This Really Isn't a Shady Shop

This Really Isn't a Shady Shop

Hu Liena sat in her chair, silent for a long while.

The insight into Basic Staff Momentum was not a soul skill.

It had no soul ring guidance, nor did it produce any Soul Power fluctuations. It seemed more like a piece of combat experience that had been forcibly stuffed into her mind.

Yet that experience was complete.

From the balance of gripping a staff, to how her waist and back should move when exerting force, to how she should recover after an attack missed—every detail was as clear as if she had practiced it herself countless times.

Hu Liena was not a staff-wielding soul master.

Her martial soul was the Demon Fox, and she excelled most at mental charm and close-range control.

But combat experience had never belonged to only one type of weapon.

She could feel that the most valuable part of the staff momentum insight was not the "staff," but her judgment of rhythm and distance.

She could apply it to her own fighting style.

Watching her expression, Yue Guan asked, "Did you really gain something?"

Hu Liena nodded.

"It wasn't an increase in Soul Power, but I know how to fight more steadily now."

After thinking for a moment, she added, "It was like an experienced combat instructor directly stuffed a small portion of his insights into my mind."

Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance.

That was high praise.

Spirit Hall had never lacked teachers.

But no matter how powerful a teacher was, it was difficult to pass all of their experience directly to a disciple. Combat experience had to be honed little by little through time, failure, and pain.

Yet this shop could directly grant a piece of experience as a reward.

If such rewards could be obtained consistently, their value would far exceed ten Gold Soul Coins per hour.

Yan's heart itched as he listened.

He had died too many times just now and had not even reached the first minor boss. Even if he refused to admit it aloud, he knew that he had fallen behind by a considerable margin.

"Isn't it just a reward from a little monster? If I play a few more times, I can get one too."

Lin Chuan glanced at him.

"Sure. Renew your time."

Yan's expression stiffened.

Xie Yue could not hold back, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Hu Liena smiled as well.

Yan was annoyed by their laughter, yet he had no way to refute them.

He turned toward the Chilled Happy Water on the shelf, bought another bottle outright, twisted it open, and drank.

The instant the carbonation burst, the anger on his face paused.

Cold, sweet, stimulating.

The frustration from repeatedly dying in the game actually eased a little.

Yan looked at the bottle, then at Lin Chuan.

"This stuff..."

"Three Gold Soul Coins a bottle," Lin Chuan reminded him.

Yan said stiffly, "I meant to say that it's barely drinkable."

Hu Liena ruthlessly exposed him. "You drank it pretty fast just now."

Yan pretended not to hear her.

Just then, another faint glow lit up beside the shelf.

A square cabinet appeared out of thin air, filled with tubs of strangely packaged food.

Braised Beef Noodles.

Pickled Cabbage Noodles.

Spicy Beef Noodles.

When Lin Chuan saw those things, his eyes lit up.

Happy Water had already restored a little of his dignity as a modern man.

Once instant noodles appeared, he almost felt as though he had returned home.

The system panel immediately popped up.

[Basic Food Shelf Temporarily Unlocked.]

[After customers complete their first game reward, they may purchase restorative food.]

[Braised Beef Noodles: Five Gold Soul Coins.]

[Effect: Relieves mental fatigue, slightly restores stamina, and increases satiety.]

Lin Chuan fell silent for a moment.

Five Gold Soul Coins for a tub of instant noodles.

If those were the prices in the real world, even he would call it a scam.

But the system had set the price.

And on the Douluo Continent, foods that could relieve mental fatigue were scarce to begin with.

So Lin Chuan introduced it without changing expression. "New product: instant noodles. Just add hot water before eating."

Yan nearly choked on his Happy Water.

"Five Gold Soul Coins for a tub of noodles?"

Yue Guan looked over as well.

It was not that he lacked money; he simply found the price absurd in a particularly distinctive way.

"Boss, is everything in your shop this expensive?"

Lin Chuan replied seriously, "It's expensive for a reason."

"What reason?"

"If you spent five Gold Soul Coins outside, could you buy a bowl of hot noodles that needed neither a chef nor a stove and could be eaten within a few breaths?"

Yan sneered. "Are the noodles at Spirit City's restaurants worse than this stuff of yours?"

Lin Chuan placed a tub of Braised Beef Noodles on the counter.

"Want to try it?"

Yan looked toward Hu Liena.

Having just gone through several rounds of battle, Hu Liena was indeed somewhat hungry.

She was not someone who indulged in food, but this shop had already given her too many surprises. Now that an unfamiliar food had appeared, she was even less willing to miss it.

"One tub."

Lin Chuan skillfully tore open the packaging, added the seasoning and vegetable packets, then poured in the hot water provided by the system and covered it.

The aroma soon slipped out through the gaps.

Yan had originally wanted to mock it, but once that rich beef fragrance emerged, his lips moved and no words came out.

Xie Yue also looked toward the tub of noodles.

This aroma differed from the stewed and roasted meats commonly found on the Douluo Continent.

It was more direct, and more domineering.

Three minutes later, Lin Chuan lifted the lid and handed a fork to Hu Liena.

Hu Liena took a bite.

The hot broth entered her mouth, and its fragrance, tinged with a hint of spice, spread across her tongue. The mental exhaustion she had accumulated in the game seemed to be slowly wrapped in warmth, and her whole body relaxed somewhat.

A flicker of surprise passed through her eyes.

"It really is good."

Yan stubbornly said, "No matter how good it is, it's still just noodles."

Hu Liena moved the tub to the side.

"Then stop looking at it."

Yan: "..."

Watching this scene, Yue Guan suddenly laughed.

This shop was strange.

Its rules were strange, its items were strange, and its owner was strange too.

But strange as it was, at least so far, it had shown no hostility toward Spirit Hall.

Instead, it truly seemed to be doing business.

It was simply a kind of business no one had ever seen before.

Gui Mei said quietly, "Should we take her back?"

Yue Guan thought for a moment but did not answer immediately.

They had come by the Pope's orders to investigate, and the most important thing was to determine whether there was danger.

If they forcibly took Hu Liena away, they might instead lose the opportunity to continue observing.

After Hu Liena finished the instant noodles, her mental state visibly recovered quite a bit.

She looked at Lin Chuan.

"Can I get that reward again?"

"Usually, the same reward won't repeat," Lin Chuan said. "But there are more things in the game. Fighting monsters, exploring, and meeting special conditions may all trigger rewards."

Hu Liena's eyes brightened slightly.

"Special conditions?"

Before Lin Chuan could answer, the system panel suddenly displayed a new prompt.

[Detected that a customer has completed their first effective growth.]

[Host has gained points: 20.]

[Current points: 20.]

[New feature preview: Lucky Roulette.]

[Unlock condition: Any customer completes an Elite Challenge.]

Lin Chuan looked at the panel, and his heart stirred.

Lucky Roulette.

Something that finally resembled a proper system had arrived.

He looked up at Hu Liena.

"If you keep going, you might unlock a chance to draw rewards."

"A prize draw?"

This time, it was not only Hu Liena.

Even Yue Guan and Gui Mei looked over.

Lin Chuan cleared his throat.

"Simply put, you rely on luck to obtain rewards."

Yan frowned. "Rely on luck? Isn't that just scamming people out of money?"

Lin Chuan smiled.

"You don't have to draw."

Yan was choked into silence again.

But Hu Liena had already put her helmet back on.

"I'll try."

She had a feeling.

The truly outrageous part of this shop was probably only just beginning.