Chapter 231 - SHOPPING FOR NPCs (1/2)

[WHAT vinegar?] – Luo Yan asked, although he already had an idea what this little fox was talking about.

Eclipse bit on the Mana fruit he was eating before answering, [Mashter, don't you know that common saying? When someone smells of vinegar, it means they're jealous.]

[What eye did you use to see that Brother Ji Yun was jealous?]

[Mashter, haven't you noticed? When you started talking about Yu Jiao, Captain's mood started to fluctuate. His brows furrowed and his tone became sour.]

[How could you tell?]

[Eclipse is equipped to understand human social cues. Mashter, trust Eclipse. Captain just now was jealous.]

So, he was saying that he was programmed in a way that he could understand human emotions – at least to a point. Because of that, Luo Yan couldn't help but think back again on Shen Ji Yun's reaction earlier. He carefully analyzed each reaction and just like Eclipse said, Shen Ji Yun did show signs of being jealous. But why?

He thought of all the possible reasons and his eyes slightly widened when he ended up with the most probable one. His heart already had a small conjecture but his logical brain simply refused to believe that. Because how could it be? Right?

Instead of having a debate between his heart and his brain, he just changed the topic and asked Eclipse, [Are all pets able to understand social cues like you do?]

[Of course not. It's because Eclipse has been with Mashter ever since he's an egg. Mashter nurtured Eclipse with his Mana and it made him able to understand a lot of things.]

Did that mean that because of him nurturing him with Mana, it added more data to Eclipse program? Making him more sentient?

[Mashter, that's not the point. The point was – Captain was jealous! Do you know what this means? He li--]

[Don't. If you finish that thought, I won't give you a Mana fruit again.] – Luo Yan threatened.

Eclipse pouted. [Fine. But Mashter, remember, Eclipse was only telling the truth. And the truth couldn't be hidden. No matter how much you try to deny or hide it, sooner or later, it will be revealed. So, Eclipse suggest that Mashter doesn't try to look away and face the truth head on.]

Luo Yan couldn't help but pinch Eclipse's cheek. [You talk too much.]

Eclipse pouted then ate the remaining fruit. [Mashter don't love me anymore. Eclipse will just go to Captain.]

After that, he jumped and landed perfectly on Shen Ji Yun's shoulder. Shen Ji Yun was slightly startled but still didn't throw the little fox and let it stayed on his shoulder. He even petted it a bit.

Shen Ji Yun stopped and looked back at Luo Yan. ”Yan Yan?”

Luo Yan increased his pace until he reached Shen Ji Yun. And the two continued walking to where they could buy blank NPCs.

Luo Yan couldn't help but secretly glanced at Shen Ji Yun. He was still as expressionless as ever. As if the drop of emotion he had shown earlier didn't happen at all. Because of Eclipse's nonsense, he couldn't stop the suspicion that was slowly rising in his heart. So, even if he didn't believe a word of what Eclipse said, unbeknownst to him, a seed of doubt was already planted in his heart.

They soon arrived at a three-story building. It was all white with tall glass windows. One could immediately see holographic models of NPCs inside. They walked inside and Shen Ji Yun led them to the third floor, saying that the high-quality NPCs were all there.

Once there, Luo Yan immediately glanced around. There were holographic models of NPCs in different genders, sizes, and colors. But there was one thing common, all of them looked gorgeous. Well, they're all made of data after all. It would be weird if one of them looked ugly.

A female NPC approached them. ”Dear customer, may I ask what you are looking for?”