Chapter 32: Smitten by Customer Feedback
Origins VR Cafe opened its doors as usual on a weekday, marking the immediate return of the shop’s ultimate whale—Baek Ji-Hong and his usual entourage.
As had become routine, Ji-Hong dispatched nine of his subordinates to claim their VR capsules first, while he and Butler Lee pulled up counter stools to converse with Donape.
"Boss, forgive me for being presumptuous, but it looks like your shop is overdue for another upgrade," Ji-Hong said casually, his face practically beaming with enthusiasm after going a whole day without seeing the shopkeeper.
Donape rolled his eyes, visibly grossed out by Ji-Hong’s overly dramatic gaze. Still, despite the kid’s casual tone, there was truth to his words.
"The shop will get upgraded when it’s time," Donape replied dryly. "Besides, why are you so eager to send your men off to play while you sit here chatting with me?"
Ji-Hong blinked, tapping his chin. "Oh... what was it again, Butler Lee? I only remember you telling me we had to make time to talk with the Boss, but I completely forgot why."
Butler Lee inwardly sighed, desperately wishing Donape would release a game designed to boost human intelligence to cure his young master’s complete lack of filter.
Feeling Donape’s questioning gaze shift toward him, Butler Lee cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Well, spending time conversing with you often grants us invaluable enlightenment." He said, looking away and scratching his cheek.
Butler Lee was no longer a doubter. He had become a devout, brainwashed member of the cult—err, no, a loyal customer of the shop and the reality behind it. His logical mind no longer rejected the supernatural; he knew these powers were real.
And because of that, despite his advanced age, a quiet greed for power had taken root in his heart.
In The Path of the Heavenly Martial Arts, Butler Lee had already maxed out his physical attributes: 50 Strength and 50 Agility—the hard cap for the game’s short storyline.
Thanks to his 16% VR synchronization, he had already felt the direct physical benefits in the real world, leaving him noticeably lighter, sharper, and more energetic.
As the line between reality and illusion blurred, Butler Lee craved the true prize: internal energy.
He believed the key to finally acquiring it was Qi Perception—the innate ability to feel and see Qi with the naked eye.
Yet, no matter how many times he played the game, his Qi Perception remained stubbornly stuck. He could faintly sense the natural energy flowing through the atmosphere around him, but he couldn’t fully grasp or control it.
Knowing the matter about VR synchronization had originally been revealed during a casual chat with Donape, Butler Lee had deliberately instructed Ji-Hong to engage the shopkeeper in casual conversation.
He was here seeking a breakthrough... using his young master initially, only to end up blurting it out himself.
Donape let out a quiet sigh. Seeing Butler Lee’s earnest gaze, he decided to enlighten them.
"You two constantly buy Spirit-Clearing Dew to wipe away mental fatigue so you can play longer, but you completely ignore the simplest drink on the menu," Donape said, gesturing toward the board.
Butler Lee blinked, listening intently. "The simplest drink... You mean the Origins Fountain Water? We’ve tried it before, but it only made our bodies feel warm and gave us a slight surge of energy."
"Exactly," Donape nodded.
"When an ordinary person drinks it, they feel a sudden surge of warmth boosting their energy—almost like a brief fire igniting inside. That happens because your physical body is entirely unaccustomed to real energy. What you feel as a ’warm burst’ is actually your body reacting to trace amounts of Qi."
Butler Lee’s eyes widened as the realization hit him.
"If you drink it every single day," Donape continued.
"Your body will gradually adapt. Once the drink no longer causes that sudden warm surge—once it feels as mundane to your system as plain tap water—that means your body has finally familiarized itself with natural energy. Only then will Qi begin to settle in your dantian, and your Qi Perception will naturally rise."
Butler Lee felt a shiver run down his spine. "Shopkeeper... are you saying that simply acclimatizing our bodies through this water is the true key to harboring internal energy?"
"Everything in this shop has a purpose," Donape said dryly, taking a sip from his own cup. "Though... if I’m being honest, another reason I’m telling you this is because sales for that water have been terrible compared to the VR Capsules."
"Boss, one Origins Fountain Water! Hehe!"
Ji-Hong didn’t hesitate for a single second. He ordered immediately without a shred of doubt.
In his mind, Donape was practically a godlike figure whose word was absolute law. Besides, based on his past hospital checkup, he already knew his body was recovering—and right now, he felt virtually fully healed, even if he hadn’t gone for a recent official confirmation.
