Ch 88: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

1041’s Team had three main members: 1041, 1043, and 1044.

Lu Yao had worked with them on several occasions, using magical assistance to refine and update holographic technology and even co-creating the core of Alfred.

However, 1041’s Team had never visited the Little Pet Café.

The café’s existence was no longer a secret on the Eden Sea Network forums, but not everyone could visit it.

1041’s Team were all former test subjects, but unlike those from Sanhua City, they were different.

The test subjects in Nightlight City had all been high-IQ children selected and trained as top-tier research talents. Their mental health was relatively stable, possibly due to their innate qualities, and they had never fallen into the “drowning sea” state of mental breakdown.

Although they had tried to reserve a spot at the Little Pet Café in the past, none of them had ever received the phantom call required to visit.

Receiving a sudden message from a waterdrop seal on this day, 1041 initially thought it was a dream. After confirming the information repeatedly, they immediately notified the other two team members.

…

At 4 p.m., Cheng Ye and Zhong Lianjia met at the entrance of the Little Pet Café.

Cheng Ye had been to the café before, as he temporarily lived near the store district and often wandered around after work.

He had visited most of the other shops, including the Little Pet Café and the hot spring inn, which were among his favorite places to relax.

Cheng Ye handed Zhong Lianjia a wristband. “The boss asked me to wait for you here. Wear this so we can go inside.”

It was Zhong Lianjia’s first time at the famous Little Pet Café. While he had often browsed updates about the café in the shopping street circle, nothing prepared him for the real experience.

As they entered, Zhong Lianjia was left speechless.

The café truly seemed to be underwater, with only a thin transparent membrane separating it from the ocean. Above, colorful fish swam leisurely, casting vibrant hues throughout the space.

Cheng Ye walked ahead. “This area is the dining room. If you go through those tunnels, you’ll reach the Octopus Slide, the Sea Urchin Room, and the Whale Room. They’re all fascinating spots. The café is essentially an underwater amusement park. But we’re heading to the Fishing Room on the surface for our meeting. You can explore after.”

Zhong Lianjia followed Cheng Ye up the transparent stairs, step by step, until they reached the surface.

The sea breeze brushed past them, and the golden hues of the setting sun scattered across the water like a sea of gold. Fat, snow-white seals lounged lazily around the pier, occasionally letting out soft cries before flipping over to bask in the breeze.

Cheng Ye pointed at one of the seals, a particularly chubby one with a phone hanging from its neck. “That one’s Piaopiao. It manages the café’s phantom call system with Ji Zhixin. They’re colleagues of ours.”

Zhong Lianjia was too stunned to respond.

When they arrived at the Fishing Room, the three Ji clan members were already there.

Lu Yao sat in the middle and motioned for the two to join them.

1041’s team hadn’t yet arrived. Lu Yao had instructed Lei Lei to notify them an hour later than the café staff because the first half of the meeting was unrelated to 1041’s team.

Lu Yao wanted to confirm details about the planned launch of the café’s in-game purchase and online shopping services in two weeks.

The first topic was the in-game purchase service. In-game spending typically included appearance-based purchases (skins) and item-based purchases, with the spending amounts varying by game type.

In the case of the interdimensional internet café, the currency was not universally compatible. Even if customers spent a fortune in the game, the final transactions would have to draw from Lu Yao’s personal account.

Hearing this for the first time, the staff all stared at Lu Yao with wide-eyed disbelief.

Lu Yao: “Why isn’t anyone saying anything?”

Ji Qingyan: “Boss, don’t tell me all the shop currencies are incompatible with ours.”

Lu Yao nodded gravely. “Exactly. While each shop barely manages to scrape by, I personally have no money left.”

Ji Zhixin: “…”

When Lu Yao opened the fifth shop, Ji Zhixin had been in charge of securing most of the intellectual property, with hundreds of thousands being withdrawn from Lu Yao’s account at a time. He had always assumed this was just initial funding, with the shop’s earnings returning to her later.

It was only now that he realized the money did come back—but not in the way he had imagined.

Cheng Ye: “So… what’s in it for you?”

Lu Yao shrugged. “I’d like to know too.”

Zhong Lianjia, who had felt a bit sleepy earlier, was now wide awake. “And yet you’ve managed to open nine shops. Boss, you must be secretly rich.”

Lu Yao waved him off. “If only! Would I still be stressing about this otherwise?”

Ji Feiming was puzzled. “What gave you the confidence back then to reject my offer of a hundred million?”

Other staff: “???”

What other untold stories does this small street have?

Lu Yao: “That’s the situation. Let’s not stray too far. First, let’s discuss the issue of customers wanting to spend money in the café.”

