Ch 146: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

The mutated entity was swiftly dealt with by the Dream Fulfilling System, which vanished immediately after.

After months of absence, the once-cowardly system seemed to have developed a sharper mind and more decisive methods.

For the first time, it dawned on Lu Yao that the system could grow.

The door to the “Quiet Room” was destroyed, and the strange noises inside had ceased. A few minutes later, security personnel tentatively approached the entrance.

Lu Yao stepped out and informed Qin Qiuming, “This room is no longer useful.”

Qin Qiuming’s shoulders slumped in visible disappointment.

After years of despair, the faint hope they’d clung to had ultimately been shattered.

Lu Yao’s mind was in turmoil. With her business concluded, the question of whether Jiang Lin would agree to work at the DIY shop no longer seemed urgent. She nodded briefly to Qin Qiuming. “I’ll head back for now.”

The security guards, now aware that the divine manifestation had ended, hurried into the room to rescue the trapped individuals.

Xu Zhengrong, Ren You, and Du Xiao were sprawled on the floor, coughing and retching after their near-asphyxiation in the creature’s grasp.

Amid the chaos, a tall, lanky man scrambled to his feet and urgently made his way toward the door. Catching sight of Lu Yao in the hallway, he called out, “Are you Lu Yao?”

Lu Yao turned to face him. The man’s white coat was soaked in slime, and the shirt and trousers beneath were similarly filthy. Though disheveled, he exuded an undeniable poise.

It seemed he had also been in the Quiet Room, yet he didn’t wear the security uniform nor did he appear to be a mutated entity.

The tall man approached. “My name is Pei Qi, the gatekeeper of the Quiet Room. Now that the room is gone, I want to leave with you.”

So this was the gatekeeper.

Pei Qi’s demeanor was so mild-mannered that Lu Yao initially mistook him for a researcher. Still, his request was peculiar—asking to join her out of the blue and somehow already knowing her name.

Lu Yao gave Pei Qi a once-over. “Reason?”

Pei Qi adjusted his glasses, his eyes glinting with restrained determination. “I was here to oversee the Quiet Room, but now that it’s gone, I no longer have an obligation to remain. If you’re in need of someone, I’d like to go with you.”

Qin Qiuming looked utterly astonished.

Lu Yao scrutinized Pei Qi for a moment. “Fine, let’s go.”

This guy wasn’t saying everything. He was dangling bait, waiting for her to bite.

Lu Yao didn’t care to overthink it. She’d bring him to the DIY shop and deal with whatever came next.

Pei Qi hadn’t expected her to agree so readily. Stunned for a second, he quickly followed after her.

Qin Qiuming snapped out of his shock and hurried to catch up, intending to stop them. But before he could, Jiang Lin returned with the patrol squad.

Lu Yao called out to Jiang Lin, “You’re staying in the security office. What about Cai Yuxing?”

Jiang Lin, drenched in sweat from patrol, was surprised to see Lu Yao there. After a pause, he replied, “She’s gone back to the North District.”

The security office rarely retained female employees. Without showing signs of mutation, Cai Yuxing was deemed unsuitable to stay at the church.

Lu Yao nodded. “Give me her address. I’ll check on her when I have time.”

Jiang Lin, with blurred memories of his mutation phase, instinctively touched the beaded bracelet on his wrist when he saw Lu Yao. He felt no apprehension toward her and obediently provided Cai Yuxing’s address in the North District.

Memorizing the location, Lu Yao left with Pei Qi.

Qin Qiuming finally caught up but didn’t address Lu Yao. Instead, he spoke to Pei Qi. “Are you really leaving?”

Pei Qi turned back to look at him. “The Quiet Room is no longer functional. There’s no point in my staying.”

Qin Qiuming had no words.

Pei Qi had appeared the same day as the Quiet Room. Translated on hololonovels. He knew more about the Ghost Street than any of the church’s staff. It was he who had first proposed sending mutated individuals to the room for observation.

The higher-ups at the church had been placing increasing importance on Pei Qi’s opinions regarding the treatment of mutated individuals, yet he abruptly announced his departure.

Additionally, the disappearance of the Quiet Room was a significant loss.

Pei Qi ignored Qin Qiuming, turning to catch up with Lu Yao. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed the young woman beside him. Her gaze was calm, her emotions steady, and she showed no inclination to start a conversation.

As they passed through the long central hall and exited through the grand front doors of the church, Pei Qi took the initiative to speak. “This way. It’s getting late. I’ll drive you back.”

Lu Yao didn’t refuse.

The patrol squad’s vehicles were rugged off-road motorcycles, but Pei Qi’s sleek silver-gray sedan was tucked away in a corner, easy to miss if one wasn’t paying attention.

Lu Yao climbed into the passenger seat. “Your car is different from theirs.”

Pei Qi replied simply, “I’m not a security guard.”

Starting the car, Pei Qi drove onto the road but sped off in the opposite direction from the one Lu Yao had taken earlier.

“…Are you going the wrong way?” Lu Yao asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pei Qi kept one hand on the wheel, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. “You have a good sense of direction.”

