The Small Counter Opens

Ning Fengzhi bought out the first batch, and Yue Guan also wrote down a new reservation: Spirit Hall Golden Generation, two low-ranking deacons, and three ordinary students. Ning Fengzhi glanced at it without speaking, only telling two Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples to add their names as well. The Reservation Token quickly filled up. Someone grew anxious.

"Boss Lin, can I pay extra to cut in line?" "I'll pay double!" "Even half an hour is fine!"

The voices became more urgent than the last. More and more people had been coming to Grand Dao Internet Cafe these past few days, and everyone had figured it out. The earlier they got on a machine, the earlier they could familiarize themselves with the routes. The earlier they knew the routes, the sooner they might trigger rewards. Even if they failed to trigger anything, copying down a strategy guide was better than waiting uselessly at the entrance. Especially now that strategy guides cost money, everyone felt even more pressed. Who knew which guide would rise in price tomorrow? Who knew who might earn a hidden evaluation tonight? The internet cafe was still the same internet cafe.

But the seats had suddenly become more eye-catching than Gold Soul Coins. Lin Chuan flipped the sign over and wrote four words on the back: Daily Limit.

"There are only so many machines. Reservations go in order, and late arrivals forfeit their spots. Temporary openings will be filled on-site. No cutting in line."

Yue Guan smiled. "Boss Lin, you won't even make money when it's offered?" Lin Chuan replied, "Only money you can finish earning counts as money. If you earn too much and wreck the shop, that's trouble."

No one argued. Someone still wanted to speak, but Lin Chuan had already hung the Reservation Token on the wall. "If you wrote your name down, be on time. Miss your turn, and we won't wait. Cause trouble, and you'll be blacklisted."

"What does blacklisted mean?" Ma Hongjun asked quietly.

"From now on, you won't be allowed to play." Ma Hongjun sucked in a sharp breath.

"That's harsher than beating someone up." Several people nearby nodded in wholehearted agreement. At Grand Dao Internet Cafe, getting beaten up might not be terrifying. Being unable to play was what truly killed you. Just as the reservation list was finalized, the empty wooden shelf beside the counter trembled lightly. A system notification popped up.

[Stage income requirement met.]

[Effective buyouts and Review Annotation requirements met.]

[Small Counter function unlocked.]

Everyone's vision blurred. New items appeared on the wooden shelf: Refreshing Tea in white porcelain cups, coarse grain cakes wrapped in oil paper, stacks of Review Paper, clean cloth towels, and a row of transparent water jugs. The Small Counter had appeared without fanfare, but the moment it did, everyone in the shop looked at it differently. Before, they had watched the counter because Lin Chuan collected money, registered names, and handed out numbers. Now there was tea beside the counter, cakes, and paper. This place suddenly no longer felt like a one-time chance encounter.

It felt more like a place where one could sit all day, wait all day, and review all day. The teacher from Canghui Academy was the first to react.

"How much is the Review Paper?" Grandmaster immediately raised his head as well. The two exchanged a glance, neither willing to yield.

"You can fight over this too?" Ma Hongjun asked, biting into a cake as he watched the show. Oscar said, "What do you know? You need paper to write strategy guides."

"Then I'll buy some too." "What are you going to write?"

"'Fat Master's Fire Control Insights.'" Xiao Wu nearly burst out laughing.

Ma Hongjun was the first to step forward. "Brother Lin, is this a reward too?" "Merchandise."

Lin Chuan glanced at the price tags. "Refreshing Tea, two silver soul coins a cup. Coarse grain cakes, one silver soul coin each. Review Paper is sold by the stack. Water is free. Don't waste it."

"How does it taste?" Ma Hongjun bought a coarse grain cake and took a bite.

His face scrunched up. "Average." Lin Chuan said, "It fills you up."

"Then it's not bad." Though his mouth complained, his hands were honest as he pulled out more money and bought another one.

"For Third Brother." Tang San was looking through the Review Paper when he raised his head at those words.

"I'm not hungry." "Even if you aren't, you still have to eat."

Ma Hongjun stuffed the cake into his hands. "If you keep looking like that, your body might not enter the game, but your brain will enter Black Wind Mountain first."

Tang San froze for a moment, then accepted the cake. Xiao Wu nodded beside him.

"Fatty is right this time."

To Ning Fengzhi, such a small matter made him look at Shrek a few more times. A team was not only a team when it fought. Ning Rongrong bought a cup of Refreshing Tea. The tea was not magical. It did not increase Soul Power, nor did it cause one's spiritual strength to soar. But after sitting for a long time, taking a sip felt like washing one's face with cold water in the morning. It woke a person up. Ning Fengzhi looked at that row of cups and suddenly smiled. This was not something astonishing. But once there were more people waiting, more people reviewing, and more people writing guides, they would sooner or later be unable to do without these little things.

