Ch 59: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Bai Jian nodded, “We recently looked into it and can now set up an online transaction channel for you.”

He had quickly learned about Lu Yao’s previous encounter with danger during an offline transaction.

After the live broadcast account was banned on the forum, he began thinking about ways to ensure safer transactions.

The desires of the living are too complex, and Lu Yao alone couldn’t guard against every possible threat. They, on the other hand, could only control the world within the game and forum.

Bai Jian had reached out to Gao Yang, who borrowed a talent that, during their lifetime, had developed mini-programs. This person built a custom mini-program for the shop owner within the forum, making online transactions easier.

Lu Yao was a little surprised; the head guard and the train conductor were really capable, being able to handle even something like this.

Since the failed transaction last time, she hadn’t been on the forum for a while, nor had she reposted the listing to sell the black ring.

She did have some concerns—her world didn’t have a Star Gate, and she wasn’t under the system’s protection. In the real world, she was all alone, constantly having to travel in person for transactions. Over time, it became increasingly risky.

If she encountered bad people, she could escape into the game, but she always had to return to her world eventually. She couldn’t keep running forever.

However, the ring transactions involved large amounts of money, and from the buyer’s perspective, it was hard to trust someone they couldn’t meet. If a trusted third party could be involved, the transaction would become much simpler.

Lu Yao completely trusted the head guard. The black rings came from the Dreamland, and any money she recovered was useless outside the snack shop. As for the buyers, their only option was to trust Dreamland.

“How does the transaction work? Do I just list the ring on the forum?” Lu Yao was quite interested in this new feature and pulled out her phone, preparing to log into the forum.

Bai Jian nodded. “Yes, once you list it, if a buyer makes a purchase, they’ll receive instructions for the transaction. You can complete the deal directly within the game. If it’s inconvenient for you, you can leave the ring in the Dreamland for safekeeping, and the guards will help with the transaction. The money will be delivered to the snack shop.”

Though direct transfers weren’t possible, this online transaction system worked like an online reservation with the actual transaction taking place in the safe, controlled environment of the game.

Lu Yao found this to be a great solution—safe and convenient, without the need to travel around constantly.

She took out a black ring, recorded a short video, and reposted the listing on the forum. When setting the price, she hesitated for a moment before typing in “5 million.”

After posting, Lu Yao clicked into the listing and noticed that a link had been added below the video, which led to a transaction page.

On the transaction page, there were arrows guiding the buyer on how to proceed, similar to modern online platforms. Buyers could also send messages to the seller through the system.

After familiarizing herself with the process, Lu Yao exited the forum.

“It’s very user-friendly. Thank you for your help,” Lu Yao smiled, expressing her gratitude to the head guard.

Bai Jian maintained a serious expression, his fingers twitching slightly, feeling a bit unused to the situation. He awkwardly nodded with a stiff smile, “It’s no trouble. Helping you is helping the residents of Dreamland.”

That was the reason he had come.

After explaining the matter, Bai Jian got up and prepared to leave.

Lu Yao walked him to the door, and when she stepped outside, her eyes widened in surprise. Was this Dreamland?

She had been busy with her nail salon tasks and training apprentices lately.

Usually, she would just drop off ingredients at the snack shop and leave, so it had been a while since she had looked around.

When she first arrived on the ninety-ninth floor, this vast area had only a small, run-down snack shop, with a cinema to the left and the Dreamland amusement park to the right.

But now, in what seemed like such a short time, new shops had sprung up around the snack shop, including a hotel, a karaoke bar, an art studio, and a dance class.

Aside from accommodation, everything else was focused on leisure activities. Compared to how Dreamland used to rely entirely on the amusement park, the changes were remarkable.

Bai Jian noticed her surprise and lifted his chin slightly, his tone light. “It seems they’re gradually rediscovering what they once loved. But the catalyst for all of this… is this very snack shop.”

In this world, apart from time, everything is sustained by illusions.

The residents hadn’t always lacked hobbies and interests.

When the undead first arrived in Dreamland, discovering their immortality, their initial reaction was joy. The thought of being able to endlessly pursue their favorite activities was exhilarating.

But that joy faded quickly. No matter what they did, over time, everything became tiresome because there was no real foundation or pressing motivation to move forward.

The snack shop brought back the simplest of pleasures and goals.

People would sing with friends and then head to the snack shop for a meal, making everything feel like a regular leisure day.

