Ch 181: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Zhao Xiaopeng and Feng Bing moved sluggishly, their energy completely drained after being trapped in the warehouse for a day and a night. They dragged their backpacks toward the electric scooter with great difficulty, as if every step required their last bit of strength.

Lu Yao couldn’t stand watching them struggle, so she walked over, grabbed their backpacks, and carried them to the scooter herself. With the clients rescued, she was eager to complete her first two delivery orders and return quickly.

Meanwhile, Da Liu’s group of five sat on the ground in a daze, their gazes tinged with envy as they watched Zhao Xiaopeng and Feng Bing. Like them, they had been trapped in the warehouse, terrified and desperate to escape. Now they faced a long, perilous trek of several kilometers home, dreading the possibility of encountering zombies along the way.

Jiang Yifei and Zhou Mingyang, the first two to exit the warehouse, had been petrified earlier. Hiding behind Song Xu, they finally mustered the courage to approach Lu Yao. Standing in front of her, they spoke in unison, “Thank you so much for saving us.”

Lu Yao glanced at them, then at Song Xu, who was walking over. She shook her head indifferently. “No need to thank me.”

Song Xu took a step closer. “Really, we’re so grateful. You saved Anqi and me last time, and now you’ve saved our friends.”

Jiang Yifei’s eyes widened in realization. “Ah, so it was this lady who saved you last time? Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”

Song Xu replied helplessly, “You two were busy saying, ‘I was so scared!’ over and over. I couldn’t get a word in.”

Jiang Yifei chuckled awkwardly. “Can you blame us? Escaping death is exhilarating! I thought we were done for. That zombie was so close, I could smell its foul breath. But then, in the next second, a sword tip pierced through its mouth, and half its head was sliced off.”

Having spent some time in the dark warehouse, their eyes had adjusted to the dimness. Even though their flashlight had fallen to the ground, they could still vaguely make out what had happened.

Zhou Mingyang, more thoughtful, interrupted Jiang Yifei and looked at Lu Yao. “If I may ask, what exactly does ‘courier service’ mean?”

Jiang Yifei chimed in, “Yes, yes! I wanted to ask that too.”

Lu Yao pulled out a few flyers from her bag and handed one to each of them. “We’re running a promotion for our opening: all orders are half-price for three days.”

Zhou Mingyang and Jiang Yifei took the flyers and read them carefully. Song Xu also grabbed one.

The flyer was more detailed than the business cards. Jiang Yifei quickly finished reading it and began rummaging through her belongings.

Zhou Mingyang frowned. “What are you doing?”

Jiang Yifei replied, “Didn’t my bracelet break? I might as well trade it for some business cards since I can’t wear it anymore.”

Zhou Mingyang reminded her, “You left it at home because you didn’t want to carry it.”

Jiang Yifei suddenly remembered. The bracelet, which she used to like a lot, was tucked under her pillow at home because it was broken and she was worried about losing it during their trip. She sighed with regret. “Everyone says gold is useless now, but who knew it could be this useful? If I’d known, I would’ve brought it.”

Lu Yao said, “If you decide to buy, you can leave an address. Our couriers can deliver it later for an additional 0.2 grams of gold as a delivery fee.”

Jiang Yifei brightened up. “I want to buy it! My bracelet was originally 18 grams, and even with wear and tear, it’s at least 15 grams now. I’ll take ten cards to start.”

Zhou Mingyang hesitated. “Isn’t that a bit much?”

Jiang Yifei pulled him aside and whispered, “It’s half-price for the opening! Why not stock up? If we hadn’t encountered this courier today, we’d be dead by now.”

She lowered her voice further. “Besides, gold is useless now. You can’t eat it or use it. Better to trade it for something that might save your life.”

Lu Yao overheard and said calmly, “Our shop specializes in errands and deliveries, not rescue missions.”

Jiang Yifei grinned at Lu Yao. “You might not officially take rescue orders, but you wouldn’t ignore someone in need either.”

Unfazed, Lu Yao pulled out a black-and-gold special courier card and a pen. “The promotion only applies to the first card. Any additional cards are full price. Please confirm the quantity and provide a delivery address.”

The courier cards were black with gold edges. The back had spaces for the buyer to fill in their name, address, and the number of goods purchased.

The courier business cards were currently the only tangible product offered by the errands shop, as well as the only item eligible for home delivery service.

Jiang Yifei eagerly took the card and filled in her name, address, and the quantity of ten cards in the respective fields.

Lu Yao took it and placed it in her bag, kindly reminding her, “Our courier will deliver it within an hour. Please prepare the payment in advance. It’s best not to default on the order.”

She didn’t elaborate on the consequences of a failed payment.

Jiang Yifei nodded quickly. “We’ll head back and wait right away.”

Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaopeng and Feng Bing had mostly recovered after resting for a few minutes.

As Lu Yao moved toward the electric scooter, Da Liu jogged over to her. “Excuse me.”

