The Jelly Alien Will Save You!
Chapter : 8
It disappears because I doubt it!
I tightly shut my eyes and brainwashed myself—that’s a delicious hamburger steak, a soft and tender patty finely ground and covered generously with demi-glace sauce—then opened them again.
As if nothing had happened, the melting hamburger steak returned perfectly to normal.
Oh!
I picked up the hamburger steak with both hands.
“It worked! It came back!”
“Good job. Keep believing like that from now on.”
“Okay!”
Alright, I should buy this.
7% contamination? I can just purify that much!
Chuckling to myself, I suddenly tilted my head.
Wait… what if… if I purify the price tag, doesn’t that mean no contamination builds up?
It might be a ridiculous idea, but…
No harm in trying!
I acted immediately.
‘Purify!’
[3,900 won]
[0%]
‘It worked!’
When I purified the price tag, not only did the noise disappear, but the contamination gauge dropped to 0%.
Watching that, I smirked.
Yeah, this is it.
I’ll purify everything as much as I can and buy it all!
But even if I can cheat like this… how was Cha Haeun handling the contamination?
Just the instant rice, tuna can, and meatballs he ate this morning must have been over 20% easily.
…Wait, did he give me the food he was saving?
Touched, I immediately grabbed Cha Haeun.
“Cha Haeun, Cha Haeun.”
“What now.”
“I need to borrow the cart. I want to try something.”
“What are you trying to do?”
Cha Haeun looked like an uncle exhausted from babysitting.
Hmph!
“It’s something good!”
Before he could stop me, I pushed the cart forward and hopped onto it.
As the wheels rattled, the shelves rushed past like waves.
‘Purify! Purify!’
While riding the moving cart and repeatedly shouting “purify,” the noise on the price tags washed away one after another.
[5̷,5̷̸̴̴̴00 won̶] → [0%]
[1̷,2̵00 won̶] → [0%]
…
[7̴,8҈00 won̶] → [0%]
As all the noise on the shelves disappeared, a thrill shot up to the top of my head.
Reaching the end of the aisle, I spread my arms wide.
“Ta-da!”
From a short distance away, Cha Haeun stared with wide eyes in surprise.
I giggled.
“I’ll give it all to you. It’s payment for breakfast.”
Cha Haeun stared at me blankly, then slightly lifted the corner of his lips.
“Does that include the carrots too?”
“Of course.”
Ahem.
“See? I was helpful, right? Now you want to keep me around, don’t you? You won’t throw me away, right?”
Cha Haeun smiled properly. His already handsome face seemed to shine even more.
“Well… maybe a little.”
Oh—he smiled.
At the same moment that the usually stiff guy smiled—
[Quest Complete: Form a Friendly Relationship with an Earth Native Species!]
Nice!
Looks like Cha Haeun likes me a bit now?
Giggling, I began loading the now-free food into the cart.
“Let’s eat this too. Oh, and that!”
I’m actually grocery shopping with a cart!
Just as I was feeling excited about checking something off my bucket list—
A chilling sensation suddenly ran down my spine, and the edges of my vision began to darken.
‘…Huh?’
In an instant, everything went black.
“Customer!”
A voice called out to me.
Only then did I realize why my vision had gone dark.
A staff member with a hollowed-out face was right in front of me.
Before I knew it, five or six employees had surrounded my cart.
Their faces, like empty black holes, formed a circle around me.
While I tensed up, one of the employees asked in a bright voice:
“Customer, would you like some fresh vegetables?”
If she had a face, she would definitely be smiling warmly.
“V-vegetables?”
At my question, she held up a zucchini beside where her face should be.
“Yes, this fresh zucchini is available exclusively for you at 30%. It’s on sale!”
30% for a single zucchini? Isn’t that a total rip-off?
“That’s way too expensive!”
“Expensive? Look at this—this zucchini is so fresh it’s practically jumping!”
She shook the zucchini as if it were bouncing. Amused by her own joke, she giggled.
Meanwhile, I narrowed my eyes. If it’s actually jumping, doesn’t that mean it’s contaminated and not fresh at all?
“What do you think? It’s a limited-time 30% price!”
I was about to refuse since I had no intention of buying it.
But beyond the employees, I met Cha Haeun’s eyes—and he shook his head seriously.
Don’t refuse.
‘Why?’ I was about to ask, then remembered.
Rule #4.
If someone recommends an item, you must buy it.
With an uneasy expression, I looked at the “fresh” zucchini.
Well… even if I buy it, I can just purify it. 30% should be manageable, right?
Besides, it means I can’t refuse even if I want to.
It felt like a thorn stuck in my throat, but I had no choice.
I steeled myself and spoke.
“I’ll buy it.”
“Thank you, valued customer!”
As I received the zucchini, the employee who sold it suddenly burst into dust and disappeared.
Did she just pass on to the afterlife?
As I blinked in confusion, the surrounding employees spread their arms wide.
Each of them held a different product.
“How about free-range eggs? 40%, customer!”
“A pack of wine-aged pork at 55%, customer!”
“High-sugar Shine Muscat grapes at 69%, customer!”
“Huh?!”
“It’s a time sale, so now is the perfect moment to buy!”
Oh no. A time sale? Does that mean the price increases over time?
My mind went blank. The barrage of offers tightened around me like a noose.
I hurriedly used purification and bought the eggs first.
If I didn’t buy things one by one, the contamination gauge would go out of control and I’d turn into a monster!
Each time I used purification, the contamination gauge dropped by 10%.
How many times can I still use it?
Growing anxious, I shouted:
“Next—the pork!”
“Thank you!”
“Customer, the Shine Muscat time sale is about to end!”
“I’ll buy it!”
Now my cart was filled with zucchini, eggs, pork, and Shine Muscat grapes.
The employees who had recommended the items disappeared one after another with popping sounds.
Is that it?
I can’t use purification anymore…
Just as I was panting and trying to catch my breath—
“We need to go.”
It was Cha Haeun. He rushed over and pushed the cart.
His urgency confused me.
“Huh? Why? Aren’t we done buying?”
Then, a slightly delayed cheerful voice echoed:
“Customer, this is a limited-time sale.”
There’s more?
“■■■ is 99%.”
My stiff neck slowly turned backward.
An employee stood politely with hands clasped.
“Would you like to purchase ■■■ for 99%?”
