Ch 104: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Jiao Niang carefully took the air fryer out of the box. Although she had repeatedly read the details and reviews before buying it, she was still surprised by its unusual structure and design.

It was larger than a typical makeup box, with a drawer-like compartment that slid out for use. Cooking required only brushing with oil and flipping the food halfway, requiring minimal effort. Yet, such a contraption was called a “pot.”

Jiao Niang picked up the fryer and headed to the break room to plug it in for a test run.

Some of the semi-prepared food she had bought required freezing, so she had also stored it in the break room.

For its first use, the fryer needed a pre-cleaning cycle, typically by placing lemon slices inside and running it with power.

Concerned Jiao Niang might not know how to do this, Lu Yao followed her in to assist.

The fryer worked fine when plugged into the café’s power. Jiao Niang also tested her modified version of a portable power supply for the Floating World Continent, powered by spirit stones. It worked seamlessly.

To create this device, Jiao Niang had even attended a few online lectures, combining modern knowledge with the local world’s spiritual resources, achieving a nearly perfect balance of safety and functionality.

After the pre-cleaning, Jiao Niang began preparing some semi-prepared foods based on recipes to let Xiong An’an, the panda cub, have a taste.

The little guy would eat anything and was incredibly curious. Ever since he realized everyone adored him, he had become quite spoiled, frequently acting cute to get extra snacks.

The staff on the shopping street had an infinite tolerance for the baby panda, incapable of feeling any dislike toward him in his fluffy form. Most of the time, they didn’t even need him to beg—just seeing him was enough to make them bring him treats.

Lu Yao sat on the sofa watching Jiao Niang bustle around, holding Xiong An’an in her arms and stroking his soft chest fur. “Have you spoken to Xie Zili recently?”

Jiao Niang shook her head. “I haven’t seen him since he came to the café.”

Lu Yao didn’t know what to say.

Jiao Niang poured a small bag of chicken strips and some crispy pork into a foil tray and placed it in the fryer. “As long as I know he’s doing well, I’m at peace. I don’t desire anything more. I stayed in the human realm too long, confined to the small courtyard at the Xie estate. Even my thoughts became as restrained as a human woman’s. Demons are not as blessed by the heavens as humans, but they also don’t have all those human rules. If Zili wishes to live as a human, I won’t be his obstacle. I am a demon, and I’ll live freely.”

Since arriving at Baixian Mountain, Jiao Niang had met many demons and some humans, which had changed her perspective significantly.

She truly seemed to have let go.

Mermaids naturally have long lifespans, and through cultivation, they achieve virtual immortality. There was no need to waste eternity on those few years in the human world.

The Xie family wasn’t worth her concern.

Knowing that Xie Zili had returned to Lingxiao Sword Sect brought her peace. Now, she wanted to gather materials to craft some protective artifacts for him.

As a half-demon walking the cultivation world, if his heritage were ever exposed, he’d need something to ensure his survival.

Seeing Jiao Niang so resolute, Lu Yao relaxed and stopped trying to persuade her otherwise.

Xiong An’an wriggled out of Lu Yao’s arms, waddled over to Jiao Niang, and hugged her leg tightly. He tilted his head up, his round, beady eyes sparkling with innocence. “Wuu?”

Jiao Niang bent down, scooped up the panda cub, and smiled softly. “What are you worried about?”

The baby panda clung to her shoulder, patting her back with his fluffy paws. He let out a series of incoherent murmurs, clearly trying to communicate something.

Seeing Jiao Niang smile at the cub’s antics, Lu Yao felt completely at ease. She left the break room and walked back to the café floor.

With the influx of cultivators, the usually quiet evenings had become crowded. More than a dozen cultivators had taken up half the main hall, leaving some regular patrons without seats, forcing them to watch from the sidelines.

Standing in a corner, Lu Yao spotted Zhu Ying and Dan Xi.

They must have arrived earlier, as they had quietly taken seats in a discreet corner by the wall.

The two heads were close together, not surfing the internet or playing games, leaving it unclear what they were doing.

Lu Yao walked down the aisle toward them and saw that Zhu Ying and Dan Xi had a handkerchief-sized water screen in front of them, along with a jade talisman the size of a mahjong tile on the table.

Realizing they were watching a recording from a memory talisman, Lu Yao quietly joined them.

She had to admit, the little spider was truly a natural at surfing the web. In such a short time, Zhu Ying had even figured out how to record unboxing videos, and she was doing it with a decent amount of professionalism.

Zhu Ying sensed someone behind her, turned to see Lu Yao, and grinned. “Perfect timing, Boss! Help me figure out how to use these things.”

The memory talisman displayed the items Zhu Ying had received as gifts with her recent purchase. When she’d arrived at the café earlier in the afternoon, Lu Yao had been in a meeting.

Lu Yao explained the items one by one based on the video, while Dan Xi listened intently, “stealing the lesson.”

