Ch 16: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

In the park, the long hallway was lined with tightly closed doors, the room numbers arranged from large to small. Below each black rectangular doorplate was a red counter displaying various numbers—some showing three digits, some just one, but most with two digits.

In front of a door with a three-digit number, the counter hit zero, and the door opened. Monsters, still in their disguised forms, rushed out of the room in a flurry.

“Phew, finally off work.”

“Quick, quick! We’re out early today—let’s head to the snack shop for breakfast! I’ve been craving those small wontons for so long.”

“Let’s go, let’s go! Before the Chief arrives, let’s eat as much as we can!”

Bai Ming was the last to come out. The hallway was empty, and he reached into his coat, pulling out a handful of random items—paper bills, coins, strange little slips of paper, and even U.S. dollars and Japanese yen.

As these items appeared in this world, most of them gradually darkened, turned gray, and then burst like soap bubbles, disappearing.

Bai Ming felt a pang of disappointment. Though they could interact with the living through certain special spaces, they couldn’t bring anything from that world back to Dreamland.

After everything in his hands had turned into bubbles, Bai Ming felt something still weighing down his pocket. He reached in and pulled out a neatly bound stack of red bills. He remembered snatching these from one of the challengers, and surprisingly, they hadn’t disappeared.

At that moment, the counters on the rooms next door hit zero, and the doors opened. Once the NPCs on duty had left, Xingzi and Xiao Qie emerged from their rooms.

Both of them also pulled out large handfuls of slips from their pockets, but like Bai Ming, most of them turned into bubbles, leaving behind only a pile of red bills with faces on them.

Master Qie’s entire night’s work had shrunk by 95%, and Xiao Qie collapsed to the floor in frustration. “Ahhh, my money!!!”

Xingzi was also disheartened. She pulled out a few red bills from the remaining bubbles and pondered, “Let’s ask Qi Chen if this is what the boss needs.”

They had been here for a long time and had long lost the concept of currency. In recent years, they had learned about the changes in modern society from the challengers and had been collecting anything that looked like money during the games.

Bai Ming, certain, said, “No need to ask. It definitely is.”

With the bubbles gone and little left in their hands, the three were not entirely satisfied.

But daylight had already broken, and the shop needed to open, so they headed back.

Lu Yao opened the shop door to find the three employees standing neatly outside, with a line of NPCs from the park behind them, waiting for breakfast.

Paopao, first in line, greeted her excitedly, “Boss, I want small wontons and a chive and egg pancake!”

Lu Yao stepped aside, letting the employees and customers in, puzzled. “Why is everyone here so early today?”

Bai Ming and the others hadn’t yet figured out how to hand over the money to Lu Yao naturally without making her suspicious. After all, she was working hard to maintain her “local resident” persona, even learning illusion magic.

Xingzi still wanted to double-check with Qi Chen, so they didn’t immediately hand over the money from their late-night efforts, instead starting to serve customers as usual.

Later in the day, Qi Chen arrived.

Xingzi pulled him aside and took out one of the red bills. “Is this what the boss needs?”

Qi Chen took the bill, feeling its texture with a look of surprise. “You really managed to get this out of the park?”

From his tone, Xingzi knew they had found the right thing and felt relieved.

Now, they just had to figure out how to collect more and find the right moment to give it to the boss.

…

In the morning, the snack shop was at its busiest, with plenty of customers.

However, Lu Yao wasn’t planning to keep increasing the amount of food she prepared. It was exhausting and stressful, and she needed a break.

Once the prepared food was sold out, she would close the shop and only serve coffee and desserts in the afternoon.

Qing had come early from District C, taking the elevator up to the 99th floor.

Perhaps because it was still early, the line outside the snack shop wasn’t as long as usual compared to its typical peak crowds.

Qing stood at a distance, staring intently at the snack shop sign. He suppressed the urge to walk over, his face set in a stern expression, before turning and heading toward the park.

Just hold on a little longer. After the assessment, I’ll come back and try all the new dishes in the shop.

Guard Chief Bai Jian stood by the window, watching as Qing arrived and walked straight toward the park, feeling satisfied.

A few minutes later, someone carrying several bags of food came out of the snack shop and turned the corner, heading toward the park.

Bai Jian recognized the person as Du Chen, a former guard at Qingshan Park in District D. He used to be very strong, but after contracting soul-loss syndrome, he had left the park.

Could he be here to participate in the guard assessment? Has he recovered from the soul-loss disorder?

Bai Jian’s gaze fell on the food containers in Du Chen’s hand, and he frowned slightly.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

Someone knocked on the door. Bai Jian returned to his desk and sat down. “Come in.”

An NPC entered and reported, “Guard Chief, all the candidates for the guard assessment have arrived. There are a total of twenty-nine participants, and we are ready to begin the assessment.”

Bai Jian nodded. “Got it.”

Downstairs, Du Chen entered and immediately spotted Qing among a row of guards with powerful soul energy. He slowly walked up to him. “You’re here too?”

The two had once been candidates for the Qingshan Park guard selection at the same time. Qingshan Park was one of only three parks in the district capable of running level-restricted games.

Back then, both Qing and Du Chen had fought for selection, battling for three days and nights in the games.

In the end, Du Chen had narrowly won and been chosen.

The 99th-floor park was also capable of running level-restricted games, but Qing had gone to District C after that.

He had once told Du Chen that he would turn District C’s cake shop park into a grand park capable of hosting level-restricted games.