Lu Yao turned to him. “Yes?”

Da Liu asked, “Could we also have a few flyers?”

Lu Yao pulled out a stack from her bag and handed it to him.

Another man stepped forward from behind Da Liu. “I’d like to place an order too.”

Someone pulled him back and whispered, “Do you even have gold?”

The man shook his head and pointed at Jiang Yifei. “We can do what she did. Place an order for the cards to be delivered home, and then have my wife pay and write the details. The courier can come back and pick us up.”

Though this method was slightly more complicated and required an additional delivery fee, it was still preferable to trekking five kilometers through zombie-infested ruins in their current exhausted state. Given the option, they would choose the former without hesitation.

It was peculiar, they thought. This courier only wanted gold—no food or water.

Lu Yao turned to Da Liu. “Count how many people want to order. Those interested, come forward for a card.”

The five men quickly gathered around, including the one who had cursed at her earlier. He lingered at the back, hesitant and cautious.

He expected Lu Yao to take the opportunity to humiliate him further, but she simply handed him a card and walked away.

The man stood frozen, lowering his head as his face flushed with embarrassment.

Da Liu urged him to fill out the card quickly. Once all the orders were written, they handed them collectively to Lu Yao.

With everything settled, Lu Yao got on the scooter, carrying Zhao Xiaopeng and Feng Bing away.

…

At Guanyin Community, Cao Xiuhong and her husband were anxiously waiting by the window. It had been nearly an hour since the young courier had left, and there hadn’t been any news. They felt restless but could do nothing except stare out the window.

The old man, tired of standing, waved his hand and moved to sit on the sofa, lightly patting his stiff knees.

Cao Xiuhong glanced at him, hesitating to speak.

The old man reassured her, “Don’t worry. Xiaopeng will come back.”

At that moment, the faint hum of an engine reached their ears.

The sound was unmistakable—the new young courier downstairs was the only one with a vehicle. That noise had to be her electric scooter.

Cao Xiuhong leaned out the window and saw the black two-wheeler approaching. She got so excited she almost strained her back. “Old man, quick! They’re back, they’re back!”

In apartment 703, Ren Juan also saw the scene. Overcome with excitement, she jumped and cheered inside her home before rushing to the window. Seeing her husband sitting at the back of the scooter, she threw open the door and dashed toward the entrance, completely forgetting about the danger of zombies.

Lu Yao stopped the scooter at the gate of Guanyin Community. Looking up, she noticed a woman running toward the gate, with two zombies trailing behind her.

Feng Bing’s face turned pale as a sheet as he shouted, “Juan’er, run faster! There’s something behind you!”

Ren Juan’s expression shifted, and she quickened her pace, not daring to look back.

Lu Yao raised her air rifle, aimed behind Ren Juan, and fired. The air bullet zipped past the woman’s wind-blown hair, hitting the zombie squarely in the forehead.

Startled, Ren Juan froze, crouching down instinctively. Lu Yao seized the opportunity, firing another shot to take down the second zombie.

The two muffled sounds of impact broke the tense silence. Ren Juan glanced back and immediately felt her legs give out.

Feng Bing, now seemingly energized, ran over to support his wife.

Zhao Xiaopeng, carrying his belongings, quickly made his way toward the residential complex, with Lu Yao following behind.

…

At the door of apartment 705 in Building Four, Zhao Xiaopeng threw himself into the arms of his grandparents, sobbing loudly. Alarmed, Cao Xiuhong and her husband initially thought something had gone wrong. After questioning him, they learned he had been trapped by zombies in a warehouse and narrowly escaped thanks to the timely arrival of the courier.

Meanwhile, Feng Bing and Ren Juan, leaning on each other for support, made their way upstairs. Upon seeing Lu Yao at the door of 705, Ren Juan hurried over to express her gratitude.

Several other residents opened their doors after hearing the commotion, hoping to see their own family members return. Instead, they only saw Zhao Xiaopeng and Feng Bing, which led to a chorus of disappointment and chatter.

Jin Hua stood in the hallway, her expression particularly complicated. She had harbored a faint hope: if Cao Xiuhong’s grandson and Ren Juan’s husband could return, then her husband Da Liu should also have made it back. But the reality was harsh—only those two had come home.

Lu Yao pulled five delivery cards from her bag and handed them to the family members of the remaining five individuals, explaining the situation clearly.

Feng Bing and Zhao Xiaopeng served as living proof that the courier shop was legitimate and capable of pulling people out from the zombie-infested chaos.

The five families, now reassured, eagerly discussed the next steps with Lu Yao. They quickly retrieved gold jewelry from their homes and placed their orders.

Each delivery card incurred a 0.2-gram gold delivery fee. Five cards amounted to 1 gram of gold.

Each family also placed an additional order for the runner service, purchasing both the cards and the delivery at a discounted price of 1 gram of gold per person. For the five families, the total came to 5 grams of gold.

