I, the Guide to the Omniverse, Usher in Blue Star's Great Ascension! - chapter 2

Carrying the box, Sheng Ai returned to the Travel Agency.

Actually, it was no longer much of a Travel Agency.

It was a small two-story building, tucked away in an alley.

You had to take a few extra steps to get inside, and next door was a neighbor with an unusually large courtyard.

Their house was one of those that stood right in the middle of the route.

The first floor had once been set up as a Travel Agency storefront, with a reception desk and a row of chairs.

The walls were still decorated with advertisements from a bygone era.

The rolling shutter was always pulled down, with a small side door for coming and going.

When Sheng Ai returned home carrying the box, Aunt He, the neighbor, was sitting in the courtyard tapping her back with a small hammer. Since the gate was always open, she immediately saw Sheng Ai passing by.

“Oh, Sheng Ai, why are you back so early today?”

Having lived here for more than ten years, Aunt He treated Sheng Ai like her own family, always warm and enthusiastic.

“Aunt He.” Sheng Ai smiled at her, lifting the box in her hand. “I didn’t want to do it anymore, so I quit.”

Being fired sounded a bit harsh, so Sheng Ai chose a more pleasant way to put it.

“Why didn’t you want to do it anymore?”

Faced with Aunt He’s question, Sheng Ai thought about the Travel Agency. She’d have to explain sooner or later, so she said, “I want to reopen the Travel Agency my parents started.”

“Huh?” Aunt He was stunned. “You want to open a Travel Agency?”

It wasn’t that Aunt He didn’t believe in Sheng Ai, but nowadays, tourists all prefer big Travel Agencies. Who would choose a small one like Sheng Ai’s, with no background?

And there was an important point even Aunt He knew: “Have you made arrangements with the tourist spots?”

Sheng Ai nodded. “I have!”

Although the System didn’t restrict her from talking about the Journey to the West Route, it didn’t allow her to mention the System itself.

Considering Aunt He’s ability to accept things, and to avoid making her suspect Sheng Ai had mental problems, Sheng Ai didn’t explain too much.

Instead, she said goodbye to Aunt He and went inside to start preparing.

She only had 24 hours to attract tourists.

The task was urgent.

Finding ten people who believed her in 24 hours-those odds were really slim.

She opened the small door and went inside. The first floor had been completely converted into a living room. The reception desk was now her dining area, and sometimes she’d come down to project movies and watch TV there.

Upstairs was the living area, accessible only by a narrow staircase.

The second floor had two rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

Sheng Ai and her parents had lived like this for over ten years.

Now, Sheng Ai lived alone.

Since she planned to reopen, some changes were needed.

She carried all her personal belongings upstairs, going back and forth until she was exhausted, rubbing her waist. “Sitting in the office too long-I really need more exercise.”

At this moment, the System was very considerate: [Once you start your journey, spending time in nature will make your body healthier.]

Much later, Sheng Ai would miss this warmth, rather than the increasingly wicked System.

Sheng Ai still had many questions. She took out her computer. “If things get popular here, will lots of people come?”

Sooner or later, the threshold would be worn down.

System: [That’s for later. For now, you can recruit people online. The first task doesn’t restrict you, but it’s best to find people in the same city. If someone from out of town agrees but can’t make it, the trip will be canceled. If it’s canceled three times, the Travel Agency will never open.]

Sheng Ai shivered.

So that was the punishment mechanism.

It was pretty harsh.

Once you know you’re special, and you can travel to more magnificent and wondrous worlds, could you really resist such temptation?

Sheng Ai couldn’t.
So she opened her ‘Time shot’ app, currently the hottest short video platform, ready to post an advertisement.

Of course, she also had to post on forums and the Little Green Book.

“Wait, my Travel Agency doesn’t have a business license.”

System: [Do you think I can’t handle that? It’s already taken care of.]

Hearing this, Sheng Ai smiled: “System, you really live up to your name. But where did you come from? Do you have your own task quota?”

System: [Of course-but what follows isn’t conducive to process reporting, so don’t ask again. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it this time.]

“…”

It seemed this System must have some kind of evaluation mechanism, just like Sheng Ai.

It probably came to Blue Star to complete a mission too, right?

Otherwise, why would it need a Host?

Sheng Ai scratched her thigh as she edited the video.

Actually, editing was simple, especially since she didn’t have any video footage. She just posted a segment of text in video format.

Then she just needed to add a ticketing link with a little yellow cart.

It couldn’t get any easier.

But her account had always been a lurker, only watching and never posting.

She had no idea if her post would get any traffic.

Sheng Ai also changed her username to ‘The Omniverse Travel Agency.’

She first placed the ad in the local city section.

[The Omniverse Travel Agency is now open! Special discount for the first trip, only 200 yuan, just 200 yuan! For 200 yuan, you won’t lose out or be deceived!]

[First stop: Journey to the West Pilgrimage Route. Experience the legendary four pilgrims, with the adorable Toad Spirit as your guide, introducing local customs and culture. What are you waiting for? Why hesitate?]

[The trip lasts three days. Move your fingers and place your order now!]

[For this inaugural trip, ticket sales are limited to residents of Hu City.]

After posting the ad, Sheng Ai paused for a moment and asked the System, “Is the Toad Spirit cute?”

She had never seen it, so she didn’t know what the Toad Spirit looked like. She could only scam the tourists for now.

Anyway, by the time they regretted it, it would be too late.

System: [You haven’t gone there yet, so I wouldn’t know either.]

Sheng Ai asked again, “Is it only the Journey to the West Route?”

Fortunately, the System was patient and could always answer Sheng Ai’s questions: [Of course not. We’re the Omniverse. Besides Journey to the West, there’s the apocalypse, ancient times, cultivation, magic, interstellar-there are chances to visit all of them. It depends on your task performance.]

Sheng Ai’s eyes lit up like a high-wattage bulb.

She began to imagine the beautiful future the System described.

Cultivation!

That’s the dream every Chinese person has been chasing!

But the first post on Time shot got no response after half an hour.

Not surprising-new lurker accounts get no traffic.

Unless the content is explosive.

Though Sheng Ai thought her Travel Agency was already explosive enough.

So she hurried to post on other apps, determined to sell ten tickets as soon as possible.

If that didn’t work, she’d have to shamelessly ask former classmates and colleagues.

See who was willing to be fooled.

It was now 2:30 in the afternoon. The task started at 2:00, which meant ticket sales would end before 2:00 tomorrow afternoon.

And the departure time was also at 3:00 in the afternoon.

No time for hesitation at all!

Not long after she posted, someone did see her ad.

Most people just swiped past, thinking it was boring.

Only one person looked at it and then burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, there are still scammers like this these days? How fascinating!”