99: Chapter 99 The Strange Convenience Store

Decorating the flower shop wasn't too difficult. Aside from Xiao Ya, the entire team far exceeded ordinary people in strength and agility. The specific details (water lines, electrical circuits) were handled by Azure Green Vine. In just one night, they built a charming little flower shop brimming with a fairy-tale style. They even illegally dug a somewhat large basement. The shop was named "Sweet Dream Flower Shop."

Tuaner patted the non-existent dust from her hands. Watching the busy Mia, she began plotting in her mind again, "I want not just you, but your heart too. Sooner or later, I'll make you love me to the point of madness. Hmph." Lost in her daydream, she was tapped on the shoulder by a branch from Azure Green Vine, signaling she could descend to the ground. "Hey, I just got looked down on by a vine."

"So, the main purpose of opening this flower shop isn't to make money, but to provide Azure Green Vine and Blood Rose with a suitable, inconspicuous habitat?" Loran covered her mouth, astonished by Mia's meticulous planning.

"Not entirely. At night, Tuaner and I can also do live streams from the shop. This place can also serve as a temporary base for us," Mia patiently explained.

After tidying up, Mia had Tuaner hang a cute little wooden "Opening Tomorrow" sign by the door. She then planted the Blood Rose seeds, pre-treated with Alchemy for demon-repelling properties, in the flowerbeds outside the little shop and the small flower pots hanging on the fence. She dripped her own blood onto them. Soon, a sweet-looking building covered in roses of various colors was complete.

As they were leaving the shop, Mia hesitated for a moment. Tuaner, who was practically watching her with a magnifying glass these days, noticed her odd behavior immediately. "What's wrong, Mia?"

"It's nothing. I was thinking of making a few more decorative light bulbs for the flower shop. Before, there was a convenience store diagonally across from us, but now it seems I remembered wrong. The restaurant at that spot looks like it's been open for who knows how many years." Mia was sure she hadn't misremembered, but she couldn't explain the strange phenomenon, so she comforted Tuaner.

The next day, Mia was once again dressed up by the fashion expert Tuaner into a beautiful flower shop proprietress. She wore a warm-toned maid outfit with a small cloth headband. Her long hair was gently tied into a single ponytail resting behind her. She had on flat black leather shoes with white thigh-high socks secretly hidden beneath a knee-length puffy skirt. Her younger sister Xiao Ya, who looked very similar to her, was also dragged along. Dressed in a similar style, they looked exactly like a pair of sisters. The overall vibe was one of tranquility, softness, and a scholarly air.

"Find a seasoned manga artist, and they could draw at least seven or eight volumes of manga featuring you two. A short series would be no problem at all." Tuaner was admiring her handiwork when Mia's phone, which she had confiscated, unexpectedly rang.

"There's a strange matter I hope you'll pay attention to," He Xuan's voice came through the receiver. "A strange convenience store has opened near your flower shop. Preliminary assessment suggests it's probably an anomaly. But several investigators we sent came back with... issues."

"Drastic personality changes, going on a rampage?" Tuaner's teasing tone grew increasingly excited, as if something interesting had come knocking.

"No. It seems they all had their long-held wishes granted. Some were tangible, some were a bit... fantastical." He Xuan chose his words carefully before continuing.

"For example?" Mia patted Tuaner's head, took the phone, and put it on speaker.

"One of them had been hopelessly pursuing a girl who was in a very good relationship with her boyfriend, about to get married. He was still very unwilling to give up. He happened to be assigned to investigate. After he returned, the girl's personality changed drastically. She called off the engagement and married him, and they seem to have a very good relationship." He Xuan presented a modern-day ghost story.

"How is that strange? Did he show off his supernatural abilities to the girl?" Having seen many gold-diggers, Tuaner was somewhat dismissive. She tossed a nut into her mouth, crunching it loudly.

"Not at all. The male investigator is an ordinary person, not an Adventurer from Paradise Lost. Moreover, according to colleagues who attended the wedding, the way the girl looks at him is exactly like how she'd look at a boyfriend she's been with for years.

Afterwards, I secretly had a department Peeping Mystic look into it. They found the girl's memories and cognition had been altered. It wasn't simple hypnosis. In her perception, the male investigator *is* the boyfriend she was about to marry."

The story told in that warm, elegant baritone felt like a cold winter wind blowing through their hearts. If what He Xuan said was true, the meaning of that entity's existence was ambiguous. It could even tamper with memories and cognition. This anomalous convenience store was quite dangerous.

"Later, the investigator got drunk at the wedding banquet and said he bought a wish card at the store using his soul as collateral. The wish he wrote was to grow old together with xxx... After that, the card turned into a white light and flew away."

"How is that investigator now? Any other cases?" Ryan interjected.

"He shows no abnormalities now. The Coordination Office doesn't handle marital disputes. But the original fiancé seems to have gone a bit mad. He's been searching everywhere for that convenience store. Oh, right, the store appears randomly. But previous locations were all near that university next to you."

Tuaner suddenly tightened her grip on Mia's hand, feeling a bit Fortunately that Mia hadn't had time to go buy light bulbs yesterday. After all, this seemed like a rule-based anomaly; it might not be something that could be solved by simply going on a rampage.

"As for other cases, another investigator also went to check. He also bought a wish card. The price was 'destined to be alone forever.' After he wrote on the card that he wanted to pass a war-themed instance, the card spontaneously combusted in the air. After it burned away, a small slip of paper fell down. Scrawled on it were the words: 'Collateral insufficient.'" He Xuan took a sip of water.

"So, destined to be alone forever? Didn't pass the instance either, and ended up dying in battle?" Sister Loran's sharp tongue was as reliable as ever.

"Correct! And before he died, he was brutally... by the instance natives. The instance he experienced was 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,' the one full of mermaids. A story about being 'destined to be alone forever' was completely impossible there, even if he died in battle." After He Xuan finished speaking, both sides fell into a brief silence.

"The rating is B-level. Although it causes immense harm to the individuals involved, it doesn't create widespread social panic," He Xuan continued. "So, I need to know if that convenience store might sell something even more terrifying."

"Tonight, we'll split up and look around to see if we can find this strange convenience store," Mia accepted the task.

"I'm counting on you. If you need help, just call me. I'll be in the office the whole time." He Xuan hung up the phone. The ashtray was full of cigarette butts. Across from him, He Xi said angrily, "You can't keep deceiving them like this. If they somehow survive, they'll kill you!"

He Xuan smiled bitterly. "What choice do I have? The higher-ups said they'll only believe they're harmless if they complete this mission. This is still better than being hunted down by a group of Adventurers; their chances of survival are a bit higher this way. Let them go once. If they can't handle it, I'll report to the higher-ups again." A mission report rated S-class slid to the floor with the breeze from the window...

Picking up that eerie assessment form, He Xi stormed out of the Coordination Office, slammed the door, got on her motorcycle, and sped off towards the address of the small shop she had previously helped Mia get approved by the relevant authorities...