Mask

The next day

Anna was so excited to see her best friend again last night that she lay in bed scrolling through old photos and videos of herself and Wu Wen until very late before finally falling asleep.

When she woke up, it was already nine o'clock.

For young people at this stage, sleeping in late is considered a sin.

Although drowsiness lingered in her mind, she struggled for a while before sitting up and quickly putting on the largest size summer clothes, which even required custom tailoring.

She stepped out of the bedroom with her messy blond hair, only to be greeted by a delicious aroma and sounds coming from the kitchen.

Upon closer inspection, they found Luo Di busy in the kitchen.

"Go wash up quickly, we'll have noodles later."

"Oh..."

When she came out of the bathroom, a large bowl of fragrant beef noodles was already on the table. One bite and she was instantly wide awake.

"Delicious! Do you usually cook here yourself?"

"No, I bought it on short notice when I went for my morning run this morning. I didn't know how long you would sleep, and the noodles would get soggy if I just packed them up, so I bought some ingredients on short notice."

"Thank you. Wenwen should have eaten it too, right?"

"Yes, the class monitor likes her very much."

That's good~

Anna glanced at the backpack on the sofa, then buried her head in her food.

"Anna."

"Hmm?" Anna, with a large bundle of noodles still in her mouth, lifted her head from between the bowls.

"Come with me to the shopping street later."

Anna nodded quickly as she chewed and swallowed the noodles in her mouth. "Okay, there's no rush to take on the mission anyway. We can rest for a few more days."

"No need to rest. After I go to order something, I'll go straight to the Investigation Bureau."

"Clothes?"

"Mask."

Although it is summer, the city in the north is not very hot, with outdoor temperatures remaining at 25°C.

A relatively ordinary young man like Luo Di wouldn't normally attract attention on the street, but with Anna joining him, the rate of people turning their heads to look at him jumped to around 90%.

Central pedestrian street

Most of the shops here are run by Italy, including some custom-made Clothing Store.

When asked if they could customize masks, the business owners mostly refused, either because they didn't offer such customization services or because they couldn't meet Luo Di's requirements.

I searched at least twenty Clothing Store but couldn't find what I needed, and it was already past 1 p. m.

Just as the two were about to go and solve their lunch problem, a shop hidden at the end of the street caught Luo Di's attention.

[The Kablos' Curios]

The shelves behind the doors and windows are filled with all sorts of strange handicrafts, and an old man with mechanical glasses is sticking dolls on behind the counter.

Welcome!

When the door was pushed open,

The mechanism on the door connects to a birdcage next to it, where a wind-up bird resembling a Corner Parrot mimics human speech.

The boss didn't greet the two immediately, but waited until he finished his work before turning his attention to them.

"Choose your own, the price is negotiable."

Can you customize masks here?

What kind of mask?

Luo Di handed the other party the design drawings he had rushed to complete the previous night, saying, "Try to make them as rigid as possible."

The old man turned his mechanical glasses with his fingers, carefully observing the mask on the drawing paper, even noticing the varying pressure of each line.

Then, the old man's eyes shifted from the mask to Luo Di's face.

"They have a face, yet they still need a mask."

You're not using it to hide yourself, but to show your true self, am I right? I can help you with that, but it might cost a bit more.

"How many."

The boss spread all the fingers on his right hand.

"Fifty thousand rubles?"

"No... 500,000."

"Why is it so expensive?" Although Luo Di received a considerable amount of compensation for the Fourth Middle School Incident and could afford the price, it was still too expensive.

The boss glanced at Luo Di, then quickly looked away.

"I never like to do things half-heartedly. Your mask painting provides too much information, too densely, and I can even see your emotions in the brushstrokes."

To translate all the details in the painting onto real objects would probably require more effort than my rough estimate.

I will naturally use the best and most suitable materials for you.

If you think it's too expensive, please leave.

How much is the deposit?

30%.

Just as Luo Di opened his bracelet to pay, Anna stepped forward, wanting to help him pay, but was stopped by the shop owner.

"This belongs entirely to this gentleman, and he should naturally pay for it himself."

Luo Di nodded in agreement with his boss.

"Okay! Let me pour you a face mask first. Leave your phone number, and I'll let you know when it's done."

"How long will it take approximately?"

"Ten days."

