Ch 90: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Impermanence World, beneath the Cross-River Bridge.

A thick layer of ice coated the river surface. Wei Xuan and Nie Yu crouched on the ice, using a liquid crystal-core knife to carve open the ice and wait for mutant fish to surface for air.

Nearby, someone lacking the right tools watched Wei Xuan’s knife with keen interest. “Could I borrow your knife?”

Wei Xuan stood up. “Sure, for one blue crystal core.”

Such exchanges were common in the Impermanence Days.

A blue crystal core wasn’t too costly, and using it to save the trouble of chiseling through the ice was convenient. The person handed over a crystal core.

Nie Yu accepted it, while Wei Xuan lifted the knife. “Where do you want the hole?”

The person pointed to a chosen spot, and Wei Xuan went over, made a few cuts to open a small hole, then returned to her own fishing hole.

Every night during the cold wave, heavy snow fell.

The ice holes made one day would freeze solid again by morning.

Anyone needing a new ice hole would seek out Wei Xuan and Nie Yu, paying one blue crystal core.

During this period, the two girls made a decent number of crystal cores by opening ice holes and hunting mutant fish.

They used some for food and standard crystal-core blind boxes but managed to save quite a bit too.

With another day’s work, they’d likely have enough for a full box of winter-exclusive crystal cores, fueling their determination.

Xi Tingran and Xi Ruiyang also had an ice hole set up, with a small bucket nearby to collect crystal cores.

When a mutant aquatic creature surfaced, Xi Ruiyang would use his ability to jolt it out of the water, then use a tool to extract the core.

This cold wave was harsher than usual, but the blind box store now sold food and crystal-core boxes.

Base residents now had hope and actively went out to hunt mutant creatures to exchange for survival resources.

With the burden lightened, Xi Tingran even had time to train Xi Ruiyang’s powers.

Human abilities evolved much slower than mutant flora and fauna, primarily enhancing basic physical resilience and immunity.

A large blue-mouthed fish emerged from the water, and Xi Ruiyang swiftly jolted it out, raising a small hatchet to expertly sever its head and extract a blue crystal core.

Recently, he’d been particularly enthusiastic, personally hunting mutant beasts to gather cores, then spending them at the blind box store—a deeply satisfying routine.

A rare mechanical sound shattered the quiet over the river. Those “guarding holes” for fish heard a distant “vroom,” scaring off some surfacing fish and prompting annoyed glances toward the sound.

Someone with an awakened “eagle-eye” ability spotted the fast-approaching snowmobile and shouted, “Whoa! Someone’s riding a snowmobile over here!”

Lu Yao circled the ice with Chi Jin before stopping, removing her helmet as she prepared to check things out.

Chi Jin was first to dismount, stomping his feet to shake off snow.

Recognizing Lu Yao, Xi Tingran approached her. “Store owner, what brings you here?”

“A lucky guy pulled the winter series major hidden item but couldn’t ride it, so I brought him out for a spin,” Lu Yao replied cheerfully, gesturing to the sunglasses-wearing young man beside her.

Xi Tingran nodded at Chi Jin in greeting, then looked at the snowmobile parked on the ice. “This came out of a blind box?”

“Yep,” Lu Yao confirmed with a nod.

Xi Tingran was stunned. The thought of a snowmobile appearing from a blind box was almost too wild to believe.

He’d ridden motorbikes as a kid, and just a few years ago, motorized tools were still common in the Changeless World. He knew how to ride a bike and even drive a car.

But with gasoline scarce, none of the vehicles at the base were functional anymore.

“Mind if I give it a try?” Xi Tingran asked.

Lu Yao replied, “Ask him.”

Chi Jin hesitated a moment before giving a slight nod.

“Thank you!” Xi Tingran expressed his gratitude sincerely, quickly walking over to the snowmobile and touching the handlebars with excitement.

Lu Yao explained a few important points to him.

