Chapter 300: Store’s First Opening

Liam and Chrises arrived at the store. The shop stood quietly at the edge of the business district, its opaque double glass doors reflecting the soft golden light of dawn.Liam stepped forward first.

"Watch carefully," he told her.

He placed his palm onto the biometric scanner hidden in the door’s right panel. A soft beep sounded a moment later, and both glass doors slid open without resistance.

Chrises stared at the motion with silent wonder. Even after everything she saw yesterday, she still wasn’t used to doors that moved on their own.

They stepped inside. The moment they entered, the entire shop came to life, as lights brightened overhead with clean, white illumination, the air cooled instantly and every TV screen turned on by itself, displaying the store’s idle interface.

Chrises stood still for a moment, absorbing the feeling. The temperature inside was cool, balanced and steady. It wrapped around her like a gentle breeze, completely removing the heat from the sun outside.

She closed her eyes for a second and smiled. It felt amazing and so comfortable that she didn’t want to step outside again.

Liam noticed her expression and chuckled lightly.

"Don’t get too lost in the cold. Come here."

Chrises quickly straightened her posture and walked toward the counter.

Liam showed her a small control panel embedded into the counter. It looked ordinary to him but completely foreign to her.

"This controls the opaqueness of the doors," he said. "You can make them clear or solid. You can also control how much sound leaves or enters the store."

Chrises blinked at him. "Sound...? The door can stop sound?"

Liam smiled. "Go outside. Watch."

She nodded and walked out of the store. She turned around and stood before the opaque double glass doors. The surface was still solid white, hiding the store interior behind a smooth glow.

Then, slowly, the glass began to change.

Her eyes widened in shock when she saw this.

The opaqueness faded little by little. The thick white blurred into something lighter, then softer, until she could see Liam waving at her from inside.

She gasped and stepped back in even greater shock. It was as if the glass had vanished entirely, replaced by open air. She could see everything inside the store—the shelves, the display case, the chairs, the statuesque robots by the walls.

She lifted her hand and waved back.

Then the clarity began to fade again. The glass surface blurred, thickened and returned to a solid opaque state. In a few seconds, she could no longer see anything behind it.

A soft ping sounded in her mind and she saw that it was a message from Liam, and it read: "come back in."

She stepped forward and the doors slid open smoothly, making room for her to enter.ic energy.

The robots stored every blow they received and released it when needed. Their strength, combined with the combat knowledge Lucy installed in them, made them terrifying guardians.

Without them, Liam would never have chosen to open the store here. This world was filled with danger. Not just physical danger, but political danger as well.

Liam was not afraid of any of them. He simply wanted to avoid annoyance. One of the reasons why he bought a store located in the business district is because of how he perceived the environment. He knew that there will be fewer troubles here and he wanted Chrises to run the store without much trouble.

He let those thoughts drift away as he stretched lightly on the bed. The store was open and they only needed customers now.

He watched the cameras again. The street outside was slowly becoming livelier as people walked toward the market district.

A few pedestrians paused in front of the shop and stared at the now almost transparent glass doors, into the store’s interior. Some frowned, while some whispered. Some shrugged and walked away.

Chrises noticed this too. She sat straighter. She looked at Liam’s door, then at the control panel, then at the glass doors again.

Should she make them clear? Would that help? She thought to herself.

She hesitated.

Liam saw her confusion through the surveillance, but didn’t do or say anything. From now on, the store was under Chrises’ care and she will be the one making decisions for things related to it. It was better it starts now, than later.