Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 724: Quest Triggered

"Is it for your Frost Blood Star Dragon? You should be even more careful if you want to buy pet food."

The guy instantly added, "You might not know this, but the same pet food from different shops may taste differently. Some of the food is synthesized, and while some is mixed with possibly harmful food additives! It's better to go to a big shop. I have a friend who can guarantee the food's quality."

The girl was silent, as if wavering, but then she replied, "That won't be necessary. All the shops have legit licenses. I don't think they would sell dubious goods."

Su Ping then saw a girl enter the shop; tall and slim, with silver long hair.

The girl had a pretty face. Her eyes were also silver, which made her look like a fairy.

Behind her was a young man wearing a black tuxedo, an emerald watch, and a dark red pin on his chest. Everything that he wore was overly luxurious.

Su Ping was quite shocked, both because of the look of the alien human pair, and because he had no idea what they were talking about.

He secretly cried. There were too many planets in the Federation, each with its own language. How could he know the local vernacular?

"Ding-dong!"

"It's been detected that the host does not understand the local language. The host must purchase the Common Tongue package of the world he lives in to ensure the normal operation of the shop, as well as the local vernacular of the region where the store is located."

"Charge for the Common Tongue: 50,000 energy points."

"Charge for the local vernacular: 10,000 energy points."

"Your balance meets the requirement. Processing payment…"

Su Ping then saw that his account was sixty thousand energy points short.In the meantime, countless strange words and phrases flooded into his head.

All those elements were part of the lexicon of a new and weird language; still, Su Ping felt that everything was awfully familiar, just as if he would have been learning it since childhood.

Su Ping was soon out of that information burst.

He didn't know what to say about the considerable deduction on his account. Sixty thousand energy points equaled six million astral coins, which seemed to be a steep price for learning two languages.

Nevertheless, it resolved an extreme urgency at hand.

"Weird. When was this pet shop opened? This is my first time seeing it. The decoration is not bad…" remarked the surprised young man after looking around.

He was quite astonished when he saw Tang Ruyan; he didn't expect to see such a gorgeous woman in a random pet shop.

As for Zhong Lingtong who was next to her, she was also beautiful, but in a more cute and lovely way.

The young man was reminded of the girl next to him thanks to her fragrance; he withdrew his gaze and presented a calm demeanor once again.

"Who's the boss here?"

The silver-haired woman looked around and checked the shelves behind the counter.

Su Ping was about to ask Tang Ruyan to greet the guests, but then realized that she didn't have a system and it was likely that she had yet to process the sudden relocation of the shop. He had to personally greet them.

"Welcome. I'm the boss here. How may I help you?"

He spoke in the Common Tongue of the Federation without any accent, all because he noticed what language they were speaking.

Tang Ruyan and Zhong Lingtong were woken up by Su Ping; both of them widened their eyes in disbelief as if they had bumped into a ghost.

Were their eyes deceiving them?

They had been on the Blue Planet a second earlier, and yet they were already in a new place?

They had imagined that Su Ping would take them away on a spaceship, or in other ways when he said that they would leave the Blue Planet. Little did they anticipate that they would be relocated along with the shop!

What kind of marvelous power is this?

We didn't feel anything at all!

Tang Ruyan ran to the door, astonished and excited as she looked at the street outside the shop, which was completely different from before, and the two aliens who had just entered the shop.

Her mouth was wide open, all because of such a wonder; the neighborhood had completely changed!

The buildings and the sky were also different. A planet dozens of times larger than the moon could be seen in the sky. That planet didn't have any craters caused by meteorites, only green forests, blue oceans and brown hills, which made it a planet highly qualified for inhabiting.

Stumped for a long time, Tang Ruyan couldn't help but run back into the shop and start exclaiming.

"W-We left the Blue Planet just like that?

"So quickly?

"Oh my god, what kind of power was that?"

Tang Ruyan was so astounded that she screamed and hopped, as it was too hard to believe.

The young man was slightly surprised by Tang Ruyan's lack of manners expected of a lady. It was unexpected to find that such a beautiful girl was actually a retard!

The way she talked nonsense unceasingly was really stupid!

Su Ping also began to sweat when he saw how excited Tang Ruyan was. I know that the whole thing is hard to believe, but can't she just get herself together?

She was his employee anyway. It was too humiliating.

Coughing, Su Ping looked at the customers and said, "Well, let's continue. Is there anything you need?"

