The next morning, Paige Summers left home bright and early.

It wasn’t that she was being overly considerate of Nadia, avoiding her out of fear she’d remember yesterday’s events and die of regret. It was because Claire Chapman had brought some freaking amazing news!

The previous night, while seeing Jensen Archer and the others out, Gabriel Donovan had suddenly asked if he was trying to rent a shop in the commercial district and offered to make an introduction!

After holding it in all night, Claire Chapman was both excited and a little worried, so he couldn’t wait to wake Paige Summers up at the crack of dawn. The two discussed it and agreed that while Gabriel Donovan was usually quiet, he was a reliable guy, so the offer should be legit. At that, Paige couldn’t sit still either. And so, the two of them had sauntered over to the outskirts of the designated commercial district early that morning. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Gabriel Donovan arrived at the agreed-upon time, not thirty seconds early or late. With his usual taciturn expression, he said just two words, "Follow me," then turned and led the way into the commercial district.

Paige Summers and Claire Chapman exchanged a glance and followed him.

The person looking to sublet was a childhood friend of Gabriel Donovan’s. But unlike him, this Milo Yeats looked incredibly shrewd from the first glance. He scrutinized Paige Summers and the others for a good while before asking, "Do you have a guarantor?"

Paige Summers ground her teeth and shook her head. ’This is our Achilles’ heel!’

The owner of the shops in the commercial district was The Government; they weren’t for sale, only for lease. And to sublet, one had to find a formal resident who was a long-term occupant of Central City to act as a guarantor and present corresponding assets to prove their eligibility.

’This rule is a real trap for newcomers!’

They had no friends or family here. Even if they knew someone, no one would be generous enough to agree to something like this. If anything went wrong, the guarantor would bear joint liability.

If they had powerful connections, this wouldn’t be an issue, but the problem was they had nothing!

"Pretty bold of you, showing up without a guarantor..." Milo Yeats pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and raised an eyebrow at them.

Paige Summers wasn’t the least bit intimidated. ’This guy looks loaded!’ she thought. ’Cigarettes are an absolute luxury item these days! Wait, I’m getting sidetracked! Ahem, what I’m actually thinking is, from the way he’s talking, it’s not like he just found out. Gabriel Donovan must have already told him our whole situation!’

Sure enough, Gabriel Donovan frowned slightly and shot Milo Yeats a look. The look seemed to say, ’Keep up the act. Just you keep it up!’

Milo Yeats choked on the smoke he’d just inhaled and broke into a fit of coughing.

Waiting politely for him to finish, Claire Chapman then smiled. "We only dared to come because Brother Donovan made the introduction. Boss Yeats, you can rest assured, we’re serious about running a business and will absolutely not cause you any trouble."

He was very sincere, so Milo Yeats couldn’t keep up the pretense. He got down to business and started asking about the shop—for example, what kind of business they planned to run, if their supply chain was reliable, if they could operate long-term, and so on...

Paige Summers answered each question clearly and seriously.

She knew that Gabriel Donovan had already done his best to help them. Whether they could ultimately satisfy Milo Yeats was up to them.

When he learned she wanted to open a weapons shop and that she crafted them herself, Milo Yeats grew more interested.

"Can you show me a finished product?"

Paige Summers thought for a moment, then turned and said, "Lucian, take out your blade."

"Huh?!" Claire Chapman treasured his blade as if it were his own child. It was one thing for others to see it during a fight, but he was extremely reluctant to take it out just for someone to admire. However, this was important. After hesitating for a few seconds, he took a curved blade from the leather pouch at his side and placed it on the table.

Milo Yeats’s eyes instantly lit up.

He rubbed his hands together, then carefully picked it up with both hands. He examined it meticulously for a long time—from left to right, top to bottom—before suddenly looking up. "You really made this?"

Paige Summers felt like she was about to be blinded by the light in his eyes. "Yes."

Milo Yeats put the blade down and slammed a hand on the table. "Alright! The shop is yours to rent, and I’ll be your guarantor! But on one condition: you have to craft a custom weapon for me first!"

Before Paige Summers could even speak, Claire Chapman shot forward, grabbed his hand, raised it for a high-five, and said firmly, "It’s a deal!"

Paige Summers and Gabriel Donovan: "..."

Milo Yeats was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

And just like that, the matter was tentatively settled.

Although Milo Yeats had agreed, he didn’t consent to signing the sublease agreement right away. He made it clear that he wanted to receive the weapon first, and only after he was satisfied would they proceed with the discussion.

He didn’t need to say it; Paige Summers was already taking it extremely seriously. Not only did she confirm that he specialized in blades and note down his height, but she even had him throw a punch to specifically gauge his strength. Only then did she promise to deliver a blade to his satisfaction as soon as possible.

It was the first time Milo Yeats had seen how much trouble went into crafting a weapon, but on second thought, he understood. Naturally, the length and weight of the blade he used had to be tailored to his individual physique.

"Tsk tsk, today I’ve learned what ’custom-made’ really means. It feels pretty good, hahaha!"

Gabriel Donovan’s mouth twitched. He shot him another disdainful look and, after a long pause, asked, "When are you leaving?"

Milo Yeats was speechless for a good while. If he didn’t know his childhood friend was always like this, he would have mistaken his question for wanting him to leave quickly rather than a sign of concern. "Soon. Once this shop business is settled."

"Mm. Stay safe."

Milo Yeats’s lips curled up. He didn’t say anything, just stepped forward and clapped him firmly on the shoulder twice.

Paige Summers knew that this deal had come through largely out of respect for Gabriel Donovan, so she spent five days crafting Milo Yeats’s blade. After she and Claire Chapman delivered it personally and received Milo’s high praise, she stepped back from all the subsequent trivial matters, leaving them all for Claire Chapman to handle. She, in turn, devoted herself to crafting a Short Sword for Gabriel Donovan at home.

She gave the Short Sword to Gabriel Donovan during the final contract signing. After paying a large security deposit and three months’ rent and pressing her fingerprint, she officially became the owner of the shop.

Milo Yeats watched Gabriel Donovan holding the Short Sword, unable to put it down, and smiled in satisfaction.

’After all these years, it’s rare to see the kid like something this much.’

’Looks like helping out was worth it after all.’

As for that sum of Credit Points Claire Chapman had transferred to him on his own initiative... ’Hmm, better not tell him. Who knows how long I’ll be gone this time? I wouldn’t feel secure without some extra supplies!’

With the shop finally in their hands, Paige Summers and Claire Chapman stood inside, almost crying with joy.

They had practically worn out the soles of their shoes in this commercial district, right? They’d hit so many walls and faced so many cold shoulders. Finally, finally, they’d succeeded!

Thinking of all this made them even more grateful to Gabriel Donovan.

As Gabriel Donovan was leaving, however, he said, "The others helped ask around too, but nothing came of it. It was Heath Hughes who told me about this."

After he left, Claire Chapman suddenly sighed. "How are we going to thank everyone?"

"I’ll make a weapon for each of them."

"Good idea! Once we’re done setting up here, it’ll be time for Bloodfall to go on a mission!"

Looking at the twenty-square-meter shop, it was like seeing an infinite future. Claire Chapman felt that the best decision he’d ever made in his life was probably secretly climbing into Paige Summers’s car!