Lu Yao didn’t respond.

“This route avoids the purification ray zone. It’s slower but safer,” Pei Qi explained.

“Isn’t the purification ray supposed to reduce the chances of losing oneself?” Lu Yao asked, the name suggesting some sort of cleansing effect.

Pei Qi pulled a half-empty pack of cigarettes from his damp pocket, opened it, and held one between his lips. “Mind if I smoke?”

“Yes, I mind. Wait until we’re outside,” Lu Yao replied flatly.

Pei Qi fell silent and put the cigarette pack away.

By 9:30 p.m., Lu Yao had returned to the bustling streets of the North District.

The streets were crowded, making it difficult for the car to navigate. Lu Yao got out at an intersection.

Pei Qi, seemingly well-acquainted with Ghost Street, told her not to worry about him and said he would find her after parking the car.

The DIY shop’s signboard continued to flash even when the shop was empty, as though it had seamlessly blended into the eerie yet lively atmosphere of the street.

On the steps outside the shop sat two familiar figures. Seeing them, Lu Yao quickened her pace.

At the entrance, Liu Jing and Cai Yuxing stood up, noticing her approach.

“Why are you here at this hour?” Lu Yao asked.

Liu Jing looked at her. “Nothing unusual happened at the shop today, right?”

Lu Yao replied calmly, “What are you referring to?”

Liu Jing glanced around, then nudged Lu Yao toward the shop. “Let’s talk inside.”

Lu Yao unlocked the door and let them in.

The shop was empty, which seemed to ease Liu Jing’s mind. She patted her chest in relief. “Where are the shop assistants?”

“They’re off work,” Lu Yao answered as she poured them each a glass of water.

Liu Jing couldn’t hide her surprise. “Nothing happened at the shop?”

“There was a minor incident at noon, but it’s already been handled,” Lu Yao said matter-of-factly.

Liu Jing paused, then gradually relaxed. “Nothing you say surprises me anymore.”

Lu Yao’s gaze shifted between the two. “How did you end up together?”

Cai Yuxing explained, “Sister Jing lives just one building away from me. We ran into each other downstairs this afternoon and decided to go out for a stroll. Jing Jie wanted to stop by the DIY shop, and we noticed the recruitment notice posted at your door.”

Lu Yao nodded in acknowledgment. Before leaving earlier, she had indeed put up a new recruitment poster outside. However, it wasn’t for shop assistants but rather for volunteers.

This was a solution she’d come up with—recruiting volunteers as a way to find suitable staff without needing to go through the Street Committee’s central office while also addressing the shop’s staffing shortage.

“So that’s it. Were you thinking of giving it a try?” Lu Yao asked.

Liu Jing immediately asked, “Can we?”

Cai Yuxing also looked at Lu Yao, her expression uncertain.

“Technically speaking, volunteers and official staff aren’t quite the same,” Lu Yao explained. “However, if you’re willing to help out at the shop, the compensation and benefits won’t differ much from those of regular employees.”

Volunteers don’t receive a salary, only stipends for expenses.

Typically, this amount is minimal.

Lu Yao’s intent was still to recruit regular employees, but she used the guise of “volunteers” to circumvent the rules of Ghost Street. In reality, the benefits and compensation offered to the volunteers would match those of formal employees.

Liu Jing was tempted. Since leaving the Street Management Office, she had no new work assignments. She felt uneasy, fearing that aimlessly wandering this strange street would lead her to lose herself again.

Cai Yuxing spoke up first. “I’d like to join. But I’ve never worked before.”

Lu Yao responded, “That’s not a problem. There will be training before you start.”

Liu Jing, snapping out of her thoughts, heard Cai Yuxing already agreeing and couldn’t hold back. “I want to join too.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” a voice called out from the doorway.

The three women turned to see who had spoken.

Pei Qi entered, glanced at Liu Jing and Cai Yuxing, then fixed his gaze on Lu Yao. “The rule on this street is that ordinary people cannot become employees. If this is broken, He will be angered.”

Lu Yao spread her hands. “They aren’t employees—they’re volunteers.”

Pei Qi pressed on. “I heard you already applied for staff through the Street Committee. Mixing ordinary people with formal employees is even less acceptable.”

Lu Yao stared at Pei Qi for a moment. “Have you considered the possibility that this is my shop?”

Pei Qi calmly shut the door and didn’t seem offended. “I’m not meddling. I genuinely know this street better than you or these ordinary people. He is still immature now. You might think you’re exploiting loopholes in the rules, but no one can bear the consequences of angering Him.”

Lu Yao gave Pei Qi a long, searching look before turning to Liu Jing and Cai Yuxing. “What do you two think?”

Cai Yuxing stepped forward and grabbed Lu Yao’s hand. “I want to work. No matter what happens, I won’t regret it.”

After a moment of silence, Liu Jing raised her hand. “I want to work too.”

Lu Yao turned back to Pei Qi. “And you?”

Pei Qi hesitated. “…I’ll work too.”

