“Transaction?!”
Shirley had already come to fully realize, through their previous dealings, that her “daughter” was not only far from ordinary but also disturbingly yandere.
Yet, the word ‘transaction’ still exceeded her expectations slightly.
“Isn’t it supposed to be free?”
“Actually, Salome truly wished to give Mama everything she needed for free!” Salome spread her hands with a sweet smile.
“But Mama, you taught us that nothing in this world comes without a price!”
“So, to avoid making Mama sad, I had no choice but to reluctantly charge a fee for these goods!”
“Mama, you wouldn’t blame me, would you?”
A tremor ran through Shirley’s lips.
‘Indeed, while skirmishes with mosquito swatters, claw hammers, baseball bats, and Swiss Army knives might be manageable, facing those monstrous entities in a full-blown battle was an entirely different matter, one she felt utterly unprepared for.’
‘However, considering the malice Salome had previously displayed towards her, Shirley found herself completely at a loss as to what exactly the other party intended to “transact.”’
“Don’t worry, Mama, there won’t be anything strange,” Salome reassured her.
“Please take out the ‘magic wand’ I left for you; it will explain everything on my behalf.”
“Hmm… alright.”
Shirley pondered for a moment, then retrieved the peculiar object—a hybrid of a scalpel and a magical girl’s staff—from her pocket.
“What in the world is that? Do you have a hobby of pretending to be a magical girl?” Xia Hua, who had been listening to their conversation in utter bewilderment, asked in astonishment.
Shirley noticed Ji Bingyao behind her, absently weighing her favorite guitar, swinging it gently.
Clearly, she had no intention of playing a melody with it.
“Uh, this was left with me after we were attacked by that… that girl who inexplicably calls me Mama,” Shirley explained.
“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what it is.”
“However, it seems to have the ability to create holographic projections and facilitate long-distance communication via text.”
“That’s right,” Salome affirmed.
“Of course, this is also the shopping interface I prepared for Mama—in the past, Mama always designed all sorts of fun games to ‘temper’ us.”
“So, we wanted to play a game with Mama too.”
“And since it’s a game, there naturally has to be corresponding equipment, right?”
No sooner had Salome finished speaking than the golden star atop the “magic wand” illuminated, and a projection materialized above it.
It was a… price list?
The first line on this “price list” boldly declared: “Salome’s Basic Equipment Clearance Sale: Buying doesn’t guarantee completion, but not buying makes completion a hellish difficulty!” A cute, simplistic drawing of a cat’s head adorned the text.
What followed was decidedly more game-like.
“Basic Equipment Price Catalog:
1. Fists: Uh, these are attached to you, so they’re naturally free. Feel free to use them. Just don’t expect too much before consuming a berserker enhancement potion.
2. Self-Defense Handgun: A 9mm pistol, an improved version of the old Glock series, with enhanced power. It uses a 10-round magazine and comes with 20 complimentary bullets. Price: Special offer, the first one is free; subsequent pistols cost 1 life each.
3. Double-Barreled Shotgun: Two large 14.5mm caliber barrels guarantee power! Truly an excellent item for murder and robbery while out and about! Comes with 10 rounds of 12-gauge buckshot. Price: 1 life.
4. Six-Barreled Gatling Machine Gun: Congratulations! This specially designed weapon, firing .303 caliber ammunition, has been made incredibly lightweight (by Gatling standards) through the improvements of brilliant structural and material engineering experts, weighing only 3.25 kg! Comes with 200 complimentary bullets. Price: 2 lives.
5. AR-I Plasma Assault Rifle: As a special piece of equipment recently produced in limited quantities, this thing is truly blazing! Powerful! Explosive! Just be careful not to burn yourself. Comes with 2 energy cells (supporting 50 shots). Price: 2 lives.
6. M-907 Anti-Armor Rocket: Troubled by those pesky big guys you can’t take down? A single-use rocket launcher, 60mm caliber; one pull of the trigger and mighty ships turn to ash! But please be careful of what’s behind you! Price: 1 life each.
7. B-9K Plasma Assault Cannon: This genuine Big Fxxxing Gun can take down almost anything within range, though its use carries risks, so fire with caution! Comes with energy cells to sustain two shots. Price: 4 lives.
8. ‘Beaver Tooth’ Chainsaw: The lumberjack’s first choice! But it can saw through absolutely more than just wood! This is beaver-y… no, reasonable! Price: 2 lives.
PS: Additional ammunition requires separate payment! Details will be provided once you run out of ammo!”
“What the hell is all this?” Ji Bingyao muttered, having just tentatively swung her guitar in a circle above her head, striking an imaginary enemy.
“Playing too much *Doom*?”
“What a poor little sister,” Eileen murmured, fidgeting with her fingers.
“Someone must have killed her pet bunny, twisting her psyche so much that she’d conjure up all these things…”
Shirley shook her head, cutting Eileen off.
“I don’t believe this is purely a ‘joke,’ everyone.”
“Let’s not forget, our current situation is far from normal: severed communications, the pervasive white fog outside… and those strange things lurking within the mist.”
“Given that Salome was able to call us in such circumstances, we should assume she can indeed send us weapons.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll take a shotgun,” Ji Bingyao mused.
“When I used to stay at my dad’s place in Oklahoma, Grandpa showed me how to shoot wild birds with a double-barreled shotgun.”
“Thank you for your patronage,” Salome giggled sweetly.
“However, it seems you can’t pay, student.”
