Ch 187: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

Si Jin and Qiu Yu also received a notification from the courier system, instructing them to accompany Harold to Ping’an Community.

Upon reviewing the orders, Harold noticed that both were placed by the same clients, Tang Anqi and Jiang Yifei. The delivery addresses were identical, and the requests were nearly the same.

The first order was to clear zombies, and the second was a routine errand to transport luggage.

Qiu Yu asked, “How do we deal with zombies?”

Harold glanced at Qiu Yu, offering no response.

Qiu Yu, puzzled, turned to Si Jin for help.

Si Jin barely held back an eye-roll, cleared his throat, and asked respectfully, “Harold, esteemed senior, could you please explain how to clear zombies?”

Harold shot a glance at Si Jin and raised his chin slightly. In a flat tone, he said, “The simplest method is to aim for the head. Those creatures may look intimidating, but they’re fragile—barely a touch, and they fall apart.”

Si Jin nodded thoughtfully. “I see. As expected of a senior, your experience is unmatched.”

With a steady stream of flattery from Si Jin, and Qiu Yu chiming in agreement, Harold basked in the praise, thoroughly enjoying his role as the experienced leader.

When they arrived at the designated location, the trio stopped on a narrow street outside Ping’an Community. The path ahead was crowded with zombies.

Ragged, rotting corpses, reeking of decay, clogged the street, blocking Harold and his team from reaching the clients’ residence.

Qiu Yu sensed the surrounding energies and pointed toward a low wall lining the pedestrian walkway. “It’s not just the street; there are zombies behind that wall as well.”

Si Jin studied the marked route on his work badge for a moment. “All four of the red dots are inside the wall. It seems our clients live here.”

Before proceeding further, Qiu Yu readied her weapon—a slender, needle-tipped black sword wrapped in a few strands of red thread at the hilt. Swinging the thread in a smooth arc, she narrowed her eyes and aimed at the approaching horde. “I don’t like getting dirty. I’ll handle it from here.”

Si Jin, meanwhile, pulled out a pair of black leather gloves from his pocket. He didn’t care about cleanliness but wasn’t keen on dirtying his hands either. As he slipped on the gloves, he said, “Let’s make it a contest. One move each, see who clears the most.”

Qiu Yu, unable to resist the challenge—especially from another dragon of comparable strength—was eager to test her skills. She nodded in agreement.

Harold, however, sighed heavily and shook his head. “Didn’t I just teach you how to think like couriers? It’s like talking to a wall. How are you supposed to be good at this job?”

Si Jin bristled at Harold’s tone. “What now?”

Harold, unfazed by Si Jin’s impatience, retained his air of superiority. As the senior courier, he magnanimously overlooked the rookie’s lack of respect and began the lesson. “The clients live here, and their first order was to clear zombies. Judging by the situation, these zombies are probably the target. But we haven’t met the clients yet, and we certainly haven’t been paid. How can you start the job without sealing the deal?”

Both Si Jin and Qiu Yu paused, realizing their oversight. For Si Jin, who was wealthy, and Qiu Yu, who lacked much knowledge of human customs, the concept of charging for such tasks hadn’t crossed their minds.

Harold, having spent considerable time with Lu Yao, had experienced lean days at the start of her ventures. Even as a mighty and wealthy dragon, he had internalized the importance of “earning” through exposure to her diligence.

Qiu Yu asked, “How do we even reach the clients with so many zombies in the way?”

Feeling constrained by Lu Yao’s instructions to act with restraint, Qiu Yu hesitated.

Harold pointed at the wall. “Climb over it. Meet the clients first, settle the payment, and then get to work. Don’t tell me you can’t even climb a wall without magic or abilities.”

Even without using any special abilities, their natural physical prowess far surpassed that of ordinary humans in this world. Scaling a wall or climbing a building posed no challenge.

Inside Ping’an Community, Song Xu lay on the hallway floor, peering cautiously outside.

Tang Anqi asked softly from the doorway, “Are they here yet?”

Last night, a sudden horde of zombies surrounded the community, completely overtaking the first and second floors.

Zombies were typically mindless creatures driven only by the instinct to consume human flesh. They lacked intelligence, reproductive capabilities, and weren’t even truly alive—they were merely human corpses controlled by a virus, hollow shells that could still move.

However, this particular horde seemed unusual. They silently converged on Ping’an Community, giving the first-floor residents no chance to escape.

The neighborhood was old, with flimsy doors and windows. Many of the ground-floor residents were elderly or physically impaired, leaving them no chance to flee when the zombies came.

Throughout the night, anguished screams echoed from below. Shockingly, some of the zombies began climbing higher, using their fellow undead as stepping stones.

The horde labored through the night, and by dawn, several zombies had indeed managed to reach the second floor.

Tang Anqi and her group of four didn’t dare close their eyes all night, constantly on alert but unable to open the door for fear of attracting the zombies with their scent.

Throughout the night, they tried multiple times to place an order with the courier service, but the shop was closed, and the business cards wouldn’t allow any writing.

The four endured until morning. By then, a few zombies had already made it to the second floor, prompting them to prepare for a desperate climb higher, taking some supplies with them to seek refuge on the upper floors.

Unfortunately, the fourth-floor residents had already barricaded the stairwell with tables and ropes, both to keep zombies out and to block lower-floor residents from climbing up.

Left with no choice, Tang Anqi’s group retreated to their original spot on the third floor.

