Dimensional Slime Rancher-Chapter 5: When did our little store... become so popular?

Chapter 5: When did our little store... become so popular?

"Welcome to the Dimensional Ranch. The menu is on the holographic display. Tell me when you’ve decided to stop staring."

As Advisor Xu stepped into the shop, a cheerful, slightly mischievous voice rang out.

An adorable little girl in a floral dress was leaning over the counter, staring at him while blinking her large eyes.

"The precious granddaughter of General Ouyang?" Advisor Xu raised his perfectly groomed eyebrows, genuinely surprised.

Even though the intelligence reports from the Shadow Guards had explicitly mentioned Ouyang Xiaoyi’s presence, he was still amazed when he actually saw her holding a feather duster.

"Why would the pampered princess of the Ouyang military clan demean herself by becoming a cleaning girl in this remote alleyway? Did her grandfather finally lose his mind and kick her out?"

At the entrance to the back room, a slim, tall young man wearing casual grey loungewear slowly stood up from a recliner. He cracked his neck, let out a long yawn, and lazily walked toward the counter.

"That’s the owner of this miraculous store? His cultivation level is pathetically low... How is it possible that he’s only at Stage 3 Qi Condensation? To be able to command a golem that crippled four elite assassins, he should at least be a Core Formation master in disguise."

Advisor Xu thought to himself as he stroked his beautiful, long beard, staring at Ren’s back in profound astonishment.

"Hey, old man! Are you going to buy a slime or what?!" Xiaoyi unhappily asked, puffing out her cheeks. She was annoyed that this distinguished-looking fellow was completely ignoring her adorable charm and was intensely staring at the smelly boss instead.

Advisor Xu awkwardly smiled, quickly turning his attention back to her and looking toward the glowing holographic menu on the wall.

With just one look at the numbers, his pupils violently constricted.

"The rumors were actually downplaying it. The ’Black-Hearted Slime Shop’ is indeed true to its name..."

Advisor Xu sucked in a sharp breath of cold air and muttered under his breath.

Even though he was following the Crown Prince’s direct orders to investigate this place, he was still bewildered when he saw the astronomical prices hovering in the air.

"I’ll have... a Basic Hydro Slime." Advisor Xu was not someone who lacked funding; he was spending the Crown’s money, after all.

He glanced through the menu and selected the cheapest beast, hoping to analyze its properties.

"Please wait a moment." The little girl snorted and turned away. She did not like this old fellow.

Advisor Xu found a wooden stool and sat down.

The shop was not big. It was incredibly clean, the air smelled faintly of ozone and spring water, and the strange metallic decorations gave it an otherworldly vibe.

The overall feeling was actually quite pleasant.

A series of heavy footsteps came from outside the alleyway.

Several people approached from the main street and stepped into the store, shaking off their wet cloaks.

"Hmm? Advisor Xu?" a voice lightly exclaimed.

Advisor Xu was puzzled. He turned toward the entrance and saw a middle-aged man with a sharp, hawkish face.

"Minister Zhao, I didn’t expect to see you here," Advisor Xu stood up in surprise and did a polite fist-and-palm salute. The man in front of him was the Minister of Revenue from the Imperial Court. Advisor Xu was shocked that such a high-ranking official would personally come to this little shop in the rain.

Since Advisor Xu and Minister Zhao belonged to different political factions, they took separate seats after exchanging brief, guarded greetings.

Minister Zhao immediately ordered a Mutated Hydro Slime, clearly wanting to see the beast that had humiliated his son.

Ren was already busy in the Breeding Zone.

"It seems that there are a lot of new VIP customers today. What’s going on? Did the assassination attempt double as a marketing campaign?"

Even though Ren was puzzled, his hands didn’t stop. He expertly calibrated the stasis fields and prepared the containers.

While he was preparing the orders, the Dimensional Ranch suddenly became packed with people.

"I’ll have the Fuzzball!"

"Give me a Hydro Slime! And hurry up, I have a patrol!"

"I want to see the new item! The Searing Mana Cube!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Watching as the wealthy customers squeezed into the tiny shop, Xiaoyi was slightly dumbfounded.

"When did our little store... become so popular?"

She counted at least a dozen people, all wearing silk robes and carrying expensive swords.

"Oh my heavens! Is this really the same store that was completely deserted just last week?!"

"Everyone, calm down! There are too many people, so queue up in a straight line!" Xiaoyi loudly commanded, putting her hands on her hips.

