Chapter 53: Lola, Level 2 Auto So I control the customer list. It’s quite a useful feature for dealing with problem customers. Noah weighed his options. His business sense demanded him to allow profitable customers inside. But his personal survival instincts suggested keeping the dangerous succubi at safe distances. But watching Lola’s expression through his peripheral vision, Noah found unexpected satisfaction in having leverage over her. For now, let her wait. A little humility never hurt anyone. The morning rush hit like a tidal wave. Demons flooded his shop with unprecedented enthusiasm, word having spread through Sin City’s gossip networks overnight. Viscount Vex’s dramatic recovery testimonial had apparently gotten him some more customers than Noah anticipated. That Viscount is something else. Customer after customer streamed through his doors, gold coins flowing like water from an endless spring. Aristocratic demons, working-class demons with calloused hands, even a few demons who looked like they’d stepped out of academic libraries. Noah’s convenience store had become their attraction site, where they get their good groceries. Through it all, Lola remained stationed outside his shop like a beautiful, frustrated sentinel. Her ruby eyes tracked every transaction with growing irritation, watching as all the stock was being depleted at an alarming rate. Good. That’s what you deserve. You are not the only one who can tease, little succubus. The sales mounted. Twenty gold coins per tea bottle. Ten per bread loaf. Each transaction adding to Noah’s growing fortune while Lola’s pout deepened. "One iced tea, please." "Two bread loaves for my family." "The whole shelf—money’s not a problem." "Sorry, one item per customer." Noah rejected. The final customer was an elderly demon with some cracked horns, he completed his purchase before leaving the store. Twenty-three bottles of iced tea and eleven loaves of bread. Gone. Sold out before noon. Five hundred and seventy gold coins. In one morning. Noah’s hands trembled as he counted the last payment. The numbers blurred together in his mind, too large to process immediately. I made fifty-seven thousand dollars. In a single day. How much is that in a month...? Too much to count. He collapsed onto his stool, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of his success. The system notification blazed across his retina like digital fireworks. Host: Noah Carter Age: 28 Shops: 1 Daily Revenue: $3,000 Current Assets: $140,220.64 Shop Points: 1,560 Attributes: Strength: 4 // Vitality: 4 // Intelligence: 7 //Agility: 3 Skills: Swordsmanship (Level 4), Mana Control (Level 4), Cooking (Level 2), Programming (Level 2), Finance (Level 1), Surviving on Ramen (Level 3), Gaming (Level 1) One hundred and forty thousand dollars. I have more money than some small companies. Outside, Lola’s voice drifted through the open doorway. She’d overheard enough customer interactions to piece together his identity. "Noah..." "Let me in... I promise you won’t regret it." Promise. Right. Like I’d trust a succubus’s promises. What if you eat me before I can have a chance to kick you out? Who is going to return my first-time cards, huh? The way she said his name made him shudder...Each syllable dripped with seduction, designed to bypass his defences. She is definitely staying out there. Noah focused on his system interface, using numbers and logic to shield himself against her seductive assault. Time to check the auto-makers. — [Auto-IceTea ] Level: 2 Production Rate: 1 Iced Tea every hour Max Stock: 24 Progress: 28/100 — [Auto-Baker] Level: 2 Production Rate: 2 Loaves every hour Max Stock: 24 Progress: 2/100 — Both machines hit Level 2. Finally. The ice tea maker had jumped to 28% completion toward Level 3. At this rate, four more days would unlock the next tier of production capabilities. Better efficiency, higher output, more money. But the auto-baker’s transformation impressed him more as it had levelled up. Level 2 had doubled his maximum stock while quadrupling production speed, it was the same rate of progression as the Auto-IcedTea. Two loaves every hour meant forty-eight pieces daily instead of twelve. But unfortunately, his max stock was only twenty-four, which didn’t help. But at least if he kept selling them, he wouldn’t have to worry about max stock. ’Hm...Well, I suppose I can eat some myself now. It’s better than going to waste.’ Combined output would reach forty-two items daily once both machines hit full capacity. At his current prices, that represented 720 gold coins, at least $72,000 in daily sales potential. That’s nearly half a million per week, from two products only. What if I can add more products when I level up the shop to level 2....I can’t wait. The conditions to level up his store to level 2 were five thousand shop points and levelling up his two auto-makers to level 2. He had already completed the second condition, which meant he had one condition left to complete. 5,000 Shop Points. I’m still quite far from it. I only have 1,560 currently. "Noah, please...I want to taste that liquid again, it was so soothing, refreshing." "I’m a loyal customer. I just want to buy your delicious tea again." Noah finally responded. "No," "But why?" She pouted, her eyes glistening as if hurt, before continuing. "I’ve been thinking about that tea all night. The way it made me feel... so warm, so energised. I need more." Everything she says sounds like innuendo. "Just let me in, Noah. Let me taste your magic again." Noah’s cheeks burned despite his best efforts to remain professional. The woman could make ordering coffee sound like a sin. "I won’t let you in. There’s nothing to sell anyway." Lola’s pout deepened, transforming her beautiful features into something that could break hearts across three kingdoms. "Hmph! Fine, but at least for next time." The succubus remained stationed outside his threshold like a gorgeous, determined siege engine. Her tail swished with barely contained frustration, but her posture suggested she’d wait all day if necessary. She is very persistent. I’ll give her that. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 Time passed, and Lola still waited outside. Okay, I kind of feel bad now.