The game competition proceeded as scheduled, and the first day's events concluded.
A total of two match sessions were held today.
One in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Despite this, after two rounds of elimination races that day,
The number of participants remaining on the field still numbered in the thousands.
Fortunately, members of the Eternal Myth guild only had one person eliminated during the second elimination round.
The total number of members in the Eternal Myth guild was less than a thousand.
Apart from eighty-eight, there were over three hundred original players from the新手村 (Xīnshǒu Cūn - Newbie Village) (originally there were five hundred players, more than a hundred of whom had already gone to other guilds and were now mostly poached by major families), plus the requirement to join with a combat power of over 5,000 established during this period.
Therefore, the combat power of the Eternal Myth guild members was not low.
With less than ten people eliminated so far, Zhang Pingfan was generally satisfied.
In the evening, Dou Jianhua appeared before Zhang Pingfan's villa with Dou Junwan.
After a day of interrogation,
All necessary interrogations were completed, and all desired information was obtained. However, the information they acquired was useless to them.
All clues pointed to a single phone number, but this number had already been deactivated. Furthermore, before it was deactivated, the phone number was registered under the identity of a deceased person.
This meant all leads ended there, and they had no idea who intended to harm them.
"Ding dong, ding dong!"
At this moment, Zhang Pingfan and Dou Youyou were preparing dinner.
"Youyou, go answer the door. See who's here."
"Mhm."
Dou Youyou didn't expect her father and sister to arrive so soon. She had wanted to stay here for a while longer. It had been less than a day, why were they back already?
Dou Jianhua felt displeased seeing his daughter at another man's house. Although Dou Junwan had already told him about the situation, he still found it hard to accept in his heart, especially since his daughter had just come of age.
In fact, the fundamental reason was that Dou Jianhua didn't know that Zhang Pingfan had arrived. He had already investigated and found Zhang Pingfan's background to be quite ordinary.
How could his daughter be with such a man?
"Dad, Sister, why are you here?"
Dou Jianhua said, "They saved you two, so of course I'm here to thank him. Is he home?"
"Mhm."
As Dou Jianhua walked into the courtyard, he was suddenly captivated by the large, golden-yellow tree before him.
"What kind of tree is this? It's so magical."
Dou Youyou then noticed a tree had suddenly appeared in the yard.
"Huh? How did a tree suddenly appear here? I don't remember there being one before!"
It was precisely because the tree was so conspicuous; both its leaves and trunk were golden-yellow.
Dou Junwan was even more puzzled.
"Strange, why can't this large tree be seen from outside?"
The three of them, with expressions of confusion, walked out of the villa and indeed discovered that the tree was not visible from the outside. It could only be seen upon entering the courtyard.
Seeing that Dou Youyou had not returned for a long time, Zhang Pingfan walked out with some concern. Upon seeing the father and his two daughters, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Zhang Pingfan emerge,
Dou Youyou asked with confusion.
"Shi... Brother Xiao Fan, why is there a tree here now? And why can't it be seen from the outside?"
She almost slipped up. Fortunately, Dou Youyou was quick-witted, but those four words, "Brother Xiao Fan," made her blush crimson.
Zhang Pingfan, with an unruffled expression, said, "Really? I haven't paid much attention to this tree. Is it really as magical as you say?"
Zhang Pingfan walked out.
But strangely, Zhang Pingfan could also see the tree from the outside, just as they described.
"Could it be that it can't be seen from the outside, only from inside?"
Zhang Pingfan nodded silently. Even if he could see it, in this situation, he could only say he couldn't.
"That's truly strange. I've never noticed this tree before!"
This tree was indeed very magical, but Zhang Pingfan did not want their attention to be focused entirely on it. After all, this tree was just something he obtained from completing a mission today.
Perhaps it was a reward for completing the mission, and it was likely only visible to him, or only visible within the courtyard.
"Youyou, bring your sister and this gentleman inside!"
"Mhm, this is my dad!"
"Oh, hello. My name is Zhang Pingfan. It's hot outside, let's talk inside!"
"Mhm!"
As an elder, he naturally had to put on an elder's demeanor.
However, seeing his daughter and this Zhang Pingfan so intimate, Dou Jianhua did not say much, especially since the latter had saved his two daughters.
In the living room, Dou Jianhua stated his purpose.
"First of all, thank you for your help today. Without you, I don't know what kind of accident might have happened!"
Zhang Pingfan said, "Youyou is my girlfriend. I couldn't just watch her get into trouble. This is what I should do!"
"Mhm, Youyou has come of age. Strictly speaking, I shouldn't interfere with her free love, but she's still young, only eighteen..."
Before Dou Jianhua could finish, Zhang Pingfan directly interrupted him.
"Let's not talk about that. How did the investigation go today? Who is the mastermind?"
Dou Jianhua was somewhat stunned. He hadn't expected this young man to take such a direct approach, showing a tendency to take control of the situation.
"The leads have run dry. Ultimately, all clues pointed to a phone number, but that number had already been deactivated."
Zhang Pingfan frowned. It seemed the other party had prepared meticulously, or perhaps this was their line of work.
"Since that's the case, I'm not at ease with Youyou going back to work. So she must stay here with me for the next few days!"
Dou Youyou's face instantly turned red.
Her master was too overbearing! This was her own father.
Dou Jianhua frowned. To want to keep his daughter here in front of him was like slapping his face!
"There's no need to trouble you with this, young Zhang. We've replaced all the villa's security guards and strengthened the patrols. There won't be any issues this time!"
However, Zhang Pingfan did not believe in those security guards or bodyguards. After all, anyone could be tempted by money.
"Just protect Dou Junwan. I will protect my girlfriend myself. You can pick her up from me when you've uncovered any leads."
"You!"
Dou Jianhua was trying his best to control his temper.
"Youyou, come home with me. You're a young lady, staying at a man's house, what kind of behavior is that!"
Dou Youyou, startled, quickly hid behind Zhang Pingfan.
Zhang Pingfan understood that as a father, he certainly wouldn't want his daughter staying at a boyfriend's house she had just started dating. What if something indescribable happened, and things got out of hand?
Moreover, Zhang Pingfan's status was not recognized by her father.
Zhang Pingfan held Dou Youyou's hand.
"Please leave. I don't need you to worry about me!"
Zhang Pingfan remained very polite because he was Dou Youyou's father, and he knew that Dou Youyou's father was concerned about her safety.
But until the truth was uncovered, Dou Youyou was safest by his side.