The Rules Here

"But your words turned your smile into a sinister grin..."

"Cough, anyway, I can trade anything here, but for now, I trust you, so the items I can trade are limited... Do you want money?"

"I do!" Kyon spoke up immediately. Looking around carefully, he seemed to be the most ordinary one, and therefore, the most financially ordinary!

"Okay, what do you have to exchange?"

"One minute of life...?"

"Deal." Jiu Ming directly pried a High-Energy Crystal from the ground at his feet and threw it into Kyon's hand. The moment Kyon caught it, he felt a lightness in his body, as if he had run more than ten steps. Jiu Ming's hand now held a card...

The new card had the same introduction as the fifty-day life card, except this one was for one minute.

"What if I regret it?" Kyon opened his mouth, staring dumbfounded at the very valuable High-Energy Crystal in his hand. "If I take this thing out to sell, I'm afraid I'll be invited for tea."

"Tch, that's your own problem. It's too late to say anything now." He slapped the one-minute 'Life Point Card' on the table and Jiu Ming looked at the others. "En, to show my welcome, you all have one chance for a super discount trade, provided by me personally."

"This is too interesting, it's actually possible! Kyon, how did it feel to live one minute less just now?"

"It felt like running more than ten steps... It didn't feel good at all!"

"Is that so?" Jiu Ming let out a cold laugh and pointed to the fifty-day life card. "The provider of this one is 'a little bit' stronger than you, and he was hospitalized for half a month."

"I regret it even more!"

"Too late." Jiu Ming lightly clicked his tongue and put away the 'one minute' card. Regardless, this thing would be useful to keep, and it was only one minute. What was not worth it to exchange one minute of life for a High-Energy Crystal?

Making Kyon stare blankly for a minute would pass. Regret? People are so sentimental. An inch of time is worth an inch of gold... If they were really given an inch of gold, they would have exchanged it long ago!

"So, what else do you need to trade?" Jiu Ming's gaze turned to Mikuru Asahina. "For example, your cowardice. If you give it away, perhaps you could suddenly become a strong and mature older sister."

"Don't instigate my senior!"

"Well... forget it then." Seeing Mikuru Asahina's timid expression, Jiu Ming shook his head. "And you?"

Jiu Ming asked Koizumi Itsuki.

"Me? En, currently I don't seem to need anything, so I'll pass." Koizumi Itsuki smiled slightly and politely refused.

"No need." Before Jiu Ming could speak, Nagato Yuki said first.

"Right, this is not within the scope of the discount." Jiu Ming waved his hand, and the disposable Gap ability in Haruhi Suzumiya's hand instantly disappeared and returned to his. "And this thing doesn't seem suitable for use in your world."

"En... Our world?" Seeing the thing in her hand being taken away, Haruhi Suzumiya, who was about to get angry, was slightly stunned. "Could it be that this place is not in the world I'm in?"

"Of course! How could such a place exist in your world? In a sense, you coming here is already considered arriving in an 'Otherworld', of course, one you can return from at any time."

When he looked at Nagato Yuki, she gave Jiu Ming a barely perceptible nod. Kyon, who was distracted and saw this moment, narrowed his eyes and gently touched his chin with his finger. It seemed a bit fishy.

"Ah, so this place is already considered another world? I didn't expect you to be an otherworldly being... a ghost." With a look of sudden realization, Suzumiya Haruhi's expression seemed to grow more excited? After the excitement, her expression changed instantly. She seemed to have thought of something, "No! If that's the case, how could my mobile phone possibly get through!?"

"Because of the magical rules here." Kyu Ming, having anticipated her question, smiled slightly. "For example..."

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers, the surrounding environment rapidly transformed. In almost the time it took to breathe, the surroundings had become a vast beach, and the sound of waves crashing also echoed in sync.

The Mysterious Shop had initially allowed Kyu Ming to face enemies in various scenarios and could also manifest some scenes. When dealing with that Void creature, Kyu Ming had used this function, though its limitations were significant. It could create scenes and furniture, but 'small items' like daily necessities, apart from those that came with the Mysterious Shop itself, had to be acquired by Kyu Ming.

Most of the items that needed to be acquired were consumables, like tea.

"Uh!?" Everyone present, except for Kyu Ming and Nagato Yuki, was startled by the sudden change. At the same time, the sofa they were sitting on had unknowingly transformed into beach chairs. Looking at Kyu Ming, he had somehow changed into beach shorts without them noticing...

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Itsuki Koizumi's smile became difficult to maintain. "This can no longer be explained by simple supernatural phenomena."

Magical Yuki Nagato calmly observed their surroundings, silently recording the information generated by the sudden change.

