Ch 112: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Lu Yao spent several days collecting trash in the deep sea, finally gathering enough popularity points to redeem a special membership card.

The staff badges at the Little Pet Cafe are on red strings, with silver tags engraved with the shop owner’s name, contact information, and a number. Temporary badges are on black strings with silver tags engraved only with the shop owner’s name and number.

To keep things simple, customer membership cards were designed with light blue strings, reminiscent of the ocean, and engraved silver tags bearing the shop owner’s name and number.

With badges already assigned to Er Xia and her kittens as well as temporary staff, Lu Yao had used up five numbers. Following the sequence, Bai Jing’s card was assigned number 006.

With a million deposited for the membership card, Lu Yao was thrilled.

Finally, there was income beyond what the black ring provided.

Since her encounter with the orca pod, however, many of the “fish” in the reclusive fish school had been forced out of their detached state after being scattered by the orcas’ collision.

More and more visitors came to the shop recently to cuddle with the cats, wearing out the four felines.

The three kittens were constantly exhausted, and even the usually lazy and carefree Er Xia was worn out, often retreating to the kitchen for a nap during her shifts, not wanting to play with customers.

Human affection could be a little “overwhelming.”

Lu Yao considered introducing new furry animals, visiting the pet market a few times to look into hamsters, chinchillas, rabbits…

After checking each out, she felt that these furry creatures weren’t suitable for the shop at the moment.

They were fragile and less interactive.

With the plan for new furry varieties on hold, Lu Yao decided to adopt a few more cats, beginning to keep an eye on the stray cats around the shopping district.

But there was another pressing issue: each furry staff member required a badge.

A badge costs 100,000 popularity points, so she needed to prepare the cats’ badges before adopting them.

Lu Yao increased her diving sessions to three times a day, each lasting about two hours, staying around the trash heap. This way, she could accumulate around 30,000 popularity points daily.

“Ying ying—ying—”

A familiar “ying ying” sound arose, and the shop fell silent as customers gentled their petting.

Lu Yao came out of the kitchen and wasn’t surprised to see the orcas just beyond the transparent barrier.

Ever since she had saved the injured orca calf, orcas would occasionally visit the Little Pet Cafe to seek her out.

She didn’t know how orcas communicated across different pods, but overnight, the shop’s reputation had spread throughout the orca population.

Sometimes a lone orca would visit, or they’d come in groups of three to five, injured while hunting, tangled in fishing nets, or accidentally swallowing plastic… Each visit had a different reason.

Lu Yao had become like a sea witch residing in the deep, resolving any issues they brought her.

After she helped, they would swim away, “ying ying ying” in farewell.

A few hours later, they would return, leaving a few fish in front of the shop—snapper, herring, squid, jellyfish… whatever food they could find.

This time, it was the previously injured calf from the orca pod that had come looking for Lu Yao, with a distinctive, flat oval mark under its eye, making it easily recognizable.

Whenever the pod lingered nearby, it would come find Lu Yao.

With a blackfin tuna in its mouth, the calf tossed the fish to her as soon as it saw her, “Ying~ ying~”

Lu Yao held the fish, slightly exasperated. “You don’t need to bring a fish every time. Wait here for a moment.”

She planned to change into her diving suit and join the orca calf for a dive.

They had gone diving together a few times, and with an orca around, there was little need to worry about encountering other predators.

This time, the calf had brought along an adult male orca whom Lu Yao hadn’t seen before.

In documentaries, orcas look about the size of dolphins, but in reality, they are much larger.

In front of her was an adult male orca, its body sleek and streamlined, with striking black-and-white patterns, huge yet graceful, with a dorsal fin that stood tall and straight.

This orca displayed an unusual aloofness, refraining from any “ying ying” sounds.

Most of the orcas Lu Yao was familiar with were chatterboxes, constantly seeking out their companions to chat whenever nearby.

A “silent” orca was rare, and she looked at this adult orca with curiosity in her eyes.

After a moment of silence, the adult orca suddenly made a single sound: “…Ying.”

