In Safe Zone 9527, Ethan didn’t go straight to the junkyard where Grimmount was after coming back from the ice cave.
He had two Blue-quality Intel rewards on him: one called [Intel on the Lost Necklace of the Item Shop Owner’s Wife] and another called [Intel on the Item Shop Owner’s Wife Cheating]. He decided to use them.
First, he used the [Intel on the Lost Necklace of the Item Shop Owner’s Wife]. Soon after, he found the lost necklace in a small alley behind the item shop, exactly where the Intel said it would be.
To his surprise, the necklace had fallen near the back wall of the equipment shop, with some random stuff piled up nearby.
Ethan tried standing on the pile of stuff. From there, he could see the whole back yard of the equipment shop. There was a room that looked like a bedroom, with a clear window facing right toward him.
If someone was doing something in the bedroom, as long as they didn’t close the curtain, Ethan could see everything clearly.
He wondered why the necklace of the item shop owner’s wife ended up here.
Could it be that the shop owner’s wife was spying on someone and got nervous, causing her to lose the necklace?
Thinking this over, Ethan decided to try using the other Intel: [Intel on the Item Shop Owner’s Wife Cheating].
Sure enough, his guess was right — the witness to the cheating was the item shop owner’s wife.
Looking at the necklace in his hand, Ethan tried putting it into his[ inventory].
To his surprise, it actually worked. And it showed up on his watch with some information:
[Remote Control Device in the Shape of a Necklace]
[Item Effect]: It can start an object that vibrates in multiple directions and can switch between different modes.
[Description]: If you look closely, you can see that the gem on the necklace is actually a high-hidden button.
Ethan looked at the gem on the lost necklace and the information on his wristwatch. His face suddenly looked strange.
What was going on? He would find out when he went to the item shop in Safe Zone 9527.
It was true. Since he entered Dawnfall Online, Ethan had either been killing monsters to get Intel rewards or fighting with members of the Coffin Guild. He hadn’t really taken the time to explore Safe Zone 9527.
He wasn’t the type of player who liked to relax or take in the scenery. He didn’t care about beautiful views or quiet places.
A big part of it is because there’s nothing interesting in the safe zone — just piles of old snow everywhere and players walking by quickly.
After walking for two or three minutes, Ethan finally reached the item shop in Safe Zone 9527.
The shop was almost empty. Many players didn’t buy things from the item shop or the equipment shop because the prices were way too high — something most players couldn’t afford.
The shop wasn’t very big, but the counter where the shop owner’s wife stood took up about a third of the space.
Behind the counter stood the shop owner’s wife — a woman in her early 30s with dark blue hair and pale blue eyes. She was wearing a loose but very revealing nightgown, and she was fiddling with her fingers in a bored way.
When she noticed someone coming in, she looked cold and said in a cold tone, "Everything is in the counter. Prices are clearly written. No discounts. I don’t have any quests here."
But when she looked up and saw Ethan, she was a little surprised. Her expression softened a bit.
Ethan was used to this kind of reaction. His character had a Charisma stat of ten points — that’s a lot.
Ethan slowly walked up to the counter. He first looked at the items on the counter. His calm face showed a little surprise. The prices were way too high. A white-quality healing item cost 3,000 Dawn Coins.
Such items were never that expensive when you bought them from other players.
Ethan turned his eyes toward the shop owner’s wife and asked, "Hi, do you buy back items here?"
The woman, who looked mature but also a little distant, raised her head slightly and said, "Sure, I buy back items. But if it’s junk, I suggest you take it to the junkyard instead."
As she said "junkyard," she suddenly seemed lost in thought, her face turning a bit strange.
Ethan took out the necklace, but only showed it to the shop owner’s wife for a second before putting it away quickly.
At once, the woman stood up. Ethan then noticed that her nightgown barely covered her bottom, and her smooth, pale thighs were completely exposed.
Realizing this, she quickly sat back down and looked at Ethan seriously. "What did you just take out? I lost a necklace that looked like it."
Ethan answered straight away, "It was right by the wall behind the equipment shop. But how can I prove it’s yours?"
The shop owner’s wife looked a little worried. She said directly, "Show me the necklace. I’ll check it. If it’s really mine, I’ll give you something in return."
Ethan nodded and took out the necklace. But before handing it to her, he pressed the gem on it.
Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from behind the counter.
The shop owner’s wife, who had just been sitting calmly, let out a soft moan. Her face turned red, and her body suddenly leaned back, falling into the chair.
She bit her lip and said in a low voice, "What are you doing?"
Ethan took the necklace back, pressed the gem again, and said, "I didn’t do anything. What’s wrong with you?"
The woman’s cold expression disappeared. A strange red color slowly appeared on her exposed skin. She was breathing heavily and spoke quickly:
"Damn it! Don’t press randomly. Press the other gem quickly!"
Ethan slowly followed her instructions and pressed the other gem on the necklace.
Soon, the buzzing sound stopped.
At this moment, the shop owner’s wife was completely different from before. Her cold expression was gone, and part of her deep blue hair had turned red.
Sweat was dripping from her body, making the air around her smell strange and sweet.
Ethan instinctively sniffed the air, then quickly blocked his breath.
Because when he smelled that sweet smell, a strong desire suddenly rose in his chest. His whole body felt hot, and he had an urge to throw himself at the shop owner’s wife right in front of him.
Was it because of her sweat?
Ethan didn’t show anything. He stepped back a bit and looked down at his wristwatch.
As Ethan stayed very alert, the shop owner’s wife suddenly came back to her senses. The red on her body disappeared, and her hair turned back to deep blue.
She looked at Ethan angrily and said through her teeth, "Give me my thing back right now! If you press it again, I’ll kill you!"
This was the second time Ethan had been threatened by an NPC.
The first time was when he met Grimmount. He also said he would kill him, but in the end, they had to make a deal.
Ethan sighed helplessly and said slowly, "You should know that death threats don’t work on us."
The shop owner’s wife clenched her fists and said coldly, "Don’t be so sure of yourself. It’s just that the way of dying doesn’t work on you players now."
After saying that, she seemed to think of something and quickly shut her mouth.
That careful and cautious look made Ethan think of something — Grimmount had looked like that before, too.
And what did she mean by "the way of dying now"?
Did that mean there would be other ways to die in Dawnfall Online in the future?
Right now, players can be revived after dying. Is there a way to kill a player that makes them unable to come back?
Or even worse — could there be a way to kill a player that would actually kill them in real life?
In a flash, Ethan thought of a lot of possibilities. He knew that Dawnfall Online was full of secrets.
The Intel that the shop owner’s wife accidentally let out was more valuable than any Blue-quality or Purple-quality item!
Could Intel be the most important and rarest resource in Dawnfall Online?
At this point, Ethan wanted to find out more information, but no matter what he said, the shop owner’s wife just kept asking him to hand over the necklace.
Finally, Ethan had to say what he wanted.
He didn’t care about a reward. He just needed something that could prove his identity — something that would help him finish a task. After that, he would return the necklace to her.
After hearing Ethan’s words, the shop owner’s wife was surprised for a moment, then suddenly understood. She looked at him in shock and said:
"You don’t mean to blackmail Grimmount, do you? You’re really brave."
Ethan answered seriously, "It’s not blackmail. It’s a deal and a trade!"
He only knew about Grimmount and the equipment shop owner’s wife having an affair. He wanted to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally say anything to the equipment shop owner. So he needed something from Grimmount that would remind him to keep his mouth shut.