Ch 85: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Hearing it was a “hidden item,” Jiang Han’s team immediately gathered around, and even Wei Xuan, who didn’t fully understand the term, raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

Lu Yao took a peculiar-looking cup out of the blind box. It had two layers: an inner layer containing a band of about two fingers thick with transparent liquid around it, and a gold-colored liquid at the bottom, about one finger wide. The outer layer was the regular cup body.

“This is a filtration and heating integrated water cup,” Lu Yao explained. “The transparent liquid at the top is the filtering solution, which removes impurities and bacteria from raw water. The golden liquid at the bottom is crystal core energy liquid. When you press the switch on top, it heats the filtered water. The boiled water then condenses as drinkable water in the outer cup. To drink, you can either remove the inner filter-heater unit or pour it into the lid.”

Lu Yao went into detail to showcase the cup’s excellent features.

Jiang Han was stunned, “So, with this cup, I won’t have to drink foul water anymore? I can always have clean, hot water?”

In the Impermenance World, water, like soil, was polluted to varying degrees and had a foul odor. Many had tried solving this with sedimentation, filtering, and, back when supplies were plentiful, disinfectants, but none of these methods were very effective.

Prolonged consumption of such water weakened immunity and often led to a skin disease where the skin became dry, gray, and extremely fragile. While those with powers were somewhat immune, this condition was rampant among ordinary people. Yet, to survive, they couldn’t avoid drinking the water.

Initially, people with the means would sediment and filter raw water multiple times before boiling it for drinking. Though it still tasted strange, it was somewhat manageable. But as survival became increasingly challenging, people stopped worrying about water quality, as long as there was something to drink.

Recently, many people had discovered that the water at the blind box store was clean and odorless, prompting them to rush back to fetch containers to fill. Nobody turned down the chance to drink pure, flavorless water.

Jiang Han trusted the cup’s effectiveness, though he was curious how it could achieve something that was beyond their reach.

The transparent filter liquid came from a self-cleaning tree on Alexander Continent. Another key feature was the filter mesh, made from a soft material found inside crystal cores. While extracting energy from the cores, Lu Yao discovered that beneath their hard surface was a flexible, elastic membrane that filtered out all impurities, leaving the purest energy at the core’s center.

This explanation was complex, so Lu Yao only mentioned using a unique filtration material, and Jiang Han didn’t press further.

The team members admired Chi Jin’s luck, each quietly setting their own goals. The liquid crystal core knife and the filtration-heating cup were items they all wanted badly!

Lu Yao returned the cup to Chi Jin, then added, “I’m considering loosening the limit on crystal core blind box purchases, allowing people to buy two or three at a time.”

Jiang Han’s eyes lit up, “When will that happen?”

The crystal core blind box cost sixty credits each—expensive for most people—but he could manage!

He had his eye on both the liquid crystal core knife and the cup.

Lu Yao stood up, “Tomorrow. I need to stock up first. The crystal core blind box line will also get new items and hidden features, so if you’re interested, feel free to check it out.”

When Jiang Han’s team left the store, thoughts of the crystal core knife and cup occupied their minds. They planned to hunt and collect more cores for tomorrow’s big gamble.

Chi Jin, however, didn’t plan to join them and parted ways midway, strolling back to Changming Base with his cup in hand.

After taking the medicine Lu Yao had given her, Nie Yu soon woke up, somewhat surprised to still be alive.

Wei Xuan, seated beside her, joyfully hugged her friend upon seeing her regain consciousness. She picked up a cup noodles blind box, ready to tear it open, and explained, “This is the blind box store. I brought you here, and the store owner, along with the people from Changming Base, helped save you. Don’t move yet. Let’s eat something.”

Recently, nearby bases had been buzzing about the blind box store. The powers team Wei Xuan and Nie Yu used to be part of had often talked about it as well, so they were both familiar with the name.

But as “blood bait,” they usually received only a meager amount of food and hardly any crystal cores, so they never dared to come here.

Nie Yu sat weakly in the chair, her lips pale as paper, listening intently to the conversation around her.

“Oh! I think I got a hidden item!” Wei Xuan suddenly exclaimed in surprise, her face lighting up.

From her blind box fell a card with “Mushroom Chicken Soup Noodles” written on the front, and the word “Hidden” printed on the back.

Besides the noodles and seasoning packet, there were three hidden extra ingredients: a packet of shredded chicken, a packet of mushroom slices, and a small pack of blanched greens.

