Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!

Chapter 2472: Fruit at the Mountain Top

"I haven’t decided yet," Xu Huo said lazily. "But I figure those Players who’ve been running errands for the shops in town must have been swapped out many times already. Even if we go again, we’re not likely to gain anything.""Just in time, the Wan Family is holding a banquet three days from now. Quite a few people from other cities will come. Maybe we can find a suitable target among them."

Bubble Bean and the other person felt that made sense too, though they ended up with some differences when it came to choosing a target.

Bubble Bean thought that if they wanted to clear the instance with a high rating, they’d have to put some effort into picking a target. Since they didn’t know the exact evaluation criteria of the instance, he suggested their selection range should be some ordinary people who looked weaker and in need of help.

Ling Ling had said before that this instance might be very easy to clear, but she had just gone around to different shops asking questions and also picked up some information from a few Players. Successful cases of clearing the instance by helping ordinary people were extremely rare, never mind that this was supposedly the easiest approach to copy. Different angles, different targets, countless escort methods, different destinations—anyway, it all came down to moving Cat Whisker Fruit from one place to another. Even if someone somehow stumbled their way into success, the person who cleared probably couldn’t explain what exactly had pushed them over the line.

So her idea was to take another path altogether and simply start with some well-known people, especially local Players. They might not even need to dig into what stories those people had; as long as they got involved, they might inexplicably be drawn into certain events.

Xu Huo felt both of them made sense and had no other opinion. He then suggested they play it by ear during the banquet and grab whoever was most convenient at the time.

But the banquet was three days away, and they couldn’t just wait around doing nothing, so they set a time and place to meet, then split up again.

Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting went to Cat Whisker Fruit Mountain.

Cat Whisker Fruit Mountain was also a scenic spot, with quite a few tourists playing on the mountain. However, tourists weren’t allowed to pick Cat Whisker Fruit in large quantities; taking one or two was fine.

But the average person wouldn’t bother picking untreated Cat Whisker Fruit anyway. They really weren’t that nice to look at, and they had lots of whiskers, which made them a hassle to clean.

The Girl in the painting was quick with her hands. As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, she picked two fruits to play with. She plucked all the whiskers off, rubbed them in her hands like walnuts, then started tossing them from one hand to the other.

There were also some stalls along the way selling things like water and snacks.

When they passed one small stall, he stopped to listen to the owner talk about the past of Cat Fruit Town. It turned out Cat Fruit Town was originally called Cat Town. Back then, there was an elderly lady of unknown name in the town who had a particularly kind heart. She built a little factory herself to take in stray cats with no home. As the number of cats she raised grew, some nearby residents would even bring cats they no longer wanted to keep. Over time, the town came to be called Cat Town.

As for the name Cat Fruit Town, it actually came from the unmutated Cat Whisker Fruit trees. The fruits from unmutated trees could only barely be said to look a bit like a kitten’s head, but because kittens especially loved playing with these fruits, the town changed its name accordingly. Then Evolution began, the trees changed, the fruits became larger and more realistic, people loved them, but cats didn’t like them anymore.

"So you see, even though there are lots of Cat Whisker Fruits here, not a single cat ever comes up the mountain..." The owner hadn’t finished his words when a group of cats suddenly chased something and bolted past.

Everyone’s vision blurred as they followed the movement, and then someone turned back to look at the stall owner. "Looks like they still like Cat Whisker Fruit."

The stall owner was dumbfounded. "That’s not right. Aren’t the whiskers on Cat Whisker Fruit supposed to release a smell that cats don’t like? Cats usually only move around in town..."

The Girl in the painting came running back with a string of doors in tow, and as she passed the stall she swiped a bag of snacks.

"I want to take a photo with that sister!" A kid in his early teens, eyes shining, took off after her, soon becoming a scenery line on Cat Whisker Fruit Mountain.

Xu Huo had already reached the top of the mountain.

The trees grew too densely, and with the mountain itself not being very tall, the view from the summit wasn’t very open. All he could see was densely packed fruits, that grayish-brown tone not even pleasing to the eye.

Most tourists turned back halfway; only a few true enthusiasts would go all the way to the top. They wanted to pick specific Cat Whisker Fruits at the summit.

"What’s different about the Cat Whisker Fruit here compared to the others?" Xu Huo helped pick a Cat Whisker Fruit from a branch and struck up a conversation with a female tourist who was stretching hard to reach it.

She thanked him, then parted the whiskered shell. "Do you see this little crack on the root of the whisker?"

Xu Huo nodded. "Looks like every Cat Whisker Fruit has one."

The female tourist nodded as well. "But only the best fruits have cracks that are relatively regular. They grow into different shapes all on their own. Even if you don’t turn them into other kinds of crafts, just looking at the pores on them is already quite beautiful."

Most of the seams on the crafts sold in town had been repaired.

Xu Huo picked up a fruit and peered into the crack. "It’s the pit inside?"

"That’s right, the pit." The female tourist could tell he was an outsider, so she explained patiently. "The pit has a faint fragrance. Some people are especially fond of the smell and say it helps them sleep, so it’s quite nice to keep one in your room."

"Some really skilled people can even carve all sorts of interesting patterns on the pit through the crack in the shell. That’s more labor-intensive, though, and they sell for a lot."

Seeing she was picking only this type of Cat Whisker Fruit, Xu Huo asked, "Do you carve on the pits yourself?"

"I can do it with machines..." The female tourist said a bit sheepishly. "But machine carving has no soul. I’m still learning. I came this time to find a master to properly study under."

As she talked, she saw an old lady carrying a large basket nearby. She went over to help steady her and picked up several Cat Whisker Fruits that had fallen to the ground. "Granny, are you making crafts? Some of these fruits that fall naturally have cracked shells. How about I pick a few for you instead?"

The old lady looked frail, but her spirits were quite good. She waved her hand to indicate she could manage on her own.

The female tourist didn’t insist and turned back to her own picking.

Xu Huo noticed the old lady’s hands were a bit shaky. He had just lifted his foot to go over when she accidentally stepped on a fruit and fell.

"Granny, are you all right?" Xu Huo hurried over, checked her condition first, then helped take the basket off her back. "I see you’re even picking up the fruits with broken shells from the ground. In that case, why bother coming all the way to the top? The fruits at the foot of the mountain should be enough."

The old lady was silent for a moment before slowly speaking. "Good fruits have their uses, and broken fruits have their own uses. Everything born under heaven has its place. These fruits with cracks have somewhere to go too."

Xu Huo was quite surprised and helped her up, lifting the basket with one hand. "I’ll carry this for you. Do you still want to keep picking? I can help."