Ch 118: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Chi Jiumeng stepped out from behind Cheng Ye and stood at the doorway. “Boss.”

Lu Yao suddenly remembered she had contacted Chi Jiumeng before coming downstairs.

That was quick. Lu Yao retracted her hand and stood up. “Come in and have a seat. Let’s talk.”

It was Chi Jiumeng’s first time in the internet café’s lounge, and the room’s décor, identical to the images she had seen online, intrigued her.

Recently, she had been browsing plenty of interior design pictures of inns and hotels online, intending to create two modern-style guest rooms in her own inn.

The café had already become quite famous among the demon clans, and many of her customers often talked about it. Creating “internet café-themed” rooms would easily attract curious guests.

Chi Jiumeng sat on the sofa, her gaze fixating on the two cat beds in the corner.

Lu Yao poured her some tea and brought over a plate of snacks.

Chi Jiumeng snapped out of her daze. “You’ve been to Dragon Prison City?”

Lu Yao: “You can tell?”

Chi Jiumeng: “A tankang, this auspicious beast, is something only Beast Taming Sect would rear. But this one is very weak. It likely won’t survive long.”

Lu Yao: “It’s fine. It will live.”

Chi Jiumeng tilted her head, puzzled. “What makes you so sure? Just because you went from an ordinary mortal to stepping into the immortal realm in three days, even breaking through to the Golden Core stage?”

During the recent minor season, the story of the real and fake café owner had already spread widely among demons and devils.

The most talked-about part was how the owner, who had no cultivation base, managed to break free from a magical artifact and emerged already at the Golden Core stage.

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Divine Transformation…

For most people, the first two stages alone could take decades, sometimes even longer for those with average talent. Yet, the café owner had done it in three days.

What a terrifying feat.

Lu Yao already possessed techniques and secrets that baffled many, and now, her rapid progress struck awe into everyone.

From the moment Chi Jiumeng saw Lu Yao, she realized the rumors were true—Lu Yao had indeed reached the Golden Core stage.

But the tankang situation? Chi Jiumeng still felt Lu Yao was being overconfident. If even Beast Taming Sect couldn’t save it, what could she possibly do?

Lu Yao didn’t seem to notice the sharpness in Chi Jiumeng’s words and replied calmly, “Nothing special—just that I want it to live.”

Such arrogance.

For the first time, Chi Jiumeng felt like she was truly meeting the café owner.

Lu Yao offered no further explanation. Translated on Hololo novels. She took out a golden seed from her portable space and began discussing why she had called Chi Jiumeng over. “This is a void seed. I want to create a trial ground within it.”

Chi Jiumeng stared at the shimmering Mustard seed in disbelief, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Void seed were incredibly rare.

Chi Jiumeng had only seen them twice before, both times in trial grounds left behind by powerful ascended cultivators in secret realms.

Unable to resist, she picked up the seed and examined it closely. “Where did you obtain such a treasure?”

This was an unused seed.

Among the rewards the system had provided, Lu Yao valued this void seed and the segment of World Tree the most.

With these two items, all conditions for hosting the celestial-demon conference would be met.

Lu Yao didn’t mention the World Tree and simply said, “That’s not important. If you help me with this, all past debts will be cleared.”

This offer was much lower than Chi Jiumeng had anticipated. Helping with this would erase her debt, and constructing a trial in the void seed was hardly an unreasonable task. She had no reason to refuse.

The two reached an agreement and signed a contract.

Lu Yao then took Chi Jiumeng upstairs to inspect the site, where they encountered the game development team.

A group of young men stood by the third-floor railing, peering down below.

Xiong An’an was with them, his cheeks puffed out, clearly having been spoiled with plenty of snacks.

They seemed a bit uneasy when they saw Lu Yao, as if caught slacking off.

Lu Yao didn’t question them. As she passed by, she reached out to pet the little bear demon.

Xiong An’an, still sulking from not being praised earlier, backed away to avoid her hand.

Lu Yao didn’t force it, letting it slide as she led Chi Jiumeng upstairs.

Xiong An’an watched her retreating figure and let out a couple of low hums.

At that moment, a colleague who had gone to the restroom returned, and the group of young men coaxed Xiong An’an back into the “overtime room.”

Since there was no restroom in the Mustard seed realm, one team member who stepped out for a bathroom break the first time was gone for an entire day due to the time discrepancy. When they returned and explained it had only been a few minutes for them, the others didn’t believe it.

After a few tests, everyone confirmed the drastic difference in time flow between inside and outside the space. A quick bathroom trip could stretch to several days outside if something like an upset stomach occurred.

The game team found this frustrating and came up with a small system—setting a group schedule for breaks. Everyone would step out together and come back simultaneously, giving those not needing the restroom a chance to stretch their legs.

It honestly felt a bit like high school break times, with the whole group heading to the restroom together. They never expected to run into the boss and thought they’d be reprimanded. The young developers returned to the workspace still chatting about it.

Shi Yan didn’t join the break. His darkened face looked up at them. “You went to the restroom for three days. Enough chit-chat, get back to work!”

One of the developers shoved Xiong An’an into Shi Yan’s arms. “Boss, you’re overworking yourself. Hug the bear; it’s relaxing.”

