Stellar Train: I Open a Small Shop on the Train-Chapter 168

On the train, 8 PM, inside Ye Yun's store.

"Mimi~ Mimi~ Mi-mi-mi-mi!"

Mimi was flying around the store.

Himeko, Ye Yun, and the others looked at the little creature with amused expressions.

Liuying asked curiously, "Stelle, what is Mimi saying?"

Stelle replied, translating: "Mimi says this place is beautiful. She's never seen this style of decor before. It feels very cozy, and she really likes it."

Himeko was a little surprised that Stelle could understand Mimi.

"Stelle, you can understand Mimi?"

Stelle nodded as if it were obvious. "Yeah, can't you?"

Himeko, Ye Yun, and the others shook their heads, indicating they couldn't understand.

Seeing this, Stelle thought for a moment. "That's strange."

Danheng pondered. "Maybe it's because you're the one who brought Mimi back. You were zoning out for quite a while, and when you snapped out of it, Mimi suddenly appeared next to you."

Stelle agreed with Danheng. "Yeah, that must be it."

At that moment, Mimi flew over to Stelle holding a bottle of iced cola, pointing at it curiously.

"Mimi?"

Stelle smiled and took the cola from Mimi to open it. "This is cola, a type of drink. Try it — it tastes pretty good."

Mimi accepted the cola with both hands, sniffed it curiously, then took a small sip. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

The fizz tingled in her mouth, making her eyes light up. She quickly took another small sip.

Delighted, Mimi spun around a few times in midair while hugging the cola, then took another little sip — her expression clearly showed how happy she was.

Stelle smiled. "Drink slowly — don't choke."

Mimi gave a sweet smile. "Mimi!"

Upon seeing this, Mika and the little fire monkey instantly got jealous!

Mika stomped her foot in frustration, ran to the mini bar, grabbed a bottle of iced cola, and ran back to Stelle, tugging at her.

"Mi-ka! Mi-ka!"

Noticing her, Stelle patted Mika's head. "You want one too? Here, I'll open it for you."

Stelle opened the can and handed it to Mikai.

Mika leaned against Stelle's leg, happily sipping the cola in small gulps.

While drinking, she shot a smug glance at Mimi.

The little fire monkey, seeing this, imitated Mika, asking Stelle to open a bottle for him too, then leaned on her other side sipping cola.

Himeko smiled at the scene. "Mika and the little fire monkey are such jealous little ones."

Ye Yun, watching the two, suddenly remembered a plan he had forgotten —

The Spirit Tournament!

"Oh right, everyone — I'm planning to host a Spirit Tournament. Anyone interested can sign up. The grand prize is a divine-level spirit egg, at the very least hatching a spirit on par with Rios."

Stelle was stunned. "That's such a big reward?!"

Ye Yun nodded. "Of course. I want this to be a big event, and I'll have Topaz help with the promotion. I'm sure many will sign up."

"Paimon, go call Topaz for me."

Paimon, who was munching on a bag of chips, flew off to Topaz's office and soon came back with her.

Topaz walked up to Ye Yun. "You called?"

Ye Yun spoke. "I want to do some business with you. I'm organizing a Spirit Tournament and would like your help with promotion and selling spirit essences.

For the Stellar Jade earned through selling the essences, I'll give you a 20% cut. What do you think?"

Topaz agreed without hesitation — this was a huge opportunity! "Deal! I'll get Jade and Aventurine working on it right away."

Ye Yun smiled and nodded. "Good. The tournament is set for three days from now.

As for the location, you and the others can help me pick a good one."

Topaz flicked her bangs confidently. "Leave it to me — I'll make it look amazing!"

She ran off to the reception room, where Jade was.

Since arriving on the train, Jade had been working every day in a makeshift office set up in the old reception room.

As for Aventurine, he occasionally visited the train, but most of the time he was off developing things with the Joyful faction.

Meanwhile, Stelle, after hearing the conversation between Ye Yun and Topaz, suddenly jumped off the sofa, grabbed Mika and the fire monkey, and dashed toward Rios.

