Ch 27: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Zhuang Liang had a feeling that Lu Yao had already exited the game.

If the post on the forum was true, and considering the mention of the Black Ring, a new female player—it had to be Lu Yao.

He drove toward the abandoned commercial street on the outskirts, where Lu Yao lived. Although he knew her address, his gut told him she was still at the snack shop.

Unable to calm his thoughts, Zhuang Liang told Qi Jue about the strange things surrounding Lu Yao on the way.

Qi Jue, listening calmly, said, “I don’t know what her secrets are, but this kind of behavior could really get you arrested.”

Zhuang Liang retorted, “…Aren’t you at least a little curious? I’ve checked—her shop’s daily inventory costs around 5,000, and sometimes it triples. But no one’s ever seen a customer there. Where do all those supplies go? Her shop doesn’t look big enough to store all that. And her lifespan—how does someone who’s never entered the game have a lifespan of 2,000 years? Is that reasonable?”

Qi Jue rubbed his forehead, “If you’re so curious, just ask her directly. Why are you taking it out on me?”

Zhuang Liang: “…Do you think she’ll just tell me if I ask?”

Qi Jue: “You won’t know unless you ask.”

Zhuang Liang: “I already tried talking to her once. I barely started, and she shut me down.”

Qi Jue: “…”

Zhuang Liang: “Why aren’t you saying anything now?”

Qi Jue: “You must have said something rude.”

Zhuang Liang: “…”

Feeling the conversation was pointless, Zhuang Liang thought Qi Jue’s personality was way too different from his brother Qi Shen’s. He just didn’t get him.

…

Inside the snack shop, Lu Yao was making a menu, preparing for the banquet for the demon god three days from now. She needed to prepare something fitting for the occasion.

[Lu Yao’s snack shop is renowned throughout the Netherworld, beloved by customers. She has earned 1 million popularity points and has upgraded to a 6-star shop. The reward includes a free shop upgrade, 3 new staff members, and the ability for the owner to freely expand the menu.]

Lu Yao was delighted; she could finally manage the menu freely.

Because there wasn’t enough space on the menu and the new categories were numerous, she had to list coffee, desserts, and noodles under broad, general terms. It always felt inefficient, and it took customers a long time to place their orders.

Now she could fix that. Tomorrow, she would create a detailed menu, categorizing all the dishes and drinks, and place one on every table on each floor.

It was also time to hire more staff—Qi Shen couldn’t handle the second floor alone anymore.

Lu Yao said to the system, “Post a job advertisement for me. And does a free upgrade mean it doesn’t cost popularity points this time?”

The system confirmed that was correct.

Lu Yao rubbed her chin, saying, “Great. I’ll sketch the layout and give it to you later. Let’s upgrade the shop tonight.”

The staff had already left for the day, and the delivery was stored away. After submitting the shop upgrade plans to the system, Lu Yao prepared to head home.

She grabbed her bag and opened the shop door, only to see Qi Jue raising his hand to knock. She paused, “Why are you here again?”

Qi Jue, who was much taller than Lu Yao, easily scanned the shop’s interior.

At first glance, it appeared to be a simple, clean shop, with an open kitchen.

But he also sensed the strange discomfort Zhuang Liang had mentioned—a vague feeling of danger that made him not want to step inside.

Zhuang Liang peeked out from behind Qi Jue, trying to hide his astonishment. “You really came back. We’ve been waiting at the teahouse for you—why didn’t you return there?”

They really had been waiting a long time. Lu Yao felt it wouldn’t be right to be too cold toward them, and after her talk with Qi Shen, her impression of Qi Jue had improved. She replied, “I’ve been out for a while. I came out from a different place. But thanks for the concern.”

Zhuang Liang wanted to know if she was really the newbie player mentioned in the forum post, so he cautiously asked, “How did it feel, entering the game for the first time?”

Lu Yao waved her hand to indicate they should step back. After they moved aside, she walked out, locked the door, and repeated what she had told Qi Shen earlier: “There was blood and body parts everywhere, even intestines on the ground. The floor was sticky with blood, super slippery, and when I fell, it hurt like hell.”

