Chapter 114 – I'm Not Going Home!
Everyone began exploring the shop to check the item lists. As nobody hated window-shopping, men and women browsed through the shop with their game menu.
Crystal was faster than everyone. She noted all items that she interested in a paper, making her wishlist.
Sebastian paid more attention to the pricing ratio and the details. Upon comparing the price, he asked Misha out of curiosity, "Are the potions in the shop the same as your medicines?"
Misha nodded in silence.
"So, did you spend 600 diamonds for six bottles of medicines?"
Misha shook her head. Though hesitated, she decided to be honest, "I bought it from a VIP package."
"VIP package?"
"When you become a VIP member, you can buy a VIP gift pack once a day. Items will come in a set with a discounted price."
Sebastian rechecked the shop again. However, the VIP shop was greyed-out as he was not a VIP member. He sighed in a disappointment.
"Can you tell me what's in the VIP shop?"
"Sure."
Misha received a paper and a pen from Sebastian.
Before she could start writing, she detected the presence of a woman with a burning passion.
Crystal was peaking at Misha's paper with a pair of bloodshot eyes. It seemed that the keyword [Discounted] awakened her housewife spirit.
Sensing Misha's peer, Crystal nudged her, "Go on. Keep writing."
*Aha Meow* (Keep writing, baby girl.)
"…"
Ten minutes later, Misha passed the VIP item list to Sebastian. However, Crystal snatched it and scanned through the list without allowing anyone to read it first.
"Err, Crystal?"
Crystal glanced at Misha, "How many red gels do you have, Misha? Can I borrow you some?"
"I left it with you and Thorn. Did you leave them in your warehouse or storage?"
"I'll borrow all of it. I'll pay you back later."
"Huh?"
With haste, Crystal dashed away, leaving the confused Misha, Sebastian, and others behind.
Misha scratched her head, "I guess I'll have to write them down again."
.
For hours, Misha, Shurka, Sebastian, and others sat and discussed VIP features.
All mutants were excited and delighted by the changes, including Sebastian. With this diamond feature and the shop, they had more options to acquire medicines and food for emergency usage.
As mutants often journeyed outside to explore and harvest gels form queen eggs, they usually encountered zombies and monsters along the way. Thus, they had the potential to gain a fair amount of diamonds to improve their life quality.
Furthermore, with extra dragonewts and Misha's presence, they would not have to be afraid of humans or raiders from other settlements.
The moral of shelter 88 citizens reached sky-high.
Opposite from everybody, Shurka and Misha had worries.
Misha had to stay behind in this world until she could get enough diamonds to log out and bring all of her sisters back. Even if she devoured or destroyed all prisoners, she would still require 7,500 diamonds for the subscription fee.
As for Shurka, she only needed 200 for her partner and herself to bail from this world.
After the meeting, Sebastian arranged a new cottage for Misha and Shurka. As a new castellan, living in a capsule apartment was not appropriate.
The cottage located near the greenhouse area, where Sebastian terraformed this underground floor into an underground lake. He had created artificial sunlight on the ceiling, which could dim and turn off during the night time.
In the middle of the lake, automatic water wheels rotated at a steady pace, keeping the oxygen in the water at an acceptable level. Deep in the water, green plants, mosses, and many freshwater fishes maintained their ecology.
On the lakeside, crystal white sand surrounded the clear water. Fifty meters away from the shore, it became grassland and a series of residential cottages, surrounded with palm trees. They were the living quarters of elites of the shelter.
Thorn, Crystal, Dolphin, and other pilot captains lived in this zone. Today, Shurka and Misha became their neighbors.
Holding hands, Misha and Shurka entered their new home for the first time.
Misha flipped the light switches and looked around. The lobby was wide enough to hold a ten-man party.
The cottage had already been furnished as two sofas, and a coffee table had been arranged in the lobby.
Inside the cottage, stairs, leading to the second and the third floor were there. A kitchen located on the back, separated by a long counter bar. Before the bar, a dining table in the middle of a dining room.
Shurka sat on the couch as she was mentally exhausted from everything.
Misha followed her and sat beside Shurka.
"Do you want to log out now?"
Shurka turned to Misha. She opened her mouth and was about to agree, but she stopped.
"Can I stay here for a night?"
"Huh? I thought you were in a hurry."