The internet café aimed to discourage excessive spending while still offering customers a certain level of freedom.

Currently, the number of customers wanting to spend on in-game purchases wasn’t large, but thinking ahead, Lu Yao believed it was necessary to implement limits on spending amounts and frequency.

The Floating World Continent consisted of six realms, and her ongoing mission was to unlock access to customers from all six. In the future, with more customers potentially coming from various realms, any lack of initial restrictions could lead to unmanageable spending habits later on.

As the saying goes, it’s hard to go from extravagance to frugality.

Zhong Lianjia: “Most in-game skins are priced under 200. Limiting customers to three skins per month doesn’t seem excessive.”

Ji Qingyan: “Skins are just one category. Paid items aren’t cheap either. If someone splurges on multiple 648-packs, it’ll be the owner’s wallet taking the hit.”

Even without knowing the full extent of Lu Yao’s expenses, Ji Qingyan instinctively began to sympathize with her wallet.

Judging by the store’s decor and the staff’s generous salaries, it was hard to tell the owner was strapped for cash.

Lu Yao: “In-game purchases are just one aspect. Some customers have already discovered online shopping options. In two weeks, both services will be opened.”

The staff: “…”

They had underestimated her. The boss was clearly operating on a grand scale.

As for the proposal to source goods from other worlds, Lu Yao rejected it outright after someone tentatively brought it up. She didn’t explain the full reasoning, simply stating that it wasn’t feasible.

Those present, being sharp, didn’t pry further.

In her mind, Lu Yao had already outlined a rough plan:

For in-game purchases, each account would have a monthly spending cap of five 648-packs. For the first three purchases, the café would charge a 10% transaction fee. However, starting from the fourth purchase, the fee would jump to 50%.

This small measure would effectively keep spending limited to around three 648-packs per account.

For online shopping, each customer would have a monthly spending limit of 1500, with a 10% handling fee and an additional 5% shipping fee per transaction.

Lu Yao didn’t want to use the shopping street as the delivery address. She originally planned to rent a small warehouse and hire a manager to handle package sorting and transportation.

Ji Feiming suggested another idea: his family’s house was large, and they employed a housekeeper. Packages could be delivered to the Ji family villa, and he could bring them to work afterward.

Lu Yao hesitated. “That would be too much trouble for you.”

Ji Feiming: “I’m just a delivery guy anyway. There’s not much difference between delivering packages and regular deliveries. It’s just bringing something from home to the shop, and with the ring, it’s effortless.”

Ji Zhixin added, “If Uncle Ming finds it inconvenient, I can drive it over.”

Ji Qingyan chimed in, “I recently moved to the same villa area, right next door to Uncle Ming and Brother Zhixin. If they’re not available, I can bring it over. After all, it’s just regular packages—there’s no need to add an extra step to the process.”

Lu Yao lightly tapped the armrest of her chair. “Borrowing your space for the warehouse is fine, but I don’t want housekeepers handling the deliveries. If I recall correctly, you have a celestial messenger in your family. Is he still in Yaoguang City?”

Ji Feiming was surprised and glanced at Lu Yao. “You… would actually use him?”

Lu Yao smiled. “It’s just delivering packages; he might think it’s beneath him.”

Ji Feiming: “No, he’d definitely be willing. I’ll call him right away.”

Lu Yao stopped the overly enthusiastic Ji Feiming. “Hold on, let’s finish this meeting first. I’ll propose a 5% delivery fee for customers, with half of that covering warehouse expenses. If Ji Feichen is willing to join, it’ll be an official position. The job is relatively easy, so the salary might not match other roles. If he’s not interested, I’ll find another warehouse and personnel.”

At this, not only Ji Feiming but also Ji Zhixin and Ji Qingyan assured her repeatedly that Ji Feichen would accept the position.

Work and salary weren’t Ji Feichen’s main concerns—the key factor was that the child was here.

The three of them all had the same question in their minds: Did the boss know this and intentionally call Ji Feichen over?

Ji Feiming immediately called Ji Feichen, who promptly agreed, and the meeting resumed.

Lu Yao: “Now onto something more important—I’ve been considering measures to cut costs, but is there a way to generate more revenue?”

The staff were somewhat aware of the restrictions in the shopping street, even if Lu Yao hadn’t explicitly outlined them.

For example, the strict confidentiality contracts were a clear indicator that the shopping street wasn’t ready to be exposed to the general public.

The storefronts along the street were all clean and tidy, but from the main road, the shopping street still looked dilapidated—like “wearing silk at night,” achieving little in terms of visibility and appeal.

The staff exchanged silent glances and then collectively turned to Lu Yao, waiting for her input.