"Wow, what language are you speaking? I've never heard it spoken before. Is it an alien language?" asked Tang Ruyan in surprise after she noticed the way he talked.

Su Ping gave her a quick glance. Don't you see that I'm doing business?

She wasn't helping at all. Was an employee supposed to do that?

Tang Ruyan was all too familiar with Su Ping that she immediately understood what he meant. She quickly stopped and stuck out her tongue.

Mia was also surprised by Tang Ruyan's reaction. The girl is as beautiful as I am, but why is she so… crazy?

Once she heard Su Ping's question, she withdrew her gaze and spoke to him with her usual nonchalance, "I need a Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit. The older, the better."

Su Ping searched the counter and quickly shook his head. "We don't have it at the moment. May I know what pet you need to feed? Maybe I can offer you suitable alternatives."

Mia was stunned; she obviously didn't expect that such a popular pet food wasn't available in Su Ping's shop.

The young man also heard Su Ping's reply. He chuckled and shook his head, before he said to Mia, "Let's go, Mia. This shopkeeper doesn't even know what the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit is for. Let's just go to a bigger shop where we can talk with a more sensible owner."

Mia, too, seemed disappointed and was about to leave—

Su Ping raised his eyebrows, and then the system's voice echoed in his head at that exact moment.

"Ding-dong!"

"It's been detected that the reputation of this shop has been tarnished and it's losing customers. Temporary quest triggered!

"Temporary quest: No Orders Shall be Missed!

"Requirement: None of the customers who have entered this shop should be let go. Please make the customers stay and have them spend ten million energy points in this shop!

"Prize: A middle-rank Guide to Enlightening."

Su Ping's eyes glittered excitedly.

It wasn't easy!

It had been a long time since he triggered a temporary quest!

He often got one when he had just opened the shop. The system would always feel affronted when the shop's reputation was tarnished or questioned.

But then he would lose those earning opportunities when his shop became more famous and reputable.

Little did he know that he would receive another temporary quest after he moved to a new planet!

Let's go!

Feeling excited, Su Ping couldn't help but smile. He hurriedly stood in the way to prevent the two guests from leaving.

"Please wait a moment."

"Huh?"

Mia and the young man were both stunned by his actions. The young man frowned and snorted, "Do you intend to coerce us into buying things?"

Su Ping dropped his smile, but he seemed as delighted as before. He shook his head. "No, I simply wanted to know what pet you're buying the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit for. Maybe there are indeed alternatives in this shop. If you don't want any replacements, please take a short rest here, and I'll fetch a Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit for you immediately."

"…"

Both of them looked at Su Ping, at a loss for words.

It was already creepy enough that Su Ping seemed relaxed and happy when they declined his earlier offer.

Besides, what Su Ping said made him sound even more like an illegal merchant.

How could you not know what pet it's for if you do have the fruit?

You're going to fetch it immediately? Where?

Are you going to find a fake one and fool us?

"How can you not know what pet it's for if you do have it?" Layne stared at Su Ping coldly but was happy on the inside. Su Ping's pestering had given him a chance to make himself look good. His earlier suggestion was shot down by Mia, but the current situation had just proven that he was in the right.

They shouldn't have entered that shop to begin with!

It would be hard for Mia to decline his suggestions again if they continued shopping. Then, he would buy some nice food for her in the shop he knew and make her owe him a favor.

That favor could possibly move their relationship to the next level later on.

Layne suddenly found Su Ping rather agreeable upon thinking about that scenario.

Naturally, Su Ping didn't know what was on the young man's mind. He was quite alarmed when the guy suddenly became friendly, wondering if his handsomeness was even attractive to males after he became a legendary warrior.

It's really my fault… Su Ping ignored the young man and rolled eyes at him. He always despised those who weren't loyal to their partners.

Besides, his target was the lady next to the guy.

"I hope you can give me a chance. I'm sure you'll be satisfied! I will offer you a ten-fold refund as compensation if the food that I sell you doesn't work for your battle pet!" declared Su Ping.

He couldn't say it was free of charge; it was the system's power.

However, he could charge the customer first and then refund or compensate with his own money.

His own astral coins couldn't be converted into energy, but they were just the same as the other astral coins in other people's eyes.

"A ten-fold compensation?"

Mia was slightly stunned by Su Ping's confidence. He had struck her as a cunning merchant, but the confidence he displayed made her wonder.

