Ch 132: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Lu Yao walked to the door of her new store and pushed it open.

After a day and night of upgrades and maintenance, the two previously shabby and small shop spaces had been completely transformed. The once yellowed walls had been repainted to match the vibrant colors of the sign outside—purple, blue, pink, yellow—bright and eye-catching, almost overwhelmingly so.

The ceiling had been redone with a soft blue sky theme, complete with a whimsical cloud-shaped light fixture in the center that was both adorable and bright.

This time, Lu Yao hadn’t completely torn down the wall between the two shop spaces, instead adding a doorway in the wall.

The door she had just entered through was the main entrance, leading into a reception room. The adjacent room was divided into three smaller sections, corresponding to three operation rooms.

At the moment, however, the rooms were entirely empty, with no furniture or equipment installed yet.

The results of the initial upgrades were promising, and Lu Yao planned to handle the rest of the interior design herself.

The store would need a few more days of preparation before it could officially open.

However, the stargate had already been activated, and Lu Yao, curious about this new world, decided to step out and explore.

As she reached for the door handle, a semi-transparent screen suddenly appeared out of thin air, blocking her path. Golden text began to flash on the screen.

[Good evening, dear visitor! Would you like to log into Ghost Street North District, Store No. 13: Lu Yao’s Creative DIY Workshop?]

This wasn’t the system’s interface.

Lu Yao didn’t immediately respond. She moved around the screen and tried pushing the door.

The door seemed to be firmly blocked by something heavy and immovable.

“Beep-beep!”

A low, curt sound rang out, like some kind of notification tone.

Lu Yao withdrew her hand. It seemed the door wouldn’t open without answering the question.

She returned to the screen and said, “Yes, I confirm.”

“Beep—”

[Identity registration complete. Store qualification approved. Welcome to Ghost Street, Lu Yao’s Creative DIY Workshop!]

[Ghost Street is one of the busiest streets in this community, with business hours from 6 PM to midnight. During this time, the street is bustling with crowds and endless streams of customers. To ensure your shop operates smoothly during business hours, please carefully read and adhere to the following rules before officially opening your store.]

[Rules for Operating on Ghost Street]

1. Before opening your store, visit the Street Management Office in the North District to collect a Ghost Street map, an Opening Guide, a communicator, and a jar of Lucky Candy.
2. Store hours must not begin earlier than 6 PM or end later than midnight.
3. Do not go out alone after closing hours.
4. If you need to hire new staff, submit an employment application at the Street Committee Building in the East District. Store owners are not allowed to recruit staff privately.
5. Ghost Street is a vibrant and free-spirited street with a mix of ordinary guests and unique pioneers. Please treat everyone equally and ensure proper service.
6. Occasionally, you may encounter lost little ghosts on the street. Do not panic—take them to the church in the West District, where someone will help them return home. If you’re busy, you can call the church reception desk, and someone will come to pick them up promptly. Church reception desk phone number: ×××××××××.
7. There are no fish markets on Ghost Street. If you encounter stray animals carrying golden octopuses, you may feed them a few pieces of Lucky Candy.
8. If you encounter an unresolvable crisis during store operations, immediately contact the church security office. Assistance will arrive promptly. Church security office phone number: ×××××××××.

As long as you follow the above rules, you and your store will not encounter any unexpected dangers. We wish you a pleasant store-opening experience!

Lu Yao read through the rules and noticed a smaller line of text at the bottom:

[While we do not enforce strict compliance with all rules, any unforeseen trouble caused by ignoring street regulations will be the sole responsibility of the store owner.]

What kind of world was this?

This was the most complicated set of rules Lu Yao had ever encountered for opening a store.

Not only was the store-opening process cumbersome, but the eight rules carried an indescribable sense of eeriness.

The content of Rules 1-3, 5, and 8 was acceptable to Lu Yao.

Rule 4, which required submitting an application to hire staff, was something she could reluctantly tolerate.

But Rule 6, “Occasionally, there will be little ghosts on the street,”—what on earth was that supposed to mean?

And Rule 7, “There are no fish markets on the street,”—what did that imply?

If there were no fish markets, where did the stray animals get their golden octopuses?

Lu Yao had a slew of complaints swirling in her mind, even briefly considering closing the store before it officially opened and running away.

This world already felt like a hassle.

The shop was empty. In the past, she could bicker with the System, but now the silence around her was more profound than a snowy midnight.

Lu Yao took a deep breath and reached for the door handle again.

Having carefully read the rules, the translucent screen blocking her vanished. When she pulled on the door, it creaked open.

