The mascot of the wishing shop is a cat.

"Hmm, another new day."

Looking at the sunlight outside the window, Lin Xiyue slumped onto the sofa in front of the French windows, hugging a cushion and playing on her phone.

Yes, in just one day, Lin Xiyue realized that her shop could never be successful. Yesterday's customer was probably a newbie on protection or something; otherwise, no one might have come in all day.

Yesterday, she only had one customer all day, and to maintain an unnecessarily mysterious air, she didn't charge any payment.

"Ah ah ah ah ah"

Lin Xiyue let out bored shouts on the sofa and rolled around, almost falling off.

"Meow~"

Fu Gui, who was leaning on the counter, glanced at Lin Xiyue, his eyes seeming to say: What kind of trouble are you causing now?

"Wow, this place is so luxurious! If this shop weren't mine now, and I didn't have to pay rent, we'd probably be starving."

"No, we can't go on like this!"

Lin Xiyue sat up abruptly, her eyes resolute.

"I need to find a way to make use of the shop, so I can sell something even when there aren't any special customers, otherwise I won't even be able to afford food. Hmm, what kind of shop should I open?"

Lin Xiyue stood up and paced around the room, glancing at the ceiling, then at the cat, and even staring at her own hands for a long time.

"Have it!"

It was as if a light bulb had suddenly appeared above Lin Xiyue's head, and it made a "ding" sound.

"My shop is in such a great location, it would be perfect if I opened a handicraft shop!"

"Meow~"

Fu Gui rolled his eyes and went upstairs.

"Dingling bell~"

"Huh? Someone's coming?"

Looking towards the door, I saw Zhang Lin. He was with three other people, two men and one woman.

One of them, who seemed to be the leader, was about 1.8 meters tall. He was dressed in black casual clothes, with his hands in his pockets. He had a buzz cut and a noticeable scar on his jaw, which made him look very fierce. However, he seemed very relaxed, as if he were on vacation.

Another man, with dyed blond hair and about the same height as the leader, wore a bright orange-red tracksuit. He entered the store and looked around with curiosity. To be honest, Lin Xiyue's first impression of this man was that he looked like a walking flame.

The last woman had long black hair tied in a high ponytail, wore black-rimmed glasses, and a dark green dress; she possessed an intellectual beauty. She was a sophisticated and capable woman who exuded confidence.

"welcome."

Lin Xiyue smiled and quickly picked up the doll she had thrown on the carpet, placing it casually on the sofa.

"I, I've come to return the card and, and to ask what payment I need to make."

Zhang Lin stammered as he spoke first. He was genuinely nervous. Just a month ago, he thought he was far removed from the world of alien races, but in that short month, his family suffered a catastrophic change, and he discovered that his boss was already an alien. This would be hard for anyone to accept, especially since he was also in debt to a mysterious shop.

"Okay, then the rest of you, please sit down here and wait a moment. I'll process this gentleman's request first..."

"No need, no need. We came together, so we should be able to hear it too, right?"

Lin Xiyue was interrupted by Huang Mao before she could finish speaking. Huang Mao looked excited and wandered around the store, even picking up Fugui's cat toy and looking at it several times.

"Then, what did Mr. Zhang say?"

"Ah, yes, yes, we came together. Let's, let's come together."

"Okay, everyone, please sit down first, and then we can talk."

Lin Xiyue led everyone to sit on the sofa in the reception area, while she herself sat on another separate sofa.

"Mr. Zhang, you've come now because the matter has been resolved, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, based on your requirements and the time you spend, I will charge you a fee."

Lin Xiyue stretched out her hand, in which floated another card. This card was a completely different color from the prop card; it was pure white and blank. Lin Xiyue infused it with spiritual energy, and the card emitted a faint white light that entered Zhang Lin's body. A minute later, the light left Zhang Lin's body, but it had turned from white to black, even tinged with red threads. Lin Xiyue then put away the now black and red card and said to Zhang Lin, "I have collected the filth you have recently accumulated. Your remaining reward is to leave all the cash you are currently carrying."

