The two people looked at each other from a safe distance from the store.

They had just seen the former owner of the Perfumery, Leonid, lead four cultivators into the shop.

"What now?" asked a woman with spiked hair; her hair was black with white highlights on the ends of her hair; she had a round piercing in her left nostril that was connected by a thin chain to an earring in her ear. She wore mostly black clothing suitable for the terrain, pants, a shirt, and a coat.

The man next to her had curly brown hair and naturally olive skin; his eyes were as golden as the morning sun. A prominent dimpled chin dominated his face. He was dressed the same as his female colleague, and judging by their behavior; the two had known each other for a long time.

The man shook his head. "I don't know. This is an unexpected scenario."

Their clan tasked the two to guard the shop and ensure no random cultivator discovered it until the clan thoroughly inspected it. Everything was going well. According to the latest reports, the products from Dragons&Fan were authentic, and they were supposed to go in tomorrow. What they did not expect, however, was that both the owner and her employee go and fetch the customers themselves!

The woman tugged at the ends of her hair; it was also their first time seeing the mysterious shop owner. They hadn't seen her come out of the store at all until now.

"And is that the shop owner? I was expecting something else. Maybe someone who looks more... I don't know... dignified?"

The man nodded. "I know what you mean, Pearl. A well-mannered man would not speak ill of a woman behind her back. She's just…" he trailed off, searching for the right word that wouldn't be offensive.

"Boring?" Pearl offered.

The man nodded. "Yes."

Pearl sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter what it looks like. Now we have to figure out how to respond to this, Karl. Obviously, this has failed our mission."

Karl changed his position to lying down and sat up.

"We'll report back, and we'll go in as planned. We were supposed to do it anyway, so we'll rush the whole thing."

Pearl nodded and pulled out a blue stone from the pouch on her belt. She poured her spiritual energy into it to activate it.

"It's early to report. What's going on?" a voice came from the stone.

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Leonid opened the shop door and looked back at the four cultivators he had obtained after three hours of manipulation.

"Here it is," he announced, leading them inside.

The two men and two women looked around the empty shop and turned to Leonid with doubt and confusion. They were beginning to worry that it was some shady business.

Leonid pretended not to notice their looks and went straight to the Dragon Door behind the counter that only he could see.

He took the handle and confidently opened the door. There were gasps of surprise behind him.

He looked at them as they stood there. "What are you waiting for? This is the shop I told you about," he said, beckoning them in with his hand.

They didn't rush in, but in the end, the bravest one was one of the women. She was also the weakest of them all, and the only thing that drove her forward was the thought of the cultivation pill. She really needed to get stronger, but her cultivation progressed terribly slowly. As soon as she crosses the threshold, like sheep, as soon as one goes, the others follow her. Leonid also wanted to go in, but he sensed someone from the Cultivation approaching the shop. He wanted to keep playing his role as a customer, but he would probably have to give it up. Well, they're already inside, so they don't have to keep up the charade.

"Leonid? You're not going?" asked one of the cultivators when he saw she was not going in.

"I realized something. I have to take care of something first. But now I know where the store is, so I'll stop by later. Go ahead." He answered and closed the door behind them, and they disappeared again.

The four cultivators inside the Dimensional Space had expressions of concern. Wasn't he the one who wanted to come here?

Leonid sat at the counter and waited for the two cultivators to approach.

Soon a couple walked in—a woman with hedgehog hair and a piercing and a man with olive skin and curly hair. Leonid stood up and looked them over. Eh. He doesn't like it when women have piercings like that. He found it unsightly. Regular earrings are perfectly adequate.

Of course, he didn't show his inner thoughts and smiled.

"Welcome to Dragons&Fan General Store. What can I do for you?"

The couple looked around.

"Shop? But you don't have anything here." the curly-haired man argued.

Leonid nodded his head. "Of course. This is just a store hall. My name is Leonid, and my job here is to welcome customers and evaluate if they are suitable customers for us."

