No way?! Hold on?!!
Wang Er was utterly shocked. His eyes went wide as he stared at the new innkeeper in horror.
And the new innkeeper stood there, looking at him with cold indifference—without the slightest hint that she was joking!
Wu Guanyue certainly wasn’t joking… She was being completely serious!
You see, in a business simulation game like this, there were a great many tasks for the player to handle at the establishment—preparing food, receiving customers, cleaning, and so on. These were all important parts of the game, but they were also repetitive actions.
Without a hiring system to free the player’s hands and let them pursue more interesting explorations, the game wouldn’t have much appeal at all.
For example, right now… In an immortal-cultivation world, there was absolutely nothing appealing about making nothing but baked flatbread!
So the solution was obvious—delegate all the repetitive tasks at the inn to the shop assistant, Wang Er, while the player herself went exploring the overworld!
There was only one problem: What kind of worker exactly was Wang Er? What sorts of tasks could he handle?
Therefore, Wu Guanyue decided to observe him first.
Wu Guanyue didn’t move at all.
Wu Guanyue stared at Wang Er.
Wu Guanyue: Stare.jpg
Wang Er: “…………”
Wang Er: “………………”
A huge cold-sweat bubble appeared above Wang Er’s head.
He opened his mouth, trying to struggle one last time. “Innkeeper, I’m afraid flatbread alone won’t sell very well.”
Wu Guanyue: “Collect recipes. Mm-hmm.”
Wang Er: “We don’t seem to have much firewood left in storage…”
Wu Guanyue’s eyes lit up. “Chop trees and stock up on resources. Mm-hmm.”
Wang Er: “…………?”
Wang Er: “The inn hasn’t had any business for a long time. I’m afraid our regular customers…”
Wu Guanyue pondered. “This NPC talks a lot… Could there be some hidden storyline to trigger?”
Wang Er: “!!!”
Although he had no idea what “NPC” meant, the word “hidden” immediately struck a chord in Wang Er’s heart, as though a thunderbolt had hit him!
Wang Er: “…Ha-ha, then I’ll get to work right away. Just call me if you need anything!”
He immediately turned around, scooped a ladleful of flour from the flour jar, and began kneading the dough on the cutting board.
Wu Guanyue’s probing gaze remained fixed eerily on his back.
Wang Er kneaded the dough even more vigorously…
Once the dough had been kneaded and placed in the oven, it would still take some time to bake. To avoid Wu Guanyue’s scrutiny, Wang Er busied himself to the point of exhaustion. He grabbed a broom and swept the first-floor common room, wiped down the tables, and put up the menu.
Wu Guanyue’s figure drifted into the common room like a ghost, still staring thoughtfully at Wang Er…
Wang Er: “…………”
Wang Er: “………………”
Wang Er hurried to the entrance and flung open the inn’s front doors with a “whoosh.” Standing in the doorway, he began calling out, “Come take a look! Freshly baked flatbread, four copper coins each! Tasty and affordable—don’t miss it as you pass by!”
Wu Guanyue: “!!”
He could actually handle every kind of task—a truly all-purpose NPC!
In most business simulation games, a single employee could usually handle only part of the workload. To completely hand off the inn’s daily operations, one would need to hire three or four employees.
The game was surprisingly player-friendly in that regard.
Wu Guanyue was very satisfied and prepared to explore the town.
As she was leaving, she spotted a sparkling point on the counter in the inn’s common room that could be investigated. When she went over to examine it, she found a blank thread-bound notebook.
[Obtained: Business Journal!]
[Business Journal: Running an inn is a complicated and tedious undertaking. You can record anything you wish to remember here.]
So that was how it worked.
Since it wasn’t convenient to jot down little in-game tips beside the computer while playing a full-dive game, the game came with a built-in notebook function.
Wu Guanyue took the business journal with her and left the inn.
The thin morning mist had gradually dispersed, and sunlight now shone over the small town surrounded by mountains. A wild, roguish downpour had swept through during the night, leaving the flagstones of the streets damp.
