Ch 106: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Xiong An’an became anxious as he saw four opponents heading to surround the bottom lane, letting out agitated cries.

As a small bear demon who had spent a long time in the internet café, his understanding of the game was better than Xie Zili’s, and he was even more distressed.

Even though dying in the game wouldn’t cost a real life, Xiong An’an couldn’t help but worry for Jiao Niang.

Lu Yao pulled him closer and reassured him, “Don’t worry, Jiao Niang can handle this.”

Xie Zili glanced sideways at Lu Yao.

The cat demon support noticed that the vision had been cut off. Luckily, there was a ward in their inventory, so they turned toward the river to place it.

That’s when trouble began. Before the ward was even planted, two opponents leapt out from the bush. The cat demon panicked, mashing the keyboard and throwing all their skills out randomly.

A support without a strong damage dealer to back them up is like a toothless tiger—its skills are practically harmless.

Being a novice, the cat demon forgot everything they’d learned in their panic. They couldn’t position properly, couldn’t keep track of cooldowns, and could only flee chaotically.

The enemy bottom lane duo seized the opportunity, controlling the minion wave and aiming to trap the ADC.

Without the protection of a support, an ADC is unbearably fragile.

The plan was simple: eliminate the support first and then take out the ADC.

But to their surprise, Jiao Niang didn’t retreat. Instead, she advanced, sidestepping a control skill and countering with precise attacks on the enemy support. She moved fluidly, landing one attack per step, her micro-movements both delicate and sharp.

The opposing support, Jian Buyi, hesitated briefly. He was adept at this kind of refined playstyle and had practiced positioning and casting range extensively during laning. He thought his adjustments had been flawless.

But the opponent was clearly even better, dodging effortlessly and retaliating.

Zhong Jinglan moved up to assist, while Jiao Niang ignored Jian Buyi and focused entirely on the ADC.

As the enemy jungler and top laner killed the demon team’s (red side) support, Jiao Niang secured the ADC kill and left the opposing support with only a sliver of health.

Simultaneously, a kill notification echoed through the canyon—blue side’s (cultivation team) mid-laner had been solo-killed by Zhu Ying.

On the minimap, the little leopard demon was working with the flower demon to push the wave under the blue side’s tower, taking the opportunity to attack it.

Coordinating a multi-person offensive is undoubtedly effective, but it comes with significant risks on other lanes.

Zhu Qingyun once again experienced the stark difference between playing against real players and AI. The demon team’s response to the gank wasn’t to save their teammates but to trade resources elsewhere.

Zhu Qingyun and Xiao Yi had no time to think further. They had to work with Jian Buyi to kill the opposing ADC; otherwise, the loss would be too great.

Jiao Niang retreated into the bush, using her only health potion to recover slightly. She maintained vision control and continued to attack and farm carefully.

Zhu Qingyun and Xiao Yi were blocked by the minion wave and had to take a detour.

In just a few seconds, Jiao Niang secured the kill on the enemy support, completing a double kill.

Bai Ji, observing from the fountain, curiously watched the bottom lane. He saw the enemy support get kited to death and couldn’t help but comment, “That mermaid’s movement is seriously impressive.”

Zhu Qingyun and Xiao Yi, having lost one-fifth of their health in the river skirmish, approached with all their skills off cooldown. Normally, a top laner and jungler could easily dive and kill a squishy ADC, even under the tower.

Their plan was flawless—except they hadn’t accounted for Jiao Niang’s exceptional mechanics, which were dazzling to witness.

After taking out the support, Jiao Niang’s health dropped to less than two-fifths, but her movement speed spiked dramatically.

Switching to long-range attack mode, she began kiting both opponents, occasionally throwing out small control skills. Her aim was near perfect, with every basic attack and skill shaving away at their health.

Retreating to a position just shy of her tower, Jiao Niang began to demonstrate the art of “baiting.”

A low-health ADC with nearly depleted mana staying in lane to farm, moving boldly toward the minion wave—who wouldn’t feel infuriated at the sight?

Xiao Yi held back twice, but the third time he saw Jiao Niang step out to attack a siege minion, he couldn’t resist any longer. He jumped in, attempting to start a fight.

Jiao Niang decisively used Flash to avoid the fatal control skill and immediately countered with a control skill of her own.

Xiao Yi was drawn into the defensive tower’s range and slowed, taking two hits from the tower, which left him with only a fifth of his health bar.

Zhu Qingyun followed up instantly—at this point, retreating was meaningless. Even if it meant giving away a double kill, they had to secure this takedown.

In his haste, he misjudged his range and missed the key skills, taking additional damage from the tower. Suddenly, Xiao Yi’s screen turned gray.

Vision revealed the opposing mid-laner crossing the river, heading toward the bottom lane.

Xiao Yi shouted excitedly, “Retreat! Retreat! Get out of there!”

But it was already too late.

Before Zhu Ying could reach the bottom lane, Jiao Niang used her ultimate and a basic attack to swiftly finish off the top laner.

The “Quadra Kill” announcement echoed throughout Summoner’s Rift, leaving the second-floor spectators stunned.

“Who’s that with the blue hair?”

“No idea, but they’re from the demon team.”

“This game is amazing! So thrilling!”

In the first-floor viewing area, the shop street staff were equally stunned.

Mei Xue exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, that was so cool!”

Zhou Su nodded repeatedly. “Demons really are amazing—even the women can be so powerful.”

Zhong Lianjia added, “Jiao Niang has great potential. She’s a bit like Zhu Ying—calm and meticulous in her play, not easily flustered. She’s only recently started learning. With more practice and experience, she’ll quickly transform into an entirely new level of player.”