So, it could speak after all.

Satisfied, Lu Yao took the tuna to the kitchen, changed into her diving suit, and joined the two orcas for a dive.

Recently, she had been attempting to explore the boundaries of the Garbage Sea, swimming far west, north, and south.

The ocean was vast, seemingly endless, and the farthest she had reached was the edge of an underwater trench.

Below a large coral reef lay a deep, dark trench, densely covered in seaweed.

The deeper it went, the colder the water became, and the pressure intensified, so only deep-sea fish and marine beasts could dive further. Just looking down could leave a person feeling suffocated.

After finding no success expanding horizontally or vertically, Lu Yao tried surfacing.

Sunlight could reach the seabed near the Little Pet Cafe during the day, so she assumed it was shallow and that reaching the surface would be easy.

She swam upwards for a long time, but the surface felt like a mirage—visible yet unreachable.

Meanwhile, the orcas would surface briefly to breathe, only to descend within seconds.

It was then Lu Yao realized what Qingmei had meant by being “trapped in this sea.”

Returning to the eastern trash heap, she continued picking up litter while exploring the boundary.

In that direction, an endless stretch of garbage covered the ocean floor, with no trench in sight.

With the two orcas guarding her sides, the orca calf was lively, frequently using its tail to help her sort through larger pieces of trash.

Passing through the school of reclusive fish, the orcas didn’t hold back, weaving up and down, barreling straight through, forcing many of the fish out of their detached state once again.

This time, Lu Yao swam quite far east, clearly surpassing a certain boundary.

The water grew murkier, even carrying an unpleasant stench—a mix of oceanic fishiness and the smell of underground drainage.

Feeling her body struggling, she was about to turn back.

The two orcas, however, seemed eager to keep going, so Lu Yao pushed on for another few dozen meters.

By then, the water was thoroughly murky, with nothing visible.

She stopped, deciding to turn back.

The orca calf attempted to nudge her forward, but the adult male orca stopped it.

On the way back, Lu Yao became exhausted and couldn’t swim any further.

The adult male orca gently held her left hand in its mouth and began towing her back.

It bit down so carefully that she felt no pain, and it swam at a slow, deliberate pace.

But then Lu Yao suddenly recalled a news report about orcas hunting humpback whale calves, dragging one by its tail and circling a cruise ship with it.

A chill ran down her spine, and, suddenly finding strength in her arms and legs, she broke free from the orca’s grasp and swam forward with all her might.

Marine creatures rely mostly on sonar to identify prey, and perhaps humans don’t qualify as food to an orca. Still, the shop owner, with her overactive imagination, found herself on edge.

“Ying?” The adult orca seemed puzzled by her sudden action.

Lu Yao couldn’t understand it or know how to respond.

“Click-click—” The orca calf made a clicking sound that sounded almost teasing.

“Thump!” The adult orca gave the calf a light nudge.

The calf took it as playful, spinning around and swiping its tail at the adult orca’s belly. “Ying~”

“Click.” The adult orca’s large tail smacked the calf, sending it five meters away.

Lu Yao was at a loss. “…Enough playing around.”

One wrong hit, and she might not be able to get out of bed tomorrow.

These ocean giants had no concept of their weight.

…

In Yaoguang City, at Baishan Hospital.

Dr. Bai Jing finished his morning rounds and returned to his office.

Someone was seated by his desk, seemingly waiting for someone.

When Bai Jing saw the woman sitting there, he paused slightly, almost in disbelief, but quickly composed himself. “Jing… Yu Xi, you’re back.”

Jing Yu Xi stood up, looking a bit worn, yet still as beautiful and graceful as she had been years ago.

“Dr. Bai,” she said.

Bai Jing lowered his gaze, nodding slightly. “When did you get back?”

After so many years apart, a simple greeting was all there was. He didn’t think she had come specifically to see him.

Jing Yu Xi replied, “Last month. I came to the hospital to get some medicine, and thought I’d drop by to see you.”

