Ch 174: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

The new store is a combination of two shopfronts, with a layout somewhat similar to the DIY Workshop. The front area is small, while the back has a slightly larger space designated for the office and storage.

Lu Yao only had the system upgrade the store into an interdimensional space, refurbish the walls, ceiling, and flooring, and connect water and electricity. No furniture had been placed yet, leaving the store mostly empty.

Lu Yao and the Dream Fulfillment System returned to their usual work dynamic: Lu Yao selected the location, provided ideas and blueprints for renovations, and the system handled construction.

The efficiency was about the same as before, but while the system performed maintenance, Lu Yao could work on other things.

Dream Fulfillment System: “I’ve already mapped out the area within a 50-kilometer radius. Want to go take a look?”

Lu Yao: “Impressive. You can cover such a wide range now?”

Dream Fulfillment System: “After absorbing Polaris’s data, my perspective has broadened. In your usual words, I might have leveled up.”

Lu Yao clapped lightly. “Thanks to Polaris for the upgrade.”

Dream Fulfillment System: “Don’t celebrate too soon. I think your chosen primary business for this store might not work. Not making money is one thing, but if there are no customers, the mission won’t be completed, and that’ll be a problem.”

The system’s logic seemed to have upgraded as well. Its chatter from earlier days had been replaced by clarity and coherence. Hearing it worry so sincerely, Lu Yao found it a bit disconcerting.

Lu Yao: “Why do you think there won’t be customers? Based on the clue, the star gate still connects to the original Golden Kingdom. Even if the nation suffered catastrophic damage in a short time, it’s only been less than two months. There should still be people in the cities, right? Didn’t you say the store is located just outside a residential area?”

The system had never won an argument with Lu Yao before, and even after its upgrade, this hadn’t changed. Still, it truly felt that Lu Yao had picked the wrong primary business.

Dream Fulfillment System: “The store is indeed in a busy urban area, right next to Guanyin Community. I think a supermarket would be the best choice for this world. Survivors need food, warm clothing, and medicine—countless customers would flock here without any effort.”

Lu Yao shook her head. “You’re still too naive. If the ‘Walking Dead’ on the clue note is to be taken literally, then opening a supermarket is just inviting people to loot for free. If you don’t believe me, let’s go out and take a look.”

When the clue initially said “Golden Kingdom,” Lu Yao was still deliberating what kind of store to open. Once the clue changed to “Walking Dead,” she quickly finalized the store’s main business.

She suspected this world was similar to the third store’s location, the Impermanence World, but based on the clue, the Golden Kingdom seemed to be experiencing a biochemical crisis.

Regardless of how the apocalypse manifests, food, water, and daily necessities are essential for survival.

The system’s idea was correct in theory.

However, Lu Yao had already opened a blind box store in the Impermanence World, specifically designed to provide survival supplies to customers. A supermarket operates on a similar premise: supplying materials to apocalypse survivors.

From Lu Yao’s perspective, this type of store could quickly attract customers, but the costs would be extremely high.

Even if gold could be earned as payment in the Golden Kingdom, it couldn’t be easily converted into cash in her world.

Running a supermarket in the apocalypse comes with high procurement costs and significant safety concerns.

Even if customers managed to buy items from the store, there was no guarantee they’d be safe once they left.

So for this new store, Lu Yao adopted a different approach: instead of selling physical goods, she would offer services.

The key difference between the Golden Kingdom and the Impermanence World was that the Golden Kingdom’s disaster had only been ongoing for less than two months, meaning there should still be a considerable amount of stored supplies in various areas.

Drawing on her past experiences and the unique traits of this new world, Lu Yao decided the new store’s primary business would be courier and delivery services, emphasizing safety and efficiency.

The Dream Fulfillment System couldn’t wrap its head around why the owner would choose such a business model, but Lu Yao was full of confidence in the store’s future.

Dream Fulfillment System: “Heading out is fine, but if you regret it later, keep in mind that the store’s primary business has already been finalized. It cannot be changed no matter what.”

Lu Yao summoned the Regulation Rod. The ghostly figure on its hilt spat out thirteen short, thick cylindrical screws.

These were signal receivers that Lu Yao had specifically designed to support the new business.

The Golden Kingdom’s urban infrastructure had likely been damaged, and the network was down.

To ensure orders could be received, Lu Yao planned to cover the area near the store with a “Willing Network.”

The principles behind the Willing Network were similar to those of the ghost phone system in the pet cafe and the ghost bracelet system in the DIY Workshop—all based on Lu Yao’s willpower.

Considering the current state of the world, deploying a large-scale system like the ghost bracelets was impractical and costly. Instead, Lu Yao experimented with compact receivers enhanced for stronger signal transmission.

By placing these receivers around the store and installing a modified computer system inside, customers could use specific tools to contact Lu Yao’s courier store.

Heading out now just to scout the area seemed like a waste of time and energy, so Lu Yao decided to install the signal receivers along the way.

The Dream Fulfillment System reminded her, “I’ve marked the coordinates for the signal receivers on the map. You should also change into more suitable clothing and bring reliable weapons.”

Still dressed in the evening dress she wore to dinner, Lu Yao acknowledged that heading out like this would be inconvenient.

She returned to the hot spring inn and changed into a black hoodie, black pants, and sneakers. Then she retrieved her electric scooter from the parking lot and brought along two short swords crafted on the Floating World Continent.

With everything ready, Lu Yao pushed open the store door and peeked outside.

It was 1:30 a.m. on the shopping street, but in the new store’s world, it was dawn. The dim light of early morning illuminated the nearby streets and shops, making additional lighting unnecessary.

Across from the courier store stood a small supermarket named “Old Neighborhood Convenience Store.”

