Nighttime, inside Ye Yun's shop.
Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng returned to the train through a portal.
As soon as Stelle came back, she rushed into the small bar carrying a large black trash bag, startling Paimon, who was pouring a drink.
"Stelle! Why are you running so fast? You scared me!"
Stelle chuckled sheepishly, set down the large black trash bag, and cupped her hands in apology.
"Sorry, sorry, it's urgent."
Paimon took a sip of her drink through a straw stuck into her wine glass.
"Urgent? What is it? Need help?"
Stelle waved her hand.
"No need, no need."
Then, she reached into the trash bag and pulled out a handful of Star Jades, placing them on the exchange scale.
Stelle kept grabbing and placing more, until the Star Coins on the other end of the scale overflowed and scattered across the bar counter.
Paimon stared, dumbfounded.
So many Star Coins! How much food could this buy? One roast chicken, two roast chickens, three roast chickens...
Behind Stelle, March 7th was also holding a small bag, waiting in line to exchange her Star Jades.
Before long, both Star and March 7th had exchanged all their Star Jades into Star Coins.
Together, they earned a total of 50,000 Star Coins — that's 500 Star Jades.
Each got 250 Star Jades worth — or 25,000 coins.
Stelle reached out to wet her hand a little from the bar's faucet, then happily started counting the Star Coins one by one.
Just then, Bronya, Seele, and Natasha stepped out of the portal and saw the scene.
Bronya almost fainted on the spot.
The Star Jades weren't the issue — they were unclaimed items anyway.
But why did you have to use a bag labeled with Belobog in big bold letters?!
On the black bag Star had dropped at her feet, the words "Belobog" were clearly printed.
Bronya recognized that type of bag — there was a cabinet outside her office with the same ones, used for storing discarded documents to be incinerated.
Where did Stelle get that trash bag? Bronya was completely baffled.
Just then, Ye Yun walked over.
"Natasha, Seele, Bronya."
Natasha smiled.
"Sorry to bother you again, Ye Yun."
After greeting everyone, Ye Yun asked:
"Are you here to shop?"
Bronya nodded and took out a box filled with Star Jades.
"Mm, I heard from Seele and Natasha that you accept Star Jades in exchange for supplies, so…"
Bronya remembered she still had a debt from the last time she met Ye Yun.
"Right, you used a bottle of medicine when you saved my mother last time — that was worth 100 Star Jades, right?"
Ye Yun nodded.
"That's correct. That medicine costs 100 Star Jades."
Bronya handed over 100 Star Jades to Ye Yun.
"Thank you for saving my mother last time."
Ye Yun smiled and called out to Paimon.
"Paimon, come over here for a moment."
Still fantasizing about roast chicken, Paimon snapped out of her daydream and floated over with her drink.
"Ye Yun, what do you need?"
Ye Yun pointed at Bronya.
"Take Bronya through the shopping process."
Paimon looked extremely reluctant at the thought of doing actual work.
"No way! This is your shop — you handle the customers!"
Ye Yun smirked slyly.
"I'll give you one roast chicken."
Paimon froze mid-air, stopping in her tracks.
"Two chickens!" she spun around dramatically, holding up two fingers.
Ye Yun chuckled.
"Deal."
Paimon, delighted, put down her drink and flew over to Bronya.
"Hi, what's your name? I'm Paimon! Come on, I'll show you how the shopping process works — that way you'll know how to buy stuff here.
Let me tell you, buying from Ye Yun is a huge hassle — you have to go through the exchange scale first…"
Ye Yun watched Paimon energetically guide Bronya away and smiled — dealing with Paimon was easy.
Still, Ye Yun figured it was time to hire a clerk.
He wanted to get out and explore more, but he couldn't just leave the shop unattended.
As he pondered, he sat down at the booth with his tea set.
After some thought, Ye Yun settled on the perfect candidate.
You're the one! Noelle!
Ye Yun took out a letter and scribbled a few lines, then sealed it in an envelope.
"Paimon! Paimon!"
Paimon had just finished guiding Bronya and was about to sip her drink when she puffed up her cheeks and stomped in midair angrily.
"What now!?"
Ye Yun bought three "Super Duper Delicious Roast Chickens" from the system and placed them on the table.
