“Big sis, you’re already this tired right after opening up.
Would you like to go grab a bite and rest with us?” As dusk fell, today’s business was almost over.
Yet, at this very moment, a customer still showed up—though it was an unwelcome guest.
A few students were clearly wearing school uniforms, but their behavior was more like punks, and their flippant words laid bare their intentions.
Firefly frowned.
She welcomed customers coming to buy cake, and she welcomed those wanting photos, but this she absolutely could not tolerate.
Walking straight into the shop and looking around disorderly, making uncalled-for remarks about her person.
Even though the “Closed” sign had already been flipped, these people still barged in recklessly.
“Bam!” The sound of a heavy palm slamming onto the table drew everyone’s attention.
“What do you guys want to do to my Firefly?
Leave quickly, or I won’t let you off easily!” Belle displayed the emergency number on her phone, “The Enforcers will be here in a minute at most!
You guys better think this through!” Sixth Street was practically a sea of people today, and Sixth Street had also deployed quite a police force to maintain Order.
Presumably, quite a few Enforcers were still stationed in Sixth Street right now.
“You!” The leader of the punks wanted to say something more, but seeing that the emergency call could be triggered with just a flick of a finger, he left anyway, leaving behind a harsh parting remark.
“Just you wait, you two young ladies.
There’ll be a time for meals next time.” Firefly breathed a sigh of relief, and Belle came over to her side.
“It’s fine now, Firefly.
You must never be cowardly with punks like this!
You’ve got to hit them hard with a heavy punch!” Firefly smiled.
Yeah, she really ought to hit them hard.
If Belle hadn’t broken up the situation just now, Firefly definitely would have given each of them a punch and left them with only one breath left.
“Thank you, Belle.” Firefly expressed her sincere gratitude.
Belle took it very well, scratching the back of her head.
“Hahaha, it’s nothing.” “Thank you so much for today.
If it weren’t for you and E18, my shop definitely would have turned into a complete mess today.” Today, Firefly Cake Shop had been impacted by three different groups in total.
They were freelancers, students, and members of society.
If Belle hadn’t come over to help early in the morning, Firefly probably wouldn’t have been able to handle this massive stroke of wealth.
“It’s getting late.
How about we go to Master Chop’s noodle shop and eat together?” Not planning to continue the topic, Belle directly proposed going for ramen.
Firefly naturally accepted with pleasure.
When the two of them arrived at the Koi Noodle Shop, they saw Master Chop standing outside the shop rather than behind the counter.
This didn’t look like they were open for business.
“What’s wrong?
Did something happen, Master Chop?” Belle rarely saw Master Chop standing outside the shop, so she stepped forward to ask.
As soon as Master Chop saw the two of them, he burst into laughter, “Hahaha, I heard about it.
Today is when Miss Firefly’s shop opened, right?
A lot of people came to Sixth Street today, and just today’s stock of ramen ran out completely.” “Ah, does that mean you’re closed for the day already?” Belle looked a little disappointed.
However, Master Chop laughed heartily and said, “It’s alright.
Hearing that today’s crowd was related to you two, I deliberately reserved some ingredients.
Figuring that you must not have eaten yet after a busy day, I’ve already prepared the ramen.” Master Chop was very courteous, bringing out two bowls of steaming hot ramen from behind the counter.
Belle’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Wow!
Master Chop is so thoughtful.” Without saying much more, Belle immediately pulled Firefly to sit down at a seat, and each of them picked up their bowls to eat.
Firefly glanced at Master Chop, then said softly, “Thank you, Master Chop.” “Hahaha, I should be thanking Miss Firefly instead.
Consider this my treat today, no need to pay.” Master Chop was very happy, and the two of them accepted.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two parted ways downstairs at the apartment building.
When Firefly returned home, she finally felt her bones relaxing.
The tension of the entire day had almost killed her.
She hadn’t expected the cake to be so popular, nor had she expected that running a shop would be such an exhausting task.
“Today’s operation was a huge success, with a net profit of around 2.1 million Dennies.” HQ’s voice chimed in.
