Chapter 290: Chapter 290: Shop
A bandage was used to stop the bleeding.

The prisoner, who was wielding the claw knife with his teeth, forcefully wrapped the knife around his palm, prepared to continue his assault when there occurred a sudden chilling sensation.

A noise echoed.

He was so immersed in the fight that he had completely forgotten the presence of someone else.

Tentacles latched onto the back of his head, and in an instant, he lost control of his body.

Then, a wet, rainy tongue slid along his cheek and wormed its way into his mouth.

Feeding on his life force…

Han Dong could faintly perceive that with the intake of this energy,

both the woman’s head and the Red Umbrella were growing stronger, the ‘Strange Tales’ itself was becoming more powerful.

In no time, another plant-person was brought to life.

“Hurry, there’s another one up ahead, a good opportunity! Let me eat, let me have a bite more!

I promise not to harm you, I swear.”

“Okay…Abe! I’ll handle this one.”

Han Dong gestured to Abe to step back temporarily, allowing him to deal with the prisoner who had suffered a severe concussion.

Watching the entire ‘treatment’ process, Abe slightly furrowed his brows, feeling a bit uneasy… but he trusted Han Dong’s way of handling things, believing it would be right.

With a glugging sound,

Even the Red Umbrella started to squirm slightly as it fed upon the life force.

The geisha’s head was filled with satisfaction.

The battle was far from over. Han Dong turned his head to ask: “Abe…there’s still one prisoner left, right?”

“Uh-huh, I had Winry and Mia hold him off while I came down to help you…Let’s go check it out! Their hands should be plenty to deal with the adversary.”

His meal finished.

Han Dong and Abe immediately rushed upstairs.

As they approached the fifth floor where the ‘shop’ was located…there were numerous severed spider threads littering the corridor.

“What happened?”

The situation was different from what they had anticipated.

Mia was grinding herbs on the corridor floor, and gently applying them to Winry’s body.

Winry, who was once able to block a senior’s huge axe attack barehanded during the training period, was injured…her body marked by three shallow knife scars.

Han Dong was well aware of Winry’s abilities,

If she were to really go all out, probably not even Abe could hold her off… not to mention that Mia’s fighting power was not to be taken lightly.

Nevertheless, despite their combined forces, they not only failed to stop their attacker, they were counterattacked and injured.

“What happened?”

Mia quickly explained: “This…Five-Star Difficulty is a bit over the top, huh!

The blind man’s swordsmanship was so exquisite that each strike could discern weakness and aim for fatal blows. My spider’s silk couldn’t hold up against it, and the narrow corridor limited my movement, so I couldn’t find a way to deal with him in time.

Winry had to take the risk of getting injured and broke his arm with her fist.

At the same time, he got infected with my spider’s poison…Being that he fled so quickly, the poison will spread throughout his body in no time, I doubt he will survive long.”

Staring at the multitude of sharp knife marks left in the corridor, and Winry, who was gritting her teeth in pain.

Han Dong nodded his head, “Indeed! All these prisoners seem to possess inhuman abilities, each one mastering a different ‘versus human’ technique… If they manage to take care of some of the Strange Tales and obtain points, and then exchange those for some extremely lethal weapons, we might be in danger.

In the future while operating, we must carry out advance investigations.

You guys check out the shop situation first, let me handle this.”

Han Dong pointed his fingers towards the red umbrella behind him and headed alone for the top floor.

“Congratulations, young man! As per our agreement, I am not going to kill you…”

On the rooftop,

The geisha’s head automatically separated from Han Dong’s shoulder.

As the umbrella opened,

A cloud was instantly formed in the sky above the old building, causing localized rainfall.

The geisha, wearing a kimono, held the red umbrella, stared at Han Dong… and made a polite welcoming gesture.

“Welcome to [Paradise]… You’re far more interesting than any other ‘outsiders’ who’ve entered here before, we might meet again in the future.”

“Oh!? Do you yourselves know about the setup of Paradise?”

“Of course, but I don’t really mind…as long as someone carries an umbrella in a rainy day, which is enough to satisfy me, wherever it is.”

Han Dong seized the opportunity and tried to ask:

“Although I was unable to catch a third person for you… I was wondering if you might be able to tell me some inside information about [Paradise].

Like whether there exists some sort of organization among you, or if there are any other ‘Strange Tales’ we should be wary of.”

When Han Dong tried to inquire, the geisha merely cocked her head.

“Information… if I spill the beans, [The Big Guy] might kill me.

There are many secrets in Paradise that you can’t possibly imagine, just try to survive… I hope you’ll die at [The Big Guy]’s hands, hahaha!”

In the blink of an eye.

The geisha hummed a catchy local tune, and stepping lightly in the clogs, she retreated slowly and disappeared off the edge of the roof.

At the same moment, Han Dong also received a system prompt:

『B-level ‘Strange Tales – Red Umbrella’ completed』

Completion Method: Requirements met (Assisted ‘Rain Woman. Red’ in consuming the essence of three high-level individuals)

Reward: 18 Strange Tales Points (15 Basic +3 Rapid Completion)

Han Dong recalled the geisha’s words just now:

“[The Big Guy]…looks like humans gather all the Strange Tales in one area has led to an organization being formed internally? The level of the prisoners, the strangeness of the Strange Tales themselves, do indeed match the Five-Star difficulty label.

I’m afraid there are huge dangers hidden in this ‘Paradise’, dangers that I can’t yet predict.

Now that I have a basic understanding of the prisoners’ level, I have confirmed the location of the shop and gotten a certain amount of Strange Tales Points, I think it’s a pretty good start.

Let’s go check out the ‘shop’ situation first!”

Seeing the Red Umbrella disappear, Abe asked, “Huh? The Strange Tale is complete?”

“Uh-huh…Got 18 Strange Tales Points.”

Abe immediately gave a thumbs up!

Initially, there were only five points, but being able to score an additional eighteen points means a significant boost to progress.

Han Dong said with a smile as he descended the staircase, his small fist gently tapping Abe on the arm, “I owe you big time…Otherwise, I would have been in danger during that ambush.”

“Haha,” Abe chuckled, his white fur lightly floating.

“Is this the ‘shop’?”

Thump! Thump! Thump!

After knocking,

The old wooden door opened a crack.

An arm, rotten with decay, stretched out from the gap between the doors. Its nails were full of dirt, giving the impression of having just crawled out of a grave.

With a rigid finger, it gestured for Han Dong and the others to come in.

“I thought the shop would be a supply station set up by humans inside [Paradise]… I was expecting it to be high-tech, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

As the door was pushed open,

A familiar scent wafted in.

It was similar to the smell of a graveyard. Inside the old, cracked room were several shelves…

There was a variety of goods stored here.

As for the shopkeeper, he was a scruffy old man with bones sticking out from his arms and legs.

He was currently sitting in front of the counter, lightly ringing a bell, indicating the first-time shop-going Han Dong and company to come over.

The shopkeeper seemed to have something to say.