Ch 98: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Lu Yao asked the system, “What’s the deal with non-human species?”

The system, still miffed from being called “dull,” pretended not to hear.

Lu Yao switched tactics, “How can I tell if a new employee is non-human?”

Since it was a task-related question, the system couldn’t ignore it.

System: [Spending 1,000 popularity points will allow you to display a special job notice that only non-humans can see. Would you like to proceed?]

“Yes.” Lu Yao decided instantly.

She could accept all sorts of employees, given her experience with the snack shop and nail salon, but she preferred to know her staff’s true nature.

The system couldn’t resist asking: [Aren’t you at all concerned about the life-threatening risks here?]

Lu Yao: “If I worry, does that mean I don’t have to hire non-human staff?”

System: [No, unfortunately not. It’s a task requirement. If you fail, your dream-chasing journey will end here.]

Lu Yao shrugged, “Then there’s no choice.”

Worrying wasn’t useful, so moving forward without hesitation was the only option.

System: […]

The system felt silenced, filing this under more evidence that it might indeed be “less than bright.”

Lu Yao posted the special job notice on the door and observed it for a while. She could see it, naturally, but customers coming and going didn’t even glance at it.

Outside, the rain intensified, pooling on the ground. Water began rising up over people’s shoes. However, the blind box store’s blacklist defense system included a barrier that now shielded the entrance with a thin, invisible shield, causing the water to flow around it rather than through.

Gray clouds pressed closer to the ground, creating a feeling of impending storm. Lu Yao turned back inside, ready to take down the Winter Limited blind boxes and prepare the next batch.

Ji Feiming, who’d been watching her, called out just as she was about to enter the dark space he couldn’t access.

Lu Yao turned, “What’s up? Are you settling into the job?”

Ji Feiming thought to himself that this job was basically like retirement; pushing a cart to load and unload items was easier than his usual gym workout. How could he not get used to it?

His range was limited, and aside from deliveries, it was pretty dull. Yet, he was curious about the worlds beyond the shop’s doors, and with his duty to monitor Lu Yao, he was reluctant to clock out early. While he couldn’t control her, he didn’t mind anymore—in fact, he was curious to see where this street might lead next.

Instead of saying all this, he simply asked, “Boss, what illness does the kid have? If he needs a doctor, I can arrange for one. I have access to the best specialists across fields, and they could make house calls.”

Surprised, Lu Yao hadn’t considered this option. She wasn’t knowledgeable about medicine and had planned to consult with her staff at the nail salon. Watching Ji Feiming thoughtfully, she said, “To see a doctor here, they’d need to sign a confidentiality agreement. Are you sure someone would agree to that?”

Ji Feiming nodded, “If you’d like, I can arrange it immediately.”

Lu Yao paused, impressed—being a former god’s envoy came with perks and connections. She didn’t accept right away. “I’ll think about it.”

…

Yao Yiyi and her team, carrying food and supplies they’d exchanged at the blind box store, were feeling slightly excited on their way back.

Their base had few people, and the supplies the five of them brought back—mainly staple foods, ingredients, fruit, and medicine—would help in emergencies. Once the residents regained some strength, they could organize a group to go to the blind box store to exchange for more resources.

As they walked back, the rain grew heavier, flooding the ground. With umbrellas and raincoats, they left the eastern area and continued westward. They hadn’t noticed it before, but coming back from the east, everything around them seemed increasingly desolate.

Just after leaving the eastern district, they occasionally encountered small search teams. But after walking for half a day, there was no one in sight—not even mutated beasts or plants.

Feeling something amiss, Yao Yiyi listened to the intense sound of rain pounding on their umbrellas, loud and urgent. The ground was soaked with mud, making any sign of a path disappear.

She stopped and suggested, “The rain’s too heavy; let’s find a place to wait it out.”

The others agreed, and they found shelter beneath a large rock, stepping carefully through the mud. Huddling under the rock, they waited for the rain to let up.

Yao Yiyi kept her eyes on the rain, feeling uneasy. Suddenly, Wei Quan spoke up, “Someone’s coming.”

Through the rain, two blurry figures appeared. The five of them immediately went on alert.

The downpour made it impossible to see who the figures were. One of them seemed to be supporting the other, moving slowly. Then, one figure dropped the other in the rain and began walking toward their shelter.

Eyes narrowed with heightened caution, Yao Yiyi watched as the person came closer. Their strides and pace in the rain were strange, almost as if they were suddenly right in front of them.

“Hello, I’m Xue Ge. Are you coming from the east?” asked the boy standing in the rain. His hair and clothes were soaked, with black hair clinging to his face like seaweed. Despite his bedraggled state, his features were strikingly refined, and his presence was unusual, catching everyone’s attention.

He wore small, vibrant purple flowers as earrings, trembling under the heavy rain yet somehow undamaged.

Yao Yiyi’s gaze sharpened, even more wary. “Yes. Are you coming from the west?”

Xue Ge nodded, noticing the blind boxes stashed against the rock wall. Pointing to them, he asked, “I’m looking for a place that has those boxes. Where did you get them?”

