Apparently, this balloon was not that intelligent. After emitting a series of inexplicable laughter, it deflated, and then a clip popped up next to the step where Xu Huo was standing, with the words "Pull Here" written on it.

With a cold laugh, Xu Huo followed the instruction and pulled out the clip. At that moment, the mechanism clicked where the balloon had floated from, and a box slowly rose up.

He walked over and opened the box. As expected, a handful of multicolored confetti burst out, showering over his head, and the box automatically played a rhythmic dance tune. Multicolored small lights flickered, first shining on his face, and then they turned to the inside of the box, where a syringe sealed in a transparent container was placed.

Xu Huo picked up the syringe, and there was an instruction manual below it.

On the first page, it was written: "This is a poison."

He flipped to the second page: "This is a P6S version of the Perfect Potion."

The third page said: "This potion was stored here by someone who called himself Dr. Wu after winning a bet."

"It might be real, or it might be fake."

Completely ignoring the instruction manual, Xu Huo opened the container and took out the green syringe inside. Naturally, one cannot judge the authenticity of the Perfect Potion with the naked eye, but he came here looking for the Gourmet and only Dr. Wu knew about it. This also happened to be the P6S version of the potion he needed, and Shi Shuai’s instruction manual matched Dr. Wu’s version, so the potion should be real.

The Fish Banquet was just one of the more potential places he selected from many target locations. Although he suspected Shi Shuai was the Gourmet, it was only based on intuition without concrete evidence. He didn’t expect that just as he was about to give up, the potion would appear in this way, as if Shi Shuai was waiting here for him.

The video about the Fish Banquet might not even feature the real Gourmet; it could be a fake Gourmet, or even the video could be fake, just used by someone to bait others.

It no longer mattered whether the video was real or fake. Shi Shuai appeared at the Fish Banquet and successfully handed over the Perfect Potion, which was enough to show his deep connection with Dr. Wu. It seems Dr. Wu not only randomly stored some potions in different zones but also entrusted them to some trustworthy people.

It’s not easy to select trustworthy people from the game, but from this event, it’s clear that Dr. Wu is not without support. It’s just unknown whether there might be a group of perfectly evolved players in the game.

The potion has been obtained, and Xu Huo’s task for this trip is accomplished.

He put away the potion, turned around, and stepped into the Space Portal.

After exiting, he was still in the same place as before. The Girl in the painting and Lan Huaijie were there, and after a brief cessation of activity in the room’s spatial body, the door they entered through also reappeared.

A space filled with spatial power and isolated from the outside is indeed a good place to hide things, which also indicates that the person who established the Fish Banquet can’t fully control their own territory.

"Let’s go." Xu Huo smiled and said to the Girl in the painting.

The space outside the room had been reconstructed; the fan-shaped room was gone, replaced by ever-moving corridors and doors and windows. As they headed out, they happened to see two young people clinging to a window moving past them. Lan Huaijie quickly grabbed the two and also pulled the Girl in the painting, who then took Xu Huo along.

A string of people followed the spatial movement and soon encountered other scattered players. Seeing the space stabilizing and the castle becoming more stable, everyone realized that only a few people were missing, while the majority remained fine—no confrontation, no attacks. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Any gains?" Everyone was more concerned about this question.

Unfortunately, they were all trapped in some narrow space, having seen only corpses and bones, with nothing else.

"Surviving is good enough." The fat player wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Lan Huaijie and the others, "Let’s get out of here. It’s too dangerous."

Lan Huaijie had the same thought. He nodded to the Ma Family Elder. The others had no objections, so the Ma Family Elder took out a teleportation prop, opened a space passage, and let Lan Huaijie’s group go through first before he followed.

Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting followed closely behind, but as soon as they crossed over, the passage suddenly disappeared. The fat player and another female player who had crossed earlier couldn’t help but look at the Ma Family Elder.

"The passage was damaged. Someone must have entered this small space." The Ma Family Elder frowned. Years of struggling in the game honed his sharp intuition, prompting him to quickly lead Lan Huaijie’s group to the nearest room. Almost the moment they opened the door, two Space Portals opened where they just stood, and a group of people wearing shark masks surged out.

"Run!" shouted the fat player, hurriedly following Lan Huaijie and the others into the room.

"Bang!" Xu Huo, the last one in, closed the door and frowned, asking, "What’s going on? Why is the Fish Banquet attacking players who entered the small space? Isn’t this within the scope of exploration according to the rules?"

"Someone must have obtained something valuable in the castle," said the fat player. "Probably here to rob. Do you even need to ask?"

He led everyone astray with his words, causing the young members to immediately begin speculating about what treasures the castle might hold. In contrast, the Ma Family Elder remained doubtful, his gaze wandering over Xu Huo, the Girl in the painting, and the other female player.

"Being targeted by the Fish Banquet is not a good thing. Hiding in the room is just a temporary measure. We should leave first," he suggested.

Lan Huaijie nodded and extended an invitation to Xu Huo again.

Having already obtained the Perfect Potion, the players at the Fish Banquet were probably still searching for him. Xu Huo didn’t want to stay here any longer. He was also interested in revisiting District 001, so he accepted the invitation.

"Let’s all go together." The fat player quickly said, "Can you take me too? I also want to get out!"

As Lan Huaijie had mentioned, players from the Outer Zone were most welcome to visit District 001 as guests. Without much hesitation, they agreed. The female player didn’t know who had attracted the pursuing forces, but staying alone was certainly dangerous, so she also decided to leave with them.

No one paid attention to the player in the room dressed down by the Ma Family Elder.

The space passage opened, and the group successfully arrived at District 001 without incident.

They settled in a villa belonging to the Lan Family. After their arrival, Lan Huaijie invited Xu Huo and the others to take a seat and instructed the servants to prepare dinner.

"I usually stay here alone, with no one to disturb me. Feel free to stay. If you wish to explore Guard City, I can arrange for a driver," he said.

The fat player glanced at the room’s decor. "Your family is really wealthy," he remarked.

Lan Huaijie smiled and said nothing, escorting the young members out. Before long, several players arrived to replace the Ma Family Elder.

Once arrangements were made, he sat down opposite Xu Huo and asked, "It’s too late today. Tomorrow, I can take you to tour my factory, which is engaged in energy weapon component production and development."

"Energy weapons?" The other two in the room showed interest. The fat player said, "You need good connections to be in weapons production and development. You must also do business with game companies, right?"

Lan Huaijie modestly replied, "It’s just selling some small components, not a big business. The gaming world is vast, and even Hengxing Company can’t handle everything. There are always some small items that require production by companies like ours."