Dan Xi had also bought products from the same series—lipsticks and eyeshadows—but in different shades. She regretted not recording an unboxing video herself after seeing Zhu Ying’s effort.

To make up for it, Dan Xi pulled out some snacks from her spatial pouch and shared them with Lu Yao and Zhu Ying. Spicy dried tofu, pineapple cakes, cotton candy, and wind-dried duck necks—most of her online purchases had turned out well.

Lu Yao accepted the snacks and casually pocketed them. She stared at Zhu Ying’s memory talisman for a moment before speaking up. “Little Spider, I just thought of another way for you to make money besides gaming. This might suit you better.”

Lu Yao had noticed earlier that Zhu Ying was wearing a new outfit today, paired with a striking purple-black spider-shaped hairpin. Her eyeshadow and lipstick had also changed.

The bold color palette of her makeup—difficult for most people to pull off—looked perfectly natural on her, even enhancing her unique beauty.

Combined with her knack for creating unboxing videos, Zhu Ying seemed to have potential as a content creator. Lu Yao resurrected an idea she’d shelved before.

“What is it? Tell me!” Zhu Ying’s interest was immediately piqued.

Though she didn’t mind playing games, the sect’s development was still in its early stages, and there weren’t enough tasks to go around. After her first successful online shopping experience, Zhu Ying’s wishlist had grown significantly longer. Relying solely on gaming made it difficult to earn enough for her purchases.

Lu Yao believed Zhu Ying had the potential to be a video blogger, and as a demon, her style would undoubtedly stand out. The challenge, however, was that this otherworldly network couldn’t connect to the broader internet, so making her unboxing videos profitable would require solving some logistical issues.

Lu Yao explained her idea to Zhu Ying, who listened intently.

Zhu Ying’s blue-violet eyes lit up with excitement. “I can post unboxing videos online too?”

“In theory, it’s possible,” Lu Yao replied. “I’ll figure out how to make it happen.”

Zhu Ying grabbed Lu Yao’s hand. “I want to do this. Please help me.”

“I’ll handle it,” Lu Yao assured her. “But for now, I’ll need you and Dan Xi to keep helping with the cultivators’ training.”

Dan Xi, nibbling on a duck neck, looked at Lu Yao with puppy-dog eyes. “What about me?”

“I talked to Xiao Zhong recently,” Lu Yao said. “A lot of games on the market need players to grind resources. For example, strategy gacha games often require gathering materials, PVP battles, and completing limited-time events. The sect might expand into these kinds of tasks soon. If you’re interested, you can ask Xiao Zhong for more details.”

“I want to look too!” Zhu Ying chimed in. Anything that involved earning money interested her.

Meanwhile, Jiao Niang had finished testing the air fryer in the break room. She brought out two trays of freshly cooked snacks and served them to the disciples of Floating World Six Realms, paired with dipping sauces.

By then, night had fallen, well past Lu Yao’s usual shift end time. However, the young staff from the shopping street had stayed after hours to train in the first office.

Apart from Ji Feiming and Ji Feichen, who hadn’t shown up, nearly everyone else was there:

From the pet cafe were Zhou Su and Ji Zhixin; from the Post-Production team of the Interdimensional Cinema were three members; from the Hot Springs Inn were Ji Qingyan, Xiao Zheng, and Bai Lu; two net administrators from the café itself; and finally, from the second office, modeler Liu Yixi and illustrator Mei Xue.

Including Lu Yao, there were thirteen people in total.

To handle potential emergencies, each position had at least two people assigned.

The team members in the second office had pressing work tasks and limited time for training. Additionally, Lu Yao wasn’t skilled at gaming and was often busy; her participation was mostly just to make up the numbers.

After leaving the internet café, Lu Yao checked in at the second office. Liu Yixi and Mei Xue had just finished their work and were tidying up to leave. When Lu Yao mentioned she was heading over to observe the training, they decided to tag along for a quick look.

They were too drained from the day to participate in training, so they only planned to observe briefly.

In the first office, nine people had split into two teams and were practicing as a group.

Lu Yao walked around the room and observed that while everyone was enthusiastic, their performance was terrible. Most of them usually played casually and had never trained formally.

On their first day of team practice, their coordination was non-existent, and their gameplay was even worse than the beginner disciples of Floating World Six Realms when they first started learning.

Lu Yao was relieved she had made them start training early. She even considered bringing the staff into the Mustard Seed Realm for intensive training if they were pressed for time.

Her Mustard Seed Realm was special; not only could it capture external sounds, but it also gathered spiritual energy from the outside world.

Lu Yao had conducted several tests with it, such as bringing a laptop inside. Surprisingly, the WiFi signal remained stable, making it an ideal space for overtime work.

Just then, her phone rang, displaying the name Zhong Lianjia.

It wasn’t a message—it was a call.

Before picking up, Lu Yao already had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, in the short time she hadn’t been supervising, a conflict had broken out between the cultivators and the demons, and it seemed like it was escalating into a fight.