Shi Yan actually hugged Xiong An’an and warned them, “Don’t fool around just because we have extra time. Finish this phase early so we can hit the hot springs next door and have a drink tonight.” After all, someone else was driving.

Hot springs!

Wait, is that part of the benefits?

Shi Yan added, “Oh, and the cinema next door plays holographic movies.”

Holograms!!!

What on earth?!

The team finally stopped slacking off and focused. By afternoon, they had finished their tasks and planned a proper schedule—seafood at the pet café, a movie, and hot springs in the evening.

Weekend overtime? ×
A free vacation with some work on the side? √

..

On the fourth floor of the café, at the center of the space, stood a pitch-black stone platform.

Lu Yao placed the void seed on it. The golden, oval-shaped seed floated about a fist’s distance above the platform, never making contact.

Lu Yao took out her black staff and gently tapped it. Thin mist rose around them, gradually enveloping the fourth and fifth floors.

Chi Jiumeng looked around, her gaze uncontrollably drawn to the black staff in Lu Yao’s hand.

The eerie and foreboding aura emanating from it didn’t resemble anything a Golden Core cultivator should be able to wield.

Noticing Chi Jiumeng’s look, Lu Yao raised the staff slightly. “This is my natal weapon, the Regulation Rod.”

Chi Jiumeng shook her head instinctively. “It looks like a weapon, but it feels strange.”

Lu Yao smiled without answering.

What she held wasn’t truly a weapon.

During her time in the Mirror of Serenity, Lu Yao had read tens of thousands of texts, gaining insight into numerous unconventional techniques. This expanded her understanding and gave her the imagination to conceptualize unique powers.

To Lu Yao, traditional cultivation was inefficient and time-consuming. After completing her tasks in this world, she would have to relearn new power systems in the next, which was illogical and would slow her progress.

The Dream Fulfillment System had once revealed that she could accumulate “willpower” through her tasks. Willpower was the force that allowed the system to help her fulfill her dreams. The more willpower she amassed, the stronger she would become.

This realization struck her while reading in the Mirror. She attempted to use willpower as a foundation, combining it with the cultivation path to discover her unique power system.

Lu Yao unified all her power under the concept of willpower—illusions, magic, psychic abilities, and immortal arts all became skills she could activate through willpower. Thus, the Regulation Rod was born.

The shaft of the rod tapered from a thick top to a thinner bottom, with a protrusion at the handle that seemed to bear carvings of a two-faced deity. The entire rod was pitch black, shrouded in dark mist, obscuring any clear details.

Chi Jiumeng found the rod increasingly unsettling the longer she looked at it. Prolonged observation stirred an inexplicable urge to bow to the ground. After a few glances, she had to look away and couldn’t help but remark, “With a weapon like this, why would you need me?”

Lu Yao replied, “The shop keeps me busy, and this illusion realm is massive. I can’t manage it all by myself.”

With a flick of the short rod, a stack of blueprints materialized out of thin air before Chi Jiumeng.

Chi Jiumeng gasped in astonishment. “This is supposed to be one illusion realm?” She inwardly cursed, Are you planning to recreate the six realms?!

Lu Yao’s intention was clear: she wasn’t just creating a simple online game. She wanted to bring the game’s world into her Void Space.

The result would be a special mode available exclusively at the Internet Café—an immersive, holographic cultivation mode.

Not only guests from the floating world but also staff and VIPs from the shopping street would be able to create accounts and experience it.

Lu Yao and Chi Jiumeng worked for hours but only managed to construct a preliminary framework, progressing far slower than anticipated. Chi Jiumeng was so exhausted that she had to consume several pills to recover.

While Chi Jiumeng meditated to regain her energy, Lu Yao leaned close and whispered, “Actually, I have another Void Space that can suspend time. A year inside equals just a day outside.”

Chi Jiumeng snapped her eyes open. “…”

How could she have misjudged Lu Yao so badly? This wasn’t some naive, gullible maiden; she was sharper than any shrewd merchant!

By the time Lu Yao and Chi Jiumeng descended from the fourth floor, it was already 5 p.m.

The game team had long since wrapped up their overtime. They had been enthusiastically exploring the shopping street under Shi Yan’s lead, making sure not to miss even the blind box shop or the nail salon. By now, they were soaking in the hot springs at the inn.

Lu Yao scanned the main hall but didn’t spot the familiar figure she was looking for. Assuming he hadn’t arrived, she pushed open the door to the lounge and found Zeyuan sitting on the sofa.

Xiong An’an and the little piglet were sprawled on his lap, cooing and fawning over him.

Lu Yao, drained and fatigued from the day’s efforts, couldn’t help but smile at the sight. “When did you get here?”

Zeyuan replied, “Just now.”

Xiong An’an, who had been sulking earlier and was now feeling bashful after being scolded by Jiao Niang in the afternoon, immediately spoke up, “Uncle Zeyuan’s been here a long time, waiting for you all afternoon.”

Uncle Zeyuan…

Zeyuan: “…”

Lu Yao struggled to stifle her laughter and corrected him, “It’s Brother Zeyuan.”

Xiong An’an protested, “Even if he’s thousands of years older than me, he’s still a brother?”

Lu Yao nodded resolutely. “Even tens of thousands of years older, he’s still a brother.”

Zeyuan covered his face. “…Fine.”

But then, a thought struck him—Lu Yao herself was only in her twenties…

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️