Ch 116: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Lu Yao curiously inspected the stone, which resembled an ostrich egg with its pitch-black surface. “What is this?”

The little ginseng demon, a hint of mystery in her expression, tiptoed and motioned for Lu Yao to come closer.

Lu Yao bent down, and the ginseng demon whispered in her ear, “It’s an egg. I think there’s a very powerful spirit beast inside.”

!!!

Lu Yao suddenly felt uneasy and lowered her voice. “Where did you get this?”

The ginseng demon replied, “I picked it up on the way.”

At least it wasn’t stolen from the Beast Mountain.

Still feeling unsure, Lu Yao pressed for more details. The doll-like ginseng demon pursed her lips, and tears welled up in her big eyes. “You don’t like my gift, do you?”

Lu Yao quickly reassured her, “No, I really like it. I’m just worried this egg might belong to someone.”

The ginseng demon shook her head. “It doesn’t. This is an abandoned spirit beast egg. I lived on the Beast Mountain for hundreds of years. Just by the color of the shell, I can tell its condition. It’s been discarded for a long time, but it desperately wants to survive and has been absorbing spiritual energy. If you take care of it, it will grow into a very strong spirit beast.”

Spirit beasts were incredibly expensive, and the older their bloodline and the stronger their abilities, the higher their price. However, spirit beasts were notoriously fragile in their youth and hard to raise.

This egg was different. It had an extraordinary will to live, fighting with all its might to survive.

Moved by the little ginseng demon’s sincerity, Lu Yao bent down to pick up the egg. “Thank you. But I don’t know how to incubate an egg. Can you help me?”

The ginseng demon’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly followed Lu Yao. “Of course!”

Having lived on the Beast Mountain for centuries and being able to communicate effortlessly with spirit beasts, she probably knew more than most disciples of the Beast Sect.

Lu Yao led the ginseng demon to the lounge.

The little Tangkang lay in a pink cat bed, letting out soft whimpers.

Lu Yao pulled a brand-new green cat bed out of her portable storage, placed it next to the Tangkang, and gently set the black egg into it.

The pink, lame Tangkang and the abandoned, unidentified spirit beast egg became neighbors.

The ginseng demon immediately walked over, plucking a small piece of her root and stuffing it into the Tangkang’s mouth. “I looked for it before leaving the Beast Mountain. I thought I’d never see it again. I can’t believe you brought it here.”

She had seen many spirit beast cubs like the Tangkang on the Beast Mountain and often fed them with her roots, though it rarely made a difference.

Before coming to the Baixian Mountain, she hadn’t been able to find the little Tangkang and had assumed it had quietly disappeared in some unknown corner.

Now, seeing it here, she couldn’t hold back her tears. They streamed down her face in large drops.

Lu Yao turned around to find the doll-like ginseng demon crying her heart out, completely distraught. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

The ginseng demon leaned against Lu Yao’s shoulder, sobbing. “I just didn’t expect to see it again.”

Lu Yao sat on the ground, opened her arms, and hugged the little ginseng demon, gently patting her back. “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

The ginseng demon sniffled, “But… it… it won’t live much longer.”

The reunion was merely a prelude to another farewell.

Ginseng grew slowly, and though she had cultivated for a thousand years, she still had the appearance of a young girl.

She had lived on the Beast Mountain for centuries, always accompanied by the naive, endearing spirit beast cubs, but she could never outlast them.

Over the years, grown spirit beasts would eventually leave, only to be replaced by a new batch of younglings. Many who didn’t survive now lay buried in the Beast Mountain, countless in number.

And yet, she remained unchanged, as though untouched by the passage of time.

Though she understood that life and death were natural, every encounter with it still brought her to tears.

Lu Yao said firmly, “The little Tangkang won’t die. I’ll make sure it survives.”

The little ginseng demon took Lu Yao’s words as mere comfort and nuzzled her neck with teary eyes.

She wasn’t wrong about Lu Yao—this human’s heart and soul radiated a warm, gentle golden glow.

…

A week later, on a Saturday morning, Shi Yan arrived at the shopping street with a portion of the Time Traveler development team. Given that their game also needed ongoing maintenance, they left some staff behind at the office.

Shi Yan brought along five people, joining shopping street’s team of Liu Yixi, Mei Xue, Cheng Ye, and the occasional help from Ji Qingyan, making a total of nine.

For a fledgling game project, this was a decent team size.

Lu Yao had already coordinated with Shi Yan and the team at Office Two. They wouldn’t stay in the mustard seed realm for a full year all at once. Instead, they would tackle development in short sprints—about a month inside, which equated to just one or two hours outside.

During these work sprints, all meals for the team would be covered by shopping street.

After signing confidentiality agreements, the developers, like the other shopping street staff, gained access to the internal network system and weren’t charged VIP fees.

Shi Yan had come to the shopping street grumbling, but when he returned to the company on Monday to announce that they would be working on-site and under close scrutiny, the entire office erupted in groans of despair.

Shi Yan didn’t waste time sugarcoating things or pshopping street. He simply said, “The overtime pay is generous, and there are some perks.”

Overtime pay? Well, that was fine.

Perks?

The employees, seasoned adults, dismissed the so-called perks as empty promises.

On Monday morning, Shi Yan specifically told his team to skip breakfast and instead eat at the client’s location for free.

The game team, expecting a regular cafeteria experience, didn’t have high hopes. Nevertheless, they showed up punctually at the office.

When they met up with Shi Yan, he didn’t drive them himself but mentioned that the client’s car would pick them up.