Lu Yao collected the filled-out delivery cards, turned, and headed downstairs. She realized that in just this one round on the seventh floor, she had taken on seven orders and collected a total of 8 grams of gold.

System Notification:

Successfully completed one courier task within 24 hours. Task complete!

Reward: +100 Popularity Points, 1 World Truth Fragment.

New Task: “The reputation of Lu Yao’s Courier Shop has begun to grow. Please complete 300 courier tasks within seven days. Rewards: +30,000 Popularity Points, 3 World Truth Fragments.”

The system’s notifications appeared promptly, along with a new task.

Three hundred tasks in seven days seemed challenging but not impossible. However, the special circumstances of this world made it difficult. Within a 10-kilometer radius of Guanyin Community, the population density was far from that of a normal city. The demand for courier services might also be low.

As a new business, the shop’s recognition and credibility among potential clients were practically nonexistent.

Then there was the efficiency problem. While there were no typical rush hours in Gaosheng City to slow them down, the runners might encounter zombie hordes or human-made roadblocks at any time.

For example, completing the two recent tasks—accepting the orders, locating the targets, and safely delivering them—had taken nearly an hour.

Boosting efficiency drastically in the short term wasn’t feasible. The simplest solution was to increase the number of orders and hire more couriers.

Lu Yao was mentally calculating the possibilities when she received a message from Zhang Shu.

Wearing the runner’s dedicated communication device—a gadget powered by her willpower—Lu Yao was able to communicate in real-time with the shop and other couriers within the coverage of the Willing Network.

The principle behind the willpowered communicator is similar to the holographic communicators of Mingshi City. During her visit there, Lu Yao not only brought back the system but also witnessed many intriguing technologies and innovations.

Zhang Shu’s voice came through the communicator: “Boss, Harold is near the supermarket. I’ve assigned all five pickup orders to him. But there’s a new order that requires your attention.”

Lu Yao: “Harold’s taking the electric scooter to pick up five people?”

Zhang Shu: “He said he could manage.”

Knowing Zhang Shu couldn’t do much about Harold’s insistence, Lu Yao replied, “Alright, I’ll ask him later. Send me the details of the new order.”

The new task was to pick up medication from a nearby clinic for a customer named Zhang Shulan, with the delivery address located in the neighborhood across from the courier shop.

Lu Yao decided to have the system check the map for the best route so she could deliver Jiang Yifei’s order of name cards along the way.

This delivery was originally assigned to Harold, but since he was busy with the pickups, Lu Yao would handle it instead. Following the order assignment rules, Jiang Yifei’s task had priority as it was placed earlier, so delivering it first made sense.

Fortunately, it was just a quick delivery and wouldn’t take much time.

Lu Yao hopped on her scooter and contacted Harold.

Lu Yao: “How’s it going?”

After a brief pause, Harold responded, “I’ve picked them up and just left the back of the supermarket.”

Lu Yao, surprised: “All five of them together?”

Harold: “Yeah. By the time I got there, they were surrounded by zombies. Two of them almost got bitten. If I didn’t take them all at once, they probably wouldn’t have survived for me to make a second trip.”

Lu Yao: “… Could you phrase that a little more gently?”

Harold: “They’re busy crying in relief right now, celebrating their narrow escape. They can’t hear me.”

Lu Yao: “… So, you’re carrying five people on a scooter?”

The communicator fell silent.

Lu Yao: “Hey? Say something.”

Harold reluctantly replied, his tone less confident than before: “Ah, well, let me drop them off first, and we’ll talk later.”

Lu Yao frowned, a bit worried that Harold might resort to using magic. However, considering the black dragon’s capabilities, even if he did, it was unlikely to be detected.

…

Ping’an Community

Song Xu and Tang Anqi lived on the third floor, next door to Zhou Mingyang and Jiang Yifei.

Compared to Guanyin Community, Ping’an Community was much older and less maintained. Most of the original residents were elderly. When the outbreak happened, many couldn’t escape, leaving large sections of the community empty.

Song Xu and Tang Anqi had initially fled to this area and found it relatively safer. The low occupancy and unassuming appearance of the buildings meant fewer conflicts and trouble, so they decided to settle there.

Upon returning, Song Xu immediately sought out Tang Anqi to tell her about his encounter with Lu Yao.

Tang Anqi wasn’t feeling well and had been lying on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, too uneasy to sleep soundly. When Song Xu mentioned that Lu Yao was running errands and had saved Jiang Yifei and Zhou Mingyang in passing, then added that Jiang Yifei had bought name cards from Lu Yao and expected a delivery soon, Tang Anqi sat up abruptly.

Tang Anqi: “Did Lu Yao say when she’s coming?”

Song Xu: “She said within an hour. Jiang Yifei went back to get her gold bracelet for the payment. Why?”

Tang Anqi looked at Song Xu incredulously: “It never occurred to you that we should stock up on a few too?”

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️

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