With his prior experience riding motorbikes, learning to handle a snowmobile on ice was hardly a challenge for Xi Tingran.

He circled around the ice a few times, then took Xi Ruiyang for two laps before reluctantly returning the vehicle.

“Uncle, let’s go to the blind box store and get a box. We need our own snowmobile,” Xi Ruiyang said eagerly, tugging at Xi Tingran’s arm as he watched the store owner and Chi Jin drive off into the distance.

It was his first time riding a vehicle, and although they only went in two small circles, with the wind cutting against his face like a knife, Xi Ruiyang clung tightly to Xi Tingran’s coat, grinning so wide it almost reached his ears.

The thrill was incredible.

Xi Tingran gazed intently at the snowmobile as it disappeared, his expression serious.

Survival demands had forced them to avoid questioning the origins of the various items in the blind box store.

But at this moment, his curiosity was piqued to the fullest, and he desperately wanted to ask the store owner where that new snowmobile had come from.

Xi Tingran knew Lu Yao’s background was extraordinary and had discreetly probed her intentions. Yet she seemed to have no special purpose beyond simply running her store here.

The new researchers at the base felt off to him, and he couldn’t help but think that working with the store owner would be far more reassuring than any of them.

The issue, however, was finding the right leverage to negotiate an equal exchange with her.

…

Panting heavily, Luo Huian trudged through the snow.

The people of Hope Base, seeing his unfamiliar face and his plump figure, instinctively tried to avoid him.

Though he was young, looking about his early teens, he waddled as he walked, like a plump dumpling inching forward.

In a world where food was scarce and people were skeletal, seeing a chubby figure like Luo Huian’s led to unsettling assumptions.

Passersby cast wary, disapproving glances his way.

Luo Huian, however, had only one goal in mind—the blind box store.

Following the others for a while, he eventually got left behind, but he managed to find his way to the fabled blind box store by tracking their footprints.

Exhausted, hungry, and freezing, Luo Huian leaned against the store’s entrance, catching his breath for a long moment.

When he finally mustered the strength, he walked inside, feeling warmth spread over him as he looked around. His eyes quickly landed on the crystal-core blind box machine, and he squeezed his way over to inspect it for a while.

Others, noticing he wasn’t buying a box and only observing others drawing theirs, grew suspicious, turning their backs to him and leaving as soon as they drew their boxes.

Having looked at the blind box machine enough, Luo Huian slowly moved to the main hall, watching people unbox their items.

Thinking he was coveting their boxes, others grew impatient and shooed him away.

Had it not been for the “no fighting in the store” rule, which would land people on the blacklist, Luo Huian would have been kicked out by now.

He stood in a corner, fishing a few crystal cores out of his pocket, counting them, and went to exchange them for blind box tokens.

With the tokens in hand, he observed the machines for a while before finally stepping toward one, intending to draw a crystal-core blind box.

As he passed by the food blind box machine, his stomach grumbled loudly.

The aroma of instant noodles filled the space as someone in the main hall prepared them.

Luo Huian swallowed, realizing his tokens were only enough for one crystal-core box.

If he bought food, he wouldn’t have any tokens left for the crystal-core box.

Originally, he’d come for the medicine boxes from the store, but seeing so many crystal-core-powered items in the shop, he found himself intrigued by each one.

After hesitating a few seconds while looking at the instant noodles, Luo Huian went to the crystal-core machine and exchanged his tokens for a crystal-core blind box.

Feeling a thrill, he prepared to open it.

Just then, an unfamiliar machine’s engine sound came from outside, prompting Luo Huian to rush out, pushing through the crowd to the front.

A snowmobile had parked outside, and two people hopped off one after another as the surrounding crowd started to buzz.

Blinking, Luo Huian stepped forward. “Is this also a crystal-core-powered machine?”

Lu Yao set down her helmet, fixing her flattened hair, and immediately noticed a chubby little boy crouching with curiosity in front of the snowmobile.

