Ch 111: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Before the match officially began, the Cultivator Team members uniformly switched to peripherals crafted by the Jiujue Sect.

Jian Buyi, a disciple of the Jiujue Sect, specialized in crafting intricate and ingenious items.

During their training breaks, he studied the peripherals used in the internet café and discovered they were all works of skilled artifact refiners.

He drafted blueprints and sent them back to his sect, requesting his master, senior brothers, and sisters to help craft new peripherals.

Creating top-tier artifacts was a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Being away from the sect, Jian Buyi struggled to gather materials while balancing his training, leaving little time for crafting.

A few days ago, the finished keyboards and mice arrived from the sect. Jian Buyi meticulously adjusted each piece based on his teammates’ feedback. Now, each one was perfectly suited to its user.

It was rumored that the keyboards were tailored to each player’s position and hero traits. The switches on the keyboards had engraved patterns with unique effects, and the key layouts featured subtle enhancements. These peripherals weren’t just ideal for gaming—they could even double as legitimate weapons.

The Shopping Street Team members also brought their preferred peripherals, which they had been using during practice. Most opted for familiar equipment, except for Zhong Lianjia, who brought his professional tournament gear.

Still, everyone was curious about the Cultivator Team’s customized keyboards. Before the ban-pick phase, they leaned in, craning their necks to observe.

The Cultivator Team’s keyboards resembled the internet café’s in shape, being noticeably larger than standard keyboards.

However, they were far more refined in appearance, though their full capabilities weren’t immediately apparent.

…

Ji Qingyan: “K-King, they have custom peripherals.”

Zhou Su: “So unfair. Will they be faster than us because of those?”

Xiao Zhong: “Peripherals do affect individual performance, but as long as the match is on a physical level, even the most exaggerated peripherals won’t provide a massive advantage. Honestly, they haven’t played long enough to capitalize on even the smallest hardware boosts.”

Liu Tang: “K-King is pretty bold. Let’s hope the jungle carries us this time.”

Xiao Zheng: “When the shopkeeper came back earlier, K-King almost cried.”

Xiao Zhong’s face turned red. “Why bring that up? Weren’t you all happy, too?”

Ji Qingyan: “Of course we were! The shopkeeper escaping on her own was a complete surprise. When the Demon Lord exposed the fake, I thought it was game over. It was such a mix of relief and despair.”

Zhou Su: “Same here. The past few days, she kept messaging me to make complicated desserts that required fresh ingredients, all while managing customer orders. I was so annoyed!”

Liu Tang: “Do you think the shopkeeper started cultivating?”

The group froze. Given what had happened earlier, it seemed plausible. Otherwise, how could she have escaped?

But considering only a few days had passed, it felt a bit far-fetched upon closer thought.

Ji Qingyan: “No matter what, this is the best outcome.”

Xiao Zheng exhaled quietly. If the shopkeeper hadn’t returned, he was prepared to enter the Abyss and risk his life.

His wages were measured in time, and without the shopkeeper, it was a dead end for him.

Though he would face that reality eventually, he still hoped to delay it a little longer.

Xiao Zhong: “Let’s finish the match quickly. I want to sit and watch from the audience, too.”

On the other side, the Cultivator Team noticed the Shopping Street Team’s relaxed demeanor, chatting casually.

Jian Buyi (Support): “After the real shopkeeper returned, their mood completely changed.”

Tianyan Sect’s Female Sword Cultivator: “What of it? If we’re competing, we should give it our all.”

Zhu Qingyun (Top Lane): “I’m more curious about the fake shopkeeper taken by the devils.”

Mid Lane Monk: “There’s definitely something strange about her.”

Tianyan Sect’s Female Sword Cultivator: “She’s been taken by the Demon Lord himself. What more can we do about it? Let’s focus on the match.”

Jian Buyi: “Let’s finish this game first.”

The ban-pick phase ended, and just before the match officially began, the Shopping Street team members turned toward the viewing area, where Lu Yao smiled and waved at them.

Zhou Su sighed, “As long as the shopkeeper is sitting there, it feels safe.”

As the match began, Lu Yao shifted her attention back to Ji Zhixin’s report.

When Harold realized she was in trouble, he immediately returned to Alexander Continent and informed the staff. The nail salon staff convened, contacted Xiao Ji, and organized a meeting with the other employees to devise a plan. They waited for Lu Yao to return safely.

