Chapter 14

The convenience store was incredibly rundown, evoking the shabby style of last-century North America.

Its sign was blackened and moldy, speckled with mold spots. The iron crossbar was covered in rust, and the glass windows were plastered with newspapers. Yet the air conditioning unit outside was still humming away, a sign that someone was inside.

After two days and nights of struggle, Zhao Shuqing finally spotted evidence of human habitation. She let out a long sigh of relief and gently set Lin Feng down from her back.

Lin Feng’s tail got scorched by the scalding cement when she touched down. Zhao Shuqing hurriedly pulled her jacket from her backpack and wrapped it around the tail, saying as she did, “In a bit, I’ll go into the convenience store to ask for directions. You stay here and wait for me—don’t come over.”

“Wait for you?”

“That’s right, wait for me.” Worried that Lin Feng might not understand, Zhao Shuqing placed her backpack in her arms. Then, concerned that the girl might stand dumbly in the middle of the road and attract attention, she led her under the shade of nearby trees. She pointed at the ground and repeated, “Wait for me here.”

“Here… wait for you,” Lin Feng echoed, nodding in her exact tone.

Satisfied that she understood, Zhao Shuqing flashed an OK sign. She took out her ID and wallet from the bag before heading toward the store.

At the convenience store’s entrance, Zhao Shuqing glanced cautiously back at Lin Feng. The girl was clutching her shoulder bag, standing in place and watching her. Zhao Shuqing gave a slight nod and pushed open the door.

A blast of cold air hit her at once, making her shiver as goosebumps prickled her skin.

“Welcome.”

A woman with a ponytail, dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt, sat at the cash register. She didn’t bother standing when a customer arrived, just eyed the TV overhead from her chair and said, “Help yourself to whatever you need.”

Zhao Shuqing scanned the store’s wares. Like the exterior, the inside was dilapidated—the shelves were rusted, and the edges of the counter had been worn from sharp corners into smooth curves, evidence of long use.

She definitely needed to restock supplies.

The store wasn’t large and looked like it had been renovated. The front room held just two shelves, while the back had a door leading to what appeared to be daily necessities and a bed—likely the clerk’s living quarters.

Instant noodles, water, canned goods.

Zhao Shuqing grabbed some of everything edible. She was starving by now; if not for modern scruples, she would have ripped open a package and devoured it on the spot.

One shelf held food, the other daily necessities, and the walls displayed more items. Zhao Shuqing took a look—small but fully stocked, the place even sold underwear, panties, and sleepwear.

Underwear…

She thought of Lin Feng. Ever since boarding the ship, the mermaid hadn’t worn a stitch of clothing. These past couple of days with her, she’d gone around bare-chested.

Lin Feng’s hair was very long, naturally draping down to cover her ample chest, but they were about to enter the city. She couldn’t very well meet people half-naked, could she?

Zhao Shuqing needed to buy her some clothes.

Unsure of her bra size—and figuring she wouldn’t be used to human undergarments at first—Zhao Shuqing decided to start with something loose. She plucked a baggy, sizeless orange sleep dress from the wall and took it, along with her armful of food, to the counter to check out.

“…Reports confirm one body recovered at the scene, with vehicle wreckage found over thirty kilometers downstream.”

The TV was playing local news. Zhao Shuqing looked up just in time to see Xu Tang’s face on the screen.

Xu Tang was frowning delicately, standing by a riverbank. The footage was a bit shaky, but her urgent voice came through: “The whereabouts of the mermaid and the researcher remain unknown. Local police have been notified. If anyone spots them, please report to authorities immediately…”

Staring at the familiar face, Zhao Shuqing suddenly felt like those two days had happened in another lifetime.

“Ninety-eight point four total. I’ll make it an even ninety-eight.”

The clerk drawled lazily, pulling a crumpled plastic bag from a drawer nearby and packing Zhao Shuqing’s items.

Zhao Shuqing fished out her bank card from her ID wallet. “Do you have a POS machine here?”

The clerk blinked at the card in her hand. “Sorry, no. Can you pay by scan?”

“Sorry, my phone’s busted—can’t even turn it on. Only cash via card.” Zhao Shuqing asked naturally, “Or is there a bank nearby? I could withdraw some money.”

“The nearest bank’s pretty far—over ten kilometers, with an ATM beyond that.” The clerk shook her head helplessly and pulled out her phone. “You sure you want all this? With the card?”

Zhao Shuqing nodded. “Yes.”

The clerk said, “Alright, I’ll get someone to bring a POS over. Twenty percent fee okay?”

Zhao Shuqing’s eyes widened. “How much?”

Twenty percent?

Come on—this was a debit card, not credit. Even for credit, twenty percent was highway robbery. That meant shelling out an extra twenty bucks on a hundred-dollar purchase.

“That’s way too high,” Zhao Shuqing frowned. “City rates top out at two percent.”

The clerk chuckled, eyeing her appraisingly. “City folk, huh? Out here in the sticks, that’s standard now. Who’d even take cards otherwise?”

Zhao Shuqing had no choice. She was flat broke—twenty percent it was, just to get some cash in hand.

“Any discount if I withdraw more?” she bargained stingily.

“Over two thousand, it’s nineteen percent.”

“…”

The clerk made a call, then told Zhao Shuqing, “They’ll be here soon. Have a seat over there.”

Zhao Shuqing nodded and picked up a bottle of water and a sausage stick. “Can I eat these first?”

The clerk shook her head. “Nope.”

Zhao Shuqing considered it. She wasn’t hungry herself anymore, but she worried about Lin Feng waiting outside. Still, ten minutes wouldn’t hurt; she could wait.

Soon, the roar of a motorcycle engine sounded outside the store. In walked a long-haired, dark-skinned woman in hot pants and a black tank top. She stood in the doorway with hands on hips. “Who needs to swipe a card?”

“Her.” The clerk pointed at Zhao Shuqing.

The dark-skinned woman glanced her way, sizing her up head to toe before sauntering over with a sway. “Little sis, you’re not from around here, are you? What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

Zhao Shuqing met her gaze calmly and smiled. “Do I need to show ID to pay with a card?”

“Nah.” The woman pulled a mobile POS from the fanny pack at her waist, smirking. “How much, pretty girl?”

Zhao Shuqing stayed perfectly calm. “Two thousand or more is nineteen percent, right?”

The woman raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Shuqing said, “Then two thousand it is.”

Not a penny more.