The streetlamps adorned with black wrought-iron carvings cast a warm pale yellow glow. Wasp drifted through the crowd like an inconspicuous fallen leaf, leaving no ripples among the pedestrians.
She arrived before a shop at the end of the block. Hanging outside was the "Three Towers" emblem that foreign merchants were required to display when opening shops in the Violet Kingdom. The display windows held all manner of novel trinkets from across the strait. At the moment, a wooden sign hung on the door, bearing the words "Temporarily Closed."
Wasp's gaze rested on the "Temporarily Closed" sign for a second before she pushed open the door and entered.
The shop was deserted. With business suspended, there was not a single customer inside; only a young man in a dark coat sat behind the counter, sorting through miscellaneous items. Hearing movement at the entrance, he looked up. Upon seeing Wasp, he seemed to let out a breath of relief and gave her a slight nod.
"Why did you suddenly put up a Temporarily Closed sign at a time like this?" Wasp hurried to the counter and lowered her voice. "And where's the 'manager'?"
"The manager went to the northern district." The young man inconspicuously kept watch on the doorway as he answered in a casual murmur. "We received orders from headquarters today. The Violet Kingdom has been seriously affected by a Supernatural Phenomenon. All contact points are to suspend operations and prepare to evacuate. The manager intended to gather as much intelligence as possible before leaving."
"...Prepare to evacuate?" A trace of shock appeared on Wasp's face. "Has it gotten that serious? Then us here..."
"Worse than you think. All the agents in Cold Sea City have gone out of contact. No news has come back." The young man wiped a