Jin took the treasure with him as he helped Qiu Yue up before the random arena battle instance teleported them back to the shop instance. It was at this moment, people started to crowd around Jin with no respect of proximity, which baffled poor Jin.
“Boss! Boss! What is your true cultivation!?!”
“Boss! How did you manage to attain such a high foundation base without revealing your cultivation?!”
“Boss! That guy with the puppet plushie on his head. Who is that? Is it a new monster for a future dungeon you have yet to reveal?!”
Many questions surfaced, and Jin finally connected the dots to the System’s mission message. “Others were watching. I get it now…” Jin thought to himself. Separately, Qiu Yue was astounded by the crowd and did not know how to react as the customers started to crowd around Jin and her.
“Wait…What?! Jin is the Boss of this particular dungeon supplier store?” Qiu Yue asked blatantly, yet no one answered her directly and instead everyone was focusing all their attention on Jin.
“Guys, guys break it up! Let’s give the Boss a bit of a rest. You all saw how tough this instance has been for both of them.” Yun shouted in her eye catching red latex suit, as she stood on the bar counter and clapped her hands to shift the mob’s attention to her.
“Come on! Boss at least tell us about your cultivation. Just answer this question.” A customer pleaded him.
“Okay. Just one question and I will leave. My cultivation is Panda.” Jin roared and grabbed Qiu Yue, who was still perplexed at what was happening to the other part of the shop instance and together they fled the area.
“Damn it, why did you ask such a silly question!” Another customer criticised the previous customer for asking such a stupid question before the crowd slowly started to disperse.
“I wanted to ask about his cultivation grade…I guess I was too nervous.” The customer frowned, but his friend cheered him up by buying him a Panda Soda.
Jin and Qiu Yue were back at the store with the registration machines, and he asked Qiu Yue to follow him to the third floor where it was pleasant and tranquil. Even Qiu Yue was dumbfounded by the look of the Zen Gallery. She was then offered a can of Bamboo Juice by Jin to drink.
He sat beside her and began to ponder how to untangle this whole mess which either Yun or the System made. He could foresee being bombarded with more questions by the customers the next chance they would get, but at the very least it did help him to add some credibility to his subsequent explanation.
“Erm, yes. As you might have probably figured out, the boss of this dungeon supplier store would be me. I am currently a dungeon supplier.” Jin took out his wallet and showed Qiu Yue his certification, which she held onto with her hands trembling.
“I cannot believe it… You are really doing what you have been aiming for.” Qiu Yue spoke to herself and looked Jin in the eyes. “You are walking the dream that you have wanted to walk, without being held down by the chains of society.” Qiu Yue’s voice quivered, and tears started to flow down her cheeks.
“Wait, wait, why are you crying!” Jin panicked a little as he tried to glance around if anyone was looking at them. He started to scavenge through his storage watch to see if he had any tissues or towels that he could lend Qiu Yue, but his clumsiness made Qiu Yue laugh a bit.
“Oh my gosh, you are still the same.” Qiu Yue had already taken a piece of tissue out from her own storage ring and wiped the tears away.
“I have never wanted to lie to you or anything. I just wanted to show you the work I have put in for this dungeon supplier store. I’d also like to know your thoughts on it without any bias.” Jin replied.
“How did you even create all of this? I mean, you should not possibly have a dungeon supplier certificate unless you went through a five year course in Dungeon Catching…” Qiu Yue could not put the pieces together.
“Ehh…I…” Jin did not know whether this was the right time to confess about the System and complete the main objective of the mission.
“No, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to degrade you or anything! Don’t be mistaken. I am very happy for you. I just… no… I mean, congratulations!” Qiu Yue was somewhat hesitant with her words, and she started to have some feelings of regret for not sticking through with Jin.
“I have something to tell you. And only you. Do you mind staying with me, until I close the shop? I will tell you the whole story at that time.” Jin went close to her ears and pretended to whisper, but he was sending her a close range voice transmission because he did not wish for anybody to eavesdrop. Unlike the standard voice transmission, close range voice transmissions could not be captured, decrypted or leaked by any other means.
Seeing how Jin was using close range voice transmission, Qiu Yue believed he had a pretty important secret that he was not able to tell just anybody. She nodded her head and forced a smile at Jin.
“Alright, if that’s the case, do you mind me accompanying you around the store? I can show you where you could get your very own pet!” Jin told Qiu Yue, which instantly resulted in her mood perking up.
“Come follow me!” Jin beckoned Qiu Yue as he explained the ‘landmarks’ of his store, starting with the Zen gallery and later to the second floor. “Let me buy you one of these first,” Jin said to Qiu Yue when he introduced her to the Loot Box machine and got her a few packs of cosmetic items.
“You sure? I can pay for it too you know. After all, you are running a business here.” Qiu Yue remembered that Jin had already paid the tickets for the random arena battle dungeon instance and also the Vanilla Milkshake at Lele Cafe. “Oh, now it also makes sense how Jin knows the boss of Lele café.” A random thought came to her mind.
“It’s okay, treat it as my apology for hiding the truth from you,” Jin argued, and Qiu Yue shook her head.
“Actually, when I think about it, even if you had told me the truth, I would not have believed you. If not for the things that I saw myself and heard how everyone called you Boss, I doubt I would have thought of you being the Boss. Although now thinking back on it you do match the description from my friend…” Qiu Yue deduced as she thought back how things fell into place so conveniently. “Still… Thank you, Jin.”
Afterwards, both of them returned to the shop instance, and Jin brought her to the Pet Battle Card Vending Machine where Jin assisted her in getting her very own Digital Pet. For this, Jin told Qiu Yue, that she had to pay for it herself because the pet was hers to own and the machine needed her information from the Pandamonium app as verification. Hence, the payment was also linked to her Pandamonium account.
“Oh my! This is a Red Panda!!!” Qiu Yue could not believe her eyes as she held onto the newly born pet that appeared right in front of her. The feeling of the Red Panda was so real that she could not help but hug it real tight until the Red Panda squeaked a little. Qiu Yue released her grip to take another look but this time around, the red panda slipped through her hands and ran up her arms to her shoulders. It later wrapped itself around her, and Qiu Yue took the chance to rub her face against its face.
“Jin, this invention of yours, is like the best thing ever! I can own a Red Panda now!” Qiu Yue then asked Jin to take a few pictures of her and the Red Panda together. They also unveiled the several packs of cosmetic items together and passed the time until the shop officially closed.
“Qiu Yue. Come with me.” Jin asked her when he confirmed everyone had left the shop including Zhen Qing. Jin had decided to complete the mission as stated by the System and get the full story from his mother once he was done.