The woman blinked. "Evaluate? That's a bit arrogant. Shouldn't a merchant welcome all customers?"

Leonid was prepared for such things. He expected to often find himself with those who would feel insulted if he did not approve of them. The woman seemed more surprised than offended.

"If we were an ordinary store, you'd be right. But our goods are special, and not everyone will be allowed in." Leonid had to thank Dai for this praise. It was a smart move. If something is limited and intended for select customers, more people will want it. In time, even the clients themselves will see the benefit of being a Dragons&Fan customer; not only will it increase their prestige, but they will also become a target of envy.

The pair looked at each other again before the man cleared his throat.

"So... are we eligible to become customers?"

Leonid watched them for a moment, pretending to consider it. Finally, he nodded.

“You have good manners, and cultivation is not bad. You can come in. Please." he approached the wall and opened the Dragon Door again. If Dai heard him talk about manners, she would probably choke on her tongue.

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Dai was thrilled!

Leonid managed it and brought her customers who looked hesitant, but no one was beaten or bleeding, and it didn't seem like he was blackmailing them.

She greeted the foursome of customers with the utmost care and started praising her wares.

The cultivators were reassured by her approach. No one was waiting for them with a knife in their hand or forcing them to buy, and Dai looked so harmless that suspicion replaced curiosity. Finally, they began looking at the goods and quietly discussed them. These four did not know each other before, but thanks to the shop, more than one friendship will probably be formed.

Dai watched them excitedly as the store seemed much more alive this way. She was here alone most of the time, and when she had nothing to do, she tried to cultivate or train. She usually tried it after every practice because the time was getting shorter. But she didn't feel stressed yet. The system would certainly not give her a task that would be impossible to complete. No?

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She turned her head when she heard the door outside open again, and another couple of customers entered. Leonid really took things seriously today!

The four customers also looked outside and felt uneasy again. According to the couple's cultivation, they were already in the middle-low realm, which was more than them.

They looked at the shop owner, who looked more pleased than concerned. Does it seem alright?

"Welcome customers to Dragons&Fan General Store. My name is Dai, and I am the owner of the store. How can I help you? Do you want to introduce my wares? Of course, you can take a look around yourself." She was smiling.

Karl and Pearl looked at Dai, the cultivators present, and then the shop in general.

"Thanks, we'll take a look first," Pearl replied.

"Of course, dear customers. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require assistance." Dai nodded and let them look around.

Dai was basking in the glow of activity in the store when she was startled by a sudden System Message.

System: "WARNING! Current customers are in a state of danger!

Urgent task!

Description: Your customers are under threat. Please resolve the situation immediately and make sure the customers are safe.

Reward: Identity protection

Failure: Closing shop

Note: For business, reputation is everything. Rumors that it is dangerous for people to shop here, you can close the shop straight, boss.

Dai stared dumbfounded at the message. She received such a message for the first time, which was also a new color for her. It worked too. She had a sense of urgency about it. But she didn't understand what danger the system was talking about.

She looked around, seeing nothing dangerous. But then she noticed that the new pair of customers split up, and each approached the cultivators already there.

At first, she thought they were just talking to them, but now that the system pointed it out, she noticed the cultivators' expressions.

Pale faces, scattered eyes, and nervousness, more than one throat moved as they swallowed hard.

Dai realized what was happening, but unfortunately too late to prevent it. Are those two threatening them?!

She locked her anger in a box inside her and stepped out from behind the counter.

She approached Pearl, speaking quietly to the two visibly shaking women.

Dai forced a smile, but it wasn't as natural as before.

"Dear customer, I must ask you to stop bothering other customers," she said.

Pearl flinched as she didn't even notice Dai standing behind her. She turned to her. "Ah, shop owner, it must be a misunderstanding. I'm not bothering them; we're just talking. Right, ladies?"

Both women quickly nodded their heads. Karl stopped talking to the two men and approached his partner.

Dai looked at Pearl and Karl before looking at the terrified customers.

