Ch 78: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

[You have a new mission! Collect the full set of illustrations within two months and achieve total revenue of 20,000 high-grade spirit stones. Rewards: +60,000 Popularity Points, +1 High-Grade Marrow-Cleansing Pill, +1 High-Grade Puppet Talisman, +1 Breath Soil, +1 Mustard Seed Realm. Please work hard to complete the mission!]

Lu Yao had encountered illustration collection missions before when she ran the nail salon, but what kind of illustrations were required this time?

She opened the system panel and accessed the Shopping Street map.

Clicking on the Interdimensional Internet Café, she selected the “Illustration” option at the bottom of the screen.

A new, completely black illustration panel appeared, featuring six icons that needed to be unlocked.

Upon closer inspection, the icons corresponded to six guests from the Human Realm, Cultivation Realm, Demon Cultivation Realm, Demon Realm, Immortal Realm, and Underworld.

Each icon had unique unlocking conditions.

For example:

• Human Icon: A human woman in her sixties.
• Demon Icon: A demon ranked between Demon General and Demon Lord.
• Immortal Icon: Fulfillment of the guest’s heart’s desire.

A major prerequisite for unlocking any illustration was that the store owner could not coerce guests—they must come to the café willingly.

Lu Yao couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.

The mission’s conditions were absurdly demanding.

Leaving aside the strict requirements for the Human, Cultivation, Demon, and Beast guests, how was an ordinary mortal like her supposed to reach the Immortal Realm or the Underworld?

Not only did she need to attract the right guests, but they also had to meet the illustration’s specific requirements—this was practically written to “deliberately make things difficult.”

Knowing that the proxy robot wouldn’t respond to complaints, Lu Yao skipped the futile process of arguing and shifted her focus to reviewing the rewards to calm herself down.

The Small Qiankun Pouch wasn’t small at all. Lu Yao stuffed all the Tears of the Divine she’d accumulated in her portable warehouse into the pouch, and it still wasn’t full.

The Qiankun Pouch had another advantage: items placed inside it counted as a single unit in her warehouse.

She could organize less frequently used items into the pouch, store it in her warehouse, and free up space for other items.

The downside was that with everything packed into the pouch, she sometimes struggled to find what she needed.

In the end, Lu Yao decided to take the items back out, using the Qiankun Pouch as a standard storage tool that she could retrieve when necessary.

Though she often bickered with the Dream Fulfillment System and wasn’t on the best terms with it, she still found her personal warehouse far more reliable than the proxy robot.

Inside the warehouse were three mid-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pills, small green pills about the size of a thumbprint. Their vibrant green color made them look suspiciously like poison.

Legend had it that in the Cultivation Realm, Marrow-Cleansing Pills could expel impurities from a mortal’s body, transforming them completely.

Thinking of Cheng Ye, Lu Yao wondered if giving him one might help.

Cheng Ye hadn’t disclosed his health condition to his coworkers. Even others on Shopping Street, like Ji Qingyan, were unaware that he was ill.

He worked during the day at the café, temporarily stayed in the office after hours, and often coded late into the night to urgently update the café’s systems.

The Marrow-Cleansing Pill likely wouldn’t cure his illness, but it might alleviate his symptoms.

Due to system rules, Shopping Street could not access items from other worlds without a star gate.

When Ji Zhixin had injured his leg, Lu Yao had used the Deep Sea Goddess’s divine power to give him temporary mobility within the pet cafe.

Later, with the help of the Illusion Ring, he was able to move freely for a while.

However, Ji Zhixin’s leg injury had never been fully healed.

If the Illusion Ring ever failed, he would return to being wheelchair-bound.

Similarly, Lu Yao’s light magic, which didn’t work within Shopping Street, couldn’t heal Ji Zhixin’s leg or Cheng Ye’s illness.

Under the strict system rules, Lu Yao managed to find a potential loophole.

By design, no items from other worlds could pass through the star gate and reach Shopping Street. However, guests who ate seafood or other delicacies from different worlds at the pet cafe could still safely return to Shopping Street after crossing the star gate.

This might be a bug, or perhaps an unspoken rule.

During lunch break, Lu Yao called Cheng Ye aside for a private conversation.

After hearing her out, Cheng Ye blinked slowly. “You really have a Marrow-Cleansing Pill?”

Lu Yao nodded. “It came to me by chance. I’ve never tried it myself, so I can’t guarantee its effects.”

Cheng Ye hadn’t expected an opportunity like this to arrive so soon. His heart began to race.

Death is a hard thing for anyone to face, even though it is inevitable for everyone.

Cheng Ye had quit his job in the city and returned to his hometown, simply wanting to relive a few carefree days of his youth. He knew it wouldn’t be long before life’s demands would push him back into a busy, aimless routine.

But before his short break could end, death knocked on his door first.

Life, it seemed, had a way of offering unexpected turns—or perhaps dragging you into a deeper abyss.

Becoming an internet café attendant was never something Cheng Ye had considered. Yet this job had made him more afraid of death than ever before.

It felt as though fate reveled in watching him struggle against the inevitable.

Still, working at the café, he had unexpectedly rediscovered some joy in life. These days, apart from the ever-ticking clock of his lifespan, he felt freer and more at peace than he had even in his hometown.

He didn’t want to die—at least not so soon.

With his thoughts now clear, Cheng Ye looked at Lu Yao with calm determination. “I’m willing to use all my savings to buy that Marrow-Cleansing Pill.”

He had tens of thousands in his account, originally meant for a down payment on a house. After breaking up with Ji Qingyan, that plan had been put on hold.

Lu Yao quipped, “By that calculation, all your years of hard work would be for nothing.”

Cheng Ye chuckled bitterly. “I feel like my luck might finally be turning. Dying now would be such a waste.”

