Chapter 1: A Five-Star Review
by Lhaozi[Dear customer~ This is NOT a scam!]
[I am Shop System 101. You’re about to die! Give me a good review—a five-star review! I’ll bring you back to life and make you a shopkeeper!]
What the hell?
Lu Weiran was a forest ranger. While patrolling the mountains and gathering mushrooms, she had run into a damn poaching gang and taken a bullet straight to the heart.
What she hadn’t expected was that the last thing she would see before dying would be a request for a five-star review.
The voice sounded so pitiful that even someone on the verge of death couldn’t help feeling a little sympathy for it.
Well, since she was going to die anyway, she might as well…
[Waaah! Thank you, Host, for your five-star review! Love you, mwah~]
[Initiating transmigration…]
[Searching for a suitable shop…]
[Deployment location: Random…]
[Body restoration successful. Initiating resurrection…]
A white glow slowly enveloped Lu Weiran’s still-warm corpse before it vanished from its original location.
Lu Weiran had died, only to come back to life—all thanks to a five-star review.
Perhaps people who had experienced death once were simply destined to have bad luck.
Because she felt like she was about to be roasted alive!!!
When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a desert filled with howling winds and endless yellow sand. The sun hung high overhead, its scorching rays mercilessly beating down on every inch of exposed skin.
But the most desperate part was that she couldn’t move her knees. The shifting quicksand had already swallowed her legs up to her thighs, pinning her firmly in place.
The sand was scorching hot, burning her feet as though it were devouring her flesh.
For a moment, Lu Weiran had the bizarre illusion that heaven and earth had merged into one enormous oven. She was like a prisoner being tortured, strapped to a cross and roasted over an open fire.
As for the Shop System that had brought her here, it seemed to have gone mute. It didn’t respond at all.
Fortunately, the water bottle she had been carrying had come along with her. She tipped it back and licked up the very last drop of water.
Lu Weiran let out a bitter laugh.
“Figures. Nothing good ever comes from those who keep begging for five-star reviews!”
Was it too late to leave a one-star review now?
[Dear customer, you’ve already given us a five-star review. Negative reviews are no longer accepted~]
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Lu Weiran felt that the voice sounded a little different from before. There was now a hint of schadenfreude in it, making it sound downright smug and obnoxious…
Lu Weiran glared furiously.
“Just look where you’ve dumped me! A quicksand pit!”
“Aren’t systems like yours supposed to guarantee the host’s safety?!”
If she hadn’t woken up quickly and actively tried to save herself, her corpse would probably have been buried beneath the yellow sand by now.
She would have been killed by the very system that was supposed to save her!
[As compensation, I can give you an extra surprise gift pack. I guarantee you’ll love it! So please stop thinking about leaving a negative review. It won’t work anyway.]
[Oh, right! New users get one free draw~ It’s a really good deal, so don’t be angry anymore!]
A dazzling roulette wheel suddenly appeared before her.
Lu Weiran raised her hand and gave it a slap.
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained Level 1 Shop Privilege—Innkeepers’ Trading Group! (Activate now?)]
[Notice: Once activated, the system will immediately begin matching you with group members. Due to your low level, matching may fail.]
Innkeepers’ Trading Group?
But she didn’t even have a shop yet!
[Hehe! You’ve obtained Level 1 privileges ahead of time. Should I call you lucky or unlucky?]
[The Innkeepers’ Group Chat uses a level-based matching system. The lower your level, the less impressive the group members you’ll be matched with.]
[My recommendation is to raise your shop’s level before activating the Innkeepers’ Group Chat. That way, you’ll be matched with better-quality members and face fewer risks…]
Who knew how long that would take?
Lu Weiran decisively tapped Activate.
[You’ve made your choice. This will be our last conversation. Please work hard, manage your shop well, and level it up to the maximum. I look forward to the day we finally meet in person. Don’t miss me too much!]
[Wishing you a pleasant business experience. Goodbye~]
And just like that, it disappeared!
She really couldn’t count on that thing for anything.