Bai Lu chimed in, “She’s not just strong; she’s gorgeous too. The boss said she’s a mermaid—I’d love to see her tail.”

Lu Yao smiled. “Jiao Niang’s tail is pink—large and very elegant.”

Xiong An’an raised his furry paw and let out two emphatic “Uh-huhs,” signaling his agreement.

Among them, the most shocked was Xie Zili.

For the first time, he saw Jiao Niang brimming with confidence and vitality. It was also the first time he heard humans speaking about a demon in such a way.

They weren’t afraid of her, nor did they detest her—they admired her.

Xie Zili felt deeply conflicted.

…

After the four-versus-two skirmish in the second game, the outcome was clear.

The cultivation team had many flaws, but given that they had only been introduced to the internet and games a day earlier, the results were unsurprising.

The demon team was well aware of this too. Even the cat demon and flower demon had grown significantly during the match.

However, the impact of the match was undeniable. Even days later, customers in the café still occasionally discussed it.

On the surface, the cultivation team accepted their defeat gracefully, but privately, they were far from satisfied.

Their way of venting their frustration was to monopolize Xiao Zhong, insisting he coach them intensively.

Not only that, but they each reached out to cultivators they believed had potential, inviting them to the internet café to experience the game. They even vowed to challenge the demon team again.

This saved Lu Yao quite a bit of trouble—there was no need for elaborate advertising when potential customers came knocking on their own.

Although humans, demons, and devils initially clashed frequently, the café’s strict rules enforced absolute order. Anyone who caused trouble would face punishment and be expelled.

For those who had experienced the vast and colorful online world, being banned from the café was a harsh penalty.

Over time, customers in the café began to follow the rules more closely.

Even when conflicts arose, they were settled “the internet café way.”

The shopping street staff, feeling the pressure, secretly approached Lu Yao to request a few training matches with junior disciples from the Six Realms before the official competition. They wanted to feel more prepared.

For Lu Yao, winning or losing wasn’t important. As long as she could identify the strongest cultivator to complete her mission, that was enough.

However, since the shopping street staff rarely showed such enthusiasm, Lu Yao didn’t stop them and simply told them to ask Xiao Zhong to make the arrangements when the time came.

Lu Yao herself stayed busy. Over two days, she reworked the blueprint for the third-floor competition venue and spent another day upgrading and maintaining the space.

Using her abilities to enhance the dimensional space wasn’t as precise as the Dream Fulfillment System.

Even after the first upgrade, numerous adjustments were needed to refine the details.

The process was tedious and dull, so Lu Yao worked on it a little each day, taking breaks as needed.

During her breaks, Lu Yao sketched designs inspired by modern panda enrichment facilities and selected a clearing in the woods outside the internet café to build a small playground for Xiong An’an. It would serve as his enrichment area.

Xiong An’an was a young wild panda cub, albeit half-demon.

Technically, he didn’t need a dedicated enrichment facility in the wild, but he was starting to show signs of becoming an internet-addicted bear demon.

Although he couldn’t fully transform yet, he had dexterous paws far more agile than a sparrow demon’s.

Sometimes, he slacked off on his training and hid in the private rooms on the second floor to browse the internet.

The staff, fond of him, often turned a blind eye to his antics.

Lu Yao felt this couldn’t continue and drafted the designs. Whenever she grew tired of the “indoor renovations,” she would head outside to do woodworking.

She admired the durability and simplicity of zoo tire swings and decided to make a few for the little bear demon. To that end, she specifically asked Xiao Ji to buy old tires from the scrapyard.

Sometimes, Zeyuan would visit Lu Yao.

Since the café wasn’t the best place to chat, the two would talk casually while working outside.

Zeyuan refrained from using magic and instead diligently followed Lu Yao’s blueprints, sawing wood, planing shavings, and sanding down splinters by hand.

Mo Bao, cradled in Xuanfeng’s arms at the café entrance, was seething with jealousy.

“What’s so special about that little bear demon? Why does everyone like him?”

Xuanfeng consoled him, “The master doesn’t really like the bear demon—it’s just affection by association.”

Mo Bao gritted his teeth. “Look at him! Does he even have the dignity of a Demon Lord? He’s acting just like those groveling ‘licking dogs’ people talk about online!”

Xuanfeng quickly covered Mo Bao’s mouth. “Shh! Watch your words. The master has it tough—he’s only just started to understand such things after thousands of years.”

Mo Bao muttered, “Tough? I’d say he’s having it pretty easy.”

Even Xuanfeng couldn’t help but agree that Zeyuan had been lucky in this regard.

Ordinary women wouldn’t warm up to demons, and even a Demon Lord wouldn’t be seen as an ideal partner by most humans.

Yet the shop owner showed no aversion to him. In fact, one could say there was a subtle indulgence and leniency in her treatment of him. Whether Zeyuan had noticed this was another matter.

Sometimes, Zeyuan would visit daily for several days in a row. Other times, he would disappear for a day or two.

The other day, he mentioned heading to a secret realm to find something, which might take a few days.

…

On a cool morning, Lu Yao was in the woods setting up tire swings with Xiong An’an.

The forest was quiet, and Xiong An’an held a thick hemp rope in his paws, passing it to Lu Yao.

Suddenly, the bear cub bumped into Lu Yao’s leg, dropping to all fours and emitting a growl-like warning toward a particular direction in the forest.

Lu Yao looked that way, only to see a graceful figure stepping out from behind a thick old tree.

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