Chapter 36

Zhai Da pulled the curtains and carefully examined the newly acquired [Clown Poker] against the sunlight.

The first feeling was exquisiteness.

The shell was a thin metal box, the way it opened was similar to Bluetooth earphones from his past life, with a magnetic effect.

A flick of his thumb revealed fifty-four neatly arranged playing cards inside.

Zhai Da took one out, and the edge was actually a bit sharp...

According to the system, it was made of tin alloy. Zhai Da had seen such thin metal cards before, like the "Buddha Saves Those with Fate Amulets" sold in temples, but the texture in his hand was different, soft yet tough.

Besides the weight, it could basically be bent to the same degree as ordinary playing cards, but it required considerable force.

The back of the metal poker was matte gray-black, with only a huge, fancy "J," which should stand for Joker.

Good thing the system didn't give a huge "Clown."

The front was mainly white, the texture close to enamel, and the content was consistent with ordinary poker; thirteen cards for each of the four suits, and the patterns for J, Q, and K were nothing special. He didn't have much research on poker.

Oh, there were some differences; on the two Joker cards, two envelopes were drawn, with a heart in the center of the envelopes.

Replacing the "Clown" pattern with a "Love Letter"... one black and white, one colored, to distinguish big and small.

Zhai Da smacked his lips; there was no need to manifest the presence of "synthesis materials" in this kind of place.

"Besides inheriting the effects of the two materials, it’s slightly enhanced. The biggest difference is that the form of existence has become playing cards, and the special effect 'Spotlight' needs an unsealing task..."

Actually, he wanted to say that such a special thing was quite attention-grabbing in itself...

He tried to play with it, but because the [Clown Poker] itself was heavy, Zhai Da seemed clumsy, and even shuffling wasn't smooth.

Zhai Da took one out and flicked it with maximum force.

The metal poker flew quickly toward the edge of the wardrobe, and with a bang, it actually cut a mark.

Of course, because he had no technique, it was just a very shallow mark, and the metal poker fell to the ground with a crisp clatter.

"Besides the 'close-up magic' required by the unsealing task, maybe I can learn card throwing, use the [Old Man TV] to play videos..."

Zhai Da was thoughtful.

To use it well, he probably had to learn something... but even if he just used it as equipment to provide a BUFF, it wasn't bad.

Not to mention the sense of humor, the fact that lies, magic, tricks, and sweet talk weren't easily exposed was quite practical.

Especially the latter... sorry, I meant the former.

Just as he was having fun, Yu Xiaoli's voice came from outside: "Xiao Da! Ask Lu Wei where she is! Shouldn't you go down to pick her up?"

"Oh! I'll ask right now!"

Zhai Da put the poker in his pocket, walked out, and sent a message to Lu Wei: "Where are you?"

As a result, there was no reply for a long time.

Zhai Da waited for a while, then simply went downstairs to wait at the entrance of the residential area.

Occasionally, he would play with the deck of cards in his hand; the craftsmanship was really exquisite, the more he looked, the more he liked it.

But after waiting for more than ten minutes, there was still no sign of anyone, and the phone messages weren't replied to, so Zhai Da could only climb the stairs back home.

"Mom, you haven't started cooking, right?"

"Not yet, just waiting for people to arrive before putting it in the pot, the prep work is all done, what's wrong?"

"Lu Wei might be late, she's not replying to my messages."

Yu Xiaoli looked at her son suspiciously: "You have her phone number?"

She didn't even have it... seemed like Xiao Lu didn't have a phone; Yu Xiaoli had asked Lu Wei on her first day of work.

"These are all minor details, I'll go down and wait again, maybe her phone is out of battery."

The Nokia 3310 he gave her was electronic trash from the millennium after all; it wouldn't be strange if the battery was swollen, so he couldn't rule out that possibility.

Returning to the entrance of the residential area again, this time he waited for more than half an hour.

Still no one came, and no message was replied to.

It was already far beyond the scope of a normal delay, and Zhai Da had a bad premonition.

Returning home for the third time, Yu Xiaoli was already sitting on the sofa, but her expression was a bit worried.

"How about... we eat first?" Zhai Da said tentatively.

Yu Xiaoli shook her head: "I'm worried about Lu Wei, this child, did she run into something... I just asked the factory, the address she registered is 273 Laodong Street, Sunmazhuang. Xiao Da, you ride your bike to take a look, take Xingfu Road."

Zhai Da tilted his head: "Makes sense, but why don't I take a taxi? It's several miles away?"

"What if you miss her by taking a taxi? Riding a bike, maybe you'll run into her, and you can lose some weight."

This whole thing...

Zhai Da could only ride the 28-inch bike and head along the so-called Xingfu Road.

Actually, he thought this way was quite stupid; people used to living in big cities might have a different understanding of finding someone than in a small county. Zhai Da felt it was simply inefficient to the point of being outrageous; back in Shanghai, let alone finding someone a few kilometers away, he couldn't even find them a few hundred meters away.

People looking for people would be quite anxious.

But for people who had lived in Dongyang County their whole lives, Yu Xiaoli could count every street and every corner like the back of her hand. She probably didn't think there was anything wrong with riding in the opposite direction to find someone, especially since it was 2008.

Sunmazhuang was more than six kilometers away from Sanmao, riding fast would take about 20-30 minutes. At first, Zhai Da didn't plan to ride all the way there, just riding with the idea of running into her on the way, and every ten minutes he would call Ms. Yu to confirm if he had missed her.

But until he entered the territory of the so-called "Sunmazhuang," Lu Wei hadn't arrived at Sanmao residential area, so he could only continue to look for 273 Laodong Street.

Sunmazhuang was a township-level area under Dongyang County, but because it was close, it had gradually merged with the city through urbanization more than a decade ago.

The difference was that this side was more dilapidated.

Not to mention the surrounding wasteland and farmland, the core area was actually very small; looking over, it was hard to see buildings with more than four floors.

It was just a few streets in total, surrounding a potholed national highway in the middle, where large trucks often roared past with a clatter, and Zhai Da's palms were sweating as he rode.

Don't get sent back by a mud-truck...

After about a few minutes, Zhai Da found the so-called 273 Xingfu Road.

An old, crumbling residential building, only two floors, the walls were earthy yellow, and the windows were very small and square.

Needless to say, this kind of strange residential building was built by the factory, willful and arbitrary, with a kind of breathtaking beauty.

And at this time, several adult men were squatting at the entrance smoking, all with buzz cuts, and some even had tattoos.

Zhai Da looked from afar and smacked his lips...

The worst-case scenario had happened.

He didn't walk over directly, but bought a pack of Red Su and a bottle of mineral water from a nearby convenience store.

He used the mineral water to grab his hair, making it look like a hedgehog.

Both sleeves were rolled up to his shoulders.

Changing into a social skin.

Felt like something was missing, so Zhai Da lifted his clothes, revealing his belly with a little bit of fat.

Conditions were limited, otherwise he should have worn a chain, but this look was enough for now.

If he wasn't a lunatic, he must be a reckless youth mixed up in the underworld.

Zhai Da walked over with a swagger.

The breathtaking pace caught the attention of several strong men.

Zhai Da raised his chin to signal, flicked the bottom of the cigarette box, two cigarettes popped out, and he threw one directly over.

"Brothers, are you also here to find Lu Benqing?"