Ch 57: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Lu Yao measured the interior space of the internet cafe, sketched out a renovation blueprint, and then wove together magical formations to achieve the desired aesthetic.

Countless magic arrays interconnected to form a matrix, and with a single activation, the interior was instantly transformed.

As long as the preparation was thorough, the results were no less impressive than those achieved by system-driven maintenance.

By that afternoon, the soft furnishings of the shop were completed.

Lu Yao drew inspiration from internet cafe of over a decade ago. Upon entering, customers would first see the counter and the area for the attendants. Guests needed to register at the counter to activate a machine.

In the main hall, ten computers were neatly arranged—five on each side.

Along the walls, there were two private rooms, each equipped with one computer. These rooms had glass soundproofing and curtains on three sides, offering a high level of privacy.

Of the 15 computers purchased, 12 were used in the main hall and private rooms, leaving three for backend management in Cheng Ye’s workspace.

A restroom was located to the left of the exit from the private rooms.

The overall interior design of the internet cafe was simple and efficient.

That afternoon, Cheng Ye started installing the computers.

The Interdimensional internet cafe required a connection to the shopping street’s network, but the entire world couldn’t be freely exposed to the Floating World Continent, necessitating a firewall.

Lu Yao integrated the internet cafe into the shopping street’s intranet, leveraging Budu and the Dreamland Tech Team for monitoring. She tasked Cheng Ye with setting up an additional firewall under this dual-layer protection.

The space wasn’t large, so Cheng Ye finished setting up all the equipment by 10 p.m.

Since he didn’t have a place to stay yet, he temporarily slept in the staff office, which included a rest area with beds. This space was often used by the cinema post-production team when their workload was heavy.

Cheng Ye would stay here for a few days until his permanent position was confirmed, after which Lu Yao planned to expand the rest area in the internet cafe.

…

The next day, Cheng Ye stayed at the café to fine-tune the computers, while Lu Yao took Harold to BuXian Town for errands.

With the grand opening of the internet cafe approaching, Lu Yao knew that for residents of the Floating World Continent, this concept would be entirely novel. Marketing was essential.

Given the shop’s remote location, Lu Yao suspected that its main clientele might not even be humans.

Worried about leaving Cheng Ye alone at the café, she had Budu watch over him.

When Cheng Ye saw the silver-haired, red-eyed childlike figure, he mistook him for a local demon.

Lu Yao and Harold both laughed but didn’t offer any explanation.

…

BuXian Town was a small, remote settlement. Due to the presence of Hengze Sect, the town had a rudimentary teleportation array.

By paying with spirit stones, one could use the array to travel to other locations. The town also sold teleportation scrolls, which transported the user to a fixed location.

Lu Yao, lacking spirit stones, couldn’t afford either the materials to construct her own teleportation array or the scrolls sold in town.

She considered bartering unique items from other worlds for spirit stones but quickly realized the town’s poverty rendered such trades unprofitable—and risked earning her the label of “con artist.”

The Alexander Continent had similar teleportation arrays and magical scrolls, which gave Lu Yao an idea: Why not replicate the teleportation setup from BuXian Town? She could install a magic teleportation array outside the internet cafe and even craft scrolls modeled after the town’s products.

The method wasn’t exactly upright, but it was certainly efficient.

By doing so, she wouldn’t need to struggle for spirit stones while still achieving her goal.

After all, the café’s location was outrageously remote. Without a teleportation array, who would bother coming?

Attracting the first adventurous customers always required some creative marketing tactics.

Lu Yao and Harold altered their appearances with magic before heading out, dressing as cultivators to blend in and avoid unnecessary trouble.

With clear objectives in mind, they explored Buxian Town, examined the general mechanics of teleportation arrays and scrolls, and even listened to some local gossip before heading back.

Once at the internet cafe, Harold started constructing the teleportation array outside the entrance, while Lu Yao worked behind the counter on creating teleportation scrolls.

The cage holding the sparrow spirits was placed atop the counter. Despite their initial defiance, the sparrows, realizing they couldn’t escape or outwit Lu Yao, had calmed significantly.

Now, they lined up on the perch, tilting their heads as they watched Lu Yao work, occasionally chirping softly.

“She’s making a teleportation array?”
“How’s that possible? She doesn’t even have any cultivation!”
“So strange!”

Lu Yao first crafted a batch of scrolls for fixed teleportation to the internet cafe, then began working on another promotional item—free three-day internet coupons for the café’s grand opening.

The sparrows, with their bright, curious eyes, couldn’t comprehend what she was doing.

At noon, Lu Yao and Cheng Ye had lunch in the staff office, joined by the three members of the post-production team. They were eager to hear about the progress at the internet cafe and possibly catch some tales from the cultivation world.

Lu Yao asked Cheng Ye, “Are the machines all set up?”
Cheng Ye nodded, “Yeah, everything you asked for was pretty straightforward. There’s not much left to do this afternoon.”

Lu Yao leaned closer, lowering her voice to assign a new task. Cheng Ye, along with the post-production team, looked puzzled, unable to decipher her intent.

Turning to the trio, Lu Yao suggested, “Why don’t you pose as customers later, play a few games, and then head back?”

Gesi was visibly excited. “Can we?”
Lu Yao nodded. “Sure, just make it look real. I’ll take you there.”

…

After lunch, Cheng Ye returned to the internet cafe alone. Following Lu Yao’s instructions, he hung the sparrow cage on a five-tier shelf behind the counter.

The counter setup also included a small freezer, ready to stock instant noodles, sausages, chewing gum, and bottled water—perfect for the retro vibe the café was aiming for.

