The Bootleg Princess Shop

Chen Rui suppressed his inner excitement and asked, "Are there any more of these semi-waste ores? How much for one? I think this is very likely what the master needs."

"The quality of ordinary iron ore drops once it touches those things, so I don't have many here, maybe two or three. My brother Kuake has a few more at his smithy. If you want them, I can sell them all to you at the lowest price." Zack couldn't help but ask, "Could you give me some of that powder? With this stuff, I could salvage a lot of waste ore."

It turned out the two smithies in the city were brother-owned shops. As for the powder, Chen Rui naturally didn't want to be exposed, so he said, "This is a secret medicinal powder refined by the master, and it's highly toxic, so it cannot be spread. However, I can help you clear the crystals from the rest of the ores now."

The human's generosity delighted Zack. Looking at Chen Rui, he felt he was exceptionally pleasing to the eye—what a good human! It seemed the rumors in the Demon Realm were wrong; not all humans were cunning fellows. At least this human was quite decent.

Zack hurriedly had Kakan bring the waste ore from the other smithy, totaling seven pieces.

The "very decent" human was equally overjoyed. One piece provided about 25 points of spiritual energy! And there were seven of them!

Before long, all the crystal-laden ores from both smithies were cleaned. The spiritual energy provided by the crystals varied, but now Chen Rui's total spiritual energy had reached 175 points, and the joy in his heart could well be imagined.

From Zack, he learned that these ores came from the mines of Xilang Mountain, one of the few developed mineral deposits in the Darkmoon Territory, but the danger level there was very high. It was said that a terrifying Magic Beast deep in the mines broke through its seal and claimed the lives of many miners. Over the years, ore production had become lower and lower, and even the previous mining official, Tim, had gone missing while investigating the mines, leaving no trace of his remains to this day.

In the past, such large quantities of crystal-laden ores were treated as waste and discarded at the mines. Now, because the underground Magic Beasts were becoming increasingly rampant and ore sources were tighter, Zack had no choice but to purchase even these semi-waste ores that were extremely troublesome to process. Even these waste ores were becoming increasingly scarce.

Chen Rui secretly noted the name Xilang Mountain, but that place was very dangerous. It was better to first familiarize himself with the situation in Darkmoon City, and once his spiritual energy accumulated to a certain level, he would find a way to visit the mines.

"Zack, I like dealing with straightforward people like you. How about this: you try to get as many of these crystal-laden waste ores as you can. I can help you clear the crystals, and as for the price..."

Before Chen Rui could finish, Zack spoke first: "As for the price, I'll give you ten White Crystal coins per piece, how about that? I'll round it up for today's batch and give you one Purple Crystal coin in total."

Chen Rui had originally intended to buy those ores, which were extremely precious to him, at a cheap price. He hadn't expected Zack to be willing to pay him instead—what a good Horned Demon! It seemed the human rumors were wrong; not all demons were cruel, at least this Horned Demon was quite decent.

At this moment, a friendly resonance formed between the human and the Horned Demon.

Chen Rui had taken a huge advantage and felt embarrassed to ask for more money. He simply said that once Zack obtained more ore, he should just go to the laboratory to notify him, and he would be there whenever called.

"We Horned Demons also like straightforward guys!" This attitude caused the Horned Demon's favorability toward the human to soar again. He patted his chest: "From now on, you are a friend of mine, Zack! I have many friends in the city; if you have any trouble, just mention my name!"

The human was escorted to the door by the enthusiastic Zack, and Sli, under the envious gaze of the Lesser Devil Kakan at the smithy, followed behind his master with his head held high.

Chen Rui was in a great mood: this trip out was well worth it, 175 points of spiritual energy! He could fire seventeen Aurora Blasts, though it was a pity that the skill could only be used twice a day, and each time it drained most of his Star Power.

"By the way, Sli, didn't you say earlier there was another shop that sold strange things? Let's go there!"

The Lesser Devil hesitated for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and smiled ingratiatingly: "Please follow me, Master. You might find more surprises at that shop."

Chen Rui followed the Lesser Devil, turning through several streets, and found the shop at the end of a relatively wide road. The shop had two floors, its exterior looked gaudy and strange, and it had no sign.

