Chapter 62: True Colors of a Homebody

No matter how displeased the Painted Woman was, in the end, she only bought two sets of the simplest short-sleeved shirts with long pants and a women's tank top, drawing strange looks from the clerk and the customers in the store toward Xu Huo.

"You can go with whoever is willing to buy you clothes," Xu Huo said indifferently.

The Painted Woman, who had been pouting and unwilling just a second ago, instantly changed her expression. She affectionately reached out to lock arms with him, but was stopped halfway by a cold glance. She immediately changed her tactic to grabbing a corner of his jacket, leaving the crowd of onlookers full of regret.

Xu Huo remained in high spirits, stepping out of the bustling street into a narrow alley. He turned a corner and stopped, watching a shadow approach the ground on the other side, and with the speed of lightning, he reached out and grabbed the person by the throat, hoisting them into the air.

"Why are you following me?"

The man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses grabbed his hand and struggled, "Brother Xu! It's me, Yuan Yao!"

Xu Huo knocked off his cap before letting go, "Why are you sneaking around and following me?"

Yuan Yao coughed for a moment before saying, "I just arrived early, so I was wandering around nearby and happened to see you and sister-in-law out shopping."

As he spoke, he did not forget to greet the Painted Woman, "Hello, sister-in-law."

The Painted Woman returned a shy smile to him.

Yuan Yao, a typical homebody, blushed slightly. Suddenly, he felt a piercing chill from an icy gaze and quickly withdrew his line of sight, turning instead to say, "Brother Xu, you are truly amazing. Last time at the hot spring resort, you didn't notice me even when I was that close, but this time, hiding in the crowd, you managed to catch me. I haven't seen you for three days, and I must look at you with entirely new eyes. I have only one word for you: I'm impressed!"

Yuan Yao's trait was indeed formidable. Xu Huo had completely failed to notice anyone tailing him. However, when the "good friend" values above the heads of people around him were blank or read 1 or 2, having a "5" mixed in among them was very conspicuous, and this "5" had been tailing him the entire time.

This turned out to be a great way to detect enemies.

Xu Huo sized up Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao felt a chill run down the back of his neck from that gaze, and hugging his arms, he said, "Brother Xu, let's talk this out, there's no need for this."

"Is your trait concealing traces?" Xu Huo asked. "No need to go into too much detail, roughly to what extent can you hide?"

"What's so difficult about that?" Seeing that Xu Huo asked in front of the Painted Woman, Yuan Yao figured she must be in the know or was a player herself, so he replied candidly, "My profession is Homebody, and I've developed a trait called Hide-and-Seek. The basic ability is simply hiding; if I hide in a place where others can't see me and stay still, I won't be discovered."

"It also works in crowded places because pedestrians act as obstacles. In short, as long as we aren't face-to-face, it's usually very hard to find out you're being tracked."

Lowering his voice, he added, "I've tracked two celebrities and three political figures, and none of them noticed."

Xu Huo glanced at him, "Aren't you afraid of running into other players?"

Yuan Yao wagged a finger and said smugly, "Knowing how to use the internet well is also an essential skill for a homebody. Before tracking them, I investigated the people around them; nobody took a leave of absence or went to see a doctor for no reason, and I could even look up the takeout they ordered every day."

Only then did Xu Huo take this unremarkable young man seriously, "Can you find out information about other players?"

Yuan Yao hastily shook his head, "My little bit of technical skill isn't up to par, how would I dare hack into the official backend? However, when I was browsing forums, I saw someone inviting players to a gathering, and they are supposedly going to do something big. I don't know if it's true, though."

Information on the internet was hard to distinguish as true or false. Xu Huo had noticed a frequently appearing account there; besides leaving comments under the player gathering post, it had also left footprints on several trading posts. The user had even posted a request to buy a train ticket, and the listed address turned out to be right near the hotel where he had stayed.

"Can you track the address of this account?"

"It's not hard, as long as I have a computer," Yuan Yao said. "I rented a place in Ting City. Let's go to my place for dinner later."

"You aren't from Ting City, are you?" Xu Huo asked.

"I live in the neighboring city," Yuan Yao said with a grin. "I figured there will definitely be plenty of opportunities to meet in the future, so I just rented a place. Why don't you move in with me, Brother Xu? I have plenty of rooms."

"We'll talk about that later," Xu Huo turned and walked outward. "Weren't we going to eat? Let's go."

"Let's have hot pot," Yuan Yao quickly caught up. "I read online reviews, there's a really delicious hot pot place around here."

The three entered the hot pot restaurant, and Yuan Yao ordered a huge table of dishes, thoughtfully asking Xu Huo and the Painted Woman if there was anything they couldn't eat.

Xu Huo looked at the Painted Woman, who was practically drooling, took a sip of tea, and asked, "Can you eat hot pot?"

With chopsticks already in hand, the Painted Woman nodded like a pecking chick and instructed Yuan Yao, who was mixing the dipping sauces, to put extra chili in hers.

"Can't sister-in-law speak?" Seeing that she only smiled and did nothing else, Yuan Yao asked cautiously.

"She isn't your sister-in-law. A distant relative staying with me temporarily. Her name is Lichun. She's mute from birth and has some intellectual issues," Xu Huo supplemented the Painted Woman's persona.

Yuan Yao wore a sympathetic look and suggested, "My parents know a few famous doctors. Should I have them examine Lichun?"

"No money," Xu Huo brushed him off.

"Look at you, as if I would ask Brother Xu for money!" Yuan Yao patted his chest, "My family has money, I'll cover the medical expenses!"

Xu Huo gave no indication of his stance, but the Painted Woman sitting opposite him lit up, pointed at Xu Huo's phone, and brought her hands together in a pleading gesture.

"You want a phone?" Yuan Yao secretly glanced at Xu Huo. He figured that a powerhouse should be able to make money in minutes, so why couldn't he even afford a phone?

However, maybe this expert just preferred a frugal lifestyle.

"Can I buy her one?" he asked carefully.

"Whatever," Xu Huo scalded a chopstick full of food.

"Alright then, we'll go pick out a phone after eating," Yuan Yao replied cheerfully.

The Painted Woman's eyebrows curved into smiles as she dug up pictures of clothes and skirts on her phone, pointing at the ones inside.

Yuan Yao was dazzled by her smile and agreed to buy everything, fully displaying his homebody nature.

After the meal, the three first went to the phone store, then to the commercial street, shopping until it was completely dark.

"It's about time." Xu Huo stood up from the resting area and called out to Yuan Yao and the Painted Woman, "Let's go."

The Painted Woman had already mastered the basic functions of the phone. She opened the notepad and quickly typed out a line of text to show Xu Huo:

"Someone is following us."

"I know," Xu Huo nodded and helped Yuan Yao carry some shopping bags. "Let's go to your place first."

Leaving the mall, they got into a taxi, and a taxi parked by the roadside slowly trailed behind them. The small, thin man driving dialed a phone call, "Sister Ning, I found someone carrying the scent of Ah Xiao on them. It must be him who lured Ah Xiao out. I'm following them right now, and I'll contact you when we arrive."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."