Zhuang Liang was at a loss for words: “…”

It was confirmed—she was definitely the newbie player from the forum post, the one who slipped and was helped by the NPC.

The forum post was actually true. Despite preparing himself for this possibility, Zhuang Liang still found it absurd.

Lu Yao continued, “If there’s nothing else, I’m heading home.”

Zhuang Liang stood there, lacking the courage to stop her. Now certain that Lu Yao was the player who could make NPCs in the Black Ring world bend to her, his mind raced with thoughts. That, combined with the unlimited-use Black Ring, meant there had to be some connection. Could she be from that world?

Whatever the truth was, Zhuang Liang knew one thing for sure—Lu Yao wasn’t someone they could afford to provoke.

As for why she was running a shop in that old, rundown street and what happened to all the food she bought, he no longer cared.

Qi Jue stepped forward, “Wait a minute.”

Zhuang Liang’s eyes widened in disbelief: ??? Why are you stopping her? Just let her go!

Lu Yao turned back, “What now?”

Qi Jue pointed at the shop behind her and asked, “Why did you open a snack shop here? Can you even make money? Do you actually have customers?”

Lu Yao replied, “Because I want to. No, it doesn’t make money. Yes, I have customers. Anything else?”

Qi Jue nodded dumbly, clearly surprised by her bluntness.

Despite her young age, this girl had an air of confidence.

Hearing her say, “I have customers,” made Zhuang Liang feel even more uneasy. He only dared to breathe normally after Lu Yao disappeared around the corner.

Qi Jue glanced back at the shop, confused.

Zhuang Liang, noticing, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“The shop… it’s gone,” Qi Jue said.

Zhuang Liang turned around and saw that the shop had vanished, leaving nothing behind. His legs gave out beneath him. “Holy crap! Let’s get out of here—I was wrong! I’m never coming back!”

After Lu Yao left, the “Enchantress’s Veil” activated, concealing the snack shop.

Unaware of the magical protections in place, Zhuang Liang went home, where he fell seriously ill and stayed out of sight for a long time.

–

The next day, Lu Yao arrived at the shop, carrying a pickling jar and wearing a Polaroid camera around her neck.

Both staff and customers were amazed. Overnight, the snack shop had expanded into a beautiful three-story building, with the large blue sign over the entrance standing out even more.

Lu Yao opened the door, letting the staff inside as the customers lined up at the entrance.

The moment Xingzi stepped in, she asked, “Why is there an extra floor again? What’s being sold this time?”

Xiao Qie and Qi Shen looked at Lu Yao expectantly, while Quan Shengju didn’t say anything but looked curious as well.

Bai Ming leaned against the window, deep in thought.

Lu Yao shook her head, “It was just a good opportunity, so I expanded the shop. I haven’t decided what to sell yet. Once we hire new staff and handle the banquet for the demon god, I’ll figure it out.”

Everyone, except for Xiao Qie, who already knew, froze at the mention of the god. They crowded around her in shock, asking, “The demon god is coming to eat here?”

Xingzi clasped her head in disbelief, “The demon god has been hidden for almost a century! Even the guards don’t know where he is, and now he’s coming here to eat? We have to be really prepared for this.”

Qi Shen squatted on the ground, his face pale with fear. “The demon god? Is it the one who punishes players for breaking the rules of the amusement park?”

He had some deep trauma—during his final game, he vaguely remembered seeing the demon god, though the memory was hazy.

Lu Yao glanced at Bai Ming. She still found it hard to reconcile the stunning young man in front of her with the black-haired, dark-eyed boy from the vision. Could someone’s appearance change so much after death?

After the brief uproar, the shop returned to normal operations.

The staff carried out their tasks, and Lu Yao worked on creating the new menu in the kitchen.

Lu Yao spent some time making every dish on the menu herself, including the coffee and desserts from the second floor, and took photos of each one. She then arranged the pictures in a notebook provided by the system, categorizing them simply into snacks, noodles, drinks, and desserts. The thick menu now had both images and text, making it especially convenient for customers to use.

