I opened a shop on the Astral Train-Chapter 59

After the game, Asmodeus won without a doubt.

Asmodeus glanced at the lady sitting in the hall outside, smiled, and typed in the chat bar.

Invincible Asmodeus: Hey, you noob. No, that's it? That's it?

The lady saw the message and clenched her fists. Damn it! He's mocking me! I must win back my dignity!

She decisively pressed the ready button.

Asmodeus smirked. Wow~ This is fun. Beating noobs is so satisfying~

He clicked to start the game.

Hu Tao played for a while, then got up and left the Internet café. She planned to find Keqing and ask her to allocate a piece of land for her.

She intended to contract an area next to the Hall of Rebirth to build an Internet café.

She had set up a contract for hundred's of computers to be setup for this cafe.

That was far too many to fit inside the Hall of Rebirth.

"Asmodeus, you keep playing. I'm heading out for a bit."

Asmodeus took off his headphones. "Where are you going?"

Hu Tao shrugged. "I've got something to do. Want me to bring you some food later?"

Asmodeus agreed immediately. "Of course! Bring extra!"

Hu Tao chuckled. "Got it!"

Then, she left the Hall of Rebirth as she went out to go get food and shop.

As soon as she arrived, she spotted Ganyu.

"Ganyu~" Hu Tao waved enthusiastically.

Ganyu looked around before spotting her. "Hu Tao? Why are you in Yujingtai? Do you need something?"

Hu Tao nodded. "Yes, yes~ I want to buy a piece of land from Keqing. Have you seen her?"

Ganyu thought for a moment. "She's in Qunyu Pavilion, speaking with Ningguang."

Hu Tao groaned. "That's a problem. I can't get up there by myself."

Ganyu saw her troubled expression and smiled. "I'll take you up."

Hu Tao blinked. "Really?"

Ganyu nodded. "Really. Let's go."

Hu Tao beamed. "Great! Thank you, Ganyu!" She grabbed Ganyu's hands and shook them excitedly.

Ganyu tensed, feeling strangely nervous. "N-no problem."

Following Ganyu, Hu Tao sat on the stone platform leading to the Jade Pavilion.

Ganyu glanced at her, surprised by her calmness.

Most people showed at least some excitement when they first sat on the platform. After all, it was essentially flying.

"Hu Tao, have you been to the Jade Pavilion before?"

Hu Tao shook her head. "No, why?"

"It's just... You seem so composed. Most people would be a little curious their first time."

Hu Tao grinned. "What's so special about this? I have a flying motorcycle. I'm used to it."

Ganyu remembered. Right, Hu Tao did have that flying motorcycle. She had seen her riding it over Liyue Harbor before.

Before long, they arrived at Qunyu Pavilion and entered Ningguang's office.

"Ningguang, Keqing, Hu Tao wants to see you."

Ningguang and Keqing, who had been discussing what to buy from Yuri's store, looked up.

Hu Tao waved. "Ningguang~ Keqing~"

Since their first trip to Yuri's world, Ningguang and Keqing had told Hu Tao not to use formal titles with them.

Ningguang smiled and set down her pipe. "Hu Tao, what brings you here today?"

Hu Tao grinned. "I need to see Keqing. I want to buy some land."

Keqing raised an eyebrow. "Land? What for?"

"You know my Internet café, right?"

Ningguang and Keqing nodded. Of course, they had heard of it. Wangsheng Hall's Internet Café was all the rage lately.

Not only did it have incredible games, but even Fatui executives had fallen for it.

Ningguang considered her words. "Are you expanding?"

Hu Tao nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. "That's right! I bought 1,000 computers from Kevin, and I plan to use all of them. My Hall of Rebirth is way too small for that, so..."

Ningguang immediately saw the opportunity.

Investing in the Internet café industry was practically a guaranteed profit. And as a partner, she'd also get to see the Emperor more often.

"Hu Tao, how about I invest? The commercial building next to Wangsheng Hall is mine."

Hu Tao's eyes widened. No way! That huge building belongs to Ningguang?!

