Divine Beast Creator

"Magical Divination House? If you’re interested, I can contact Gladys. She’s quite good at this stuff."

Ruffling Xiao Ji’s head, Feng Yuan casually remarked, although he didn’t quite understand why such a shop would appear here. But to him, it really didn’t seem worthwhile, as divination directly ties into Time Series abilities. Not to mention, Gladys’ unique Mordan clan divination skills, Tamur’s prophetic style, and even Agunas are far superior to these shops.

"This seems a bit different from your understanding of divination. However, could this be the mall’s relaxation project?"

Qi Chen recalled something about this topic, his expression strange as he spoke. Hearing Qi Chen say this, Feng Yuan felt a hint of curiosity. He glanced at Qi Chen and said,

"If that’s the case, shall we take a look?"

Approaching the shop, Feng Yuan found it quite distinctive, with various mystery-filled elements freely scattered around that had a nostalgic feel. To the knowledgeable, these random decorations were just decorations, having nothing to do with divination or prophecy at all.

"This... the decor is bizarre. Isn’t the standard too low?"

Looking at the odd decorations and patterns, Feng Yuan commented with a peculiar expression. Qi Chen and Dou Yanlan smiled without explaining; this kind of thing can only be understood by seeing it in person. Of course, explaining it is rather complicated.

Entering the divination house, the pile of bizarre props left Feng Yuan speechless. The shop’s interior was dimly lit, but it added little to the mystery. From Feng Yuan’s observation, none of the props seemed useful.

However, the older Beastmasters were quite entertained, their eyes shimmering with nostalgia for the past.

"These things can’t be used for divination at all."

Staring at the strange props, Feng Yuan muttered, and Qi Chen chuckled, saying,

"I know this, or perhaps everyone realizes it. During that era, people didn’t have much knowledge in this area. Moreover, due to various reasons, everyone hoped to foresee the future, so..."

"I see, relying solely on one’s own ideas to predict the future, huh? No wonder."

Listening to Qi Chen, Feng Yuan quickly understood the situation; it was simply people clueless about prophetic capabilities, messing around based on their own ideas.

But putting practicality aside, these objects were indeed quite intriguing.

Whether it’s casually throwing a plastic board to guess patterns or splashing water on a sand table to create special designs, it allowed people to freely use their imagination to speculate. Of course, to suggest this could foresee the future? That’s out of the question.

"This is... tying torches to a spirit beast and letting it dance to predict the future with flame patterns? This is truly..."

Looking at these divination methods, Feng Yuan displayed a peculiar smile, finding them amusing yet useless, as spirit beasts without corresponding attributes lacked that capability. Even for spirit beasts with matching attributes, others could use ultimate moves to directly foresee the future without such complexity, not to mention understanding the principles involved. Even Feng Yuan was perplexed.

Of course, these methods were ineffective as well.

The divination house’s endless creativity opened Feng Yuan’s eyes, with all sorts of seemingly rational yet entirely pointless methods for predicting the future. Feng Yuan truly wondered how they imagined such things.

Although it was fun, Feng Yuan had no intention of trying them because they involved random guesses and purely relied on imagination, making it merely a lucky guess even if correct.

While typically dismissible, now Feng Yuan had to focus on investigating the mastermind behind Qi Chen, and he really didn’t want to waste mental energy on this.

Seeing Feng Yuan having no interest in trying, Qi Chen pointed outside, saying,

"Shall we grab something to eat over there?"

"Hmm, okay, but the snacks here don’t seem particularly special."

Glancing at Qi Chen, Feng Yuan replied. They had visited the Department Store before; usually, it didn’t have snacks particularly appealing to Feng Yuan, especially now when a shortage of supplies meant many items lacked ingredients.

"Perhaps not this time."

Dou Yanlan laughed lightly without elaborating. Tamur swam to the entrance, glanced at the store signs, seemingly comprehending something, but remained silent.

"I see."

Walking out with Qi Chen, after a moment of reflection upon seeing the nostalgic signs, Feng Yuan understood and chuckled, shaking his head as he said,

"I really forgot, every era has its unique snacks."

"But after all these years, can the original flavors truly be restored?"

Feng Yuan curiously asked. There are numerous reasons why these snacks disappeared; some simply didn’t fit the young generation’s tastes anymore, others lost crafts, or vanished because of a lack of ingredients, making reproduction difficult.

"This, I’m not sure either, considering we’ve never tried them."

Scratching his head, Qi Chen felt a bit awkward—their uncertainty whether they were simply for show was understandable, these snacks had already vanished in the era they were living.

As for the memorable flavors from their childhood? Mostly they still existed, which explained why no specialized snack shops from Qi Chen’s childhood were around.

"Hmm, if that’s the case, then let’s give it a try. Even if it’s the original, we might not like it."

Seeing Qi Chen’s awkward expression, Feng Yuan smiled and shook his head. The Department Store’s limited space, despite occupying most of it for this nostalgic activity, still felt cramped, only leaving room for a few significant snack shops from each era.

No choice, when it comes to space, the Department Store couldn’t compare to Data Square, and this time the Square didn’t have time to compete with them, otherwise who knows where people would go.

While Feng Yuan hadn’t experienced that era himself, and possessed no special feelings towards these things, spending the entire day wandering in the Department Store helped calm his mood, as frustration from lacking core clues slowly eased.

At night, sitting by the flower beds in front of the Department Store’s plaza, Feng Yuan enjoyed desserts amidst bustling crowds, neon lights flickering, tiles on the plaza reflecting passersby under the glow.

The plaza’s fountain changed with the music, yet passersby showed little interest in stopping to watch.

"The Department Store’s activity is pretty nice. When my dad has a break in two days, I might ask him to bring my mom here."

Gazing at the Department Store’s building illuminated by lights, Qi Chen couldn’t help but exclaim, although the nostalgic event wasn’t entirely favorable towards them, considering only parts of their childhood era were included.

Overall, the atmosphere left Qi Chen satisfied. However, he didn’t consider bringing his own mom here, not out of unwillingness but because he felt only the parents really shared topics worth discussing.

"He... should know about this place too. I wonder if she received his invitation."

Dou Yanlan quietly muttered, sighing softly.

The fireworks were released on time, as this year’s new year likely wouldn’t have the usual bustling celebrations. Now was the opportunity; they chose to use the fireworks prepared for the new year.

"Such a lively place, despite being battered like this, there’s still a mood for celebration, tsk."

Bai You, gazing at the bustling crowd, spoke with disdain yet also envy. Zhanzheng Qichen hid his face beneath a black robe, without Feng Yuan’s help, walking around dressed this way in Maomu City would have promptly led to an investigation by the Special Duty Team.

"I say, despite how great this is, it has nothing to do with you. After all, this is not the city you lived in."

Glancing at Zhanzheng Qichen, who hadn’t said a word, Bai You spoke coldly, perhaps wanting to prevent being recognized. Zhanzheng Qichen raspily said,

"So what? Just seeing it is enough..."

Amidst the fireworks, Zhanzheng Qichen suddenly turned around and slowly walked away. Bai You, hands on her hips, seemed troubled as she said,

"Really, showing so much interest in wandering around, yet leaving during the busiest moment, I truly can’t understand you."

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Seeing Zhanzheng Qichen not slowing down, Bai You hastily chased after him, as for watching the unfinished fireworks display?

Well, she really wasn’t interested in that.

Perhaps preoccupied, Zhanzheng Qichen and Bai You failed to notice the few pairs of eyes fixed on the fireworks display from the shadows of the bushes at the plaza’s edge on their way out, focusing on the crowd enjoying the spectacle.