Wei Xuan carefully broke the noodles into three portions, planning to eat only one serving for now. She divided the seasoning and luxury ingredients into three parts as well, filled a large bowl with hot water, and set the noodles to soak.

As they waited for the noodles, Wei Xuan told Nie Yu about Jiang Han’s invitation and showed her the liquid crystal core knife, recounting how the store owner had easily slain a giant mutated rat with it.

Nie Yu couldn’t speak much, but listening to Wei Xuan, a slight glimmer appeared in her otherwise exhausted eyes.

After a short time, the blind box packaging would disappear, so Lu Yao had given Wei Xuan two sets of stainless-steel bowls and chopsticks.

Wei Xuan poured the noodle soup into the bowl, carefully picking out noodles, shredded chicken, mushroom slices, and greens, then slid half of it to Nie Yu with a smile. “The broth smells amazing; let’s eat. Tomorrow, I’ll try some hunting nearby. I’ll try to save up some crystal cores before the cold wave hits. You need to get well soon.”

Nie Yu nodded, her voice hoarse, “Mm.”

The noodles, seasoned only lightly, were mild in flavor, but for Wei Xuan and Nie Yu, it was the most satisfying meal they’d had in years.

The soup held the richness of chicken, the freshness of mushrooms, and the subtle wheat aroma of noodles, enhanced by the finely shredded chicken and a small piece of crunchy green. It was savory and fulfilling.

Usually eating very little, the noodles and half a bowl of hot broth were enough to make them feel full.

After resting for a while, Nie Yu took another dose of medicine and felt significantly better, even starting a conversation with Wei Xuan.

The two discussed and decided not to move to Changming Base for the time being.

Newcomers to a base generally had to pay an entry fee of one red crystal core, known as the “land tax.” Without purchasing a residential permit, finding temporary housing would require additional rent.

When the Impermenance Day arrived, they would need to pay a substantial food subsidy fee to the base to receive small amounts of food and water during extreme times.

All bases were like this; the only difference was in the level of fees.

Since they already owed Lu Yao and Jiang Han, moving to Changming Base would incur additional costs they couldn’t afford at the moment.

There were many empty buildings around the blind box store, so the two planned to find a nearby vacant room to stay temporarily.

It was so well-lit here that Wei Xuan felt safer than in their previous base.

When they had enough crystal cores, they could easily exchange them for blind boxes in the store.

…

The crystal core blind boxes remained slow sellers, with only Jiang Han’s team from Changming Base consistently coming to draw them each day. Most people left after exchanging for a food blind box, and only a few drew one or two crystal core boxes for fun.

Lu Yao increased the single-person purchase limit for crystal core blind boxes to three per transaction, which led to about twenty boxes being sold daily.

She also designed a few new items, stockpiling them over several days, and then fully restocked the crystal core blind box machine at once.

That day, the cold wave arrived quietly.

Normally, as soon as the blind box shop opened, customers would rush in. But today, even after a while, no one came. Lu Yao found this odd and stepped outside.

Snow was falling heavily, as if summer had suddenly plunged into the dead of winter. The temperature drop was so abrupt it nearly froze her in place.

She hurried back inside, rubbing her goosebump-covered arms, and used a transformation spell to switch to a long, thick down jacket before daring to step out again. This cold wave was more intense than she had imagined.

In such harsh weather, it would be hard for ordinary people to even leave their homes, meaning the shop’s business would likely be affected.

Hearing the crunch of shoes on snow, Lu Yao turned to see Wei Xuan and Nie Yu supporting each other as they walked toward the shop, dressed only in thin clothes.

The two now lived in an empty storefront close to the blind box shop, and thanks to the liquid crystal core knife, Wei Xuan had managed to gather quite a few crystal cores, enough to repay Lu Yao and Jiang Han. However, they hadn’t saved up enough winter supplies before the cold wave hit. Braving the snow, they were here to exchange for food blind boxes.

When they saw Lu Yao, their eyes briefly lingered on her thick down coat, which looked wonderfully warm. Lu Yao greeted them and headed back inside, where it was much warmer.

The shop itself was located in Yaoguang City, which was currently in the height of summer, so the temperature inside matched the summer warmth. Lu Yao wanted to take off her coat right away but held back due to the customers, so she slipped into the backroom to remove it.