Du Chen hadn’t expected Qing to set aside that ambition and come to participate in the 99th-floor park’s guard assessment.

Qing glanced down at the takeout box in Du Chen’s hand and quickly looked away, seemingly uninterested. He said calmly, “I want to test my current strength.”

Most of Du Chen’s attention was on the food in his hand, and he nodded. “You’re still as competitive as ever, but this time, I’ve got a reason I can’t afford to lose. See you in the game.”

Qing nodded silently, not continuing the conversation.

Du Chen didn’t mind, taking his takeout box and heading to a corner, ready to open it and have a bite.

Bai Jian came down from upstairs, casting a deep glance at Du Chen before turning and speaking coldly, “All guard candidates, prepare yourselves. After drawing lots, you will enter the game. The rules are simple: the last one standing, the strongest, will become the new guard of this park.”

…

At the sanatorium in District E.

The orderlies were trying to persuade the soul-loss patients, telling them that the director had found a cure for soul-loss syndrome, and that there were already cases of recovery.

Lu Yao had already made the arrangements on her end, and Shui Ninghua and the orderlies thought all they had to do was transport the patients to District A for treatment. However, they ran into an unexpected problem.

The patients refused to leave and didn’t believe that a cure had been found.

There were nearly a thousand soul-loss patients living in the sanatorium, but not a single one was willing to go to District A for treatment voluntarily.

Shui Ninghua had spent the entire night trying to convince them, but the patients remained completely unmoved.

Irritated by her repeated attempts, one patient lay in bed, turning their back to her and remaining completely still, as if they were about to succumb to their disorder.

Shui Ninghua was both furious and helpless.

By noon, they still hadn’t been able to set out.

Just then, Hong Chun rushed upstairs and burst into the director’s office. “Director, five patients have agreed to go.”

Shui Ninghua immediately stood up. “How did you convince them?”

She had tried every method she could think of, speaking to each patient from the first floor to the fifth, but no one had paid her any mind.

Scratching her head, Hong Chun replied, “Those five patients watched a livestream of the snack shop yesterday, and I told them I’d take them to eat at that shop from the stream.”

It turned out that it was the allure of the snack shop that had convinced the patients. Shui Ninghua didn’t have time to overthink it—if getting the patients to agree meant half the battle was won, it was a success in her book. She quickly instructed, “You, me, and Lili will take the patients right away.”

Five minutes later, Shui Ninghua and two caretakers set off with five soul-loss patients, heading toward Lu Yao’s snack shop.

Along the way, passersby automatically stepped aside when they saw the group. The patients showed no reaction, their expressions blank, like puppets on strings, as the caretakers prompted them to buy tickets and board the train.

Upon reaching the amusement park station at the 99th floor of District A, the patients followed the caretakers, exiting the train in a quiet line.

Chen Li led the way. District A seemed busier than District E, with more people in the subway station and louder noise.

Xu Qinghe followed behind her, dragging his feet with difficulty. He felt exhausted and didn’t want to move at all.

The noise here was overwhelming, and it made him irritable. He wanted to return to the sanatorium, but the thought of the long journey back made him feel even more frustrated.

His mind was a mess, full of regret for agreeing to leave with the caretakers. The world felt empty, and he was convinced that the snack shop from the livestream didn’t actually exist.

He didn’t want to walk anymore, didn’t want to move or think. Maybe it would be better to just end everything right here.

Xu Qinghe, along with the others who had come with him, seemed covered in a layer of dust, lifeless and ready to fade away at any moment.

“We’re here!” Hong Chun’s bright voice broke through their foggy thoughts. Five pairs of eyes, as hollow as dry wells, turned to look at the snack shop sign in the distance. There was no emotional response, only a sense of relief that they could finally rest.

The morning service had ended, so there were no other customers in the shop. Lu Yao was in the kitchen, while Xingzi and Qi Chen handled the front.

The five soul-loss patients were seated by the window, each at their own table.

Chen Li, visiting the shop for the first time, glanced out the window, a fleeting hint of surprise in her eyes at the view.

In the kitchen, Shui Ninghua found Lu Yao. “Boss.”

Lu Yao was preparing the final dish and glanced up at her. “I told you you’d be here soon.”

Shui Ninghua clasped her hands together, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I’m sorry to trouble you.”

Steam rose from the pot, filling the air with a delicious aroma. Lu Yao stirred the dish a few more times, tasted the sauce with a small spoon, and, satisfied with the flavor, plated the food.

Lu Yao had already prepared everything in advance, so within ten minutes of the patients arriving, five specially made soul-loss patient meals were ready.

Xiao Qie, pressed up against the glass, stared eagerly at the freshly plated dishes. The boss had made new dishes again—they smelled sweet and sour, and he was sure they were going to be delicious.

Xu Qinghe sat in the shop, his mind clouded with disappointment and regret, too distracted to notice his surroundings.

He stubbornly thought to himself, even if this food is edible, it’s not medicine—it won’t cure anything.

“Here’s your meal. Please enjoy.”

A clear, gentle voice sounded beside him. Xu Qinghe had intended to glance up, but then a delightful aroma hit him. He looked down to see a steaming plate of food and blinked his dull, lifeless eyes. “What’s this?”

Lu Yao gave a simple explanation: “This is the special lunch prepared by the shop.”

Xu Qinghe swallowed hard. It smelled so good. But could it really be eaten?

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