"By the way, what do you girls usually do when you go shopping? Is it just buying, buying, buying, and then trying on all sorts of different clothes?"
After leaving the clothing store, the group followed Seraphina as she led them on a tour of various parts of the mall.
Along the way, everyone seemed quite interested. After all, the layout of this allegedly newly built mall was different from the usual ones. Perhaps because it was the largest mall in the city, the overall style felt more spiritual and refined.
However, for the most part, it didn't look drastically different from a normal mall, except for the fact that at the connections between buildings, along the sides of the paths, and at intersections, there were flying machines that looked similar to drones.
According to Seraphina's introduction, these were the latest detection devices developed by the authorities. If any specific spiritual fluctuations were detected, an alarm would trigger immediately to warn the people in the mall to flee.
Near every detection device, a lever could be found. Yes, a lever.
The usage of Redstone wasn't difficult, and because its mechanics were unique, official researchers quickly applied it to practical use. By simply pulling the lever, a 2x2 hole would open in the floor, allowing people to escape quickly.
Of course, such an important thing wouldn't be disclosed to the general public. After all, who knew if there were spies hiding in the crowd? So, while the levers could be found, their locations were extremely hidden, tucked away in a subspace.
When he heard this, Lin Tian couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. Talented people were everywhere; being able to play with Redstone to this extent meant they were definitely hardcore Minecraft fans!
The activation method for the levers was also linked to the detection devices. As soon as a device captured a spiritual fluctuation, the lever would be pulled automatically, opening the survival passage as fast as possible.
It was worth noting that the detection range of these devices was only about ten meters; they didn't cover a larger distance. Therefore, the effect of a single device wasn't huge, making them most suitable for high-traffic areas like malls.
Though the range was small, the quantity made up for it. The manufacturing process was simple and the materials were cheap. With current technological capabilities, a fully functional factory could produce tens of thousands of them.
"Not necessarily. Most girls might be like that, but the main purpose is to enjoy the fun of shopping with friends. Plus, there's looking at the scenery, eating delicious food, watching movies, and things like that. After all, walking all the time is tiring."
Hearing Lin Tian's confusion, Liu Yueyan shook her head. She wasn't that kind of person anyway. She preferred staying at home, chatting in groups, practicing her cultivation, playing games, and binge-watching shows. Her life was quite sweet!
'Eating delicious food...'
Hearing Liu Yueyan's words, Lin Tian shifted his gaze toward Mitsuri Kanroji. This girl, due to her special constitution, usually consumed a massive amount of food every day, right?
But in the MC world, it seemed that constitution hadn't manifested; she ate about the same amount as a normal person.
Just as Lin Tian was looking at Mitsuri Kanroji, as if she had noticed his gaze, her stomach let out a timely sound.
"Gurgle~~~"
The scene suddenly fell silent for a moment. Everyone stopped in their tracks. A few passersby nearby also cast surprised looks at the pink-haired young girl.
How long had it been since she last ate? How could it be so loud?
'Ugh... (´///☁///`)'
Hearing the sound from her stomach and noticing everyone's eyes on her, Mitsuri Kanroji felt extremely shy. She had spent so much time in the clothing store without making a sound, yet it had to happen now. It was mortifying!
It must have been caused by that 'battle' with Lin Tian in the fitting room earlier. It was all his fault for insisting on trying so many high-difficulty poses, otherwise she could have held out for a while longer!
Thinking this, Mitsuri Kanroji subconsciously glared at Lin Tian.
Noticing her gaze, Lin Tian rubbed his nose guiltily. He decided to turn off the Heart Listening and Mental Dialogue modules first; things were getting a bit awkward for him too.
However, letting his woman go hungry was a bad thing. Lin Tian bypassed Seraphina's guidance and pushed his perception to the maximum.
After finding the dining floor, Lin Tian activated Perception Reduction to cover everyone's presence, then initiated a teleportation, whisking them away.
"Eh? What was I looking at? Whoa! Black stockings!"
