Ch 137: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Behind her was a bottomless trench, and Lu Yao felt an invisible force pulling her down, irresistibly dragging her into the abyss.

“Next time we meet, I’ll definitely kill you.”

She suddenly recalled A’s last words to her in the Netherworld.

Orca A lingered at the edge of the trench, slightly parting its mouth to reveal rows of small, sharp teeth, its expression innocent as it watched her descent.

Lu Yao couldn’t decipher its true intentions or thoughts.

Suddenly, Orca A leapt into the trench, diving with powerful tail and fin movements, torpedoing downward.

She didn’t know how deep they’d gone when faint glimmers of light started appearing around them. Lu Yao heard a faint cracking sound, and a sense of unease rose within her.

She tried to reach out to the system, but the familiar Dreamweaving System was unresponsive, as if out of reach.

Or perhaps, she was the one out of reach.

“Hold onto me.”

In the darkness, a voice as cool and clear as jade echoed.

Lu Yao flinched, and her hand soon felt a smooth, sturdy dorsal fin.

Without hesitation, she grabbed hold tightly, wrapping her legs around its tail, pressing against its back. “Where are you taking me?”

The orca didn’t respond and continued diving deeper.

Something felt wrong. The orca’s smooth skin began to soften and wrinkle, and its body seemed to be shrinking.

Steadying herself with her legs and one hand, she took out an Eternal Light from her pack.

The gentle glow illuminated her surroundings, and Lu Yao saw what was happening.

Orca A’s body was covered in foam, and white bubbles were also forming on her hands and legs.

She wasn’t sure if she had gotten them from him or if her own body was changing as well.

“What’s happening to you?” Lu Yao asked anxiously.

“Eek,” the orca replied softly.

Moments later, Orca A’s body was fully enveloped in foam, and with a soft “pop,” the cottony foam dispersed.

The orca was gone, and Lu Yao now found herself riding on the back of a narwhal with a long, pointed horn.

“Orca? Eek eek eek?” Lu Yao tried to communicate with the narwhal, holding the Eternal Light.

The narwhal gave no response.

Perhaps due to the light, deep-sea fish lurking in the darkness began to gather around, while venomous deep-sea jellyfish drifted nearby. The narwhal sped up, diving deeper.

A few minutes later, foam started forming on the narwhal’s body, spreading from its head to its back, belly, and eventually its entire form.

With another “pop”—

The narwhal vanished, and Lu Yao found herself now atop a great white shark.

They continued descending.

Orcas typically inhabit shallow waters at depths of two to three hundred meters, excelling in hunting but not adapted for deep dives.

Narwhals can dive to depths of five hundred to eight or nine hundred meters, a bit deeper than orcas.

The great white shark, however, can dive to depths of around fifteen hundred meters.

Changing its body continuously to adapt to pressure and the deep-sea environment, Lu Yao was almost certain the creature beneath her was still little A.

As they ventured further into the depths, the great white shark’s body began to dissolve into foam, the white bubbles drifting upward with the current.

Moments later, Lu Yao found herself lying on the massive head of a sperm whale.

They had already descended to at least two thousand meters below the surface. Cracks appeared on the Eternal Light, and then it suddenly went out. Silence enveloped them as darkness closed in, pressing in like heavy stone walls from all sides.

“Click—click—” The sperm whale emitted sounds as they continued descending.

“Click—click-click—”

“Click—click—click—”

Sperm whales enjoy hunting a deep-sea creature called the “giant squid.” In the dark depths of the ocean, they use sonar to locate their prey and complete the hunt.

As the continuous clicking sounds echoed around her, Lu Yao closed her eyes, her consciousness drifting. She felt the sperm whale’s body beginning to dissolve into foam again.

This time, she sensed something unusual. When the sperm whale’s body disappeared, what encircled her were arms.

In the dark, briny depths of the sea, she absurdly caught a faint scent of lotus, clean and refreshing.

“Who are you really?” Lu Yao tried to struggle.

Little A rested his chin on the top of her head, diving deeper. “Shh.”

Lu Yao: “…”

She continued to resist, but Little A held firm, unmoving.

After a long silence, he murmured, “We’re almost there.”

Lu Yao strained her neck upward, seeing faint spots of light on the ocean floor below. Occasionally, a golden shimmer rose slowly, passing by like a shooting star.

“What is that?” She was sure he knew.

But Little A remained silent, and a feeling of unease crept over her.

His body, too, was starting to dissolve into foam.

Holding her securely, Little A turned them around and sank steadily to the bottom.

The ground was covered with tiny, glowing golden orbs, each about the size of a fingertip. There were so many that they nearly filled the entire narrow trench.

A cautious deep-sea fish would occasionally grab a glowing orb and swim upward, disappearing into the darkness above, leaving only a trail of shimmering light.

Across from Lu Yao stood a young man with silver hair flowing freely and blood-red eyes, watching her silently.

“Who are you, and why are you following me?” Lu Yao asked directly.

“Lu Yao,” the silver-haired young man finally spoke, his voice cold and strained, “when realizing your wish, don’t place too much trust in him.”

Who?

The young man’s body completely dissolved into foam, drifting upward with the light-carrying fish, disappearing from Lu Yao’s sight.

Crouching on the ground, Lu Yao quickly pondered.

What role did Little A truly play in her wish?

And who was the one she shouldn’t trust?

Lu Yao was at a loss.

She despised this ambiguous sense of awareness—hesitant, directionless, and prone to making rushed, misguided decisions.

Little A must know something about her wish.

Given what just happened, he had likely left this world by now.

If she wanted to dig for more clues, she’d have to wait until the next world and encounter him there.

Energized, Lu Yao realized that if she wanted to reach the next world quickly, she needed to complete her tasks in this one.

And to do that, she had to first find a way out of this deep-sea trench…

Glancing around, she crouched down and picked up one of the glowing orbs.

In her hand, the golden orb transformed into a lustrous pearl. Could all these orbs be pearls?

She clicked her tongue in amazement, feeling her worries about being trapped in the deep sea ease considerably.

Then, amidst the white pearls, she noticed a beautiful pink one, small but exceptionally radiant.

Unable to resist, she bent down and picked it up, only to spot another pink pearl ahead. She picked that one up too, and then found yet another…

By the time she stopped, she was holding a whole handful of pink pearls, standing before a grand stone door encrusted with sparkling jewels.

At the entrance, piles of pink pearls were scattered about, yet the pearls she had picked up were brighter, larger, and rounder.

Standing at the doorway, Lu Yao paused, deep in thought.

She’d tried calling out to the system countless times, but there had been no response.

It reminded her of the dream she’d had about the Equilibrium Compass when the system had been completely out of contact.

The Dream Fulfillment System may not be particularly clever, but if it were present, it could scan the door for any potential dangers—both convenient and safe.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Yao looked at the pink pearls in her hand and on the ground, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to push the door open.

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