Ch 257: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

This historic dock city was not called Sanhua City sixty years ago.

It had a down-to-earth name—Sanyu.

As more people gathered, a lively atmosphere filled the air, and Lu Yao and her group gradually became immersed in the pure and simple charm of Sanyu.

222 held a sugar painting of a rabbit in one hand and a dough figurine in the other, wearing a rare expression of excitement: “Sanhua City was more interesting sixty years ago.”

444 carefully cradled a set of tea utensils: “In an era without superpowers, without the research institute, and no need for a rehabilitation center, I like it here.”

Xie Molin lagged behind, walking alongside Lin Xue, unable to resist looking around; the unease he felt upon entering the city seemed like an illusion.

Lin Xue watched Lu Yao and Budu, who were walking ahead, her expression unclear.

Noticing her, Xie Molin quietly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lin Xue glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, then leaned in closer, her eyes filled with confusion: “Is the shopkeeper really a superpowered individual?”

Xie Molin raised an eyebrow: “What did you figure out?”

Lu Yao’s abilities were indeed a mystery.

They had been conducting research related to superpowers, and in recent years, researchers had discovered that the number of individuals with special, high-attack, and ancient-type superpowers was decreasing annually, with fewer high-aptitude power users appearing.

The reasons remained unclear.

Moreover, there had been no records of rare abilities like Lu Yao’s since the emergence of superpowers sixty years ago.

What was remarkable was that she had developed this ability to its peak; the small toys and snacks in her convenience store could be overlooked, but the time machine alone was enough to entice anyone.

In fact, Xie Molin was also deeply curious about the shopkeeper, but Lu Yao seldom mentioned her own matters. Even if he tried to ask indirectly, she would brush it off in just a few words.

After a few attempts, Xie Molin gave up.

Lin Xue frowned and whispered, “You know my abilities. On my first day at the tutoring center, I noticed that the shopkeeper had no signs of power fluctuations; I thought I was mistaken. After observing for the past few days, I can confirm. But I can’t understand, if the shopkeeper is indeed powerless, where did the time machine come from?”

Xie Molin was taken aback; he had thought about Lu Yao’s abilities extensively but had never considered this possibility.

To put it extremely, in a world sixty years later, a person without superpowers is no different from being disabled.

But Lin Xue’s eyes wouldn’t make mistakes; she could see power fluctuations that ordinary people could not, and differentiate the strength of superpowers from those fluctuations.

Lin Xue continued, “I later noticed that Teacher Bai also had no fluctuations, but she and the shopkeeper give me a different feeling.”

Xie Molin felt the same way. Bai Yi was very interested in superpowers, but during discussions in the lounge about related topics, she rarely spoke and had never revealed her own abilities.

He thought Bai Yi avoided disclosing her superpower, and no one would suspect she was powerless.

Xie Molin saw Lu Yao and Budu selecting toys at a stall up ahead and quietly asked, “What about Budu?”

Lin Xue couldn’t help but shudder slightly, and after a brief silence, she replied, “That one is a monster.”

That little boy gave her a strange feeling; his power was strong enough to press against the surroundings, yet there were no signs of his power running amok.

Xie Molin proposed a hypothesis: “Could it be that because Budu was born, the shopkeeper’s power has been weakened?”

This hypothesis was also supported by research findings, indicating that a mother’s superpowers often weaken after giving birth, and even the next generation’s powers can be weaker than those of their parents.

In recent years, this phenomenon had become increasingly common.

Lu Yao bought a bunch of trinkets for Budu: rattles, paper windmills, and dough figurines. She turned around and saw that Xie Molin and Lin Xue were walking more slowly, so she waved for them to hurry up.

After two hours of wandering around the city and having a great time, they unknowingly became hungry.

The test subjects wanted to find a restaurant to try the cuisine of this era.

Lu Yao stopped them, leading the group back over the bridge to the riverside, preparing to leave.