Initially, if another two days had passed without any word from her, they wouldn’t have continued indulging the fake shopkeeper. Instead, Harold and Budu would have restrained her and forced her to reveal Lu Yao’s whereabouts.

While the ordinary staff stalled the fake shopkeeper, Harold and Budu—being the only ones who could engage her without hesitation—actively sought Lu Yao’s location and her weaknesses.

Before they reached the worst-case scenario, Lu Yao’s escape was an unexpected relief.

Lu Yao gave Harold a hard pat on the back. “Even the most impulsive one didn’t lose it. You’ve really grown up.”

Harold turned sideways, his ears bright red, his voice irritable. “You’re so annoying. Stop interrupting my match-watching.”

Lu Yao chuckled and withdrew her hand, then hugged Budu tightly. “I’ve worried you all.”

Budu nuzzled her face and said quietly, “I just regret not getting rid of her. It makes me uneasy.”

Lu Yao reassured him, “Don’t worry. I’ll handle the rest.”

Lu Yao knew Yu Yao’s appearance wasn’t coincidental.

At first, she assumed Yu Yao approached her solely because of Zeyuan. But after this incident, it seemed more complicated.

The simplest fact: after obtaining her communication tools, Yu Yao didn’t immediately contact the person she supposedly adored, Zeyuan. Instead, she tried to take control of Shopping Street.

According to Ji Zhixin, Yu Yao had become enamored with the internet, particularly success-themed content, and exhibited extraordinary control tendencies while being impulsive and arbitrary.

Before Yu Yao was taken back to the Demon Realm, Yu Yao had instructed Xuanfeng with a few tasks and inquired about Lu Yao’s past.

As a court official in the Demon Palace, Yu Yao’s reputation among her peers had been excellent.

She was kind-hearted and clever, entirely unlike a typical devil. If Xuanfeng hadn’t witnessed her impersonation of the shopkeeper, he wouldn’t have believed it.

When Yu Yao was finally taken away, she appeared deeply shaken by the staff’s coordinated tactics, uttering curses filled with venom.

Lu Yao pondered this for a while, recalling the golden lotus earring she had seen through the recording jade. She suspected Yu Yao’s connection to her ultimate mission but had too little information to be certain.

Once Zeyuan returned to the shop, she planned to ask him about it.

The staff’s response to the crisis had been flawless.

Lu Yao leaned toward Ji Zhixin and whispered, “I’ve decided—this month, double wages, overtime calculated separately.”

Ji Zhixin immediately shared the news in the private group chat. While the players were still in the game, those spectating behind them celebrated with joy in the chat.

After watching the first match, Lu Yao informed Ji Zhixin and quietly left the arena.

Harold and Budu stayed at the internet café while Lu Yao returned to Shopping Street. Seeing the familiar but dilapidated streets, she felt an unexpected sense of unfamiliarity.

Though only three days had passed outside, she and Xiong An’an had spent years cultivating in the illusion realm.

Lu Yao touched the lotus earring on her ear. This ordeal hadn’t been without its gains.

The otherworldly employees from her other stores had no idea what had transpired at the internet café in recent days, and she didn’t want to disturb them. She walked along the broken old road and entered the nail salon.

Ji Zhixin had already informed the in-the-know staff of her return.

Mumu was fiddling with his phone, repeatedly reading the message confirming her safety.

When the front door opened, he heard the familiar footsteps and ran toward it, dropping his phone. “Ji-ji!”

The other staff looked up and, seeing the familiar figure, put down what they were holding and got up to greet her.

Lu Yao bent down to pick up Mumu, leaned forward to let Merulu and Puxiu nuzzle her cheeks, and smiled. “I’m back.”

Edward leaned on his short staff at the door. “Looks like everything is fine now.”

Si Jin, Tina, Ambrose, Clarissa, and the human employees of the store all came over to talk to Lu Yao.

Lu Yao stayed in the nail salon for half an hour, sipping red tea and enjoying two desserts before heading to the diner.

By lunchtime, the diner was fully packed with customers, with a long line of patrons waiting outside.

Seeing Lu Yao walk in, Xingzi couldn’t help but let out a sharp scream.

The other employees also noticed her arrival and immediately abandoned their tasks to gather around her.

After greeting everyone and assuring them she was fine, Lu Yao tied on an apron and began to help out.

Once the midday rush had passed, Lu Yao sat down to have a meal with the snack shop staff.

