Ch 196: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

The hospital team suffered heavy losses, losing the leader of the Seventh Squad, Chen Xin, and dozens of team members. Even the members who stayed in the vehicle to guard the supplies died, with three of them killed.

The three men were all skilled, and if they hadn’t had any ulterior motives and stayed in the vehicle, they might have survived. But now, it’s too late to say anything.

The others, still overwhelmed by the joy of having survived, hadn’t fully come to their senses. They were very excited, with An Xia and Xie Yu leading the group, their eyes shining as they watched Lu Yao’s squad walk over.

Li Mi and Xia Huaisheng, who had stayed in the vehicle, also got out and stood behind the crowd. They had been listening to their teammates discuss the dangerous experiences they had in the hospital.

The most discussed topic among the team members was the courier. Li Mi and Xia Huaisheng couldn’t help but think of the flyer they had picked up earlier, and now hearing about how Lu Yao had swept through the entire place with a sword, leading them to break out of the zombie horde, both of them found it hard to imagine that scene. It sounded too exaggerated.

They quietly listened without joining the conversation.

When Xia Huaisheng heard that Chen Xin had been bitten and didn’t make it out with the main group, he glanced at Li Mi.

Li Mi noticed his gaze, blinked, and lowered her head.

She knew what Xia Huaisheng wanted to say, but even if Chen Xin was dead, she couldn’t find any relief.

Because there would still be Li Xin, Zhang Xin, Zhao Xin. From the moment the zombie virus arrived, her life had already been completely ruined.

Lu Yao, being pushed forward by Lu Mingxiao, walked toward the road, meeting everyone’s gaze. She asked proactively, “What’s the matter? Is there something else?”

A few excited young team members couldn’t contain their emotions and jogged up to talk to him.

“I can’t believe we’re still alive! You’re really amazing!”

“We really thought we were going to die this time, with so many zombies and mutated ones. Thank you so much!”

“Are all couriers this powerful? Why did you think of opening a store? If you joined the base, you’d have great prospects.”

As they chatted, the team members began to reveal their selfish motives.

Last time, An Xia and Xie Yu had invited Tina and Lu Yao, but they hadn’t been this enthusiastic.

Back then, they only thought Tina was impressively strong, but now they felt that all courier were monsters.

They couldn’t understand where these people came from, but if they could recruit them to the base, it would be so reliable and reassuring.

Compared to the excited and somewhat incoherent team members, Lu Yao’s reaction was calm.

Lu Yao: “We’re happy to have successfully completed the task.”

It sounded too formal, even a bit off-putting.

Xie Yu pushed An Xia forward, smiling and expressing gratitude: “In any case, we really appreciate you.”

An Xia still felt somewhat awkward. Compared to the previous time when she had underestimated the store owner as an ordinary person, she didn’t want to admit that someone could be this absurdly strong.

She was also a girl, appeared about the same age, and didn’t depend on the base or any organization.

An Xia awkwardly thanked her, and Lu Yao didn’t say anything.

The mission was over, the transaction was complete, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, they could leave.

An Xia hoped that the base wasn’t within Gaosheng City’s jurisdiction, with fewer chances for future encounters. Lu Yao was also tired and didn’t have much energy to continue dealing with them.

An Xia looked down at the knife sheath on Lu Yao’s leg: “Your weapon is very special, not a regular fruit knife.”

Lu Yao, preparing to ride her bike, didn’t catch the meaning: “Huh?”

An Xia looked up: “Could you tell us where you got this knife from?”

Xie Yu’s face instantly changed, and he tugged hard at An Xia’s clothes from behind.

An Xia impatiently pulled away and took a step forward, standing in front of Lu Yao: “Our base has a lot of people. In order to maintain basic survival, the search teams have to go out every day to find supplies, often encountering dangerous situations like today. If our team members could be equipped with such good weapons, our survival rate would greatly improve. I apologize if this makes you uncomfortable. Let me apologize first.”

Dream Fulfillment System: “What does she mean? Why do I feel annoyed even though I didn’t hear any bad language?”

The system had gained some insight into the ways of humans in MingshiCity, but human thought, emotions, and expressions were far too complex for it to fully grasp the art of language.

The system didn’t understand, but everyone else did.

Before Lu Yao could respond, Lu Mingxiao interjected directly, “There’s no need to ask about her knife. The tools she can use aren’t something everyone can use.”

An Xia had never quite understood why Lu Mingxiao suddenly started hanging out with the shopkeeper.

At the base, the instructor was a lone wolf. Outside of training, unless he sought someone out himself, he was practically invisible.

Unlike most struggling survivors in the base, the instructor was proud, aloof, and powerful. He was highly respected but showed no interest in women, power, or fame, like a hollow man.

