Chapter 65: The Taboo Automaton Taabu Series

Since Hong Yijia hadn't brought any personal toiletries, and Lin Yilin was used to living alone and hadn't really considered such matters, the two of them decided to head over to the Hackman Supermarket on Mocking Road in the afternoon to stock up on daily necessities.

At the same time, since they were having a guest over, meals couldn't be quite as casual, so they also planned to purchase some ingredients along the way.

Located on the west side of Mocking Road, Zoom Square is a somewhat desolate commercial district, and the Hackman Supermarket is situated right there.

As a well-known metropolitan supermarket chain, Hackman opening a branch on Xixi Koke Street could be considered a vote of confidence in the commercial prospects of the area.

Before the recent underground turmoil disrupted the order of the Gray Districts, the development of Xixi Koke Street had indeed been steady and promising.

Had the Jacob family not suddenly and abruptly collapsed while things were going so well, the elites in the metropolitan core circle would have expected it to become the next generation's underground king of the metropolis, holding sway over the gray district's underworld order.

As a result of that sudden demise, order didn't establish itself; instead, various gangs and other factions vied for the territories and businesses left in the wake of the Jacob family's collapse, leading to localized skirmishes and an even greater degree of chaos.

Although things had finally settled down recently, the blow dealt to the metropolis was profound.

The number of homeless people on Xixi Koke Street had surged dramatically, small and medium-sized street-level gangs sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and established gangs absorbed these outfits along with a multitude of desperate individuals.

Social turmoil exacerbated various conflicts between the gray streets, and widespread panic made people all the more susceptible to hallucinations.

A series of chain reactions caused undercurrents to surge beneath the surface of Xixi Koke Street.

The Hackman Supermarket was inevitably affected to some extent, but as the saying goes, businesses capable of expanding outward from the core of the White Urban District are not to be trifled with.

The Hackman Supermarket on Mocking Road had extensive experience dealing with looting and shoplifting; its employees, especially the cashiers, were routinely equipped with firearms and wore bulletproof vests beneath their work uniforms.

Local gangs and detective agencies that had received commission payments from the Hackman Supermarket—yes, and the spotlight once again falls on our wildly popular Banmu Detective Agency—served as armed escorts for the supermarket, keeping its operations afloat.

To be honest, the fact that it managed to stay open was truly impressive.

This was a supermarket Lin Yilin rather liked to visit. The quality of their merchandise was guaranteed, and Lin Yilin was even a member of the store, entitling her to substantial discounts.

Hong Yijia's behavior fit Zheng Fan's stereotype of such noisy women to a T. The moment she arrived at a place like a shopping mall, her enthusiasm soared, and as it happened, both she and Lin Yilin were quite wealthy.

However, Zoom Square in Xixi Koke Street could be considered a failed investment. Following the turmoil of the Jacob family's collapse, the mall failed to attract large-scale tenants even after its construction was completed, meaning high-end goods capable of satisfying Hong Yijia were naturally few and far between.

Wandering around here even required caution to avoid straying into obscure corners or venturing too deep into the maze-like interior of the mall.

Those areas were likely already occupied as gang dens.

"So why on earth did we have to come to a supermarket? Is my materialization ability not good enough for you?" Zheng Fan stood beside Lin Yilin with his arms crossed, feeling somewhat looked down upon.

"Supermarkets have discounts, while Mr. Hallucination's materialization comes with a markup. Even if the quality might be great, it could end up like that coffee maker incident all over again. Isn't the choice obvious?" Lin Yilin said emotionlessly.

"Don't be so calculating," Zheng Fan sighed helplessly, looking up at the ceiling.

"Money doesn't grow on trees," Lin Yilin replied with this indisputable truth, before adding internally: "Besides, the markup and discount prices of Mr. Hallucination are way beyond what mere careful budgeting can gloss over."

"I think Mr. Hallucination is right!" Hong Yijia, who had just been clamoring to explore the mall only to be dragged back to the supermarket by Lin Yilin, suddenly raised her hand.

Lin Yilin shot her a sideways glance. "What are you chiming in for?" Especially since she couldn't see or hear Zheng Fan anyway.