"Go deliver this letter to Jean for me."
Paimon's expression changed instantly when she saw the roast chickens. She grinned and snatched the envelope from Ye Yun.
"Got it~ I'm on it!"
Just as Paimon left, Lumine walked over from the next booth.
"Ye Yun, are those three roast chickens for Paimon?"
Ye Yun nodded.
"Yeah, why?"
Lumine chuckled, picked up all three roast chickens, and headed back to her seat.
"Then I'll help myself~"
She flew off, sat down in the next booth, tore off a drumstick, and started eating.
"Mm~ Free food always tastes better!"
Paimon came back through the portal and went straight to Ye Yun to claim her "wages."
"Ye Yun, I delivered the letter — where's my roast chicken?"
Ye Yun sipped his tea.
"Didn't Lumine already take them?"
Paimon froze.
"Lumine!!!"
She zoomed into the booth and saw Lumine happily devouring the roast chicken, face turning red with rage.
"Lumine! Give me back my roast chicken!"
Lumine swallowed a mouthful.
"So what if I ate one? You've eaten so much of my food before."
Paimon was instantly speechless.
Fine, whatever — what's done is done. Might as well eat first.
She flew into the booth and snatched a drumstick to start munching.
***
At the Mondstadt Knights of Favonius headquarters, in Jean's office.
After reading Ye Yun's letter, Jean asked someone to summon Noelle.
Noelle arrived at Jean's office.
"Captain Jean, you wanted to see me?"
Jean looked at her and smiled.
"Yes, I have something I'd like you to help with."
Noelle immediately stood at attention.
Captain Jean needs me!
Jean smiled gently at Noelle standing so seriously.
"No need to be so nervous. It's nothing major — I just want you to go help out a friend by working as a shop assistant."
Noelle was a bit puzzled.
"A shop assistant?"
Jean nodded.
"Yes, just to work as a clerk."
Although she didn't quite understand why Jean wanted her to do this, Noelle trusted her completely.
Captain Jean was an excellent knight, and she was just a trainee — whatever her senior said must be right.
More importantly, Captain Jean needed her!
This filled Noelle with enthusiasm — she couldn't wait to become a shop assistant.
Seeing that Noelle had agreed, Jean led her into the portal toward Ye Yun's shop.
***
Bronya's Side
At this moment, Bronya was browsing the store with 70,000 credits in hand.
Looking at the rows of product listings—machines, food, weapon blueprints—she felt like buying everything.
Everything was essentially useful to Belobog. Belobog was just too poor and lacked everything.
Bronya borrowed a scrap of paper and a pen from Clara, who was about to go home after school, and began scribbling calculations, carefully budgeting how to stretch her 70,000 credits to get the most supplies.
Unintentionally, her eyes drifted to a black garbage bag at her feet—it was thrown there by Stelle.
She instantly regretted it.
She had missed out on 500 Stellar Jade! What was she thinking?!
After a brief moment of frustration, Bronya sighed and continued shopping.
Just then, a commotion came from nearby.
"Everyone! Look over here! I'm opening bins!"
Bronya looked in the direction of the voice.
There was Stelle, standing in an open area near the booths, with ten brand-new garbage bins laid out in front of her.
Bronya was a little curious.
"What is Stelle doing?"
Lumine, who had just finished eating roast chicken and was washing her hands, said:
"She's doing a loot box opening, basically a lottery.
The garbage bins are from Ye Yun's shop—called the Garbage Bin Scratch-Offs. 1,000 credits per bin. If you're lucky, you can get something way more valuable than that."
Bronya nodded—so that's how it worked.
Inside the shop, everyone turned their attention to Stelle.
Klee and Hook stopped playing and ran over to stand beside Stelle, ready to watch the fun.
"Stelle-sis, what are you doing~?" Klee asked curiously.
Stelle replied, "Big sis is doing a draw. You two stand back a bit—there's going to be some bright light, don't let it hurt your eyes."
The two little ones obediently backed off a bit.
But they still stood on tiptoes, peeking into the bins with curiosity.
Stelle clasped her hands behind her back and inspected the bins like a general. She even lit three incense sticks to pray for good luck.
March 7th looked at her speechlessly.
"Stelle, stop doing these superstitious rituals. They're not going to change your luck."
