Natasha

Hook raced through the Streets and Alleys with her little backpack on her back, her footsteps pattering away.

Every so often, she would turn around to wait for Ye Yun and urge him to hurry up.

More than half an hour later.

Hook led Ye Yun to a clinic that looked fairly decent.

By "fairly decent," it only meant that it was much better than the surrounding buildings.

Most of the houses in the Underworld were dilapidated shacks, while this clinic at least looked intact.

Hook shoved the front door open.

"Natasha! Someone's here to see you!"

Inside, Natasha, who was explaining precautions to a patient, turned around.

"Hook, weren't you out playing? Why are you back so early today?"

Natasha walked over to Hook. Only when she got closer did she notice the Little Panda Backpack on Hook's back.

"This backpack..."

Seeing Natasha looking at her backpack, Hook gleefully took it off, pulled out a rainbow candy, and handed it to Natasha.

"Natasha, this is for you!"

Natasha looked at the candy in Hook's tiny hand.

"Hook, where did you get these things?"

Hook pointed at Ye Yun standing by the door.

"There! Ye Yun gave them to me! Oh, right, he has something to discuss with you."

Hearing that, Natasha stuffed the candy into Hook's mouth.

"You eat it, Hook. I don't want any."

Natasha stood up and walked toward Ye Yun and the strange Leos following behind him.

When Natasha saw Leos, her pupils contracted slightly in shock.

What kind of creature was this? Why was it wreathed in flames?

After spacing out for a moment, Natasha recovered.

"Hello, I'm Natasha. Thank you for giving Hook the backpack and candy. I heard you wanted to see me. What can I do for you?"

Ye Yun glanced around.

"Hello, I'm Ye Yun. There's no need to thank me for Hook's gifts. She earned them by showing me the way. That was her payment."

Natasha smiled brightly. That payment for directions was far too extravagant.

As far as she knew, even in the Upper District, the gifts Ye Yun had given Hook would be considered quite valuable.

"That payment is a little too precious."

Ye Yun shook his head.

"It's nothing. I have plenty of these little things. I came to see you because I have a business deal to discuss."

Hearing that, Natasha looked around.

Some of the passersby nearby were watching them.

"Come with me. I'll take you somewhere quiet."

Natasha went inside and rubbed the little head of Hook, who was sitting on a small stool.

"Hook, stay here and play for a while. Don't run around, understand? It'll be dinner time soon."

With candy in her mouth, Hook nodded happily.

"Okay~"

Afterward, Natasha led Ye Yun to her office on the second floor.

Inside the office.

Natasha poured Ye Yun a glass of plain water.

"The conditions are modest. Please excuse them."

Ye Yun shook his head, indicating that he did not mind.

Only then did Natasha ask.

"May I ask what kind of business Mr. Ye Yun wishes to discuss with me?"

Ye Yun snapped his fingers, and several hundred-pound sacks of rice appeared.

"Food! An endless supply of food!"

As he spoke, Ye Yun swiped a finger across one sack of rice, and snow-white grains poured out from it.

Natasha was stunned by the quality of the rice. Such white rice!

"Mr. Ye Yun, how many Old Winter Shields do you want for a sack of rice?"

Ye Yun smiled.

"I don't accept Old Winter Shields here. I'm not from Jarilo-VI.

My companions and I only arrived on this planet today."

Natasha was only mildly surprised to hear Ye Yun say that he was not from this planet.

Having received a good education growing up, Natasha knew that the universe existed.

"Then do you accept Credits? If it's Credits, you may need to wait a while. I'll have to find people to gather them."

Ye Yun shook his head again.

"No, no, no. I only accept Stellar Jade, these pink stones."

As he spoke, Ye Yun took out his phone and displayed a picture of Stellar Jade.

Natasha took one look.

"We have those here. Everyone usually uses them to decorate their homes.

If it's those, I'll need some time to gather them as well."

Ye Yun nodded in satisfaction. As long as they had them, that was enough.

"I'm not in a hurry."

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid Ye Yun would give her very little time.

"Then, what is the price of this rice?"

Ye Yun took out his phone and showed Natasha the various foods and prices he had recorded in advance.

Natasha took the phone.

100 pounds of rice, price: 5 Star Coins

100 pounds of flour, price: 5 Star Coins

100 pounds of corn, price: 5 Star Coins

100 pounds of sweet potatoes, price: 5 Star Coins

100 pounds of bok choy, price: 5 Star Coins

100 pounds of apples, price: 5 Star Coins

After reading it, Natasha was somewhat confused.

"What are Star Coins?"

Ye Yun explained.

"1 piece of Stellar Jade can be exchanged for 100 Star Coins."

Natasha's face immediately filled with disbelief.

Those little stones everyone usually used for decoration were actually worth so much?

At 5 Star Coins for 100 pounds of rice, one piece of Stellar Jade could exchange for a full 2,000 pounds!

Two thousand pounds of rice was enough to feed everyone in Boulder Town for two or three days.

Natasha could no longer remain calm.

"Mr. Ye Yun, please wait here. I'll immediately have people gather Stellar Jade. I'll come find you tomorrow, all right?"

Ye Yun nodded and pointed at the sacks of rice beside him.

"These sacks of rice are for you. They're just some worthless things."

Natasha thanked him with a smile.

Then Natasha hurried out of the office.

Ye Yun stayed in the office for a while before leaving as well.

When he arrived on the first floor of the clinic, he saw Leos speaking to Hook with a serious expression.

Hook was listening just as seriously, letting out occasional gasps of surprise.

Ye Yun walked closer and listened.

"Hook, come find me tomorrow. I'll teach you some combat techniques."

Hook nodded repeatedly.

"Okay! I'll come find you tomorrow, Master Leos!"

Ye Yun was stunned.

Uh... what happened? How long had he been gone? Hook had already taken Leos as her master?

Ye Yun was not worried about Leos's ability to teach.

After all, even Rey, one of the strongest spirits in Leos World, had studied under him for a time.

Ye Yun coughed a few times, drawing the attention of the girl and the deer.

Ye Yun checked the time and smacked Hook on the head.

"Come on, let's go eat."

Hook heard this.

"Huh? Where are we going to eat? Aren't we eating here? We're having Geomarrow Crab tonight. I want Geomarrow Crab."

Ye Yun shook his head. According to the game's description, Geomarrow Crabs had extremely hard shells, very little meat, and a sour taste.

"Geomarrow Crab isn't good. I'll take you to eat something truly delicious."

With that, Ye Yun took Hook's hand and led Leos out of the clinic.

Upper District.

Stelle, Dan Heng, and March 7th had just come out of the Guardian's Office.