Ch 168: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

As Lu Yao and her group had just left, the door to the fifteenth-floor office swung open, and a team of rescue workers rushed in.

The lead rescuer scanned the room and frowned. “Why are there only the four of you?”

Videos of Harold and Qiuyu rescuing people had gone viral online, and those at the scene had also witnessed the events firsthand.

Pei Qi, now wearing his bracelet, stood up. “They’ve gone to the sixty-sixth floor.”

“The sixty-sixth floor? Who are they, and what are they after?”

Pei Qi glanced sideways out the window. “Who knows.”

Another rescuer, helping the two other employees to their feet, said, “They probably won’t get in, right? After all, it’s the sixty-sixth floor.”

…

Tech Tower, Outside the Sixty-Sixth Floor

Harold crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t the security supposed to be top-notch? I was almost looking forward to it.”

The sixty-sixth floor, rumored to have the most advanced security system in Mingshi City, was strangely unprotected. The balcony had no bulletproof glass, the edges were pristine without signs of damage, and the interior was brightly lit, almost as if welcoming visitors.

Qiuyu muttered, “A trap.”

Harold added, “So, is what you’re looking for really here?”

Lu Yao nodded. “Ninety-nine point nine percent sure. If it’s not, I’ll be in trouble.”

Harold pressed further. “And what exactly is it?”

Lu Yao hesitated. “Hard to describe. If I had to explain, you could consider it a predecessor to Alfred.”

“…Another dragon?” Harold asked.

Lu Yao shook her head. “I’ve never seen it myself, but probably not.”

Qiuyu landed lightly on the balcony. “Should we go in?”

Lu Yao put away her flying tool and jumped onto the balcony. “I’ll lead.”

The balcony led to a wall with a single door at its center. The frame of the door glowed with piercing silver light, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.

Lu Yao stepped in first, with Harold and Qiuyu close behind.

Inside, they found themselves in a hemispherical chamber. The walls and even the domed ceiling were lined with countless silver-white screens, each embedded like framed paintings, displaying diverse and seemingly unrelated content.

Some screens showed scenes from the real world, others from virtual realms, and many displayed colorful, unrecognizable interfaces running obscure programs.

Lu Yao took in the sight. “So this is Polaris, the all-knowing, all-powerful entity.”

“You’ve finally arrived,” a magnetic voice echoed from all directions. “Welcome, dear Miss Lu Yao.”

Lu Yao tilted her head. “And you are?”

The voice replied, “Didn’t you come here to meet me?”

Lu Yao raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, the person I wanted to meet sounded much younger. Could it be that a few months apart was enough for them to grow up and hit puberty?”

“…” After a brief silence, the voice continued, “Miss Lu Yao is not only intelligent but also has quite the sense of humor. I’ve longed to meet you in person, and the wait was worth it.”

Lu Yao was unimpressed. “Why do you want to meet me? We’ve never met before, as far as I recall.”

“My apologies for the delayed introduction. I am Polaris. Perhaps you remember the adorable black goatling you encountered in Ghost Street?”

Lu Yao’s toes curled slightly.

The voice had the unmistakable synthetic tone of AI but with an odd, affected manner that mimicked the demeanor of a successful young professional.

Polaris continued, “From that moment on, I knew I had to meet you.”

“And why is that?” Lu Yao asked, her tone even.

Polaris hesitated theatrically before responding, “Well… this might sound forward, but I think I’ve fallen for you.”

Lu Yao: “…That’s indeed presumptuous.”

Harold took a step forward. “Can I punch this guy?”

Qiuyu rubbed her arms vigorously, as if shaking off goosebumps. “What a pretentious act.”

Lu Yao: “Calm down. You two start looking around. It should be in one of these screens. Don’t overthink it—if it sees you, it’ll probably react.”

Polaris suddenly changed its tone, adopting a clear, youthful voice. “You don’t trust me?”

Lu Yao slowly walked forward, her eyes scanning the myriad screens around her. Somewhere among them, the system she was searching for might be hidden.

Seeing this room had triggered a flood of thoughts in her mind.

What kind of entity would call itself an all-knowing god?

The sixty-sixth floor’s room contained thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of screens monitoring everything in Mingshi City—both the real world and all its virtual realms.

