The men in black stopped at the entrance, while the leader walked inside the sweet shop. The manager sweated at the intimidating aura the man was giving up as she forced a smile on her face, "Yes sir, how may I help you?"
The guy looked up at the woman behind the counter, then looked down at the display of sweets. After a few moments, he finally opened his mouth and said, "Give me all the sweets you have here."
"Right away!" The woman didn't dare to delay as she quickly put all the sweets in boxes, packing them before giving them to him.
"Where is the beef pastry?" The question startled the shopkeeper as she forced a smile on her face.
"I don't understand what you are talking about, Sir?"
"The beef pastry dipped in soy sauce tastes great." He said once again, eyes fixed on the woman before him.
"...Please, wait a moment, sir." The shop assistant smiled as she backed away, turning around towards the coffee machine.
She tilted the coffee machine to the side, enough to see the customized keypad, after pressing several keys, in a short moment, a white palm-sized mail came out of the vending hole beside the keypad.
Along with the sweets and bakery items, she put in the invitation card and handed it over to the man standing outside, waiting for his items.
Soon, the man stormed out of the mall, getting on one of the cars parked outside as he drove away, along with all his men following suit.
***
At the same time,
Ling Yu walked around most of the shops in the mall, buying whatever necessary items her eyes fell on. By now, it was time Song came back, so she stood on the corner of the stairs so that he could easily spot her.
Her arms that were full of snacks were almost empty, with a last bag of chips remaining, and another that she was eating.
"Burp! All of them are so delicious, I don't know when I ate all of them." She looked at the last packet of chips as she dwelled on whether to eat it or not.
'Nah, I should keep this one for Song. After all, he is one of my men, and he is working so hard for me…'
"By the way, what's taking him so long to find that he couldn't finish it in time?" Ling Yu wondered as she started walking down the stairs, walking towards the places he might possibly be in.
Just as she walked around a corner, Ling Yu spotted Song inside a Special Service Provider Company branch.
From the description written on the status screen, Ling Yu understood that this service provider company lets people hire people based on their certified degree, including servants, chefs, guards, and so on, reflecting noble lifestyles of hiring servants to do chores.
"But Song is enough for our household chore, why is he here then? Does he intend to resign from the manor and take up different works?" Ling Yu asked as she was walking towards the door of the office.
[Positive answer: Butler Song is looking to hire an agent for your protection, Host. He can't always stay by your side 24/7, which is dangerous for your current self. That's why he is looking for a bodyguard who can be by your side and help you at any time.]
"Is that so? If it's like this, then I was also planning to take a look and gather people anyway, it's better if he is already looking for one." Ling Yu crunched down her chips as she pushed the glass door and entered the office.
Since the 'Gate' will open in six months, she needs to take care of supplies, as well as train some people by keeping them to her side. In this way, she can stay safe and sound when the monsters come looking for her, considering the Eastern territory was one of the territories where the monsters and Gates appeared first.
After she wipes clean the area full of monsters, the value of the territory will increase greatly, which could earn her a big profit. Just the thought of making money made Ling Yu grin subconsciously.
Right after entering the office, Ling Yu frowned when she heard the noises coming from there. It seemed as if someone was yelling and screaming about something. So noisy…
Ling Yu felt as if the voice was familiar, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint the person. Anyway, she decided to see what would happen as she stayed behind, a little far from the noisy place surrounded by all the office workers, where she spotted Butler Song standing in the middle with a troubled expression.
"I can do this! I may look like this, but physically I'm very strong from my childhood! I'll definitely keep the client safe until the termination of the contract, Sir! Please, hire me!" The hoarse voice shouting at Butler Song belonged to a girl, a teenager exactly.
She was wearing an old hand-made sweater with a pair of second-hand jeans, her shoes also seemed old and small enough to barely contain her feet in them. Her hair was short to her neck and disheveled, along with her desperate, yet clear, sea blue eyes pleading Butler Song.
One can easily see from her face and the shrunken hands that had many cuts and bruises, how malnourished and hard-working she was, desperate to get this work.
Even though Butler Song pitied her, he can't take her with him. Because his top priority was to guarantee his master's safety. And a poor, downgraded, and malnourished teenager can't possibly take care of her, can she?
When Butler Song was still hesitating about what to do, a head peeked out from behind him, sizing the girl from top to bottom.
"Who is it... Master?! What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to wait for me? Was I being too late?" Butler Song was surprised to discover Ling Yu standing behind him with a weird posture.