The morning sunlight had yet to fully penetrate the gaps in the curtains, its soft rays casting a warm, golden glow throughout the room.
Qin Zhiyuan was still deep in slumber when suddenly, a sharp System alert pierced his ears without warning, slicing through the tranquil morning like a blade.
【Alert! Your Sand Table is under attack. The Defensive Shield’s health has dropped to 34/200. Health loss can be repaired using Points. Please monitor the health bar and repair it promptly!】
The System’s voice was urgent and piercing. Qin Zhiyuan jolted awake from his dream, quickly sitting up and leaning against the headboard as he patted his chest.
With such a large Store standing here, it was bound to attract some meddlesome Mutant Beasts to test their luck. They’d come up and take a few wild swipes, only leaving once they realized they couldn’t break through the defense.
Whenever the Sand Table was attacked, the Defensive Shield’s health would drop. Little by little, it had reached the point where repairs were necessary.
【Alert! If the Defensive Shield shatters completely, rebuilding it will require a large number of Points!】
Qin Zhiyuan was now fully awake, roused by the System’s noise. He ran a hand through his tousled hair and sighed helplessly. “Repair it.”
【The Defensive Shield’s health has been fully restored. 83 Points have been deducted for repair costs.】
Hearing the System’s notification, Qin Zhiyuan’s face immediately twisted with a pained expression.
He pursed his lips. He’d only earned a few Points to begin with, and now 83 were gone in an instant. So repairing two points of health cost one Point—that was way too expensive.
Another day of working for nothing.
Qin Zhiyuan’s poverty had successfully sharpened his wits. He sighed, dragging his weary body out of bed to wash up and eat.
After the meal, he sat at the table, lightly tapping his fingers on the surface as he pondered what to do today and what new items to sell in the evening.
Standing in his somewhat cramped home, Qin Zhiyuan gazed at the Lego Store Sand Table occupying just five square meters in the corner, his brow slightly furrowed.
The Sand Table’s current size was manageable at home, but once the little people returned, they were sure to bring a flood of new customers.
His business would continue to expand, requiring more and more space. It was inevitable that he couldn’t keep operating from home forever.
“I need to find a bigger place,” Qin Zhiyuan muttered to himself. This few-dozen-square-meter apartment simply wasn’t enough for his operations.
He decided to search for a new location nearby. After inquiring with several agents online, he finally—as luck would have it—found a warehouse that satisfied him completely.
The warehouse was only a ten-minute walk from his home, making it incredibly convenient. Its interior was also spacious enough for him to work freely.
After renting the warehouse, Qin Zhiyuan wasted no time starting the relocation process, hiring a few people to help him move.
Not only did he need to move the Sand Table and the structures, but he also had to bring daily necessities, household appliances, tables, chairs, and more. From now on, he’d likely spend most of his time there, only returning home to sleep—and even then, he might end up sleeping at the warehouse when necessary.
“Be careful when moving, especially with the Sand Table and the Lego structures. Don’t damage them,” Qin Zhiyuan instructed seriously.
If the Lego Store were to fall apart during the move, he wouldn’t be able to open for business tonight—just reassembling it would be the death of him.
Thankfully, the base was only five square meters now, with sides just over two meters long. If it were any larger, it wouldn’t even fit through the door.
The workers nodded in agreement, carefully lifted the sand table, and slowly made their way toward the door. Qin Zhiyuan followed behind, and the three of them walked with occasional pauses, quickly reaching their destination.
The sand table and the building were placed on the open ground. Qin Zhiyuan planned to use the expansion permission from the beginner’s gift package issued by the System. He called out to the System in his mind and performed his first upgrade.
[System, area upgrade, sand table expansion.]
[Detected that you have 5 square meters of unused area. Expanding for you now…]
In an instant, a flash of light illuminated the warehouse. The original five-square-meter square sand table began to rapidly expand. In just a moment, the base sand table grew to ten square meters, instantly providing much more usable space.
The range of the sand table represented the protected territory under the defensive shield in the otherworld. With a larger territory, his buildings could expand and grow bigger.
Looking at the refreshed ten-square-meter sand table before him, Qin Zhiyuan wasted no time. Rolling up his sleeves, he dove headfirst into the pile of LEGO bricks.