“Are you unwell? What’s wrong?” Bai Jing placed the case file on his desk and sat down casually, his tone steady.

Jing Yu Xi’s eyes flicked to the blue cord bracelet on his wrist, a silver tag on it bearing a name. Her expression darkened slightly. “Nothing serious, just some stomach discomfort. I already got the medicine. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

Bai Jing instinctively grabbed her wrist. “You wouldn’t seek me out for no reason. Is something going on?”

Jing Yu Xi’s eyes fixed on the name on his bracelet—Lu Yao.

No one would wear another person’s name so close to them without reason, especially someone like Bai Jing.

Still, they had been apart for years.

She did have a reason for coming to him today, hoping for his help.

After a moment to gather herself, Jing Yu Xi turned back to him. “Yes, I am dealing with something. I was hoping you could introduce me to someone from the Ji family.”

Bai Jing raised an eyebrow. “You want to meet Ji Feiming? What’s going on?”

Jing Yu Xi fiddled with her fingers, speaking in a quiet voice, “I wanted his help to check if there’s… something on me.”

She hadn’t believed in the supernatural before, and it had been one reason for her breakup with Bai Jing.

Their perspectives had been too different.

But over the past year, she’d experienced a series of misfortunes—fracturing a finger while practicing piano, performing poorly at an important international competition, spraining her wrist from a fall on the stairs, and missing out on a study opportunity.

It felt like all the bad things were happening to her at once.

She had sought out professionals and even seen a psychologist, but nothing helped.

In despair, she recalled Bai Jing mentioning a friend who could see unusual things.

In the past, meeting Ji Feiming had been nearly impossible, given his role as a divine messenger.

But recently, he’d become so idle he was working as a delivery person in the shopping district, so Bai Jing didn’t think it would be difficult.

Ji Feiming was free that afternoon and agreed to meet Jing Yu Xi.

The three of them arranged to meet at an upscale restaurant near Baishan Hospital.

Jing Yu Xi had initially planned to go alone, but Ji Feiming said he was only available at lunchtime, so she had to work around his schedule.

At noon, the three met in a private room at the “Old Times” restaurant.

As Jing Yu Xi sat down, she noticed the black cord bracelet on Ji Feiming’s wrist, with a silver tag remarkably similar to Bai Jing’s.

She observed quietly, realizing that Ji Feiming’s tag also bore the name “Lu Yao,” and the situation suddenly felt confusing.

“You both…” Jing Yu Xi struggled to find the words, “…have nice bracelets. Did you buy them from the same shop?”

Ji Feiming glanced down at his bracelet, feeling a bit annoyed. “I left in such a hurry I forgot to return the badge to my boss. What can I help you with? I need to get back to the shop soon.”

Jing Yu Xi was startled. “Your boss?”

Ji Feiming briefly explained, in the simplest terms, about his job and revealed that Bai Jing held a one-million-yuan monthly membership card at his shop.

Jing Yu Xi took a while to process this. “So… ‘Lu Yao’ is your boss’s name?”

What kind of person engraves their name on employee badges and membership cards?

How eccentric.

Ji Feiming nodded. “Yes. I checked, and there’s nothing on you. You’re probably just under a lot of stress and not feeling well. The best thing you can do is relax and try to take care of yourself.”

With his task done, Ji Feiming left, anxious to get back in case his boss needed the temporary badge.

After four years, Bai Jing and Jing Yu Xi shared a meal together again.

Jing Yu Xi ate very little, and Bai Jing, thinking she was being reserved, encouraged her to eat more. She took a few more bites but ended up getting sick and vomiting on the roadside.

Bai Jing stood on the roadside, hands on his hips, silent for a long time. “Is this happening often?”

Jing Yu Xi, after vomiting until there was only stomach acid left, rinsed her mouth and stood up. “Sorry, I’ve caused you trouble.”

“What did the doctor say? Do you have your medical records? Let me take a look.” Bai Jing asked.

