Lu Sinian closed his shop for the day and opened the system panel.
[Energy Coins: 342,000]
[Shop 1: 2,337 items currently available]
[Shop 2: 3,645 items currently available]
[Today’s Total Earnings: 76,500 Energy Coins]
As expected, since opening his shop in Caldera, the daily gold coins he earned had multiplied several times over.
And now, the Floating Life Shop was just getting started, not yet having actually sold any goods. Once the chain stores opened, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he could complete the task within a month at most.
Just when everything was going smoothly, the energy coins quickly broke through the 400,000 mark, and then the growth rate suddenly slowed down. The gold coins earned were far less than in the previous days.
Although a new shop does attract more customers at the beginning, and a slight decrease afterward is understandable, the past two days have seen a precipitous drop.
Previously, the shop was packed with customers, and practically bursting at the door. But now, when it reopened, there was no need to queue at all. Lu Sinian could easily handle the cashier work himself without even needing Liu Er’s help.
Reclining in his chair, looking at the deserted shop, Lu Sinian felt something must have happened that he didn’t know about.
Thinking about it now, the only person who could help him was probably Abel.
Vorris had already started handling matters for the Floating Life Office and wouldn’t be back for at least two weeks.
Abel was well-informed and had a group of loyal brothers under his command, he would definitely know what was going on.
Having made up his mind, he immediately went to find someone to call Abel over.
For the past two days, Abel had actually been waiting for Lu Sinian to ask him. When he arrived at the shop, he didn’t go in, looking troubled.
Lu Sinian frowned, but before he could speak, Abel interrupted.
“My lord, I know what you want to ask me… This is a long story.”
He hesitated for a long time, unsure where to begin.
The day after Abel discovered the monster, rumors began circulating in Caldera that the Church of Light was raising monsters.
Abel immediately swore that he hadn’t leaked the information, and he had never told anyone except the Demon Lord!
Lu Sinian seemed thoughtful, waving his hand to let him continue.
“Then the rumors became increasingly outrageous. At first, many people treated it as a joke.”
But soon, the narrative shifted. Sometime later, the rumor became that the Church of Light didn’t actually have any god, and it was all a monster impersonating a god—a hoax from the Church of Light.
This rumor immediately caused an uproar.
The followers cultivated by the Church of Light over a thousand years couldn’t be easily wiped out in a short time. Upon hearing this, they saw it as a stain on their faith and on the divine.
Furthermore, with the Floating Life Church beginning to show its power, this mudslinging was then directed at Lu Sinian.
“That demon must be spreading rumors! So cunning to deal with the Church of Light!”
“They only want to destroy the Church of Light, and they’ll resort to such despicable methods. Hmph.”
“That’s why demons are demons, they can’t compare to gods. They’re ultimately different.”
Many slanderous vicious and harsh words poured out from those people. Over time, this inevitably influenced the opinions of ordinary people.
At first, they might not have cared too much, but later they gradually became skeptical, naturally affecting their shop’s business, and they rarely came anymore.
After finishing his story, Abel was furious. “It must be the Church of Light’s doing! Why did it have to come out now right after I discovered it, and they just happened to point the finger at you!”
Lu Sinian remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly, inwardly reflecting.
Indeed, commercial competition exists in every world.
“In that case, let’s ban the Church of Light from buying anything from us.”
This was a complete breakdown in relations.
*
Late at night, Caldera was already fast asleep when a somber atmosphere rose in the darkness.
The night watchman with a torch in hand, covered his mouth and lazily yawned. His eyes were half-closed as he patrolled the streets according to a pre-planned route.
When he passed a dead end, a faint, fishy smell wafted into his nostrils.
The guard noticed and raised his torch slightly, tentatively venturing into the alley.
The torchlight cast a dim, reddish glow on the alley. As he drew closer, the stench grew stronger, a nauseating, putrid smell.
The light clearly illuminated the scene before him: blood everywhere, limbs scattered everywhere.
A loud crash echoed as the torch fell to the ground.
A terrified scream shattered the stillness of the night in Caldera.
“Dead…dead people!!”
*
Nearly a week had passed since the rumors began.
Now, few in Caldera cared about the gossip, and were gripped by extreme panic.
Since the Demon Shop appeared, almost everyone’s strength had increased significantly, giving them the upper hand in the fight against the beast tide, and deaths had become rare.
Not to mention dying inside the main city for no reason in a gruesome manner with no way to find the culprit—how could this not be terrifying?
Perhaps they themselves would be the next target?
After days of intensified investigation, several missing persons cases were discovered, and combined with the only body found, it was utterly chilling.
It was said that the corpse had been gnawed by a magical beast. There wasn’t a single unscathed spot on its body, a truly gruesome sight. Only scattered pieces of flesh and blood remained at the scene, not even bones were left, and blood splattered all over the walls.
Meanwhile, the number of customers at the Floating Life General Store dwindled. Now, everyone in Caldera was in a state of panic, and on high alert. They dared not even leave their homes, let alone go shopping.
This situation occurring at the foot of the royal city enraged His Majesty the King, who ordered a thorough investigation and a tally of how many people had gone missing in recent days.
Many people were speculating that perhaps a powerful magical beast had infiltrated the main city. Judging by the state of the corpse, only a magical beast could have done it.
The chaos outside didn’t affect Lu Sinian. As long as he didn’t step out of his shop, he was safe.
Business was down, and he had some free time. He occasionally chatted with Rong Qing but ignored everything else.
But sometimes, ignoring things didn’t guarantee peace.