His hands moved deftly among the bricks, picking out suitable parts. The previously cramped three-square-meter store gradually extended outward under his skillful hands, expanding bit by bit.
Before long, the store’s footprint successfully expanded to about six square meters, doubling its previous size.
Of course, this scale didn’t satisfy him. Since he couldn’t expand horizontally anymore, he could still build upward.
Qin Zhiyuan began constructing the second floor, stacking LEGO bricks layer by layer. As the height increased, a delicate two-story building gradually took shape.
He set the second floor’s height at 35 cm and the first floor at 40 cm, making the building’s total height 75 cm.
To ensure the building’s stability, he added special reinforcement parts to key areas, making sure it could withstand the weight of various “goods.”
Qin Zhiyuan had already planned the layout of the floors in his mind.
He intended to turn the second floor into a dedicated area for cold drinks, ice cream, and desserts. The tiny people lived in a high-temperature apocalypse, so cooling and refreshing items would surely be popular.
The first floor would continue as a convenience store, mainly selling food and miscellaneous items. Once certain businesses grew, he could open new floors or branches.
Qin Zhiyuan took a few steps back to admire his masterpiece, then shifted his focus to preparing the goods for tonight.
He already had a plan. Opening Meituan, he first searched for and purchased circular ice molds with a diameter of one centimeter.
Although takeout was expensive, it was fast. Online shopping and delivery were slower by comparison. He had just earned over a hundred Points in profit yesterday, making over a thousand yuan overnight, so he felt generous today.
But ice alone wasn’t enough. Selling drinks also required cups of the right size.
Qin Zhiyuan fell into deep thought, recalling various small containers from daily life and considering what might be roughly the right size.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. The small measuring cup used for cough syrup in his childhood quietly surfaced in his mind.
Although the measuring cup didn’t have a lid, its size was just right. He quickly ordered a 5 ml measuring cup.
The cup was about 2.5 cm wide and 1.7 cm tall, capable of holding six to seven milliliters of liquid. For the tiny people, this would be like a large cup of milk tea—a fairly suitable size.
With cups now in hand, straws were still needed. He carefully sifted through various types of straws and finally settled on the extremely thin ones used for drinking oral liquid. However, these straws were still too long for the little people and needed to be trimmed.
Next was the selection of the beverage. He chose powdered sour plum soup for brewing, which could be used to make a sweet and refreshing drink perfect for combating the high temperatures.
After that, he purchased tubs of ice cream and 1-centimeter-wide ice cream sticks. He needed to break the sticks in half to make them 0.5 centimeters wide and then trim them to the appropriate length.
The deliveries arrived quickly one after another, with large and small packages being brought into the warehouse and spread across a large table.
Qin Zhiyuan eagerly opened the packages and began preparing. He filled the ice cube trays with water and placed them, along with the large tubs of ice cream, into the freezer.
Then, he picked up a pair of scissors and carefully trimmed the straws, measuring and adjusting them to the right length.
Just as Qin Zhiyuan was fully immersed in his preparations, a sharp, piercing screech of brakes suddenly cut through the air and reached his ears.
He abruptly looked up, scissors paused mid-air, his eyes filled with vigilance and confusion as he tilted his head to glance at the Sand Table.
Strange, why would anyone come at this time?
Weren’t the little people nocturnal? It was only a little past three in the afternoon, and it wasn’t dark yet.
On the Sand Table, a dusty large truck was parked crookedly in front of the mini Store, its tires leaving black skid marks on the ground, with clouds of dust still billowing from the rear.
A group of burly men climbed out of the truck. Surrounding the vehicle stood a crowd of people, each one towering and stern-faced. Leading them was a tall man with a fierce scar on his face, his eyes revealing a mix of greed and ferocity.
The scar-faced leader strode toward the mini Store, each step kicking up clouds of dust. His followers trailed closely behind like a pack of vicious dogs, their demeanor menacing.
This group clearly meant trouble, armed with sharp, long-bladed weapons, appearing well-prepared.
The leader kicked open the Store door and walked inside, looking around arrogantly as he roared, "This is a robbery!"
Author's Note: