121: Chapter 120

"Jiang... Jiang PD?!" Sakura's eyes widened, and the grocery list in her hand almost fell to the ground. Why was he here? And dressed as a rice cake ball stall owner?! What kind of new prank project was this?!

"That's right! It's me!" Jiang Zhiyu adjusted his headscarf with hands covered in glutinous rice flour, wearing a "surprise!" expression. "To support your 'Mortal Realm Trial,' and more importantly... well, to enrich the program content, I specially applied for this temporary stall! Our main product is—the 'Sakura Kill of Love and Justice' special edition rice cake balls!"

He deliberately emphasized the shameful skill name that had been keeping Sakura awake at night.

Sakura's face turned pale instantly. She felt as if her persona as the "Saintess of Rice Cake Balls" was being nailed to the cross in the most direct and public way possible in this bustling market. "Jiang PD! You... you're..."

"Sakura!" Jiang Zhiyu interrupted her, his smile becoming even more "sincere." "This is the best opportunity for the audience to understand your persona! Look, this is a market, people are coming and going, it's the most grounded place! You're here selling rice cake balls, and while you're at it, you can 'accidentally' showcase the concept behind your 'Rice Cake Ball Instant Kill Array'... oh no, I mean the 'Sakura Kill.' How natural, how full of life! The audience will immediately remember that you, Miyawaki Sakura, are not just an elegant idol, but also a 'Saintess of Sakura' who cares about the people (?) and uses delicious food to spread 'love and justice'!"

As he spoke, he quickly rolled a round rice cake ball and dropped it into the boiling syrup pot nearby.

Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but looking at Jiang Zhiyu's "I'm doing this for your own good" face and the crowd of curious passersby already starting to stop and watch, she felt a deep sense of helplessness. Resisting Jiang Zhiyu's "creativity" always seemed futile.

Just then, Jang Wonyoung, who was standing nearby, couldn't take it anymore. She had always been wary of Jiang Zhiyu's various "arrangements," but seeing Sakura Unnie being "publicly executed" like this, a sense of justice welled up in her heart. She took a step forward, her small face serious, and said in a clear voice:

"Jiang... PD! This is a bit too much!"

"Sakura Unnie is already trying so hard to adapt, why do you have to... in this kind of place... in this way... to... to..." For a moment, she couldn't find the right words to describe this "shameful marketing."

Hearing this, Jiang Zhiyu didn't get angry; instead, he immediately put on an expression of immense touched emotion and encouragement. He put down the rice cake ball in his hand, faced Jang Wonyoung, and forcefully raised a fist covered in glutinous rice flour. With eyes burning bright, he spoke loudly in the tone of a hot-blooded anime protagonist:

"Wonyoung! Well said! That's it! Daring to speak up for your companion! This is exactly the embodiment of the 'Star Spring Guide's' spirit of protection and purity!"

"Keep it up! Fighting!!"

"Use your actions to prove your justice! And help Sakura-xi sell more rice cake balls... oh no, help her spread more 'love and justice'!"

Jang Wonyoung: "..." (Her fists tightened)

"Are you even listening to me!!" She almost snapped. This man was completely unreasonable! He lived entirely in his own script!

Seeing the scene about to fall into an awkward cycle of talking past each other, Kim Minju, who was known for her rationality and communication skills, took a deep breath, stepped forward, and asked in her calm and clear tone:

"Jiang PD, please calm down. We understand that the show needs effects and needs to reflect the personas."

"So, specifically, what do you want us to do? Besides selling the designated sundries and buying ingredients, are there any specific requirements or suggestions regarding this... stall and the 'persona display' you mentioned?"

Kim Minju's words were like a cooling agent, instantly calming the nearly-exploding Jang Wonyoung and the near-collapsing Sakura. It also made Jiang Zhiyu show a relieved expression of "finally, someone who understands."

He looked at Kim Minju with emotion and exaggeratedly wiped away non-existent tears with the back of his hand. "Oh! Kim Minju-xi! You really... wow! As expected of the 'Balanced Arbitrator,' you always manage to grasp the key points in the chaos and provide constructive suggestions!"

The three of them: "..." (Ignoring his exaggerated performance)

Jiang Zhiyu cleared his throat and finally entered "mission assignment" mode:

"The specific requirements are simple!"

"First, while the three of you are selling sundries (gloves, socks, kitchen gadgets, etc.), you also have to help me sell rice cake balls at this 'brother stall'! You can offer samples, you can shout out to customers—the method is up to you!"

"Second, when selling, please try to use your 'advantages' and 'personas'! Even though you have 'amnesia,' occasionally you'll uncontrollably blurt out words representing your constellations or identities! For example—"

He pointed at Sakura. "Sakura-xi, you can say: 'These rice cake balls are soft, chewy, and sweet, containing... um... a healing power that blooms like cherry blossoms?'"

Pointing at Jang Wonyoung: "Wonyoung-xi, you can say: 'Tasting this deliciousness is like a clear spring flowing through your heart, bringing pure enjoyment...'"