This shop truly did not feel like a fleeting chance encounter that would disappear after a few days. It felt more like it intended to put down roots in Spirit City. Yue Guan saw it too. He had thought the game rewards were what Grand Dao Internet Cafe most needed watching. But now he realized that Lin Chuan was not running a mere trial ground. He was cultivating customers. Giving those in line tea to drink. Giving those reviewing paper to write on. Making people able to wait. As long as they could wait, they would keep spending money.

And if they kept spending money, they would keep revealing their methods, organizing strategy guides, and creating rankings. The Small Counter looked insignificant, but behind it was a way to keep people here. Yue Guan clicked his tongue softly to himself. Boss Lin truly knew how to do business. Grandmaster bought a stack of Review Paper. Tang San bought some too. The low-ranking soul master who had made it over a dozen more steps with the help of a guide gritted his teeth and bought three sheets as well. He did not buy tea. He did not have enough money. But three sheets were enough for him to note down the places where he had died. Lin Chuan glanced at him.

"Write it clearly."

Zhou Ping froze. "Can I put mine up too?"

"If it's useful, you can." Lin Chuan said, "If no one buys it, you lose nothing by hanging it up. If someone buys it, you earn."

Zhou Ping clenched the three sheets of paper so tightly that his hand tensed. To people like Tang San and Ning Fengzhi, strategy guides were training and review. But to him, they might be the money for his next session on a machine. An ordinary soul master had suddenly found another way forward at Grand Dao Internet Cafe. The feeling was too strange. Strange enough that he nearly wanted to bow to Lin Chuan again.

Lin Chuan raised his hand first. "Don't thank me. The posting board takes ten percent."

Zhou Ping: "..."

The shop burst into laughter again. Yue Guan looked at the stack of paper and smiled. "Boss Lin, your shop is looking more and more like a school."

Lin Chuan collected the money. "It's like a restaurant too."

The people nearby laughed. The tension that had been hanging over them all day loosened somewhat. But the system panel before Lin Chuan's eyes did not stop.

[Multiplayer Co-op follow-up conditions reorganized.]

[Objective: Complete one full Lamp Guarding evaluation.]

[Hint: Incense is not only held in one's hands.]

After reading it, Lin Chuan's gaze fell on the four Shrek students. Tang San was looking at the Review Paper. Xiao Wu pointed at a fork in the road, saying she could lure monsters away from there. Ma Hongjun gnawed on his coarse grain cake, still promising that he absolutely would not burn the lamp next time. Ning Rongrong said nothing. She looked at the Incense Lamp drawn on the paper and suddenly felt that next time, what they had to protect might not be just one lamp. She finished her Refreshing Tea, picked up a charcoal pencil, and drew another circle around the Incense Lamp. Xiao Wu leaned closer.

"What are you drawing?"

"The team." Ning Rongrong pointed at the circle. "Last time, we only watched the lamp in my hands. No one watched whether the four of us were still connected."

Tang San looked over and nodded.

"Next time, we'll follow this."

Ma Hongjun bit into his cake and mumbled, "Then where do I stand?"

Ning Rongrong glanced at him. "Somewhere you can burn the monsters without burning the lamp."

Ma Hongjun choked.

"That's the same as saying nothing."

"Then burn less."

Xiao Wu laughed so hard she collapsed onto the table. The shop was noisy and bustling, but the Reservation Token on the wall had already filled up through the next day. Grand Dao Internet Cafe's night was far from over. Lin Chuan straightened the Review Paper in the Small Counter. In just a short while, a small stack had already been sold. Among those who bought paper were academy teachers, Spirit Hall deacons, and low-ranking students like Zhou Ping.

They spent different amounts of money and had different purposes. But after receiving the paper, their actions were very similar. They lowered their heads, recalled their experiences, and wrote down where they had died. Watching them, Lin Chuan suddenly felt that the Small Counter had opened at exactly the right time. The game hurt people. The paper let them remember that pain. Refreshing Tea also sold faster than Lin Chuan had expected. Those waiting in line drank it. Those reviewing drank it. Even Yan bought a cup. He stood in the corner holding the tea, his expression not looking very good.

When Ma Hongjun saw him, he nearly went over to ask how it tasted. Tang San grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Don't provoke him."

Ma Hongjun curled his lips. "I just want to ask."

"If you ask, he might want to burn you."

Ma Hongjun thought about it and decided that made sense. People came and went before the Small Counter, and Lin Chuan collected money until his hands grew practiced. He suddenly felt that selling tea and paper was no worse than letting people use the machines. At least he did not have to worry about customers dying in the grass and cursing him.

Of course, that excluded customers complaining that the tea tasted bad.

That only meant the customer still had plenty of spirit.