Lu Renjia looked at the empty space beside him with a face full of confusion. There was clearly nothing there, so why was he looking that way?
But then a beautiful woman wearing black stockings walked by, immediately catching his eye and occupying his mind with strange thoughts.
Once the beauty passed, Lu Renjia suddenly remembered he was shopping with his girlfriend!
Sure enough, out of the corner of his eye, Lu Renjia saw that his girlfriend was already staring at him with a dangerous look. He felt a faint warmth near his waist, but he only felt a sense of phantom pain.
Across from him, another man named Lu Renyi, who had also just finished staring at the beauty in black stockings, felt a giant 'DANGER' sign appearing over his head.
The two men's eyes met, and a spark of brilliance suddenly erupted.
"Hey! It's you! Long time no see!"
"Hey! It's you! It really has been a long time!"
Lu Renjia and Lu Renyi shook hands excitedly, then turned around, each wrapping an arm around their respective girlfriend as they walked in opposite directions.
Girlfriends: "Who was that?"
Lu Renjia: "Ah, just a high school classmate. Haven't seen him in forever."
Lu Renyi: "Ah, a former colleague. He even taught me how to delete blank pages once."
Lin Tian didn't know what was happening there. He had already taken the girls to a buffet. Here, they could grill meat and have hotpot at the same time. Compared to other shops, this would be faster.
Moreover, this place belonged to Seraphina's family. Knowing her own shop, she knew it was clean and hygienic.
When the front-desk waiter saw the Eldest Young Lady bringing a large group of people, he immediately ran inside to call the manager. The Eldest Young Lady wasn't someone he could handle on his own.
"Rou, you brought us to your family's restaurant. How do we pay? Split the bill?"
"No need. The manager here knows me. We can just go in and eat; it doesn't matter even after we finish."
Of course, she would be willing to pack up the whole shop and give it to Lin Tian if she could. Opportunities to get on the good side of a top-tier powerhouse didn't come often.
The group talked and laughed as they walked into the buffet.
After teleporting to a secluded spot, Lin Tian had turned off the presence concealment. After all, they couldn't just pop up out of thin air in front of normal people. Even though he could erase memories, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
...
Just after stepping inside, the girls couldn't help but be enticed by the aroma wafting through the air. This shop looked high-end and elegant, but it also had a down-to-earth side.
For instance, less than five meters behind the counter was an open area where people could find a seat freely.
However, if one wanted more privacy, they had to pay an extra price. Further inside, there were several private booths, and each booth had its own dedicated buffet section to choose from, saving the trouble of running outside to get food.
Since they paid, the customer was king.
Beyond those booths, even deeper inside, there was an additional private suite. Inside this one, there was almost every kind of delicacy imaginable: common vegetables, fruits, meats, fish, beans, semi-processed goods, and fully prepared dishes.
Of course, this place wasn't open to the public. It was built by Seraphina's father. Aside from using it to talk with business associates, it belonged to Seraphina the rest of the time.
As for whether the ingredients would spoil or deteriorate sitting there every day—Seraphina's father wasn't stupid. He had personally appointed the manager of this shop, and that manager possessed an Anomaly. This Anomaly was the secret to keeping the ingredients permanently fresh.
"A preservation Anomaly? Isn't there a detection device here that captures special energy?"
Hearing Seraphina's introduction, Shinobu Kocho was a bit confused. Why was this different from what she had just heard?
"That's because my information has already been entered into the system, so the detection devices won't respond to the fluctuations generated by my Anomaly."
Before Seraphina could answer, a mature, magnetic voice rang out.
Looking toward the source, they saw a mature woman who appeared to be in her thirties walking over. As she approached, she said, "Welcome, Eldest Young Lady. Are you bringing friends here to play today?"
"Aunt Song, these are some new friends I've met. I plan to have a meal with them."
As Seraphina spoke, she gave Song Anran a meaningful look.
Seeing Seraphina's gesture, Song Anran understood. It seemed the identities of the people her young lady had befriended were anything but ordinary.