Smash!
Mona broke the second jar, and a flashlight fell out.
"Another item!"
Seeing the object drop, Hu Tao's face lit up with delight. "Mona, your luck is incredible! It's another tool!"
Mona had only opened three jars in total.
The first was 300,000 Mora. The second was the Item Fortune Mirror.
Now the third was a small, delicate flashlight.
Hu Tao was certain this flashlight was anything but ordinary.
"Is my luck really that good?"
Mona looked at the tool in front of her, her expression slightly troubled. "Compared to these items, I prefer Mora."
To her, these gadgets weren't immediately useful.
She preferred cold, hard cash.
Mora was versatile. She could use it to buy astrology tools, books, materials, and maintain her equipment.
Even if this tool was useful, she felt it wasn't as practical as money.
"It is indeed a good item," Felix chuckled. "It's certainly not ordinary."
He looked at the small flashlight.
[Small Light]
Shine the light on an object to reduce its size and weight. Shine it again to restore it to its original state. A very practical tool. Note: The effect has a time limit. If not re-illuminated, the object will eventually return to its original size.
"Shopkeeper, what kind of tool is this?"
Mona examined the plain flashlight curiously.
This shop was truly magical. The items it produced were similar to alchemical tools, yet fundamentally different.
Normal alchemical tools emitted a specific elemental resonance.
But the items from Felix's jars had zero energy fluctuations. They looked completely mundane.
Yet their functions were incredible—even more absurd than advanced alchemy.
Take the Item Fortune Mirror from earlier. There was no alchemical equivalent to that. If there were, as a genius astrologist, she would know.
Even her master had never shown her anything like this.
"It's a Small Light," Felix explained with a smile. "Turn it on and shine it on something, and that object will shrink in both size and weight. Shine it again to restore it. It's quite practical."
"Of course, if you leave a shrunk object alone, it will eventually revert to its original size automatically after a few days. So don't shine it on things recklessly."
"That's amazing!"
Mona gasped in surprise.
She hadn't thought much of the tools initially. But this...
Shrinking anything countless times over? That was incredibly convenient for travel.
If she encountered danger in the wild, she could just shine the light on a monster. It would shrink, becoming lighter and weaker.
Running away—or squashing it—would be effortless.
"Overall, Miss Mona, you've made a huge profit," Felix laughed. "All of this cost you 200,000 Mora. But you pulled 300,000 Mora from the first jar alone. So essentially, you got these two powerful tools for free, plus a 100,000 Mora bonus. Don't you think your luck is excellent?"
"Yeah, Mona!"
Hu Tao nodded seriously. "Your luck is great. Plenty of people open empty jars and get nothing. You've hit the jackpot."
"Hehe, of course, if you don't like this Small Light, you can sell it to me! The Director is willing to pay. Want to trade? I promise I won't shortchange you."
Hu Tao grinned, eyeing the flashlight with keen interest.
This gadget was too fun to pass up.
"Um, I'm not selling."
Mona shook her head immediately. "But if Director Hu wants to use it, I can lend it to you."
She wouldn't sell such a magical item. Even if she didn't need it right now, she might later.
More importantly, she wanted to show it to her master. The old hag would definitely want to study its principles.
"Alright then."
Hu Tao looked a bit disappointed, but quickly bounced back. "Are you opening more? If not, let's go eat! I need to feed the little Fire Dragon, and you haven't eaten either. Let's go to Wanmin Restaurant and find Xiangling. I'm telling you, her cooking is the best."
"After we eat and drink our fill, come back to Wangsheng with me, and I'll sort out your room."
"I want to open one more jar."
Mona hesitated, checking her funds. "I still have 100,000 Mora left. I'll open one more."
Originally, she planned to save the last 100k.
But after three consecutive hits, she felt unstoppable.
Why save the money when she could multiply it? The Mora came from the jars anyway.
If she hit another jackpot, she'd be set for life!
Riding the high of her luck, Mona pulled out her last 100,000 Mora and pointed to a jar.
Felix smiled and waved his hand. The chosen jar floated over to her.
Smash!
Mona broke it open with excitement.
A red flower fell out.
[Flaming Flower Stamen]
The fiery core of a Flaming Flower. Even if extinguished by water, it continues to emit faint heat.
"It's a Flaming Flower Stamen!"
Mona recognized it instantly.
She didn't need Felix to explain this one. She had harvested these in the wilds of Liyue many times.
For her, getting a Flaming Flower was easy.
And its market value wasn't high.
She had made a loss on this one.
Mona sighed, regretting that she didn't get more Mora.
"Char! Char!"
Suddenly, Charmander cried out, staring longingly at the flower in Mona's hand.
"Oh? You want to eat this?"
Mona paused. She remembered Hu Tao saying the dragon needed fire-attribute food to grow.
It seemed this flower was exactly what it needed.
"Mona, I'll buy that Flaming Flower from you," Hu Tao said immediately. "I'll pay you when we get back to the parlor."
"No need, no need! Consider it my rent payment."
Mona waved her hands and squatted down, offering the flower to Charmander.
Hu Tao had generously offered her free housing. Mona couldn't in good conscience charge her for the flower.
Although the stamen was worth a few thousand Mora, using it to repay Hu Tao's kindness felt right.
An astrologist pays her debts!
"Char!"
Charmander didn't stand on ceremony. It snatched the flower and swallowed it whole, not even chewing.
"Thank you."
Hu Tao grinned. She looked outside at the darkening sky, then turned her plum-blossom eyes to Felix. "Shopkeeper, you haven't eaten yet either, right? Want to join the Director for dinner at Wanmin Restaurant? My treat!"
"I suppose that's fine."
Felix looked at the dark sky and nodded.
It was dinner time.
He could eat, come back, open the shop for a bit longer, and then call it a day.
Business had been slow this afternoon. Aside from Cai Zihao and Mona, only a few random customers had come in, mostly buying single jars and getting junk.
"Yay!"
Hu Tao cheered. "Let's go then!"
Treating the mysterious shopkeeper to a meal was a great start. Hu Tao was in a good mood.
If she got closer to Felix, she could learn more about him.
Why did he open this shop?
And if they became good friends... maybe she could use the "friendship card" to bypass the purchase limits later!
Thinking of this, Hu Tao giggled mischievously, her laughter echoing in the shop.
Felix: "..."
Mona: "..."
Seeing Hu Tao's scheming grin, Felix's eyelid twitched.
This Director was definitely plotting something.
Shaking his head, Felix walked out of the shop.
Dinner at Wanmin Restaurant sounded good.
"Shopkeeper?"
Seeing Felix, Mona, and Hu Tao exit together, the Millelith guards at the door looked curious.
Was the shopkeeper going out?
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