The mascot of the wishing shop is a cat.

After Lin Xiyue and Mo Luosi put on their cards, they pushed open the door and entered the house with the red eye logo.

"crunch-"

A slightly jarring sound accompanied the opening of the wooden door, revealing a long, narrow white corridor lined with rows of pure white doors, each bearing a nameplate in black and red. The corridor was brightly lit, giving those standing in it a disorienting feeling of being unable to distinguish up from down from left from right.

Next to the entrance, there is a sign with red lettering on a white background.

(For information about the safe zone, please enter the room with the red doorplate. For information about the slums, please enter the room with the black doorplate. Rooms without doorplates are temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.)

Moros led Lin Xiyue into the nearest room with a black doorplate.

Upon opening the door, one sees a man in a black and white three-piece suit sitting behind a table, wearing a somewhat eerie smiling mask.

"Please take a seat."

The man's voice had the distinctive static of a voice changer, and was even somewhat shrill.

Molos and Lin Xiyue sat on the stool opposite the man. Looking down, they saw a blank notebook and a black marker on the table.

"Write down the information you need in this notebook, then put it in the capsule on the right. In a few minutes, a price estimate will be sent to you. If you agree, please make the payment or pay in cash. The payment method will also be provided. If you need to barter, then ring the bell again and I will come over. After that, the information you need will appear in this capsule."

"Wishing you a pleasant mood and that you get what you want."

After the man finished introducing everything, he bowed to Molos and Lin Xiyue, then retreated through a back door, leaving them alone in the room.

……

"This is amazing! It has a really high-level feel to it, like... um... like a secret agent!"

After a while, Lin Xiyue excitedly grabbed Molos's hand and spoke in a tone full of anticipation.

She was like a child who suddenly discovered that what she had seen in TV dramas had come true, and that she should be a part of it.

"Yes, so, our Miss Agent, how about you write it?"

Melos gestured for Lin Xiyue to write down the necessary information.

"Me? Me?"

Lin Xiyue was a little hesitant, after all, this was buying information on the black market, not buying a cake on the street where you could exchange it if you didn't like it.

If I read this information and think it's bad, and I say I want to change it, I'm afraid neither Meros nor I will go out again.

Lin Xiyue hesitated as she looked at Molos, holding the pen.

“Go ahead. Besides, this pen is just for decoration, and that thing that looks like a notebook is just a screen.”

Moros smiled, took the pen from Lin Xiyue's hand, placed it on the table, and then handed her the notebook.

"what?"

Lin Xiyue took the laptop with a bewildered look on her face. As soon as she opened it, she found that, sure enough, the laptop was just a disguised shell with a bare screen.

The casing is quite realistic, but indeed very few people use laptops these days. If they hadn't placed a pen next to it, Lin Xiyue probably wouldn't have guessed it was a real laptop.

On the other hand, their behavior actually fits Lin Xiyue's stereotype of black market intelligence agencies quite well—the kind that everyone understands, the kind of conservative, ancient, secretive organization hidden in the shadows.

"They really value rituals."

As she said this, and thinking about it, Lin Xiyue didn't delay her work and turned on the light screen.

The screen turned on, showing a fleeting glimpse of the red-eyed logo outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, a menu appeared. There were two options: one labeled "Slums" and the other "Human Assistance".

Lin Xiyue clicked on the button labeled "Slums," which led to a notebook page titled "What are your needs?" Below that were rows of notebook cells, clearly for people to write down their requests.

Lin Xiyue tapped the grid, and the input method box appeared.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xiyue quickly typed her requirements on the screen.

First, there have been unusual occurrences in the slums over the past two weeks, including unusual deaths, unusual illnesses, and unusual disappearances.

Second, the locations where these anomalies occurred.

Third, do they have any connection, and where?

After finishing writing, Lin Xiyue looked at it and handed it to Molos.

"Look, is there anything we need to add?"

Meros took the screen, glanced at it, and added a comment.