But one day, this hollow man seemed to have developed a heart, as though a dried-up river had been nourished by mountain springs. Tender green grass and small flowers began to sprout along its banks, leaving those who had gazed at the river yet failed to summon its spring feeling inevitably resentful.

An Xia’s carefully repressed emotions erupted in an instant. Facing Lu Mingxiao’s calm gaze, she forcibly suppressed them again. “Instructor, I’m only thinking about the search team. If every member could have such sharp and compact weapons, missions would be much easier. Now that mutant zombies have appeared, we must find ways to upgrade our equipment. Otherwise, future expeditions will become even more dangerous.”

Zhao Ye finally understood what An Xia was getting at and immediately retorted, “If you want to upgrade your equipment, figure it out yourself! Why are you bothering the shopkeeper? Mutant zombies weren’t her doing, so stop acting like it’s our fault for not giving you gear. Besides, this set of blades was custom-forged by Sister Qiu Yu and gifted to the shopkeeper. We employees made our weapons at our own expense—there are no ‘supply points’ involved.”

The little sparrow demon bluntly offered a simple, clear interpretation of human linguistic artistry.

The system finally understood after hearing Zhao Ye’s explanation.

The search team members were indeed tempted when An Xia first brought up the concept of supply points for the knives.

Had she not mentioned it, they wouldn’t have even considered the idea.

But since it was made clear that the blades were personally forged, everyone, though curious about how such sharp edges were crafted, refrained from pursuing the matter further out of common courtesy.

To most people, Lu Yao was more than someone who completed a few delivery orders; she was someone who had saved their lives.

While they had placed orders with her little shop, the team members understood that, even in peacetime, the few grams of gold they paid would never equate to the value of a life.

Lu Yao noticed An Xia’s face turning pale, her embarrassment evident even under the night sky after her ploy was exposed. Deciding not to escalate the matter, she stepped around them and headed toward her electric scooter.

An Xia wanted to speak but was stopped by Xie Yu.

She stomped her foot in frustration, biting her lip and fuming silently.

Lu Yao walked to her scooter, waved at Lu Mingxiao and Zhao Ye, and politely bid the search team farewell. “We’re heading off. Safe travels to you all.”

The group noticed Lu Mingxiao also crossing the street, and a wave of panic swept through them.

Back when they were trapped in the hospital, the instructor had indeed said something along the lines of “Let’s go together,” but given the dire circumstances, no one had taken it seriously.

Now, realizing the instructor truly intended to leave, they were utterly flustered.

An Xia’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Instructor, are you going with her?”

Lu Mingxiao didn’t waste words, responding with a simple “Yes.”

Lu Mingxiao had never been good at interacting with people and usually found it troublesome.

He had been waiting at the Hope Base for Lu Yao, but unfortunately, her shop wasn’t located there.

Lu Mingxiao’s sole purpose for leaving the base had been to find Lu Yao. When he explained his intentions to the logistics director, he was forcibly assigned several truckloads of people and tasked with leading a team to search for supplies.

Lu Mingxiao knew all too well that some humans only hear what they want to hear, so he saw no point in wasting his breath.

After all, when he decided to leave, no one could stop him.

Lu Yao had realized this long ago and often pushed him to express his thoughts clearly. Back then, with her supervision, the tension between Lu Mingxiao and others (albeit one-sided) had briefly eased. Now, things had simply reverted to their original state.

The search team was devastated, unable to accept the reality of the instructor leaving. Even Li Mi and Xia Huaisong, hiding at the back of the group, were stunned.

If the instructor left, who would train the new recruits?

Who would organize and lead the team to important but zombie-infested resource points?

An Xia shook off Xie Yu’s grip, sprinted forward recklessly, ignoring both decorum and safety, and shouted, “You’re abandoning us for her? Do you even have a sense of responsibility?”

Lu Mingxiao turned back, meeting her frustrated and disappointed gaze, and looked slightly puzzled. “Don’t get it wrong. I never had any…”

A soft hand reached out to him, and Lu Mingxiao turned. His deep crimson eyes, like still wells, rippled faintly, as though raindrops had fallen into a quiet lake.

Lu Yao, with a faint smile, gently shook her head and pulled him onto the scooter’s back seat. As they were about to leave, she turned to face the group with a triumphant smirk. “This guy fits my taste perfectly. I’m taking him home as my boyfriend. You’ll have to find a new instructor.”

Vroom—vroom—

The two electric scooters hummed to life and slowly rolled into the night, vanishing from sight like the wind.

The instructor was truly gone.

