What Do You Mean by Berries

Yang Zhanbai was so nervous that his stomach clenched.

"Alright," he said. "You should be able to handle special situations, right?"

He still remembered his previous confrontation with the boss. That cunning horror creature had turned him into a Hunter!

He wondered what tricks the boss in this bizarre scenario would pull this time.

"Let's go." Zhu Yan noticed his nervousness, as the hand holding the knife was trembling slightly. "Aren't I here? I can solo a level-five horror creature; dealing with a clerk won't be a problem."

Zhu Yan thought for a moment, then added a sarcastic remark at Yang Zhanbai.

"You are a Hunter now, you'll be fine."

Yang Zhanbai took a deep breath, finally stepping quickly to the front of the group, and pushed the shop door open.

A burst of laughter and cheerful voices poured into their ears, and Zhu Yan's vision blurred.

He hastily steadied himself, grabbed a fresh bottle of Universal Potion from his pocket, and poured a few drops onto his head.

...The mental attack was still too formidable.

Once they cleared this instance, he absolutely had to prioritize finding a shield.

When his brain regained clarity under the nourishment of the potion, Zhu Yan finally saw the situation clearly—

The shop was lit with a warm white light, and the layout was almost identical to David's Kitchen where they had dined earlier.

Perhaps horror creatures couldn't comprehend something like a power bank. The spot where a real shop would place power banks was replaced by a square block painted bright yellow.

Hmm, Zhu Yan made a mental note of this potentially useful detail.

If they needed to find a human-run shop tomorrow, they could keep an eye out for similar tech products inside.

"Look," Yang Zhanbai said softly. "They have yogurt bowls in here. We came to the right place."

Zhu Yan saw it.

Every booth in here was filled with children.

Tall stacks of empty bowls were piled up in front of the children.

Yet they kept their heads down, desperately eating the bowl of yogurt in front of them, occasionally looking up to chat and laugh. That half-full yogurt just never seemed to run out.

There were no clerks bustling about serving food here—

The two waited for a while and noticed that the empty bowls on the tables neither increased in number, nor did anyone come to clear them away. It was simply like a fixed stage set.

The children were the same; they kept eating, and no one ever finished, put down their bowl, and left.

Zhu Yan's urge to make snarky comments flared up again.

Ah, so this was why the line outside hadn't moved at all.

That poor kid he had killed outside would probably never get to eat yogurt.

Oh wait, that wasn't the point.

This scene was too bizarre. It appeared dynamic, yet possessed an eerie sense of stillness.

He kept this detail in mind, lowered his eyes again, and dripped more potion onto his head.

Ahead, Yang Zhanbai didn't say much; he simply strode toward the back kitchen and pushed open the heavy iron door.

"Are there any horror creatures? I am a Hunter, and I have something to report."

Damn, lightning-fast action.

Zhu Yan hurriedly gathered his thoughts and followed. Just as he reached the kitchen door, he heard a rather gentle female voice.

"Hello, would you like to buy a yogurt bowl?"

Holy crap, that direct?

Zhu Yan loosened the cap of his Universal Potion so he could restore his sanity at any moment.

Then he stepped into the kitchen, looked up, and quickly assessed the woman talking to Yang Zhanbai.

The woman had a delicate, long face. She looked very refined and was smiling faintly at them.

It explained quite patiently, "We have four flavors of yogurt bowls here, which are..."

"I want the berry flavor," Yang Zhanbai said immediately.

The woman paused for a moment.

"I'm sorry," it explained patiently. "We are out of berries."

Yang Zhanbai glanced back at Zhu Yan.

He didn't argue further with the woman. Instead, he stepped back and pulled Zhu Yan aside.

"Let's first see if we can just buy any random flavor. If we can buy one, things will be easier."

He whispered.

"If the berries are just regular berries, we can go to the candy store later and see if they have berry-flavored candies to add in."

What a smart idea.

But Zhu Yan's intuition told him it wouldn't work.

"You can try," he said. "But it won't be that simple."

Yang Zhanbai turned back and continued negotiating with the woman.

"Do you have other flavors? Any yogurt bowl will do."

Zhu Yan tensed up nervously, staring fixedly at the woman.

The scene in his vision began to spin again, and he quickly poured the potion over his head—

Then he clearly saw the woman actually nod!

A pleasant surprise! They could actually buy it?

"Yes, we do," it said with an excellent attitude, then pointed outside.

"You can go line up outside."

"When it's your turn, you can buy one."

...So much for the pleasant surprise.

The woman's smile deepened, drawing out deep laugh lines at the corners of its mouth.

"Of course, if you can persuade the children to let you cut in line or buy it for you, that works too."

Zhu Yan cursed.

Those were all puppets. Getting them to agree was as difficult as finding the true body of the Solace Mother!

He might as well try threatening it with questions; at least he could squeeze out some information.

He activated his ability Humiliation, stepped past Yang Zhanbai, and pressed his level-five dining knife against the woman's chest.

"I ask, you answer," Zhu Yan ordered coldly. "Yang Zhanbai, pour the potion for me."

"First question: are we completely unable to buy yogurt?"

"Why bother?" the woman said melodiously. "You're quite smart. I thought you knew that threats are just an illusion that doesn't work."

The woman giggled and pointed at Yang Zhanbai.

"However, out of respect for the Hunter, I can answer your question honestly."

The word honestly was specifically emphasized, as if it were some incredible honor.

Zhu Yan gritted his teeth.

Just as he thought.

Horror creatures really did treat Hunters differently.

However, considering the Alpha Wolf's motives, this difference usually meant an even bigger trap!

The woman's smile spread across its entire face, making it look increasingly gentle.

"Correct, you cannot buy yogurt," it said. "You must think of another way."

It pointed again, this time toward the dining area outside.

"The mass of the yogurt is conserved; no matter how much is eaten, it will not decrease."

"The number of children lining up outside is conserved; no matter how long they wait, it will not decrease."

"The children eating yogurt inside are also this fixed group."

What did that mean?

Was it emphasizing this static order of conservation?

Zhu Yan tried to grasp the information hidden within.

"We couldn't possibly actually sell yogurt bowls," the woman said bluntly. "We have no new ingredients; we are depleted from the source."

"Only stillness allows us to exist for a long time!"

Yang Zhanbai's expression turned very ugly.

Just like Zhu Yan, he immediately figured out the underlying logic.

Everything here was motionless, and could only be motionless.

In other words, they were somewhat like an AI video that kept playing but forever showed only a single frame.

The children outside had said it—the order could not be broken.

In other words, acquiring a yogurt bowl through the official channel of purchasing was completely out of the question!

Then, what if they took it by force?

Yang Zhanbai's gaze unconsciously drifted toward the children outside, who were happily devouring their treats.

Zhu Yan, however, remained entirely impassive.

The "woman" seemed to see right through Yang Zhanbai's thoughts, simulating an incredibly gentle tone.

"You will have to go through other channels. Tell you what, I will give you a little hint."

To Zhu Yan, this hint felt rather ill-intentioned.

"You can try to figure out what the [Solace Mother] actually is."

In a blind spot that Yang Zhanbai failed to notice, the "woman" stealthily crept closer to Zhu Yan.

Leaning in close to his ear, it whispered a second hint in a voice only he could hear.

"You could also try using the flesh and blood of a [Hunter] as an ingredient; it makes for the finest berries."

"As long as the source material is not depleted, the [Solace Mother] can produce yogurt bowls."

"Why are you so devoted to your friend? He is a traitor to humanity, after all..."