Above the Starry Sky

Yun Province was about six hundred li from Qing Province. Liu Shuyue calculated that if she traveled at full speed, she could arrive in about two days. Therefore, she didn't need to rush to depart, and could take a few more days to tidy up the follow-up matters in Mala Village before setting off.

She had arranged with Chen Xuan to connect to the 201 room once they entered Yun Province, so he could meet her directly at their destination.

Chen Xuan readily agreed to this.

No matter how many days it took to travel, it was still time on the other side. As for how long it would take here, that was completely unknown.

So the shop still had to operate as usual.

Chen Xuan returned to the shop. The internet was still filled with discussions about the mirage two days prior. Many people uploaded videos they had filmed to Douyin and Xiaolvshu, with almost every one of them getting hundreds of thousands of views. Mysticism enthusiasts and meteorology enthusiasts were arguing fiercely, and UFO fans also joined in, seizing the opportunity to promote alien theories. Everywhere a comment could be left was bustling with activity.

Only Chen Xuan knew what had actually happened at the time.

He had initially thought that the unbelievable scene had only occurred above the vast Wanshan Great Wilderness. When he learned that the entire city of Lushang residents could witness this wondrous spectacle, he was completely stunned.

Why could Liu Shuyue's sword strike when she slew the dragon be projected into this world?

He had no clue about this question.

Flipping through the online chats, Chen Xuan couldn't help but recall the "Red-haired Witch" he encountered in the Jeanne d'Arc world.

She accused him of being an evil person who made the world chaotic and sinful. Was she not talking nonsense? Jeanne d'Arc had survived, and history had not changed. He thought that everything he had done had no connection to this side, but Liu Shuyue slaying the dragon severely shook this perception.

Fortunately, the past two days had passed peacefully. After the mirage dissipated, the city had not undergone any changes. He spent four to five hours every day browsing local forums and Tieba, searching for any suspicious clues. Fortunately, he hadn't found any until now.

This result put his mind somewhat at ease.

Ding dong!

An email notification suddenly popped up.

Chen Xuan opened his mailbox and found that it was indeed a reply to his application for a rating. The content was simple, with only one sentence: Congratulations on passing the review and being promoted to the next level of shopkeeper. We hope you will continue to work hard.

Jumping to the abilities page, the colored icon had already turned into LV3. As usual, he clicked on the details – "Grow bigger and stronger, create more brilliance."

"The third floor's catering department has been opened; the Shopkeeper's Invitation has been unlocked: You can designate one guest to arrive at the shop every day, no matter how far or difficult the journey. The Shopkeeper's Return has been unlocked: You can return to the shop once at any time of the day, no matter how far or difficult the journey."

"Ability synchronization limit has risen to LV3."

"Cannot be traded, cannot be transferred. Shopkeeper's current status: Still alive."

Chen Xuan silently rolled his eyes.

It had actually created a third floor.

But what use was the catering department? To cook for guests? The problem was that there was only Liu Shuyue as a tenant on the second floor, and she was often not in her room. Moreover, guests didn't necessarily need to eat cooked food served from a kitchen. If they were really hungry, the instant noodles and ham sausages in the convenience store on the first floor could suffice.

The two newly unlocked functions were quite convenient. Chen Xuan picked up the scanner gun and found that there was indeed a corresponding option on the small screen on the back, which meant he could use this function as long as there was network coverage.

This meant he wouldn't have to wait until 8:30 to return home when he went out in the future.

"Right, there's no shortage of performance points now, so I can continue to apply for the next level of shopkeeper."

Chen Xuan opened the shopkeeper rating page with anticipation, but froze after a glance. Not only had the performance points for LV4 shopkeeper drastically increased to 100, but there was also an additional requirement: recruit a shop assistant to get the catering department running.

What?

This requirement was a bit difficult for Chen Xuan.

Hiring someone was simple, and hiring a chef who could cook was not difficult either, as long as an attractive salary was offered. But how would he explain the origin of this shop to the employee?

From the outside, it looked like one floor, but inside it was built up to three floors?

Did the shop door drift to another world from time to time?

Did the guests who patronized this shop like to wield swords and know magic?

None of these could be spoken of!

Even if the other party was willing to believe him, for his own safety, he absolutely should not reveal the shop's secrets to a third party.

It seemed that future promotion conditions would become increasingly difficult to achieve.

Chen Xuan looked at the sky outside. It was only three in the afternoon, still some time before the peak customer hours. He planned to make a trip to Lushang to collect some herbs for alchemy.

As he bent down to pick up his medicine basket, the scenery at the entrance suddenly changed. The light coming through the window also brightened considerably.

Oh, a new guest has arrived!

Chen Xuan was already experienced with this. He calmly put down the medicine basket, straightened his collar, and waited leisurely for the guest to enter.

At the same time, he was also observing the new scenery outside the curtain – it was another indoor scene, but the space was quite spacious, and the ground was so clean it could be used as a mirror. The gloss looked like some kind of metal plate.

After waiting for 10 seconds, the guest still had not appeared.

He had experienced this kind of thing before.

For example, the second time he met Liu Shuyue, he ran into her discussing matters with the governor.

Since he was idle anyway, if the guest didn't come, he would go find them.

Chen Xuan thought so and walked out of the shop.

But in an instant, his footsteps were cemented at the threshold.

Where the hell am I...

He looked up. Above his head was a magnificent glass curtain wall, covering almost the entire dome, with an area roughly equivalent to a pedestrian plaza! However, what prevented him from moving was not the massive curtain wall, but the vast starry sky outside the curtain wall!

Yes, he saw a beautiful, azure planet, so much so that he subconsciously recognized its identity: Earth.

Earth only occupied one-third of the dome's view.

Beyond the field of vision, several ring-shaped skeletons could be seen extending from his location into the unfathomably deep space, each skeleton wider than the roads outside the Third Ring. Countless small machines shuttled back and forth along the skeletons; he couldn't tell if they were cargo ships or some kind of modular transport robots.

In the areas not obscured by the skeletons, there were nothing but stars.

Where he was was no longer in doubt.

He and the shop had already entered space.

More accurately, they