Lu Yao’s gaze swept across them and landed on Zhong Lianjia. “I hear there are professional boosters in the gaming world? Skilled players can easily take orders to boost rankings for a fee.”

Zhong Lianjia stared blankly at her for a moment. “There are, but I don’t do boosting—it’s too tiring.”

He was enjoying his retirement and had no desire to hustle anymore.

Lu Yao: “I’m not asking you to boost. I’m wondering if it’s possible for the café’s customers to take on boosting orders? It’s the virtual world—no one knows the identity of the booster. As long as the job gets done and payment is made, it’s fair. If customers earn their own money, they can spend it however they like—I won’t interfere.”

Ji Zhixin: “So the boss’s idea is to let customers earn their own money for in-game purchases? That’s actually a pretty good strategy. It might take some time to show results, but in the long run, it’s the best solution.”

Lu Yao: “Exactly. But I’m not familiar with the esports scene, so setting up orders and training customers will have to rely on the Esports King.”

Not only did the boss fix her bright, smiling eyes on Zhong Lianjia, but the rest of the group also turned their admiring gazes toward him.

Zhong Lianjia lowered his head. He’d already joined an internet café operating in the cultivation world—bringing a few demon or demon cultivators into esports stardom didn’t seem that far-fetched.

He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. “…Fine.”

Lu Yao checked the time. “Feiming, Lianjia, you can leave the meeting for now.”

Ji Feiming gracefully got up and walked out of the fishing room. In the short span of the meeting, his phone had nearly exploded with messages from Ji Feichen.

Zhong Lianjia hesitated for a moment before standing.

…Being addressed as “Esports King” when needed and “Lianjia” otherwise was quite the adjustment.

Shortly after the two left, the three members of Team 1041 arrived punctually at Little Pet Café.

1041 walked in and froze when they saw Jiu Hua. “1042? What are you doing here?”

Little Pet Café was about to close, and Jiu Hua was preparing to finish her shift. She looked up at the voice, a bit puzzled.

1041 couldn’t help but approach her. “Don’t you remember me? I’m 1041.”

Jiu Hua took a step back, her expression dawning with realization.

1043 sauntered over. “The rejected 1042, here of all places?”

Seeing the cheeky 1043 and the tall, silent 1044 behind him, Jiu Hua finally pieced together their identities. She took another step back. “So you’re the guests Lu Yao mentioned.”

Nearby, the water droplet sea seal urged them to hurry, and Jiu Hua, not in the mood for small talk, pointed to the transparent staircase. “The boss is waiting upstairs. Go on.”

1041 glanced back at Jiu Hua several times as they left, but she was busy tidying up and didn’t notice.

It was the trio’s first time visiting Little Pet Café, and the reality exceeded the legends. Set under the deep sea, the shop’s design surpassed their expectations.

Unfortunately, they were here on business and had no time to enjoy the experience.

Climbing the transparent staircase, they emerged onto the surface to see the fishing house floating in the center of the ocean. Another wave of amazement washed over them.

Lu Yao, hearing Lei lei’s voice, came out to greet them. She invited them into the fishing house and began with introductions.

The meeting’s second agenda item was something Lu Yao had briefly mentioned earlier to Ji Zhixin, Ji Qingyan, and Cheng Ye.

Simply put, Lu Yao wanted to create a game—a MOBA game set in the Floating World Continent, featuring characters inspired by the six realms.

She hadn’t invited 1041 and his team to develop the game but rather to facilitate a technical exchange. The team excelled in programming and had mastered the Z-series technology, the precursor to holographic tech.

Cheng Ye and Ji Qingyan were also accomplished programmers. Lu Yao hoped that by bringing the two sides together, new ideas and breakthroughs might spark.

The game project was still in its infancy, with Ji Qingyan or Cheng Ye likely to take the lead. Lu Yao planned to develop it entirely within this world, without relying on her access to otherworldly resources. This would free the game from the constraints of the Dream Fulfillment System, allowing it to launch both locally and in other worlds.

The primary market, however, would be the Floating World Continent.

Lu Yao aimed to emulate popular gaming trends. Ji Zhixin was tasked with contacting game companies about licensing matters, while Ji Qingyan would handle hiring designers, writers, artists, and modelers.

While the tech teams engaged in lively discussions, Lu Yao and Ji Zhixin quietly refined the project plan.

The two tech groups hit it off instantly. Two hours later, they were still deeply engrossed, oblivious to the passage of time.

Suddenly, Lu Yao’s phone lit up with a flurry of messages.

It was Jiao Niang, frantically texting her:
“Boss! The Demon Emperor and the Demon Lord are both here—AND THEY’VE RUN INTO EACH OTHER!”

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