On the deserted riverbank, silver light slowly enveloped everyone, and when they opened their eyes again, they had returned to the tutoring center.

Just back and still immersed in the novelty of time travel, 222 suddenly realized that his hands were empty; the things he had bought in Sanyu were gone.

“Where’s the shopkeeper?” 444 suddenly asked.

Amid the bustling search for items, the people finally noticed that Lu Yao was missing, along with Budu.

696 suggested, “Did she go to the restroom?”

Lin Xue replied, “I just came out, and the restroom was empty.”

Xie Molin’s expression became slightly grave: “The shopkeeper and Budu must not have come back with us.”

Lin Xue inquired, “Is there a malfunction with the time machine?”

On the table, there were originally decorations of the little black dragon Alfred and the little silver ball, but now only the base remained; both the little dragon and the silver ball were not in their proper places.

Xie Molin frowned gently: “This has never happened before.”

696 traced the empty base with his finger: “What should we do? Should we seek assistance from the research institute?”

…

By the riverbank of Sanyu.

Lu Yao and Budu were still standing in place.

A mist had begun to rise on the river surface, and a small boat drifted downstream, revealing a vague figure at the bow.

Budu clutched Lu Yao tightly, with blood pooling in the palm of his right hand. The warm red liquid gradually formed into a blade, with a drop of bright red poised to fall.

Lu Yao sensed Budu’s tension and shook the hand he was holding.

In the blink of an eye, the boat reached the shore, and the figure at the bow moved slightly before lightly landing in front of Lu Yao.

The woman in a jade green dress had a radiant and beautiful face, with long hair that nearly reached the ground, tied back with a flowing golden hairband.

Despite her different appearance, she exuded a similar aura, reminding Lu Yao of Emerald Star.

The woman glanced at Budu, then looked up at Lu Yao, her voice sharp and cold: “Who are you?”

“My name is Lu Yao,” Lu Yao replied firmly. “You are the deity of this world.”

The goddess stared at Lu Yao for a moment, her eyes revealing disappointment. “After all these years, another being has chosen ‘shadow’; too bad it’s a human. But you do have some nerve, bringing a child from another world into mine.”

Budu furrowed his brow and said, “Sixty years from now, this world has no gods and no children.”

Deities guide their worlds with their own will, and there are rules governing their interactions.

Aside from certain special entities, deities cannot arbitrarily cross world lines and enter the worlds of other deities.

Generally, a child’s power is insufficient to support their crossing of world lines.

Budu’s presence in this world relied on the power of the star gate.

He knew as soon as he crossed the star gate that the deity of this world had perished.

The world without a deity had operated seemingly well for sixty years, indicating how powerful the original deity had been.

However, it likely couldn’t last much longer.

A deity without followers will perish.

Just like the god of balance in the third store.

If it weren’t for Emerald Star and that person, both that world and the god of balance would have died.

And a world without a deity is bound to meet its end sooner or later.

Just like this world.

The goddess had beautiful golden eyes, which trembled slightly at his words, her hands clenching: “Sixty years; it only lasted for sixty years?”

Lu Yao interjected, “May I ask, what does ‘shadow’ mean?”

The goddess seemed to fall into a kind of fear, and after a moment, she returned to her senses, looking at Lu Yao in a strange way: “You don’t know?”

Budu stood in front of Lu Yao, attempting to block the goddess’s probing gaze: “Mother has lost some memories.”

“Mother?” The goddess turned to Budu, and after a moment, she looked back at Lu Yao, her eyes showing something different: “My name is Fula. Lu Yao, I would like to ask you for a favor. In exchange, I promise to fulfill one of your wishes.”

Combining this with Budu’s earlier words, Lu Yao speculated that it might be related to the sick people in the city.

When Lu Yao and Budu first came to Sanyu, they discovered some strange phenomena: people walking on the streets would suddenly collapse, their bones softening, leaving them unable to stand up again.

