Ch 73: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Yu Li hunched over, moving quickly toward the blind box shop, a mix of caution and unease in his steps.

Twenty years after the Day of Impermanence, it was incredible to find such a clean and bright shop—no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like an exaggerated trap.

But a small part of him couldn’t suppress a spark of hope. What if it was real?

Yu Li stood at the entrance, carefully examining the sign next to the door once more—”Hot Drink Blind Box, 15 yuan per draw.” It looked ridiculously fake.

Since the Day of Impermanence, disaster after disaster had struck, society had crumbled, and paper money had lost its value years ago. Now, the currency was energy crystals.

These crystals were extracted from mutated animals and plants, containing energy that could substitute for some forms of power and be exchanged for daily necessities.

However, life resources had become increasingly scarce, and low-quality energy crystals could hardly be traded for anything decent.

Yu Li snapped back to the present, realizing he’d drifted off. He raised his hand and opened the door.

Unexpectedly, the store was quite empty, and the girl who seemed to be the owner wasn’t there.

Nothing like what he had imagined.

Yu Li’s heart began to race unnaturally as he noticed something near the entrance. There was a machine filled with rows of beige cylindrical cans, similar to soda cans, though the material didn’t quite look metallic. “Hot Drink Blind Box” was written in large red letters on the cans.

From the outside, they all looked the same. Next to the machine was a narrow coin slot.

Yu Li scratched his head and looked around, soon spotting a token exchange machine beside the blind box machine.

It was a square machine, half as tall as the blind box machine. At the top, there was a square hole about 15 cm wide, with the words “Energy Crystal Exchange” written beside it. A transparent box was beneath it, with a narrow coin dispenser resembling an old ATM or a game token machine from arcades.

With an indescribable feeling, Yu Li pulled a small piece of blue crystal from his pocket and tossed it into the machine.

After a few clinks, a blue round coin with the word “one yuan” printed on it rolled out of the slot below.

So, that’s how it works.

He immediately pulled out another small piece of green crystal and dropped it in. A few more clinks, and the machine spat out a green coin marked “ten yuan.”

Yu Li was a bit surprised. The machine could distinguish between different colored crystals.

Blue crystals came from low-level mutated beasts and plants, containing little energy, and were exchanged for just one yuan.

Green crystals came from mid-level beasts and plants, with more energy, yielding a “ten yuan” coin.

If he had a red crystal from high-level beasts or plants, he would likely get more blind box tokens.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have any red crystals to test this theory.

With 15 yuan needed for one draw, Yu Li fished out four more small blue crystals, exchanged them for four coins, and finally made up the 15 yuan.

He returned to the blind box machine, inserting each coin one by one. The machine began working, and with a clang, a small red light lit up, and a can dropped down.

Yu Li reached into the tray and pulled out the drink. It was warm, and it felt heavy in his hand.

As he studied the can, he saw a straw sealed in plastic attached to the side. Turning it over, he found a list of possible flavors—classic milk tea, honey grapefruit tea, banana milk, matcha latte, and a blacked-out cup with a question mark labeled “hidden.”

He seemed to get the concept of the blind box now. This drink could be one of the five flavors listed.

Interesting!

Life had been tough, and he had lost much of his curiosity. But now, this small thing stirred an immediate urge to open it and find out.

If the drinks were really as described… Yu Li’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Just reading the names made him want to gulp.

Twenty years ago, before the world was turned upside down, Yu Li had just started high school. Back then, he loved milk tea, milk, and soda.

He had never imagined that in this lifetime, he would have the chance to taste those things again.

Yu Li carefully tore open the lid of the cup, and a thick sweet fragrance immediately hit him. Warm steam rose, blending with the light, fresh scent of grapefruit, making Yu Li half-close his eyes, speechless.

He lowered his head, blew softly, and took a small sip. It was honey grapefruit tea, both sweet and warm.

It felt like a dream.

Yu Li had never liked honey grapefruit tea before, thinking it was something only girls would enjoy.

