Chapter 28: The Magical Store (16)
[The side quest is... completed just like that?] The system's voice carried a hint of disappointment. [We barely put in any effort to complete the task, and we didn't suffer any losses, so why... why do I still feel a bit upset?]
Qi An paused but didn't respond to the system's question. He merely squinted his eyes, watching Fang Delian's body gradually dissolve into light. The boy who had finally gotten his wish and completed the task emerged from that strange emotional trance, and his gaze finally landed on Qi An and Gu Wang standing to the side.
He froze, about to say something, but a flicker of obsession and darkness involuntarily crossed his eyes. The boy vigorously shook his disappearing head, then urgently called out, "Desk mate, get away from here quickly, there's something on you—"
There was such a sweet, fragrant scent. So sweet, so fragrant...
Fragrant enough to completely overwhelm every other smell, to make his eyes automatically seek you out...
Like a sweet addiction, filling his mind and continuously spreading through every limb and fiber...
This thought arose无缘无故 in Fang Delian's mind, completely impossible to stop. Staring at the milky-white, delicate, fragile neck exposed by the youth, the darkness in Fang Delian's eyes deepened uncontrollably. That nearly transparent whiteness invited endless speculation.
He wanted to get close to you, wanted to embrace you, wanted to lightly inhale your scent, wanted to... completely possess you, and also wanted to destroy you.
Vaguely, he caught sight of pairs of eyes beyond the partition door.
Their owners were going about their own business, but their gazes drifted over in this direction. Their eyes burned with fervor and fanaticism, seemingly wanting to melt this partition door down.
They all wanted to see this youth through that partition door. Like rats hiding in dirty corners, though不敢妄动 because of the people's presence, they were all biding their time, staring intently at the food they desired.
At the first opportunity, they would steal away this sweet treat, and along with it, drag it into an abyss of endless darkness,染上 it together with them, making it share that seductive yet ice-cold dark color.
Little by little, they would drag this seemingly harmless, innocent youth into the abyss.
The warning the boy tried to call out remained unfinished—his body dissolved like foam right before their eyes. Qi An's face remained as pale as death; the boy's parting words seemed to have affected him. The youth concealed beneath his loose clothing trembled slightly, and even though he was restraining himself, his words carried a tremor, like a helpless small animal with nowhere to flee: "Let's go back to school."
Soft, gentle.
Like helplessness, or perhaps like coquetry.
He seemed to be grieving over Fang Delian's death, and also seemed to be panicked by the shop's strangeness. Those eyes without focus, staring at him in bewilderment, appeared almost flirtatious.
Gu Wang's heart clenched sharply. Watching this helpless youth, some special emotion within him grew increasingly intense. He suddenly felt an impulse to take the youth away, back to the school, to become ordinary students together, and then they would grow up together.
"But the door is already gone." Gu Wang's voice, as always, carried the distinctive clearness of youth, yet it revealed a hint of cruelty. He pointed toward the blood-red door—its edges were slowly merging into the wall. By the time Qi An shifted his gaze over, the door had completely vanished.
"The door is already gone." The youth's voice seemed somewhat dazed, his pitch-black, hollow eyes blinking as he stared at the wall that had become a door again.
His movements were ordinary, yet they somehow conveyed a sense of bewilderment. Gu Wang's gaze deepened. He suddenly reached out and took Qi An's fair, smooth hand, the words spilling out: "I will protect you."
Even if I want to keep you here, please don't doubt my sincerity. I truly like you, and I truly want to protect you.
He spoke each word deliberately, like making some important promise. This resolve made the mask Qi An had been wearing falter almost imperceptibly. He seemed to suddenly remember the general from the previous world.
[An'an, look at that painting!]
The system's heart lurched at Qi An's unusual behavior in this world. It knew its host's temperament well—cold-hearted and detached. No matter how he acted on the surface, his inner self was practically unruffled. But Qi An seemed to be starting to change.
The sharp-eyed system immediately tried to redirect its host's attention.
Qi An blinked, his expression returning to its usual state. He glanced casually at the mural before him, then looked back at Gu Wang as if nothing had happened.
A change had occurred in this painting.
Qi An noticed a small shadow within the painting.
Through years of experience, Qi An recognized it.
It was a human silhouette.
That figure hadn't existed in the painting before, and this place was a pocket dimension. Recalling the suddenly strange behavior of Fang Delian just now, Qi An's expression shifted subtly.