Luo Di wanted to say that it would take a while, but seeing how serious the boss was, he didn't say anything more. Anyway, he and Anna would be staying in Pluto City for a while longer.

The molding process is complete.

As the two left the shop, Anna casually brought up a topic. "You really like movies about serial killers, right?"

"Um."

"I've seen some before, but not many... If we have time later, we can watch them together."

"OK."

Luo Di readily accepted the suggestion, and it seemed that from a certain point onward, watching a movie with others was much better than watching it alone.

As the two were discussing movies and walking out of the alley where the shop was located, a voice suddenly came from the side, and it was a kind of Mandarin that was not very standard and mixed with dialect.

"Fortune telling, guaranteed accurate! If it's inaccurate, you don't pay a penny."

Looking to the side, I saw a young Chinese man wearing round-framed sunglasses and with his hair in a bun setting up a stall at the intersection.

In front of him was a newly purchased folding square table, the tags still stuck on it and hadn't been removed yet.

On the table was a large sheet of newly printed Bagua diagram, not even in color.

Next to it were a Morningstar notebook (for elementary school students) and a black ballpoint pen with the same retail price tag.

Even the clothes he wore weren't proper Taoist robe, but rather a black cloth shirt that had been tailored and modified, resembling one from a trendy brand.

At first glance, the most striking feature of this young man that resembles a fortune teller is the cloth shoes he's wearing.

Seeing that the two were looking at him, the young Daoist priest continued speaking:

"This Pluto City is vast and sparsely populated, with waterways and land routes intersecting, making it a veritable swamp."

Since you're all rushing around like this, one wrong step could easily lead you astray. Why not stop and rest a bit? Let me tell your fortune.

The fortune-telling stall that suddenly appeared seemed suspicious to Luo Di.

"People from the Investigation Bureau?"

The young Daoist priest pushed up his sunglasses. "Do I look like one? Please sit down. My fortune telling is very cost-effective, much cheaper than what you'll find on this street, and it's quite useful too."

Luo Di had no intention of continuing the conversation and turned to leave. He never believed in these things; he only believed in himself.

Seeing that the customer he had been waiting for was about to leave, the Daoist priest quickly took out a wooden business card from his dressing room and handed it to him.

"This is my business card. If you need any fortune telling services, you can contact me anytime. After all, we're from the same hometown."

Luo Di looked at the rather unusual wooden business card, which only had the two characters "Yu Ze" and a fortune-telling phone number engraved on it in a perfunctory manner: YUZE-██████.

To convince the other party, Yu Ze started touching himself all over and even shook his clothes, causing a pile of wooden business cards to fall onto the fortune-telling table.

"Fellow villager, I'm not lying to you, I really am a fortune teller."

I used to hang out in Chinatown a lot, but recently young people of our age started disappearing one after another, causing widespread panic, so I had no choice but to move out.

The property prices outside are much higher than in Chinatown, so I can only try setting up a stall here and earn whatever little I can.

It's rare to run into someone from my hometown on this street, and we're even about the same age, so I wanted to meet up. I really didn't mean any harm.

Besides, your girlfriend is too eye-catching. I'd have to be blind to not notice you two.

No offense, but with my physique, I probably could never even consider having a girlfriend like that. You're amazing, fellow villager; I'm truly envious.

Anna, who was standing next to her, could also understand Mandarin. When she caught the word "girlfriend," she subconsciously shifted her body and shook her head.

Luo Di replied with some skepticism, "No need for fortune telling. The matter in Chinatown has been resolved, and you can move back anytime."

"Really? That's great! Remember to call me if you need a fortune telling service."

Luo Di waved his hand and turned to leave. He didn't bring any business cards with him, seemingly indifferent to fortune telling, and threw them into the pile of business cards on the table.

Yu Ze could only shrug and stay there.

However, the stall did not continue. After waiting for about ten minutes, he began to organize the business cards on the table and selected the one that Luo Di had touched.

Bring it close to your lips and blow gently.

Suddenly,

The entire business card suddenly burst into flames, a flameless combustion that emitted a pungent, sulfurous odor.

"Hiss~"

Yu Ze hurriedly threw away the business card that was about to burn out, and looked at the Hell Ash floating in the air, his eyes squinting behind his sunglasses.

"This trip was worthwhile."