"Mmm, it's a beach, that's great!!" After a long hum, Suzumiya Haruhi's brief surprise was completely cast aside, causing Kyu Ming to swallow back the many explanations he had prepared. Ah, what a carefree girl.

"Too bad I didn't bring a swimsuit." After taking off her shoes and socks and running along the edge of the beach, splashing in the water, Suzumiya Haruhi muttered, hugging her arms. "And no drinks, and no..."

"Stop! Being able to create this much is already the limit. As for swimsuits... give me your sizes, and I'll buy them for you."

Seeing Suzumiya Haruhi constantly muttering beside him, Kyu Ming sighed. If one observed carefully, there were no marine creatures in this ocean at all. In the sky, besides the fake sun and clouds, not even a bird's shadow could be seen. The most that had changed was the scenery. As for life, it was unclear whether the Mysterious Shop couldn't evolve to that level or if there were other limitations.

Swimsuit sizes... the carefree Miss Suzumiya blurted them out casually, while the timid, large-breasted, submissive one blushed and stammered for a long time, unable to speak. She was shy.

"Hey, if that's the case, why don't you just take us out to buy them?" Seeing his senior sister's extreme shyness, Kyon immediately stepped forward.

"Tsk, tsk. Firstly, do you have money in the world I'm in? And secondly... do you see any doors leading out of here?"

"Don't ask me why I can go out. I'm a ghost, and you're human." A reason that was both frustrating and impossible to verify left Kyon speechless.

"Also, don't imagine others to be so wicked. I'm already dead... I don't have so many superfluous thoughts of adolescence... really!"

Kyu Ming left, and all the members of the SOS Brigade began to chatter amongst themselves.

They talked animatedly, one after another. The most triumphant among them was Suzumiya Haruhi, whose main point was essentially: "Look, look, how amazing is your Regiment Leader? She even found a place like this..."

Such unparalleled good luck. It was truly good luck. To come here once by chance was one thing, but to come a second time? This was simply an impossible event, yet it happened. Truly worthy of being... a 'god' of a world!

Kyu Ming, who had returned, watched Suzumiya Haruhi prancing around on the beach, his heart filled with emotion.

"Thanks. Hmm? Why is Yuki's a child-oriented one!?" After pulling out the swimsuits Kyu Ming had brought back from a bag, Suzumiya Haruhi asked in confusion.

"...Her size is hard to find, so the swimsuit shop employee just gave me this type. It'll have to do for now, it can be worn anyway."

"Where's the changing room?"

Itsuki Koizumi waved his hand, and a small private room appeared beside him.

"I'm so envious of you, changing clothes is so convenient," Kyon said, standing beside Itsuki Koizumi with genuine envy in his tone—envious of your wealth!!

"I'm a ghost, have you ever seen a ghost worried about clothes? Beer or drinks, choose yourself." Itsuki Koizumi took out two sealed cards, crushed them, and a case of beer and a case of assorted drinks appeared.

"Hmm, maybe I should say spirit. According to the stories, the meaning of 'ghost' in my country and China is different."

Kyon scratched his head, hesitated, and then picked a bottle of drink that looked good. After taking a sip, he felt a jolt all over his body, "Awesome!"

He felt like he could run for ten minutes now!

"Look at you... The special supply drinks for Ability Users are good, aren't they?" Itsuki Koizumi shot him a look and lay down behind him. As he fell, a beach chair appeared beneath him.

Where did this thing come from?

"...This brat! What do you think this place is? A convenience store!?" Wang Hai's face darkened, his mouth twitching fiercely.

"Be careful of nosebleeds if you drink too much... Seems I said it too late." Itsuki Koizumi said slowly, looking at the empty pull-tab can at Kyon's feet. It seemed the one in his hand was also half-finished.

"You did that on purpose!"

The boy with a constipated expression covered his nose, which had started to itch, and looked at Itsuki Koizumi with grief and indignation. "So, what does 'special supply for Ability Users' mean?"

As he spoke, Kyon glanced at Itsuki Koizumi, who was walking towards them. He thought, isn't this guy a Superpower User? Aren't abilities and superpowers the same thing?

"It means what it says, people who can conjure fireballs, shoot lightning, and spit ice shards." Itsuki Koizumi said, glancing at Kyon. "What are you fantasizing about? Even if you drink this whole case, you won't gain any abilities. Stop dreaming. Be careful you don't bleed to death from your nose."

In short, seeing the boy's disappointed expression, Itsuki Koizumi's lips unconsciously curved into a smile. Speaking of abilities, why are you looking at Itsuki Koizumi?

Is there anything special about him?

Itsuki Koizumi's eyes shifted to Itsuki Koizumi. He looked very ordinary. Even with signs of some physical training, he was still just a normal person. Was there anything strange he hadn't noticed?