It was no surprise that she noticed his build right away; children with such a plump physique were rare in this world, and even rarer among adults.

She nodded, crouched down, and looked at him. “Are you feeling unwell?”

The boy’s cheeks were unusually flushed. Standing outside in the freezing cold, he was sweating on his forehead, and his lips were dry and pale, almost bloodless.

Luo Huian looked at her in surprise. Aside from his parents, she was the first person not to look at him with disgust.

Though he usually didn’t care about others’ opinions, encountering someone different still brought a hint of happiness.

He pursed his lips and, struggling slightly, moved closer to her, whispering, “It’s nothing, just a minor issue. Where did you get this vehicle? I never expected the outside world to develop so quickly, with even crystal-core-powered vehicles.”

Lu Yao found the kid’s tone surprisingly mature and, noticing he held a crystal-core blind box in his arms, responded directly, “This vehicle was drawn from a blind box too.”

She stood up and turned to Chi Jin. “What’s your plan? Want to learn here, or should I take this back to the base for you?”

Chi Jin replied without hesitation, “Leave it here. I’ll come by daily to practice.”

“Alright, I’ve told you the essentials. Get familiar with it,” Lu Yao said, then turned and headed back to the store.

Chi Jin: “…”

Luo Huian watched for a moment, then trotted after Lu Yao. “Are you the owner of this store?”

“Yes,” Lu Yao answered without slowing down; it was a bit chilly outside.

Luo Huian asked, “Can you do magic?”

Lu Yao stopped. “Why would you ask that?”

Luo Huian blinked, visibly excited. “This store’s existence is like magic.”

Lu Yao nodded, “Yes, I can do magic.”

Luo Huian was momentarily stunned.

By the time he came back to his senses, Lu Yao had already entered her office.

Awkwardly, he stood at the door for a while before finding a seat to sit down, planning to open his blind box first.

Luo Huian’s luck wasn’t bad; he got a filtered and heated water cup.

After reading the instructions, he immediately went outside to fill it with snow.

The snow melted and filtered down as clean water.

After ten minutes, Luo Huian held the cup, sipping hot water, pleasantly surprised.

The water was truly pure, without the slightest strange taste.

He raised the cup again, closely inspecting the transparent filter.

Without research equipment, he couldn’t visually identify what it was.

The crystal-core energy liquid used for heating at the bottom also surprised him; it was refined to an incredibly pure state, though he couldn’t figure out how it was done.

Luo Huian glanced at the office door, wanting to ask her about it.

Suddenly, the door opened from inside, and the store owner stepped out.

Feeling nervous, Luo Huian quickly lowered his head, pretending to drink hot water, too shy to speak.

She was so impressive, having developed crystal-core energy to such a refined level.

If he ran over to ask questions, she would surely find him annoying.

Luo Huian’s parents had been researchers, focused on two fields throughout their lives: developing medicine for his illness and exploring crystal-core energy.

Growing up surrounded by their work, he knew exactly how remarkable the items in the blind box store were.

He had placed a thick layer of admiration over the store owner in his mind, so much so that he hesitated to approach her.

By the time he gathered the courage to look up and say something, the store owner had already stepped out.

…

Lu Yao went to a small shop nearby. The payment for the black ring she had entrusted to Le Yuan for trade had come in.

She had been busy with the blind box store lately and hadn’t had the chance to check on it.

The head guard had already delivered the money to the snack shop, and after Lu Yao finished counting, the system auto-deducted taxes, leaving her with 4 million.

She opened her store owner status panel.

Store Owner: Lu Yao
Age: 22
Shops: 3
Staff: 18
Popularity: 1,103,500
Assets: 9.05 million
Wish Progress: 6%
Warehouse Slots: 40
(Commercial Street Map)

The funds from the recent black ring sales hadn’t been deposited in the bank.

