The cloaked man watched the front of the shop, and through the window, he saw the woman and the shop owner discussing over a cup of tea. Some time ago, he noticed that another man who had followed them had given up and left. He wishes he had such a choice!

He noticed the movement of the store and raised his bored eyes again to see what was going on.

The woman walked over to the wall and was doing something. After a while, the owner also stood up and walked towards her with a somewhat hesitant step.

The cloaked man suddenly shot forward. He looked at the shop owner for a moment, and when he looked back, the woman had disappeared!

He flung open the door and burst in, but... no one was there. Both the woman he was watching and the shop owner disappeared into the air!

"Blast!" the cloaked man shouted angrily. Did the woman know he was following her and was trying to tire him out?!

A moment ago, Dai was smiling.

System: "Store connection conditions met. Starting to connect..... Connection complete."

She watched as the door magically appeared. Leonid stood up and stared open-mouthed. She couldn't deny that it felt really good to impress someone like that. But she was amazed herself! Those doors were really beautiful!

System: "Task completed. Your shop received the first connection.

The reward has been placed in your inventory.

Note: You can't just attach your store to someone else's property."

Dai took the handle and opened the door before looking back at Leonid.

"Shall we?" she asked.

Leonid stared at the door and looked like a fish out of the water as he opened and closed his mouth.

"What is it?" finally, a voice came out of him.

“My shop," Dai said rather proudly.

"But.... what... how?" Leonid didn't understand.

Dai shook her head. "Just come in. You'll see." she went inside.

Leonid hesitated momentarily but finally followed her, although he entered the door a little more cautiously.

The door closed behind him and disappeared. A second later, a cloaked man burst into the room.

"What the HELL is this place!?" came from behind Dai, who turned to Leonid.

She struck a dramatic pose and spread her arms.

“That's my Dimensional space with my shop." She spoke dramatically. She mentally cleared her throat. Okay, that was embarrassing. Let's not do this again.

Leonid looked at space, at the sky, at the grass, at the store, and then at Dai.

"Lass, what are you? Some hidden cultivator?" he asked.

Dai dropped her hands and shrugged. “I'm just a Shop Owner." She answered truthfully. Really. She was nothing else.

But Leonid looked at her doubtfully.

Dai ignored this and went to the store. He followed her for a moment.

"My shop is called Dragons&Fan. It's newly opened, so I don't have that much for sale yet. But I expect that to change soon." She explained as she entered the store. The jingle of carillons greeted her.

Leonid looked around the tidy, nice store, which she said lacked a lot of merchandise.

"Do you want to look around? Please." She offered him, and Leonid did as she offered.

He walked around and didn't take even a minute before he started looking at the wares.

Soon his cries of surprise were heard.

"What?! Awakening Providence?! Growing limbs?! Abyss dust?!"

Dai stood contentedly behind the counter, watching the changes in Ledonis's expression. He is already looking forward to the customers and their expressions! It was fun.

Dai gave Leonid some time to calm down.

Then she checked her ticket and decided not to give him much time.

"Yes, yes. It's wonderful, isn't it? So let's move on."

Leonid strolled to the counter, still looking around.

Dai began to speak to the System in her mind.

'So how do I change the ticket?' She asked.

System: "You can enter requests, and the system will evaluate the possibilities of fulfillment."

Dai thought for a moment. 'Can't you make the Staff icon available?'

System: "Impossible. The system doesn't have enough energy. The recently forced activation of the Task function due to someone having taken a significant part of the energy reserves. The system advises the Boss to start selling quickly."

Dai paused at the minor rebuke the system had placed on her. Well, she had a minor collapse! In her situation, who could blame her?

'So what are my options? I want to employ Leonid, but I need to keep him protected. Also, even though you said the employees have the same protection as the owner, that still only applies in Dimensional space, right? So he has no protection outside of him.'

System: "Starting to recalculate. Please wait."

Meanwhile, Dai turned to Leonid. "As you can see, my store is quite special, as are the goods. We can't let everyone in. Your job would be to send in only those who meet the criteria." She was explaining.

Leonid pointed out. "And what are they?"

Dai held up two fingers. “Just two. Cultivators must be of a certain level of morality; I don't want lunatics in my shop. And those who need help."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Leonid raised an eyebrow at the second possibility. "Help? They don't always have crystals. Do you want to help people? Are you going to do it For Bono?"

Of course, Dai considered it. She can hardly give something for free when she has to pay for it herself. But she already knew that her store would have really good things in the future. And investing in someone is also a kind of business.

"I'm not that nice, Leonid. It's about business. If I grow a cultivator, where will he come back with goodwill? My business will not only gain regular customers but fame as well."

Leonid stroked his chin. “But if word gets out that you're turning people into cultivators for free, you won't have peace." He argued, his mind already focused on the business side of things.

Dai smiled at Leonid.

