Chapter 170: First Day Done
Another curious customer walked over a few moments later. He looked incredibly shy—a young man who looked like he didn’t even know what he was doing in this dark sector of the city.
He fidgeted with the hem of his jacket before clearing his throat.
"Um... I’ve been looking for my dog for a week now," he mumbled, looking at the crystalline orb. "If you’re a seer, could you... find it?"
April looked at him with a completely deadpan expression behind her mask. "Are you trying to spend fifty million looking for a dog, or did you simply not read the sign before coming in?"
The young man flinched. He quickly stepped outside the curtain to look at the small signboard Nat’s men had hung up, which clearly read: Highest price for fortune-telling is 50 million.
It was up to April to reduce the price or increase it if she willed but one thing was for sure. The stall was not put up to simply find lost animals.
The young man’s face went pale, and he ducked back inside, looking at her desperately. "Can... Can the price not be reduced? It’s just a golden retriever..."
April looked at him. He was looking for his golden retriever. She had a golden retriever too but his words didn’t really gain any sympathy from her. If anything, he looked like a lost guy who didn’t even know his own value.
She let out a quiet sigh. If not that she wasn’t doing this out of "goodwill" then she wouldn’t have bothered.
"Pay what you have," she muttered flatly.
The boy ended up scraping together a few hundred thousand, and April gave him a brief directive on the exact alleyway near the lower docks where his dog was trapped behind some crates.
The dog would likely die soon if he didn’t worry, having not eaten anything in days and wounded on the leg.
The young man was both scared and relieved to hear this. He left bowing repeatedly, completely bewildered and wished she was right.
April watched him leave and rested her chin on her palm. If she didn’t have powers but she still had Rufus, imagining she lost him was something she found hard to do.
She had grown attached to her pets. Fed them, played with them, felt their presence in her everyday life... Now imagine someone who had spent five years with their own pet and loved them.
She closed her eyes and let out a little sigh, thinking nothing afterwards and only wishing him luck to find his dog.
The rest of the night passed in a slow, steady crawl. A small crowd had gathered outside the alleyway, drawn by the rumors of the old man Hector Perez leaving the stall in a state of sheer terror and a young man who had apparently found the dog he had been searching this whole dark sector just to find.
He had come back and made a scene, thanking her profusely, claiming she saved his dog’s life and thus, saved him because he was nothing without his dog.
He even claimed to come back the next day with more money and he would keep paying until he has what 50 million complete.
While she appreciated his advertisement by creating this scene, she felt he really didn’t have to come back and keep paying her. If anything, he should spend the rest of his money on more fortune telling.
But oh well, she let him be.
Even after the crowd gathered around, not many could actually afford the fee, and even fewer were eager to throw away millions on what they still suspected was hearsay.
She was lucky... Some said.
I’m sure there’s a trick to it... Others said.
But they were not bold enough to confirm this trick themselves or see as her luck runs out.
There were still those who wanted to know and were eager... The ones who didn’t have anything to lose... Seriously curious fellows... And those who just liked to throw money around for the fun of it.
By the time her fifth and final customer stepped out of the chair, April stood up from the wooden table. She looked out at the remaining onlookers, her voice carrying a cold, clear resonance as she spoke.
"We are finished for the night," April announced, giving a light wave of her hand. "If any of you want to get your fortunes read, be sure to come back again tomorrow night. And be early—there are only five slots per day. Thank you."
Before the crowd could complain or push forward, April rested her fingers on the crystalline orb. With a sudden, seamless flick of her wrist, the flawless orb vanished into thin air right before their eyes, leaving the velvet cloth completely empty.
The crowd gasped, a frantic wave of whispering instantly erupting through the alleyway. A trick like that in a place filled with high-tier tech and data was enough to convince them to a certain extent that she wasn’t just an ordinary fraud.
The guards stationed around the perimeter immediately moved in, using their huge frames to chase the lingering crowd away from the stall.
Just in time, Nat walked over from the main corridor, his hands tucked lazily into his deep coat pockets. He was wearing his dark shades despite the dim lighting of the alley, a sharp, knowing grin plastered across his face as he offered her a light wink through the lenses.
"You look about done," he said, taking one hand out of his pocket to lift his shades slightly, his eyes scanning her empty table.
"Yeah. I just concluded," April said, adjusting the side ribbon of her black mask.
"So, how were sales?" he asked, leaning his heavy torso over the wooden frame of the stall with an easy, relaxed posture. "Any disappointments?"
April shrugged her shoulders. "I never had any expectations to begin with, honestly. So what is there to be disappointed about?"
"Heh! True!"
Just as they were speaking, a figure draped in a heavy, dark gray cape walked past the guard line. The enforcers immediately stepped forward to block her path, but the woman pushed against them, her tone sounding incredibly frantic and desperate.
"Please! Is this where the fortunes are being told?" she cried out, her voice trembling.
"We’re closed," Nat said, his voice instantly losing its warm, teasing edge as he spoke to the outsider.
"I... I have money!" the woman pleaded, refusing to back down as she gripped her cloak tightly. "Please, any amount! I just want to know what will become of my mother. Please."
Both Nat and April looked at her with completely deadpan expressions.
"We’re closed," Nat repeated. He pushed himself off the stall’s wooden frame and walked over. The guards instantly gave him space as his tall, imposing shadow loomed over the cloaked girl. "If you want a prediction, come back to—"
His words cut short.
Nat completely froze in his tracks. He stopped just inches away from her, his jaw tightening as his eyes locked onto the shadow beneath her hood. He slowly looked back over his shoulder at April, who was still waiting by the table for him to round up, but his expression was entirely unreadable.
Without a word, Nat reached his large hand toward the stranger’s face. The girl flinched, clearly thinking he was going to strike her for trespassing, but his fingers simply caught the edge of her hood and pulled the fabric completely off her head.
A sharp, stunned breath escaped Nat’s lips.
"Looky here, sweetheart," he called out to April, his voice carrying a rare note of absolute disbelief. "I think I just found your doppelgänger."