Chapter 417: 257 Opening! The First Customer! _1
Chapter 417: 257 Opening! The First Customer! _1
Chapter 417: Chapter 257 Opening! The First Customer! _1
“Shop renovation countdown: 0 hours 0 minutes 13 seconds”
Standing in front of the closed door of the Starfire Foster Shop, watching the countdown of less than a minute appearing in front of him, a smile spread across Xu Ran’s face.
Perfect timing.
Looking at the shop in front of him, which seemed unchanged from the outside, Xu Ran felt a surge of anticipation.
So… what would the system transform this new shop into?
“Let’s go, let’s take a look together.” He softly spoke to the eagerly awaiting three little ones behind him, then pressed his hands on the door and watched the countdown in front of him.
Three…
Two…
One!
The moment the countdown ended, Xu Ran pushed open the shop door forcefully.
The sight within the Monster Wooden City’s Starfire Foster Shop unveiled before his eyes.
Perhaps due to adapting to the local conditions, or maybe the different choice of location allowed the system more free play, the third Starfire Foster Shop, located in Monster Wooden City, exhibited a completely different decorating style from before.
Almost entirely constructed from solid wood, the unadorned and unpolished flooring and decor gave a sense of raw natural beauty.
Just stepping inside, Xu Ran could smell the pleasant fragrance of wood wafting in the shop.
Stretching out his hand and touching the clearly-etched wood grain on the surface of the counter – it felt substantial yet comforting – a surprising delight crossed Xu Ran’s face.
Unexpectedly, the system had deviated from its usual pattern this time.
“Meow-” (This spot is not bad!)
Ziyun, being familiar, jumped onto the counter from Cancan’s back, lying down at the place where it used to be, tucking its paws into its chest.
As soon as it lay down, it felt a distinct difference in texture. The slightly coarse wood grain pressed against its soft belly, maintaining warmth excellently, providing it with a comfortable feeling it had never experienced before.
“Let’s go, let’s check out other places.” Xu Ran said with a smile, then led the way to the guest lounge on the side.
Perhaps to match the natural decorating style, the guest lounge had dramatically changed. Rows of wooden tables and chairs had replaced the original large sofas, with board games of this world replacing video games on the tables.
Even the junk food that used to be on the snack rack had been replaced with various dried fruits.
“Try this.” Nonchalantly opening a bag of pistachios, Xu Ran exited the lounge with the three little ones while eating and showing off.
Speaking of which, the lounge in the shop was indeed a bit too youthful before.
Those who were stronger Beast Masters tended to be middle-aged. They were not interested in those games, such a lounge suited them better.
Maybe, this could attract more powerful Beast Masters?
With this thought, the smile on Xu Ran’s face grew more profound.
Hmm… these pistachios are quite fragrant.
Together, Xu Ran and the three pets savored the pistachios while entering the Grooming Room.
Despite the shop’s area being many times larger than before, the Grooming Room had been expanded using the Space Expansion technology. Compared to the variety in external decor styles, the working areas like the Grooming Room did not seem to have many changes.
After a brief look, confirming that the Grooming Room was still the style he was familiar with, even the positioning of the tool cabinet and care platform remained the same as before, Xu Ran left the Grooming Room with relief, promptly leading the three little entities to the elevator on the first floor, heading straight to the second floor.
With a short sense of weightlessness and a “ding” sound, they had reached the second floor of the Foster Shop.
The second floor, expanded using the Space Expansion technology, appeared far more vast than it looked from outside, so vast that the boundary was almost invisible. Seeing the wilderness all around and the world appearing as if it had been reset, Xu Ran instantly realized what this place was.
The Foster Area.
The Foster Area, which had originally been placed on the basement floor, was finally seeing some daylight due to the abundance of floors.
Compared to the Foster Areas of Qingzhou City and Xieyun City, the Foster Area of Monster Wooden City lacked some vitality at the moment as it appeared rather desolate.
But this situation would improve as the shop gained fame and more tenants moved in.
“Let’s go, let’s check out the next ten floors.” Xu Ran smiled, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
Although he hadn’t been there yet, he already knew what the third to the twelfth floor resembled.
Because when he was choosing floors in the elevator just now, he had seen the attribute icons for ten training areas.
“Ding…”
The elevator stopped on the third floor, and seeing the water world outside the elevator, Xu Ran’s face expressed an “as expected” expression.
Although the external structure of the shop had changed considerably, the Starfire Foster Shop was still the same old Starfire Foster Shop.
Floor by floor, Xu Ran finally went from the twelfth floor First Attribute training area to get into the elevator and press the button for the thirteenth floor, the last one.
“What do you guess the next floor will be?” With the feeling of weightlessness coursing through him again, Xu Ran turned his head to look at the three little ones.
“Charming!” (It’s where we sleep!)
Cancan’s eyes sparkled as it answered first.
“I think so too.” Xu Ran smiled, an odd glint in his eyes, “On another note, the number thirteen is not very auspicious.”