Today, Lu Yao and Budu conducted a secret investigation once more.

This peculiar illness had an unknown cause and an unclear mode of transmission, and there were no effective treatments available in this era.

If someone contracted this disease, they could only drag on until death.

What was terrifying was that this disease not only affected the small city of Sanyu but also the surrounding towns.

However, in the future, this illness should have been overcome.

At least, Lu Yao had not encountered anyone with this disease in Sanhua City.

Lu Yao gently informed Fula that this matter had already been resolved.

But after hearing this, Fula did not seem reassured, her expression growing even more serious: “It is not over. The matter I want to ask of you is related to sixty years later.”

Lu Yao shook her head: “As you said, I am merely a human. I am afraid I do not have the power to help a deity.”

Fula looked down and saw the eye bead bracelet on Lu Yao’s wrist. She sensed several familiar auras and the presence of the dragon race, rolling her eyes inwardly.

With various tokens of her divine identity hanging all over her, how could she say something so shameless?

Fula sighed, sat down by the river, and began tossing pebbles into the water: “Humans are fragile and sentimental, yet they often fail to recognize their own nature. Clearly, their lives are brief, yet they chase after fleeting illusions. But I have never seen anyone as reckless as you.

“Lu Yao, you are entangled in a rather troublesome contract. Whether to dissolve the contract or fulfill it, you will need a great deal of power.

“If you are willing to help me, as the goddess who governs wealth and fertile lands, I can grant you a portion of my power.”

Lu Yao stood still, not moving: “It’s strange that deities, who possess immense power and a long lifespan, always like to ask humans for help.”

Fula: “…”

She probably understood the origin of her numerous divine tokens now.

After rendering the goddess of abundance speechless, Lu Yao felt somewhat relieved and sat beside her, casually twirling a piece of dry grass: “Go ahead, what do you want to say?”

Having opened so many stores in many different worlds, Lu Yao had some experience.

When encountering a deity, it was almost time to engage in an ultimate task.

Fula was sharp-tongued, unlike the gentle compassion of the goddess of the deep sea; she was a vibrant and lively deity.

With Lu Yao’s permission, she didn’t hesitate.

Lu Yao learned about the origins of superpowers emerging in the future and decided to accept the goddess of abundance’s commission, thus receiving the goddess’s blessing.

…

In the tutoring room, Xie Molin and Lin Xue were discussing whether to call the research institute when suddenly a bright silver light filled one corner of the room.

Lu Yao and Budu had returned.

At the riverbank of Sanyu, Lu Yao felt nothing.

Upon returning to the tutoring center, an overwhelming fatigue washed over her. She couldn’t take the time to explain in detail, simply stating that the time machine was low on energy and couldn’t transport so many people at once, causing a delay while they changed the batteries.

It was the first time Lin Xue heard that the time machine was battery-powered, and she couldn’t help but want to learn more.

Nearby, 444 and 696 also looked interested.

Seeing the exhausted look on Lu Yao’s face as she struggled to stand, Xie Molin stopped the others who wanted to ask more questions and urged them to clock out first.

After the staff left, Lu Yao was too fatigued to move; Budu took charge of closing the store.

Like a child helping their family run errands for the first time, Budu wore a serious expression as he carefully checked the locks on the door.

Erxin wanted to snag some snacks and followed Budu around like a little shadow.

In the lounge, Lu Yao curled up in a blanket on the sofa, her gaze unfocused.

She tried hard to concentrate, waiting for Budu to return.

But drowsiness hit her like a wild beast, and her consciousness abruptly disconnected.

When Budu returned from outside, he found Lu Yao asleep and carefully draped a few more thick blankets over her.

He took off his shoes and cautiously crawled to her side.

Worried that the cold would affect her, he pinched a corner of the blanket in his palm, tilted his head toward Lu Yao, and closed his eyes with a sense of satisfaction.