Zhang Lin stared in disbelief at the whole thing. He only reacted when Huang Mao nudged him. He then pulled out all the cash in his bag, about four or five hundred yuan, and respectfully handed it to Lin Xiyue.

"Thank you so much!"

"It's alright, after all, you are my first guest."

Lin Xiyue smiled, accepted Zhang Lin's cash, and noticing that Zhang Lin was restless and wanted to leave, she first saw him out of the shop. Then she looked at the other three people.

"So, with the matter resolved, do you have any needs?"

"Me, me, me! I'll go first!"

The blond-haired guy excitedly raised his hand and shouted loudly. The other two turned their heads away, looking like they didn't want to know him.

"We've looked at your file. You only awakened your superpower a few days ago, and then you suddenly opened a shop, and on the very first day, you produced this card. It even allowed us to see alien races hidden inside human bodies that are normally impossible to detect. I want to know how you did that!"

Lin Xiyue was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

It turned out to be people from the Psionic Center. Luckily, I had prepared my answer beforehand, or I would have been in big trouble. orz

"Since you've seen my information, you should know what my superpower is. My superpower is a life skill: card drawing. After testing it, I discovered that I can draw cards with various effects. For example, the ones you've used are function cards, which have certain functions and usage restrictions. There's also a life skill card, the kind I just used. It can be blank, and I can use it to hold things I can't touch. It can slowly convert these things into energy for me to draw cards. It can also be converted into some daily necessities that I need according to my will, which requires energy. After I learned that the cards I draw have these effects, I had the idea of ​​opening a shop. And just now, I used the life skill card to absorb the residual energy on him from the alien race he recently encountered, that's all."

Lin Xiyue spoke frankly, yet not entirely frankly. She revealed some things that couldn't be hidden. However, she didn't say a word about the system, the ability cards, or the doubts surrounding Fugui. The energy absorption was a ruse; the energy drawn from the life cards was supplied to the system and slowly converted into card-drawing points. Although it was slow, every little bit helps.

"Cough cough."

Just as the blond-haired man was about to speak, he was stopped by the mature woman.

"Hello, thank you for your honesty. My name is Lingji, this blond guy is Lingyan, and this guy who looks fierce is our captain, Lingye."

Lingji first introduced everyone, then looked at Lin Xiyue, paused, and continued, "We really need the card you gave us before. What do we need to pay for a long-term rental?"

This question stumped Lin Xiyue. After thinking for a moment, she said, "How about this, I want to open another ordinary shop. If you need a long-term lease, I need you to help me with all the opening procedures, and then pay a monthly rent of five thousand. Finally, you need someone to come here every month so that I can absorb energy to keep the card running normally."

"Yes, it's worth it."

"So nice to work with."

"Pleasant to work with."

The two sides shook hands, smiled at each other, and agreed to send someone to sign the contract the next day. Lin Xiyue then saw them off, and the store became quiet again.

....................................

After walking for a while and confirming that Lin Xiyue was not following them, Lingji and the others spoke up, saying, "She has been hiding some things from us."

"Yes."

Lingye put his hands in his pockets and replied indifferently.

"So, do we need to monitor them?"

"No need. For now, they seem friendly, so we can have the center mark them carefully. The most important thing now is to figure out how to improve the method of detecting aliens. We've determined that the original method is unsafe, and there are definitely many aliens lurking among the population. This is a very dangerous sign. I even suspect that if they have enough time, they will enter the center, which would be very dangerous."

"Moreover, I just discovered in the store that there is a huge energy protecting the entire store. Although it is not aggressive at the moment, monitoring it could easily provoke the other party, which would be counterproductive."

"However, I always felt a bit depressed when I was in the store. I think we need to go to the center to check the latest statistics first."

When Lingye got down to business, he became quite serious. He hadn't spoken earlier in the shop because he was observing everything to see if there was anything unusual.

