Rita's heart skipped a beat. She didn't understand how Bear Cookies had given her away. Did they have some kind of mark? But her face remained calm, and she even gave a helpless smile.
"You caught me... Fine, this is my disguise. So, are we trading?" She opened her palm, revealing two Dot Suit tiles. "My master doesn't need this suit, anything else will do."
She wasn't sure what this clever Oak Owl wanted, but she had to take a gamble. If the other side didn't want Dot Suit either... then she'd have to summon Nivalis and use the Thieving Dragon Hatchling skill to rewind time.
The shopkeeper Vanilla showed no disappointment at not extracting any information. He weighed the pros and cons in his head.
"My master wants all types of tiles. If we trade, what's in it for me? You offering me two for one?"
"Of course not!" Rita scoffed. "It's a one-for-one trade! But I know what you're saying—since I'm the one asking, I can pay a bit extra. But first, I need to see what you've got."
"I'm willing to trade," Vanilla replied sharply. "But I'll have to confirm the authenticity of your tiles first."
"Fair," Rita nodded. "We'll show each other at the same time."
The two stared at each other from across the counter, tension mounting. Rita subtly stood on tiptoe to ensure her presence wasn't completely dwarfed by the adult Oak Owl.
Inwardly, she regretted not taking on an adult form. She hadn't expected this shopkeeper to be so sharp. Even though Oak Owls were known for their love and care toward children, this one showed no signs of lowering his guard.
Slowly, they extended their hands toward each other, tiles in hand.
Just as their hands almost touched, Rita dropped a soda can onto the floor, which clattered loudly. Seizing the moment, she stomped on the can, sending it skittering into a corner.
Vanilla smirked coldly, his eyes not leaving Rita for even a second. He wasn't falling for it.
In one swift move, Vanilla flipped his hand over, pulling back his tile and lunging to snatch Rita's instead.
Before the word "fool" could leave his mouth, Vanilla was stunned by a flash of light. Just seconds later, his sharp mind cleared, and he immediately pieced together that the soda can had been bait. This realization only deepened his resolve. Abandoning noisy skills, he launched a mental attack instead.
But then—he froze in place, drooling like a fool.
Rita had already jumped over the counter, stuffing a high-grade sleeping potion into the shopkeeper's mouth. The fluid glugged down his throat as easily as if this were an S-tier skill called "Mommy Feeds You Medicine."
Rita glanced behind her. The Bear Cookies at her waist had transformed into a small, waist-high brown bear, which had tried to protect her but now stood there, looking confused.
The little bear tilted its head, as if unsure what it had done wrong, while Rita, still clutching Vanilla's jaw, gestured for it to return.
The bear scratched its head in embarrassment, gave her a goofy smile, then floated back toward her. Mid-air, it shrank until it became the familiar Bear Cookies dangling innocently at her waist.
Turning back to Vanilla, Rita dragged his unconscious body behind the counter, quickly assessing the situation. The sleeping potion should've knocked him out for several hours, but to her surprise, his resistance was so high that it would only last a few minutes.
Wasting no time, she used Iceflower Seal on him, securing the shopkeeper in place, before immediately beginning to practice her Barehanded Entrepreneur skill.
Standing atop Vanilla's stomach, she focused on trying to extract any hidden tiles while keeping an eye on the store's entrance. Every time a customer walked in, she would quickly agree to any deal, paying whatever price they asked, just to keep them moving along.
Every few minutes, she'd shove another high-grade sleeping potion down Vanilla's throat or reinforce the ice seal. There was no way she was letting him wake up and pull some unexpected move.
By the time she had consumed three plates of healing food to restore her own health, she finally extracted something new—a Nine Bamboo tile.
It was so painful. The realization struck her like a hammer: she was starting to understand Mistblade's frustration when she had reluctantly taken the Four Characters tile.
Biting her lip, Rita carefully placed the Nine Bamboo into her inventory.
She checked the Honor Board—sure enough, she'd gained another 10,000 honor points.
She suspected that Vanilla might have more hidden tiles. His streak of bad luck could mean multiple reasons: perhaps he had already handed over one tile to his master, or maybe he had received another treasure instead.
Regardless, the risks were too high. This shop was too close to Eternal Day City's main hub, and Vanilla's special status meant any further delay could lead to discovery.
After lowering his health to 50%—earning herself a 20% damage reflection penalty due to the Oak Owl curse—Rita slipped him a high-grade poison followed by another sleeping potion. A final Iceflower Seal completed her preparations, ensuring Vanilla would die within the next 8 minutes.
This would give her ample time to escape, even if he had left traps or mechanisms in place.
Yet as soon as Vanilla's health dipped below 50%, the shop's door slammed shut. A blinding array of three magical formations activated at once, transforming the store into a massive cage.
Rita's heart sank as magical runes lit up beneath her feet and Vanilla's body.
You've got to be kidding me! Your life alert system triggers at 50% HP?! That's higher than my phone's low-battery mode!
With lightning-fast reflexes, Rita tried to use Phantom Blink to teleport outside the shop. However, while her magic energy was still accessible, the spell itself failed—her skills had been sealed within the shop!
Without hesitation, she switched tactics and activated her item skill I'm in a Hurry, teleporting to a corner of the store instead of aiming for the exit. This time, it worked. She narrowly avoided the glowing chains shooting out of the trap.