Ch 81: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Li Shuang and Xia Min entered the store and immediately noticed two new machines; three were fully stocked, while one was still empty.

Xia Min stood in front of the newly added blind box machine with a curious look in her eyes. “Fruit blind box? Is this a new product?”

Xi Tingran quickly walked over to the fruit blind box machine, noting that it was still priced at fifteen units per draw. He pulled a handful of blind box coins from his pocket and fed them into the machine. The small red light on the side lit up, and with a clunk, a blind box dropped down.

He crouched down to pick it up and felt its weight immediately, similar to the weight of the hidden items in the noodle blind box. His curiosity sparked; perhaps he had pulled a hidden item on the first try.

Before opening it, he took a moment to look at the options. The fruit blind box options were straightforward, featuring eight regular items: apple, pear, banana, grapes, pineapple, mango, watermelon, and orange, along with one large and one small hidden item.

One of the new team members, seeing the selection list for the first time, couldn’t hide their surprise. “Grapes, pineapple, mango, watermelon…so many choices. Are these really all standard fruits?”

“We’ll find out once we open it.”

Xi Tingran was about to tear off the box’s packaging when he noticed a line of small print on top: “This product is specially packaged to maintain freshness and has been pre-washed, so no additional washing is needed. Unopened, it has a shelf life of sixty days.”

The last batch of hot drink blind boxes they had taken back to base stayed warm until they were distributed, as if fresh from the machine. To track the items and quantities from the blind boxes, they had unwrapped the outer layer upon distribution. The drinks cooled quickly once the lid was removed.

At the time, he’d dismissed it as a coincidence, but now it seemed like the blind boxes truly had special packaging.

Tearing open the packaging, a sweet, fresh tropical aroma greeted him.

“What’s that smell? It’s amazing,” Li Jing from Jiang Han’s team stepped forward, drawn by the scent.

Tropical fruits usually carry a strong aroma, and the others had picked up on it, all eyes turning to Xi Tingran.

He carefully reached into the box and pulled out half of a cut fruit. “It’s pineapple.”

The team members gathered around, their eyes wide with disbelief.

“It’s fresh pineapple—this aroma is incredible!”

“The size is normal—no signs of mutation.”

“Does that mean this machine contains all fresh fruit?”

Xi Tingran weighed it in his hand; half a pineapple, with leaves removed and skin peeled, weighed about the same as the hidden noodles, but this was just a regular item.

Jiang Han had been watching Xi Tingran’s movements, surprised to see him pull a box with fruit from the machine.

With a few blind box coins still on hand, Xi Tingran distributed them to his teammates, directing them to try their luck at the machine. He then went to the token exchange machine to get more, fully committed to clearing the stock.

Xia Min moved closer to Jiang Han, who seemed a bit hesitant. “Aren’t you going to try?”

Jiang Han snapped out of it. “Of course. I’ll give it a shot.”

As he stepped forward, he leaned back toward Xia Min and whispered, “So, are all these machines full of food we can just take?”

Xia Min answered only his second question, explaining the process of using crystal cores to exchange for tokens and then using those to draw from the blind boxes.

Jiang Han quickly instructed his team to exchange crystals for tokens and get ready to draw boxes.

But since Xi Tingran’s team was larger and positioned at the front, they weren’t about to budge. Jiang Han’s team had no choice but to wait in line.

Normally, such a situation would lead to a scuffle between the two teams. But noticing how Xi Tingran’s team was refraining from any rash moves, Jiang Han glanced at Lu Yao and then signaled his team to stay calm.

Lu Yao turned her back, calling up the system. “I need a tool to limit the purchase quantity per person.”

System: “Why limit? Isn’t it better to have customers clear out the stock entirely?”

Lu Yao: “…The first group cleared out two blind box machines last night and are here again today to empty them all. In the short term, sales will spike, but monopolizing all the products like this isn’t beneficial for the store’s long-term growth.”

System was confused: “…But isn’t selling everything out a good thing?”

Lu Yao: “…You might not get it right now, but think on it later. Let’s focus on the tool first; the blind boxes are nearly empty.”

Feeling a mix of frustration and resignation from yet another jab at its intelligence, the system responded: “…Ten thousand popularity points can exchange for a purchase-limiting tool, effective for 180 days. Would the shop owner like to proceed?”

Lu Yao: “…How about a three-day trial version?”

System: “…You’ve changed, shop owner.”

