"Yana can you please take care of the next customer? I have to help the manager."
"Yeah, don't worry!"
Yana straightened her apron as she stood up and viewed her arrangement. Just now the manager has brought a new batch of flowers that were all grown in the boss' garden. The flower shop Yana worked at was quite different from the others.
The boss was a flower fanatic, so he would only provide his own flowers he had grown himself. Being a fanatic, the boss tried different breedings to create new types of flowers. The boss never accepted flowers from outside, be it personal or businesswise. His flower shop could only house his flowers.
Since the boss' flowers were exceptionally beautiful and breathtaking and the smell was fragant and not nauseating, his flower shop quickly built a popular reputation in City A it enjoyed.
After Yana had taken on the new mission, she was glad to be able to escape City M. City A was also an A-tier city that was however on the other side of the country. Hours and hours of distance separated City M and City A.
"How can I help you?" Yana smiled at the customer who was flustered by Yana. The customer has never seen someone as beautiful as Yana. In the middle of the sea of gorgeous flowers, Yana still stood out. The customer was a young woman, she wanted a present for her parents' birthday.
"Ah, come with me. I think you'd prefer to give them their flowers," Yana naturally navigated through the large shop, as large as a middle-sized restaurant. There were all sorts of customers but since this flower shop was more or less infamous in City A, many rich and important people ordered from this place. So Yana also had to deal with them quite often.
Yana showed the customer the flowers and dealt with her quickly. With a bright smile and polite bow, Yana saw the customer off, then she hurried and busied herself to arrange the flowers according to the new layout before more customers came.
Finally, Yana's coworker came out to help her.
"Sorry, it took longer than expected," Nini rushed to Yana to help her with the display.
"Don't worry, it wasn't. I didn't have much trouble," Yana was sincere in her words and Nini sighed in relief, "I envy you so much. You haven't started working here for long and you already learnt so fast, it took me at least 3 months because the boss kept changing flowers and deals!"
Nini was a petite girl, she was younger than Yana and only 18. She started to work at the flower shop part-time to cover her living expenses as a uni student.
"I'm still not familiar with many things, so please continue to take care of me," Yana smiled and Nini saluted.
"Of course! Leave it to me hehe," Nini was a kind and fun person. She instantly took a liking to Yana who seemed so elegant and beautiful yet was down to earth and kind. Both of them got along quickly.
It wasn't long before their shift ended and the store closed.
"Good job guys," the manager shouted from the back, "After all the new batches arrived, you can go home."
"Yep!" Nini shouted back but Yana had a worried gaze. Nini noticed it, "What's wrong?"
"You want me to go back with you? It's dangerous."
Although it was only 5 pm and the sun was still high, since the recent news came out, most cities have turned more or less crazy. City A was the same. Even for an A tier city, there were enough people who dared to go onto the streets to protest and riot. This was because situations have been getting drastically worse in such a short amount of time.
It has only been a month since the ominous declaration of Nixo's CEO about a new era for companies took the country by storm. No one had an idea what he was talking about and there were no public appearances from him since then. No one knew what he was up to.
But what was clear was that instead of ridiculing and brushing off his words they should've paid more attention to it. In less than a month, things have gone downhill to the point that the government even pulled out emergency methods. One of the worst decisions.
This confused the public even more. The government made things more critical than they should be. It angered the citizens because there was no need to overreact as the government did. It only drove the citizens against the wall with their incompetent government.
"Ah, but isn't your place close to here? I don't want to trouble you," Nini thought about the protesters outside and shivered slightly. She did wish for Yana to be with her but she also didn't want Yana to go out of her way.
"It's fine, don't worry. I'm strong," Yana showed her arm before laughing, "People are really angry and if you come into their fangs, things will get awry."
"Yea…" Nini arranged the flowers, "Honestly I don't know much about that stuff but even I know that the government is making the wrong choice. Although the economy is now suddenly unstable, deciding to print out more money is a bit… it'll only lead to inflation and that's not good…"
Yana looked out of the shop window, "With the recent collapse of two enormous companies that were the footholds of this country, people are getting anxious but it's definitely no reason for the sudden decline of the stock market and economy but-"
But-
Yana thought about Paul's words. A new business model linking companies with the government, which basically meant to give the government full control over the business and economy in this country, was really ambitious. If this happened, wouldn't this whole country be under the grasps of the government? Was this what they were aiming for?
Was this why they already told the public about the declining economy even though it was only a prediction for the future?
If everything was under the government's control- it was literally a dictatorship. They were aiming for that. Yana narrowed her eyes. This was the first step. No, they've already planned several beforehand.
This was their first step for the public to see. They've come out of hiding and operating from the shadows. They started to reveal themselves. This was now truly the beginning of the end. But what shocked Yana the most was the realisation that this country's government was fully in their hands.
Yana wondered if Roy already predicted it. If yes, then why did Yana have to continue doing useless missions here? If not, then Roy didn't know that this country might already be done for. A revolutionary era…
"Yana, are you finished?" Nini already changed while Yana was still lost in her thoughts.
"Yes, lemme go with you," Yana threw a look at the setting sun, "It's best to be careful."
Something was going on in the country and even if it was the EF, it was obvious they stood no chance. Was it… perhaps the same for the rest of the world?