Fourth, is the anomaly related to other races, or does it include evil rituals, etc.?

"Okay, that's all."

After saying that, Meros put the light screen into the opened capsule and then closed the capsule.

"Beep——"

The capsule made a sound after being turned off, and then slowly sank down.

"Oh, is that all?"

Lin Xiyue reached out and touched the flat table that had been shrunk by the capsule. She seemed to be hoping for something that would fit her stereotypes. For example, someone or a note suddenly appearing to threaten her, or someone demanding an exorbitant price and she having to figure out how to pay it back.

Lin Xiyue thought for a moment, and even got up and wandered around the room, trying to find hidden cameras or something similar.

After searching for ten minutes, Lin Xiyue announced regretfully that there was nothing there.

"Don't even think about it. This is a relatively legitimate information shop. They won't have the things you're imagining."

Molos chuckled and pulled Lin Xiyue back, who was even trying to peek inside the table, and patted her head.

"Ugh, don't mess it up, it's ruining my hair. <(￣ ﹌ ￣)＞"

Lin Xiyue covered her hair and quietly moved a little further away from Moros.

"drop--"

A small screen suddenly lit up in front of the table, displaying a number—12.8w.

? ! ! ! !

"What!!!!!"

The moment Lin Xiyue saw the numbers, she jumped up from her stool.

"Baby, sit down. This is the normal price."

Moros pulled Lin Xiyue to sit down and comforted her, saying that this was the normal price, acting as if he were a regular customer.

"This is normal? Hmm... yeah, it seems we have quite a few requirements, and the manpower and resources needed should be quite substantial. emmm, that's how it should be, right... right..."

Lin Xiyue began to comfort herself, but perhaps because she had never seen so much money before, she couldn't even be sure of herself and could only force herself to comfort herself.

"Speaking of which, they'll reimburse this expense, right? (???)"

Lin Xiyue remembered what Lingjiu had said: they said they would pay her. She looked at Molos with hope.

"Yes, definitely."

Moros agreed with Lin Xiyue's words and secretly planned that if they didn't reimburse Lin Xiyue, he would go and "have a chat" with them. :D

After Meros scanned the code and paid, the capsule rose up again, revealing a small data card inside. Next to it was a note that read: "Insert the data card into the terminal in three days to receive all detailed information. Thank you for your patronage!" ヽ(￣w￣〃)ゝ

"Huh? That's it? They didn't give us anything?"

Lin Xiyue reached out and took out the data card and the note, staring blankly at Moros, looking like a squirrel whose pine cone had been stolen.

"They will definitely appear in three days. They need to compile statistics, and this is a necessary service that we paid a high price for. Don't worry, they won't renege on their promise. In business, they still need to be honest."

Melos simply took the note, tore it to shreds, and then gestured for Lin Xiyue to keep the data card.

Two minutes later, the indicator light came on, revealing another door. Before the indicator light came on, Lin Xiyue hadn't even noticed there was a door.

Lin Xiyue and Molos walked through the door, and then there was another long corridor, exactly the same as the one they had come through. This corridor clearly led upwards.

After walking for five minutes, the end of the corridor finally appeared, with an unremarkable door.

Pushing open the door, a large, full moon came into view, and the surrounding area was completely different from where I had entered; even the colors were different.

"Huh? The moon's already out? Where are we?"

Lin Xiyue only realized it was late at night when she saw the big moon. She looked around but couldn't find anything familiar.

"Yes, this is the exit, it's quite far away, for safety reasons. Let's go, would you like to look around some more?"

Moros looked deeply at the moon, then took Lin Xiyue's hand and asked her.

"Hmm...this approach actually fits my stereotype of the black market from reading novels. Going out for a stroll...that's fine, but let's not go shopping in the slums. Let's go back to the safe zone; I want some late-night snacks. (????w????)?"

Lin Xiyue thought for a moment, touched her belly, looked up at Moros and said.