She stopped smiling, and her gaze turned cold. She had already experienced similar practices from Horn. Before, she could only bear it, but she dreamed many times about how she could face such oppression.

And now she could. But what annoyed her more was that not only were they harassing her customers, but they also seemed to be under the impression that they could do whatever they wanted in her store! She did not have to tolerate such behavior.

"Are you under the impression that I don't know what's happening in my store? If you don't stop threatening my customers, you will be thrown out and not allowed to return." She frowned at them.

“And so is your entire clan." She added, realizing that they wouldn't have to worry about being unable to shop here. They could have sent someone.

The two looked at each other. This threat was working on them. In the end, it would be different from what they were supposed to do.

“Boss Dai. It's just that we wanted to make you an offer," began Karl, who was better at dealing with people.

"We are the ninth Clan of the Moon Serb. Our clan wishes to make an exclusive deal with you. They want you to sell only for our clan."

Dai raised her eyebrows and folded her arms over her chest, looking so unapproachable that even Pearl could tell she was displeased.

"And why should I do that?" Dai wondered.

“Our clan can be very generous," Karl said, but Pearl interjected.

"But also vengeful. If you disagree, not even your powerful employee can do anything when our clan comes to destroy the store. Not to mention we will eliminate all your customers who are not from our clan." she smirked.

Karl scowled at Pearl. "Pearl!"

"What?! You're being too gentle! It's better to say things as they are."

Dai was really upset. It's not like she didn't expect something like this at some point. Leonid finally warned her about the practices of the Clans. And solving such a thing takes work. But if she allowed herself to be bullied, she would never have a firm grip on her business.

She would eventually be controlled. If the clan then came to destroy her shop, she wasn't sure what to do. Of course, her shop would be intact, as would she and Leonid, but her connection to Shelter 22 would be destroyed. She could make the connection elsewhere, but the whole thing could happen again.

She considered the whole thing, but no matter how much she thought about it, it seemed worse to submit than to lose the connection. Her freedom was also at stake here.

"I refuse." She announced.

Both of their faces darkened.

“Boss Dai. Please think it through. These are not empty threats." Karl said.

"I've thought enough. Now I'll tell you something. I'm not going to limit my sales to any clan. Because of your inappropriate behavior, you're kicked out of the store, and your clan is banned. If you want to remove the ban, your boss must come with a sincere apology."

She waved her hand and used the protection she bought in the personal shop for the first time.

Pearl and Karl suddenly felt a strange pull on their bodies. They felt like they had been squeezed by an invisible fist that lifted them into the air.

They both turned pale and tried to break free. They activated their energy, but it was instantly extinguished, like a candle blowing out.

"And if you lay a hand on my customers, I'll just move my shop to another Shelter. I don't need to be anywhere that doesn't value my services." She added.

Suddenly the two of them flew out of the shop; the door outside opened, but instead of leading to an old perfume shop, a black-and-white vortex erupted in the door frame.

The two still-stunned clan emissaries were thrown inside, and the door slammed shut behind them.

Dai blinked. Uh... she just hoped the system wouldn't drop them off somewhere in space or something.

Dai looked at the message.

System: Urgent Task Completed

Reward: Automatic Identity Protection

Note: You made the message clear. No one can mess with the store and the owner. Both troublemakers have had their memory altered and will not remember the faces or information of the customers present. To protect customers, their faces will now be censored. Please let customers know that if they disclose their personal information on their own, that's their problem. Back Door Opened. Customers can leave without worry.

Dai rested. The fear that was twisting her insides subsided, but it still left an unpleasant feeling. A ball of anxiety and helplessness pressed under her heart. She had to admire the power of the System again. In this case, he helped her a lot. Because she really had no way to protect customers. And she was half serious about the threat to move out. Because if the clans harassed her like this, the only thing she could do was change places.

And leaving the place of birth was somewhat scary.

She was thinking.

"Thanks. But I still don't intend to follow your battle path." she pointed out.

System: "......."