When Bu Lige's spiritual power touched the contract, it instantly turned into a beam of light and floated down into Luo Chuan's palm.
Luo Chuan blinked in surprise.
This was different from what had happened when Yao Ziyan signed her employee contract.
Back then, the contract had turned into light and merged directly into her body.
So why had this one landed in his hand?
"The installment contract is a restriction placed on customers. The employee contract serves as a witness to official staff of Origin Mall," the system explained calmly in his mind.
Luo Chuan nodded in understanding.
That made sense.
Then he noticed Bu Lige staring at him expectantly.
The meaning behind his gaze was crystal clear:
Boss, where are the benefits you promised?
Without any intention of teasing him further, Luo Chuan casually reached into the system space and pulled out a leaf from the World Tree. He handed it over without ceremony.
Bu Lige accepted it instinctively. When he looked down, he saw a slightly yellowed leaf resting in his hand—and froze.
"...Boss, it's just a leaf?" Bu Lige gave a wry smile.
He couldn't help but feel that he was being pranked.
A single leaf? That's it?
Boss, you're really stingy, huh?
Of course, he didn't dare say any of that out loud.
"That's a leaf from the World Tree," Luo Chuan said blandly.
Bu Lige frowned slightly. "The World Tree?"
He had never heard of it.
In fact, across the entire Azure Continent, very few people even knew of such a thing.
Luo Chuan gave a slight nod. "Mm."
Bu Lige's curiosity was piqued. "So this isn't an ordinary leaf, huh?"
He leaned in to study it closely.
At first glance, it seemed like a normal leaf—but then he noticed something extraordinary.
Scattered across its surface were faint, shimmering specks of light—like stars embedded within it. It was as though the entire cosmos was sealed inside this small leaf.
Even more astonishingly, just holding it in his hand made his spiritual power flow faster. His connection to the ambient aura of heaven and earth became significantly sharper!
Bu Lige stared wide-eyed at the leaf in his palm.
This was no ordinary item.
If this was from the so-called World Tree, then the tree itself was likely something transcendent.
"Thank you, Boss!" Bu Lige said with heartfelt gratitude, bowing slightly.
Luo Chuan gave a slight nod and leaned back in his chair again, basking in the sunlight with his eyes half-closed.
Bu Lige tucked the precious leaf away and stepped into the Origin Mall, humming to himself—only to come to a sudden stop near the counter.
He stared at the potted tree sitting innocently beside it.
Wait a minute…
It looked very familiar.
Furrowing his brows, Bu Lige took out the World Tree leaf from earlier and held it next to the potted plant.
The shape, the texture, even the glittering specks of light—everything was identical.
He froze.
Isn't this the same tree?
So the potted plant he'd thought was just ordinary decoration... was actually the World Tree?!
For a few long seconds, Bu Lige could only hold his head and try to process this.
The boss gave me a leaf from the World Tree.The potted plant in the shop is also the World Tree.Does that mean... this little bonsai tree is actually the World Tree?
That name carried the same kind of domineering tone as Origin Mall itself. Bu Lige couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly to himself.
He stared at the little tree, then at the leaf in his hand.
A part of him really wanted to reach out and pluck another one.
"The boss's shop is… unique," he muttered, trying to convince himself. "Even the potted plants are something else."
His gaze wandered further—to a strange black sphere on the shelf nearby.
He had thought it was just another ornament.
But now…?
I wonder what's inside that sphere.