This unit only had two households left—Tang Anqi’s family and Jiang Yifei’s. Jiang Yifei and Zhou Mingyang had already moved their belongings to Tang Anqi’s apartment, so all four were now squeezed into one space.

Luckily, by morning, the cards finally allowed writing again. They hastily placed their orders and waited anxiously for the couriers to arrive.

Song Xu squinted down the road and spotted three people on electric scooters, but he couldn’t be sure they were couriers.

“There are three people on scooters downstairs, but I don’t see Lu Yao.”

Tang Anqi hurried over and crouched beside him, leaning over the railing to look. “The scooters are the same as Lu Yao’s—they should be couriers. Luckily, we placed several orders, so they sent more people.”

Song Xu remarked, “Is that guy with the ponytail a man? And what’s with the blond one?”

Tang Anqi replied, “That’s not the point. They’re just standing there, not moving. Maybe they’re scared by all the zombies.”

Song Xu couldn’t help but think of Lu Yao. “If it were Lu Yao, maybe she’d know what to do.”

Tang Anqi grew more anxious. “What should we do? If the couriers can’t handle this, we’re doomed.”

Jiang Yifei and Zhou Mingyang, noticing Tang Anqi was missing, came out to find her. Hearing about the couriers, they crouched by the railing to look as well.

Zhou Mingyang muttered, “Are all three couriers?”

Jiang Yifei quipped, “Do couriers have to look good too?”

Zhou Mingyang added, “They all look unreliable. Why didn’t Lu Yao come?”

As the four quietly griped, the three people below finally moved.

They appeared to be backing up their scooters, setting their feet on the ground as if preparing to leave, which panicked Tang Anqi’s group.

However, the three merely repositioned their scooters under a tree in an open space, locked them up, and began walking toward the complex across the street.

Song Xu quickly shifted his tone, “The couriers seem to be pretty capable, no wonder they’re colleagues of Lu Yao.”

Tang Anqi fretted, “How are they going to get in?”

Zhou Mingyang joined in, equally worried, “They don’t even seem to have weapons. Lu Yao at least had guns and knives last time…”

Before they could finish their complaints, the trio below sprang into action. They climbed the roadside trees with ease, vaulted onto the wall, and ran swiftly along its edge. Reaching the nearest residential building, they leapt upwards, gripping the second-floor balcony’s edge.

With effortless agility, Harold swung himself onto the corridor, followed by Si Jin and Qiu Yu. The three moved deftly, avoiding zombies along the way, heading directly for the staircase to the third floor.

However, they were in a different section of the building, separated from Tang Anqi’s by a few units. The only connections between the three sections were at the ground and top floors.

Disappearing into the stairwell, they momentarily vanished from Tang Anqi’s line of sight. She assumed they’d take the top floor to cross over, but within moments, the high-ponytail youth was seen balancing on the concrete railing, leaning out into the air. He launched his two companions across the gap between the buildings, a distance of at least four meters, landing them on the parallel corridor.

Song Xu’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What the—!”

Zhou Mingyang adjusted his glasses, equally astonished. “That… actually worked?”

Next, Harold stood on the railing and leapt across himself, grabbing the concrete edge with one hand and pulling himself up in mere moments. His “superhuman strength” left the college students in awe.

For the second round, Si Jin took over as the “pitcher,” single-handedly tossing his two companions onto Tang Anqi’s section of the building, before leaping over himself.

Landing smoothly, Harold spoke up, “We’re couriers from the Courier Shop. Which one of you placed the order?”

Tang Anqi was the first to react, raising her hand excitedly. “It was us! It was us!”

Then, unable to resist, she confirmed, “You’re really couriers?”

The trio was too young and too impossibly attractive to fit the image of typical couriers. Even before the zombie outbreak, with their looks, they would’ve been scouted by talent agents just walking down the street.

Harold pulled out his badge from around his neck to show her. On the front was his photo, and on the back, a slim mini-screen displayed basic order details and the route. While usually hidden from customers, the badge was proof of their legitimacy.

The badge bore no names, only numbers. Lu Yao was Courier #1, Harold was #2, Qiu Yu #3, Zhao Ye #4, Si Jin #5, and Tina #6.

“I’m Harold,” he introduced himself. “You’ve met Lu Yao, right? She’s the shop owner, and also my elder sister.”

Lu Yao had taught Harold a few tricks to quickly gain clients’ trust. These customers clearly had several of Lu Yao’s business cards, which she must have personally handed out. Given they’d placed multiple orders at once, it was obvious they trusted her.

By mentioning his connection to Lu Yao, Harold could establish immediate credibility. This simple strategy, paired with their service, was key to solidifying trust.

Satisfied he’d closed the gap, Harold moved to the next step, pulling out the gold-devouring pixiu figurine from his bag. “Let’s settle the payment first.”

Tang Anqi was still processing his words. Harold and Lu Yao didn’t resemble siblings at all—not in appearance, nor demeanor—making her a little skeptical. But the badge and pixiu looked exactly like Lu Yao’s, rare items she hadn’t seen elsewhere, suggesting they were custom tools.

Before she could dwell further, Qiu Yu leaned over eagerly. “Can I handle this? The pixiu from Jiujue sect is so cute—I want to try collecting payment!”

Song Xu whispered to Tang Anqi, “A bit unlucky, huh? Why couldn’t the boss come? These new couriers don’t seem very reliable.”

The three dragons all had exceptional hearing. Though they hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, the proximity made it impossible not to catch every word.

Harold immediately glared at Qiu Yu in annoyance, silently blaming her: See? Now they think we’re unreliable.

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️

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