Given what she knew from Ghost Street, a being capable of calling itself all-knowing could effortlessly trap countless human consciousnesses within a game. It was entirely possible that the Dream Fulfillment System had been isolated and confined to another virtual world.

This realization made things simultaneously simpler and more complicated. The simplicity lay in their clear goal—locating the Dream Fulfillment System. The complication came from the sheer number of screens in this room, including the potential for hidden ones, and the constant threat posed by this enigmatic super AI.

Polaris: “Just a little farther, and you’ll find my collection room. It holds some rather interesting items. If you find something you like, I’d be happy to gift it to you.”

Lu Yao: “A collection room?”

Suddenly, the wall before her dissolved like a digital curtain being lifted, vanishing bit by bit from the bottom up to reveal a vast, expansive space.

Inside were rows of dark, spadewood-colored shelves lined with narrow, transparent glass bottles. These bottles contained plants, insects, seawater, and various miniature animals.

Lu Yao stopped by the third row near the wall, her gaze fixed on a particular bottle in the corner.

The room’s glass bottles were all of uniform size, resembling those typically used for cough syrup. But the one that caught her attention housed a chubby calico cat, its patterns and features nearly identical to Erxin, albeit shrunken to an impossibly small size.

The miniature calico appeared to possess awareness, constantly bouncing and pawing at the inside of the glass in Lu Yao’s direction, its tiny pink paws scrabbling at the walls.

Lu Yao extended her hand toward the little cat.

The calico leapt excitedly, its round head nearly touching the bottle’s cap.

But before Lu Yao could reach it, another hand darted out and grabbed the bottle first.

Lu Yao turned around.

Standing there was a silver-haired, red-eyed youth wearing a single gold-rimmed monocle. He smiled gently at her. “Do you like this little one?”

Lu Yao stepped back cautiously, a faint frown on her face. “…Polaris?”

The smile on the youth’s face deepened. “Your expression is fascinating.”

Lu Yao composed herself.

Logically, the distress signal from the Dream Fulfillment System had been an accident, and her decision to open a store in Ghost Street was a spontaneous one.

He shouldn’t be here.

Polaris lifted the bottle in his hand. “This little one has a particularly stubborn temperament and keeps trying to escape. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I moved it to my collection room. If you like it, consider it a gift for our first meeting.”

Lu Yao: “Is that so? You certainly have a gentleman’s demeanor.”

Inside the bottle, the miniature Erxin furiously shook its tiny head.

Polaris handed the glass bottle to Lu Yao.

Lu Yao took it and immediately removed the cap, tilting the bottle so the chubby little calico tumbled into her palm.

The next moment, an indignant voice rang out in her mind: “You’re so stupid, so stupid, so stupid! Why did you accept his invitation?”

Lu Yao gleefully poked the little cat’s fluffy belly with her finger. “Tongtong, it really is you! I recognized you right away!”

The Dream Fulfillment System, now in its cat form, reluctantly hugged her fingertip. Unable to control itself, it lowered its head and lightly licked her with its pink tongue before growling through clenched teeth: “Thank you for joining me in this prison!”

The sight of the cat-like manifestation of the Dream Fulfillment System instantly reminded Lu Yao of the tiny people and animals on the Nitean Continent. She curled her fingers around it, enchanted by the soft, furry texture in her palm.

Suddenly, the layout of the collection room began to change dramatically. The ceiling rose infinitely high, arching into a grand dome. The display shelves slid sideways to press flush against the walls, which were soon concealed by heavy red curtains that dropped abruptly from above. The once-simple floor transformed into an intricate pattern of ornate designs, and columns carved with exquisite detail sprung up from the ground. Golden tassels cascaded from the ceiling, while a luxurious red carpet unfurled ahead, stretching into the distance.

In the blink of an eye, the strange, unassuming collection room had transformed into a magnificent palace—far more efficient than Cinderella’s fairy godmother could ever dream of.

The youth who had stood by Lu Yao moments ago now wore an impossibly opulent white uniform, adorned with a golden cape. A gemstone-encrusted crown rested on his head as he sat regally upon a grand throne.

“Dear Miss Lu Yao,” he intoned with a stately smile, “welcome to my world.”

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️

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