Firefly was feeling somewhat displeased now; this guy had completely vanished during business hours and only showed up until now.
But as soon as she heard about that 2.1 million, Firefly couldn’t help but beam with joy.
“Evaluating your business activities for today: Perfect.
Timing, seizing the opportunity, rapid restocking—your efforts created the success of the first day, directly making Firefly Cake Shop famous in New Eridu.
I believe tomorrow will keep you even busier, so do your best, young lady.” Hearing this, Firefly also recalled the chaos of the entire day.
When the stock was completely depleted, Firefly had to make cakes on the spot.
The shop used to be a small warehouse, and Firefly used glass to separate the display counter from the back kitchen, so the entire process of Firefly making cakes was visible to everyone.
When she neatly finished frosting a cake, the crowd burst into cheers.
Although there were only ten people inside the shop, someone was live-streaming, so the outside of the shop also became lively.
“Ah, so tired.” Firefly lay on the sofa.
At this point, she would fall asleep if she wasn’t careful, but HQ’s voice didn’t stop.
“Firefly-1, you have received a special visitation signal.” “A special visitation signal?
What is that?” Toward Firefly’s confusion, HQ was never stingy with explanations.
“A special visitation signal from Astral is currently being generated, scheduled within the next two days.
Please prepare Firefly-1 for reception.” As soon as she heard the word Astral, Firefly knew.
Long ago, HQ had said that as long as the shop opened, there was a chance of receiving special reception commissions.
This type of commission must be received with a customized cake, and the final evaluation would still be based on the client’s sense of happiness, with both the cake and her own actions being important factors.
However, this wasn’t what Firefly cared about most.
“HQ, can I know who is coming?” “I’m sorry, HQ cannot disclose visitor information without permission.” Firefly could guess as much.
HQ seemed to need to sign agreements with others before doing these things; everyone had the right to sign contracts with an existence like HQ, except for herself, who was a clone.
“Do clones not have any rights?” Firefly asked with some dissatisfaction.
“Your rights comply with all human rights.” HQ gave an answer it considered acceptable.
Firefly felt that today was very fulfilling.
If there was anything bad to say, it was that the Cunning Hares didn’t come.
…
On the other side at the Video Store, Belle had just returned home to see Wise watching TV, but Belle’s attention drifted to the shelves.
“Brother, why are there so many empty spaces on the shelves?” “A lot of customers came today, and they’ve all been rented out.” Wise’s voice was very calm, as if he wasn’t the one who had made a killing today.
Belle of course knew the reason.
With the opening of Firefly Cake Shop, the entirety of Sixth Street got a taste of success, and the Video Store was no exception.
At this moment, Belle also cast her gaze toward the TV.
On the screen, that bad-tempered reporter was actually interviewing a short, stout man quite politely—she remembered that this reporter didn’t even care about the Enforcers.
They quickly understood the content of the interview: it turned out that the replanning project for the Dead-End Hollow had been contracted by Vision Corporation.
They planned to blow up the damaged railway inside the Dead-End Hollow and build a city on the ruins.
“Master, a cute girl is detected rapidly approaching the Video Store.
It is judged that she might be here to use the restroom, might be here to return overdue videotapes, or might harbor malicious intent toward the Master.” Fairy’s voice rang out in the room.
Belle instantly became somewhat dissatisfied: “What’s that supposed to mean?
She’s probably just a customer.
I’ll go answer the door.” With that, Belle went to open the door of the Video Store.
But the moment Belle opened the door, a figure lunged straight in, her nose making intimate contact with the ceramic tiles.
“Meow ah!” The Nekomata crashed heavily onto the ground.
“So painful, why did you suddenly open the door?” Seeing this cute girl, just as adorable as the stray black cats on the street, Belle stared in a daze.
At this time, Wise also walked over.
“Miss, are you alright?” “Why did you suddenly open the door?
No, wait…
I’m not here for that!
Don’t believe what that short, stout guy on the news says!
Someone is still inside the Dead-End Hollow!” Belle and Wise exchanged glances, secretly making a decision.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”