There was nothing else she could do. Since it was really inconvenient for the noblemen to squeeze together, she had to enforce order.

"Queue up? Little girl, do you know who I am? I am the head steward of the Duke of Mu! How dare you make me stand in line like a commoner! Hurry up and tell your master to serve me first!" a middle-aged man wearing a flashy purple silk robe unhappily scolded Xiaoyi.

"So what if you’re the steward of the Duke of Mu! Little girl, do you know who I am? I am the primary enforcer for the Board of Rites!"

"Is an enforcer for the Board of Rites supposed to be impressive? I am the personal bodyguard of King Yan!"

Xiaoyi expressionlessly looked on as the group of wealthy customers endlessly quarreled. Every single one of them had a self-important, arrogant expression on their face.

Even though the little girl was amazed that the subordinates of the capital’s bigwigs had all come to an alleyway shop, she was very upset about how pompous they were acting.

Advisor Xu lightly shook his head as he listened to the argument behind him, thinking that it was quite ridiculous.

He clearly understood the reason why this group of people was here; they all had the same objective as him.

It was highly laughable that the snobby crowd actually did not recognize the identity of the little ’cleaning girl’ and wanted to jump the queue by loudly announcing their backgrounds.

Among all these people, the waitress with the feather duster was the one with the scariest military backing. However, Advisor Xu couldn’t be bothered to point it out to them.

Just then, a rich, elemental fragrance drifted out of the Breeding Zone.

The crisp smell of pure water mixed with the sharp scent of ozone was like a refreshing breeze brushing across their faces.

Everyone within the lobby went into a daze as they subconsciously breathed in the pure Qi.

The eyes of both Minister Zhao and Advisor Xu lit up.

The energy density was... incredible! There was a very good reason why the price was so high.

Ren was carrying a tray of slimes out of the back room when he saw the chaotic, crowded situation in the lobby.

He was stunned for a moment and was slightly annoyed that his quiet morning was ruined.

However, he remained completely calm, and the astonishment only lasted for a microsecond before his face settled back into its usual, lazy deadpan.

"Everyone has to queue up accordingly. Each customer can only buy one high-tier beast per month. Cutting in line is strictly forbidden. Anyone who violates the rules will be permanently blacklisted, and service will no longer be provided to them," Ren simply said. His voice was not loud, but it somehow managed to cut through the noisy bickering.

Then, within an instant, the entire store erupted into an uproar.

These people were sent by their powerful masters to investigate and potentially buy out the store. They were used to lording their status over merchants outside, so how could they tolerate so many strict rules from a tiny, twenty-square-meter shack? They instantly started to clamor and curse.

Ren expressionlessly placed the Mutated Hydro Slime in front of Minister Zhao.

"Here’s your Mutated Slime. Please don’t feed it spicy food," Ren said.

Minister Zhao’s sight was already completely captivated by the swirling water Qi inside the container. He nodded absently and no longer paid any attention to Ren or the crowd.

"Be quiet. Stop making such a racket in my shop," Ren coldly stated, finally frowning.

"Fuck you! You arrogant brat, don’t push your luck! I am giving you face by even stepping foot in this hovel! I am the steward of the Duke of Mu! I am not someone a lowly merchant like you can afford to offend!" The purple-robed steward angrily scolded, pointing a fat, jewel-encrusted finger right at Ren’s nose.

The other bodyguards and enforcers were also pointing at Ren, indignantly swearing and flexing their cultivation auras to intimidate him.

The store, which had been peaceful just a moment ago, became dangerously volatile.

Xiaoyi rolled her eyes. When she saw the irritable twitch in Boss Ren’s eyebrow, she suddenly decided to take a few steps back and silently observe these idiots.

Of all the places in the capital they could act conceited in, they had to come to the Dimensional Ranch...

With a heavy hiss of pneumatic pistons, Unit 01’s gigantic brass figure stepped out from the shadows behind Ren, its mechanical optical sensors flashing a dangerous crimson.

"Oh my! Do you think you’re invincible just because you bought a clunky iron puppet? Is this where your arrogant confidence is coming from?!"

When the steward of the Duke saw Unit 01, he laughed out loud.

He had seen plenty of Artificer golems before, and he knew they were usually slow, clumsy chunks of junk.

Ren slowly narrowed his eyes, reaching up to gently push the steward’s fat finger away from his face.

"Unit 01," Ren said softly, pointing toward the loud-mouthed steward.

"Strip him, and throw him in a puddle."