Ch 109: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

After discussing with the nail salon employees and the Ji family uncle and nephew, it was decided to first inform the snack shop staff and the other shopping street employees.

The snack shop was the central hub of the internal network. Since the impostor had access to Lu Yao’s phone and extraordinary permissions, the snack shop staff would need to notify the internal network administrators to restrict her access from the backend.

Although Budu had significant control over the internal network, his authority was limited to his phone. Thus, it was imperative to inform the internal network staff of the situation.

As for employees from shops in other worlds, informing them might not guarantee a smooth resolution. Carelessness could lead to exposure. Moreover, being spread across different worlds, these employees wouldn’t interact with the impostor directly, so it was better to keep them uninformed for now.

By restricting internal network communications through the snack shop, the impostor’s ability to manipulate shopping street via the network could be curtailed at its source.

The shopping street employees knew that the internal network was based in the snack shop’s world. However, Lu Yao had never disclosed the workings of the star gate to them.

Still, from casual observations and their own experiences with otherworldly shops, they had deduced a crucial fact: beings from other worlds couldn’t cross the invisible boundary of the shop to reach shopping street.

The staff reasoned that if the impostor couldn’t cross the boundary, her contact would be limited to the internet café staff, Harold, Budu, and the human employees of shopping street.

Therefore, the disappearance of the shopkeeper and the impostor’s occupation of the internet café needed to be communicated to all shopping street staff.

To avoid raising suspicion, they decided to hold a small meeting after work with only shopping street employees present.

While notifying everyone sooner would have been ideal, the team was concerned about the varied temperaments among the staff, particularly the newer employees. Shopping street’s work environment was relatively straightforward, and Ji Zhixin worried that someone might lose control of their emotions and inadvertently expose their plans.

By holding the meeting after work, employees would have the night to process the news, ensuring they could return the next day in a better state of mind.

The first priority, however, was contacting the snack shop staff. They couldn’t directly mention the matter in the employee group chat or in private messages for fear of being monitored by the impostor.

Uncertain about the level of control the impostor had over the internal network through Lu Yao’s phone, they deemed direct communication too risky.

Ultimately, they devised a discreet plan using a food delivery order.

Ji Feiming placed an order for dessert from the snack shop, leaving a note: “There will be a delivery vehicle in the afternoon. Please remind the assistant manager to accept it.”

The impostor’s most dangerous ability was likely her capacity to read memories. The group wasn’t sure how much of Lu Yao’s memories she had accessed, but after much deliberation, they settled on this cryptic message.

The snack shop typically received deliveries early in the morning. In over a year of operation, they had never received one in the afternoon. A perceptive employee would notice that something was amiss.

There was, however, another concern: if the snack shop staff’s memories were read by the impostor, all their preparations would be for nothing.

Shortly after receiving the order, the snack shop responded.

Xingzi, the acting manager for the week, noticed the unusual note on the order and hesitated for a long time before deciding to check the situation.

Under the eaves of the building, Ji Feiming explained what had happened to Lu Yao in detail.

Xingzi listened, her expression grave, and returned to the shop with a heavy heart.

Xiao Qie ran over to her. “What’s wrong?”

Xingzi’s face was grim. “The shopkeeper went missing at the new shop. Someone is impersonating her, seemingly trying to take over shopping street.”

Xiao Qie was horrified. “That’s impossible! Where’s Harold? What about that godling trainee? How could this happen?”

Xingzi sighed. “Apparently, Harold and Budu weren’t present at the time. The impostor must have planned this in advance.”

Meanwhile, Bai Jian, the head guard, was in the shop to buy food. Overhearing their conversation, he stopped in his tracks. “The shopkeeper is in trouble?”

In Dreamland, the hierarchy was simple: beneath the Demon God, the head guard held the highest authority.

The guards of Dreamland were originally guardians of the Demon God.

If something had happened to Lu Yao, it wasn’t a minor matter for Dreamland.

Involving the internal network meant that the head guard had to be informed.

Xingzi didn’t hide anything and directly explained the situation to Bai Jian.

Bai Jian’s expression turned grim.

Without the shopkeeper, could Dreamland ever adjust to a life without the snack shop?

The hot bowl of noodles in his hands gave off a comforting, familiar aroma that filled his senses with warmth.