Dan Heng also chimed in, "What's meant to be yours will be yours. What's not, you can't force."
Before Stelle could argue back, Lumine spoke up in her defense.
"You guys don't understand. There's a mystical element to this kind of draw."
Stelle gave Ying a big thumbs-up. "A kindred spirit!"
Lumine crossed her arms. "Stelle, trust me—just do a ten-pull. At least you're guaranteed something."
Without hesitation, Stelle pulled all ten bins at once.
In an instant, golden light burst throughout the shop. Klee and Hook, who were standing nearby, quickly covered their eyes.
As the golden light faded, everyone gathered around to check the results.
Stelle excitedly tugged on Ye Yun's sleeve.
"Ye Yun, come help me check if I got anything good!"
Ye Yun checked each one carefully.
"Three Premium Durians, three ultra-fermented herring cans pro max version, one standard katana, a redemption card for ten tons of premium rice, one full imperial feast set, one laptop."
After checking everything, Ye Yun couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Stelle, you got nothing again! This is a full miss, hahaha!"
Stelle collapsed on the ground in despair.
"Noooooooooooo!"
March 7 shook her head helplessly.
"Told you not to play this. You just wouldn't listen. That's 10,000 credits down the drain."
As she spoke, March 7 picked up a durian and asked Ye Yun, "Ye Yun, is this premium durian any good?"
Ye Yun nodded. "Of course! This is the best kind of durian."
Hearing that, March 7 remembered the durian she had at Natasha's clinic and subconsciously licked her lips.
"Seele! Lend me your blade! Let's eat durian!"
Seele, hearing about durian, grabbed her scythe and followed March 7th to the kitchen.
March 7th placed the durian on the cutting board, and Seele swiftly sliced it open.
Klee and Hook ran to the kitchen.
Klee jumped up and leaned over the counter.
"March 7-sis! What's this fruit?"
March 7 smiled and put a piece on a plate.
"This is durian. Don't lean over—come here and try it."
Klee and Hook ran into the kitchen.
Klee took the plate from March 7th. "Thanks, March 7th-sis~"
March 7th smiled. "No need to thank me. Try it, it's really tasty."
Hook, having eaten it before at the clinic, wasn't fazed by the smell and immediately dug in.
But Klee, who had never had it before, sniffed it and quickly pinched her nose.
"This fruit's gone bad! Klee doesn't want it!"
Ye Yun walked over holding the other two durians.
"Klee, durians always smell like this. Just try it—it's really good."
Klee stared at the fruit for a bit, clearly torn.
In the end, she decided to give it a try—after all, Hook looked like she was really enjoying it.
"Nom~"
Klee took a small bite—and her eyes lit up.
"Tasty!"
Ye Yun affectionately ruffled her hair.
"Then eat lots if you like it."
Ye Yun cut open the other two durians and shared them with everyone present.
He cut the fruit, while March 7th handled distribution.
After the two little ones finished eating, they became the runners.
Klee carried a plate of durian over to Stelle, holding it up like a treasure.
"Stelle-sis, have some durian! It's really tasty!"
Still heartbroken from her loss, Stelle looked at Klee's bright smile, and felt a little better.
"Thanks, Klee."
Klee beamed. "If Stelle-sis eats tasty durian, she can't be sad anymore! Mama says, smiling brings good luck!"
Stelle smiled a little. "Okay, big sis won't be sad anymore."
After eating the durian, she stood up with renewed determination and bought ten more garbage bins.
"I don't believe this! I'm getting something good today!"
Everyone continued watching while munching on durian.
March 7th took a bite and said to Seele, "Wanna bet Stelle crashes again this time?"
Seele licked her fingers. "Of course—didn't she just crash a minute ago?"
Welt looked at Stelle and sighed.
Looks like he'll need to have a serious talk with her about her gambling addiction later.
Klee and Hook cheered Stelle on beside her.
"Go, Stelle-sis! You're the best!"
"Go, honorary mole party member! Show them what we're made of!"
Stelle patted Klee on the head and did another ten-pull.
Once again, golden light burst forth.
This time, everyone came prepared—they all took out sunglasses. March 7th even kindly handed out extras to Seele, Natasha, and Bronya.