Mutagen

Day 378 - : - Moonstone Boutique, Commercial Zone, CNC Subspace

Passing through the dark haze in the arched doorway would be something hard to get used to. Unlike Spera's portals, which could, at most, make people dizzy, the dark haze felt like being enveloped in something murky and sticky but slippery at the same time. It was a strange feeling and uncomfortable feeling to describe.

The only good thing was the effect only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing. If it lasted longer than it should, that strange feeling from the haze would quickly turn into disgust.

As Mark and Mei recovered from the darkness of the haze, they immediately saw the scene before them.

The group now stood in front of what seemed to be a luxurious Victorian-era shop. But what took the two's attention the most was the glass display on both sides of the double door that served as the shop's entrance.

There were several mannequins wearing gowns and coats that seemed too expensive for the common people even just to see.

As the eyes of the two panned on the sign above the door and the windows, Mark and Mei confirmed what this shop was.

"Moonstone Boutique?" Mark read out loud before turning to the two members of CNC. "This isn't some sort of front for the auction house, right?"

"Don't be silly," Val'Flora replied with a smile. "A disguise isn't needed for any store within the CNC, especially when non-members could never see the place without an accompanying agent."

It meant that the store in front of them was a clothing store, not an auction house. Then, why did Val'Flora and Devon bring Mark and Mei here?

Seeing the confusion, Devon realized something they forgot to explain. Mark might be a client of Val'Flora, but he was a regular person before the apocalypse. Mei might have come from a wealthy family, but as a doll to be married for connections, she was never allowed to accompany the family except for social occasions.

"Most auction houses have a commonly similar dress code. The same applies to CNC's auction houses," Devon explained. "We would be denied entry with your current clothing."

Mark and Mei looked at each other. The clothes they wore were the best they had. Unfortunately, it was not enough, not to mention how hard it would be for them to find suitable clothing in the apocalypse.

"I understand we needed to change clothes, but what about the cost? How expensive are those clothes?"

Mark asked, looking at the extravagant display.

"It should be fine," Val'Flora confidently replied while staring at Mark. "I believe you can even buy out the entire store's current stock if you want to."

The crystals Mark had were valuable. If he took out three or four more, what Val'Flora said would not be impossible.

"Okay," Mark shrugged and looked at Mei with a smile before he looked back to the agents. "Let's go in, then."

As the four approached the door, it was when Mark had a chance to look at the surroundings. To his surprise, there was nothing around the store. The boutique stood alone, surrounded by darkness different from the dark haze inside the arched doorway. There was nothing else. It was a strange location. ɌäꞐƟ𐌱Êꞩ

Entering the door made Mark and Mei squint their eyes. The sudden change of lighting from the darkness outside was slightly overwhelming.

But upon stepping into the store, it was as if they had entered an entirely new world. The store looked small outside, but the inside was huge. Hundreds of clothes, both for men and women, were on display.

Mark and Mei could not help but look around after their eyes recovered.

"Welcome to the Moonstone Boutique."

It was when a gleeful welcome greeting entered their ears.

The person who greeted them was a beautiful woman. She seemed to be in her early twenties. Aside from her beautiful face and sweet smile, the maid uniform filled with frills that she wore sure was attention-catching.

But after the greeting they received, Val'Flora could not help but speak up with a slight frown.

"What is the owner of the boutique doing welcoming customers?"

Val'Flora asked the woman.

"Why wouldn't I?" The woman answered. "There is no reason for me to leave little Flora's precious clients to mere employees, is there?"

"Haah... Seriously... I told them not to tell you I'm coming here today..."

Val'Flora sighed in exasperation.

Mark and Mei watched the banter at the side. Glancing at Devon, it seemed that he was also surprised. It seemed he had no idea that Val'Flora and the boutique's owner had a connection.

The two clients might not know it, but Devon knew that the Moonstone boutique was the most popular clothing store in the entirety of the CNC. The business might be less because of the apocalypse. However, the Moonstone Boutique's main customers were clients from the wealthiest and most powerful families in the entirety of pre-apocalyptic Earth.

Ignoring the exasperated Val'Flora, the owner gave Mark and Mei a look.

With a short, passing glance at Mark, the owner's eyes stuck on Mei.

"This is promising."

The owner commented on Mei's appearance.

Of course, Mei frowned. It was not because she felt uncomfortable about the owner's stare but because Mark was clearly being belittled by her behavior.

Sensing the tension, the owner faked a slight cough as she covered her mouth.

"Pardon my rudeness. Please call me by the name Chris. The owner of the Moonstone Boutique. Welcome to my establishment."

The owner, Chris, introduced herself with a curtsy. Her beautiful appearance, along with her elegant actions, was really nice to see.

"Stop acting young, you old h-!!!"

Val'Flora commented on Chris' introduction. However, she could not finish her sentence as an invisible pressure suddenly enveloped her body.

"Are you saying something, little Flora?"

Chris asked Val'Flora with a sweet smile but a stare that could kill.

"Nothing..."

Val'Flora answered, and the pressure vanished.

"Good," Chris nodded as she turned back to the customers. "You dear clients are here for clothes for the auction, yes? Let me guide you further inside."

