Chapter 231 - SHOPPING FOR NPCs

[WHAT vinegar?] – Luo Yan asked, although he already had an idea what this little fox was talking about.

Eclipse bit on the Mana fruit he was eating before answering, [Mashter, don't you know that common saying? When someone smells of vinegar, it means they're jealous.]

[What eye did you use to see that Brother Ji Yun was jealous?]

[Mashter, haven't you noticed? When you started talking about Yu Jiao, Captain's mood started to fluctuate. His brows furrowed and his tone became sour.]

[How could you tell?]

[Eclipse is equipped to understand human social cues. Mashter, trust Eclipse. Captain just now was jealous.] 

So, he was saying that he was programmed in a way that he could understand human emotions – at least to a point. Because of that, Luo Yan couldn't help but think back again on Shen Ji Yun's reaction earlier. He carefully analyzed each reaction and just like Eclipse said, Shen Ji Yun did show signs of being jealous. But why? 

He thought of all the possible reasons and his eyes slightly widened when he ended up with the most probable one. His heart already had a small conjecture but his logical brain simply refused to believe that. Because how could it be? Right?

Instead of having a debate between his heart and his brain, he just changed the topic and asked Eclipse, [Are all pets able to understand social cues like you do?]

[Of course not. It's because Eclipse has been with Mashter ever since he's an egg. Mashter nurtured Eclipse with his Mana and it made him able to understand a lot of things.]

Did that mean that because of him nurturing him with Mana, it added more data to Eclipse program? Making him more sentient? 

[Mashter, that's not the point. The point was – Captain was jealous! Do you know what this means? He li--]

[Don't. If you finish that thought, I won't give you a Mana fruit again.] – Luo Yan threatened.

Eclipse pouted. [Fine. But Mashter, remember, Eclipse was only telling the truth. And the truth couldn't be hidden. No matter how much you try to deny or hide it, sooner or later, it will be revealed. So, Eclipse suggest that Mashter doesn't try to look away and face the truth head on.]

Luo Yan couldn't help but pinch Eclipse's cheek. [You talk too much.]

Eclipse pouted then ate the remaining fruit. [Mashter don't love me anymore. Eclipse will just go to Captain.]

After that, he jumped and landed perfectly on Shen Ji Yun's shoulder. Shen Ji Yun was slightly startled but still didn't throw the little fox and let it stayed on his shoulder. He even petted it a bit.

Shen Ji Yun stopped and looked back at Luo Yan. "Yan Yan?"

Luo Yan increased his pace until he reached Shen Ji Yun. And the two continued walking to where they could buy blank NPCs.

Luo Yan couldn't help but secretly glanced at Shen Ji Yun. He was still as expressionless as ever. As if the drop of emotion he had shown earlier didn't happen at all. Because of Eclipse's nonsense, he couldn't stop the suspicion that was slowly rising in his heart. So, even if he didn't believe a word of what Eclipse said, unbeknownst to him, a seed of doubt was already planted in his heart.

They soon arrived at a three-story building. It was all white with tall glass windows. One could immediately see holographic models of NPCs inside. They walked inside and Shen Ji Yun led them to the third floor, saying that the high-quality NPCs were all there. 

Once there, Luo Yan immediately glanced around. There were holographic models of NPCs in different genders, sizes, and colors. But there was one thing common, all of them looked gorgeous. Well, they're all made of data after all. It would be weird if one of them looked ugly. 

A female NPC approached them. "Dear customer, may I ask what you are looking for?"

"Can you show me five of your best-looking male NPCs?" Luo Yan said. 

"No problem, this way please."

While watching Luo Yan inspect holographic models of male NPCs, Shen Ji Yun once again felt sour in his heart. Then he suddenly felt a small paw touching his cheek. He turned his head to look at the fox sitting on his shoulder. He was looking at him pitifully, as if silently saying – 'I understand your suffering'.

He felt the corner of his mouth twitching. Then he shook his head. His narrow-mindedness was now even affecting his judgement. Or else why would he have the illusion that this fox understood his emotions? 

"After buying them, we will give you their contract deed and then you can input the type of personality you want them to have," the NPC said.

Luo Yan raised one of his brows. That's the first time he heard about that. The NPCs in his pavilion didn't have a deed or something. Maybe because he owned the whole pavilion where they worked. After purchasing five male NPCs and receiving their contract deed, he couldn't help but feel that he traveled back to ancient times and just bought his own slaves. 

"Do you want to activate them now and bring them back with you?" the NPC asked.

He put back the contract deeds in his Items Tab and said, "No. Can I come back on Saturday and take them then?"

"Of course. You just have to show the contract deeds by then." The NPC nodded. "We are also offering different clothes for NPCs. If you want, you can buy one for the NPCs you just purchased."

"Do you have a catalogue? Can you show me?"

"Yes, of course."

Then a holographic catalogue appeared in front of Luo Yan. It was divided between male and female clothes. So, he went to the male directory and went through the clothes there. He picked five sets of ancient clothes since all the NPCs in his pavilion were wearing that type. Even if they're only going to be boatmen, they still have to match his other employees. 

After paying, he said to the NPC, "I want them to wear these clothes when I pick them up on Saturday."

"No problem, dear customer. I will make sure of that."

After the transaction, Luo Yan looked back and saw that Shen Ji Yun was just silently standing at the corner, petting Eclipse. The little fox was clearly enjoying it based on the happy expression on his face. It's weird, but he couldn't help but think that the scene of the two of them together was kind of adorable.

He walked towards the two. "Brother Ji Yun, I'm done. Let's go?"

"You don't have any more errands?" Shen Ji Yun asked.

"No. I was just actually planning to do some task."

"Then… should we eat somewhere? I believe you still owe me a meal."

When Shen Ji Yun said that, he tried his best not to show his nervousness. How could he just let this day end without them eating somewhere? This was a 'date', so they needed to dine together. Even if he's the only one who considered this as a 'date'.

Luo Yan was a bit surprised by the request. But then remembered that he did still owe Shen Ji Yun a meal. So, he smiled and said, "Sure. Where do you want to go?"

"Somewhere that will surprise you," Shen Ji Yun answered ambiguously. 

Then he suddenly felt a paw tapping his chest. He looked down at the fox he was holding. And the little thing just gave him a thumbs-up.