Chapter 140: Chapter 140: The Shopkeepers’ Thank-you Gifts, Great Cold Country Collapses, She’s Still Not Leaving?

At this moment, Yun Zhenyue stared in astonishment at the shopkeepers who had arrived bearing a pile of gifts.

Some brought clothes they had meticulously made, some brought needle-and-thread Ghost Artifacts, and one even went so far as to drag over their own sewing machine...

The very same shopkeepers who had previously fought tooth and nail to steal customers from each other were now getting along harmoniously.

To thank Yun Zhenyue, they insisted on leaving behind thank-you gifts.

She was treated with great enthusiasm by the shopkeepers.

This caught Yun Zhenyue a bit off guard.

She had originally gone to Fushou Bank just to solve Mengmeng’s problem.

Bringing them along had been merely incidental.

"My lady, you simply must accept these clothes. They suit your temperament perfectly!"

"I’ll leave these needles for Mr. Meng. They’ll be very convenient for making clothes."

"This sewing machine is a family heirloom, a Dark Red Ghost Artifact. I’ll help you drag it inside."

"Me too, I have a gift for you as well..."

Mengmeng was getting dizzy just watching from the side.

The attitudes of these old shopkeepers toward her had done a complete one-eighty.

Each of them looked at her with the loving kindness of an elder.

Or perhaps with a hint of envy.

’Something like this has never happened before!’

Mengmeng looked at Yun Zhenyue with a complicated expression.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

’If only Yun Zhenyue could stay in my shop forever.’

’I’d even let her be the shopkeeper!’

But Mengmeng also understood.

A person of Yun Zhenyue’s stature, the wife of the Nightmare Hunting Venerable Master, would not simply stay in one place.

Her chance encounter with Yun Zhenyue was already the luckiest thing that had ever happened to her.

In the end, since it was too difficult to refuse, Yun Zhenyue accepted some of the less expensive gifts. Only then did the group of shopkeepers leave satisfied, reluctantly inviting Yun Zhenyue to visit their shops and telling her to take any clothes she wanted, free of charge.

Just then, Yun Zhenyue suddenly received a system notification.

"Huh, the quest is complete?"

When she heard the notification announce that the current quest was complete and she could teleport back to Wansheng District at any time, Yun Zhenyue murmured to herself in surprise.

It suddenly dawned on her!

’So when the system quest said that investigating Fushou Bank offered a chance to get better gifts, it was referring to these thank-you gifts from the shopkeepers.’

’Speaking of which, the first objective was to be welcomed by the general manager...’

’That one was completed when the newly appointed general manager came over to greet me.’

’Now, of the three objectives, the only one left is to investigate the underground garage.’

...

Seeing this scene, the audience from the Great Cold Country was so jealous their teeth were about to fall out.

Han Sumei had worked diligently, only to be beaten up and thrown out.

Wasn’t this Yun Zhenyue just relying on Gu Yuan’s power?

She hadn’t even done anything, yet she had this group of shopkeepers fawning over her with gratitude?

[Damn it! These shopkeepers are so snobby, a bunch of cowards!]

[With so many gifts, her quest reward is definitely going to be amazing again.]

[Why does every good thing happen to her?]

[Why isn’t she leaving yet? Don’t tell me she wants to speedrun the underground garage?]

[That bastard Minotaur is completely useless, can’t even hold a candle to Gu Yuan.]

[Sigh, is our Great Cold Country really inferior to the Dragon Country?]

...

After all the shopkeepers had left, Mengmeng pulled open the small cash drawer, staring at the thousands of ghost coins inside.

A hesitant look appeared in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by firm resolve.

With a sweaty palm, she took out all the ghost coins, not even sparing the single one in the corner of the drawer. Mengmeng put them in her pocket, then glanced cautiously at all the members of the Nightmare Hunter.

At this moment, she finally made up her mind and walked over to a puzzled Yun Zhenyue.

"Yue... is there something I can ask of you?"

"What is it?"

Yun Zhenyue gently stroked Mengmeng’s head and asked softly.

Hearing this, Mengmeng took a deep breath. She bit her lower lip, took all the money from her pocket, and held it out in her small palm, offering her entire savings.

"I want to... hire these adults to be my bodyguards for a while."

"I know this isn’t enough money to hire an Evil Star, but I really can’t come up with any more... Please, can you let me owe you the rest? I’ll work hard, I won’t eat or drink, and I’ll pay you back as soon as I can!"

"My parents have been missing for half a year. I miss them every day. I’m sure they’re in the underground garage, but I’m too scared to go down. If I wait any longer, I might never find them."

Mengmeng sincerely voiced her wish.

Her eyes reddened at the thought of her missing parents.

These few sentences took all her strength, filled with her last shred of hope.

Hearing this, Yun Zhenyue smiled softly.

’If I didn’t plan on helping Mengmeng, I could have just returned already.’

"Not eating or drinking is a bit of an exaggeration," Yun Zhenyue said, her beautiful eyes crinkling, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Don’t worry. If it’s not enough, I’ll cover the rest. Your big sis here is actually quite well-off."

"Really?!!!"

Mengmeng’s eyes widened in excitement, and she immediately threw her arms around Yun Zhenyue.

"SOB SOB SOB~ Thank you, Yue!"

At that moment, all the negative emotions that had been building up in Mengmeng’s heart seemed to be released.

She buried her small face in Yun Zhenyue’s embrace, hot tears streaming from her eyes.

As she cried, she began to tell a story.

In the real world, her parents had also owned a clothing store.

Because of this, Mengmeng developed a keen interest in making clothes from a young age.

The clothes in her family’s shop were high-quality and affordable, earning praise from the local residents. Often, an item would be sold the moment it was finished, and they had more orders than they could handle.

Unfortunately, it was for this very reason that they became the target of someone’s jealousy.

One night, Mengmeng awoke from a deep fog to find a massive fire raging around her.

Just as she and her parents were trying to escape, they suddenly realized the shop door had been locked from the outside. The windows were barred, making escape impossible.

Mengmeng’s parents could only lift her up, holding her by the window, sacrificing their own lives to give her a chance to survive.

However, before the fire truck could arrive, Mengmeng choked to death on the toxic smoke.

Her entire family died in that fire.

After they became ghosts, her parents’ bodies were charred black.

But she had kept her pretty appearance.

It was the last gift her parents gave her.

That was why Mengmeng had been trying so hard to find them.

Hearing this, Yun Zhenyue stroked Mengmeng’s head with a pained heart.

’It must be fate.’ 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

’If Mengmeng hadn’t taken me in, I might not have met the Nightmare Hunter members so quickly. The first two objectives wouldn’t have been completed so fast, either. Everything just fell into place.’

’And now, hearing Mengmeng’s long-buried secret... it all feels full of coincidences.’

’Since I can help her, I absolutely must!’

"Mr. Yu... I wonder if you all have time to help me with this."

"But don’t feel forced. If you need to rush back to the organization, I can find someone else."

Yun Zhenyue turned to look at Yu Honghui and the other Nightmare Hunter members, posing the question.

’I should have at least a little bit of influence!’

’If they’re too busy, I could always ask Mrs. Yan and Mr. Luo.’

However, before Yu Honghui could reply, the Nightmare Hunter members standing nearby couldn’t hold back any longer.

"My lady, you don’t need to offer anything at all!"

"With your status, it’s only natural for you to give us orders."

"That’s right! We’re more than satisfied just to be able to do something for you."

"Your last mission earned me a lot of contribution points, which are worth far more than a few thousand ghost coins!"

"This poor little sister’s story is too tragic. No matter what, this old man has to help her!"