Chapter 401

Melody Summers was stunned by the words—Blue Scale Prawns?

She had only ever heard of Blue Demon Crayfish. What on earth were Blue Scale Prawns?

The system’s voice continued:

[Blue Scale Prawns live in colonies inside beautiful conch shells. They feed on seaweed and plankton, and they have long lifespans, capable of living for over a hundred years.]

[Blue Scale Prawns are non-toxic and edible. Their meat and shells are both rich in nutrients. Consuming them can strengthen your muscles and bones, ward off illness, and grant you a long life.]

Listening to the introduction in her mind, which sounded like something out of a pyramid scheme ad, Melody Summers’s eyes instantly lit up!

’This prawn is incredible! It’s practically a watered-down version of the S Level Far Sea Secret Medicine!’

Melody Summers excitedly grabbed a bucket and carefully picked up the lively Blue Scale Prawn that was hopping around on the deck, placing it inside.

Next, she picked up the large, snow-white conch shell. Gripping it tightly on both sides, she began to shake it nonstop.

As she shook it, the Blue Scale Prawns inside the conch shell tumbled out, falling into the bucket with a series of PLOPS.

Once the conch shell was empty, Melody Summers looked at the pile of vibrant, deep blue in the bucket and began to count them one by one.

One, two, three... seventeen!

There were a total of seventeen Blue Scale Prawns in this large conch shell! Enough for the whole family!

Melody Summers thought with delight, ’Tonight, I’ll share this bucket of muscle-and-bone-strengthening prawns with my family!’

...

Melody Summers carried the Blue Scale Prawns out of her space and casually pulled out her phone to check it, only to find an unread message.

Melody Summers opened the message, a little confused, and saw that it was from Mrs. Vance, who lived downstairs:

[Miss Summers, didn’t you ask me to keep an eye on 1506? I’ve been hearing shouting from their apartment from time to time recently. It’s gotten even weirder these past two days—now there’s a woman’s crying and screaming... They weren’t like this before. I have no idea what’s been going on.]

Melody Summers frowned slightly as she read the message—

’Shouting?’

’A woman’s crying and screaming?’

’What’s going on?’

Looking puzzled, Melody Summers called Mrs. Vance, wanting to ask for more details, but the call didn’t go through.

Melody Summers belatedly slapped her forehead. ’How could I forget? The power is out! Mrs. Vance doesn’t have a generator, so her phone must be dead.’

Melody Summers mulled it over. She figured the shouting and crying were most likely Joanne White arguing with the Suttons, so she didn’t think too much of it.

Right now, all she could think about were the Blue Scale Prawns she had caught today, the ones said to strengthen muscles and bones. She put down her phone, picked up the bucket, and headed straight for the kitchen.

******

「Meanwhile, at The Nimbus Hotel.」

Upon receiving the seafood Melody Summers had sent over that day, the hotel’s management and staff were utterly shocked—

The bluefin tuna was on its last breath, but it was still alive!

And the king crabs—each one was enormous. With their legs fully extended, they were a full two meters long!

The hotel management conferred and ultimately decided to use this rare seafood to host a banquet for their distinguished guests.

After all, no one could go out anyway. A little entertainment would be a good way to kill the boredom and also justify the exorbitant room rates.

In the hotel’s presidential suite, Ronan Rhodes, Roman Rhodes, and Sophie Thorne were sitting in the living room.

Ronan Rhodes was on the phone, asking in astonishment, "A bluefin tuna? A live one?!"

Carter Jennings’s excited voice came from the other end of the line. "Yeah! Alive! And it’s not small, either—probably two or three hundred pounds!"

Ronan Rhodes raised his eyebrows in surprise. He said in disbelief, "How is that possible? Tuna die the second they leave the water. Even if you flew it here by helicopter from the nearest coast, it would take some time. How could it still be alive?"

Carter Jennings replied from the other end, "It’s really alive, I saw it with my own eyes! How could I be lying? Oh, right, I even took a video. I’ll send it to you right now!"

Watching the tuna on the screen—which, though nearly dead, could still move its head and tail—Ronan Rhodes fell silent.

’It really is alive!’

’This is too freaky!’

On the other end of the line, Carter Jennings continued, "Besides this bluefin tuna, there are also six king crabs! Each one is two meters long! Remember to come to the banquet later!"

After hanging up, Ronan Rhodes turned to Roman Rhodes and said with a frown, "Uncle, you heard that, right? There’s definitely something wrong with this online store! Tuna die out of water. How did he manage to transport it here alive?"

Forget about now, during a blizzard apocalypse—it would have been impossible to transport a live tuna even before the apocalypse!

’Just what is the background of this Arcadia Store owner?’

’Could he be an alien?!’

Everything about this shop defied Ronan Rhodes’s understanding. He had been dwelling on it for the past few days and had even lost his appetite.

Roman Rhodes took the phone from Ronan’s hand. He watched the clearly living tuna on the screen, his brow furrowing slightly.

He was silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "I’ve already investigated. Neither the shipping IP address nor the bank account address can be traced. There isn’t even any bank account registration information."

Ronan Rhodes was taken aback. "How is that possible?!" he asked instinctively.

’With the kind of authority Uncle Roman can wield, how could he possibly come up empty-handed?’

Roman Rhodes didn’t reply. He just kept rewatching the video of the tuna, a little lost in thought.

’It wasn’t just that the IP address and bank information were untraceable. I couldn’t find a single shred of information about The Arcadia Shop.’

’I even went directly to the founder of the e-commerce platform and had him pull the backend data.’

’All the stores on this platform had to go through an owner verification process before opening, but all the data for The Arcadia Shop was completely blank.’

’It was just too bizarre.’

Roman Rhodes had investigated the founder of the e-commerce platform, but that had turned up nothing either.

Roman then had technicians analyze the shop. They said it hadn’t been added to the platform through any official channels. It was more like a bug that had been embedded into the backend data—one that couldn’t be deleted or modified.

Roman Rhodes then investigated the various products the shop had sold in the past and found many more things that defied logic.

Whether it was the matsutake mushrooms that couldn’t be artificially cultivated or the loquat paste that could cure lung diseases, they were all beyond the capabilities of current science.

Over the past few days, Roman Rhodes had systematically ruled out every cultivation and breeding base in the country, finally arriving at an almost absurd conclusion—this shop didn’t seem to exist on Terra. It appeared to be the product of some higher technological civilization.

This conclusion made Roman Rhodes, a staunch materialist, begin to doubt his own beliefs. He simply couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

Seeing that Roman Rhodes remained silent, Ronan Rhodes pursed his lips and asked with a frown, "Uncle, do you think... could this shop really be run by aliens?!"

’After eliminating all other possibilities, it seemed to be the only one left.’

At that thought, Ronan Rhodes suddenly felt his blood run cold, and goosebumps broke out all over his skin.

Roman Rhodes didn’t answer him. He suddenly looked up and asked with a frown, "You said the deliveries are always made by a drone?"

Ronan Rhodes nodded. "Carter Jennings said he couldn’t see clearly how it was delivered, just that the goods are always dropped on the second-floor terrace. But my wife said she thought she saw a drone at the time."

Sophie Thorne, who had been looking at her phone, glanced up at his words. "...Actually, I’m not entirely sure if it was a drone. The blizzard was so heavy that day, maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me..."

Roman Rhodes nodded thoughtfully. After a moment of contemplation, he said to Ronan, "Next time, see if there’s a way to capture that drone. Find out the brand and model. I’ll have someone look up drone purchase records from that period and see if we can find any clues."