It was big enough to hold all 1,000 computers!

"Ningguang, are you serious?"

Ningguang rested her chin on her hand and smirked. "Of course. How about it? Want to accept my investment? You can give me 30% of your profits."

Hu Tao didn't even hesitate. "Deal! Sister Ningguang, happy cooperation!"

Ningguang smiled. "Happy cooperation."

With that settled, Hu Tao prepared to leave. She still had to visit Yuri's store.

"Sister Ningguang, Keqing, Ganyu, I'm heading out~ I'm going to Yuri's store."

She glanced at the time. "They should be eating soon. Perfect, I can snag a meal."

Ningguang raised an eyebrow. "You're going to Yuri's store? Let's go together. Keqing and I need to buy something."

Hu Tao grinned. "Great! Let's go."

Ningguang turned to Ganyu. "Ganyu, you're coming too."

Ganyu hadn't expected that.

She already knew about Yuri's store—Zhongli had briefed the Adepti on it.

She nodded. "Alright."

And so, the four of them set off for Wanmin Hall, chatting and laughing along the way.

Meanwhile, near the reservoir by the train tracks, four little ones were happily frying fish.

They had no idea that not far from them, a battle was about to begin.

A group of men sent by the Dragon Master had finally found Bailu.

"We've got her! Brothers, seize the Dragon Girl and report back!"

The leader unsheathed his knife, ready to strike.

But his men didn't move.

"What are you doing? Didn't you hear me?!"

He turned around—only to freeze in horror.

A cold, masked woman stood amidst the corpses of his men, an ice sword gleaming in her grip.

Her voice was like frost. "You said you wanted to capture the Dragon Girl?"

Before the leader could react, a surge of sword energy tore through the air.

Jingliu sheathed her weapon after cutting down the last enemy.

Behind her, Rios stepped forward, his movements unhurried. His cold gaze swept over the bodies strewn across the ground. With a mere flick of his foot, flames erupted out of thin air, consuming the corpses in a blaze.

"That makes twelve batches," Rios muttered. "The first was dealt with by Yuri. Since then, I've taken care of ten groups sent to capture Bai Lu. Do you know where they're coming from?"

Jingliu's expression darkened. "Twelve batches?"

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Rios nodded. "Yes. Any idea who sent them? They must be from your Xianzhou, right?"

Jingliu's eyes sharpened. "They should be. The ones just now were pure Xianzhou people."

Her gaze shifted toward Bai Lu in the distance. "Looks like I need to ask Jingyuan who's trying to capture her."

Rios glanced up at the sky. The sun had started to dip, signaling the approach of evening. "Let's head back. It's almost dinnertime. We'll deal with this later."

Jingliu gave a curt nod and, together with Rios, took Bai Lu back to the train.

At Yuri's shop, the air was filled with the warm aroma of freshly prepared food. Yuri and Xiangling were busy cooking in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Kevin and March 7th stepped out of a shimmering portal. The moment they arrived, they beelined for the bar, yanking open the fridge and each grabbing an ice-cold bottle of cola. Without hesitation, they downed the drinks in a single gulp.

Kevin shuddered, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Ahh! That hit the spot—I was dying of thirst!"

March 7th wiped her mouth, nodding enthusiastically. "Seriously! When you're parched, nothing beats a cold cola."

Himeko, watching them curiously, raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you bring any water with you?"

Kevin grinned. "Nope. Makes moments like this even better."

March 7th chimed in, "Exactly! The thrill of the first sip!"

Himeko sighed and shook her head, but a small smile tugged at her lips.

From the kitchen, Yuri called out, "Kevin, March, come help pick the vegetables."

Kevin groaned, pouting. "No way! Isn't Noelle here? She's the all-purpose cleaning and cooking machine—you don't need a useless person like me."

March 7th nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Noelle's got this!"

Noelle, who was in the middle of gathering cleaning supplies, turned bright red at their words. "P-please don't say that! I still have so much to improve on."