Chen Rui walked in with the Lesser Devil. As soon as he entered, he was stared at by a pair of sharp eyes. It was a Scythe Succubus; her figure was decent and her features were not ugly, but her expression was full of ferocity.

The Scythe Succubus was clearly an employee of the shop. Upon seeing Chen Rui and Sli enter, she didn't greet them, but instead looked at him coldly as if sizing up an enemy. Chen Rui had no intention of arguing and began to browse the shop's merchandise.

Just as Sli had said, the things sold in this shop were indeed strange and peculiar. Cloth dolls shaped like Magic Beasts, exquisite little hairpins, sleeping pillows, delicious Green Dragon Fruits, strange little beads... but they didn't look like things Chen Rui needed, and the prices were shockingly high. A single Green Dragon Fruit actually cost fifty Purple Crystal coins, and that cloth doll was priced at ten Black Crystal coins—it was practically a rip-off shop!

Chen Rui finally found a green stone in the corner that might be useful. He immediately activated his conversion skill, wanting to probe it. Before his hand even touched the stone, a cold, large scythe flashed and blocked his path like lightning, barely making a sound.

This Scythe Succubus was strong! The likes of Gangke couldn't even compare!

Although he didn't use his Analytical Eye, Chen Rui could vaguely sense the opponent's strength from that strike just now. With that kind of speed, even if he were prepared, he might not be able to dodge it unscathed.

The female demon said coldly: "You may look, but you are not allowed to touch!"

The service attitude was too terrible! Did she not know that the customer is... a Demon God?

Chen Rui felt a surge of indignation. This was a waste of precious spiritual energy! Although he had just gained over a hundred points, there were too many places that needed spiritual energy; he couldn't afford to be spendthrift.

At this moment, a charming voice came from upstairs: "You won't regret buying these two sets of Princess Chess. Welcome again next time."

That was the attitude service staff should have. Chen Rui felt the voice was somewhat familiar, and he saw a beautiful woman exuding an aura of temptation appear at the top of the stairs. A male Horned Demon customer was walking downstairs while looking back, revealing a look of lingering obsession.

When Chen Rui saw the appearance of the female clerk clearly, he was startled and blurted out: "Jia!"

It turned out that this female clerk was none other than the little princess's maid, the Succubus Jia, whom Chen Rui nicknamed the "Essence-Sucking Woman"!

When Jia heard someone call her name and saw it was Chen Rui—during these past days, Jia had also become a beneficiary of Chen Rui's cooking while following the little princess, and her impression of the human had changed for the better—she immediately revealed a charming smile: "It's you!"

The Horned Demon saw the goddess in his heart actually smiling at a human and became extremely jealous. He came before Chen Rui and said viciously: "I, Lord Obama, warn you, stay away from Miss Jia! Otherwise..."

Chen Rui was no longer the same as he used to be, so he naturally didn't take the threats of such a character to heart. However, the name of this Lord Horned Demon shocked him a bit. Could it be that that person had also transmigrated? But judging by his lecherous look, it would be more appropriate to call him Clinton or Berlusconi.

He only heard the Scythe Succubus coldly snort, slam her weapon onto the ground, and shout: "Get lost!"

Lord Obama trembled, the goods he had just bought scattered all over the floor, and he hurriedly scrambled to pick them up.

Chen Rui glanced at the goods Obama had bought by chance, and his gaze instantly froze. This... this looks like... Huarong Dao?

It's just that the original Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and the like had all been changed to look like beautiful women?

Piracy! This was blatant infringement of intellectual property rights!

Wait, Princess Chess? Chen Rui suddenly understood; it was the work of the little loli!

Lord Obama picked up his things and didn't dare to say another word, slinking away from the shop.

"Jia, when did you open a shop like this??" Chen Rui walked upstairs and asked tentatively. Seeing that Jia was familiar with him, the Scythe Succubus did not stop him again, but the Lesser Devil Sli waited downstairs, not daring to come up.

Jia shook her head and said: "The owner of this shop is the little princess."

As expected! Alice was actually a businesswoman? You've got to be kidding me?

