Considering that players came from different timelines of Blue Star,Liang Chuan simply named the player faction:
The Blue Star Federation.
A federation made up of all Blue Stars across all worlds.
As for making Citra Lili a "worker"…
He was just asking her to temporarily act as the shop NPC at the base.Until he could craft a proper automaton, she would fill the position for now.
She would receive a small cut of player purchases as pay—but since she was an outsourced local, she only received 1%.The remaining 49%? Straight into Liang Chuan's pocket.
Even at just 1%, player spending was absurdly high.Citra Lili's income would not be low.Forget everything else—having unlimited Small Mana Potions every daywas guaranteed.
When Liang Chuan first explained the shopkeeper job,Citra Lili gave him an enormous side-eye.
Her?The Obsidian High Priestess?!A legendary figure who had lived in Mistshroud for two centuries?!Doing shop work?!
Insulting!
But when she heard that the system shop carried countless potions and materialsthat she had never even imagined,and that she could purchase them freely using her wages…
She immediately changed her tune:
"Eh? You really know how to judge character!I'm perfect for being a shopkeeper!"
Once she agreed, the system generated a contract—listing her job duties and a confidentiality clause.
Job requirement:Citra Lili must keep the shop open for 40 hours per week,at any base she chose.Completely flexible scheduling,so it wouldn't interfere with her duties as High Priestess of Mistshroud.
Confidentiality:She was forbidden from revealing anything about the "system shop."The contract was bound on a soul level—not even a High Priestess could break it.
Liang Chuan had worried that hiring native Teyvat residents as NPCsmight result in leaks or betrayal.
He never expected the system to providesoul-binding contracts.
"With this…every base can be staffed with locals first.Then, once the automaton shopkeepers are ready,we'll replace them!Just look at Catherine from the Adventurers' Guild—mannequins are way more reliable than real people."
Liang Chuan couldn't stop himself from grinning.He was quietly gaining the instincts of a capitalist.
After returning to the newly built Mistshroud base,they found plenty of players hard at work constructing buildings.
"Set up a stall first.Build the Shop.I'll show her how everything works."
Liang Chuan waved at King of Plaster,who was designing the Residential Block.
"Huh?! Brother Chuan?! Didn't you die?!"King of Plaster stared in disbelief.
"What's there to be shocked about?I can revive using the Bio-Energy Terminal."
Liang Chuan gestured at the giant canister in the distance.
"You can revive, but the main quest still says we need to protect you…"King of Plaster cried, face twisted in grief."One quest failure, and all the stone I mined yesterday got wiped out by rollback!"
Liang Chuan only smiled.Punishment quests were necessary—otherwise players would absolutely grief him for fun.
He himself had done it many times in other games…especially in high-freedom games where you could kill NPCs.
If you couldn't complete a quest?
Just kill the quest-giver!
While King of Plaster built the shop, Liang Chuan asked:
"You came here to build the Residential Block.Does that mean the Feather Guild is already handled?"
King of Plaster's eyes went lifeless again.
"We could've finished the foundation today…but then the system popped a quest-failure message.A full day of stone—gone.The team is recollecting materials now.So I came here to design the housing block for this base.Good quest rewards too."
He then looked seriously at Liang Chuan.
"Brother Chuan… real talk…next time danger comes, run first, okay?You don't need to outrun the monsters.Just outrun the other players!"
Liang Chuan: "…"
At this rate, he was going to get marked as a "scab" by the whole playerbase.
"Alright, the Shop is done.If there's nothing else, Brother Chuan, I'm logging off."
King of Plaster waved goodbye.
"In this game you can't recover fatigue offline.Only real rest works.We need that Residential Block ASAP—sleeping on the ground every night is hell."
After he left, Liang Chuan brought Citra Lili to the shop area.
She suddenly froze in place.
"I… why did a list of items suddenly appear in my mind?"
"That's the otherworldly supplier.Once you're inside the shop zone, you can communicate with it,pull items out, and sell them to these… Federation members."
As he spoke, players were already gathering.Shop hours were unpredictable,so everyone rushed the moment one opened.
"Brother Chuan!Give me ten Small Vitality Potions!We found a bunch of Slimes and we've got a team set!Wanna come?"
"You insane?! Let Brother Chuan leave the base to fight monsters?Did rollback not teach you anything?!Let him stay and be a shopkeeper!"
"Brother Chuan, five Vitality and five Mana, thank you!If you ever leave the base, call us—we'll die before you do to protect your escape!"
Liang Chuan raised an eyebrow.
Sure, they said that—but when danger came, they ran faster than anyone.During the confrontation with the Captain,not one stood in front of him.Players like Fireblast and Sunset War God logged out instantly after combat ended.
"Don't look at me. I'm not the shopkeeper.If you want to buy things, talk to her."
He pointed at Citra Lili.
"Huh?! Pink twin-tail babe!She's the shopkeeper?!Brother Chuan, where did you abduct her from?!"
"Twin-tail cutie—my type!"
A bold player took a step forward—but an Adventurer player immediately yanked him back.
"Don't—don't mess with her!This NPC… she's S-Rank dangerous!"
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