Above the Starry Sky

Yun Prefecture lay roughly six hundred li from Qingzhou. Liu Shuyue calculated that if she traveled at full speed, she could arrive in about two days. There was no need to rush off; she could spend a few more days settling matters in Mala Village before leaving.

She and Chen Xuan agreed to connect Room 201 once she reached Yun Prefecture. That way, he could meet her directly at her destination.

Chen Xuan readily agreed.

However many days she spent traveling would pass over there. How much time would pass here was anyone's guess.

So the store still had to operate as usual.

Back at the store, Chen Xuan found the internet still buzzing about the mirage from two days ago. Many people had uploaded videos they had filmed to Douyin and Little Green Book, and almost every one had hundreds of thousands of views. Occult enthusiasts and weather buffs argued endlessly. UFO fans had joined in too, seizing the chance to promote their alien theories. Every comment section was lively.

Only Chen Xuan knew what had actually happened.

At first, he had thought that unbelievable sight had appeared only above the Myriad Mountain Great Wilderness. When he learned that everyone in Foothill Mountain had seen it, he was stunned.

Why had Liu Shuyue's dragon-slaying sword strike been projected into this world?

He had no idea.

As he browsed the discussions online, Chen Xuan couldn't help remembering the "red-haired witch" he had encountered in Joan of Arc's world.

She had accused him of being an evildoer who brought chaos and sin into the world. Hadn't she been talking nonsense? Joan of Arc had survived, and history hadn't changed. He had thought everything he did over there had nothing to do with this world, but Liu Shuyue slaying the dragon had shaken that belief badly.

Thankfully, the past two days had passed peacefully. After the mirage faded, nothing in the city seemed to change. He spent four or five hours a day combing local forums and message boards for anything suspicious. Fortunately, he had found nothing so far.

That eased his mind a little.

Ding-dong!

An email notification suddenly popped up.

Chen Xuan opened his inbox. Sure enough, it was the reply to his rating application. The message was simple, just one sentence: Congratulations on passing the review and advancing to the next shopkeeper level. Keep up the good work.

He switched to the abilities page. The colorful icon now read LV3. As usual, he opened the details: "Grow bigger and stronger. Reach new heights of glory."

Third-floor dining department unlocked; the shopkeeper's invitation unlocked: once per day, you may summon one designated guest to the store, no matter how long or difficult the journey; the shopkeeper's return unlocked: once per day, you may return to the store at any time, no matter how long or difficult the journey.

Ability synchronization limit raised to LV3.

Cannot be traded or transferred. Shopkeeper's current status: still alive.

Chen Xuan rolled his eyes.

It really had added a third floor.

But what was a dining department for? Cooking for guests? Liu Shuyue was the only tenant on the second floor, and she was often away. Besides, guests didn't have to eat food prepared in a kitchen. If they got hungry, the instant noodles and sausages in the little supermarket downstairs would do just fine.

The two newly unlocked functions were convenient, though. Chen Xuan picked up the Scanner Gun and checked it. Sure enough, the corresponding options appeared on the small screen on its back. That meant he could use them anywhere with network coverage.

From now on, he wouldn't have to wait until eight thirty to return whenever he traveled far from home.

"Oh, right. I'm not short on Performance Points anymore. I might as well apply for the next shopkeeper level."

Full of anticipation, Chen Xuan opened the Store Manager Rating page, then froze after one glance. The requirement for Level 4 Shopkeeper had jumped to 100 Performance Points, and there was an additional condition: recruit an employee and get the dining department running.

What?

That put Chen Xuan in a difficult spot.

Hiring someone was easy enough. Hiring a chef who could cook wouldn't be too hard either, as long as he offered an attractive salary. But how was he supposed to explain where this store came from?

It looked like a single-story building from outside, but had three floors inside?

Its front door kept drifting into other worlds?

Its customers liked waving swords around and could even use magic?

He couldn't say any of that out loud!

Even if someone believed him, he could never reveal the store's secrets to a third party, if only for his own safety.

It seemed the requirements for future promotions would only get harder.

Chen Xuan glanced at the sky outside. It was only three in the afternoon, and there was still some time before the customer rush. He planned to make a trip to Foothill Mountain and gather more herbs for pill refining.

But just as he bent to pick up a basket, the view outside the door suddenly changed. The light streaming through the window grew brighter too.

Oh, a new customer!

Chen Xuan had been through this before. He calmly set down the herb basket, straightened his collar, and waited for the customer to come in.

Meanwhile, he studied the new scene beyond the door curtain. It was another indoor space, but remarkably vast. The floor was so spotless it could almost serve as a mirror, its sheen resembling polished metal panels.

