AutumnXd
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CHAPTER 13
🕑 Added 2025-04-30 09:47:34 +0000 UTCIn the days following Zoren’s visit, the Zuo Teng Toy Shop returned to a rare state of peace.
Of course, by “peace,” we mean the employees were frantically busy while Zuo Teng himself was solely responsible for the "calm."
His grand DIY mini-game project had hit a serious bottleneck.
Limited brainpower meant he couldn’t handle complex spell models. It was time to accept his limits—his job should be writing proposals, and letting actual professionals do the actual work.
Time to recruit some workhorses—uh, talents.
But… where to find people?
“This is literally impossible to solve!!” came Elsa’s frustrated wail from inside the shop.
As a toy store, selling only yo-yos wasn’t sustainable. The product line had to expand.
Fortunately, a new shipment had just arrived today from Dragon Island.
This batch included a series of brain-teaser toys. They’d actually been planned before the yo-yos but were held back from launch because they were too easy to copy. Zuo Teng wanted to build some brand recognition first—only then would customers prefer his versions.
It was the same reason Earth brands obsess over cultivating fans. When product quality isn’t dramatically different, the battle is all about marketing.
And once brand loyalty is strong enough, even if the product’s broken, die-hard fans will convince themselves it’s “just part of the charm.”
Loyal! To! The! Core!
Elsa stormed up to Zuo Teng, cheeks puffed up in rage. She was holding one of the newly arrived toys—a Rubik’s cube.
“You liar! This thing is unsolvable!”
Zuo Teng spared her a glance and sneered, “And what if I do solve it?”
Elsa, poor child, had never experienced the verbal warfare of online flame wars. She had the emotional resilience of a soap bubble—one poke of sarcasm and pop.
“F-fine! If you solve it, I’ll… I’ll wear that stupid mascot costume and hand out flyers in the street!”
That costume had come with the new toys—an oversized, derpy-cute version of Zuo Teng, complete with an open dragon mouth that conveniently framed the wearer’s face.
The original plan was to have one employee wear it daily and promote the toy puzzle challenge to passersby. For example, solve a Rubik’s cube in under ten minutes? One gold coin reward. Solve “The Lonely Mountain Path” puzzle—this world’s version of the sliding block game—in under 120 moves? Another coin!
As the manager, Elsa had flatly refused to wear the costume, saying it would damage her image as a promising young illusionist.
“You sure about that? Not gonna back out?” Zuo Teng teased.
“W-what’s to be afraid of?! I already lost face in Twin Towers City! Nobody back home knows me anyway!”
Zuo Teng took the cube from her and began turning it over in his claws, pretending to study it carefully.
He didn’t need to look. He couldn’t really solve a Rubik’s cube—he had just memorized a universal solution back in school to impress classmates.
To actual speedcubers, his method was clunky and slow. But to Elsa, who took over ten minutes just to complete one side, it was pure sorcery.
The cube spun rapidly in his claws. Color after color snapped into place, and soon, all six faces were complete.
Time: 4 minutes, 53 seconds.
Not fast—but more than enough.
“HOW?!” Elsa clutched her cheeks in shock. “You totally cheated with magic, didn’t you?!”
“Oh? What spell do you think I used?”
Yeah, what spell would that be?
Elsa still refused to accept defeat. “But every time I finish one side, the other ones fall apart again!”
Zuo Teng said nothing. He just handed her the mascot suit.
Protests were futile. Elsa became the first person in recorded history to cosplay as Zuo Teng the Dragon.
“Remember to smile while you work!” Zuo Teng reminded her cheerfully as she stomped away.
Elsa reluctantly waddled out onto the street in her plush dragon suit. Every time she handed someone a flyer, it was a small battle of pride vs. shame.
Please, please let no one recognize me today…
“Miss Elsa! Is that the toy store’s new product? Mommy, I want that one!”
“Oh, hi Jenny…” Elsa’s professional instinct kicked in, and she greeted the child in a muffled falsetto.
Too bad her mouth was turned downward, cheeks sagging, and brows twisted in agony. Her whole face screamed "joy."
New expectation: please let no one outside of the toy store recognize me today.
“Elsa?”
The voice was hesitant—maybe she could still deny it?
She quickly buried her face deeper into the dragon head. “I-I’m not Elsa! I am Zuo Teng, the evil, stingy, heartless, totally mean dragon!”
“Uhh, didn’t you say in your letter that you were managing the Zuo Teng Toy Shop?”
“Letter?” Elsa peeked out from the dragon’s jaws to see more clearly. “Brother?!”
Yuno Stone. The eldest son of the Stone family. Elsa’s real-life big brother, 25 years old, and currently an assistant in the optics department of the Fico Research Institute.
Sounds fancy, right? His daily job mostly involved tea runs, cleaning equipment, logging data, and serving as a human notepad during meetings.
His salary? A grand total of sixty copper coins a month. Technically called a “stipend.” If not for the free dorms, he’d barely survive in Twin Towers City.
Once hailed as the brightest kid in ten villages, the pride of the countryside. Then he made it to the big city—only to realize he was just average. Too ashamed to go home, he clung to the belief that someday, he’d make it.
The two of them settled into a café, seated in the outdoor section.
Elsa discovered the mascot suit had one perk—it was surprisingly comfy on wooden benches.
“So… this is what you do as store manager?”
“Of course not! I’m in charge of the yo-yo special effects, okay? Ever heard of yo-yos?! I also teach illusion scripting to some dumb newbie! I make bank, thank you very much—”
“Alright, alright. It’s not easy doing odd jobs. Living costs are brutal here. Here, take this—I still have a stable paycheck.”
He pulled a tightly-wrapped pouch from inside his coat. After peeling off layer after layer, he revealed several silver coins. He counted out five, hesitated, then added two more.
“What are you doing?! I told you I’m the manager!” Elsa quickly shoved the money back. “Don’t believe me? Whatever. But what brings you to Cornflower Street?”
Yuno really couldn’t afford to be here.
“I saw the poster about toy puzzle challenges with cash rewards. Thought I’d give it a shot.”
“That money won’t be easy to win,” Elsa muttered, still suspicious about Zuo Teng’s Rubik’s cube skills. “Are you strapped for cash?”
“Ugh…” Yuno sighed, looking miserable. “My research project got rejected. No funding. I still want to continue it myself…”
“What kind of project?” Elsa asked, thinking she might help if it wasn’t too expensive.
“Simply put, it’s about projecting optical images onto raw-color magic crystals. The light turns into mana resonance, which is then amplified by an array—”
“Stop, stop right there!” Elsa waved frantically.
She didn’t even care if she understood—it was the words themselves that made her head hurt.
“Just tell me what it does.”
“It lets you record what’s happening in the real world and store it inside a magic crystal.”
“Got it. So… like recording magic?”
“In theory, yes. But this method is easier to use, stores more data, and doesn’t require magic to play back. Only problem is, it’s still not practical. So… it got rejected.”
Yuno’s tone grew more and more pitiful.
“Well, if you can make it work, it sounds way better than regular recording magic.” Elsa was already sick of her brother’s whining.
“Maybe… but science has to be rigorous. Without sufficient testing—”
“Alright, shut it. Come with me. I know someone who’ll invest in your project.”