She had upgraded a vault room at the snack shop, where she stored nearly 8 million in cash for easy access.

After handling the payment, she posted another black ring on the forum.

…

Yaoguang City, Xi Cheng Hotel.

Lin Yan and her team packed their bags, ready to return to Yuheng City.

They’d staked out in Yaoguang City for almost half a month but hadn’t managed to track down the unusual energy signature.

Their original assumption was that the anomaly might appear during the black ring transaction.

On the day of the ring trade, Lin Yan hadn’t given up on entering the world of the Park. As a precaution, Qi Jue had called in Zhuang Liang to accompany them.

But the door that opened for Qi Jue and Zhuang Liang did not admit Lin Yan. She, Tang Qi, and Xiao Zhou couldn’t even see the black door that appeared in the room; they could only watch as the two men vanished into thin air.

The detection equipment placed in the room failed to record any abnormal energy points.

After entering, Qi Jue and Zhuang Liang quickly returned with a black ring. They emerged pale, sweat-soaked, and looked like they had barely survived.

This time, the person they traded with wasn’t Lu Yao but an unfamiliar NPC.

The NPC wasn’t physically imposing but exuded a chilling, malevolent aura.

The NPC pushed the ring toward them. Qi Jue took it, and Zhuang Liang immediately slid over the box of money.

The entire transaction was silent.

After returning, Zhuang Liang inevitably fell ill for a few days.

In the following days, Lin Yan’s team monitored the banks but, after half a month, hadn’t spotted anyone suspicious carrying a large sum of cash.

Tax payment notices appeared quickly, but they couldn’t track down the individual’s specific information.

They had lingered too long in Yaoguang City. With nothing to show for the business trip, it was time to return to headquarters.

The flights were already booked, and as Lin Yan and Xiao Zhou wheeled their luggage toward the elevator to meet Tang Qi, Lin Yan’s phone rang.

She stopped, answered, and said, “Hello?”

A deep male voice responded, “It’s me, Ji Feiming.”

Lin Yan’s expression grew serious. “Boss, we were just about to head back to headquarters. Is there a new case for us?”

A few minutes later, Lin Yan ended the call and canceled their return tickets.

Xiao Zhou, puzzled, asked, “Chief, what did the boss say?”

Lin Yan thought for a moment, then said, “Go get Tang Qi.”

Ji Feiming’s call conveyed only one crucial piece of news: The 955 Special Department had been issued a disbandment notice, effective in three days.

For Tang Qi and Xiao Zhou, this news was shockingly abrupt.

A few extra days on a business trip, and now the company was gone.

Lin Yan, however, had known some inside information for a while.

Around half a year ago, unexplainable supernatural phenomena around the world became harder to observe. In recent months, many phenomena had even disappeared entirely.

Now, the only project still holding observable value was the “Park.”

Authorities believed that over time, even the “Park” would gradually vanish.

Recent observation reports indicated a significant decrease in black ring numbers, suggesting that the “Park” was indeed fading.

With the disappearance of supernatural phenomena, the 955 Special Department lost its purpose.

Tang Qi looked lost. His biggest passion was observing extraordinary phenomena in the everyday world, exploring their meaning.

“Chief Lin, what do we do now?”

Should they start prepping new resumes?

After a moment of silence, Lin Yan replied, “The boss said he’s coming here personally to take over the ‘Park’ project. Since the authorities no longer care about these matters, he’s continuing the investigation in a private capacity. If you two want to join him, wait for him here and tell him yourself.”

“The boss…you mean that Ji Feiming from the Ji family?” Tang Qi had worked at 955 for years, familiar with the reputation of the Ji family but had never seen their legendary superior.

Rumor had it that some Ji family members occasionally possessed yin-yang eyes, able to discern malevolent spirits without instruments, relying solely on their naked eye.

The former head of the 955 Special Department, Ji Feiming, was one such person with innate yin-yang vision.

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