“How much is it… huh?!”
As students of St. Lian Girls’ Academy were almost exclusively from wealthy and influential families, they had developed a few minor bad habits.
For instance, they typically never bothered to check prices when purchasing daily necessities.
Thus, it wasn’t until Salome’s reminder that Ji Bingyao remembered to glance at the price tag behind the shotgun, and was immediately dumbfounded.
The unit after the number “1” was not dollars, euros, pounds, or any currency she recognized.
It was… lives?
“What the hell is ‘1 life’? Is it gaming jargon?” Shirley, who had also noticed this, inquired.
“No, it’s quite literal: one life, taken by your own hands,” Salome stated, raising a small hand to her chin and making a throat-slitting gesture.
“In short, if you kill a person—anyone at all—you gain 1 life.”
“This is the only currency my ‘business’ accepts.”
“Ki-ki-ki-ki-killing… murder?! Is this for real?!” Shirley felt her jaw nearly drop to the floor.
‘While she knew that, as someone with an unknown origin and no past memories, she was probably not a particularly “ordinary” girl, she had always lived a law-abiding life.’
‘Her adoptive parents, Viscount and Viscountess Collins, had always taught her to be kind to others, humble and gentle, to respect the elderly and cherish the young.’
‘To suddenly demand she commit murder was simply too…’
“I have a question,” Ji Bingyao interjected.
“Do the lives of those bugs outside count?”
“I’m sorry, they don’t count.” Salome’s tone turned slightly cold.
“I only accept human lives here.”
“Remember, it’s a human life, no matter who: old people, children, the sick, the insane—anyone still drawing a breath will do.”
“Eek! Are you a demon from hell?!” Xia Hua and Eileen, standing nearby, were utterly petrified.
Only the young Lu Ying, still a little girl, remained unfazed—Ji Bingyao had already covered her ears.
“No, I am Mama’s most obedient and adorable daughter.”
“Everything about me comes from Mama, including my values, ideology, and methodology.”
“So, if you have any complaints, please take them up with my dearest Mama,” Salome said, then shifted her gaze to Shirley.
“Now, wouldn’t you say this price isn’t too high for Mama?”
“After all, Mama always said that, by the supreme will of the Heaven of Parting Sorrow, for humanity to reach the shores of happiness, it must eliminate individuals who are harmful, useless, or unsuited to the environment…”
“Many of your ‘classmates’ seem to fit that description perfectly.”
Shirley shook her head once more.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Moreover, this concerns human lives; it’s not something to joke about lightly, and who knows if you’re even telling the truth about…”
“Oh, you don’t believe I’ll deliver the goods?” Salome immediately interjected.
“That’s alright, we can try it out right now.”
“You just need to click on the number on the image.”
“As long as you acquire enough lives, all these items can be delivered.”
“Uh, this…” Shirley hesitated for a moment, then tentatively clicked on the “Self-Defense Handgun,” the only free item apart from “Fists.”
Half a minute later, something astonishing occurred: a peculiar golden glow abruptly ignited in the air not far away, gradually extending into a fine line.
Then, as this line slowly split open like a doorway, a small-caliber handgun, along with two 10-round magazines encased in a transparent plastic bag, and a small box containing maintenance tools, all simultaneously dropped out.
“Eek—” Upon witnessing this scene, the five girls in the dorm instinctively screamed in unison—then immediately clapped their hands over each other’s mouths.
While a handgun appearing out of thin air was certainly astounding, the trouble would be far greater if their screams attracted others, leading to the discovery of a gun in the dormitory!
After dispensing the handgun and magazines “ordered” by Shirley and the others, this narrow “door,” approximately half a foot long and four to five centimeters wide, sealed itself within seconds.
As the last glimmer of light faded, it was as if it had never existed.
Only the handgun remained, a tangible reminder that everything that had just transpired was no dream.
“Um, Shirley, could you slap me, as hard as possible?” Ji Bingyao suddenly requested.
“I need to confirm that I’m not dreaming.”
“Dream on,” Shirley retorted immediately—she was well aware that a strong masochistic tendency lurked deep within Ji Bingyao.
During past band rehearsals, Ji Bingyao had more than once asked Shirley to spank her, using the excuse, “I didn’t do well this time, please punish me so I can learn my lesson.”
Initially, Shirley had actually complied, but when she noticed Ji Bingyao’s gaze shifting to resemble a cat eyeing a salted fish, she began to resolutely refuse all similar requests.
“I’ll go take a look.”
As her fingertips brushed against the somewhat rough plastic grip casing, Shirley instinctively took out a magazine, inserted it, then deftly flipped off the safety and chambered a round into the pistol.
The entire sequence of actions startled even herself.
After all, in her memory, the Viscount Collins’ family only possessed two ancestral “Brown Bess” flintlock muskets in the castle, kept as mementos and no longer capable of firing, usually hung by the fireplace as decoration.
Beyond these, her entire family had never had any contact with firearms or ammunition.
‘Why was she so proficient? What exactly…’
“In any case, do you believe me now, Mama? The power you bestowed upon me, I can now wield it like this,” Salome’s smile deepened.
“Of course, if these few weapons aren’t enough, then please utilize your unique talents and continue to eliminate those who are harmful or useless!”
“I eagerly await Mama’s performance!”
Then, Salome’s innocent smile vanished from the phone screen.
Just like everyone else’s phones, Shirley’s reverted to a “no signal” state.