Chapter 458: Open for Business

Chapter 458: Chapter 458: Open for Business

It relied entirely on brute force, and the sensation of being filled with power vanished after just a few minutes.

Lily Hart nodded in understanding, writing on the page.

[Strength boost. Duration: three to five minutes.]

She’d discovered that every single drink had its own function, and they were all incredibly powerful.

None of them were just useless fillers.

Lily Hart hadn’t expected a simple bar to have so many special features.

’A first-place prize from the system is never simple, as expected!’

They continued their research, poring over nearly the entire cocktail compendium.

There weren’t that many types—only about fifty—but each cocktail had its own unique function.

For example, there were speed boosts, strength boosts, teleportation, integrated offense and defense, pure defense, and pure offense...

There were also cocktails for creating doppelgangers, increasing cold resistance, and even randomly summoning an animal or a plant to fight for you. In short, they were all beneficial to the user.

Lily Hart closed the book in satisfaction and pushed it toward Linnie Shaw.

"Keep this safe," she suggested. "We can create a separate menu for these, but we still need to sell regular drinks. We’ll tackle both."

Linnie Shaw put it away as if it were a treasure. This thing could make them a fortune; it couldn’t be lost.

The regular drinks would be mixed by robots, while Linnie Shaw would personally prepare the cocktails from the special menu.

Customers were dancing on the white circular stage, and others were seated in the booths below.

They could order by scanning the code on their table or by coming up to the bar.

Once the robots received an order, they would begin preparing it in sequence.

To get a drink from the special menu, customers had to order directly from Linnie Shaw, and that depended on whether she was free.

Linnie Shaw could already foresee how busy she was going to be.

But she wasn’t flustered in the slightest—only filled with anticipation and drive!

As Lily Hart and Linnie Shaw discussed the details, Frost Shaw and the others began to leave.

Some returned to their shops, while others eagerly made their way to the white circular stage and cheerfully started dancing.

Lily Hart propped her chin on her hands, chatting with Linnie Shaw while watching Roman Rowe and Owen Warren dance.

She had to admit, Roman Rowe looked surprisingly good dancing on the stage. It was warm inside, so he’d taken off his jacket.

He was wearing only a white long-sleeved shirt underneath, and his gently swaying figure, under the alternating blue and purple lights, gave him a roguishly handsome look.

Paired with his blond hair, his whole vibe was even more striking.

Owen Warren, not far off, was much the same. He was already tall and was wearing a long trench coat.

Every time he spun on the balls of his feet, the hem of his coat would flutter, creating an unexpected elegance unlike his usual self.

"Boss Hart?" Linnie Shaw called out softly.

"Hm?" Lily Hart snapped out of it, pulling her gaze away from the two men. "What did you just say? It’s too loud, I couldn’t hear you."

Linnie Shaw frowned instinctively, licked her tongue stud, and repeated, "I was asking, what’s a good way to price the regular and special menus?"

Lily Hart focused, trying to discuss menu pricing with Linnie Shaw.

The regular drinks were just for people to enjoy themselves, so neither of them planned to price them too high, especially since the ingredients were cheap.

So they set the price range between 30 and 100 points. Basically, one Crystal Core could buy several drinks.

As for the cocktails on the special menu, they would start at a minimum of two Crystal Cores.

With such significant and useful effects for people in this post-apocalyptic world, the price was absolutely justified.

’If I had known about drinks like these before,’ Linnie Shaw thought, ’I definitely would have bought a few to store in my dimensional space and hoarded them!’

’Even if I hoped I’d never have to use them, they could truly be life-savers in a critical moment.’

So, she felt the prices were very reasonable. She would definitely buy them herself.

After some discussion, the two of them created a new price list, divided into a regular menu and a special menu.

They also synced the prices on the app and notified the customers that they could start ordering!

The customers in the bar got the notification immediately.

Some immediately scanned the code with their Light Brains, while others who found that too troublesome went up to the bar to look at the physical menu.

When she saw customers approaching, Lily Hart immediately put on her professional smile.

Linnie Shaw saw this and tried to copy her smile, but it came out somewhat stiff and unnatural.

She gave up and reverted to her usual cold expression, but with a cold face, she just looked sour.

Combined with all the piercings on her face, she gave off a "don’t mess with me" vibe.

Besides, they were all superpower users and could vaguely sense the powerful energy fluctuations coming from her; she was clearly no simpleton.

She looked like the type to let her fists do the talking at the slightest disagreement.

So, everyone tacitly avoided her side of the bar, crowding in front of Lily Hart instead.

"Boss Hart, I want this one! The name alone makes it sound delicious!"

"Then I’ll take this one! It sounds like a strong one. I just want to get hammered and forget we’re in the apocalypse!"

’Get hammered?’ Linnie Shaw thought. ’Please don’t get wasted in my bar. I’ll be the one who has to clean it up.’

While taking the order, Lily Hart added a friendly reminder, "A small drink can be delightful, but don’t overdo it~"

The subtext was clear: don’t drink so much that you pass out in the bar.

She had a huge crowd of customers, while Linnie Shaw only had a handful in front of her.

And they had only gone to her side out of impatience with the long line.

Lily Hart found it strange. ’What’s going on?’ she wondered. ’Oh, they probably don’t know she’s the boss.’

So, she took the opportunity to make an announcement to the crowd. "This is Linnie Shaw, she’s the owner of the bar! Let’s all get along~"

But no one moved. The ones queuing for her stayed right where they were.

Lily Hart glanced back at Linnie Shaw and met her lifeless gaze.

Her face was cold, her expression flat and emotionless. She looked less like a bar owner and more like Yama, the king of hell, here to claim a soul.

Lily Hart burst out laughing and reached over to pinch Linnie Shaw’s cheek.

"Smile, Boss Shaw~" she teased, drawing out the words in a playful, coaxing tone.

Linnie Shaw stiffly pulled the corners of her mouth into a rigid smile for Lily Hart.

Lily Hart instantly recoiled, pulling her hand back and rubbing the goosebumps that had popped up on her arms.

"Okay, you can stop smiling now. I think it’s more important to just be yourself."

At that, Linnie Shaw was actually amused, and a rare, genuine smile broke through.

’Now that’s more like it~’

Lily Hart grinned back at her. "Keep it up!" she encouraged.

But the moment Lily Hart turned away, the smile vanished from Linnie Shaw’s face.

’There’s no need to smile at customers like that,’ she thought. ’Not everyone is Lily Hart.’

The customers took their order numbers and went back to the dance floor or their booths to wait.

Drinks for those in the booths would be delivered directly to their table. For those still dancing on the stage, their orders would be left at the bar for them to pick up.

The bartending robots that received the orders immediately sprang into action.

Drink after drink of every imaginable color was mixed by their hands, creating a surprisingly beautiful sight.

Lily Hart watched, swallowing unconsciously.

She was a terrible lightweight, but she loved to drink. It was a hopeless combination.

Lily Hart watched for a while, seeing that the process was running smoothly. Customers were successfully placing orders and getting their drinks.

The bartending robots were churning out orders quickly, and even Linnie Shaw was quietly engrossed in studying the cocktail recipes.

Everyone was doing their part. It felt like things were finally falling into place.