Ch 54: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

“You really don’t have a bottleneck phase, do you?”

[System Prompt: The eighth shop’s interdimensional upgrade is complete, and the Stargate has been activated.]

Lu Yao opened her eyes, reaching for her phone by the pillow. It was only 6:30 AM.

It had been a week since the ultimate task of the hot spring inn concluded.

Yesterday, the proxy bot had sent a message urging her to open a new shop.

After wandering along both sides of the shopping street, Lu Yao chose three storefronts next to the Childhood Tutoring Center, combining and upgrading them into an interdimensional space and activating the Stargate.

Recently, she’d still been staying at the hot spring inn, enjoying nightly soaks in the hot springs to unwind after busy days. It was incredibly relaxing.

Sitting up, Lu Yao opened the system interface.

On the map of the shopping street, a new shop was now lit up, its signboard already bearing a name.

Lu Yao tapped the screen lightly and returned to her owner status panel.

Owner: Lu Yao
Age: 22
Shops: 9
Staff: 224
Popularity Points: 62,015,500
Assets: 14.15 million
Wish Progress: 48%
Warehouse Slots: 50

(shopping Street Map)

With the opening of the Stargate in her newest shop, the data had instantly updated.

Eight main shops and one branch—Lu Yao had already opened nine stores on this run-down street.

The number of staff in her shops had surpassed 200 and was still growing.

Lu Yao couldn’t help reminiscing about the time she arrived at this desolate street all by herself, forced by the Dream Fulfillment System to open her first shop. She used to go out to buy ingredients on her own, haggling with market vendors—it all felt like a distant memory.

After setting up and running her internal network, the tight finances eased up.

The cinema’s rate of introducing new films slowed, but the ones purchased last year were still doing well in rotation.

The hot spring inn required more manpower and energy but wasn’t a major money drain. Lu Yao’s small treasury was finally starting to see some income.

Keep it up!

The wish progress data had been an unexpected surprise.

The morning after the girls’ chat night, the Shenmu tribe and Red Pig tribe both delivered two thin, long white bones.

Three days later, the Xiaguang tribe, Luoxiong tribe, and Blackrock tribe each delivered another bone.

Lu Yao had suddenly received five white bones, and her wish progress had advanced significantly.

At the time, she’d found it odd and asked the Shenmu elder chieftain, “How did you know I wanted these bones?”

The elder chieftain looked at her strangely. “Didn’t you drop them? They’re covered in your scent.”

Lu Yao: “…What scent?”

The elder chieftain struggled to come up with a more comprehensible explanation. “It’s… similar to that new acorus under the yangju tree. When we smell it, we know it’s yours.”

Lu Yao: “…I see. Thank you very much.”

She had no idea her body had a particular scent.

Three days later, the little people from the other three tribes were even more absurd. They apologized profusely as they delivered the bones, thinking that some mischievous child in their tribe had taken something from her inn.

It took more than forty little people to carry the bones back, so it was obviously impossible for one of them to have secretly taken them.

Lu Yao quietly thought to herself that the idea of them “growing brains” might still be a long way off.

Without saying much, she accepted the bones.

…

Lu Yao exited the system interface and got up to wash up.

The hot spring inn mission had ended, and the Dream Fulfillment System hadn’t returned. She had no idea what the next shop would bring.

After getting dressed, Lu Yao left her room and knocked on Budu’s door next door.

Lu Yao: “Are you awake? I’m planning to check out the new shop. Want to come along?”

“Yes!” The door swung open, and an icy chill drifted out. Budu stepped out.

The weather on the Nitean continent was getting hotter, as was the shopping street.

The temperature these days reached 27 or 28 degrees during the day, so Budu spent most of his time in his ice house, reluctantly becoming a homebody.

Worried he’d feel stifled, Lu Yao made a habit of inviting him out for walks during the cooler mornings and evenings.

…

Opposite the hot spring inn, next to the Childhood Tutoring Center, stood the new shop—a combination of three storefronts. The sign read: Lu Yao’s Interdimensional Internet Café.