In the past, she’d splurge ten thousand popularity points for dragon-sized nail files or glue without a second thought and even spent points to give Slime a voice. Now, when it came to practical tools, she was suddenly tight-fisted.

Lu Yao: “One question—yes or no?”

System: “…One thousand popularity points will get you a three-day trial of the purchase-limiting tool.”

Lu Yao: “I’ll go for the three-day trial.”

With the tool activated, a translucent panel appeared before her, displaying data for all four blind box machines, where she could now directly set a limit on individual purchases. She decided to restrict each customer to a maximum of two draws per day from each machine.

Meanwhile, Xi Tingran’s team was furiously drawing from the machines when red text flashed across the screen: “You’ve reached your daily limit. Please take a break!”

The team member pulling a blind box blinked, confused: “Uh, Captain, I think the machine’s broken.”

Xi Tingran walked over and tried it himself. He was able to draw two hot drink blind boxes, but when he attempted to draw another, the same red message flashed across the screen.

He tested each machine and could only pull two from the noodles, one from the fruit, totaling six before he was unable to draw any further.

Xi Tingran turned to Lu Yao, who had been observing from the back, with a puzzled look: “Shop owner, what’s going on?”

Lu Yao explained simply, “Blind boxes are meant to be enjoyed in moderation. You’re welcome to come back tomorrow and try your luck again.”

Xi Tingran’s expression soured slightly—being limited was not what he’d expected.

Finally, Jiang Han’s team managed to squeeze in front of the token exchange machine and grabbed a handful of tokens.

With Xi Tingran’s team unable to draw any more boxes, they had to give up their spot. Jiang Han was filled with curiosity about the machines but had come in a hurry with only a small team. He hadn’t been able to get close until now due to Xi Tingran’s team holding the spot.

Of the three machines, Jiang Han was most intrigued by the fruit blind box. He’d been watching closely when Xi Tingran pulled out a pineapple, practically staring in awe.

Pulling out three ten-point tokens, he fed them into the machine, managing to get two fruit blind boxes before the screen notified him that he’d reached his limit. Undeterred, he sat down on the floor and tore open the packaging, pulling out a slip of paper and glancing inside with widening eyes.

Chen Feng, squatting beside him, asked eagerly, “What did you get?”

Jiang Han tilted the box towards Chen Feng. “There are so many kinds. I don’t even recognize them.”

His team members, all born after the onset of the Evernight, had rarely seen non-mutated fruit.

Chen Feng pulled out a long, yellow fruit, inspecting it closely. “This should be… a banana?”

They had seen mutated, giant banana-like fruits before, only ten times larger than this.

Li Cheng and his sister, Li Jing, crouched down and sifted through the box, finding five or six varieties, each containing one or two pieces, with one type in particular containing five small pieces.

Lu Yao walked over, glanced at the box, and smiled, “You’re in luck; you’ve drawn a hidden item—the rare large hidden.”

Jiang Han: “Hidden?”

Lu Yao pointed to the card in his hand and the image of different types on the box, explaining, “Hidden items are the rarest types within each series and are usually special. The large hidden item in the fruit blind box is a fruit platter, containing five or six different kinds of fruit per box.”

Jiang Han flipped over the card, and sure enough, the word “hidden” was printed on the back, with a red “large” symbol at the end. He then compared the fruits in the box to the common items on the type chart: an apple, an orange, a mango, a banana, five grapes, and finally, two small red fruits that smelled particularly fragrant yet were missing from the chart.

Lu Yao: “Those are strawberries.”

Jiang Han leaned in, inhaling deeply and savoring the fragrance, eyes slightly narrowed, “So fragrant, and each fruit smells distinct.”

For his generation, most plants they encountered had mutated as they grew up. Some plants had become carrion feeders with a particularly foul stench—completely unlike the fresh fruit in the blind boxes.

Xi Tingran’s team eyed Jiang Han’s large hidden item with undisguised envy. Although they had also drawn several blind boxes, they hadn’t yet opened them to see if they contained any hidden items.

Seeing he could no longer draw from the machines, Xi Tingran decided to leave and called his team to return to the base. Jiang Han’s team members also maxed out their daily limit of six boxes each and left with their blind boxes in tow.

Both Xi Tingran and Jiang Han understood that word of this shop’s existence would soon spread across the different bases. They aimed to secure as many supplies as possible for their bases before that happened.

After they left, Lu Yao checked the machines and noticed that nearly half the stock was already gone. She pulled up the purchase limit system and reset each machine’s limit to one per person per day.