Everyone assumed it would be a small van, given there were only five of them. A bigger car might be better for comfort and naps.

At just before 8 a.m., a brand-new extended Lincoln limousine pulled up and stopped near Shi Yan.

The team was dumbfounded. Surely, this couldn’t be their ride?

The driver was Ji Zhixin, who had taken on the morning task of delivering goods to the Internet café by 7 a.m. After finishing his deliveries, he restocked at the blind box store and spent the rest of the day leisurely at shopping street, offering to help out where needed.

Today, he had volunteered to pick up the development team and had even rented a spacious vehicle in advance.

Shi Yan stomped his foot, cursed, “Show-off,” and walked toward the car. After a few steps, he turned back to see his stunned team still standing there. “What are you waiting for? Get in!”

The four developers exchanged looks before muttering, “Oh…” and climbing in.

Shi Yan’s company was located a bit farther out compared to Shen Pingjin’s office, so the ride to shopping street took over an hour. During the trip, the developers sat in silence, clearly overwhelmed by the situation.

When they finally arrived, they were once again left speechless.

The disparity was shocking—the opulent car versus the remote, rundown location. The emotional whiplash was as intense as a rollercoaster ride.

Shi Yan noticed his team’s dazed expressions and couldn’t help but wonder, Was I this dumbfounded when I first came here?

Ji Zhixin stepped out of the car and said calmly, “Shi Yan, take them for breakfast first. After that, head to the third floor of the Internet café to meet the boss.”

Shi Yan froze.

“Shi Yan…”

The way Ji Zhixin casually called him “Shi Yan” made Shi Yan’s skin crawl.

Shi Yan recalled discussing with Shen Pingjin during their previous trip that while many of Lu Yao’s employees seemed ordinary, several were anything but. This seemingly average driver, who had just called him “Shi Yan” so nonchalantly, appeared to have some connection to the Ji clan of Tianji.

The Ji clan of Tianji, while reclusive and isolated, remains a formidable entity. However, in the past year or two, they’ve become uncharacteristically low-profile.

The game team members noticed the signs along the street, realizing there were only two food establishments.

One asked, “Boss, are we eating noodles for breakfast?”

Another chimed in, “How about checking out the snack shop?”

Shi Yan waved decisively, “Let’s go! I’ll treat you to deluxe seafood noodles, fresh sashimi, and unlimited sea urchin.”

The team followed behind, unsure if he was being serious or sarcastic.

At the pet cafe, they were greeted by a plump, snow-white seal who handed each of them a wristband and welcomed them inside.

The sight of the round, fluffy seal left the team dumbstruck, as though they were mermaids bewitched by a siren. Words escaped them.

As they stepped into the undersea-themed shop, they hadn’t yet processed the surreal experience when massive bowls of noodles, heaped with prawns, scallops, and fresh abalone, were brought out. The sashimi glistened invitingly, and mountains of sea urchin covered the table. The overwhelming freshness of the dishes left them in a daze.

As they slurped noodles, the memory of Shi Yan mentioning perks during the meeting floated to the surface of their minds.

“If every overtime shift comes with a meal like this,” one mused, “it’s totally worth it.”

During the meal, Shi Yan briefly explained the peculiarities of shopping street.

The idea of being under the sea, surrounded by seals that could understand human speech, was too extraordinary to deny, though their minds struggled to keep up.

By the time they waddled out of the pet cafe, holding their full bellies and leaning against the walls for support, they felt even more sluggish.

When they arrived at the Internet café and encountered the demonic and cultivator patrons, their reactions were muted, as if their capacity for surprise had been drained.

It wasn’t until they stepped into the third floor of the Internet café and entered Lu Yao’s Mustard Seed Realm that their emotions erupted. Translated on hololonovels.

Lu Yao had recently reorganized the Mustard Seed Realm. The once-barren stone chamber now featured rows of stone cubicles equipped with workstations, internet access, and all the necessities for day-to-day life.

Meals could be ordered via a small plugin on their computers, and there were ample supplies of drinking water, snacks, and fresh fruits. In special circumstances, energy-restoring pills and magical potions were also available.

However, Lu Yao firmly refused to set up bathrooms inside the Mustard Seed Realm. For such needs, they had to step outside.

After introducing the setup to Shi Yan, the team gradually came to terms with their surroundings.

While they remained skeptical about the so-called Mustard Seed Realm, the provided conditions were undeniably excellent. The environment was accommodating, food and supplies were included, and they weren’t working for free.

Once the game team began their work, Lu Yao left the Mustard Seed Realm.

To facilitate their access, she had created a doorway within the space. By saying a specific password, the team could enter and exit freely.

After leaving the space, Lu Yao climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.

The fourth and fifth floors would serve as new areas. Once the game team finished their current sprint, she would begin setting up the fourth floor.

For this, Lu Yao used her communication talisman to contact Chi Jiumeng.

Previously, Chi Jiumeng had offered Lu Yao a Star Soulfire as an apology to Li Shijun, symbolizing a favor owed. This time, Lu Yao intended to cash it in.

Meanwhile, the little bear demon, huffing and puffing, climbed up the stairs. After failing to find Lu Yao on the third floor, he startled the game team.

Shi Yan sighed, “That’s a panda demon named Xiong An’an. Just give him some snacks, and you can pet him—he’s very gentle.”

The game team stared blankly.

“Is this really a question of gentleness?”

Xiong An’an exited the Mustard Seed realm and found Lu Yao on the fourth floor. “There’s an old man at the entrance insisting on meeting you,” he said.

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