't have a Ticket anymore. Can any of you sell me one?"

They fell silent for a moment. Just then, the Skin Stripper's voice came closer. "Brother Wang, I didn't know you liked fishing too. I've collected quite a few fishing items. I'm sure you'll be interested."

"Interest is only fun when you let things happen naturally. Anyone can catch fish with an item. Skill and a sharp eye—that's what makes someone a master." Xu Huo's voice sounded a little unsteady. He was clearly drunk.

"Exactly!" The Skin Stripper smacked him on the shoulder with a hand as big as a fan. "Brother Wang, we're kindred spirits. You have to stay a few more days!"

Xu Huo clapped him on the shoulder too, acting like they were the best of buddies. "No problem. Next time you come by, I'll take you fishing!"

The two of them walked into the bedroom with their arms around each other. Though Xu Huo looked two sizes smaller than the Skin Stripper, he didn't seem at all outmatched.

He actually went into the Skin Stripper's Bedroom?

From the sound of it, the Skin Stripper was going to show him his collection. There were no items in the bedroom, so could he enter the Secret Room openly?

The players held their breath and exchanged glances, afraid to say a word in case they gave Xu Huo away.

Once the door to the Fur Room closed, they finally relaxed. Hope rose in their hearts. Maybe Xu Huo could steal the collection right out from under the Skin Stripper's nose.

Meanwhile, Xu Huo was startled by the animal pelts hanging vertically throughout the Fur Room.

It was already dark outside. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of shadows dangled from hooks, and at first glance they looked like people hanging there.

"These..." He slowed his speech as he began, but the Skin Stripper, brimming with enthusiasm, cut him off. "What's there to see here? It's all fur and human skin. The things I've collected are the real treasures!"

Human skin?

Xu Huo quickly scanned the Fur Room. His gaze darkened slightly, but then he pretended nothing was wrong and followed the Skin Stripper into the bedroom.

As soon as they entered, the Skin Stripper shook out his arms and planted both palms against the wall beside the bed. With brute force, he shoved the entire wall sideways more than a meter, opening two passages wide enough for a person to walk through.

Xu Huo went in first. Once the Skin Stripper had followed, he took a quick look around the Secret Room.

The Secret Room was slightly larger than the bedroom outside. Two single sofas faced each other, and the table between them held fishhooks and knives, along with unfinished liquor and glasses.

Three of the room's walls were fitted with shelves. More than a dozen objects that looked ordinary and unremarkable—matches, a fishing rod, a bottle opener, and so on—had been placed separately in the compartments. It was unclear whether they were items.

Piles of cigarettes, liquor, White Cash, and erotic magazines were scattered in the corners, along with some moldy fruit pits.

A fireplace had been built into another wall. Strangely, a log was burning inside it, but the flames gave off no heat.

Above the fireplace hung a Female Portrait. The woman had large breasts and wide hips. When Xu Huo looked her way, she winked at him.

The Skin Stripper clapped his hands, and the woman leaped naked out of the painting and began kissing him.

She had a human body, but no human thoughts.

The Skin Stripper fondled her and asked Xu Huo, "What do you think, Brother Wang?"

"She comes whenever you call, and all you need is a Photo to make her look like any woman you want. You can try any kind of thing with her. You don't have anything this good, do you?"

"I don't," Xu Huo said slowly, staring at the woman.