An old man selling fruit stepped across the wet flagstones. The shops on both sides of the road were opening one after another, though many still had their doors tightly shut behind wooden shutters. The shop assistant at the Four Treasures Hall across the street was dozing inside the store…
The whole place looked terribly desolate.
Wu Guanyue opened the world map.
Meishan City was not particularly large. A main street divided the entire city into two halves. To the east, the city extended up along the mountain. Halfway up the slopes, immortal mist swirled around a peak marked on the map as [Feilai Peak · Azurecloud Grotto-Heaven], the sect domain governed by the mountain lord, Verdant Cloud Adept.
As a result, the buildings in eastern city were noticeably more orderly and luxurious than those in the west. It was a typical neighborhood for the wealthy.
As for Wu Guanyue’s inn… Naturally, it was in the poorer western district.
Her inn was located on a narrow lane called Flagflower Road. It wasn’t even considered a good location by western-district standards, and every household along it looked gloomy and lifeless.
Once she reached Meishan City’s main street, however, the atmosphere was completely different. The road was clearly wider and smoother, and the pedestrians passing by were bustling. Shops with high-hanging signboards lined both sides of the street: clothing stores, talisman shops, magical artifact stores, Rejuvenation Halls, carriage and horse agencies… Not to mention the establishments that absolutely could not be missing—restaurants and inns!
There were at least thirty or forty restaurants along the street, along with seven or eight inns. The most conspicuous of them was a large establishment called the Yue Lai Inn. It stood three full stories high, with glazed lotus lamps perched on its soaring eaves. The male guests passing through wore crane cloaks and light furs, while the women wore tall coiffures and feathered robes. At a glance, it was obvious that they were either rich or noble.
Because she had started with the basic Pickpocketing proficiency, Wu Guanyue felt an irresistible urge to try her hand on these rich and noble NPCs…
But unlike Zheng San, the NPCs here were at least level three or four. Her chance of successfully pickpocketing them was very low…
And if she failed, it would immediately start a fight!
As for her own level…
Wu Guanyue opened the status interface.
[Inn Details]
[Name: Ah Ah Ah Oh Oh Oh Uh Uh Uh Let Me See How Many Characters the Longest Game Name Has—Filler Filler Filler Filler As If the Emperor Himself Were Present—Inn]
[Inn Level: LV.1 (Your little shop is completely unknown)]
[Inn Popularity: 11/100 (This morning’s events made some people willing to patronize your business)]
[Inn Revenue: 104/10,000 (The stream has only just begun to flow)]
[Innkeeper Details]
[Innkeeper: Wu Guanyue]
[Level: LV.1 (Your strength and the inn’s fate are inseparably linked)]
[Skills: [Pickpocketing · Beginner]]
The innkeeper’s level was clearly tied to the inn’s level. She had only obtained the inn today, so of course she was merely a level-one newbie player.
If this were any other game, she would absolutely have tried something reckless. At worst, she could restart.
But this game couldn’t be restarted…
Wu Guanyue opened the journal and solemnly recorded a little tip:
Don’t pickpocket people on the street before leveling up!
After that, she even explored the outskirts of town and brought back quite a haul of wild-foraged items.
[Branches] ×8, [Stones] ×5, [Wild Apricots] ×15, [Plantain] ×4, [Dandelions] ×3, [Potentilla] ×6, [Dragon’s Tooth Grass] ×7…
There was no doubt about it—scavenging was the most fun part of the game. Some of these resources even had the “ingredient” tag, meaning they could be processed in the shop and sold!
Wu Guanyue continued recording another little tip: You can forage for resources in the wilderness!
Before she knew it, all twelve of Wu Guanyue’s inventory slots were full.
Satisfied, she returned to the inn!
But who could have expected that, the moment she got back, she would witness a shocking scene!