Rios, who had been napping, opened his eyes at the noise.

He was greeted by Stelle's overly eager face, startling him. "What are you doing?!"

Stelle grinned. "Do me a favor~ Can you help train Mika and the fire monkey?"

Rios thought it was something serious and replied: "I can give you the training methods, but you'll need to train them yourself."

Stelle immediately pulled out her phone, eager to jot everything down. "Tell me. I'll take notes."

Rios began. "For the fire monkey, it's best to train it in a volcanic area. Its attacks rely mainly on its arms, so you should focus on that.

As for Mika, I've never seen a spirit like that, but I do know about light-type spirits.

You can take her somewhere with abundant sunlight. Light-type spirits naturally have a skill that lets them absorb light to power themselves up."

Stelle carefully wrote down everything Rios said, then immediately dragged Mika and the fire monkey through a portal to Herta Space Station.

She planned to ask Asta if there were any planets that matched the two training environments.

On Topaz's end—

She and Jade were in a video call with Aventurine.

Jade took a sip of her tea and set the cup down slowly. "This deal is highly profitable. Little Jelena did a good job."

Aventurine laughed heartily. "That's right — we're going to make a fortune this time!"

Topaz added: "As for prizes, just offering divine-level spirit essence might not be enough.

I think we should add a few items of our own. What do you think?"

Aventurine immediately agreed. "Trading items that cost credit points for Stellar Jade? That's a win in every scenario — I'm in."

Jade also agreed. As Aventurine said, credit point items couldn't compare to the value of Stellar Jade.

Stellar Jade — now that was the kind of currency that could truly change someone's fate.

Just look at how many people had changed their lives through Ye Yun's store:Incredible power, healthy bodies, extended lifespans, even reviving old friends — and so much more.

Topaz wasn't surprised the other two agreed. They were all smart — it was obvious what kind of opportunity this was.

"Then it's settled for the prizes. Next, we need to find a suitable venue for the tournament. Ye Yun left that to us."

***

AventurineSajin pondered.

"Venue, huh? That's easy. How about holding it on my end?This little Joyful planet of ours is actually perfect.I believe both Aha and Sparkle will be on board with it too."

Jade raised an eyebrow."You sure about that?"

Aventurine nodded."Positive. Plus, this is a good chance to promote the tourism project I'm developing here."

Jade considered it — she and Topaz had invested in that tourism project too, each holding shares.

"Alright then, it's settled. You handle the venue, I'll take care of promotion, and Topaz will manage the sales of the spirit essences.Any other questions? If not, meeting adjourned."

On the Joyful little planet—

Aventurine ended the video call, glanced out at the beautiful scenery through the window, and stood up to go find Sparkle to discuss the event.

Arriving at the entrance of the Joyful Grand Theater, he saw Scaramouche manning the ticket booth.

Though the theater wasn't officially open yet, a few performances were held each day.

Aventurine's staff would come by when they had free time to serve as guinea pigs, testing how well each play performed.

Scaramouche asked impatiently,"5,000 credits per ticket. How many?"

Aventurine shook his head."I'm here to see Sparkle, not for a show."

With that, he walked straight into the theater.

Scaramouche clicked his tongue at Aventurine's back, then resumed selling tickets.

Just before entering the theater's interior, Aventurine looked back at Scaramouche and sighed, shaking his head."That guy never learns."

Among all the employees at the Joyful Grand Theater, Scaramouche was the most rebellious — Sparkle practically had to lecture him daily.

Judging by his attitude today, another scolding was likely in store for tonight.

Aventurine walked down the corridor to Sparkle's office.

Sparkle's office had an artistic flair — oil paintings hung on the walls, and musical instruments were scattered across the floor.

Wearing a small beret and round black-rimmed glasses, Sparkle was busy writing a script at her desk.

"Busy, Director Sparkle?" Aventurine leaned against the door, smiling.