As the door cracked ajar, a cacophony of raucous music, overlapping voices, and glaring, deathly neon-green lights spilled through the gap.

Lu Yao stood in the doorway, gripping the handle firmly to open the door completely.

Flashing red and green lights danced and swayed, occasionally flickering across her face.

The street and its surrounding buildings were veiled in the shadows of night, resembling an enormous shroud of darkness. Yet, vivid green, magenta, and fluorescent yellow lights sliced through the gloom, fragmenting it into irregular shapes.

The street was crowded with pedestrians, and every so often, the lights illuminated mask-like faces.

The neon-lit street, teeming with vibrant energy, radiated a near-overwhelming sense of joy and liveliness.

The “overly colorful” sign of her new store, criticized by her staff, now seemed perfectly ordinary on Ghost Street, blending into the background with no special distinction.

Lu Yao hesitated for a moment, recalling the rules she had just read. It wasn’t yet 8 PM, so leaving her store didn’t violate any regulations.

She shut the door behind her and, adopting the guise of an ordinary tourist, joined the bustling crowd.

Nightclubs, bars, gambling shops, hot pot restaurants, barbecue stalls, ice cream parlors, arcades…

Walking along the street, Lu Yao saw nothing beyond her comprehension. It almost seemed as if the earlier convoluted procedures were merely intended to intimidate her.

However, every shop was packed with customers, and long lines formed outside their doors.

The dazzling lights, chaotic noise, and shadowy nightscape made her uneasy as she ventured farther. Feeling that something wasn’t quite right, Lu Yao decided to turn back.

After all, this was an unfamiliar world; exploring during daylight seemed much safer.

Without the local currency, she couldn’t buy anything to eat from the roadside vendors, even though she wanted to.

At 10:03 PM, Lu Yao safely returned to her store’s entrance.

Two shadowy figures, one tall and one short, had appeared at the base of the steps.

As she approached, the figures immediately stood up.

Under the flickering lights, their faces were revealed: one was a resolute-looking man, the other a delicate-faced woman.

The pair had noticed Lu Yao well before she arrived and, seeing her head toward them, felt certain they had found the right person.

Before Lu Yao could speak, the woman in a black uniform stepped forward and addressed her first.

“Lu Yao, the owner of the Creative DIY Workshop?”

Lu Yao clasped the Regulation Rod behind her back, neither confirming nor denying.

“And you are?” she asked.

The woman in black said, “We’re staff from the North District Street Management Office. Two hours and twenty-eight minutes ago, the street received your registration request. Since you hadn’t come to the office to collect your map, opening guide, communicator, and Lucky Candy, we decided to deliver them to you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the man next to her removed a backpack and took out a square paper box, carefully holding it out toward Lu Yao.

Lu Yao didn’t reach for it, her eyes filled with caution.

Anyone would think this situation was absurd.

Who goes on fieldwork past 10 PM just to deliver a beginner’s kit?

The woman in black noticed Lu Yao’s reluctance and a flicker of excitement flashed in her eyes. Clearing her throat, she finally said the line she had been itching to use: “Don’t worry, we’re not bad people.”

Lu Yao: “…”

That’s exactly what bad people say.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Suddenly, the silent man spoke up. “For new stores, it’s best to collect the starter kit within six hours of registration. There are less than two hours left until the street closes. We’re only here out of goodwill to make sure you have everything.”

Lu Yao frowned. “Why wasn’t that rule included in the opening guidelines?”

The two exchanged a surprised glance, as though Lu Yao had just asked an unbelievably basic question.

Realizing something was amiss with her question, Lu Yao walked past them, unlocked the shop door, turned on the lights, and gestured toward them. “You’ve gone out of your way. Please come in and have a glass of water.”

The shop was Lu Yao’s safe house.

Under most circumstances, no matter how strong the opposition was, no one could harm her inside the shop.

Whether these two were acting or genuinely lacking guile, they entered the shop without hesitation after her invitation.

The DIY Workshop had no furniture, tea, or snacks for guests yet.

Lu Yao stepped out again, heading to the staff office in the shopping district, where she gathered a tray of snacks and poured two glasses of iced water.

The staff office was right next to the DIY Workshop, so it didn’t take long.

Carrying the snacks and water back to the shop, she found the two staff members from the Street Office visibly flattered by her hospitality. After exchanging polite remarks, each took a bag of snacks and began eating.

The woman in black picked up a bag of potato wedges, took a bite, froze, then took a few more bites. Holding up the bag, she asked, “Where are these wedges from? They’re so delicious, even by Ghost Street standards. How have I never noticed them before?”

…

Thingyan: I have a bad feeling

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