"Boss!"

"Yellow Hair, oh no, Lingyan shouted excitedly."

"Let me be the first one to have my energy drained! I'm really interested!"

"Hmm... okay, then bring her the documents she needs tomorrow once they're ready, and remember to ask if there are any other precautions. Also, Lingji will be with you tomorrow; she needs to record your feelings at the time, as well as any changes in energy fluctuations. Not bringing the equipment today was a mistake."

Ling Ye pondered for a moment, then agreed to Ling Yan's request and told Ling Ji his requirements for tomorrow.

"Okay Captain."

Lingji replied seriously, opening her terminal to record the things she needed to do tomorrow. Looking at the densely packed list on her terminal, with times even accurate to the minute, it was clear she had serious obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Huh? Can the captain please not be with Lingji? She's such an old-fashioned person! I can't sleep in when I'm with her. We finally get a half-vacation, at least let me get some sleep!"

"boom--"

"Ah! It hurts!"

Lingji punched Lingyan hard in the head, and Lingyan clutched her head, looking at her with tearful eyes. It was clear they actually had a good relationship, able to joke like that.

"Alright, that's settled then. The others have other tasks."

"Yes."

"Yes--"

……

The matter was settled in just a few words between them, which shows that they must be the support team that came to provide assistance, and therefore have a high level of authority.

..............................

at the same time.

After the guests left, Fugui came downstairs, stared at their departing figures for a while, then turned and jumped onto Lin Xiyue. Lin Xiyue was tidying up the teacups; although no one had drunk from them, she still poured tea for everyone.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong with Fugui?"

Lin Xiyue hugged it and stroked its back.

"Meow~"

"Are you hungry? It's definitely time for lunch. What do you want to eat today? Dried fish? I dried some for you yesterday, so I'll give you a treat. I'll also make some liver and beef puree; it'll make your fur even better!"

Lin Xiyue muttered to herself as she carried Fugui toward the refrigerator.

Unseen by her, the shadowy tentacles stealthily followed Lingji and the others, even splitting into two groups, some of which followed Zhang Lin. They didn't attack, seemingly monitoring or protecting them. After following them home, the tentacles left their own imprints before returning to the shop.

After the tentacles returned, the Wishing Shop, which had become their new nest, stirred slightly, as if they were communicating with each other.

"Meow~"

Fugui suddenly meowed. Lin Xiyue petted it, not paying any attention, and continued making cat food. Upon hearing the meow, most of the tentacles suddenly left their nest and spread outwards, beginning to purge some deeply entrenched alien races hidden nearby.

Suddenly, not only in the underworld, but also in the alien races of the present world, everyone felt threatened, and the city became quieter than ever before.

However, this had nothing to do with Lin Xiyue; she didn't even know about it.

After feeding the cats, Lin Xiyue ate a little herself and then began to enthusiastically consider opening a regular shop. Even if she owned the shop, utilities and other expenses would still cost money. Besides, Fugui wouldn't eat anything except the cat food she made; it seemed he didn't like anything other cats liked, whether it was kibble or canned food. So, to ensure Fugui ate well, she had to work hard to earn money.

"Hmm, I can open a handmade shop and make some jewelry. I did this back on Earth and did it quite well. Besides, I've already handed over the paperwork to the center, so I don't have to worry about it anymore. The most troublesome part is no longer my responsibility."

"Well, the shop needs some renovations. We need to add a display counter in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows to showcase some of the jewelry I make."

"We can add a small table and chair here so that interested guests can try making it themselves."

"Then we need to add a partition on the side to provide more privacy."

"Hmm, I still need to buy some materials online. Some silver, pearls, and polymer clay, something like that..."

Lin Xiyue pondered as she changed the shop's layout on the system panel. Time flew by, and darkness gradually fell.

"Meow~"

"Huh? Fugui? What's wrong?"

"Ah, it's already this late. Okay, okay, I won't do it anymore, let's go to sleep!"