"I'm kinda tired. I'm also afraid of Lilith's words."
"… I'm here. You can tell me. Maybe I can help."
Shurka smiled. She was glad that she had someone to talk with during the time like this.
"Remember what Lilith said? The part where she told us about one appearance."
"… Yes. She said that she will take our physical body into the game."
"But my physical body is in a dragonewt form. If I return, will I return as a human or a dragonewt?"
"…"
Misha closed her eyes tight. She felt guilty for what her other persona had done.
'Why did you have to feed her the hydra core, Maou!? She is a bystander for god's sake!'
Misha could not find any other excuse. She lowered her head, "I'm sorry."
Shurka guessed that Misha knew about the answer, which she, too, would return to the real world as a dragonewt.
Her eyes dimmed, disheartened from the piece of bad news. She misunderstood him though, believing that Mia confirmed her answer.
"I see. Say, Mia. Did the government do something to you when you had gotten back with a mutant form?"
"Huh? What?"
"Oh, I jumped the gun, didn't I? Sorry, I've been thinking about your sudden school transfer. Did you transfer school because of this game? Did you go back to the real world with your mutated form?"
Sensing that Shurka caught on about the incident when grandmother Min pulled Mia to her spaceship, Misha decided to confess.
"Yes. The government knew that I logged out, and I brought a mutated virus to the real world. They wanted to arrest me, but my grandmother transferred me to her spaceship."
"Virus?"
"Uh, yes. A symbiosis virus."
Misha pointed at Tama and Mii, "Them."
Shurka widened her eyes, "They can return with us!?"
"Y-Yes. The government has been planning to import these guys to the real world. I think they knew about Lilith's existence and the truth about the two worlds."
Shurka's face paled. In her head, many pessimistic scenarios were being simulated. She imagined herself being captured and tortured like guinea pigs or lab rats.
As her imagination ran wild yet again, her eyes wet in tears.
"W-Will they know about my infection?"
Misha had a bitter smile as she decided to be frank, "When I got out of the game capsule with Tama, the government agents came knocking on my door a few minutes later. I think they are monitoring all players that joined the mutants."
Two shaking hands of Shurka clung on Misha's clothes, "I-I don't want to go back anymore!"
"Shurka, this world is more dangerous than our real world. There're too many monsters, and world war III might happen soon."
"No! The real world is more dangerous! I don't want to go back!"
Shurka jumped on Misha, hugging her tight, "I'm not going home. I'm staying here!"
"…"
Misha did not know what to say. She patted Shurka's back and her head, hugging and consoling her.
For thirty minutes, Shurka's trembling body sat on Misha's laps, cuddling with her.
Finally, Shurka regained a bit of her sense. She thought of something and gazed at Misha.
"C-Can you let me stay here with you?"
"… I don't mind. The cottage is too big for me alone, anyway."
A bright smile appeared on Shurka's face. However, her face changed again as she thought of something. Her expression turned bashful as she sneaked a glance at Misha's face.
"I-I have a favor to ask you."
"Yes?"
"C-Can you turn to your male form when you're alone with me?"
This time, Misha's face reddened, "I-I thought you would be at ease if we're both females."
Sensing that Misha, rather Mia, was different from a while ago in the locker room. Just now, Shurka left a hint and a bridge, hoping for Mia to catch it. Unfortunately, banana Misha was too stupid to understand.
'He was more aggressive earlier. What's wrong with him? Does he chicken out?'
Believing that Mia got cold feet, Shurka smirked. As she got over her shame with her bolder thought, she pressed Misha down on the sofa.
"Can you transform, please?"
"Err, okay?"
Misha reverted to Mia, but he glanced around in a panic.
Noticed that the pretty face Mia was flustered and reddened, Shurka's breathing became rough.
"M-Mia."
"Yeah?"
"Since we're dating and we're alone …"
"…"
Mia finally caught on what Shurka tried to do. Since they were finally alone and Shurka got into the mood, Mia also gathered his little courage.
He reached his hands to touch Shurka's cheeks.
With a simple move, both of them understood the other's body language. Shurka's face got closer to Mia as she lowered her head to kiss him.
It was the day that both teens became adults.
*Mew* (Too bad I can't find any camera here. Heck, banana Mish should have prepared one. I would have recorded this and make a lot of money in the pornhub.)
*Mii* (Lewd bananacat.)