This notebook was the master menu for the snack shop, and the menus available on the tables were duplicates. Anytime Lu Yao added new dishes and photos to the master menu, all the duplicates would automatically update, saving her the hassle of manually editing each one.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and in preparation for the demon god’s visit, the snack shop closed early with a “Closed for the Day” sign. Lu Yao was busy in the kitchen, while the other staff nervously watched, unsure of where to place their hands at the thought of the demon god coming.

As evening approached, the temperature suddenly dropped. The staff didn’t notice, but Lu Yao felt the chill and rubbed her arms. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Both Xingzi and Xiao Qie reacted, so Lu Yao knew it was the door to this world.

She wiped her hands and went to the door. “Who is it?”

“It is I,” came a familiar, ancient voice.

Lu Yao opened the door, and standing outside was the demon god himself.

The demon god’s body was nothing but bones, his armor hanging loosely on his skeletal frame, draped in a tattered cloak. As he moved, his bones creaked, as if they might fall apart at any moment.

Lu Yao was startled by the sight but not terrified.

As the demon god entered, all the residents from Dreamland, including Xingzi and Xiao Qie, bowed their heads and saluted him—all except Lu Yao and Bai Ming.

The god looked at Bai Ming and let out a raspy laugh. “How dare a heretic spirit possess one of my people?”

Lu Yao glanced at Bai Ming and saw something peeling away from him. The silver-haired, red-eyed youth appeared as a transparent phantom, separating from Bai Ming, who reverted to the black-haired, dark-eyed sixteen-year-old boy Lu Yao had seen in the vision.

The phantom, still in the form of the handsome silver-haired youth, gave Lu Yao a deep, lingering look before gradually dissipating.

Had Bai Ming been possessed by something?

Later, a ridiculous story spread in the snack shop, with Xiao Qie eagerly recounting it to the customers: “Here’s a joke for you. We had a staff member who was strong enough to qualify for the guard selection, but he was possessed by a ghost for over a month and didn’t even realize it. If it hadn’t been for the demon god visiting that day… A ghost possessed by another ghost, hahaha! I could laugh for ten years.”

Each time, Bai Ming wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

According to Bai Ming himself, he had been fully conscious during that time and wasn’t controlled. However, he didn’t remember his appearance changing and had no idea why that thing had possessed him.

While Bai Ming’s situation was surprising, the focus quickly shifted to welcoming the demon god.

The staff composed themselves and resumed their tasks, busy preparing for the occasion.

Lu Yao led the demon god to a seat by the window. Outside, the night was peaceful, with the distant lights from across the river shimmering on the water, creating a serene and beautiful scene.

The demon god gazed at the row of small, round succulents on the windowsill, their plump forms looking cute. His fingers twitched slightly, but instead of reaching out, the succulents rapidly withered, turning black and crumbling into dust on the tiles.

Lu Yao emerged from the kitchen carrying dishes, just in time to witness the scene. The demon god‘s power was far more frightening than the guards’.

The demon god turned his hollow gaze toward Lu Yao, his bony fingers fidgeting, looking somewhat guilty. “I was just curious.”

His skeletal face was a ghoulish sight, the hollow eye sockets and chattering teeth making him appear both ancient and fragile.

Lu Yao approached, setting down the dishes. “The demon god’s illusionary abilities must be quite extraordinary, right?”

The god raised his head proudly. “Naturally.”

Lu Yao smiled. “Then, could you conjure a few succulents for me? Ones that won’t die so easily when planted in the pots.”

The demon god hesitated, staring at the empty flower pots for a long time before turning his empty eye sockets toward Lu Yao. “Even the finest illusions can’t compare to the real thing. I prefer the ones you grew.”

The demon god’s blunt honesty made Lu Yao chuckle. “Got it. It’s not difficult. I’ll take a cutting from another plant tomorrow, and it’ll grow roots quickly. Your meal is ready. Please enjoy.”

The demon god looked a little dissatisfied. “You expect me to dine alone?”

His voice had the petulant tone of a lonely elder.

Lu Yao grinned. “Think of this as the appetizer. We’ll all enjoy the main course together later.”

The demon god sat in silence for a moment, looking down at the spread of food. After a brief pause, he slowly picked up his chopsticks.

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