They could practice painting in the art studio or learn dance in the dance room, then meet up with friends for a coffee and dessert on the second floor of the snack shop. It filled the emptiness.

What they really wanted was something as simple as that.

The closest building to the snack shop was a small, three-story white building, and Lu Yao noticed Du Chen and Du An leaning over the second-floor railing.

Du Chen spotted Lu Yao and cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting, “Shop owner, long time no see!”

Lu Yao was a little surprised. The brothers had applied for jobs at the snack shop before, but she hadn’t hired them. Why were they here now?

Bai Jian looked up and saw Du Chen, pressing his lips together. “He’s the owner of that little inn. To eat at the snack shop regularly, he applied for a special residency, so he wouldn’t have to move when the districts rotate. But occasionally, he has to work part-time as an NPC at the amusement park.”

Du Chen was clever and persistent, on par with Qing. Bai Jian remembered that Du Chen and Qing had both participated in the guard selection, with similar intentions, but neither had been chosen.

Later, Du Chen and his brother applied to work at the snack shop but weren’t hired again. Eventually, Du Chen was the first to open an inn next to the snack shop.

With so many people coming to the snack shop daily, those who lived far away would stay at his inn. Business was good, and he achieved his goal of staying close to the snack shop.

Du Chen leaned on the railing before jumping down from the second floor, smiling as he walked up to Lu Yao. “Shop owner.”

“Long time no see,” Lu Yao smiled, acknowledging his persistence.

Du Chen glanced at the snack shop sign, then turned his gaze back to Lu Yao with a grin. “Do you think the snack shop could offer night meals?”

“Hm?” Lu Yao was puzzled.

Du Chen explained, “I was just thinking, could the nightlife of Dreamland’s residents be a little more exciting?”

As undead, they didn’t need to eat or sleep, but doing so made them feel more alive, like when they were still living.

With the snack shop bustling during the day, their lives became lively, but at night, it became even more boring.

Offering nighttime barbecue or grilled fish could greatly enrich the nightlife in Dreamland.

Lu Yao didn’t reject the idea outright. “I’ll think about it.”

Bai Jian turned and pinched his fingertips, surprised that the shop owner would even consider it. If the snack shop operated at night… just imagining it was exciting.

After chatting a bit more with Du Chen and the head guard, Lu Yao returned to the shop.

By that time, the other staff had gone home, leaving only the assistant manager, Xingzi, still at the shop.

Lu Yao listened to Xingzi’s report on the recent business and took out her notebook to jot down new ingredients and seasonings they needed to restock.

In a few days, it would be Xiao Qie’s turn to serve as assistant manager. Lu Yao asked Xingzi to pass on the message that she would meet him at the shop in three days to perform a soul-binding ceremony.

Xingzi then brought out a cardboard box from the kitchen, filled with bundles of soft currency—one hundred yuan bills wrapped in stacks. There were about thirteen bundles in total.

These had been collected by the NPCs in Dreamland’s game, accumulating little by little until they had a small box full of cash.

Lu Yao counted it, confirming there was indeed 130,000 yuan.

She didn’t plan on depositing it; it would be used up quickly to pay for supplies for the shop.

After finishing the report, Xingzi also clocked out for the day.

Lu Yao poured herself a glass of water and sat by the window, lost in thought.

Outside, the river flowed gently, and the trees were beginning to sprout leaves. The wind carried a hint of warmth, signaling that summer was approaching.

The system suddenly chimed in: [Lu Yao’s Snack Shop has successfully served 100,000 customers, upgrading to an eight-star shop. You’ve earned 500,000 popularity points. Please keep up the good work!]

Lu Yao snapped back to reality. “Already up to eight stars? That was fast.”

She noticed a new “Shop Owner Status” button in the system and clicked on it, revealing a detailed profile.

Owner: Lu Yao
Age: 22
Shops: 2
Employees: 15
Popularity Points: 736,590
Assets: 1.35 million (RMB)
Wish Progress: 3%
(Shopping Street Map)

“When did this appear?” she wondered.

System: [The first eight-star shop comes with the Shop Owner Status panel, and four additional warehouse slots as a bonus.]

That explained it.

She had been spending her popularity points rapidly, and progress on the nail shop’s tasks had been slow, meaning she hadn’t earned much lately. Fortunately, upgrading the snack shop to eight stars had replenished 500,000 points.

The 1 million yuan she earned from selling the first black ring, along with her savings and the money from Dreamland, had dwindled down to 1.35 million.