Jing Yu Xi pulled up a few images on her phone. “These are my medical records. Almost all the doctors concluded it was severe stress. But I think what’s been happening to me goes beyond stress—it feels more like something supernatural.”

Anxiety, insomnia, memory decline, and emotional shifts had ultimately manifested physically.

The latest results showed that she had developed neurogenic gastritis.

After looking over the records, Bai Jing made a phone call. “Shop Owner, it’s Bai Jing.”

On the other end, Lu Yao’s breathing was quick. Recognizing Bai Jing’s voice, she took a deep breath to calm herself. “Dr. Bai, what’s up?”

“Well, I have a patient whom I’d like to bring to your shop,” Bai Jing spoke courteously, a hint of unease in his tone.

When he first agreed to meet Lu Yao through Ji Feiming, he’d assumed it was another case involving a wealthy client with hidden ailments.

Arriving at the shopping district, signing a confidentiality agreement, and meeting the shop owner—who was younger than him—had been a surprise.

Gradually, as he grew familiar with the shop owner and glimpsed the shopping district’s secrets, he unconsciously began to treat her differently than others, more cautiously.

Er Xia had gone missing, and Lu Yao was searching for her. After listening to Bai Jing’s brief explanation, she took a moment to consider. “Will you be accompanying her, or will she be using your membership card?”

Bai Jing replied, “If possible, I’d like to come with her.”

Lu Yao agreed. “Come by in three days. She’ll need to sign a strict confidentiality contract, and the temporary badge is priced at 50,000 for a single use.”

After setting up the appointment, Lu Yao ended the call and continued her search for the cat.

By then, Ji Feiming had returned to the shopping district, and they split up to search.

The situation was a bit humorous; Er Xia was so popular in the shop that customers loved to hold and snuggle her.

Initially, Er Xia tolerated it, but eventually, she became completely fed up. With the shop owner away, no one to keep her in check, she staged a “Great Kitty Escape.”

It was said that Er Xia, displaying agility never seen before, managed to dodge customers, jump up to open the door, and dart out of sight in an instant.

At the time, Lu Yao was diving, and Qingmei couldn’t access the doorway to the other world.

Er Xia occasionally went out to play and usually returned within half a day.

Lu Yao hadn’t planned to go looking, but the customers in the shop kept asking about Er Xia’s whereabouts, wanting her back soon.

Left with no choice, Lu Yao began searching for her around the shopping district.

While she didn’t find the plump calico, she did come across several strays.

Unfortunately, they were highly vigilant, and without proper tools, it was challenging to catch them.

After searching outside for a while, Lu Yao decided to head to the blind box shop.

Shortly after, Ji Feiming returned as well.

Significant changes had occurred in the World of Impermanence. Crystal core energy had become a renewable, clean source; its concentrated form, when adjusted in various ratios, could purify soil and water.

However, the technology for efficient extraction of crystal core energy remained exclusively with the blind box shop owner. Without the shop owner’s magical extraction technique, all other research would be at a standstill.

Currently, the base near the blind box shop has jointly developed plantations, primarily for growing food and mutated plants.

After harvesting, residents can go to the blind box shop to exchange their crops for other necessary living supplies.

In the research lab, Lu Yao saw the latest generation of water purification concentrate and had an idea.

Could this concentrate be used to purify the Garbage Sea?

The trash in the Garbage Sea had polluted the water and fish, and with the ocean currents constantly moving, complete purification seemed almost impossible.

If she could purify the water and fish, she wouldn’t have to keep using magic—something Lu Yao was unwilling to give up on.

At the very least, she could test it in the deep-sea aquarium. Lu Yao took three bottles of concentrate, intending to conduct experiments in the Garbage Sea.

The next morning, after leaving the nail salon and grabbing breakfast at a snack shop, Lu Yao stepped outside to find Er Xia lounging lazily, licking her paws in front of the Little Pet Cafe.

Looking closer, she noticed, well, Er Xia had three “guard cats” by her side.

With their poised stance, it was as if a queen were returning to her palace.

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