A very tall figure suddenly blocked the sunlight.
Shirley, who had just finished watering the open space in front of the store and was about to go back with an empty basin, was stunned for a moment, looked up, and saw the judge standing quietly in front of her in the backlight.
"... .Fuck!" She screamed subconsciously, but then she suddenly reacted, coughed twice, and organized her words nervously, "Um, that, you...you..."
Vanna frowned slightly. For some reason, she always felt that this short and thin girl seemed too nervous when she saw her. It was like this the last time she and Heidi came to this antique shop, and it was still like this now.
But she didn't think much about it. After all, for various reasons, she was actually used to this kind of "nervous reaction" when others saw her.
"I remember your name is Shirley," Vanna said with a smile, trying to make the short girl relax with her smile, "Don't be so nervous, I'm just here to take a look."
Shirley quickly stood up and nodded stiffly: "Um... Hey! Okay, then welcome..."
Vanna shook her head helplessly, walked past the still tense Shirley, nodded and greeted Nina who was looking at this side curiously, and walked straight to the antique shop in front of her.
Pushing open the door, the crisp sound of bells broke the silence on the first floor of the antique shop. Vanna stepped into the store, her eyes cast on the figure behind the counter.
The next second, she frowned in surprise, calmed herself down, and considered how to start.
"Yes, Ms. Shirley!"
As she spoke, she subconsciously looked at the young judge again.
After hearing the noise coming from the store door, the blond man behind the counter raised his head and looked at Duncan curiously. He smiled faintly and said in a soft and slightly magnetic voice, "Welcome, would you like to take a look?"
Duncan was a little dazed. For some reason, he always felt that this new face who appeared in the antique shop shouldn't be here. But the next second, he felt that the other party's mysterious and elegant temperament seemed to fit the atmosphere presented by the antique shop.
Duncan felt strange. He instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the beautiful young woman in front of him, but whenever he tried to focus on this issue, he would immediately forget his thoughts, which made him speak slower than usual: "I... just take a look. I'll be fine in a moment. Excuse me... are you new here? I hadn't seen you the last time I came here."
She felt like she had just walked into the store and the young man behind the counter was talking to her.
Just now, she sensed Duncan's appearance. In order to confirm the purpose of the judge's visit, he deliberately waited for a few more minutes on the second floor. Only then did he come down when he found that the other party didn't seem to have any purpose.
Why did that happen? A chaotic numbness and dizziness filled her mind, making her thoughts intermittent. She vaguely remembered that she seemed to have seen something or thought of something just now, but the sudden chaos completely covered everything she saw and knew at that moment.
"Problem?" Shirley raised her eyebrows. "What's the problem?"
She couldn't explain why, but the feeling this young judge gave her at the moment was... as if there was another person hidden in her mind, and another pair of eyes hidden in her eyes. She was talking to herself here, but it seemed that something else was hidden deep in her consciousness.
"Oh, I remember that," Vanna nodded calmly, with a look of realization, "I gave this amulet to Mr. Morris - and I gave another one out these two days."
In the early morning sunshine, a blond man whom I had never seen before was sitting behind the counter. He was a very... handsome man, with an elegance and mysterious temperament that seemed not to belong to this place, or even to this era. His profile seemed to be glowing with a cool glow in the sunlight.
Shirley's heart was slightly moved after hearing what Duncan said. Ah, yes, a fake.
Alice stood up happily.
Come, after agreeing, he walked to the big stove on the other side of the stairs. Shirley came to Duncan and smiled and greeted the Inquisitor, whom she had not met many times, "Long time no see, Miss Inquisitor."
As she spoke, she turned around, took another amulet from the shelf behind her, and displayed it to Duncan.
This place is filled with all kinds of things that look quite quaint and mysterious, so there should be a man with a mysterious and elegant temperament sitting behind the counter.
She gave me a very strange feeling today. She seemed a little dazed and her speech was a little agile, but what was more wrong than those abnormalities that could be seen on the surface was her unstable "aura" at the moment.
"Not this kind."
"Mr. Duncan? I went upstairs to put something down. I'll be back soon." Alice didn't care about the other party's daze just now. As long as the conversation could continue, she thought it was okay. "Do you want to buy something? Do you have a pre-ordered item? I can help you find it, although I may not be able to find it..."
"It looks like we have an unusual guest," Shirley said to the puppet sister behind the counter, "I'll take care of him. I don't know him - Alice, go make some tea."
Duncan was shocked and was able to handle it immediately.
Just a new clerk, what's wrong with that.
The judge frowned, not really noticing anything unusual. Such a straightforward statement.
He said this, but there was one more thing he didn't say: Investigation is investigation, but before you came, did you think that Shirley had a whole box of similar amulets! And she sold so many of them!
"Excuse me..." Alice looked at Vanna, who suddenly stood there in a daze after walking in, with some confusion. The situation in front of her seemed to exceed the "standard process of entertaining guests" that Captain Duncan had told her, which made her a little confused about what to do. "Do you want to buy something?"
But everything outside this antique shop is fake.
This thing... really worked? The "gift" I casually gave away actually protected the psychiatrist's self-awareness
Duncan looked at the antique shop manager in front of him with a strange look, as he treated the "collections" in the shop as mass-produced goods and took them out: "You have a lot of these amulets here?"
Duncan appeared on the stairs. "Ah, Mr. Duncan is not here?" Duncan looked around the first floor curiously, but could not find the antique shop manager. "I know him."
The next second, the gentle sound of waves rang in her mind again. In the sound of the waves, she completely forgot the chaos, numbness and dizziness she had just felt.
At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from the stairs next to them, interrupting the conversation between Duncan and Alice.
What is the key
“From what I’ve heard, Heidi once had an amulet from here,” Duncan said slowly, “and she wore it until this reality pollution disaster.”
"I bought a large box, and so far I've sold a total of 71, including giving away and selling them," Shirley nodded seriously, "Are you interested too?"
"Just call me by my name," Duncan rubbed his forehead, "Sorry for the sudden visit. I just have some questions I want to confirm."
"you mean... ."
"Heidi believes that the amulet she wore at the time played a real protective role, and even helped her maintain a clear mind during the disaster," Duncan said in a complicated manner, without going into too many details. "I think the amulet you gave to Mr. Morris at the time was very likely to have been affected by...supernatural powers, so I came here to investigate. Of course, you don't have to be nervous. Judging from the current intelligence, this is not a bad influence."
"Ah, I'm new here. My name is Alice," Alice said immediately with a smile. She hated introducing her name to others. "Mr. Duncan asked me to help look after the store."
Vanna seemed not to notice Shirley's scrutiny. She was just a little unaccustomed to her frank attitude towards business—even though she knew from the beginning that there was nothing real in this store: "Uh... .
No, I'm just investigating.
I would like to ask about the specific sources of these amulets, and whether they have ever shown any inappropriate behavior, or whether the people who bought them have ever reported any situation?"
Faintly, Vanna seemed to sense something strange. This strangeness was hidden in Alice's reserved yet slightly stiff movements, in her perfect yet overly perfect smile, and even in the breathless sound of her words.
Some vague clues pointed to this ordinary shop, and some intuitive guidance brought me here. The Inquisitor's experience and sense of smell seemed to be beating faintly. However, the church had conducted an investigation through official channels before and found nothing unusual. The only reason that could support her coming to investigate this time seemed to be this "amulet" of her friend.
Is it the act of "giving a gift" itself, or is it because the psychiatrist's "inspiration" is too high
Vanna stared blankly at the blond man behind the counter.