But now, after pausing to savor a sip, he took another, each one larger than the last, until he didn’t even care about the heat anymore. Tilting his head back, he gulped down the entire cup, even using his finger to push the last bit of grapefruit pulp stuck to the inside of the cup into his mouth.

“Ah—”

Yu Li propped himself up with one hand on the floor and looked at the blind box machine. There were still four flavors left. What was he going to do if he wanted to try them all?

Suddenly, there was a noise at the entrance. Yu Li turned his head and saw Wei Dong and Tang Ling rushing in.

They pushed the door open, their faces filled with worry. Seeing Yu Li sitting on the floor, they hurried over to help him up.

“Captain, Captain, what happened to you?”

“Are you hurt?”

Yu Li replied, “I told you to wait outside. Why did you come in?”

Tang Ling explained, “You didn’t come out for a while, and we got worried.”

“I’m fine.” Yu Li stood up and brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He had almost gotten so absorbed in the blind boxes that he forgot about the two of them outside.

Wei Dong stood up, curiosity shining in his eyes. “What’s going on with this shop? No one’s here? Where’s the owner?”

Tang Ling also found it strange and walked over to the blind box machine. “Blind box hot drinks—are these for real?”

Yu Li walked over and nodded. “Yes, they’re real. Come, let me show you how to draw a blind box.”

Wei Dong and Tang Ling immediately exchanged their energy crystals for 15 yuan of blind box tokens and rushed over to the machine, excited to try it out.

Both were born after the Day of Impermanence and had never seen such a magical machine.

Wei Dong inserted the tokens into the slot, full of excitement.

When the drink can dropped down, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Tang Ling urged him to quickly grab his drink—she wanted her turn too.

Both of them drew a can each.

Yu Li couldn’t resist and drew another one. The three of them sat in a circle on the floor.

After examining the cans, Wei Dong and Tang Ling asked what the flavor chart on the back of the cans meant.

Yu Li explained that before the Day of Impermanence, these were common drinks in the market.

There were teas, milk drinks, and fruit beverages, each one sweet but with distinct flavors, and they were especially delicious.

Wei Dong and Tang Ling couldn’t quite imagine how delicious they could be, or how different sweet flavors could be.

Until they opened their hot drink blind boxes. The sweet fragrances hit their noses, but each one was entirely different.

Wei Dong’s drink was a light brown hot liquid, with a slightly bitter caramelized aroma mixed with rich black tea. The warmth of it was evident just from the smell.

Yu Li explained, “This is classic milk tea, with caramel, milk, and black tea. It smells sweet and warm.”

Wei Dong’s eyes lit up as he eagerly took a sip. The rich milkiness mixed with the tea’s aroma, smooth and sweet, instantly filled his mouth.

It was the first time in his life he had tasted something so delicious.

“So good!”

Tang Ling’s drink gave off a strange fruity scent mixed with milk, smelling even sweeter than Wei Dong’s.

Yu Li didn’t even need to get closer to identify it. “That’s banana milk.”

In this world, normal bananas no longer existed. After the cold wave, the plants that grew back were all mutated species.

Mutated banana trees bore huge fruits that emitted a stinky-sweet odor but were inedible.

The two younger team members had seen mutated banana trees before and immediately frowned.

Tang Ling looked a bit sad, “So, we can’t drink this?”

Yu Li shook his head, “This should be made from normal banana fruit. It smells sweet and delicious, completely different from the mutated bananas. It’s safe to drink.”

Tang Ling brightened up, took a small sip, and found the rich banana flavor perfectly blended with the milk. The drink was smooth and warm, with every breath carrying a sweet, lingering aroma.

Wei Dong, curious about the taste of banana milk, and Tang Ling, curious about the milk tea, swapped drinks to try each other’s. Their eyes lit up again—it was just as their captain had said.

Though both drinks were sweet, their aromas and textures were entirely different.

Yu Li opened his own drink and frowned slightly, “I got honey grapefruit tea again. Bad luck.”