Her time and earnings from the nail shop weren’t counted as part of her assets, so in a sense, it felt like she hadn’t made any money at all.

Even more frustrating was the fact that her wish progress was only 3%. What kind of outrageous wish was this?

Two shops, and only 3% progress…

That was disheartening.

At the bottom of the status panel, there was a “Shopping Street Map” button. When she clicked on it, she saw the entire street layout of shops. The snack shop and nail shop were marked in gold, while the other shops were greyed out.

Lu Yao assumed only operating shops were highlighted.

System: [For 100,000 popularity points, you can upgrade the snack shop to a four-story building. Would you like to upgrade?]

Lu Yao thought for a moment. “No.”

The system fell silent for a moment: […]

Three floors were already enough. Even if she planned to start serving night meals and hire more staff, they could operate in shifts, and the first and third floors would be enough for both daytime and nighttime service.

Expanding the shop’s scale was inevitable, but for now, Lu Yao wasn’t in a rush.

After a brief pause, the system informed her that time storage was once again full.

The warehouse had expanded from 36 to 40 slots, but the capacity per slot hadn’t changed.

Lu Yao transferred the excess time to her lifespan and sighed, “At this rate, I’m going to live forever. Should I lower the prices of the food in the shop?”

System: […]

Shops typically raised prices; it was rare to see someone thinking of lowering them.

Lu Yao reconsidered and agreed it wasn’t a good idea. It might be better to price new items a bit lower and think about adjusting things when she started offering night meals.

Lu Yao tilted her head back, finished her water, and walked to the kitchen to wash the cup before getting ready to head home.

…

Late at night, someone on the Dreamland forum stumbled upon Lu Yao’s new post.

The person gasped and shared the post in a high-level gaming group: “The price went up again—so bold.”

Someone clicked the link to the post and quickly noticed something unusual.

“It’s not just a price increase, the trading method has changed too.”

“Am I seeing this right? Is this online trading?”

“On the forum? How would the payment go through?”

“There’s a mini-program with text instructions, and it looks like the transaction happens in the game?”

“I used to doubt it, but is this person really a Dreamland admin?”

“Five million? Will someone really buy it?”

“Ah, it’s already sold out!”

Someone had bought it.

“……”

“……”

Zhuang Liang received a call in the middle of the night, dragged himself out of bed, and logged onto the forum, only to see a message: “This item is sold out.”

“……” He scratched his head, slumped against the window, and called back the person who had just contacted him. “It was me.”

The other person said a few words, causing Zhuang Liang to frown. “I can’t find her. My advice is, don’t mess with her—don’t try to be clever.”

On the other end of the line, Xia Zhiyi pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to suppress his frustration. “I’ve already bought it, but the transaction location is in-game. I’d like Mr. Zhuang to accompany me, name your price.”

Xia Zhiyi was the buyer who had just spent five million on the black ring.

Zhuang Liang’s eyebrows twitched with interest. He had been wanting to confirm whether the seller was Lu Yao.

“Contact the seller. If they agree, I’m in.”

Xia Zhiyi hung up and logged back into the forum, sending a message to the black ring seller.

…

On the Alexander Continent, in the western region…

Deep within the forest of towering iron needles, the necromancer Ambrose was commanding his undead minions to pack his belongings.

Since he had decided to stay on as an apprentice at the nail salon, he planned to move his entire household to Emerald Town.

The distance between the western and northern regions was too great, and the back-and-forth travel was simply impractical.

Unable to abandon his ongoing magical research, he bought a small building across from the nail salon to serve as his residence, bringing his entire fortune and four minions along.

Humans had short lifespans, and even though the shop owner seemed to possess some secret artifacts, her lifespan likely wouldn’t exceed 500 years. By the time Ambrose had unraveled the mysteries of dark magic, the shop owner would likely be nearing the end of her life. Then he could simply return here.

For the long-lived undead, a mere 500 years was nothing.

Ambrose’s wealth was considerable, enough to fill ten carts, though half of his belongings couldn’t be transported.

Suddenly, a black storm swept through the forest. Moments later, a man with long black hair and green eyes appeared, draped in a cloak, two fangs peeking out from his lips. “Ambrose, it’s the middle of the night. You’re making too much noise.”

Ambrose, now dressed in a new robe, held a black staff embedded with gems, surrounded by floating ghost flames.

The green-eyed man blinked and leaned in toward Ambrose. “What happened to your hands?”

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