After listening to Su Ping's bold declaration, Layne sneered and said, "A ten-fold compensation? You will only come up with all kinds of excuses if she does decide to buy it. Ms. Mia's battle pet is not your experiment subject. Can you take the blame if it gets hurt? Do you know who we are?"

"No," replied Su Ping honestly, "But everybody who enters my shop is a customer. I will never disappoint as long as I'm allowed to satisfy your needs. You're Ms. Mia, right? Please give me a chance. You won't regret it!"

Su Ping stared at Mia solemnly. He was in no mood for jokes anymore; the quest would fail if they walked away.

The prize was a middle-rank Guide to Enlightening!

The guide he already had only covered an elementary level.

The Guide to Enlightening was something that only a Holy Spirit Trainer could have. A middle-rank one was clearly better!

Mia appeared calm but was secretly surprised, seeing the firmness and determination in Su Ping's eyes. She could tell that his eyes were clear and sincere, even though she didn't know why he was so confident.

"Humph, kid, do you know what you're talking about? Let me warn you, it's still not too late to apologize; I'll consider that nothing has happened if you do. Otherwise, I'll make sure that your shop is closed on this street and ban you from opening on this entire planet. Do you believe me?" said Layne coldly.

Su Ping turned around and looked at him. "No problem. I can close the shop if you're dissatisfied!"

A wild gamble!

Layne also became gloomy when he heard such a response.

Mia gazed at Su Ping thoughtfully. She didn't expect that the owner of the shop would go to such lengths for just a regular deal.

He seemed to be too determined!

Layne narrowed his eyes and said, "Do you think I'm incapable of doing that? Have you heard of my family name, the Ryans?"

Of course it was the very first time for Su Ping to have heard that name, but judging from the young man's tone, it obviously represented a great power. Su Ping nodded and said, "Like I said, I'll close the shop if you're dissatisfied."

Layne was quite exasperated to see how poised Su Ping remained after hearing his family name.

Su Ping's attitude made him feel like his family was insulted!

"All right, I'll give you a chance," Mia interjected at that moment to interrupt their ongoing argument. She knew what Layne was aiming for. If he achieved his goal, she would owe him a favor, and she knew that those favors came with a price.

"Mia!"

There was a slight change in Layne's expression after he saw her agree to the proposal; he was getting ready to persuade her.

Mia shook her head. "I'd like to find out why he dares to put his shop at risk so willingly."

The food she wanted to buy was clearly not nearly as important as Su Ping's stake. Was it really worth it?

Did the guy do that because he worried that they would tell everybody else that his shop was unqualified? But even if he got two negative reviews, so what? Every businessperson had been smeared at one time. Does he really have to try so hard?

Her speculations and Su Ping's stern attitude made her curious.

"Great!"

Su Ping was finally relieved to see her change of attitude; everything was fine as long as he was given a chance. He believed that he was able to satisfy them with the materials he could bring from the cultivation sites.

"Do you want a replacement, or just the fruit?" asked Su Ping.

Mia shook her head. "Just the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit."

She was worried that something might happen if she used another material, especially when she would soon need it.

Su Ping had intended to recommend other pet foods from his shop that would produce similar effects; he could have offered some recommendations if he knew what pet she was trying to feed.

However, Su Ping held back since he wasn't seen as trustworthy at the moment. He could find a Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit for her if she insisted.

Su Ping had asked the system about pets that ate the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit, right when he moved to stop his customers.

However, the answer that the system gave him left him speechless.

There were more than 100,000 pets that could eat the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit.

About four thousand of them were more suitable for that food!

The pets ranged from ancient times to this day and came from countless dimensions…

How could Su Ping ask for every one of them?

As for the cultivation sites where those fruits could be found, the system listed several dozen of them, ranging from the lowest level to the highest.

Entering "searching efficiency" as a parameter, Su Ping eventually narrowed the list down to seven cultivation sites.

He decided to go with his gut feeling and chose the site named Frigid Dragon Prison.

According to the system, it was a place that yielded cold spiritual plants. The Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit was hot inside and cold on the surface, and they were often found in that site.

Once he made the decision, Su Ping said to the silver-haired woman, "Okay, please wait for a moment in my shop. I'll be back with your order in fifteen minutes, or maybe sooner."

He looked at his shop and thought for a moment. Then he said, "I can ask my employees to entertain you in the virtual pet arena if you think that waiting is boring."