Standing by the car, Hope had changed from her normal clothes into a revealing outfit. She was dressed in black stockings with ultra-short shorts and a black lace crop top. Her loose clothing earlier had hidden it, but now Felix could see she was quite curvy.

As she felt his stare, Hope blushed. "I... I thought this might make it easier to get information from the young men in the village. It's better than using money, right?"

Felix immediately shut down the idea. "Change back now. You'd cause an instant commotion dressed like that in the village. We're here on a mission, not to attract too much attention."

An outfit like that would turn heads even in the city streets, let alone among young villagers. It was asking for trouble. "Oh... right."

Finally reaching Pine Valley, they parked and were struck by the view. The houses were uniformly built and remarkably neat, which was likely because of government development plans. With terraced fields stretched along one side, the sight