For the wandering souls, and even for him, the thought of losing this comfort brought a suffocating darkness, a hopeless void.

Bai Jian wasn’t worried about the impostor affecting Dreamland—after all, the Demon God and Dreamland only recognized the shopkeeper’s soul.

Thinking that a mere resemblance could erase the shopkeeper’s existence was pure fantasy.

What concerned him was the shopkeeper’s safety.

If the shopkeeper died, the joy of the snack shop and Qingshan Noodle House would end immediately.

Xingzi succinctly explained the shopping street’s planned response.

She was genuinely surprised. The ordinary employees were more capable than she had expected.

Their reaction was swift and efficient—remarkable by the standards of living beings.

The only real concern now was the impostor accessing their memories.

Bai Jian suddenly frowned, setting the bowl of noodles on the nearby table.

The Demon God had issued an oracle concerning the shopkeeper.

Bai Jian asked Xingzi to pack the noodles for him. He needed to return to the park to handle the internal network and the shopkeeper’s situation.

…

Floating World Continent, Interdimensional Internet Café

Lu Yao spent an hour trying to recall the lock screen password for Lu Yao’s phone. It was such a mundane detail that it hadn’t left a deep impression in the stolen memories. After much effort, she finally remembered.

She entered the password and unlocked the phone.

As expected from Lu Yao’s memories, this “phone” was a tool through which she could contact all the shop’s employees.

Eagerly, Lu Yao opened the employee group chat. Over a hundred members were chatting away, completely unaware that their shopkeeper had been replaced.

Lu Yao didn’t speak. Simply watching them go about their conversations, oblivious, brought her a strange sense of satisfaction.

A mere human, yet so resourceful—running so many shops and gathering such extraordinary individuals.

Thinking about Lu Yao, Lu Yao’s expression grew complicated.

Her ability, Floating Life Like a Dream, allowed her to easily plunder an opponent’s memories. The deeper and more unforgettable the memory, the easier it was to extract. But that woman was different.

Lu Yao was certain Shopkeeper Lu Yao was the reincarnated lover of the Demon Lord Zeyuan, yet there were no memories of that lifetime in her mind.

Instead, she only saw Lu Yao walking through a strange door into the Floating World Continent, opening this peculiar shop, and completing strange tasks from an unknown source.

Lu Yao realized she hadn’t been able to steal all of Lu Yao’s memories.

But that woman was now trapped in the Mirror of Serenity.

With a mortal body, escape was impossible.

She planned to familiarize herself with the shop’s operations over the next few days and then deal with Lu Yao at her leisure.

From Lu Yao’s memories, she saw the shopkeeper’s first encounter with the Demon Lord at the internet café and the Demon Emperor Jizhuang. But for now, what intrigued her most was the internet.

Demons, devils, human cultivators, and even ghosts were drawn to this shop, spending their time gaming, binge-watching shows, chatting, and shopping online.

Lu Yao wanted to experience it for herself.

…

By evening, all 15 human employees of the shop street gathered at the nail salon for a meeting.

After learning of the shopkeeper’s predicament, the nail salon had closed early, hanging a “Closed for Rest” sign.

Apart from the Ji uncle and nephew, who were already aware, the other employees were completely stunned.

Liu Yixi shifted uneasily in her seat. “The cultivation world really is brutal—just like in those TV dramas!”

Mei Xue shook her head. “No, no, no. Even TV dramas wouldn’t dare write something this wild.”

The most bewildered of all was Xiao Zhong.

He blinked repeatedly. “Wait, I’m about to start my shift.”

Ji Zhixin replied, “We tried calling you all day to inform you earlier, but you didn’t answer.”

Zhong Lianjia scratched his head awkwardly. “I must have overslept.”

Cheng Ye added, “She’s been in the lounge all day and hasn’t come out much. But An’an still hasn’t returned. Jiao Niang might ask about it.”

Ji Qingyan sighed. “We’re okay for now, but the internet café staff is in more danger. Whether she’s a demon or a devil, being able to read memories is just terrible.”

Bai Yi suggested, “Everyone should avoid going to the internet café during this time.”

Bai Lu reminded them, “The tournament is already scheduled, and we’ll all need to be present.”

Liu Tang asked hesitantly, “Should we still go through with it if the shopkeeper isn’t here?”

Ji Zhixin replied firmly, “We can’t let her suspect anything. Everything must proceed as usual.”

