Dressed Up

Yor Clothing Store.

Located in the wealthy district, it was a famous shop not only in the Black Cave Settlement but throughout the Holy Kingdom. The clothes and accessories sold there easily cost hundreds, if not thousands.

As a large chain, it was said to have a powerful figure behind it. And with The Church established in the wealthy district, even the settlement's gangs rarely showed their faces around there.

At that moment, a young man and a young woman stepped out of the gleaming clothing store, immediately drawing the attention of passersby.

The young man wore a brand-new brown suit. You could tell a garment's quality just by looking at its lines.

The suit made him look broader and sturdier, while accentuating his tall, well-proportioned build. The waistcoat beneath filled out his somewhat slender chest, and the elegant wing collar gave him an air of upper-class refinement.

That was the power of high-end clothing design: it brought out the wearer's charm.

But compared with the young man, his female companion was the one who truly caught everyone's eye.

The girl's outfit looked simple, not complicated at all: a fitted little black dress.

The close-fitting dress outlined the lively figure unique to a young girl. Its lines ran from the sleeves down to the waist, leaving plenty of room for her chest while making her waist look even slimmer. The skirt's slit was just right, letting her legs appear and disappear from view. It made them look long and slender, while adding a hint of mystery.

Finally, the slightly serious black, paired with the red-soled high heels, tempered the girl's youthful innocence. She wasn't quite mature, though; the overall effect was more playful.

After sneaking a glance, the passersby quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look again. At most, they secretly wondered what city this young lady had come from.

Outsiders were fairly common in the Black Cave Settlement, especially during the craze for the Relic Cave. Every few days, unfamiliar faces in fine clothes would show up and spend freely throughout the settlement. Of course, there were far fewer of them now that the craze had died down.

It was worth mentioning that, having seen plenty of people from powerful factions, the passersby who often traveled through the wealthy district could easily tell the difference between nouveau riche spending big on expensive clothes and truly important people.

The method was simple. Even a nouveau riche could grit their teeth and buy expensive clothes, but they couldn't buy that air of distinction. The girl by the store entrance, especially, looked as if she'd never endured wind or sun. Her dewy, fair skin could only come from meticulous care. In the passersby's eyes, that was a far better sign of her "heiress" status than any expensive, extravagant outfit.

However.

This time, the passersby had probably gotten the wrong impression.

Fortunately, they were far enough away. If they'd been any closer, they would have heard the refined young lady they imagined had come from some big city actually saying:

"For these fucking scraps of cloth, the fabric doesn't even add up to half of what my old coat had! And they dare charge over a thousand? Who do they think they are, the Great Emperor?"

"And these lousy shoes! More than five hundred! Can you believe these uncomfortable, clumsy shoes cost over five hundred?! What the fuck—what kind of heartless, money-grubbing shop is this? Pah!"

"Spendthrift! Sucker! Old lecher! I'm so mad! I'm so mad!!"

Irin stomped her feet in fury, but halfway through, she seemed to remember that the "lousy shoes" on her feet were worth five hundred. She hurriedly eased up, her heart aching.

The heels were so thin. What if she broke them by stomping? Then that five hundred would be down the drain!

Watching the girl's performance, the young man beside her looked a little helpless. He also felt that using Contract to seal Irin's mouth while they were in the store had been a very wise decision.

"Miss Irin, I can understand the first few insults, but what did you mean by that last one? Who's the old lecher?"

"Hmph! Just look at those salesgirls who kept circling around you in the store. Their skirts were so short they could barely cover their butts! Then, just because you bought a few lousy clothes, they immediately started shoving their cards at you and batting their eyelashes. They practically wanted to stick themselves to you! Those greedy, flirtatious women—ugh, disgusting, disgusting!"

Irin stuck out her tongue in an exaggerated show of revulsion and mimed throwing up.

Liao Ji glanced at the overdramatic girl beside him and suggested:

"If you hate it so much, I can return your outfit. We haven't gone far yet."

Just as expected.

Irin's complaining stopped abruptly. She instantly looked a little flustered.

"That's really un—unnecessary. The fabric in these lousy clothes may be skimpy, but the quality's decent. Besides, a heartless shop like this definitely won't let you return anything once it's sold. And also..."

Clearly, though the girl had been grumbling about the clothes, she actually liked the black dress quite a lot. The most immediate difference for Irin was the fabric. She was used to wearing rough hemp that scratched her skin, so the soft, smooth, incredibly comfortable feel of this dress was impossible to resist.

And even if she didn't want to admit it, those damn high-end designers really knew how to tug at people's heartstrings. She'd always thought that as long as you had something to wear, that was enough, and that women who spent money on clothes were fools. Then today, she'd tried on something nice herself.

Irin would never forget how she'd looked in the fitting-room mirror, barely recognizing the girl staring back at her. She'd never imagined clothes could change a person so much.

Men and games; women and clothes.

It seemed that saying held true in any world.

The girl's voice grew a little flustered as she racked her brain for an excuse to stop the young man. Then she saw him grinning and realized Liao Ji had only been teasing her.

"Hmph! Anyway, even if we return them, you're not going to give me any of the money we squeezed out of the gang, so why shouldn't I enjoy myself?"

Irin tossed her little head. Back when she'd been a scavenger, she'd tied her hair into a ponytail with a knot for ease of movement. Liao Ji had undone it in the store, using the outfit change as an excuse. The girl's coffee-brown hair, the same color as her mother's, fell free like a seal had been broken. Perhaps it was natural to her, but the ends of her hair curled into soft waves.

Maybe she still wasn't used to having long hair. When Irin tossed her head, it swayed with it, forcing her to reluctantly perform the unfamiliar gesture of tucking it behind her ear. She had to admit, the motion suited her.

Liao Ji was once again struck by the strength of Irin's mother's genes.

And he couldn't help regretting that such a promising young woman had to go and open her mouth.

After being cleansed by Holy Healing, with her radiant skin, expensive black dress and heels, and completely different hairstyle, Irin looked like a whole new person. Even she could hardly recognize herself, let alone the gang.

They headed openly toward the settlement's southwest side. That was where Irin's mother's underground clinic was located, between the wealthy district and the territory controlled by the gang. People in the settlement called it the Gray Zone.

If the gang took a cut from people just for entering the settlement, then a place like the Gray Zone was even worse.

But Irin, who was quite capable, had a special route in, and could enter the Gray Zone with ease.

And this time, the route looked more reliable.

It was through the back door of a bar.

Haisha Bar.