If the rest of the Baek Family ever found out that his once-incurable condition was being cured by a street-side VR cafe... the entire family hierarchy would be turned upside down overnight.
Meanwhile, the shop door chimed as it opened once more.
Irene and her two friends, Ga-Eun and Mira, walked in, followed closely by Jae-Woong and Kennedy.
"What are you guys discussing so intently? It sounds exciting," Irene asked, sitting on a stool at the counter alongside Ga-Eun and Mira.
Jae-Woong and Kennedy lined up next to them, taking the remaining seats.
Donape let out a wry smile. Looking down the long row of customers seated at his counter, he felt less like a VR cafe owner and more like a bartender taking orders at a busy pub.
"The shopkeeper was just explaining that if you drink Origins Fountain Water every day until your body stops feeling that warm surge of energy... you’ll eventually cultivate internal energy. Just like in the movies and dramas," Butler Lee offered casually.
This time, Butler Lee didn’t hold back at all. His lips were loose, spilling the secret without a second thought.
In his mind, the more people who knew, the better—even though he trusted the shop implicitly, having others try it served as extra verification to prove whether the water truly provided internal energy.
The more test subjects, the merrier.
"Hey, now that joke is going a bit too far," Irene said sarcastically, eyeing Donape with a smirk. "I admit the drink gives a nice pick-me-up, but gaining powers that let you fly and shoot energy beams? That’s way too far-fetched."
"Seriously, Shopkeeper," Kennedy chimed in with a laugh. "Internal energy isn’t real. Don’t get carried away just because your VR tech is so groundbreaking. Keep this up, and you’ll have trouble distinguishing illusion from reality!"
Donape let out a long, mentally exhausted sigh. "Believe whatever you want. It makes no difference to me. Besides, why are you all huddled around the counter instead of gaming? There are six VR Capsules open right now."
At the mention of available capsules, Jae-Woong and Kennedy exchanged a quick glance and immediately dashed toward the gaming zone. They were completely hooked on the hyper-realistic VR experience—far more than any console or PC game could ever offer.
However, they were purely chasing entertainment. They weren’t interested in bringing game mechanics into the real world.
After all, very few ordinary people could readily accept the bizarre notion of supernatural powers bleeding into reality. Until such things became commonplace in everyday society, human logic would do everything in its power to deny them.
Meanwhile, Irene wanders back to Ga-Eun and Mira, still debating whether to queue up for the remaining VR capsules now or not.
"Go ahead and play first, girls," Ji-Hong offered with a polite smile. "There’s still plenty of time. My butler and I don’t mind waiting. Chatting with the Boss is actually pretty interesting."
"Huh? What’s so interesting about chatting with this stingy shopkeeper?" Irene asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Don’t pay him any mind," Donape interrupted, "He likes to talk about strange things."
He was reluctant to chat at length because he didn’t want to drink Spirit-Clearing Dew this early just to restore his fatigue from talking about trashy topics.
"Instead of making small talk, you should hurry up and add some affordable food and drink options so waiting customers don’t die of boredom," Irene grumbled, shooting Donape an irritated glare.
"There’s no point in having all these high-tech pods if there’s nothing fun to enjoy while waiting! If you keep running things like this, you might as well pull down the Origins VR Cafe sign."
Like Jae-Woong and Kennedy, Irene came to the shop purely for entertainment and relaxation. But the utter lack of variety on the menu left her complaining constantly.
Donape averted his eyes, trying to play innocent. Still, he couldn’t entirely blame her. Deep down, he knew a proper cafe was supposed to serve snacks, light meals, or actual food for its patrons.
But receiving those glares that demanded him to make the shop a proper cafe place was hard to ignore.
Left with an awkward situation, he tries to reason with the System in front of them.
"Hey, System," Donape muttered under his breath. "The customers are requesting more menu variety. Cheap options, preferably. Could you please fulfill—"
ZAP! ZAP!
A blinding streak of blue lightning materialized out of thin air, striking Donape square in the chest with precise, brutal efficiency.
THUD.
Donape collapsed onto the pristine floor behind the counter, twitching slightly as he cursed internally:
’Motherf*cker. I asked nicely and politely! What is this lightning bullshit? This damn System is even more twisted than I gave it credit for...’
At the same time, Ga-Eun and Mira got scared shitless while Ji-Hong, Butler Lee, and Irene were shocked, instantly clapping their hands over their mouths in a collective gasp.
This move was way too familiar for them. They felt like they had seen this kind of masochism before.