Lin Qing didn’t even realize they were back.

When Chen Xuan walked up to the counter, he found her still lying on the sofa "resting with her eyes closed," though... she might have been passionately surfing online.

He gently put down the half-conscious Raphael and quietly approached the sofa, reaching out to flick Lin Qing’s forehead sharply.

Lin Qing’s eyes snapped open, a fiery look in them, but upon seeing Chen Xuan, she was momentarily stunned before the fiery look turned into delight. She sprang up from the sofa and wrapped her arms around Chen Xuan’s neck, hugging him tightly!

Meanwhile, Liu Shuyue adeptly pressed the roller shutter button.

The store door closed, marking the end of the connection with that other world. Whether it’s the Angel Alliance or the raid by thugs, none of it concerns them... The isolated store is arguably the safest place in the world.

Elorie looked at the scene before her, brain in a state of shutdown.

The beautiful clerk was hugging Chen Xuan, genuine happiness visible on her face. Liu Shuyue was calmly closing the doors and curtains, turning on all the store’s lights, effortlessly as if she had done it many times before.

If Raphael lying on the ground wasn’t counted, she was actually the least familiar with the store!?

Elorie felt so wronged she wanted to lodge another complaint!

...

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Qing came downstairs.

"How is he?" Chen Xuan asked, "Does he need to be sent to the hospital?"

"Nothing serious. He got shot in the left abdomen, but it didn’t hit any vital parts. I’ve already taken out the bullet and used Blood Orange to stop the bleeding." She came to the sofa and showed Chen Xuan the shattered bullet—it was unlike modern bullets, containing dense structures and a set of sophisticated circuit boards inside.

"Amazing, no wonder this thing can change direction midway."

"It’s just intelligent ammunition, nothing cutting-edge," Lin Qing said dismissively, "Besides, this guy isn’t suited to be sent to the hospital, he’s got strange things on him."

"Strange things?"

"Mm..." But Lin Qing didn’t immediately explain what it was; instead, she turned to Elorie, who was puffing up her cheeks, and showed a sweet, pleasant smile, "Sorry, sorry, are you still upset with me for not telling you the truth?"

By now, Angel already knew that Chen Xuan was the real store manager, while Liu Shuyue and Lin Qing were merely clerks. This means that the super-dangerous S-level Wanderer, Blood and Flesh Butcher, and the other internet-famous Wanderer, White-clothed Immortal, have known each other for a long time. And they aren’t truly Wanderers; they traverse worlds not by breach points, but through the store’s special abilities.

As for her being chosen as a guest by the store, the other party hadn’t lied.

"No, I’m just blaming myself for being too naive," Elorie muttered.

"I didn’t see the manager with my own eyes back then, and wasn’t sure about his situation at that time. Before he safely returned, I had to conceal his identity; I think you can understand that sentiment." Lin Qing put on an innocent look and shrugged, "Besides, didn’t things turn out well? The manager is back, and your request can be fulfilled."

Elorie’s sense of grievance didn’t last long; she knew the other party was telling the truth now—the Dimensional Limit Mechanism was searching worldwide for this person, and she happened to have been a member of the mechanism. It was already quite decent for them to receive her. Moreover, if Lin Qing had candidly said she wasn’t the manager and needed to bring the manager back to make a deal, she would have had more doubts.

For example, why would such a mysterious store depend on a manager to conduct transactions; or, when the manager himself is involuntarily not knowing where he is, can he really resolve the confusion in her mind?

"Can it really be satisfied?" She looked at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan coughed twice, "Rest assured, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied."

"Pfft." Lin Qing covered her mouth.

"But we’re back in Jiang City now, aren’t we?" Elorie said, "You and Miss Liu must have become key surveillance targets of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism; would it be dangerous to go back to Five Rings Machinery Factory?"

"No need to be that troublesome; didn’t Lin Qing show you the VIP room before? As long as you become a guest of the store—" Chen Xuan stopped abruptly.

Wait... The room connects to the guest’s home world, but Second New Paris is a hundred years after Elorie’s hometown. If the room’s back door is opened, where will it lead?

Chen Xuan faintly guessed it likely wouldn’t connect to Second New Paris anymore.

There is a living example right now.

Lin Qing and he are separated by about a century, but her room’s back door is tightly shut and won’t open... If the time gap isn’t an issue, then Lin Qing’s room’s back door should connect to somewhere in this world.

"What’s the matter?" Elorie tilted her head.

"Nothing, perhaps your wish has already been fulfilled." Chen Xuan stood up and went to the counter, turning on the computer. Thinking too much was useless; testing it would immediately reveal the result.

He first opened the store management app and entered the built-in store-in-store.

The familiar category browsing page instantly popped up.

He directly clicked on the skin section, purchased the fruit store skin, and the wallet in the upper right corner instantly decreased by 1200 yuan.

Switching to the inventory interface, a new category just for mall items now appeared. Following his gaming instincts, Chen Xuan double-clicked the skin, and indeed a new dialog box appeared on the screen.

"Would you like to replace it with the fruit store skin?"

"Please ensure the store door is closed."

Chen Xuan had already placed the damaged scanning gun on the desk; he glanced at the gun before decisively hitting the replace button.

The computer made clicking sounds, the fan noise abruptly increased like it was running a colossal program.

A progress bar even appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Its speed of advancement was far faster than Chen Xuan had expected, and after about twenty seconds, the bar advanced to 100%.

The moment 100% was reached, something amazing happened.

All standing metal shelves transformed into flat grid wooden racks, and the items on them changed from instant noodles and shampoo to oranges, apples, and other common fruits. The whole replacement process had no intermediary phase, it was completed in the blink of an eye. Not only that, even the patched-up walls and wooden furniture crafted by Hot Pepper Village villagers disappeared, replaced by the skin’s built-in freezer, drink display stands, and other equipment.

Even the bar area underwent some changes, like the milky white counter becoming a bright orange, the coffee machine was replaced with a different model, and even the computer’s keyboard and mouse seemed much newer.

"What, what just happened?" Lin Qing exclaimed in amazement.

Elorie’s eyes widened so much they were about to fall out.

The only one able to remain calm was Liu Shuyue; her face briefly showed a hint of surprise, soon replaced by admiration. As Lin Qing was exclaiming, Liu Shuyue turned to Chen Xuan, nodding in approval—as if in her eyes, any mundane notion of miracles was not a problem for Chen Xuan.

The scanning gun was also restored.

Or rather, it was straightforwardly replaced with a new one—it now shared the counter’s eye-catching orange skin, its cracks gone without a trace.

At the same time, Chen Xuan noticed that a new item appeared in the store inventory page: "Classic Department Store."

Well then, it seems that the tobacco and alcohol he stocked and the handcrafted furniture made by the villagers haven’t disappeared, but rather have been stored as the original skin. If he reverted to the original skin at this moment, the scanning gun would probably still be in a damaged state.

Chen Xuan’s view of the mini-mall instantly changed.

This is not just a money-grabbing skin!

It’s clearly an extra lifeline from the Ability Store!

No matter how destroyed the shop becomes, as long as there is an unused skin available, it can be instantly reborn!

"Don’t panic, I’ve just slightly adjusted our business direction," Chen Xuan told the three of them, "Starting today, this store sells both tobacco, alcohol, instant noodles, as well as fresh fruit."

This is not an easy task, of course; he hadn’t encountered any fruit supply channels before, and many things need to be learned from scratch.

But compared to satisfying increasingly high demands from guests, what does this problem count for?

Chen Xuan picked up the scanning gun and pulled the trigger at the new guest, Elorie.