Seeing how basic the system’s functionality was, Lu Yao wanted a more sophisticated, versatile tool. Without sharing this thought with the Dream Fulfillment System, she first stopped by the snack shop to place an order for a new batch of blind boxes, then returned to the nail salon.

That evening, she ordered four top-spec computers online, which arrived the same day. Lu Yao asked Qing to help handle the next black ring transaction and leave the payment at the snack shop.

She moved the computers into the nail salon, requested ten recovery potions from Tina, then sealed herself in the lab with a “Do Not Disturb” charm on the door.

The system observed her as she alternated between tinkering with the blacklist system and examining the purchase limit functions, scribbling ideas on paper, installing magic stones into computer cases, and engraving magic circles on the screens and cases. It felt a growing sense of unease.

System: “Shop owner, what exactly are you up to?”

Lost in the joy of her project, Lu Yao didn’t hear a word.

With the system recently consuming so many popularity points, she was now building her own blacklist system, complete with purchase limits and shop protection capabilities. The combination of magic and modern tech allowed her to quickly develop a prototype.

Lu Yao worked tirelessly through the night and following day, eventually embedding the new magic-powered blacklist system into the computers.

For easier data tracking, she designated two computers: one exclusively for collecting blacklist data and protection protocols, and the other to monitor the blind box machines and inventory, with a built-in purchase limit feature. She engraved two massive-capacity hard drives with magic stones, ensuring ample storage.

A conservative estimate suggested that this system could run smoothly in the ever-changing world for a hundred years without issues.

The system felt utterly betrayed: “…Owner, the system feels heartbroken.”

Lu Yao: “There, there. Take a moment to process it. Isn’t the trial period of the blacklist system about to end? I’ll head to the blind box store and install the new system first.”

System: “… “

…

In the world of Impermanence, Changming Base.

News of a shop in Fairy Tale Square where a few items could be bought with crystal cores spread quickly among the residents. Some were skeptical, while others secretly pocketed crystal cores and hurried to Fairy Tale Square.

Jiang Han burst through the secure doors of the base’s research sector, carrying eight fruit blind boxes, and shouted, “Grandpa, Brother Chi! I brought back something good.”

Elder Jiang Shanrun, with white hair and beard, was still quite spry. He wore reading glasses and was meticulously tending to a few pots of delicate seedlings.

He didn’t move at the sound of his grandson’s voice, waiting until Jiang Han came closer before speaking. “What good things did you bring back this time?”

Jiang Han placed several blind boxes before him, keeping an already opened one to the side, out of view. “Grandpa, this box contains exactly what you want. Let’s wait for Brother Chi to open them together. Where is he?”

Jiang Shanrun adjusted his glasses and looked curiously at the box in his grandson’s hands. “He’s probably hiding in the greenhouse, slacking off again. What is this ‘good thing’? Let me take a look first.”

As they spoke, Chi Jin strolled in from outside, wearing a white lab coat, lean and composed, with sunglasses on and a small silver pair of scissors twirling in one hand. He walked over casually, saying, “Old man, I was pruning. Who’s slacking off now?”

His voice was smooth and laid-back, with an indifferent tone.

Seeing him, Jiang Han waved eagerly, “Brother Chi, come quick, let’s open something fun.”

Jiang Shanrun inspected the so-called fruit blind box in his hand, examining the text on the packaging. Deep wrinkles formed on his face as he muttered, “Where did you get this? Don’t tell me you were tricked. We’re not even in the transitional phase yet. Where would we get fruit? Finding unmutated fruit is hard enough; even if we find some, there’s no guarantee it won’t mutate or that we can keep it alive.”

Most plants growing in the small greenhouse would eventually mutate and couldn’t produce edible fruit.

Jiang Shanrun knew it had something to do with the seeds and the soil. Many of the seeds they found, though appearing normal, carried hidden mutation genes. And with the contaminated soil, despite efforts to improve it, they couldn’t prevent those genes from activating.

“Grandpa, just open one first, then we can talk,” Jiang Han urged.

Seeing his grandson so confidently calm, Jiang Shanrun’s hopes flickered, though he could hardly believe it. But if they’d indeed found fruits without mutation genes, it could give their stalled research a new direction.

With a mix of doubt and hope, he began opening the strange box. His hands trembled slightly with excitement, and he paused to take a deep breath before carefully peeling back the lid. Suddenly, a sweet yet unfamiliar aroma of fresh fruit wafted out.

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