Cheng Ye sat at one of the main computers at the counter, booted it up, and navigated to the 6399 Games interface, selecting a single-player game called Bomberman.

The gameplay was simple: players controlled a character using a keyboard and mouse to strategically place bombs on the map while finding safe spots to hide. Bomb explosions could sometimes drop items like boots, potions, or power-ups.

These items could enhance the player’s abilities:

• Boots increased speed.
• Potions amplified bomb power.

After clearing a map, players advanced to increasingly difficult levels.

For Cheng Ye, who hadn’t touched such games in years, Bomberman brought back nostalgic childhood memories. Despite its simplicity, the game wasn’t as dull as he’d expected.

In the cage, the sparrows huddled together, their bright eyes fixed on Cheng Ye’s screen.
“What is he doing?”
“Why are the little things in the box moving?”

…

After about half an hour, Lu Yao arrived with the post-production trio.

At the entrance, she called out, “Hey, net admin, three machines, please!”

Cheng Ye stood up casually, replying, “Ten mid-grade spirit stones per hour.”

The trio rummaged through their bags, pulling out handfuls of colorful “spirit stones,” received their assigned numbers, and headed to their seats.

Meanwhile, Lu Yao moved the sparrow cage to the opposite wall, ensuring a clear view of the customers’ screens.

Gesi logged into the 6399 Games interface, selecting a nostalgic favorite from his childhood—Contra. His pixelated character armed with a rifle ventured boldly into the game’s levels.

Next to him, Gao Meng, who hadn’t played on a computer in ages, spotted a familiar icon among the game selections. Without hesitation, he clicked on it.

The screen displayed a classic character in blue overalls and a red hat—Mario. Gao Meng clumsily guided the iconic figure through levels of adventure and peril, rediscovering the simple joys of his younger years.

Liu Tang sat next to Gao Meng, engrossed in a puzzle-based tower defense game. He placed pea shooters in front of his house to fend off wave after wave of invading zombies.

The three deliberately didn’t wear headphones and turned up the volume to the max, letting the sound echo throughout the room.

In their cage, the sparrow spirits craned their necks, desperately trying to get a clearer view of what was happening on the glowing screens.

Cheng Ye, seated behind the counter, watched this scene unfold and suddenly understood the owner’s intention.

Even though the sparrow spirits hadn’t fully transformed, they had developed intelligence, and their natural curiosity drew them toward the novel sights and sounds.

Now, they crowded together in the cage, their feathers poking through the bars, looking both amusing and pitiful.

The post-production team left before their time was up, leaving their game screens running.

Lu Yao walked over, took the middle seat, and continued playing one of the games.

The sparrow spirits immediately erupted into chatter, chirping noisily.

They had tried calling out to the earlier players, attempting to get their attention, but the humans had ignored them entirely.

Just as the sparrows were on the verge of despair, Lu Yao stood up, took down the cage, and placed it in front of the computer.

“Want to play this?”

The sparrow spirits, still naive to the phrase “the wickedness of human nature,” thought Lu Yao was being genuine and nodded enthusiastically.

Lu Yao raised an eyebrow. “You need to pay with spirit stones to use the computers. Do you have any?”

The sparrow spirits froze. They had indeed seen the earlier players hand over spirit stones to the attendant.

Being mere wild sparrows from the mountains, they fought over scraps of spirit-infused cake, let alone having anything like spirit stones.

“You didn’t think you could freeload in my café, did you?” Lu Yao asked, her tone light but pointed.

The sparrow spirits shook their heads furiously.

Lu Yao tilted her head. “So, what will you do?”

The sparrow spirits looked troubled. They wanted to freeload but couldn’t fight their way out of the situation.

Lu Yao pulled out a stack of pre-prepared magical scrolls and free trial coupons. “I have a proposal.”

The sparrow spirits’ beady eyes all turned to her, sparkling with hope. Was this woman finally growing a conscience?

Lu Yao tapped her fingers on the table. “Take these scrolls and coupons, find some people, and bring me one customer. For each customer you bring, I’ll let you play for an hour.”

Cheng Ye watched as the sparrow spirits were released from their cage. They struggled to carry the scrolls in their tiny beaks but eventually managed and flew out the door. He almost couldn’t hold back from applauding the boss.

Such skill.

At the door, Lu Yao waved after the departing sparrows. “Remember, the café officially opens the day after tomorrow. Don’t mess up the timing.”

Cheng Ye muttered to himself, “Good luck, sparrows. You’re going to need it.”

…

With most of the preparation done, Lu Yao had time to sift through the resumes.

Aside from Ji Qingyan, other staff members had also recommended candidates, and their resumes had been forwarded to her inbox.

Cheng Ye’s skills were solid, but his health remained a concern. Working in the café wouldn’t be easy, with night shifts and other demands.

Lu Yao planned to hire two more people to distribute the workload and was specifically looking for candidates with diverse skill sets.

She selected the most suitable resumes and had the recommenders notify the candidates to come to the shop for interviews.

Having reflected on Bai Lu’s earlier hiring process, Lu Yao realized the previous recruitment methods had flaws, potentially causing her to miss out on ideal employees.

For the new café, she decided to hold interviews directly on-site at the shopping street, opting for a more transparent and mutual selection process.

If a candidate was a good fit, they’d stay. If not, the confidentiality agreement would still apply.

This approach might present issues in the future, but Lu Yao was prepared to adapt as necessary.

The newly implemented internal network system had significantly streamlined operations, offering Lu Yao a valuable new tool.

After narrowing her choices, she sent out interview invitations to two candidates.

The next day, Lu Yao’s Interdimensional Internet Cafe officially opened for business.

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