"Take this money first. I'm booking you for a week."
Noah transferred a sum to Zhezhi via terminal. The latter picked up her terminal; the long string of digits nearly made her eyes pop out.
One, two, three, four, five zeros.
One hundred thousand Shell Credits!
Suddenly, the terminal in her hand felt heavy—almost burning.
With this much money, she could pay off her remaining debts and still have plenty left over to buy lots and lots of sweets.
No no, Zhezhi shook her head fiercely, snapping out of the fantasy.
She couldn't accept this money.
"Um... that, Hero of Jinzhou, you transferred too much."
"Don't say that nonsense."
Noah glanced at Zhezhi's shabby, monotonous room and the half-eaten sugary pot helmet on the table, muttering to himself inwardly.
These days, even creatives can't afford to eat properly, huh.
He cleared his throat, set the teacup down on the table with a clink that made Zhezhi flinch involuntarily.
"I want you to paint a person. If you do it well, there's an extra reward."
"Yes—Hero, please state your requirements freely. Zhezhi is at your disposal."
Zhezhi stood at attention on the spot, excitement overwhelming her previous nervousness.
Big client—a super big client, a super rich one who doesn't care about money.
She resolved that no matter how picky Noah's demands were—even ten or a hundred times worse than the previous client—she would definitely complete them!
"First, just call me by name. Second, don't be nervous. Third, get paper and pen—I'll sketch a draft for you to reference first."
"Yes!"
The studio had plenty of paper and pens. Zhezhi immediately fetched some for Noah, even thoughtfully wiping the desk multiple times with her sleeve before laying the paper flat.
Noah picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, ready to doodle as usual.
The instant the wolf-hair brush touched the paper, he froze—a spark of inspiration rising from his heart.
It was as if he had practiced the art of painting for years; the muscles in his hand instinctively guided the brush strokes, each fall of the pen perfectly natural.
In just a few strokes, a handsome face with black hair like raven feathers cascading down appeared on the paper. A few stray strands brushed over the brow bone, revealing breathtaking golden eyes.
A few more strokes, and the handsome face became even more vivid, the figure gradually taking outline.
That's it—Noah had drawn the character Zhezhi. Zhezhi's ability relies on painting skills to manifest, so he had incidentally inherited her painting technique.
"This..."
Looking at the fully completed portrait of Rover that he had drawn himself, Noah and Zhezhi stared at each other wide-eyed and small-eyed, speechless for a long time.
He had originally planned to have Zhezhi paint a portrait of Rover, then give it to Jinhsi to search for Rover's whereabouts across Jinzhou.
If found, great; if not, oh well.
For that, he had generously given Zhezhi one hundred thousand Shell Credits—but in the blink of an eye, he had painted Rover's portrait himself.
Zhezhi's expression shifted from expectant to stiff to on the verge of tears.
If this is called a draft, what would the real painting be—a world-shocking masterpiece!
Could she still take this commission?
"Um... I'll refund the money to you."
"No need!"
Noah put away the work he had "finally" managed to create and waved his hand sharply.
"No need to refund the money, but my requirements remain the same—still booking the week."
"How... how do you want to book it?"
Eyeing the somewhat trembling Zhezhi, Noah's lips curved with ill intent.
Although the painting no longer needed Zhezhi to do, compared to painting, forcing the socially phobic Zhezhi to do some other things would surely be much more fun!
"Zhezhi, want to do some fun things with me?"
As the words fell, Zhezhi sucked in a cold breath. Her timid eyes shook violently; she hugged her arms protectively to her chest and shook her head like a rattle.
"Hero of Jinzhou, I-I-I... woo, I sell my art, not my body..."
"Heh heh, that's not up to you!"
===✧✦✧===
One hour later.
[Daily Quest
"Helping others really is a joyful thing!"
Tiger's Maw mountains. Noah and Zhezhi treated an injured miner, watching as the miner left.
Zhezhi patted her chest, still a bit shaken.
When Noah dragged her out earlier, she thought... turns out he was pulling her along to do good deeds.
Though she was scared of interacting with others, she had to admit—this was much more interesting than staying cooped up at home.
"Not done yet."
Noah raised his hand, and an Inferno Rider immediately appeared beside him. He glanced at Zhezhi.
"You get on. Drive."
"Ah? Me... me alone?"
Zhezhi pointed at herself, first stunned, then hurriedly waving her hands in refusal.
"I don't know how to ride a motorcycle. I can't..."
"You just drive—I'll handle the solutions."
Hearing Noah's firm command, Zhezhi's little face flushed red with anxiety, as if she were about to cry.
"No good, I don't dare..."
"One hundred thousand Shell Credits."
The four casually spoken words hit Zhezhi's vital point like a pinch, making her gaze firm for an instant.
"I dare!"
She took a deep breath, climbed onto the Inferno Rider with hands and feet, forcing a smile uglier than crying.
"Wh-Which is the throttle—AAAAAHHHH!"
Under Noah's single thought, the Inferno Rider shot forward wildly, speed maxed out, intelligently navigating toward Jinzhou City.
Zhezhi only felt the scenery on both sides flashing by extremely fast—too fast to make out the afterimages.
"Too fast! How to slow down, how to brake, help—!"
She screamed in terror; the howling wind enthusiastically poured into her mouth, erasing her cries in the gusts.
In place, Noah pulled out a "Social Phobia Training Guide" checklist, checked off the end of the second line, and muttered to himself.
"One good deed and ghost riding done. Next: Ask strangers for snacks, continuously refuse others' requests, aggressively haggle when buying goods..."
"Helping Zhezhi overcome her social phobia will make completing her Companion Story easier later. Seven days—plenty of time!"
If he remembered right, the Companion Story reward included eighty thousand Shell Credits too.
Oh well, not short on that little bit. When her Companion Story unlocks later, he'll use those eighty thousand Shell Credits to motivate her.
...
Jinzhou.
A Patroller finally managed to intercept Zhezhi and issued her a ticket.
"Miss, you were speeding in Jinzhou City and driving without a license. According to Jinzhou law, I sentence you to seven days detention and a five thousand fine."
The words left Zhezhi at a loss, head lowered, on the verge of tears.
"Wait—"
Noah slid in on rapidly growing vines, stopping steadily in front of Zhezhi.
He often rode the Inferno Rider in Jinzhou but never thought there was such a thing as a driver's license—he had unintentionally gotten Zhezhi in trouble.
"How many Shell Credits for bail?"
"Ah... it's the Hero of Jinzhou. Is this lady your friend?"
The Patroller looked surprised, then smiled faintly.
"In that case, I'll pretend I didn't see anything this time. I hope you and your friend have a pleasant time."
"Eh? Just letting us go like that?"
Noah hadn't expected this Patroller to be so reasonable.
"This is per the Magistrate's orders. The Magistrate once said that in Jinzhou, seeing you is like seeing her—do not neglect."
"I see."
He patted the Patroller's shoulder appreciatively and glanced at the badge on his chest.
"Number 9527, Probationary Patroller, right? Your belt's a bit loose."
"Ah?"
"You should pull it up a notch."
(The daily life segments took longer than expected. Black Shores main story unlocks the day after tomorrow.)