Even Tian Lu cracked a smile.
Hao leaned back in his chair, a steaming bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, watching it all unfold.
He felt it heavy in his chest.
Gratitude.
For the store.
For the peace.
For this strange, growing family of his.
Day after day, things moved forward. Orders were made, customers came and went, and at last –
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Side Task 1: Sell 50 Soft Serve Vanilla Ice Creams
Progress: 0/50 → 50/50
Reward: Unlock new product – Soft Serve Chocolate Ice Cream. The machine will be installed in the store after business hours.
Status: Completed! Claim your reward now?
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Reward claimed!
It took longer than Hao had expected.
He thought with the Scorching Soul City’s new outhouse-door connection, he’d finish it in no time.
But no.
He only had three regular customers from there.
Maybe four, if he counted Little Liz – the oversized lizard beast partner of that girl Yushou Ya’er.
Technically a customer.
Kind of.
People from Scorching Soul City would occasionally barge into the store, but most of them didn’t try anything.
They just pointed at the shelves.
Complained about prices.
Came in to take a dump, but found themselves in an entirely different place – then stormed out a few seconds later.
Claiming they’d been trapped in an illusion realm or some bizarre hallucination, blaming it all on the food they ate for wrecking not just their stomach, but also their mind.
To make things worse, the number of visitors from Scorching Soul City was actually dropping by the day.
And Hao still didn’t know the exact reason why.
At least… not until he heard the latest rumor.
Apparently, word had spread that an old outhouse had been cursed somewhere in the city.
The kind that teleported your soul to a different realm the moment you tried to relieve yourself.
Some said it was the entrance to a demonic cult’s trial ground.
Others claimed it was a sentient formation that judged the purity of your bowel movements and punished you accordingly.
One guy allegedly came out crying and clutching his belly, insisting a little girl suddenly punched him right in the gut.
A sneak attack on his core!
Naturally, everyone assumed it was haunted.
That said, Hao didn’t exactly mind the buzz going around.
If people thought the outhouse was cursed but also kinda mysterious, then who’s to say curiosity wouldn’t win in the end?
Sure, some ran away screaming.
But others?
They’d get curious enough to poke the door again.
And that was all Hao needed.
After all, he wasn’t just a store owner.
He was a man with dreams, a streak of optimism, and the strategic mind of a gambling addict who’d bet his last spirit stone on a talking chicken to win the immortal race.
If people were afraid, he’d play the long game.
Let the people spread the myth.
Let the people plant some bait.
The store was already halfway to becoming a local urban legend.
And if the gamble paid off?
The outhouse portal would go from “cursed shithole” to “forbidden gateway to heavenly snacks” in no time.
Don’t gamble, kids. Hao was just coping.
If he actually sat down and did the math, he might realize that all those days of effort barely got him three new loyal customers.
Three.
From an entire city!
Weeks of praying to the task screen, organizing shelves…
And what did he get?
A trio of weirdos and a lizard.
Not exactly the empire he imagined.
Technically better than zero, but only in the way that getting stabbed once is better than getting stabbed twice.
Let’s be honest – Hao was fully in his ’delulu’ arc now.
Manifesting hard.
Hao wasn’t running a store.
He was running a gacha pull simulator with real-life sweat and snacks.
Maybe if he worshipped to the ice cream machine hard enough, it would pity him and spawn ten more customers overnight.
Maybe.
Probably not.
But hope was free.
Tomorrow came faster than expected.
And by the time the morning light peeked through the sky, Hao was already at the counter… licking the newly unlocked Soft Serve Chocolate Ice Cream like it was a divine artifact.
He didn’t say a word.
Didn’t give a poetic review or break it down like some gourmet scholar.
Nope.
Just one solid rating:
“10 out of 10. Would betray the vanilla one for this in a heartbeat.”
As for the actual taste? Hao wasn’t going to spoil the surprise.
Let the customers figure it out for themselves. He wasn’t a villain.
The newly installed machine itself looked exactly like the vanilla one, just sitting smugly beside it like an identical twin who happened to spit put dark brown instead of white.
After finishing his cone and tidying up the place a little, Hao finally opened the store for the day.
As always, he expected Lin Yijun or Xiao Lianfeng to stroll in first.
They used to be the reliable early birds.
Used to be!
Because those two were now completely dethroned –
By none other than the chaotic duo: Old Tiger Zhao and Dou Xinshi.
“HAHAHA! I told ya kid. The Cola one’s better for morning qi movement!”
“Bah! Lime Fizz clears your mind, old man! You just don’t have the taste buds of a refined man like me!”
They barged in like regulars at a tavern, arms already ready to scoop cans and instant noodles off shelves like it was war prep.
Hao had no idea when those two became best friends.
But somehow, their shared obsession with the store’s products had turned them into the closest pair of walking ad campaigns he’d ever seen.
Every day, without fail, they’d show up, finish eating, and then spend an extra hour just discussing product combinations as if it was some secret alchemy.
Old Tiger Zhao had one arm lazily slung over Dou Xinshi’s shoulder like they were long-lost drinking buddies at a reunion.
The two were walking in sync toward the drinks section – until Old Tiger Zhao abruptly froze mid-step.
His arm stiffened.
Dou Xinshi, who was mid-rant about mixing Lime Fizz with spicy noodles, nearly got yanked back like a startled mule.
“W-What’s wrong, old man?” Dou Xinshi frowned, adjusting his sleeve that got wrinkled by the sudden brake.
Old Tiger Zhao didn’t answer right away.
He slowly lifted one trembling finger and pointed dramatically across the store.
At the new chocolate ice cream machine.
“It’s not there before, right, kid?”
He didn’t wait for an answer.
Instead, he leaned forward and took an aggressive sniff of the air.