Chris then walked in front of everyone, urging them to follow.

"Just ignore her lack of comment on you," Val'Flora whispered to Mark. "She's like that to most male clients, anyway. She's more welcoming to female customers, as you can see from the gender ratio of products in the store."

What Val'Flora was saying made sense. But, then again, there was not much variation in the designs of male clothing compared to female clothing. A boutique with more variety of female clothing was reasonable.

But if Val'Flora said it was like that, she might be telling the truth.

"Hmm... Let's see..."

While walking along the aisle filled with clothes, Chris would stop from time to time to take out some clothes from the displays. But instead of calling for her employees, who could be seen watching from a distance, Chris handed the gowns to Val'Flora and the suits to Devon, making the two agents her assistants.

Unfortunately, the two agents could not say no.

After picking five gowns and three suits, Chris led the group to the back area of the store, where two rooms divided by gender were located.

"Then, please enter the respective rooms to try the clothes. There will be assistants inside to help."

Chirs said as she stood between the two doors, her hands pointing in both directions.

Mei, a little nervous, looked at Mark. However, Mark nodded, telling her to follow the instructions. At least, he could tell that the owner had no heinous plans. It was a store, in the first place.

Mark and Mei separated into their respective rooms. Devon followed Mark inside while Chris and Val'Flora followed Mei.

Inside, there were assistants to help their customers with wearing the clothes, just like Chris had said.

Mark watched as the assistants respectfully took the suits from Devon and told the agent to take a seat on the luxurious-looking sofa inside the room. Even a hot drink was prepared. From the smell, it seemed to be tea of some sort.

With the help of the assistants, Mark put on the first suit.

It was strange.

Not only was the suit comfortable to wear, but it was like the suit was perfectly tailored to his size.

"It was your first time here, Sir, correct?" Seeing Mark, who was curiously checking the clothes he was currently wearing, one of the assistants spoke. "The Madam had already perfected her skills in this business. A glance is all she needed to accurately measure the customers' sizes and recommend the correct clothing. Unfortunately, it is rare to see her skill since the Madam leaves most transactions to her employees. Today was the first time in the past seven decades that she came out to welcome customers."

From the assistant's words, having the owner welcome them was a huge privilege.

Soon, Mark finished trying out the suits. In the end, he decided to wear the second set. It was a set of black slacks and a knee-length coat with a black inner vest and grey long-sleeved inner clothing. It was simple in design but did not look cheap at the same time.

With Mark's fitting finished, they were assisted out of the dressing room to a waiting area near the dressing rooms. Unfortunately, Mei was not done yet. It was within expectations, though.

But with the free time they suddenly had, Mark had the chance to ask Devon some things.

For example, why were Val'Flora and Devon unable to complain after being treated like assistants when they were not employed under Chris. Explore stories at empire

With a sigh, Devon explained the rankings within CNC.

The ranks were [Field Agents], [Contract Agents], [Contractors], [Managers], [Trustees], [Elders], and [Founders]. These were the general ranking from lowest to highest. The rankings seemed few, but the process of advancing through rankings was extremely difficult. Furthermore, while members could climb through the ranks, becoming an [Elder] was a different, near-impossible process. And the [Founder] rank only belonged to people who started the CNC.

There were also other special ranks. Devon belonged to the ranks of [Country Contractors], a special rank. In terms of authority and privilege, he was between [Contractors] and [Managers].

Only those with the ranks of [Trustees] and above could start their own business within the CNC territory.

And the reason Val'Flora and Devon could not say no to Chris was because she was an [Elder]. A rank just below the [Founders].

As long as it would not breach individual contracts, [Elders] could order around lower ranks if they wanted to. Of course, within reason. Even [Elders] would not abuse this privilege since it would damage their reputation and, in turn, damage their business. The only reason Chris could order Devon and Val'Flora was because the owner had a connection with the latter agent.

Mark nodded as he listened to Devon's explanations. It was when he took the opportunity to ask a question he had in mind for a while now.

"By the way, how can an auction happen nowadays? The world's already facing destruction, after all. Will the organizers of the auction even benefit from this?"

However, Devon gave Mark a smile as he answered.

"The world facing destruction is the best time to earn money, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

Mark frowned.

"Think about this. There are only several types of people who can survive the apocalypse long. The strong," Devon looked at Mark. "The lucky, and lastly, the wealthy. The wealthy can survive since they have money, influence, and, in turn, strength. Those wealthy people would not hesitate to spend on anything that would prolong their survival. That is the target of today's auction. To sell such items to the wealthy people of the remaining human countries."

"I see..."

Mark now understood the scheme. It was to sell survival items and materials to those wealthy people still alive today. This meant that the people participating in the auction would be clients from the remaining surviving countries around the world.

"Hmmm?"

Mark felt something.

"Is something wrong?"

Devon noticed Mark's strange reaction.

"They were making a fuss inside the female dressing room for a while now."

Mark answered while staring at the door of the female dressing room.

It was when the door finally opened.

And Mark stared at the door in silence, seemingly forgetting the surroundings.

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