“Meow?” (Why isn’t it auspicious?)
Ziyun turned its head, curiously asking.
Thinking of “13”, it would remind it of Xu Ran and the three of them. The number seemed wonderful, suitable for the floor of a living area. How could it be inauspicious?
Before Xu Ran could answer, the elevator door slowly opened after a clear electronic sound.
Within the similarly natural and original decor, the living area for Xu Ran and the three little ones came into view.
Bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining room…
Although the decorating style was drastically different from the previous Starfire Foster Shop, the layout of the new home for Xu Ran and the three pets remained the same as before.
“It looks pretty good.” After checking all the rooms on the thirteenth floor, Xu Ran nodded in satisfaction.
“Meow?” (You haven’t said why the number thirteen is inauspicious yet!)
Ziyun was very concerned about what Xu Ran had just said and couldn’t help but ask again.
“It’s nothing.” Xu Ran smiled and rubbed Ziyun’s head, “I just heard about it before.”
“This shop is our new start in Monster Wooden City, so from now on, thirteen is our lucky number!”
“Meow-” (That seems more like it.)
Ziyun nodded in satisfaction.
“Xi Lu~” (Now we’re only six hours away from midnight, can we use the Training Area?)
Star, who had been silent all along, whinnied, with a look of expectation flashing in his eyes.
At these words, Xu Ran and the other two little ones fell silent.
They couldn’t help but look at Star with odd eyes.
Please, they had just arrived in Monster Wooden City today!
Didn’t have to rush so much!
“Once the shop is decorated, the Training Area can be used.” Xu Ran nodded, “I’ve already given you the corresponding access.”
“Xi Lu~” (See you at midnight then!)
Star snorted and turned to enter the elevator, heading for the floor with the Dark Attribute Training Area.
“Meow!” (I’ve come to Monster Wooden City at great pains, I’m going to play for a day!)
Ziyun hummed and looked towards the elevator.
Charming-” (I’m not going either, I want to have a good night’s sleep!)
Cancan nodded in agreement and also looked at the elevator.
After a longer silence, the two little ones looked at each other.
“Charming?” (Why aren’t you going to play?)
“Meow?” (Why aren’t you going to sleep?)
After asking each other at the same time, the two little ones paused and then rushed towards the elevator in unison.
What game? What sleep?
Starfire dare not become stronger secretly behind them!
Watching the three little ones disappearing into the elevator, Xu Ran shook his head and laughed, a few more gratifications in his eyes.
Seeing that all three Pet Beasts were trying so hard, he also felt better.
Since this is the case, he, as a Beast Master, should not slacken off.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Xu Ran quickly entered a deep meditation under the superimposed effects of the two Meditation Acceleration Cards.
The breakthrough of contract power to the Fourth Stage is just a start.
In Xieyun City, the General Stage is just enough to leave the city, giving a glimpse into how strong the competition is.
So even though he has just broken through, he mustn’t be arrogant…
Continue the charge towards the Fifth Stage contract power!
The next day, early morning.
After waking up early and washing up with the three little ones, Xu Ran and the three little ones enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the second-floor Foster Area and then came down to the first-floor shop together.
One has to say, compared to the previous arrangement of feeding the residents from the second floor to the basement first, then from the basement to the ground floor, the new shop’s layout is much more logical.
With the timing right to open the shop door, Xu Ran turned to the three little ones, “Aren’t you going to train today?”
Upon hearing this, the three little ones shook their heads together.
Last night, they trained till midnight, and are still tired at this moment, today’s training will have to start in the afternoon at earliest.
“In that case, you three can accompany me to open the shop.” Xu Ran smiled, “Let’s set a small goal for the first day of opening.”
After a slight pause, Xu Ran slowly began under the curious gaze of the three little ones, “Serve one customer.”
The expressions of the three little ones suddenly turned odd.
What kind of goal is this?!
But as it turned out, the goal Xu Ran set was indeed reasonable.
Because after several hours of opening, with noon approaching, no customer had yet entered the Starfire Foster Shop.
Even the previous Qingzhou and Xieyun Foster Shops did not experience such a downturn when they first opened.
“It seems that Ms. Xu Qing was right.” Xu Ran rubbed his chin, “It’s indeed hard to run a Foster Shop in Monster Wooden City.”
Even though the Sky-touching Mysterious Wood has not produced Mystical Wood Dew for a long time, the Beast Masters in the city are not used to seeking the help of foster shop to care for their Pet Beasts.
Therefore, running a Foster Shop in Monster Wooden City is not easy.
“No worries, let’s wait a bit longer.” Xu Ran leaned back on his chair, his attitude decidedly calm.
He believed that once they got their first customer, the situation would improve drastically.
Just as one person and three pets were eagerly waiting, a voice came from the outside of the shop door.
“Eh? A new foster shop has opened here?”
As the sound came, a young man walked in curiously.
Xu Ran stood up immediately, flashing a polite smile.
“Welcome to our shop-!”