Lu Yao retrieved a Marrow-Cleansing Pill from her portable warehouse and handed it to him. “I can’t guarantee it will work. After taking it, stay in the café for three days before returning to the hospital for a check-up. If it does improve your condition, the cost of the pill will be deducted from your year-end bonus.”

Cheng Ye felt a wave of gratitude but didn’t hesitate. “Thank you, boss.”

He thought to himself that maybe his luck really was changing.

…

Behind the café counter, there was a break room. It had been added during the recent renovation, specifically at Lu Yao’s request.

The room wasn’t large, containing only a long table for meals and rest, two sets of sofas, a row of storage lockers, and a restroom.

Cheng Ye took the Marrow-Cleansing Pill but didn’t consume it immediately. Instead, he planned to finish his shift, return to his living quarters to pack some belongings, and move into the café’s break room to prepare for taking the pill.

However, since he couldn’t take the pill outside the café and didn’t feel secure leaving it unattended there, he decided to temporarily store it with Lu Yao.

That evening, Cheng Ye brought his clothes and bedding to the break room. Once he had settled in, he took the pill from Lu Yao with great solemnity and placed it in his mouth.

Lu Yao, curious and slightly concerned, asked, “How does it taste?”

Cheng Ye swallowed before replying. “It dissolved into water instantly—bitter.”

Lu Yao pulled out her wand and a pen made from the bones of Demon God. “If you feel unwell, I’ll do everything I can to help.”

Having taken the pill, Cheng Ye surprisingly felt more at ease.

He had seen Lu Yao’s wand before, but pointing at the pen in her hand, he asked, “What kind of pen is that? Why is the tip white and so thick?”

Lu Yao replied, “You could call it a Human Bone Judicator Pen.”

Cheng Ye found the boss’s humor unexpectedly amusing and burst into laughter.

Before long, however, he started experiencing stomach pain and spent the entire night unable to leave the toilet.

Lu Yao, worried something might happen to him but unable to stay in the break room all night, kept watch at the counter instead.

The night shift belonged to Zhong Lianjia. The little demons in the café, eager to get some gameplay tips from their favorite “pro,” were eyeing him expectantly.

However, with Lu Yao present, Zhong didn’t dare slack off openly.

That night, there were no instant noodle bribes, which Zhong secretly felt relieved about.

The demons treated instant noodles as a delicacy, and whenever they wanted Zhong’s help, they would offer him a cup as a token of goodwill.

Though he mentally complained about it countless times, Zhong was too timid to refuse outright.

Noticing the demons’ dissatisfaction, Lu Yao generously allowed Zhong to take a break and help them practice.

After all, hiring a retired esports player as a net manager was precisely for this purpose.

Zhong was still too young to grasp the dynamics.

Some demons began plotting to “bribe” Zhong with instant noodles again, but Lu Yao offered a helpful tip:

“Zhong isn’t a big fan of instant noodles. He’s a mortal and prefers novel items from the Cultivation Realm. It doesn’t need to be anything expensive—just something he hasn’t seen before will do.”

In truth, Zhong would have helped them earnestly even without gifts.

But the demons felt uneasy, convinced that offering something would ensure Zhong’s wholehearted assistance.

Demons, after all, had their own brand of etiquette and quirks.

…

Cheng Ye moved into the café’s break room, which piqued the curiosity of those in the group chat. When they asked about it, Cheng Ye brushed them off with vague responses, and neither Lu Yao nor Cheng Ye disclosed anything about the Marrow-Cleansing Pill.

Cheng Ye’s colleagues dropped the subject after that.

In the first few days, Cheng Ye spent his nights dealing with stomach pain and his days feeling drowsy and exhausted.

When he woke, his clothes were damp, and his fabric was smeared with sticky black grime. The sofa covers and bedding also became dirty.

After three days, the symptoms eased. Cheng Ye no longer had stomach pain at night, and when he woke, there was no residue on his clothes or bedding.

He felt noticeably lighter and more relaxed.

Lu Yao gave Cheng Ye a day off to visit the hospital for a full check-up, covering his shift herself.

…

Early in the morning, Guanzhong stepped through the fissure of demonic energy into the café, followed by a companion.

Trailing behind him was a tall female demon he introduced as Danxi. She wore a black robe, princess-cut hair, smoky eye makeup, and bold red lipstick, exuding an intimidating aura.

At the counter, she asked Lu Yao to create a new account for her.

From their bickering, Lu Yao couldn’t quite discern the exact nature of their relationship. They argued constantly but seemed oddly close.

Arriving late, the only seats left were two corner spots by the wall. Guanzhong led Danxi to the seats and launched into a Canyon match.

…

After a few rounds, Danxi slammed her mouse down angrily. “What’s so fun about this? It’s boring!”

Guanzhong was too annoyed to respond.

Being considerate of her inexperience, he had guided her through the beginner tutorial and helped her level up by playing bot matches together.

He had repeatedly told her to “play safe and focus on farming.”

Danxi, however, ignored every word. With barely any equipment, she recklessly charged ahead and got caught.

Guanzhong assumed he could carry the match, considering their opponents were bots. But when he went to save her, both of them ended up feeding kills. Their teammates mocked them mercilessly.

Guanzhong’s hard-earned confidence was shattered by this bot match.

Frustrated, he started another game by himself, pounding the keyboard furiously.

Danxi, bored and unimpressed, got up to leave, muttering that fighting in the Demon Realm was far more interesting than this.

Sitting to her right was a spider demon, different from the other demons and demon cultivators in the café. She wasn’t gaming but had a webpage open on her screen, which caught Danxi’s attention.

Intrigued, Danxi paused and leaned over to take a closer look.

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