Wei Dong and Tang Ling, having never tasted honey grapefruit tea before, eagerly traded their drinks with Yu Li, knowing he had already had a cup.

The floral sweetness of the honey combined with the light, slightly tart grapefruit pulp created a completely different experience from the milk tea and banana milk.

Tang Ling took a sip and nodded, “This is delicious too.”

Wei Dong agreed, though he still preferred the milk tea.

Yu Li exchanged his honey grapefruit tea for Tang Ling’s banana milk and, as he drank, said, “There are still two flavors left. I really want to try them.”

“Hidden flavor and matcha latte. I want to know what they taste like too, but we’re out of crystals,” Tang Ling said.

During the Eternal Night, mutated plants and animals were dormant, so there hadn’t been many opportunities to hunt or collect more energy crystals.

Wei Dong put down his can and circled around the blind box machine twice, “Do you think we could break this machine? We wouldn’t need energy crystals then; we could just take it.”

Yu Li had thought the same thing.

With the collapse of order, what hadn’t they done just to survive?

Tang Ling, however, felt a bit uneasy. “Wait, wasn’t there a girl in the shop earlier? Where is she?”

Yu Li shook his head, “She wasn’t here when I came in.”

Wei Dong felt they had to give it a shot. After all, they were the first to discover these drinks—if they didn’t take them, another team would.

A few minutes later, Wei Dong and Yu Li lay flat on the floor, panting from exhaustion.

The machine, whatever it was made of, wouldn’t budge or break.

Tang Ling thought for a moment and said, “I think we should try to earn more energy crystals and come back for more draws. If these hot drinks are really from twenty years ago, as the captain says, the person who runs this shop definitely isn’t ordinary.”

Yu Li and Wei Dong finally came to the same realization, especially Yu Li, who began to fully grasp the significance.

He understood better than the other two just how miraculous these drinks were.

They weren’t like the ones from years ago at the base, made with expired and low-quality milk powder mixed with water, but real, high-quality drinks. In fact, the taste and texture seemed even better than the ones he had drunk twenty years ago.

“Lingling’s right. Let’s go back and earn more crystals,” Yu Li said.

Wei Dong also stood up, still eyeing the blind box machine with some reluctance. “The shopkeeper is probably that girl who placed the sign at the entrance, right? We didn’t see her leave, and she’s not here now. Where could she have gone?”

…

Emerald Town, Alexander Continent.

Lu Yao pushed open the door to the nail salon, where the apprentices were busy attending to customers.

Si Jin and Harold sat in a corner, reading comic books, each with a round, chubby fairy resting on their books.

Puxiu was sprawled beside Si Jin, his small size making it difficult for him to read.

Si Jin, having finished his page first, would patiently wait for a bit.

When Puxiu wanted to turn the page, he would lift his head and gently nudge Si Jin’s thumb.

Meanwhile, things were a bit noisier on the other side.

With just a few days left before school started, Harold was trying to cram as many comics as he could before returning to Dragon Valley. He had no patience to wait for his fairy to finish reading.

After finishing a page, he would poke Merulu, urging her to hurry up.

Merulu, irritated, wanted to bite him. This was how she used to deal with the evil Carlos.

But dragon skin was much tougher than human skin, and when she bit down, she nearly broke her teeth.

The two often bickered, yet they always ended up reading the same book together.

Lu Yao couldn’t figure out if their relationship was good or bad.

Edward and Ambrose were likely in the lab, working on new magical nail designs.

Magical battle nails were very popular among magicians, but many customers also loved pure, beautiful designs.

Even without enchantments, the simplest, prettiest designs still brought in a steady stream of customers, and business was doing quite well.

Lu Yao noticed a customer with beautiful hair standing by the window and called out to see if she was waiting in line, offering to help.

Dumanine turned her head at the sound, smiling brightly when she saw Lu Yao. “Owner, it’s me. Thanks to your help, I made it back to my homeland. My powers are restored, and I’d like to do another reading for you.”

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