"You want to buy potatoes from me?"
Liang Chuan blinked at [Waibi Babble]'s unexpected request.
He thought for a moment, then waved his hand.
"Hold on, don't rush. Let me… check something first."
He returned to the Stone Cabin Shelter.
Although he said he was going to "look for something,"
What he actually did was communicate with the system in his mind.
"System, how do players buy items with in-game currency?"
System:"The host may open a Shop within the base and assign a Shop NPC. Once established, the NPC will be able to sell unlocked items."
As soon as the reply came, a purchase list popped up in Liang Chuan's field of vision.
[Unlocked Items — Level 2 Shop]
Equipment:
[Blunt Sword] — 50 copper
[Boots of Speed] — 50 copper
[Iron-Tipped Spear] — 50 copper
…
Consumables:
[Hemostatic Bandage] — 10 copper
[Minor Vitality Potion] — 10 copper
[Minor Spirit Potion] — 10 copper
[Energy Drink] — 10 copper
[Basic Control Collar] — 50 copper
[Intermediate Control Collar] — 1 silver
…
Food:
[Wuchang Rice] — 10 copper
[Drinking Water] — 2 copper
[Wheat] — 5 copper
[Oilseed Lettuce] — 5 copper
[Potato] — 5 copper
…
Daily Necessities:
[Durex Protection] — 10 copper
…
There were at least a hundred listed items—
and this was only the selection unlocked at Tier Two.
At higher levels, even five-star exclusive weapons would eventually be sold here!
From the trading platform's commission fees, Liang Chuan had already accumulated 1 gold and 30 silver in-game currency.
He tried purchasing directly from the list:
[Hemostatic Bandage], [Minor Vitality Potion], [Minor Spirit Potion], and [Energy Drink]—
ten of each, stored neatly in his Boarhide Backpack.
"System, I can buy things directly. Why can't the players?"
System:"Players can only access the Shop interface while in the Shop Area. All purchased items must be handed over by an NPC."
"…What is this, some kind of ritual nonsense?"
Liang Chuan sighed.
"You mean if I open a shop, I have to literally stand there like a real NPC and hand items to players?
Am I here in Teyvat to… work retail?"
System:"The host may use a local Teyvat resident as an NPC merchant or craft an artificial android to serve as one."
"Use locals as NPCs? You don't mean I have to use the Control Collar to capture a few humans, do you?"
He sucked in a sharp breath.
What kind of twisted joke was that supposed to be?
Sure, Natlan had many dark-skinned natives—
but he was not about to establish a slavery operation in this world!
"…An android, then. A Katherine-type android would be better."
Liang Chuan mused aloud.
"Just like how every nation has its own 'Katherine' in the Adventurers' Guild,
I could place one android NPC at each of my bases."
But then he frowned.
"The androids are a Snezhnayan technology.
Would I have to go to Snezhnaya and ask the Tsaritsa to mass-produce them for me?
If I had enough leverage, maybe she'd agree to a trade…
But what if she leaves a backdoor in them?"
"System, can't I just craft androids myself on the Workbench?"
System:"If the Workbench is Level 5, and a player with the 'Puppeteer' profession reaches Level 10 with the [Automaton Engineering] skill, plus the required materials, androids can be produced."
Hearing that, Liang Chuan immediately checked the player list.
Sure enough, someone had chosen the Puppeteer class—
though currently only Level 2.
As for the materials required to make androids—
low-grade ones only needed 10 Chaos Devices,
mid-grade ones required Chaos Circuits,
and highly advanced, humanoid models with combat power
needed Perpetual Hearts, the kind dropped by Inazuma's sword-wielding automata.
That meant they'd eventually need to form a raid party
to grind elite bosses in Inazuma.
Still, Liang Chuan only needed a basic android to stand behind the counter,
so a low-tier model would suffice.
After gathering all the necessary information about the Shop system,
Liang Chuan left the Stone Cabin Shelter.
"I do have potatoes," he said to [Waibi Babble],
"but I can't sell them until we build a shop."
"Build a Shop?"
Hearing this, [Waibi Babble] immediately typed into world chat.
— [Natlan World Chat] —
[Waibi Babble]: Brother Chuan's got stuff to sell, but we need to build a Shop first. Any Architect players available?
[King of Concrete]: I'm an Architect, but I'm rushing the Residential Building project right now. I can help once that's done.
[Waibi Babble]: I really need potatoes for planting! By the time your building's done, I could've grown a batch already. The Shop doesn't have to be big—just something functional!
[King of Concrete]: No size limit? Then just set up a stall and throw a tarp over it.
[Waibi Babble]: Would that even work?
[King of Concrete]: Worth a shot. I'll send you a simple Shop blueprint.
After the chat, [Waibi Babble] gathered his Farmer teammates and hastily threw together a small wooden shed—
a table beneath a flimsy awning.
He then waved Liang Chuan over.
"Brother Chuan! The Shop is ready!"
Liang Chuan's mouth twitched.
You've got to be kidding me.
But as soon as he approached the makeshift stall,
a system prompt appeared in his head:
[You have entered a Shop Area. Activate Shop Operations?]
[Yes / No]
Liang Chuan rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Sure. Whatever."
He stepped under the stall and mentally confirmed the prompt.
From that moment on, any player entering the Shop Area
could directly open the system's shop interface and make purchases—
though items still had to be physically handed over by him.
Which only made him more determined than ever
to get an android NPC built soon.
He had no intention of standing here as a glorified cashier forever.
At least there was one small consolation:
as the acting shopkeeper, he actually earned a wage—
50% of all transaction revenue.
If a player bought a 10-copper item,
He pocketed 5 copper for himself.
All in all…
It wasn't such a bad gig after all.
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