Its style was as flamboyant as the Interdimensional Cinema across the street, aiming for maximum visual impact.

The concept for this shop had been unusually straightforward, leaving Lu Yao hesitant for a long time before deciding.

Budu: “Why an internet café?”

Lu Yao: “It doesn’t cost much.”

After dealing with the cinema’s financial aftershocks, she wasn’t ready for another expensive venture.

Budu: “Can an internet café make money?”

As a divine being, Budu shouldn’t have been concerned with such mundane matters.

But after spending so much time on the shopping street, his way of thinking had gradually started leaning toward the practical.

Lu Yao: “I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter. This isn’t the first time I’ve started a shop without knowing what would happen. At this point, I’m used to it—it’s like unboxing a blind box.”

…

Zhou Su and Zheng Ziyang arrived early, walking over from the parking lot. They spotted Lu Yao and Budu standing in the middle of the small road and quickly realized what was happening. They hurried over.

Sure enough, another shop had opened.

Zhou Su: “This time, it’s an internet café? What kind of world will it be across the Stargate?”

Lu Yao: “I don’t know yet, but it’s likely a cultivation world.”

Do Not Disturb Ascension—there really wasn’t any other plausible explanation.

!!!

Zheng Ziyang’s face was full of shock. “A cultivation world?”

Zhou Su, more accustomed to Lu Yao’s antics, didn’t look as incredulous, though she was still intrigued by the possibility.

Zhou Su: “An internet café in a cultivation world? You really don’t have a bottleneck phase, do you?”

What kind of incredible imagination did it take to come up with an idea like that?

On second thought, though, a cultivation world—rich in spiritual energy, filled with opportunities, natural treasures, and divine techniques—might not be drawn to ordinary shops.

An internet café might just be the perfect out-of-the-box choice.

Lu Yao, satisfied with the new shop’s signboard, pulled Budu along. “Let’s go in and take a look.”

..l

As the owner and Budu stepped into the new shop, Zhou Su and Zheng Ziyang immediately posted a picture of the new storefront in the staff group chat.

[Little Pet Cafe Zhou Su]: New shop, possibly in a cultivation world!

[Nail Salon Mumu]: What?!

[Hot Spring Inn Zheng Ziyang]: Cultivation, also known as seeking immortality, involves mortals absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth to strengthen their bodies, practice spells, and extend their lifespans, all in pursuit of transcending mortal realms and ascending to immortality.

Zheng Ziyang, who’d had a phase of reading cultivation novels in his student years, felt a surge of nostalgia. Back then, he often fantasized about spiritual energy awakening and stepping into a cultivation world to lead a legendary life.

Who would’ve thought that after entering the workforce, his dreams buried by reality, he’d actually encounter such a possibility?

This was destiny. A fortuitous encounter!

His hands trembled as he typed.

Meanwhile, at the Interdimensional Cinema, it was lunch break. The staff sat in the lounge, eating and scrolling through their phones.

Even the little people had come to appreciate the joys of smartphones. If their daily internet time wasn’t limited to an hour and a half, they’d never put them down.

[Interdimensional Cinema Kuba]: What’s an internet café?

[Little Pet Cafe Ji Zhixin]: It’s like a smartphone, but a place specifically for surfing the internet!

[Interdimensional Cinema Tai Er]: Cultivation? Are there really celestial realms and immortals?

[Little Pet Cafe Zhou Su]: I don’t know about elsewhere, but if the owner says there are, then there definitely are!

[Interdimensional Cinema Zhu Zhu]: Where’s the owner? Why isn’t she saying anything?

[Hot Spring Inn Zheng Ziyang]: The owner went to the new shop with Budu.

[Childhood Tutoring Center Bai Yi]: Is the new shop right next to the tutoring center? I’m heading over right now!

While other worlds might not feel the same excitement, the staff on the shopping street were practically celebrating. It was a cultivation world!!!

…

Lu Yao and Budu stepped through the Stargate. The scenery outside the shop transformed, differing slightly from Lu Yao’s expectations for the shop’s location.

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️