"So, that woman's status is at least on par with Scar's, if not higher."
Yangyang nodded slightly. "That makes sense. It seems the Fractsidus' schemes are far more extensive than we imagined."
"Although the Fractsidus possesses a lot of intel related to you, their methods and ideologies are too radical and dangerous."
"Right now, we're in the open while the enemy lurks in the shadows. If we recklessly go searching for them, it'd be no different from walking into a trap…"
Lucian: "All we have to do is wait. If they still want to recruit Rover, they'll come to us again. And if they want to eliminate her, they'll show up on their own too."
Rover smiled and patted Lucian's head. "It feels so nice seeing Lucian worry and work hard for my sake."
Lucian sighed. "Sigh… forced by circumstances."
Rover raised her voice: "Hmm?"
Lucian quickly corrected himself: "I mean, I'm doing it willingly."
Rover nodded in satisfaction. "Good."
Chixia watched the two with a resentful gaze—their relationship was getting better and better.
She patted her cheeks, thinking to herself: Ma Xiaofang, hold back! Wait for the right moment to steal Lucian away!
Lucian clapped his hands. "Alright, next up is…"
He glanced at Rover, who nodded in response.
Lucian took out his terminal, preparing to contact Encore.
Yangyang looked at Rover in confusion, unsure what this was about.
Rover explained: "There's an organization called the Black Shores that's been keeping tabs on me."
As she spoke, she took out the photo of the black flower that Jinhsi had given her.
Chixia: "Black Shores? Now that I think about it, Lucian and I ran into one of their members a few days ago!"
Yangyang frowned thoughtfully. "The Black Shores are quite mysterious. Even I've only heard the name in passing."
"The Fractsidus' trump cards are unknown, and the Norfall Barrens are too dangerous. That leaves the Black Shores as our only lead for now."
Everyone turned their expectant gazes toward Lucian.
Beep— Beep— Beep—
"We're sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service. Please try another number."
Lucian: "?"
Rover: "Pfft…"
She stifled a laugh. "You got scammed?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Lucian gritted his teeth. "Encore's so cute, there's no way she'd trick me!"
"It must be the Black Shores' influence! Taking them down is urgent now!"
Yangyang: "So what do we do now?"
Rover looked at Lucian.
Lucian grimaced, thinking to himself: If only I hadn't wasted the Mirror of Inquiry this morning on such an obvious question… Maybe then I could've asked for Encore's real number.
Or just directly asked where the Black Shores' members are. Too bad it can only be used once a day.
Right now, the only clue they had was that all Black Shores members wore this black flower.
But Encore and Aalto were nowhere to be found, and aside from them, they hadn't encountered any other Black Shores members.
Searching aimlessly would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. So instead…
Lucian snapped his fingers. "Got it! We can 'lure the snake out of its hole'!"
Chixia: "Lure the snake out?"
Lucian nodded slightly. "Exactly. Since all Black Shores members wear this flower, and ordinary people wouldn't know its meaning, it'll automatically filter out unrelated individuals."
"And the real Black Shores members will come to us once they see the black flower."
Yangyang nodded in approval. "That's a great idea."
Rover: "But this is just a photo of the flower. Where can we find the actual one?"
Lucian thought for a moment, then suddenly brightened. "What a coincidence! This morning, I met a little girl named Verina who seems really knowledgeable about plants—she might know!"
Chixia had an epiphany. "Oh! Verina would definitely know! When we parted ways earlier, she said she was heading to Bogu's Bonsai Shop. Let's check there!"
Lucian frowned. "Verina looks so… kindly. She wouldn't trick us too, right?"
Yangyang covered her mouth and laughed. "The word 'kindly' sounds a bit odd, but it fits. I know Verina too—she's a very sweet child. She wouldn't lie."
Lucian: "Good."
...
Bonsai Shop.
"Nani!? Verina tricked me too!?"
Lucian looked on the verge of tears as he turned to Rover. "Do I really seem that easy to fool?"
Rover, eyes brimming with amusement, placed her hands on her hips. "You are pretty easy to fool. After all, I already tricked your heart."
Her sudden flirtatious remark made Lucian's face flush red.
He waved his hand in mock annoyance. "Oh, come on, we're an old married couple now—no need for sweet talk…"
The shop's owner, Granny Lin Su, watched their playful banter with a smile, sighing inwardly at how nice it was to be young.
Granny Lin: "She didn't trick you. She just left after taking care of the bonsai."
Rover: "Do you know where she lives?"
Granny Lin looked puzzled. "What do you need her for?"
Chixia: "Granny Lin, you've seen a lot in your time. There's something we'd like you to take a look at…"
Lin Su was also quite knowledgeable about botany—otherwise, she wouldn't have opened a bonsai shop.
Since Verina wasn't here, maybe Granny Lin knew where to find this black flower.
Rover took out the image of the black flower.
Granny Lin put on her reading glasses, took the photo, and examined it carefully.
After a moment, she mused, "Hmm… If this flower grew in Jinzhou, I'd recognize it. But this doesn't look like anything from around here."
"Even in Jinzhou's botanical records, I've never seen a variety like this…"
Chixia sighed in disappointment. "Ah, so even you don't know. Then would Verina?"
Granny Lin chuckled. "Verina's even more knowledgeable about botany than I am."
Once she started talking about Verina, Granny Lin couldn't stop smiling.
"That child is diligent and knows all about different plants' habits. She's been a great help to me."
"So small, so fair, so tender… and so adorable when she smiles, with those big, sparkling eyes… like a little starflower."
"Sometimes I call her, 'Little Starflower, time for dinner!' and she always answers. So precious."
Lucian blinked. "Starflower?"
He pulled out the unbloomed flower Verina had given him earlier.
Granny Lin's eyes softened. "Judging by the container… Verina gave this to you, didn't she?"
She smiled. "Verina only gives starflowers to people she values. You should cherish it."
Lucian: "I will."
Chixia grinned. "Yangyang and I got starflowers from Verina too!"
Granny Lin: "In that case, since you're all Verina's good friends, I won't keep you any longer."
"She's probably doing an ecological survey in the back mountains right now."
"I mentioned offhand that I wanted to cultivate a flower field there, and she rushed off immediately to scout the area for me."
"If you head out from the square, you'll see a waterfall. Go through it, and you'll reach the back mountains."
Lucian carefully put away the starflower, realizing just how much sentiment Verina had poured into it.
He nodded slightly. "Understood. Thank you, Granny Lin."
Granny Lin beamed. "No need for thanks. Feel free to visit my bonsai shop anytime!"
The group left the shop and headed toward Jinzhou City's square.