When Lu Yao arrived back at the café, the cultivators and demons were in a heated argument, and some had even brought out their spiritual weapons.

Lu Yao calmly took out her trusty loudspeaker and turned up the volume. “No fighting in the internet café!”

The noise immediately quieted down. The demons and devils quickly backed off, while the cultivators continued to shout.

Lu Yao walked closer. “Keep shouting, and I’ll blacklist you.”

A cultivator in silver-green robes glanced at Lu Yao with disdain. “You’re just a mortal consorting with demons. Instead of keeping your head down, you strut around and even shield them? Don’t worry—we’ll deal with you along with them.”

The demons and devils silently retreated another step, bowing their heads as if they had suddenly gone blind, deaf, and mute.

Lu Yao took a deep breath, her expression unchanged. “Demons, devils, and humans who enter my shop are all guests. I suggest you watch your words, Daoist. Show some courtesy.”

The silver-green-robed cultivator spat at her feet. “Courtesy? Demons as guests? You ignorant little—ah—ugh—!”

Before he could finish, he let out a cry of pain as his mouth filled with the taste of blood. Moments later, his teeth began to loosen and fall out, and his tongue felt like it was being pricked by needles.

Within minutes, his mouth was a bloody mess, and he couldn’t speak.

Lu Yao exhaled slowly. “A few nights ago, my shop hosted two ghost officials after a ghost gate was opened. As a mere mortal, I had the rare chance to sit by the banks of the River Wangchuan and enjoy the cool breeze. It gave me some inspiration, which I used to inscribe a few restraining formations in the shop.

“So, I kindly advise all guests: no verbal abuse, no brawls, and no causing trouble in groups. Violators will face consequences. If you must prove your strength, please do so through the internet café’s methods.”

That night of the ghost gate had yielded more than just a minor task completion for Lu Yao.

Perhaps it was due to being cooped up in the underworld for too long, but Xie Yi and Fan Song had turned out to be surprisingly chatty.

They weren’t the proactive type of chatterboxes. On the surface, both appeared cold and aloof, but they were helpful and thorough when asked questions.

Lu Yao had learned a lot about the underworld and even obtained a small bottle of Wangchuan River water, which she used to craft a Temporal Key.

With this key, the history of the underworld unfolded before her like a scroll, always accessible to her.

She had used this newfound knowledge to re-establish the café’s formations, basing them on the blacklist system of the blind box store and the punitive measures of the underworld, while tailoring them to better suit the Floating World Continent.

The internet café operated 24/7, and it wasn’t feasible for Lu Yao to be present all the time.

When troublemakers appeared, and the staff couldn’t handle them, stronger measures had to be in place.

With the Dream Fulfillment System absent, these matters had to be managed by Lu Yao herself.

To enhance the punitive effects, she added numerous constraints when setting up the formations. The results were evident.

The green-robed cultivator, clutching his mouth, ran out of the café, turned at the door to weakly shake his fist at Lu Yao, and hurried toward the teleportation array.

The devils and demons in the café were silent.

Serves that arrogant cultivator right, they thought. He had it coming for messing with the shopkeeper.

The cultivators in the shop were young and had never encountered such a situation before. Their gazes toward Lu Yao shifted noticeably.

Earlier, they had witnessed the green-robed cultivator provoking the demons, his words crass and clearly meant to incite conflict.

They had expected a fight to break out immediately. However, while the demons had sharp tongues, they refrained from taking any physical action, much to the cultivators’ initial surprise.

Now, it was apparent these demons had likely been disciplined before. The thought that they kept coming back, despite the risk, was oddly pitiful.

As the commotion died down, the guests dispersed on their own.

Zhu Qingyun observed Lu Yao thoughtfully and approached her. “What do you mean by ‘the café’s way’?”

Lu Yao gestured to a nearby computer. “In the online world, all disputes should naturally be settled on the internet.”

Zhu Qingyun asked, “So, you fight using games?”

Lu Yao nodded. “Precisely.”

Zhu Qingyun’s expression froze. “…”

Suddenly, Lu Yao felt an inexplicable sensation, as if someone was watching her. She looked up but saw no one.

Zhu Qingyun turned back to speak with a few cultivators before returning to Lu Yao. “Shopkeeper.”

Lu Yao raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

Zhu Qingyun explained, “We’ve just discussed it. We’d like to use the café’s method to face off against the demons.”

Lu Yao blinked. “…What?”

Zhu Qingyun repeated his statement.

Lu Yao straightforwardly replied, “You’ll definitely lose.”

Xiao Yi, who had been eavesdropping while leaning over his chair, immediately jumped up and declared loudly, “Who says so? Your bias toward the demons is way too obvious!”

His tone was full of defiance and indignation. This mortal woman was blatantly partial, and it wasn’t subtle.

Lu Yao sighed. “…Fine. I’ll arrange it.”

Twenty minutes later, the café’s first impromptu mini-tournament—Cultivators vs.Demons —had its grand debut.

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