Wei Xuan and Nie Yu, after sitting to warm up from the cold, eventually exchanged for four food blind boxes—two boxes of instant noodles, one hot drink, and a fruit box.

Seeing the crystal core blind box machine filled to the brim beside the fruit blind box machine, Wei Xuan remembered the items Jiang Han’s team had drawn and hesitantly whispered, “Xiao Yu, why don’t we try drawing two crystal core blind boxes too?”

The crystal core blind boxes were expensive, and Wei Xuan had been reluctant to spend on them. But with the intense cold and no warm clothing, they were really struggling. If they could draw some solid fuel blocks or heat packs, it might make things more bearable.

Nie Yu, still recovering, had no opinion on how Wei Xuan used the crystal cores she’d gathered by hunting mutated creatures.

Wei Xuan exchanged 120 yuan worth of blind box coins, and each of them drew a crystal core blind box. Without waiting to go back, they sat in the shop, ready to open them.

Voices came from outside as several people pushed through the wind and snow, entering the store—it was Jiang Han’s team of four, joined by the young man in sunglasses.

Chen Feng called out as soon as he stepped inside, “Is the store owner here? These heat packs are awesome! I can go out on the first day of the cold wave with one of these!”

Behind him, Li Cheng urged, “Not many people are here, so let’s draw some blind boxes quickly.”

For the past few days, they had been drawing crystal core blind boxes, mostly getting heat packs, solid fuel blocks, and the occasional small flashlight, but still no luck with a liquid crystal core knife or the filtered heating water cup.

The group had been feeling a bit discouraged, but then the cold wave hit.

They immediately pulled out their heat packs and stuck them on their backs, and the effect was even better than expected. Just as the store owner had said, one pack was enough to keep their whole body warm. Even in the extreme cold outside, their bodies didn’t go numb from the chill.

It was much more comfortable than their usual outings to gather supplies.

The five quickly exchanged for blind box coins, starting from the hot drink blind box machine and working their way to the crystal core blind box machine. Then, they sat down with a pile of blind boxes, ready to open them.

During the early days of the cold wave, few people were willing to go outside. Since they had a group, they weren’t worried about opening boxes in the store and then heading back to the base together.

Meanwhile, Wei Xuan and Nie Yu had already opened their crystal core blind boxes. After hearing Chen Feng and the others rave about the heat packs, Wei Xuan had hoped to draw one for herself. But when she tore open her box, out fell a bag of solid fuel blocks.

Wei Xuan quietly put them away, reassuring herself that it wasn’t bad either—these could be used as fuel for a long time.

When Nie Yu opened her box, she pulled out a thin, warm yellow piece of cloth. It was so light it barely had any weight, and it felt insubstantial in her hands, almost like plastic. She looked at it, confused. “What is this?”

Wei Xuan wasn’t familiar with it either, but each blind box now came with a usage guide, so they checked the instructions.

—Liquid Crystal Core Blanket: heated by crystal core liquid. Very warm when draped over the body. Crystal core liquid can be refilled at the shop’s charging station.

Wei Xuan draped the blanket over herself and exclaimed with delight, “It’s really warm! With this, we won’t have to worry about the cold at night.”

Nie Yu tried it on and nodded happily. “It’s so warm that it’s almost too hot to wear inside.”

Though Wei Xuan hadn’t drawn a heat pack, she was completely satisfied.

Meanwhile, Jiang Han’s team watched with growing interest from the table next to them as they saw the items Wei Xuan and Nie Yu drew.

Li Jing said, “The shop owner updated the items; that blanket they got looks like a new model liquid crystal core blanket. Ahh, I want one too!”

With that blanket, she could spend the whole day cozied up indoors.

A few minutes later, Li Jing finished opening her three crystal core blind boxes: a set of solid fuel blocks, a heat pack, and a small flashlight.

Li Jing: “….”

Too unlucky, she thought, feeling defeated.

Jiang Han looked over the updated product list and said loudly, “I want the crystal core thermal gloves. And the pressure cooker looks interesting too. There’s even a new hidden item; it’d be great to draw that.”

Chen Feng asked, “Han-ge, don’t you want the liquid crystal core knife anymore?”

Jiang Han replied, “Not right now; today, I need cold-weather gear. As long as I can draw the liquid crystal core knife before the next transition period, I’ll be happy.”

As he said this, a liquid crystal core knife tumbled out of his box.

Jiang Han: “…”

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