"Let's go then. It's not far from the exit of Zone C. We'll go from here. I remember there's a pretty big night market near this exit. Let's go check it out."

Moros pulled Lin Xiyue along, looked around to determine their location, and then led her toward the exit without hesitation.

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

Half an hour later, Lin Xiyue and Mo Luosi finally arrived at the night market.

This night market—Anritsu Night Market—is the largest night market in the safe zone, covering an area of ​​over 800 square meters. It not only includes all kinds of food and entertainment, but also sells various breeds of pets, ornamental plants, and more.

So, this is called a night market, but it's actually a super-large market that's open 24 hours a day.

Wow! So much food! I can almost smell the fried chicken! ︿(￣︶￣)︿

Lin Xiyue had entered the night market and, like a fish in water, dragged Molos around everywhere. In less than half an hour, Molos's hands were full of all kinds of snacks, from sweet to salty, from hot to cold.

"Okay, let's stop buying now, we won't be able to finish it all. Let's find a place to sit down and eat first."

Seeing that Lin Xiyue wanted to buy another food item, Mo Luosi quickly stopped her and persuaded her to eat first.

After finally finding two empty seats, Lin Xiyue realized that she had really bought too much. The entire table was piled up, and there were even a few items that Moros couldn't put down.

"Oh, sorry, I haven't had night market food in ages ヽ(o_ _)o"

Lin Xiyue quickly apologized and helped Mo Luosi take some of the food from his hands so that he could have some too.

"It's okay, are you happier now?"

Moros raised his hand, seemingly wanting to pat Lin Xiyue's head, but he had too many things to carry, so he gave up.

How did you know I was in a bad mood? I didn't seem to be making it that obvious.

Lin Xiyue was curious because she wasn't actually in a particularly bad mood, just a little bit, which she didn't even realize was a big deal.

"Because I sensed it; I've been paying close attention to everything about you. Are you somewhat disappointed with the black market?"

Melos spoke in ordinary language, but said things that made Lin Xiyue blush.

"Well, I'm not that disappointed. I just feel that the gap between the rich and the poor is really huge. The big shots in the black market can charge hundreds of thousands just for information, and you're telling me that's a normal price? I know information is expensive, but compared to the slums outside, they're so poor, just surviving is a struggle for them, some even eat their own children to survive. Maybe it's because it's nighttime, I'm feeling a bit sentimental. :D"

Lin Xiyue sat on the stool, holding snacks in her hand, but she still looked up at the sky, exuding a kind of midnight depression vibe.

"The moon is so big and round! ...Hey? Melos, look! Isn't that moon bigger than when it first came out? Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"

Lin Xiyue was initially quite sad, but then she felt the moon was a little closer to her, and she asked Mo Luosi to take a look in surprise.

"Yes, there's a problem... Yueyue, go back quickly, take your things and go back quickly. Tell those law enforcement officers what you found out today, and I'll go and investigate the reason."

Meros glanced at the moon, then urged Lin Xiyue to leave quickly, his tone urgent, clearly indicating that he had discovered a serious problem.

"Oh?! Okay, okay! Be careful! I'll give you a surprise next time we meet! (＜ゝw?)☆"

After packing her things, Lin Xiyue noticed Mo Luosi's serious expression before leaving. After thinking for a moment, she gave him a wink, hoping to help him relax.

"it is good."

Meros smiled, and the atmosphere around him indeed relaxed a bit.

Lin Xiyue left with the things, turning back every few steps, and went back to the wishing shop.

After Lin Xiyue was out of sight, Moros lifted his foot and walked towards a deserted alley, casually tearing open a spatial rift and entering the inner world.

In the other world, Meros looked up at the moon and found it was getting bigger and bigger. After thinking for a moment, he turned back into a cat.

He sniffed around, then picked a direction and ran towards it, with tiny tentacles constantly falling from his body along the way. Once the tentacles landed, they immediately burrowed into the ground and ran off into the distance.

……