In a bar in Mountain City Center.
Yog deftly, gracefully, and tactfully declined the girl's request to exchange contact details.
"Lovely miss, fate brought us together. Why not leave our future to fate as well?"
Leaving the girl looking utterly disappointed, Yog walked out of the bar and headed back toward the bookshop. If anything about him was different from before, perhaps it was the bead now in his hand.
When Yog returned to the bookshop-
"Welcome back, sir."
Miss Puppet greeted Yog, and he nodded lightly.
"I trust you've gained quite a bit?"
Miss Puppet nodded.
"The wealth of knowledge in your collection far exceeded my expectations, sir."
Yog chuckled.
"Is that so? As long as it's useful..."
Just then, a little head peeked out from behind a bookshelf. It was the little girl with twin ponytails, and she smiled sweetly.
"Oh, Uncle Bookshop Owner is back! Hello, Uncle!"
Yog chuckled.
"Well? Do you like the books here?"
The girl nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
Yog continued mysteriously.
"Really? I'm glad you like them. Before long, there'll be a fairy-tale book you'll like even more..."
The girl's eyes lit up.
"Really?! That's wonderful!"
Yog went upstairs and sat down on the sofa, then chuckled.
"Yes, it's something to look forward to, isn't it..."
The girl nodded hard.
"Yes! I can't wait!"
Looking at the bustling streets around him, Cheng Yu was overwhelmed with emotion. Although seeing was believing, the sight before him still brought to mind the moment the Great Toad had descended and swallowed every living creature in the world in one gulp.
Among the people before him, he even spotted quite a few familiar faces. In Cheng Yu's memories, these people had either been swallowed by the Great Toad or killed by the rampaging Weird.
For a