Pointing at Kim Minju: "Minju-xi, you can say: 'Choosing our products is like finding the balance in life—getting both affordability and quality...'"

"Use that kind of vague, slightly 'mystic' yet seemingly sensible tone! It adds mystery and fun!"

The corners of the three girls' mouths twitched. This wasn't selling; this was street role-playing combined with shameful line recitation!

"Third," Jiang Zhiyu lowered his voice as if revealing a major secret, "we've negotiated with the market management. Not just this sundries stall, but any shop in the entire market willing to cooperate—you can go and help sell their products! Any commissions or cuts you earn will count toward your total sales!"

He paused and gave a "bombshell" smile:

"By the way, I'll tell you a secret—your total sales for today will be converted through a complex formula directly into 'Support Points.' This will affect the mission progress and the clues possible for Kwon Eunbi and Choi Yena's group, who are out exploring, in real-time! In other words, the better you sell, the smoother things might go for Eunbi and Yena! For your teammates, do your best!"

This "team hostage" tactic was quite ruthless, instantly raising the importance of the market sales mission by more than a notch. For Eunbi Unnie and Yena Unnie, they had to give it their all.

"Finally, and most importantly!" Jiang Zhiyu's eyes sparkled as if he saw a ratings hit. "Occasionally... you can also try shouting out your 'skills'!"

"For example, Sakura-xi, when handing rice cake balls to a customer, you can whisper quickly, 'Sakura Falling~'; Wonyoung-xi, when handing out water (selling mineral water), you can say 'Star Spring Passage~'; Minju-xi, when introducing a balance (selling small scales), you can say 'Balanced Judgment~'..."

"While providing highlights, the production team's 'Starlight Energy Detector' (made up) will also grant extra points based on your completion and effect, accelerating your 'Constellation Saintess' awakening progress! Maybe if you awaken early, you can end these hard days sooner!"

With coercion (affecting teammates' missions), enticement (accelerating awakening), and Jiang Zhiyu's self-consistent "persona logic," the three members of Group C completely lost their temper.

Sakura looked at the rice cake balls tumbling in the pot, then at Jiang Zhiyu's expectant eyes, and thought about Eunbi and Yena exploring in an unknown location... She sighed in resignation, picked up a skewer of freshly fried rice cake balls, and forced a professional smile.

Jang Wonyoung and Kim Minju also looked at each other, picked up the sundries baskets they were to sell, and prepared themselves for the most "shameful" yet "important" street sales of their lives.

"Then—" Jiang Zhiyu clapped his hands like a starter. "The Market Sales Operation begins! For IZ*ONE! For awakening! For dinner! Do your best, girls!"

The three members of Group C, with complex and indescribable feelings and a heavy "team mission," plunged into the noisy market crowd. Awaiting them were picky customers, shrewd stall owners, endless shouting, and... the "public execution" of having to shout out shameful skill names under everyone's gaze at any moment.

Meanwhile, Jiang Zhiyu contentedly returned to his rice cake ball stall. While rolling the balls, he used a camera to record this "touching" scene of "Goddesses falling to the market, fighting for their livelihoods (and teammates)." His "invincible variety power" once again successfully mixed idol dignity, team bonds, commercial product placement, and absurd comedy into this steaming pot of market hodgepodge.

Unlike the other three groups with clear (though shameful) goals, the mission instructions received by Group D's Kwon Eunbi and Choi Yena were practically like a book from heaven.

An old neighborhood map with several meaningless red circles, a sentence saying "Please listen carefully to the sound in the wind and look for fragments that might trigger memories or hide starlight power," and a supporting prop "generously provided" by the production team that was said to "guide the way"—a pair of children's toy sunglasses with a plastic frame, cheap gradient lenses, and small star pendants hanging from the temples.

"Magical sunglasses that can guide the way?" Kwon Eunbi held the lightweight, cheap-looking glasses, the veins on her temples throbbing. "These are clearly children's glasses! What can we find by wearing these?!"

"Looking for some starlight fragments..." Choi Yena also had a bitter face, looking at the several red circles on the map that covered several blocks. "Where on earth are we supposed to look!! Are we supposed to dig three feet into the ground?"

The two of them stood at the apartment entrance, facing the slightly bleak morning wind (it was almost noon now), feeling unprecedentedly lost and helpless. Compared to the other groups' bustling (or shame-filled) part-time jobs and challenges, their mission was ethereal and vague, like a headless fly.

Kwon Eunbi tried to contact the production team, but the reply she got was always that metaphysically charged sentence: "Please listen carefully to the sound in the wind."

"Listen to the sound in the wind?!" Kwon Eunbi finally couldn't help but snap at the air (in the direction of the imagined hidden cameras). "What sound is there?! There's only the sound of cars and birds! What exactly do you want us to do?! This is purely torturing us!!"

She felt her composure as a leader and her dignity as the Lionheart Sovereign being worn away bit by bit by this nonsensical mission.