The shop assistant, Wang Er, wasn’t working at all. Instead, he was crouched in the kitchen, reaching his sinful hand toward her baked flatbreads!
—NPCs could actually steal things!!!
Wu Guanyue was horrified. She charged at Wang Er and demanded furiously, “Wang Er! Why aren’t you working? And why are you stealing food?!”
Wang Er: “……”
Wang Er: “…………”
Wang Er had genuinely worked all day and was so exhausted that his stomach was pressed against his back. He stared wide-eyed at her and cried out incredulously, “Boss! You expect me to work, but you won’t even let me eat?! You’re trying to starve me to death!”
Wu Guanyue: “!!”
So that was it!
The game actually had a feature where employees needed to eat!
The previous game she’d played, Rest of the [Something], hadn’t had any such feature, so she’d completely overlooked it!
Wu Guanyue stood where she was and nodded solemnly. Then she once again opened her management journal and recorded the most valuable little tip she had learned that day—
“Shop assistants need to eat to stay alive.”
Then she left as though nothing had happened.
Her inventory was full, so Wu Guanyue sorted everything into the chest behind the first-floor counter.
She had been playing for several hours. It was about time to log off.
The game ran at the same speed as real time, and when players logged off, their characters automatically remained on standby—rather like in Animal Crossing.
Wu Guanyue guided her character back to the starting room on the second floor and lay down on the bed. Then she logged out of the game.
***
Meanwhile, Qian Shi’an, master of Yongfeng Money House, immediately sent people to investigate the so-called Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect after returning to the money house.
Yet after asking around for half a day, they discovered that no one had ever heard of such a sect.
That was strange. Meishan City might not be large, but thanks to Verdant Cloud Grotto-Heaven and its numerous secret realms, it attracted heroes and beauties from all across the Nine Provinces and Eighteen Lands. News traveled freely here. There was absolutely no reason they should have been unable to find anything.
Could that little girl have been bluffing him?
And yet there was no denying that the girl was extremely abnormal. She clearly possessed not the slightest trace of true force or spiritual energy, but she had nevertheless toyed with Zheng San until he was completely helpless. Her ability to pluck things from a bag had even allowed her to steal items directly from Zheng San’s storage pouch…
Old Man Wu’s death was connected to them. This grudge was certainly going to be settled.
No. He had to investigate personally!
Taking advantage of the darkness of night, Qian Shi’an changed into a black outfit and left the money house. He leaped onto the rooftops and headed straight for Wu Guanyue’s inn…
What was the name of that inn again?
His movements were so nimble that he looked almost like a nimble, light-footed wild boar.
After spotting the inn signboard covered in tiny lettering, Qian Shi’an flipped through the air and landed on the ground without making the slightest sound. He was far better at this than Zheng San.
The inn’s main doors were tightly shut, and no lanterns had been lit outside. The entire street was pitch-black.
Qian Shi’an moved his hand and formed the “Opening” hand seal. The main doors swung open silently.
Qian Shi’an’s specialty was a concealment technique. Once activated, this technique was so powerful that even the Verdant Cloud Adept of Verdant Cloud Grotto-Heaven might not be able to see through it.
Therefore, he wasn’t worried that Wu Guanyue would discover him.
With a single flash, he landed behind the counter in the main hall.
A wooden chest sat there. Qian Shi’an focused his attention and examined it for a moment. Seeing no trace of a sealing spell, he formed the “Opening” hand seal again and opened the chest.
Inside was a jumbled pile of branches and weeds. Qian Shi’an frowned and rummaged through them. Suddenly, he caught sight of a thread-bound notebook with yellowed pages.
Qian Shi’an reached out and opened it…
His pupils contracted sharply!
On the page he had turned to was a line of writing that no human being could possibly have said—
[Shop assistants need to eat to stay alive.]
…Could it be a demon?!
“Rumble—!”
A peal of thunder suddenly sounded outside, and the rain began to fall again.
I changed all the “towns” to “cities”…… Towns are too small to work with.