"Doing a close reading with context is a basic skill, Xiao Lin, let alone for a master negotiator in my line of work," Hong Yijia giggled. "I wouldn't mind trying out the cutting-edge powers of the futuristic Mr. Hallucination! I can foot the bill!"

Zheng Fan nodded in satisfaction. "At least you know what's good for you. But since you're so willing, I'm suddenly having second thoughts."

He had almost forgotten they were shopping for this woman in the first place.

Watching the two of them, Lin Yilin felt her mental exhaustion double. Could she apply for double pay? Oh wait, she was her own "boss," so never mind.

"Anyway, absolutely not. Let's go, finish shopping before sunset and head back," Lin Yilin set the mandate and strode forward directly.

Hong Yijia had no choice but to follow.

Meanwhile, Zheng Fan headed straight in the opposite direction—the children's toy section!

Having arrived in this world, he hadn't yet sampled its offerings in this category.

"Hiss, the Gundam equivalents in this world actually look pretty decent. But why are they all so realistic, infused with organic elements and even a touch of horror... Is this really the children's toy section?"

Glancing over several boxes of robot-model kits on the shelf in front of him, he found their aesthetic entirely different from the Gundam series familiar to him.

Judging by the prices relative to Zheng Fan's current understanding of metropolitan commodity values, they definitely fell into the more expensive category.

Zheng Fan pulled out his smartphone—purchased using his powers after he had some disposable income—intending to look up relevant entries directly.

"The Forbidden Mechanical Demon-Man Taboo Series? A supernatural dark fantasy robot war set across multiple worlds? A classic ultra-long-running series..." Zheng Fan checked it out and found himself genuinely interested.

Search results showed that the series was considered a cult animation in its early days, using horror and dark themes as its main selling points. However, it sparked a major trend, and through continuous commercial development over subsequent years, the series underwent multiple rebrandings and overhauls. To this day, in order to broaden its audience, it had largely shed the core horror and dark elements, but its visual presentation remained stubbornly dedicated to impactful gore and violence, further strengthening fan loyalty.

It enjoyed immense popularity in the metropolis, and its merchandise and model kits generated staggering profits—yet another solid proof of the stellar mental state of the metropolitan populace.

"Every world eventually meets its own Bandai..." Zheng Fan couldn't help but sigh, looking at a Taboo Demon-Man before him, whose design stitched together a two-faced visage yet possessed a bizarre sort of aesthetic appeal. He was somewhat tempted to acquire one.

"Oh? Is this model's 'Dub-O' actually still in stock? That's genuinely rare." Suddenly, a female voice rang out beside Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan turned his head and caught sight of a head of vibrant, fiery red hair.

She was exceptionally tall, even taller than Zheng Fan himself, easily standing over one meter ninety—a super-model-esque older sister figure.

Her eyes were a dazzling gold-red, shining like two miniature suns and giving the illusion of radiating light. Red eyeliner traced the corners of her eyes, and her face wore a permanent, confident smile that bordered on arrogance.

A deep red overcoat draped across her shoulders could still scarcely conceal a physique that put supermodels to shame, and a pair of long, fair legs were mostly covered by black knee-high high-heeled boots.

What on earth was this person?

Too dazzling—literally speaking.

There was a fundamental difference between her and the eccentric cosplay enthusiasts Zheng Fan remembered, a difference in sheer aura.

Most importantly, the scent of the fantastic was overwhelmingly strong.

A fantasy object? A hallucination?

It was so dense and tangled together that Zheng Fan couldn't immediately tell them apart.

Yet...

Zheng Fan glanced at the product in front of him. "Dub-O?"

This was precisely the Mechanical Demon-Man he had been thinking of getting, and he had even planned to fetch Lin Yilin over to buy it.

What a pity.

He curled his lip in annoyance, turned around, and prepared to leave. He could just manifest a better one back home.

"Mister, are you also interested in this Dub-O? I have no intention of stealing it out from under you; you can go ahead and buy it."

Just as Zheng Fan turned away, the woman behind him called out to stop him.