At night, zombies were more active. Along the way, waves of zombies occasionally appeared. To stay safe, Lu Yao led Zhao Ye on a detour, taking twenty minutes to return from Wanyi Hospital to Guanyin Road.

At the shop, Harold, Qiu Yu, Si Jin, and Tina were already back. They hadn’t left yet, sitting neatly under the eaves, waiting for Lu Yao’s return.

The small shop’s entrance was lit, and next door, some college students were working under its light to install a door.

They had found brand-new materials earlier that day in an abandoned building supplies market. Unlike other resource points, the market wasn’t a top choice for most survivors, leaving its warehouses stocked with useful materials.

Tang Anqi’s team had decided to replace their broken glass door with a new one and install a rolling shutter for added security.

They had picked out the right materials in the warehouse, packed up the tools and parts they needed, and placed an order with the courier shop to transport the items to Guanyin Road.

However, the four students were inexperienced and had no internet to consult. They had been fumbling their way through the installation all day and were still fastening screws on the rolling shutter.

As Lu Yao passed by with Lu Mingxiao and Zhao Ye, she greeted them.

The college students curiously eyed the silver-haired young man beside the shopkeeper.

Lu Yao introduced, “This is… the shop’s new courier.”

Jiang Yifei blurted out, “Shopkeeper, do the couriers at your shop need to be good-looking first?”

Lu Yao laughed. “Of course! Aren’t handsome guys and pretty girls easy on the eyes?”

Under the eaves, the four young dragons narrowed their eyes in unison and said simultaneously, “That man looks a little familiar.”

Qiu Yu turned her head in surprise. “You think so too?”

Si Jin replied, “His hair and eyes look a lot like someone who died not too long ago.”

Tina nodded. “But this man is much younger than Carlos.”

Qiu Yu was astonished. “Who’s Carlos?”

Tina asked, “Who did you think he looked like?”

Qiu Yu hesitated. “A few months ago, the Demon Sovereign Zeyuan died in the war against the evil god. His appearance isn’t quite the same, but those eyes and that earring are identical to the Demon Sovereign’s.”

Harold interjected, “Every time Lu Yao opens a new shop, there’s always a silver-haired, red-eyed man involved. I’m used to it by now.”

High Priest Carlos had a mature, striking beauty, while Demon Sovereign Zeyuan exuded heroic charisma. Lu Mingxiao, however, appeared younger than either of them. His tousled hair brushed his brows, and his delicate, handsome features made it hard to discern his gender at first glance. His aura hovered between youthful charm and refined elegance, but there was a distant, aloof air that kept others at bay.

Yet, when walking beside Lu Yao, he didn’t seem all that different from Song Xu and Tang Anqi, or Zhou Mingyang and Jiang Yifei—just another pair.

Zhao Ye, who had been silently reflecting on his earlier mistake of ignoring the shopkeeper’s instructions and falling into a trap, perked up when he heard the others discussing how familiar Lu Mingxiao looked. He immediately joined the conversation. “I think he might be the reincarnation of the Demon Sovereign. After all, the shopkeeper even said she wanted him to—”

“Mm-mmph!”

Zhao Ye couldn’t finish the most shocking part of his theory because Lu Yao had snuck up behind him and clamped her hand over his mouth. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, “Little birdies who gossip might lose their tongues.”

Zhao Ye’s mind immediately flashed to a dish he’d seen online a few days ago—something called “sparrow tongue.” He froze in terror and quickly begged for mercy. “Mm-mmm (I’m sorry, shopkeeper)—mm-mm-mm (please don’t take my tongue)!”

Satisfied, Lu Yao let him go and ushered everyone back into the shop. Before closing up for the day, it was time to go over the day’s work.

Excluding the dozen or so delivery orders Lu Yao handled during her final trip to the hospital, the four little dragons had completed a total of 23 orders throughout the day, along with two additional business card delivery tasks.

In total, they had sold 59 business cards that day.

While Lu Yao was out on errands, Zhang Shulan, a resident from the complex across the street, stopped by the shop to pick up a few cards. It seemed she had just returned from an outing and decided to stock up on her way home.

Considering the current state of the city, the fact that the shop had only been open for two days and was already handling over 20 orders daily was quite impressive.

Lu Yao felt optimistic about the shop’s performance so far. However, given the system’s task deadline, the current order volume wasn’t sufficient to meet her goals.

Lu Yao reflected, “I made two trips to areas more than 10 kilometers away today. Those streets were much quieter than Guanyin Road. In areas over 30 kilometers away, near the outskirts, the number of zombies drops significantly. There are some residents in those areas, but they seem to go out very little and probably don’t have much demand for delivery services. My initial plan has flaws. For the long-term development of the shop, I’ll need to revise it and come up with a new strategy.”

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