Zhong Lianjia nodded. “The shopkeeper was very particular about this tournament. She kept reminding me that small events have deadlines and can’t go past them.”

Xiao Zheng asked hesitantly, “Will the shopkeeper come back?”

Harold slammed the table. “Of course she’ll come back! Where else would she go?”

The room fell silent, tension thick in the air.

Ji Zhixin clapped lightly. “Alright, everyone, calm down. The snack shop sent word—she’s currently not in danger. As for memory-reading concerns, avoid being alone with her to mitigate most risks.”

The message from the snack shop had been cryptic, including a line that read: “The lamb is not the only one bound by rules; behind the lamb, there are two wolves.”

Ji Zhixin couldn’t fully interpret it but shared the practical parts relevant to the staff.

After the meeting, Xiao Zhong anxiously headed to work.

The other employees stayed seated, visibly shaken.

It was their first time realizing the immense risks of running a shop in another world.

Had the shopkeeper known from the start?

…

Mirror of Serenity

Lu Yao sat cross-legged, holding a book on celestial spells while clutching a spirit stone. She carefully drew intricate patterns on the floor of her Mustard Seed space.

As the final stroke connected, she activated the formation.

Xiong An’an, who had been meditating nearby, opened his eyes. “It worked! The spiritual energy coming in is even denser now.”

The illusion they were trapped in seemed to be a spiritual gathering artifact, and Lu Yao’s Mustard Seed space, designed to stagnate time, amplified the effect when used together.

Inside the illusion, neither Lu Yao nor Xiong An’an felt hunger, thirst, or the passage of time.

By the time Lu Yao finished reading every book in the room, Xiong An’an came bounding over excitedly.

“Lu Yao, Lu Yao! I can talk now.”

His soft, youthful voice paired with his fluffy, innocent bear cub face was irresistibly adorable.

In this monotonous environment, he continually brightened Lu Yao’s spirits.

The little bear demon’s goal was to cultivate until he could transform.

After finishing all the books, Lu Yao began meditating and cultivating as well.

For some reason, Lu Yao’s memory had become extraordinarily sharp.

The tens of thousands of books she had read were now etched in her mind after a single pass.

She quickly learned how to absorb spiritual energy, stepping firmly into the realm of cultivation.

Now, she and Xiong An’an cultivated together, but the spiritual energy in the room was no longer sufficient.

She decided to weave a stronger spiritual gathering formation based on the techniques described in the books.

Perhaps due to her foundational knowledge of magic, having designed numerous intricate magic arrays before, her first attempt at crafting a large spiritual gathering array went off without a hitch.

What Lu Yao didn’t know was that while she and the bear demon had spent years cultivating within the illusion, only three days had passed outside.

On this day, the Cultivator Team officially issued a challenge to the shopping street team.

The cultivator team had assembled what they believed to be the strongest lineup, secretly training with cultivation artifacts to reach their peak state.

Lu Yao, receiving the challenge, directly contacted Ji Zhixin and instructed him to make arrangements.

Over the past few days, she had interacted most with Ji Zhixin.

From Lu Yao’s memories, she knew Ji Zhixin often assisted her with important matters. He was also the first person she contacted directly using the phone.

Although the young man appeared unassuming, he was efficient and competent—far more so than the other internet café staff. He suited her preferences much better.

Upon receiving the message, Ji Zhixin immediately set things in motion.

In less than half a day, the match’s arrangements and venue were ready.

To avoid excessive interaction with the impostor, the shop street team selected five starting players based on their training match results. The substitutes waited next door in Office Two, adjacent to the internet café.

Shop Street Team – Starting Lineup:

• Top Lane: Xiao Zheng
• Jungle: Xiao Zhong
• Mid Lane: Ji Qingyan
• ADC: Liu Tang
• Support: Zhou Su

Cultivator Team – Adjusted Lineup:

• Top Lane: Zhu Qingyun from the Kunlun Sect
• Jungle: A fellow from the Eastern Beast Taming Sect
• Mid Lane: A Buddhist cultivator
• Support: Jian Buyi (unchanged)
• ADC: A young woman in red from the Tianyan Sect, rumored to be a sword cultivator.

Thus, the internet café’s first “Strongest Showdown” (whispered under breath) officially commenced.

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️