"Then you'll be here, won't you? That's why I say you're perfect for it. You're intimidating enough to scare off any troublemakers, but you can also tell when someone really needs help."

Leonid snorted. "You're just going to throw it at me, huh? You want my old heart to burst with rage?" Leonid sighed. "It will work for normal people, but how should I handle the cultivators?"

Dai turned her head. "We'll take care of that too."

System: "Reward recalculation completed. The Golden Ticket to the Wheel of Fortune was removed and replaced with the Heavenly Principles Fifth Grade Employee Contract. Please check."

Dai opened the inventory and looked at the description of the contract.

Name: Heavenly Principles Fifth Grade Employee Contract

Description: A contract created by the Heavenly Principles. Not even the gods can break this pact.

Note: Not as valuable as The Golden Ticket to the Wheel of Fortune, but not bad. Please avoid such bad business in the future, boss.

Dai used the inventory for the first time. She opened it and took out a scroll.

Leonid blinked as an object suddenly appeared in her hand. She ignored it and examined the scroll. It looked luxurious, like some imperial decree. She liked the detail that the handles were shaped like golden Fans and the wax seal looked like a roaring dragon. She broke the seal, unfolded the scroll, and nearly swallowed her tongue. A strong aura of spiritual energy surged out. It could blow her head off if she weren't in her shop.

Leonid paled and stepped back, carefully touching his body and taking a breath. Mighty spiritual power is not suitable for ordinary people. Their weak body shell would not be able to withstand it and would tear as if their flesh had outgrown their skin.

Dai took a breath and began to read the terms of the contract.

The Heavenly Principles Fifth Grade Employee Contract binds employees to lifetime service to the Dragons&Fan Shop Owner or until dismissed by the Shop Owner. The employee cannot directly or indirectly harm the Store Owner and must always keep in mind the best interests of both the Owner and the Store itself. Upon signing the contract, the employee gains soul protection from Heavenly Principles and an immediate increase in cultivation by two Realms. At the same time, the employee gains Heavenly Principles of Life Providence. Betrayal Contract has aftermath: Death, soul imprisonment, and eternal torment in the deepest corner of the Abyss. It must be signed with spiritual energy or blood.

Dai had a hunch that it would be good, but this... Damn, wouldn't she do better if she was an employee herself and not the owner?! Leonid will receive protection, cultivation, and even life's providence! How good The Golden Ticket to the Wheel of Fortune really was?

Dai swallowed and handed the scroll to Leonid. He held it very carefully before he began to read with his eyes narrowed as if he feared his skin would peel off after all.

But as he read, his eyes opened more and more, and he brought the scroll closer to his face.

He looked up sharply. "I WILL SIGN, MASTER!" he roared.

Dai almost spits blood when she hears Leonid call her 'master.'

"Please... please... don't call me that again. Never. Dai is enough in private. But call me Owner or Boss in front of customers. But never Master." It made her very uncomfortable.

Leonid took a shaky breath.

"You... you read it, didn't you? This... this is something no one should be able to do!"

Dai wailed inwardly. 'Of course, I know! And you know I'm green with envy, dammit!'

But instead, she smiled. "I know. Also, it's a special contract just for you. When other employees appear in the future, they will definitely NOT have such benefits." If so, she would have to die of rage on the spot.

Without hesitation, Leonid placed the scroll on the counter, then bit his finger and signed with his blood. At that moment, the contract exploded into a tremendous stream of Spiritual Energy, which immediately began to permeate Leonid's body.

Dai stared at it with wide eyes. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his body began to glow and pulse with energy. The scroll began to gradually disintegrate as the energy continued to flow into his body before disappearing completely.

Leonid stood still momentarily before collapsing to the ground like a rag doll.

"Leonid!" Dai shouted in alarm, rushing over to him. She bent over it, but Leonid lay there, eyes white, waves of spiritual energy radiating from his body. She didn't dare to touch him, tried to call him a few times but got no response.

System. "There is no need to panic, boss. Everything is going as it should. The ongoing changes with the acquisition of cultivation and life providence take time."

Dai was still hesitant but had no choice but to trust the System. She stood up; it seemed she could only wait.

She checked her ticket, and although she preferred to wait for Leonid to wake up, she had to return to the outer circle.

She left the store and hurried to the door that remained formed in front of the store. Above them was written Shelter 22 in beautiful calligraphy.

She opened the door and returned to Leonid's shop. She looked around for a moment, but nothing seemed to change.

The door disappeared behind her again, and she ran out of the shop and immediately headed for the gate to the outer circle.

Meanwhile, in her Dimensional Space.

Leonid, who was lying on the floor, started to move. His eyes were still white, and his expression was blank. The muscles on his body shifted and began to swell, his spine straightened, and bones made a cracking sound as they broke and rejoined. A dark, smelly liquid poured out of the pores and all seven openings. In no time, he was covered in impurities as if slime had devoured him.