Sparkle looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see him."Well, if it isn't my little peacock~ Weren't you busy developing your project? What brings you here?"

Aventurine chuckled."I came to discuss something with you.

Ye Yun is planning to host a Spirit Tournament.Topaz, Jade, and I are helping with the promotion and sales.As for the venue, we're in charge of that too.I want to host the tournament here on our Joyful little planet. What do you think?"

Sparkle's eyes lit up at the mention of a Spirit Tournament. This sounded like so much fun!

"Sounds great~ I'm in!Oh right, I want to participate too.Where can I get a spirit?"

Aventurine replied,"You'll need to buy one from Ye Yun.Stop by his store when you have time."

Sparkle nodded enthusiastically."Then I'll go right now!"

She bounced out of her chair and skipped out the door.

Just then, Aventurine called after her."Oh, by the way — just a heads-up — that guy selling tickets at your door has a really bad attitude."

Sparkle's lips curled into a mysterious smile."Is that so~? Got it. I'll give him a nice little training session tonight~ See you later~"

Aventurine didn't linger. He still had a lot to do, like preparing the tournament venue.The final elimination rounds would definitely need a proper stadium, though the earlier prelims could just take place anywhere with enough space.

Meanwhile, over at Ye Yun's store—

Ye Yun posted an announcement in the group chat.Jing Yuan, Zhongli, Calestia, and several others quickly showed up to purchase their spirits.

Sparkle asked Aha to open a portal and arrived at the store.

"Hey everyone~ Long time no see!"

She waved at the group.

Lumine spotted her and waved back."Sparkle, you're here too?"

Sparkle nodded."Of course~ The Spirit Tournament's going to be held on my Joyful little planet, after all.I'm here to buy a spirit and join in the fun~By the way, did you get a spirit yet?"

Lumine grinned and grabbed Paimon."Yup! Here's my spirit — Paimon!"

Paimon, munching on an apple, was suddenly snatched up and looked utterly confused.

Wait... was Lumine saying she was going to battle with her??

Paimon pouted angrily."Lumine! I'm not a spirit! I'm your partner!"

Lumine then pulled Amber and Eula over."Hey, ask them! You just tell me if Paimon looks like a spirit or not!"

Paimon turned to Amber and Eula."I'm not a spirit, right?"

Amber and Eula were about to nod and agree, but then saw Lumine giving them very obvious signals behind Paimon's back.

They immediately changed tune."Paimon's totally a spirit, right?"

"Yup, Amber, I think so too. She can definitely compete!"

Paimon looked devastated."You're all bullying me! I don't wanna fight! My combat power's only one-fifth of a wild boar's!"

Himeko chuckled and picked Paimon up."There, there. Don't worry, Paimon's not a spirit.You're our partner — they're just teasing you."

Paimon pouted and leaned against Himeko, glaring daggers at Lumine, Amber, and Eula.

"Hmph! You three are mean! I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Amber was about to apologize when Lumine stopped her and, with a smug grin, pulled out a bag of teddy bear cookies.

"Still mad, Paimon?"

Paimon's eyes lit up with stars."Whoa! Teddy bear cookies!"

She zoomed over, ripped open the bag, and popped one into her mouth.

"Mmm~ So good~"

Lumine turned to Amber and Eula, raising her eyebrows."Well?"

Amber and Eula gave her a thumbs-up."Nice move — classic Lumine."

Himeko just smiled helplessly as Paimon melted under the power of snacks.

Meanwhile, Sparkle bought a premium spirit essence from the bar at a hefty price.

She brought it to the incubator and placed it inside, noting the 10-hour countdown.

With time to kill, she headed into Silver Wolf's room to play games together, planning to return to the Joyful Grand Theater after her spirit hatched.

With Aha there, nothing would go wrong.

At Ye Yun's store, anyone who bought a spirit essence—aside from busy officials like Fu Xuan—decided to wait for their little spirits to hatch.

Before long, Rimuru showed up too, excited to join in after hearing about the tournament.