Yao Yiyi replied, “We exchanged them at a store in the eastern district. Just keep going east. Once you find Fairy Tale Plaza, you’ll see the store.”

“Thanks.” Having obtained the information he wanted, Xue Ge turned back toward his companion, then paused and added, “Don’t go west. There’s no one left there.”

Yao Yiyi’s face fell. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Xue Ge replied, “All the bases in the west have been overrun by mutated beasts; they’ve become their nests. Soon enough, they’ll head east to hunt humans.”

Hunt humans?

All five members of the team looked grim.

Xue Ge said no more, disappearing into the rain to lift his limp companion. They turned northward, moving slowly away.

“Captain, what should we do?” Wei Quan asked. “Should we go back to the base?”

Li Xin frowned. “Do you believe him? We finally brought back all these supplies; we should at least return to the base and check things out.”

“But what if he was telling the truth…?”

Attacking multiple bases and hunting humans—it had to mean a high-level mutated beast was in command. If they rushed back, they’d be walking right into danger.

Yao Yiyi’s face was tense; something about that person deeply unsettled her. The flower earrings he wore seemed fresh and real, yet the heavy rain didn’t damage or distort them.

She couldn’t quite explain it, but the encounter felt off, and his warning had worsened the foreboding feeling in her gut.

Their base was small, with few people, and many of them were elderly or weak. But because of that, everyone supported each other, surviving one disaster after another. During the last cold spell, if not for a caring older sister in the base, Yao Yiyi wouldn’t have made it through.

She looked down at the blind boxes on the ground and decisively said, “Let’s go back and check.”

…

On the fourth day after the cold wave ended, a new phase of calamity began—flooding.

The water levels rose during the night, and Lu Yao was not in the store. The blacklist’s magic defense system automatically activated, creating a transparent spherical barrier that enveloped the blind box store, allowing it to float on the water’s surface.

When Lu Yao arrived in the morning, she found that muddy water had spread from Fairy Tale Plaza all the way out to the main road. As far as the eye could see, it was a muddy sea.

Wei Xuan and Nie Yu had spent the night moving all their belongings to the third floor of the mall. Upon waking, they immediately went to the balcony, where they saw the blind box store floating like a boat, unscathed by the flood, and were pleasantly surprised. Spotting the store owner standing in front of the entrance, they waved excitedly. Trapped upstairs, they couldn’t come down for work.

Lu Yao went back into the store, grabbed a megaphone, and called out from a distance. She figured that, given the situation, there wouldn’t be many customers today, so she decided to give them the day off. They could come back to work once the water levels receded.

Wei Xuan and Nie Yu had food reserves and a full set of crystal core-powered tools, ensuring they had water, food, and warmth. Meanwhile, Luo Hui’an and Jiang Shanrun had recently been staying in the research lab, focusing on their research, unaffected by the flood.

After breakfast, Lu Yao pulled over a chair and sat at the entrance. As expected, there were few visitors. Occasionally, mutant fish would leap out of the water, some even ramming into the store’s protective barrier as if attacking it.

Lu Yao went to the nail salon, grabbed some fishing gear, and decided to sit by the entrance, casting her line to pass the time.

Ji Feiming arrived to make a delivery, finding that overnight, the area had transformed into a sea, with the storefront floating like a boat. And there was the store owner, calmly fishing by the door.

How relaxed.

He stiffly stood there for a moment, pulled a pocket-sized book from his suit, and took a seat nearby to read.

A small wooden boat appeared, turning around the back of Shenghong Tower. Xue Ge crouched at the bow, his face somber, hands submerged in the water, steering the boat straight toward the blind box store.

His companion was injured and weak, still unconscious. Lacking a good sense of direction, Xue Ge had taken a wrong turn, delaying his arrival by several days. On top of that, the flood season had begun, and he had needed extra time to build a boat.

Reaching the entrance of the store, Xue Ge saw Lu Yao fishing, his brow furrowing.

As soon as the fishing line hit the water, a clumsy fish took the bait. The young woman reeled it in, sliced it open with her crystal core liquid knife, and the core dropped out.

“So, it’s you reducing the mutant beasts in the east,” Xue Ge sneered, his eyes on the liquid knife in her hand.

Lu Yao looked over, raising an eyebrow. A strikingly beautiful boy stood before her, with purple flower earrings swaying from his ears. His aura and appearance were unmistakable.

She quietly asked the system, “Is this it? Looks like a kind of mutant plant. Are the flowers on his ears part of his true form?”

The system replied, “…How did you figure it out?”

Lu Yao shrugged, “It was easy to guess.”

The three most powerful beings in the Impermanence World were humans, mutant beasts, and mutant plants. Among non-humans, only the latter two were possible suspects. Advanced mutant rats could command other animals in base attacks, and carnivorous plants had been seen around the plaza during the last transition period.

Lu Yao noticed that there was another person in the boat—a woman in a white lab coat, with medium-length hair, eyes closed, and a pale face.

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️