Chapter 49: Old Brother

“Whenever you come as a guest, you should greet the host properly,” the Skinner cautiously said, “Mr. Wang, you used to work at the tax bureau, right?”

Xu Huo didn’t answer his question. Instead, he sized him up with disdain. “Do you think you have the standing to greet my brother-in-law?”

Without waiting for a reply, he added, “No point asking so many questions. How many days do you think you can stay here? Is cramming at the last minute going to help?”

“That’s true.” The Skinner was big and burly, and after relaxing his expression, he laughed with a bit of a goofy charm. “For people like us who move between different stations, we definitely can’t compare to the super players stationed permanently.”

Xu Huo paused for a moment, then said calmly, “People need to have ambitions.”

The Skinner laughed heartily. “When I get back from the E27 Wormhole Point, my dungeon level will have a chance to rise again. Then my slaughterhouse can turn into a big processing factory. My canned meat skills are top-notch. There’s so much pork no one orders; it’s such a waste.”

“Speaking of food,” Xu Huo said after hearing him out, “When are you eating?”

The Skinner was excited. “We just slaughtered a few pigs today; the meat is still fresh!”

Xu Huo said with disgust, “How can you eat when it’s dirty and smelly? I just saw some live fish—freshly caught and ready to eat.”

The Skinner seemed disappointed that he couldn’t show off his knife skills and cooking talent. He raised his voice to call over some players.

Tang Pei came over. The Skinner glanced at her, then at Xu Huo. Seeing that Xu Huo only glanced briefly at the woman’s chest before losing interest and looking away, he immediately brightened and ordered, “You guys handle the fish.”

After that, he ignored Tang Pei and invited Xu Huo to taste his stash of hidden liquor.

Tang Pei lingered, hoping to get a hint from Xu Huo, but he didn’t even look her way. Reluctantly, she followed the Skinner’s orders.

By the time the fried fish was served, Xu Huo and the Skinner had finished a bottle of strong liquor. They were chatting about women.

“...Women from E27 just don’t measure up. No real touch,” the Skinner said, making a grabbing motion with his fingers.

Xu Huo loosened his collar, his face flushed from the alcohol. Leaning on the sofa and sipping his drink, he said, “Nothing beats raising your own. Using the best potions and food from the start, you can shape her however you want.”

The Skinner listened, entranced. He tilted his head back and gulped down a big mouthful of liquor, wiping his messy beard. Then he grabbed a piece of fried fish and chewed it with bone and all. “I’ve heard of people raising animals to eat them, but I didn’t expect some to be raised for use. Must taste pretty good.”

Xu Huo smiled knowingly, a meaning that couldn’t be put into words.

The Skinner’s boisterous laughter echoed from the conference room turned temporary dining hall. Three players entered the bedroom one after another and came out again. Including Tang Pei, who was on lookout duty, all of them had sweat running down their backs after returning to the workshop.

“Still no luck,” Qin An complained, “We don’t have mechanical or luck tools on hand. Searching by manpower alone just wastes the precious time we fought for.”

“Maybe unlocking the secret room requires a special item,” Tang Pei guessed. “That’s why we can’t find it.”

“What should we do then?” Xian Dazhi looked at them helplessly. “I’m dumb and uneducated. I can help as a fighter, but I’m no good with thinking.”

Zou Weichang, annoyed, said, “If all else fails, let’s follow my plan: don’t anger the Skinner for these fifteen days and leave with a ticket when the game time ends.”

Qin An also considered this idea, but Tang Pei gritted her teeth and said, “I don’t have a ticket anymore. Can any of you sell me one?”

The group fell silent. At that moment, the Skinner’s voice came closer. “Brother Wang, didn’t expect you to like fishing too. I’ve collected quite a few fishing tools. You’ll definitely be interested.”

“True interest means going with the flow. Anyone can catch fish with tools. Skill and eyesight make the difference,” Xu Huo’s voice was a bit airy, clearly drunk.

“That’s right!” The Skinner slapped Xu Huo’s shoulder with his big palm, “Brother Wang, we’re like-minded. You have to stay a few more days!”

Xu Huo slapped his shoulder back, playing the ‘good buddies’ act. “No problem. Next time you come, I’ll arrange a fishing trip with you!”

The two linked arms and entered the bedroom. Despite Xu Huo being two sizes smaller than the Skinner, his momentum didn’t lose out at all.

He was just going into the Skinner’s bedroom?

Judging by the Skinner’s tone, he wanted to show him his collection. There were no tools in the bedroom, so he could openly enter the secret room?

The players held their breath, only exchanging glances, afraid that speaking might give Xu Huo away.

When the door to the Skinner’s den closed, they finally exhaled and quietly hoped that maybe Xu Huo could directly steal the collection.

Meanwhile, inside the den, Xu Huo was startled by the various animal pelts hanging vertically around the room.

Outside, night had fallen. Dozens or even hundreds of shadows dangled from the barbs, at first glance looking like dozens of people hanging.

“These…” he slowed down his speech and began to speak, but the enthusiastic Skinner cut him off. “What’s so special about these? They’re just furs or human skins. The real treasures are in my collection!”

Human skins?

Xu Huo quickly scanned the den, his expression darkening slightly. Then he feigned indifference and followed the Skinner into the bedroom.

Once inside, the Skinner swung his arm, placing both palms against the wall beside the bed. Using brute force, he pushed the entire wall horizontally back more than a meter, revealing two unusually tall passages.

Xu Huo stepped in first. After the Skinner followed, he briefly scanned the secret room.

The secret room was slightly larger than the bedroom outside. Two single sofas faced each other with a table in between holding fishhooks, knives, some unfinished liquor, and cups.

Three walls had shelves with seemingly ordinary and inconspicuous items, such as matches, fishing rods, bottle openers, and more than a dozen objects stored in compartments. It was unclear if these were tools.

Piles of tobacco, liquor, white bills, and adult magazines were scattered in the corners, mixed with some moldy fruit pits.

One wall had a fireplace, but oddly, although a log was burning inside, the flame gave off no heat.

Above the fireplace hung a painting of a woman with large breasts and hips. When Xu Huo looked at it, the woman in the painting winked at him.

The Skinner clapped his hands. The naked woman jumped out of the painting and hugged him, beginning to kiss him.

She had a human form but no human mind.

The Skinner massaged her and said to Xu Huo, “Brother Wang, what do you think?”

“Always ready. Give a photo and it can turn into any woman’s appearance, any style. You don’t have this kind of treasure, right?”

“Definitely not,” Xu Huo said, staring at the woman slowly.