Chapter 28

"We're finally back!" Rao Ke climbed out of the off-road vehicle.

They'd arrived at noon this time, so the moment the vehicle descended from the sky, it drew a crowd of onlookers.

The sleek, handsome body and overwhelming presence instantly captured everyone's gaze.

"What is that thing? So cool!" Laiensi's eyes lit up as he shouted to Ai Huike beside him.

Ai Huike stared at the flashy off-road vehicle, equally impressed and enamored, a strange excitement stirring in his chest.

Mo Duoya's eyes brightened at the sight—a machine like this would be incredible on the battlefield.

Phylosain was also deeply intrigued. He had practically traveled the entire Kaqisha Continent, yet he had never seen such an astonishing machine.

Perhaps even the dwarves, the most inventive and research-oriented race on the continent, had never laid eyes on something like this. Phylosain glanced at the dwarf beside him, who was already trembling with excitement at the sight of the vehicle.

He discreetly shuffled a step away, wary that the excited dwarf might accidentally hurt him in his fervor—he was still nursing his injuries, after all.

Meanwhile, Cecil, hidden in a corner, quietly observed the two figures stepping out of the vehicle—an elf and a witch.

He immediately ruled out Xue Jiali, which meant the divine envoy could only be the witch. The owner of this magical shop stocked with countless miraculous goods had to be the emissary sent by the Creator God, as foretold in the Human Emperor's final words, to help the Kaqisha Continent through its trials.

"Rao! What is this thing?" Antuoke, the dwarf, rushed to Rao Ke's side, his eyes locked onto the off-road vehicle, his beard bristling outward.

Rao Ke wasn't stingy with information. She smiled and explained, "It's a mode of transportation, similar to a carriage. Pretty cool, right?"

Antuoke nodded, then asked hesitantly, "Can I take a look?"

"Of course, you can even take it for a spin." Rao Ke handed the car keys to Antuoke.

"We'll likely be stocking this product in the shop soon," she added with a smile to the surrounding customers. "So stay tuned for updates!"

Antuoke carefully accepted the keys. "Thank you! Make sure to notify me when it's available!"

The off-road vehicle could hold six passengers in addition to the driver.

Since everyone wanted to try it out, the six seats were hotly contested before ultimately falling to Mo Duoya, Cecil, Philoxene, Beilika, Hongci, and Ai Huike.

"Damn it, Ai Huike!" Laiensi, who had nearly secured the last seat, could only watch helplessly as the off-road vehicle roared away.

The seven people inside felt a thrill surge from deep within as the vehicle shot into the sky—adrenaline pumping, hearts racing.

The six passengers in the back were ecstatic, but Antuoke in the driver's seat was even more so. His face flushed scarlet, and his beard splayed out like a folding fan.

After a lap around, everyone climbed out, brimming with excitement, and immediately crowded around Rao Ke to place orders for their own vehicles.

Rao Ke took back the keys and tossed them to Xue Jiali, telling him to park the vehicle.

Then she smiled warmly. "Absolutely. When new products arrive, we'll post announcements on the Astrolabe feed. You can follow Keke Shop's Astrolabe account!"

Rao Ke inwardly cringed. She hadn't fully explored the Astrolabe system at first, but recently, while bored in the Elf Forest, she'd delved into it and discovered the Astrolabe feed—a social media module.

Its function was somewhat similar to that big-eye app from her old world.

The users were predominantly beastmen, goblins, and humans, but in recent years, with elves and dwarves emerging into the wider world, the platform had seen a growing number of elf and dwarf users.

It was the most widely used social app across the Kaqisha Continent.

So Rao Ke had registered a business account for Keke Shop on it.

The guests on-site immediately followed her Astrolabe feed and even shared it with friends who hadn't come.

After wrapping up her promotional spiel, Rao Ke planned to head back to her room to freshen up.

Arriving on the third floor, she could clearly see that the last remaining empty room now had a nameplate hanging outside.

Aodisite.

Rao Ke merely glanced at it before entering her own room.

*Click.*

Aodisite opened her door and poked her head out, curiously staring at Rao Ke's door for a moment.

"Your student's back," she said.

Chrisley took an elegant sip of her vanilla tea. "I knew already."

"By the way, since you went to greet the elders last night, isn't it about time you prepared a welcome gift for our dear KeKe?" Chrisley looked at Aodisite, her meaning clear.

Aodisite rolled her eyes. "I've been asleep for so long, and the first thing you think about after I wake up is squeezing me for my treasures."

Despite her complaints, she rummaged through her dimensional storage and pulled out a Space Ring.

"It's filled with various treasures I've collected over the years, but I honestly can't remember what's inside." She tossed it to Chrisley.

Chrisley examined it briefly before deciding she'd later fuse it into Rao Ke's Space Ring.

"Alright, you'd better start preparing properly," Chrisley said, rising. "Don't embarrass yourself and come crying to me for help."

Aodisite rolled her eyes again. "As if. Now hurry up and leave, don't disturb my practice."

"Fine, fine."

Chrisley walked out and closed the door behind her.

She then made her way to Rao Ke's room and knocked first.

"Come in!" a voice called out.

With permission granted, Chrisley entered.