Ten seconds passed, but no customer appeared.

That had happened before too.

The second time he had met Liu Shuyue, for example, she had been discussing affairs with the Prefect.

I'm not doing anything anyway. If the customer won't come in, I'll go look for them.

With that thought, Chen Xuan stepped out of the store.

His feet stopped dead on the threshold.

Where the hell am I...

He looked up. A magnificent glass curtain wall covered almost the entire domed ceiling, an expanse roughly the size of a pedestrian plaza! But it wasn't the enormous glass structure that rooted him to the spot. It was the vast Star Cosmos beyond it!

That's right. He saw a magnificent blue planet and recognized it at once: Earth.

Earth filled only a third of the dome overhead.

Beyond it, he could see several ring-shaped frameworks stretching from where he stood into the fathomless reaches of space. Each was wider than a road beyond the Third Ring. Countless small machines zipped back and forth along them. He couldn't tell whether they were cargo ships or some kind of modular transport robots.

Everywhere the frameworks didn't block his view, there were stars.

There was no longer any doubt where he was.

He and the store were in space.

More precisely, they had appeared inside a colossal structure above Earth. He wanted to call it a space station, but the hall with the glass ceiling alone could fit a soccer field. "Space station" sounded a little inadequate.

At least, nobody on Earth could currently build anything this outrageous.

"How wonderful... A world with technology this advanced."

Chen Xuan couldn't help marveling.

If human civilization had developed this far, what kinds of abilities might he be able to trade for?

First, I should take a picture and post it to my feed!

Chen Xuan pulled out his phone and aimed it at the glass dome overhead. He even spotted fireworks going off near Earth, as if they were celebrating his arrival.

Look, another streak of fire was rising. It was like a shooting star flying backward, and it finally burst open in space, shining like a little sun.

One dazzling flare followed another, coming faster and faster.

"Hey... that's close."

Chen Xuan suddenly spotted one flare flying especially near. It was almost touching the ring-shaped frameworks.

He quickly pointed his camera at it, hoping for a clear shot.

The moment it burst, the hall lit up like daylight! An intensely bright ball of flame bloomed outward, its edge swallowing one of the tracks.

Chen Xuan watched the track snap. The machines racing along it shot off into space like runaway horses.

Those are some wild fireworks!

He realized something was wrong.

Just then, the floor beneath his feet began shaking violently!

Holy shit, they have earthquakes in space too?

Chen Xuan instinctively lowered his center of gravity and grabbed the doorframe as he crouched.

But the shaking didn't subside. It only grew worse! He felt as if he were riding in a rickety old car hurtling down a dirt road, liable to fall apart at any moment.

What made his scalp prickle was that his fear wasn't unfounded. The frameworks above were closer than before, growing from four-lane roads on the Third Ring to six-lane highways... By the laws of perspective, either they were approaching the dome or the dome was approaching them. Neither was good news!

Screech!

With an ear-splitting noise, Chen Xuan stared in shock as one wall of the hall suddenly shattered! Metal fragments flew everywhere as a towering six-legged robot charged in with unstoppable force. Its lower half resembled a spider, its upper half a tank turret. The gleaming silver partitions crumpled before it like paper.

Good grief. Don't tell me this thing is the new customer the store picked?

One of its legs alone would fill the entire doorway!

"Warning! Loss of airtight integrity. Breach detected in N43 Sector!"

"Warning! N43 operating speed declining. Simulated gravity may be affected!"

All kinds of alarms rang through the hall.

Then a furious burst of gunfire drowned them out. Chen Xuan finally noticed a slender figure in a tight, one-piece suit alongside the giant mech that had smashed through the wall. The figure was so tiny beside the six- or seven-meter war machine that she looked like a mosquito. At first, he hadn't even distinguished her from the flying debris.

Judging by her silhouette, she was a young woman. As she darted and dodged, she kept her gun trained on the robot, firing wildly. The bullets traced brilliant lines of light across its steel shell, then scattered and ricocheted everywhere. Her attacks weren't completely ineffective. They melted and peeled back the metal like frosting on a cake. But almost at the same time, the robot rapidly repaired itself. Its metal seemed alive, closing every split while parts surged from within to replace what it had lost. The damage and repairs were locked in a stalemate!

The robot charged onward, crushing every steel support and chair in its path. The young woman wove through the flying floor panels with such uncanny movements that she seemed to teleport. The next instant, she appeared right in front of Chen Xuan, and their eyes met.

She visibly froze.

"A... a survivor?"

"What survivor? I'm the shopkeeper." Chen Xuan grabbed her hand, and in her moment of surprise, she failed to dodge. "Whatever you have to say, we can talk back in the store. Welcome!"