Chapter 36

Simply put, lifestyle artifacts were just mechanical goods—air conditioners, fans, cars, and the like.

They weren't exactly popular on the Kaqisha Continent; this magic-centric world favored practical offensive and defensive artifacts.

Only the nobility used lifestyle artifacts to enhance their quality of life, and even then, those were mostly flashy designs with little substance.

The more practical and fun lifestyle artifacts were almost all proposed by the dwarves or His Majesty Peibaibi.

So mechanical goods from another world were bound to set off a new trend here.

Originally, these should have been part of the content unlocked after an upgrade, but due to special circumstances, they were all placed in the disaster category for purchase.

Looking at her points balance, Rao Ke fell silent for a moment.

The points needed for expansion, combined with her recent large expenses, left her with only a modest amount of points to spare.

After some careful selection, she spent nearly 570,000 points on three lifestyle artifacts: refrigerators, fans, and air conditioners.

It stung a bit, but these three were genuinely versatile summer essentials.

Rao Ke asked for input from her employees, then added one of each to every employee's room.

She also added them to the activity spaces on each floor, which added up to another hefty expense.

Rao Ke considered this part of the employee benefits, and in the end, looking at her nearly depleted points, she closed the panel with a self-deceiving sigh.

People following the Keke Shop's astrolabe circle suddenly noticed a new promotional ad posted.

Keke Shop: “The scorching disaster is coming! Keke Shop launches cooling artifacts! A summer event will kick off in three days—stay tuned!” (Attached were detailed photos and feature descriptions of the three artifacts.)

The moment this post went up, comments piled up rapidly.

Rao Ke's private messages were also flooded, and not wanting to deal with them herself, she handed the task over to Kalisa.

Rao Ke reclined in her rocking chair, continuing her magic studies.

“Beep beep!” “Beep beep!” …

Rao Ke picked up her device casually and saw messages from Moduoya, Laiensi, Ke Enli, and others.

She guessed they were all asking about the newly launched lifestyle artifacts and, feeling relieved she hadn't added many contacts privately, replied to each one.

She could already picture the shop being a hive of activity the next day.

Feeling a pang of sympathy for her employees, she resolved not to go to the shop herself the next day.

And sure enough, the next day, the Keke Shop was as bustling as she had imagined. The employees were so overwhelmed they hid inside the shop, refusing to step out.

Even the service robots, Baitang and Heitang, nearly had their motherboards fried from all the questioning.

To reward everyone for their hard work, Rao Ke prepared a lavish feast and even got high-grade energy stones for the robots.

As time slipped by, the scorching disaster quietly descended one silent night.

“Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling~”

When the wake-up chime went off, Rao Ke tossed and turned for nearly half an hour before dragging herself out of bed, as usual.

At first, nothing seemed off, but when she opened the curtains, the blinding sunlight forced her eyes shut.

She quickly yanked them closed, fumbled for a pair of sunglasses, and only after suiting up did she dare open them again.

She found that the once lush green forest now looked withered and yellow. Looking up, she saw three suns blazing in the sky.

“Sesame Paste!”

Rao Ke quickly woke the dozing black cat beside her.

Sesame Paste sat up groggily. “What's wrong?”

Rao Ke scooped him up and carried him to the window. “There are three suns in the sky?!”

“That's normal. Originally, the scorching disaster would bring two suns, but now it's upgraded…” Sesame Paste flicked his tail nonchalantly, then returned to his bed to sleep.

Rao Ke stared at the three suns hanging high above, then decided to go wash up and get dressed.

After changing, she went down to the first-floor lobby and found the employees already gathered in the breakfast nook.

Kalisa stood at the door with a bowl of milk cereal, staring at the glaring three suns overhead.

“How is it outside?” Rao Ke asked from behind her.

The villa and shop had temperature control systems and central air conditioning, so the indoor temperature hadn't changed.

“Hot and scorching. Without a defensive spell, you'd get sunburned in three minutes and pass out in thirty,” Kalisa shared her observations.

Rao Ke thought for a moment. “Don't head to the shop yet. Gather everyone in the conference room in half an hour for a quick meeting.”

“Understood.”

Half an hour later, Rao Ke looked at her four employees in the conference room and began the day's brief meeting.

The main points were to start selling the three lifestyle artifacts today and launch the summer event.

It would be a spend-to-win mystery box draw: every 1,000 gold coins spent earned one mystery box, filled with summer goodies.

Things like UV-protective clothing, cooling patches, mini fans, and other small items.

Phylosain volunteered to act as the new product demonstrator and sales pitch, and Rao Ke gave him the go-ahead.

After going over a few more details, Rao Ke dismissed the meeting.

Nearby residents who received the news of the Keke Shop's summer event stared up at the three scorching suns, gritted their teeth, and banded together to head over.

Once inside the shop's protective barrier, the crushing, baking heat vanished, replaced by a refreshing, mind-clearing coolness.

Everyone sighed in relief, then spotted the huge poster plastered on the shop and the new artifact display area ahead.

Phylosain stood inside, demonstrating to the crowd gathered around him, and new arrivals quickly surged forward as well.

At the front were naturally the dwarven masters, who loved fine liquor even more than machines.

These usually aloof and irritable dwarven masters clustered around the display table, firing off one question after another.

The demon salesman in front wore a cheerful grin, answering everything while giving away absolutely nothing useful.

Not a single shred of useful information slipped out.

Though Phylosain wasn't being deliberately coy—the dwarves were asking about deep forging principles and such, which who could even answer?

Well, someone could! Robots counted as people too!

In the end, it was Baitang, passing by, who saved the day.

Once they got their explanations, the dwarven masters grew even more fervent.

“Give me ten sets of each!” “I want twenty!” …

Phylosain smiled politely. “I'm sorry, folks. Due to limited stock, each person is limited to two sets per item.”

The dwarves grumbled in dissatisfaction, but Phylosain just stood there smiling, saying nothing.

In the end, the dwarven masters could only leave with two sets each, albeit reluctantly.

If even the dwarven masters were this enthusiastic, other customers knew it had to be good, and they started buying in droves.

Before they knew it, all the stock was sold out by the afternoon.

“I'm really sorry, but the next shipment won't arrive until next week, and that's with expedited shipping.”

Those who missed out were disappointed, only able to urge the shop to notify them the moment the goods arrived, then plot to charm their friends and relatives who'd snagged two sets.

The mystery box area was also doing booming business.

The thrill and excitement of the blind boxes deeply hooked the simple, unguarded residents of the Kaqisha Continent, who had never been through consumer trap brainwashing.

…

While the shop was buzzing with business, Chrisley and Aodisite had already escorted the goblins to the outskirts of the Goblin Kingdom.

Unfazed by the angry goblin soldiers surrounding them, Chrisley and Aodisite calmly watched as Old Jack and the other goblins explained things to their kin.