Kevin shrugged. "What do you mean? You cleaned the entire train by yourself."

March 7th set her ice cream down. "Seriously, Noel, you're incredible! Way better than the two of us slackers."

Noelle's blush deepened. Sensing her embarrassment, Yuri quickly stepped in. "Alright, Noelle, you handle the reception room. You two—vegetable duty. Now."

Kevin and March 7th groaned but dragged over two stools, begrudgingly joining the kitchen prep.

Noelle, meanwhile, headed to the reception room, where she found Topaz still immersed in work.

"Um... Miss Topaz, do you need me to clean up here?" she asked softly.

Topaz looked up and smiled. "Noel, perfect timing. Yes, I could use some help. Thanks."

"It's no problem. It's my duty," Noel replied before setting to work.

As Noelle finished tidying up, Topaz watched her thoughtfully. She couldn't let Noelle's efforts go unappreciated. After a moment's deliberation, she ordered a gift for Noelle from the company's internal website.

Not long after, Hu Tao, Ningguang, Keqing, and Ganyu arrived at Yuri's shop.

Kevin spotted them first and waved. "Hu Tao! Ningguang! Keqing! Ganyu!"

Hu Tao skipped over to Kevin, grinning. "Hey, Kevin! Where'd you run off to today?"

Kevin leaned back, smug. "Belobog. Checked out the ice deer ranch Bronya built. What about you?"

Hu Tao crossed her arms proudly. "Played at the internet café for a bit. Expanding it, actually. Remember that computer delivery card I bought from you?"

Kevin nodded. "Oh, yeah! I was gonna invite you out tomorrow—March and I are heading to Suiyuan."

Hu Tao blinked. "Suiyuan? What's that?"

Kevin's lips curled into a mischievous smile. Wrapping an arm around Hu Tao's shoulders, he pulled out his phone and opened a live stream.

The screen showed Guinaifen and Su Shang exploring Suiyuan, a place rumored to be haunted.

"Alright, folks! Today, we're at Suiyuan, the legendary ghost town!" Guinaifen announced enthusiastically.

Suddenly, Su Shang's face twisted in horror. "Aaaahhh!!!"

Guinaifen screamed immediately after. "Ehh?! Ghost!!!"

The live feed abruptly cut off.

Kevin turned to Hu Tao, eyebrows raised. "So? You in?"

Hu Tao's eyes sparkled. "Ghosts? A haunted place? Heck yes!"

Her gaze darted across the room until she spotted Zhongli sipping tea and listening to an opera recording. Without hesitation, she marched over.

"Zhongli, listen up. Ningguang and I struck a deal—Wangsheng Hall's getting the building next door for an internet café. You're overseeing it tomorrow."

Before Zhongli could protest, Hu Tao continued, "That settles it! You're free anyway, just need to see the merchants move out. Bye~! Suiyuan, here I come!"

Zhongli sighed, setting down his tea. "Ah... she's impossible to argue with."

Welt, who had been observing, chuckled. "I'll go with you tomorrow. Call Jingyuan, we'll have a game of chess at the café. The atmosphere there should be nice."

Zhongli nodded. "Alright, I'll inform him."

Taking out his phone, he sent a message. Jingyuan's response came almost instantly—he was in.

Meanwhile, Ningguang and Keqing greeted everyone before heading to the bar to browse Yuri's selection. Ganyu, however, stood near the entrance, eyes darting around with curiosity.

"It's so beautiful here... and so bright," she murmured to herself.

Yuri noticed and approached. "Welcome. I'm Yuri, the owner of this shop."

Ganyu straightened, flustered. "Oh! I'm Ganyu."

Yuri smiled. "No need to be so formal. Just relax—we're all friends here."

Xiangling suddenly perked up. "Oh! Ganyu! It's been so long!"

Ganyu smiled warmly. "Xiangling, it's good to see you."

She fondly recalled her visits to Wanmin Hall, where Xiangling would always sneak extra portions onto her plate. Not that she minded... except for the part where Xiangling would insist she finish every last bite under her watchful eye.