Rao Ke had just finished washing up, now dressed in comfortable, soft loungewear, and was checking her Astrolabe feed.

The followers were climbing rapidly—she was already approaching a million.

"Teacher, what's the matter?" Rao Ke looked at Chrisley.

Chrisley held up the dimensional stone in her hand. "This is a welcome gift from Aodisite. The stone's quality is excellent, and it contains numerous treasures she'd collected over the years."

Chrisley took the Space Ring, fused the dimensional stone into it, then handed it back to Rao Ke.

"By the way, when are you holding the final round of interviews for the remaining applicants?" Chrisley asked.

Rao Ke pondered for a moment. "Let me review the files first. Tomorrow at 12:30 in the afternoon, I'll clear out an empty room on the second floor to serve as the interview venue."

Chrisley nodded, told Rao Ke to rest well, and took her leave.

Rao Ke picked up the twelve files Chrisley had filtered down to.

She flipped through them casually.

"Mm, these look pretty good." At a glance, she spotted several rare races that were seldom seen.

Demon, angel, vampire...

She browsed through and then came across Kalisa's file.

"Peacock clan, huh?" A smile curled at the corners of Rao Ke's mouth. She had a feeling the interview in three days would be quite entertaining.

After reviewing the files, she drew red stars on the ones she found most promising.

Rao Ke summoned the system panel to check her upgrade and collection tasks.

【Upgrade Task: Obtain 5,000 Advanced Silver Card customers and 50 Top-tier Gold Card customers

Silver Cards (1,254/5,000)

Gold Cards (11/50)

Reward: Unlock Clothing & Accessories + General Merchandise Section】

The progress was a bit slow, and Rao Ke frowned. After all, Keke Shop's main clientele came from the neighboring towns.

The Teleportation Array in the Beastman Kingdom was built, but it hadn't been put into use yet. It would likely open next Wednesday, along with the array to the Elf Forest.

Once the arrays were operational, this task should be just about done. The main concern was whether anyone would purchase the fifty gold cards.

She then checked the collection task.

【Collection Task: Establish teleportation links with the primary races of the Kaqisha Continent

Progress (3/7)

Details: The primary races include (Beastmen, Humans, Elves, Witches, Dragons, Dwarves, Goblins)】

This one she'd just leave to fate.

"But why aren't demons, angels, vampires, and the like included?" Rao Ke asked curiously.

Sesame Paste was busy playing his handheld game. "Finish these first, then we'll talk. Any additional races you connect with will grant bonus rewards."

Rao Ke nodded and flipped over to the system inventory.

A shiny Shop Upgrade Card appeared before her eyes. She clicked on it to view the details.

【Name: Villa Shop Upgrade Card

Function: Expands the space of the villa and shop

Renovation Time: 2 days】

It also included detailed renovation blueprints. Both the villa and the shop would become four stories tall.

The shop's top floor would be converted into an aero-teleportation array lounge, and a new automated monitoring and management system would be installed, allowing for 24-hour operation.

As for the villa, a new floor would be inserted between the original first and second floors for entertainment and leisure. The third floor, designated for the men, would become six rooms, and the fourth floor for the women would follow suit.

Two elevators would also be installed for convenient vertical travel.

Rao Ke's eyes lit up. She planned to close the shop for renovations starting tomorrow, then conduct the staff interviews. By the time the shop and villa were expanded, she could reopen for business.

Perfect!

With her plans set, drowsiness washed over Rao Ke. She pulled the covers up and drifted off to sleep.

Downstairs, Xue Jiali was still tinkering with the Heart of the Forest in his room.

*Bang!*

Xue Jiali, long accustomed to this, calmly pulled out a tissue and wiped the soot from his face. "Failed again."

He let out a sigh and resignedly began cleaning up the mess. This was the tenth failure.

"Three chances left." He checked the remaining materials in his dimensional storage.

Though he'd hoped to complete the Heart of the Forest as a gift for Rao Ke before returning, it kept failing.

So he had crafted a simpler necklace as a gift for her instead.

The necklace was called the Starmoon Radiance Necklace, and it had taken him two sleepless days of relentless effort to finish.

When she received it, Rao Ke had been surprised for a moment, then smiled happily and accepted it.

"Thank you, Xue Jiali."

That smile of hers was now constantly replaying in Xue Jiali's mind, each memory making his heart race.

He knew he couldn't afford to recklessly waste any more opportunities. Right now, he was stuck at the final stage of fusing all the crystal fragments together.

Dwarves frequently visited the shop to purchase goods, especially alcohol and snacks to go with it.

Xue Jiali planned to consult the dwarves—after all, no one on the Kaqisha Continent was more skilled at crafting than them.

Everyone settled in for the night with their own thoughts. The next morning, customers arriving to shop were shocked to find the shop shrouded in dense mist.

Opening their Astrolabe, they indeed saw two messages posted on the official Keke Shop account they followed.

One announced a two-day closure for renovations, and the other announced the final round of interviews.

The disappointed customers had no choice but to leave, while the applicants nervously prepared for the afternoon's interviews.

Meanwhile, the shop owner and staff inside the villa leisurely enjoyed their breakfast, readying themselves for the employee interviews that afternoon.