Lu Yao walked toward the adjacent operations classroom. “Time is tight. Tonight, we’ll conduct training so you can officially start tomorrow.”

In the first operations classroom, Lu Yao retrieved a Qiankun Bag from her portable storage, then pulled out a Mustard Seed from the bag. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.”

Pei Qi, Liu Jing, and Cai Yuxing couldn’t comprehend what the shop owner was doing. They didn’t find it particularly strange when Lu Yao produced the Qiankun Bag out of thin air. However, when they followed her into the space within the Mustard Seed, their expressions began to change.

“This isn’t the classroom from earlier,” Cai Yuxing murmured.

Liu Jing reached out to touch one of the cubicles leftover from the game development team’s overtime work. Her eyes reddened. “These are real tables and chairs.”

Pei Qi, observing the peculiar space, blinked rapidly before grabbing Lu Yao’s arm. “Are we inside the seed you took out earlier? Who exactly are you?”

Lu Yao shook her head and didn’t answer. She walked over to a modified fridge, took out a few bottles of water, along with some fruit and cake, and then sat on the sofa in the lounge area. She beckoned to them. “This space is absolutely safe and private. Rest for a bit, and then we’ll start the training.”

Liu Jing and Cai Yuxing, having experienced events in the shop before, trusted Lu Yao implicitly and didn’t react as strongly as Pei Qi.

Pei Qi stood stiffly on the sidelines, remaining silent until the group had eaten and rested enough to begin training.

The training focused on tasks related to the next day’s activities. Lu Yao had a preliminary understanding of the two new female volunteers and trusted them more than the three official employees.

Through tonight’s training, Lu Yao hoped they could quickly adapt to guiding customers, maximizing the shop’s resources to attract as many patrons as possible.

Liu Jing had been working diligently, demonstrating slightly stronger capabilities than Cai Yuxing.

However, after repeated practice, both of them managed to familiarize themselves with the basic workflows of the DIY workshop within the expected timeframe.

In contrast, Pei Qi’s practical skills were utterly disastrous. To be precise, he was a terrifying menace in the kitchen.

Lu Yao quickly removed him from the list of instructors for the next day and reassigned him to work alongside Huang Qi at the front desk.

After concluding the training, Lu Yao led the three volunteer trainees out of the Mustard Space. Ghost Street had not yet reached its closing hours.

Liu Jing glanced at the watch on her wrist and remarked incredulously, “How is it still not even ten o’clock?”

Cai Yuxing leaned in, equally stunned. “That’s impossible. Is your watch broken?”

Liu Jing frowned. “It shouldn’t be; the hands are moving normally.”

Lu Yao casually tossed the seed in her palm and explained, “You’ve heard of the church’s Quiet Room, right? I have a similar kind of special space. The difference is that its abilities are not the same as the Quiet Room’s. What you’ve just seen is it.”

Liu Jing and Cai Yuxing stared wide-eyed, struggling to process the shop owner’s revelation.

Lu Yao didn’t elaborate further and instead asked about another pressing matter: “At this hour, can you both still get home safely?”

Liu Jing snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh, right. We should head back.”

As the two women were about to leave, Lu Yao called them back and handed each of them a pendant. “If walking at night makes you uneasy, just hold onto this.”

Cai Yuxing examined the pendant curiously. “Isn’t this a miniature version of your weapon?”

Lu Yao replied, “Technically, it’s part of the Regulation Rod. It’s not particularly useful—just treat it as a protective charm.”

Having seen the power of the Regulation Rod in Lu Yao’s hands, Liu Jing and Cai Yuxing clutched the miniaturized version tightly. Smiling obsequiously, they bade farewell to Lu Yao and left together.

Once only the two of them were left in the shop, Lu Yao glanced at Pei Qi. “Where are you staying tonight?”

Pei Qi gestured toward the seed in her hand. “Let’s talk in that space.”

Lu Yao, already aware that he had something to say, locked the shop door again. She led Pei Qi back to the operations classroom and entered the Mustard Space once more.

Compared to his initial entry, Pei Qi seemed much more at ease this time, wandering around the compact space and inspecting it. “This space is definitely beyond the technology of this era, yet the items inside seem quite old.”

Lu Yao remained silent.

After examining every detail to his satisfaction, Pei Qi finally sat down beside her. “You’re not from this world.”

Lu Yao lowered her eyes, neither confirming nor denying his statement.

Pei Qi suppressed the turmoil in his heart and spoke cautiously. “You probably don’t know the true nature of this street.”

Lu Yao raised her head, picked up the glass of water on the table, and gently swirled it. “You’re not very good at interacting with people, are you?”

Pei Qi blinked in surprise. “Huh?”

Lu Yao replied, “That kind of probing statement is awfully cliché.”

Pei Qi was at a loss for words.

Lu Yao set the glass down and leaned back against the sofa. “Isn’t the nature of Ghost Street just a defective holographic game community developed with flawed technology?”

…

Thingyan: Ahhhhh so it’s not real? Like it’s not a real world like other continents?

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