His special abilities only worked on ghost entities.
He thought of a suspicious point.
If this place was really just a shop, why were there so many ghost entities, and there was a sentence in the task description that he hadn't considered.
【The things exchanged are designated by those inside, but it seems like these items have undergone some strange changes.】
All these exchanged things had become... living creatures.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*
Heavy panting echoed continuously. With a loud clang of a metal partition door slamming shut, Ji Xiaoyu finally couldn't help but take several deep breaths—she was simply too exhausted. From the moment she entered here, she hadn't stopped running.
At this moment, she especially doubted whether her companions were even human. Both of them remained unbothered, faces unflushed and hearts unruffled, able to fight ghost entities barehanded. Compared to them, she felt like worthless trash.
Those two walked along calmly and composedly, while she could only scurry委屈 behind them. Because she had discovered that these two simply didn't care about her—only by frantically following behind them could she preserve her life.
The continuous knocking and colliding sounds from outside grew louder. Ji Xiaoyu watched the door trembling and felt terrified inside, afraid that it would be forcibly pushed open. If those ghost entities really broke through, wouldn't they have no way to escape?
No, not them—just her.
"This is the only room among all the compartments that has no ghost entities, so it must have some special property." Zhang Zhaoqi coolly explained why they had come here, then frowned at the door about to be broken through, casually tossing out a talisman.
The talisman floated gently in midair, then steadily贴在了 the door. The special power contained within the talisman made the door solid again. Even though the collisions continued, the door remained completely immovable.
Ji Xiaoyu immediately relaxed. Her life was temporarily guaranteed. Watching Zhang Zhaoqi and Zhao Qizhu surveying the room, she furrowed her brows and spoke up: "Do you guys feel like the ghost entities in this world are particularly strange?"
"They seem to be... from two different factions. Although they're all chasing us, I feel like there's an underlying opposition between them."
"And... we've been chased for so long without encountering Qi An. Did something happen to him?"
She finally had the chance to voice her doubts.
Zhang Zhaoqi's gaze chilled. His expression remained placid, but Ji Xiaoyu felt somewhat flustered and sensed a chill, then heard Zhang Zhaoqi's somewhat cold voice: "He won't be in danger."
Yes, she hadn't seen that delicate youth, nor sensed any living person's presence in this unknown space. Yet a voice in Zhang Zhaoqi's heart told him that that youth wouldn't be in danger.
As if, deep in his subconscious, he knew there was something in here that wouldn't allow others to harm him.
It was just particularly infuriating.
"There is indeed opposition between them." Zhao Qizhu watched Zhang Zhaoqi with an interested expression. She licked her red lips, her innocent, harmless face breaking into a demonic-like smile. "The difference is actually quite obvious—some still retain some reason, while the others have completely lost their sanity. Quite special, wouldn't you say, Zhang Zhaoqi?"
Zhang Zhaoqi glanced at her coolly, gave a slight nod in agreement, then continued examining the room.
His cool gaze swept around the space. He went forward and rummaged through things, finally finding a very old, worn book on a bookshelf. He lightly furrowed his brows and opened the book.
It was a diary.
Just in case, I've decided to record this matter. I hope... well, I'm not really hoping anyone will see it. I should start from the beginning. I became the shopkeeper of a store.
Hmm... there's actually no real authority involved. "Shopkeeper" sounds nice, but I'm really just an agent. The agent of this store's energy source. As the shopkeeper, I can understand its consciousness and make deals with people who come here, fulfilling their wishes.
And these things they exchange will become living creatures, becoming permanent workers in the store.
Everything was beautiful, but then a change occurred.
The dark desires in the hearts of those who came to trade were too intense. At first it wasn't obvious, but gradually, the energy source maintaining the entire store became corrupted. Those ghost entities also began to become muddleheaded, having completely lost their reason and control.
I had no choice, so I conducted an experiment.
I merged that energy source with the next shopkeeper, hoping he could use this to gain control of the situation.
The experiment succeeded, but I'm not sure whether the outcome was good or bad.
However, I still have a bad premonition, so in order to leave a record in case these matters can't be traced, I've decided to write it all down.
It should... probably won't be seen by anyone, right? This won't be superfluous, right? Sigh.
His eyes rapidly scanned these words. Zhang Zhaoqi's gaze sharpened. He knew how to complete the task.