She left the snack shop around 3 p.m., long after the internet café’s match had concluded.

Shopping Street’s team had narrowly defeated the Cultivation Realm team with a 2-1 score.

Though Lu Yao wasn’t present during the match, she later listened to the staff’s recap.

The cultivators, with their sharp senses and swift reactions, were completely different from their first competition. The amateur Shopping Street employees barely held their ground. They only won thanks to their jungler’s exceptional play, carrying the team through two rounds to secure victory.

For the one round the Cultivation Realm team won, the MVP was their support, Jian Buyi.

Lu Yao opened her task panel and saw that the Cultivation Realm icon had lit up.

Now, only one icon remained, and she planned to contact Zeyuan soon to address it.

Back at the internet café, the buzz from the tournament hadn’t died down.

Guests gathered in groups to play games, discuss the matches, watch shows, or browse forums. The café was no longer just frequented by demons and devils—human cultivators had joined the mix.

Xiong Pingping was still there. Upon seeing Lu Yao return, she immediately got up to greet her.

“Shopkeeper.”

“I’m sorry,” Lu Yao apologized. “Bringing An’an with me ended up scaring him.”

Xiong Pingping shook her head. “You’ve misunderstood, shopkeeper. I’m here to thank you.”

Half-demons have a much harder time cultivating than pure demons. Those like Xie Zili and Xiong Pingping, who are born in human form, are rare. More often, they resemble Xiong An’an, whose demon blood overpowers their human side, leaving them in beast form from birth.

For a beast-form half-demon to achieve human form, it usually takes at least a century of cultivation, sometimes several centuries.

The little bear demon, however, was fortunate. In just three days, he achieved human form through cultivation in the illusion realm.

Xiong An’an had shared everything that happened in the illusion realm with Jiao Niang and Xiong Pingping, and Pingping was sincerely grateful to Lu Yao.

“Now that An’an can transform,” Lu Yao asked, “are you planning to take him with you?”

Xiong Pingping shook her head again. “An’an is still young, and it wouldn’t be safe for him to follow me around. Jiao Niang said she would train him. Leaving him at the internet café gives me peace of mind. He wants to stay here too.”

The little bear demon had kept Lu Yao company throughout their time in the illusion realm, and she found herself reluctant to part with him as well.

After discussing Xiong An’an, Xiong Pingping chatted with Lu Yao about her experiences running her food stall.

Her stall always did well no matter where it was set up. However, others had started selling snacks similar to hers. Though the taste was slightly inferior, they were cheaper, which attracted a fair number of customers.

Xiong Pingping planned to learn a few new recipes online and rotate her menu occasionally to offer her patrons something fresh.

From the morning escape to handling all the miscellaneous tasks in the shop, Lu Yao had been busy the entire day.

Before resting that evening, she used her communication jade talisman to send Zeyuan a message.

She waited a few minutes but received no reply.

Feeling drowsy as her tension eased, she fell asleep clutching the talisman without hearing back.

The next morning, there was still no reply.

Concerned, Lu Yao contacted Xuanfeng instead.

Xuanfeng responded promptly.

After Yu Yao was brought back to the demon realm, the Demon Sovereign personally interrogated her, with three enforcers present initially.

However, halfway through the interrogation, the Demon Sovereign dismissed everyone else.

Xuanfeng explained, “The item you asked me to find hasn’t been located yet. The Sovereign just returned from a secret realm and will likely be busy for a few days.”

Another day passed.

Early in the morning, Lu Yao was awakened by the proxy robot. Translated on hololonovels.

[Congratulations! You have successfully unlocked all six realm icons and achieved a revenue target of 20,000 superior-grade spirit stones. Task complete! Rewards: Popularity +60,000, Superior-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill +1, Superior-grade Puppet Talisman +1, Immortal Earth +1, Mustard Seed Realm +1. Keep up the great work!]

Lu Yao opened the system panel and saw that all six icons were indeed illuminated.

What’s going on?

In just a few days, Zeyuan had already gained a Demon Prince?

That evening, while resting at the hot spring inn, Lu Yao couldn’t fall asleep.

Before she could head to the internet café, Cheng Ye posted a photo in the group chat:

A young Mo Bao, wearing a golden crown, was sitting in the café’s main hall playing on the computer. Beside him, Zeyuan rested his chin on his hand, looking utterly bored.

[Interdimentional Internet Café Cheng Ye: The Demon Sovereign and his gamer gosling.]

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