The store’s facade had been smashed, and from across the road, Lu Yao could see that the shelves inside were empty.

She leaned against the doorframe, glancing left and right, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Taking advantage of the faint light, she quietly slipped out, stood in a corner with her back to the street, and retrieved her scooter from her portable storage.

The Dream Fulfillment System had initially mapped the signal coverage area for the Willing Network as a 10-kilometer radius centered on the courier store. Covering that distance on foot would have been exhausting.

Lu Yao mounted the scooter and followed the route displayed on the system’s map.

The engine’s hum was especially noticeable in the silent streets. In nearby residential buildings, a few curtains swayed slightly.

Lu Yao remained oblivious to the movements.

Unfamiliar with the area, she carefully compared her surroundings to the map, nervous about making a wrong turn.

The Dream Fulfillment System, aware of Lu Yao’s fear of the wandering zombies, scanned the routes ahead. If it detected zombies on certain streets, it would warn her to take an alternative path.

Lu Yao installed four signal receivers along the way. As daylight broke, the devastation of the area became even more apparent. Nearly all the shops along her route had been ransacked, and debris littered the streets inside and out.

Even with the system guiding her away from zombie hotspots, the streets in daylight revealed sights that the night had concealed. Rotting corpses lined the roads, emitting a foul stench. Unfamiliar, massive birds circled overhead, occasionally landing to tear at decaying flesh.

Among them, small crows darted in, stealing pieces of rotten meat. One crow clutched a chunk and quickly fled, dragging a trail of foul-smelling intestines that oozed rancid fluid onto the ground as it ran.

Halfway through, Lu Yao stopped. The intense visual impact and overwhelming stench almost made her retch. She planted both feet firmly on the ground, held onto the scooter handlebars with one hand, and quickly reached into her pocket—or rather, into her portable storage—to retrieve a mask and put it on.

A simple mask couldn’t completely block out the smell. Lu Yao twisted the handlebars, maxed out the power, and focused only on getting away from the suffocating street as quickly as possible.

The Dream Fulfillment System was baffled. “You’ve always been brave and have seen disgusting things before. Why are you so squeamish this time?”

Holding her breath and staying alert to her surroundings, Lu Yao distractedly replied, “I’m not afraid of strange creatures, but sometimes I’m afraid of my own kind.”

The system still didn’t understand.

In this environment, Lu Yao just wanted to finish placing the signal receivers as soon as possible and had no energy to explain in detail.

She placed three more signal receivers at different locations. With five remaining and having already traveled dozens of kilometers, she began worrying about the scooter’s battery. Deciding it was best to head back to the store, she turned around.

On the way back, Lu Yao felt slightly more at ease.

However, just 500 meters from the courier store, near the entrance of Guanyin Community, she encountered a group of zombies and a single living person.

A woman with a black backpack was hiding inside a café at the street corner, pressing her side against a shattered glass door, trying desperately to hold it closed.

The group of zombies outside kept clawing at the shaky door, their exposed bone-like hands pounding relentlessly.

The sound of Lu Yao’s scooter caught the attention of some zombies. The woman inside the café also noticed her, and despair turned to a flicker of complex emotions in her eyes.

Lu Yao exhaled heavily, neither dismounting nor leaving.

The Dream Fulfillment System asked, “Are we helping?”

Lu Yao replied, “I’m almost home. I don’t want to fight.”

The system seemed to reach its own conclusion, attempting to convince her. “They might still be standing and walking, but they no longer have any vital signs. They’re just rotting masses of flesh. You don’t need to feel guilty. Just like when you fought Polaris—hit them hard. Otherwise, that woman is going to die.”

Lu Yao took out a short sword but didn’t unsheathe it. Instead, she used the scabbard to bang loudly on the metal railing by the roadside. The piercing sound immediately drew the zombies’ attention away from the café.

The group of zombies slowly turned and began moving toward the center of the road.

As she continued banging, Lu Yao signaled to the woman in the café to come out.

When the zombies were nearly upon her, Lu Yao stopped banging, started the scooter, and sped off, leaving the shambling zombies far behind.

The woman emerged from the café and ran down the street, stumbling several times and nearly falling. Her movements were clumsy, but she pushed herself forward with all her strength.

Lu Yao caught up to her and stopped ahead. “Where are you going? I can take you.”

The woman stopped, slightly hunched over, one hand protectively clutching her backpack. Her eyes were wary. “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. My companions are waiting for me just past the bridge.”

She wasn’t young, but not too old either—around thirty. Her hair was messy, and she wore an unremarkable gray tracksuit. Her white sneakers were filthy.

Her posture remained guarded, her entire body tense, and her tear-filled eyes seemed on the verge of breaking down if Lu Yao took even one step closer.

Lu Yao nodded, pulling a sample card from her pocket—one of the newly made business tools for the courier store. The design was simple since it was a prototype, but it worked just as well.

Lu Yao raised the card and pointed ahead. “My name is Lu Yao. I run a courier store just outside Guanyin Community. If you ever need help, you can use this card to contact us.”

The woman’s eyes widened slightly, her expression a mix of disbelief and curiosity.

Opening a store in such a place at such a time was indeed unusual.

The card had the store’s business scope and usage instructions printed on the back, so Lu Yao didn’t elaborate further. She simply said, “The store is still under renovation and won’t be fully operational for another three days. Until then, we’re offering trial services, so feel free to use the card whenever you need.”

Lu Yao placed the card by the roadside, got back on her scooter, and drove off. After some distance, she stopped and looked back to see the woman standing there in a daze.

“Hey, they’re catching up!” Lu Yao shouted.

The woman glanced behind her, saw the approaching zombies, and started running again. After a few steps, she quickly turned back, grabbed the card from the ground, and took off running once more.

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️