No wonder the shop was full of strange and peculiar things. But, how could there be customers in a shop like this?

Chen Rui glanced at Jia, who was exuding natural charm, and suddenly realized: a beauty trap!

This little loli was too cunning, actually relying on Jia's beauty to promote sales. No wonder she also arranged for a fierce Scythe Succubus; if there wasn't a powerful force to deter them, I'm afraid many people with ulterior motives would have caused trouble.

However, the shops in Darkmoon City, or rather the entire Demon Realm, basically operated on a "wait for customers to come" model. No matter how clever Alice was, she hadn't stepped outside of this framework. If she had followed some of the business and promotional methods Chen Rui had learned in his past life, the shop's business would certainly not be limited to this level.

Chen Rui looked at the merchandise on the second floor and found the location of the Princess Chess. Sure enough, Huarong Dao had been completely transformed—it had become a plot about a beautiful and sexy witch escaping from numerous lecherous wolves, or a mighty male demon escaping from being forcibly pursued by numerous sexy female wolves.

Chen Rui felt an urge to beat his chest and stomp his feet; if the inventor of Huarong Dao saw this, they would definitely be moved to tears.

"This Princess Chess... was it made by the little princess?"

Seeing his somewhat agitated appearance, Jia nodded: "Her Highness the little princess is very clever. Nobody bought the original version, but after changing it like this, several sets have been sold... You don't have to be this happy, do you?"

Is this what I look like when I'm happy? Chen Rui was so "happy" that he couldn't speak for a moment.

There were quite a few things on the second floor, not just these pirated Princess Chess sets. There were also some books, and to his surprise, The Devil King and the Princess: Latest Complete Edition, which Chen Rui had mentioned to Alice last time, was among them. It was another pirated copy; it seemed this little loli had a very strong sense of plagiarism, learning and selling on the spot. He just didn't know if these books in the Demon Realm were printed or created through magic.

The first few books were still normal, but the ones that followed made cold sweat break out on Chen Rui's forehead just from their titles.

Men, You Are Beasts!, Sequel I: Worse Than Beasts, Sequel II: Not As Good As Beasts, Magic! Whoever You Stare At Gets Pregnant, Who Says Men Are Stronger Than Women? If You Have the Ability, Make Them Give Birth...

Chen Rui finally understood the reason, or at least one of the important reasons, why the little princess had become a black-bellied, delinquent, and precocious loli.

One takes on the habits of those one associates with; this was the huge influence of the educational environment on a child!

Sighing was one thing, but Chen Rui was still very curious about Alice running a shop. Jia told him that when the eldest princess Shea first took over Darkmoon City, she encountered many difficulties, especially with extremely tight funding. In desperation, Shea had no choice but to take the few remaining royal treasures and her own private collection to sell, which finally helped her overcome the predicament.

This shop was left over from that time. Later, Alice was bored and took over the shop, selling small items to pass the time and earn some pocket money. Jia only came to help occasionally. It was said that since two months after the shop opened, Alice had never asked her sister for a single Magic Crystal Coin.

The story was plain and lacked highlights, yet Chen Rui still heard a hint of bitterness. Shea had experienced too many difficulties to govern the territory and had even been forced to sell her family belongings, yet she was never stingy when it came to talents like Aldas. Alice was also very sensible; despite her mischief, she never added to her sister's economic burdens during her most difficult times.

Judging from the situation in this shop, the little loli was indeed a bit clever, but unfortunately, she was an amateur at business.

Just as Chen Rui was thinking this, the voice of a Lesser Devil, deliberately raised, suddenly came from downstairs: "Your Highness Alice!"

The little loli was here!

ps: The main text of this chapter is over 3500 words. Thanks to the friends who tipped and everyone who cares about Dian Dian. Since my wife takes the child to school during the day, I usually do the housework (except for washing dishes ^^), so my daily update time is generally after 12:30 PM and after 7:30 PM. Under normal circumstances, I will try my best to provide two updates, totaling 6000–7000 words. Please forgive me if there are special circumstances; I must ensure quality first, and then quantity. As for the friends who cast 100-word update tickets, I am truly sorry. Finally, thank you all for your support!