Hao nodded. That made sense. If he was just sitting around doing nothing while the rewards kept coming, then what was the point? He still had to be involved in running the place.
Besides, this was a convenience store. It should be open even at night.
In the past two days, he had been closing the store at 11 p.m. Sure, he hadn't done much. However staying in the store all day still made him feel tired for some reason. Maybe it was the boredom.
His attention returned to the system screen.
Sell 20 cups of instant noodles. Accumulate 30 crystals from Cola.
Hao exhaled through his nose.
Just one cup of noodles had taken three days to sell. With this pace, completing these tasks was going to be a waiting game.
At least there was no penalty this time. He wouldn't have to worry about losing something important.
Half an hour passed.
Not a single customer stepped inside.
Hao leaned on the counter, tapping his fingers against the surface. Running a convenience store in a cultivation world wasn't as exciting as he had thought.
Finally, Lin Yijun moved. His eyes slowly opened, his expression calm on the surface. But if a cultivator observed closely, they would immediately notice the change. His aura had grown stronger.
Inside, Lin Yijun was anything but calm.
'What was that just now? Was it because of the noodles?'
He clenched his fist slightly, feeling the qi flowing through him.
'Not only did I break through to the 4th Stage of Saint Apprentice Realm, I even faintly grasped sword intent.'
His heart pounded. This was no small improvement. Cultivators spent years struggling to comprehend sword intent, yet he had gained insight from... instant noodles?
He looked at the empty cup in his hands, then at Hao, who was still behind the counter.
After a brief pause, Lin Yijun finally asked.
"Boss, was it the noodles that granted me enlightenment?"
Hao was about to fall aseep when Lin Yijun's voice jolted him awake.
His snapped open. He sat up straight, quickly regaining his composure. Without a trace of surprise on his face, he nodded.
"Yes. The instant noodles are the cause of it."
Lin Yijun's brows furrowed.
'How though? When I inspected them before, they didn't have any special properties.'
He replayed the experience in his mind. The noodles were ordinary before they were cooked. But after being soaked in hot water, they had emitted a faint trace of qi.
Could it be that the effect was only activated during the cooking process? If so, that would explain why he hadn't sensed anything unusual before.
A single serving of these noodles was worth far more than just one crystal. If he had known it would grant him insight into sword intent, he wouldn't have hesitated to pay fifty - no, even a hundred crystals for it.
Lin Yijun was never someone who blindly chased after strength, nor did he force himself to cultivate beyond what felt natural. But if eating a cup of noodles could give him a massive leap forward, why wouldn't he take advantage of it?
Letting this kind of opportunity slip away would be outright foolish.
Plus, the noodles were the most delicious food he had ever tasted. Even without the enlightenment effect, he could confidently say he would pay five crystals just to eat it again.
Lin Yijun had tasted all kinds of delicacies during his travels. From street vendors to grand banquets, he had tried it all.
Yet, the cup of instant noodles stood above them all. Even the Azure Mist Dining Pavilion, famous for serving the most prestigious dishes in Sovereign City, paled in comparison.
Lin Yijun stood up and walked straight to the shelves. His eyes locked onto the instant noodles as if he had discovered a priceless treasure. He grabbed another cup, turned around, and headed toward the counter.
Placing the instant noodles down, he took out a crystal.
"Boss, I want to buy another one!"
Lin Yijun was met with a response he never expected.
"You can't buy more than one cup of instant noodles in a day. Come back tomorrow." Hao replied, pointing at the board behind him.
Lin Yijun frowned and followed Hao's finger.
Rule No. 1: Daily Limits Are Absolute. Each customer may purchase only one of each product per day. Greed is not tolerated.
He stared at it in disbelief.
'What kind of absurd rule is this?'
Rule No. 2 already sounded like a threat, but this Rule No. 1 was even crazier!
He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.
"Boss, is it the price? I don't mind paying more."
"I'll pay five crystals!"
"No." Hao answered, shaking his head.
"Rules are rules."
Lin Yijun felt like he had just been struck by lightning.
This was the first time he had ever encountered a store owner who refused to make more money.
He checked his storage ring.
Inside, he found a total of nine ****crystals.
If he hadn't spent so much on his travels, he would have had far more.
"Boss, please." Lin Yijun tried again.
"Just one more cup... I'll pay ten crystals for it!"
Hao wanted to accept. He really did, however, he could only steel his resolve. He had already tried to argue with the system about this ridiculous rule before - without success.
What kind of store only allowed customers to buy one of each item per day? Wasn't the point of a business to sell as much as possible?
When Hao first read the Rule No. 1, he had the exact same reaction as Lin Yijun.
But no matter how dumb it seemed, rules were rules.
[Host, greed breeds chaos. To maintain balance and fairness, each customer is limited to one purchase per day. True fortune comes not from hoarding but from patience. Only those who understand restraint can savor the blessings granted to them.]
Wasn't this just a fancy way of saying "No, because I said so"?
Lin Yijun, unaware of the system's nonsense, looked at Hao with pleading eyes.
"Boss, come on..."
Hao didn't even hesitate.
"No."
"There's no point in trying." Hao cut him off.
"The answer will always be no."
Lin Yijun sighed. Then, as if finding a new angle, he straightened up and said seriously.
"Boss, rules are rules... but aren't rules meant to be bent?"