Lu Weiran was so angry that she almost laughed. Her throat was so parched it felt like it was about to start smoking.
In a hoarse voice, she cursed, “You useless piece of trash!”
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
A familiar barking came from behind a nearby sand dune.
A golden retriever with a gleaming coat appeared on top of the dune. It was carrying a long branch in its mouth and came rushing toward Lu Weiran, who was trapped in the quicksand. Its eyes sparkled brightly.
“Mushroom!” Lu Weiran exclaimed in delight.
She had found Mushroom while gathering mushrooms in the forest. Back then, the little puppy had only just been born and was barely clinging to life. Lu Weiran had taken it home, named it Mushroom, and raised it by her side ever since.
Could Mushroom be the surprise gift pack that the useless system had mentioned?
Ignoring the burning pain of the scorching sand, Lu Weiran leaned forward and stretched out her arms. Grabbing the branch Mushroom had brought her, she slowly worked her legs back and forth, inch by inch.
Finally, she managed to crawl out of the quicksand pit.
Having narrowly escaped death, Lu Weiran hurriedly moved as far away from the pit as possible.
Only then did she finally relax and scoop Mushroom into her arms. She affectionately stroked its head, giving its fluffy fur a thorough ruffle.
“Mushroom, you’re absolutely amazing!”
“I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Lu Weiran wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
So it was true. People really could cry tears of joy.
[Your Personal Inn AI System is now online.]
[Ding! The current environment is safe. A suitable location for an inn has been detected. Would you like to deploy your inn?]
Lu Weiran had barely caught her breath when a mechanical notification suddenly sounded.
A virtual screen appeared before her.
It displayed an enlarged map with a small green dot glowing in the center. As far as the eye could see, the area surrounding the dot was nothing but desert.
The voice delivering the notification sounded distinctly mechanical, with a polished, artificial intelligence quality to it. It was completely different from the smug, obnoxious voice of the useless system from earlier.
They were clearly two different entities.
Had she gotten a new system?
Although the surrounding area was nothing but desert, Lu Weiran had no intention of opening her inn anywhere near the quicksand pit. She didn’t want to fall into it again, nor did she want her future guests tumbling into it and forcing her to fish them out.
What a hassle!
Lu Weiran brought Mushroom along and crossed a sand dune before finally tapping Confirm Deployment.
[Location confirmed. Shop deployment in progress…]
[Deployment successful!]
The previously calm desert suddenly erupted into a violent sandstorm. The surrounding sand began swirling in spirals, churning and rolling at incredible speed.
Lu Weiran instinctively raised her arms to cover her nose and mouth, only to discover that the swirling sand didn’t even cling to her sleeves.
Amid the raging sandstorm, her sleeves fluttered wildly and her hair danced in the wind, yet she remained completely unharmed. A golden retriever with a shiny coat sat obediently at her feet.
The next moment, an inn roughly the size of a small countryside house materialized out of thin air directly in front of Lu Weiran, emerging from the sandstorm.
The inn had a distinctly modern design, with green accents decorating its exterior walls and vines winding around them. Subtle post-apocalyptic elements blended seamlessly into the overall design without looking out of place.
Its style was unique, warm, and full of life. Standing in the middle of the vast yellow desert, it possessed an indescribable beauty that made people yearn to step inside.
Lu Weiran’s eyes lit up. She was quite pleased with it.
However, the signboard above the entrance was still blank.
[Please give your inn a name.]
A name for the inn…
Lu Weiran looked up at the building, so full of life and vitality. It was as though someone had planted a seed of hope in the middle of a vast yellow wasteland.
And somehow, a tiny seed had taken root in her heart as well.
After a moment of contemplation, she spoke with determination.
“Hope Inn.”
In an instant, four bold characters appeared on the dazzling signboard, spelling out HOPE INN.
[You have confirmed the activation of your Innkeepers’ Trading Privilege.]
[Current Shop: Hope Inn]
[Shop Level: 0]
[Matching group members…]
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