What kind of divination am I doing?

The next moment, Charlotte pulled out three or four yellowish-brown scales.

The scales left Charlotte's chest and instantly grew larger, each one the size of a riot shield in Charlotte's hand.

"Lord Aini, I lost. This is the dragon scale you won! Please accept it!" Charlotte said, bowing her head.

Lu Qiao looked at the huge dragon scales without any reaction, but the black cat got excited. It leaped up and scratched the dragon scales with its claws to test their sharpness.

Charlotte placed the dragon scales gently on the ground, letting the black cat use them as a scratching post. After scratching to its heart's content, the black cat lay down on the dragon scales, using them as a cat bed.

Charlotte, having put down the dragon scales, remained kneeling on the ground, waiting for Lu Qiao to agree to take her as his apprentice.

Lu Qiao understood the situation; the other party probably wouldn't leave no matter what.

Lu Qiao looked down at the black cat and asked, "What are you thinking?"

The black cat slowly spoke, "We do need someone to clean here, and the earth dragon's earth power can expand the ground. Aren't you worried about not having a place to sleep?"

Black Cat's words were quite clear: he wanted Lu Qiao to keep Charlotte.

Lu Qiao waved his hand helplessly: "I promise you. Get up. You can put your scales in the cellar at the back!"

"Really!" Charlotte looked up at Luqiao excitedly.

The black cat then meowed, "As for scales, put one in the attic on the second floor!"

Lu Qiao rolled his eyes at the black cat: "You want to be my den?"

The black cat didn't say much, just patted the dragon scales: "You try!"

Lu Qiao was taken aback, picked up a piece, and subconsciously sniffed it. There was a strange fragrance, so Lu Qiao leaned his head against it.

The next second brought a feeling of immense relief, and Lu Qiao finally realized, "Why?"

"This isn't just dragon scales, it's real ambergris!" the black cat exclaimed.

Lu Qiao nodded: "I'll put one next to my pillow too!"

Luqiao and the black cat were discussing using this thing as a pillow.

Charlotte blushed and was too embarrassed to speak.

The black cat leaped down from the dragon scales and pointed inside the castle: "Let's put everything in the castle. The small room in the back is the bed, and the stairs lead up to the second floor, which is the attic."

Charlotte nodded, understanding that she could stay, and was naturally very excited. Clutching the ancient book in one hand and her own scale in the other, she entered the castle.

Taking advantage of Charlotte's absence, Lu Qiao leaned down and whispered in the black cat's ear: "What were you thinking about keeping her?"

The black cat howled, "Monica isn't weak, but she might not be able to protect us in a critical moment. Before, we were restricted by her status as the administrator of the Outer Realm Tavern, but that's no longer the case. We need a bodyguard who is strong enough."

"I can understand, but does that mean she can protect us?" Lu Qiao asked rhetorically.

"Don't underestimate her, her true form is a dragon. Dragons only worship magic; their physical strength is almost invincible among alien races," the black cat explained.

Lu Qiao pondered for a moment before speaking, "If we really want to keep her here, then we'll probably have to help her win the Dragon Clan tournament three days from now!"

"That's your job. I'm very satisfied with your performance today. I always feel like you have an endless supply of ideas," the black cat praised.

Indeed, from the gold shop robbery to now, Black Cat has been satisfied with Lu Qiao. I really want to open Lu Qiao's brain and see what's inside.

Often, a good idea can solve more than just a problem; it can even determine the outcome of a battle.

Just as Lu Qiao was about to say something more, a clanging sound came from inside the castle.

Lu Qiao sensed something was wrong and ran into the castle.

Charlotte was seen squatting on the ground, looking bewildered. The sound just now came from two crystal balls falling to the ground.

It must be because the skirt is too big; this castle is only about a hundred square meters.

Charlotte turned around and saw that Lu Qiao had spotted her. She spoke excitedly, her voice trembling with tears, "Lord Aini, I'm so sorry, I messed things up. These two crystal balls cost three thousand..."

Charlotte said, pulling a wad of US dollars from her pocket—a thick stack of cash that cost at least three thousand dollars.

Lu Qiao was taken aback, not expecting Charlotte to be a wealthy person. Of course, she was, after all, a dragon princess, and having spent years as an adventurer living on Earth, it was normal for her to have some money.

Seeing Charlotte pull out three thousand dollars, Lu Qiao realized that Monica had already changed the prices of all the items on the shelves, adding two zeros to their value.

Lu Qiao said helplessly, "You don't need to pay for it. Just take a broom and sweep it clean. As for your clothes, they really don't suit you. Go buy a new outfit here after you've finished sweeping."

Charlotte then spoke up: "Are you sure I don't have to pay for it? Thank you, Lady Aini. You sell these things to benefit humanity, right? Is it really alright if I break them?"

Lu Qiao didn't dare tell Charlotte that these things came from Yiwu, and waved his hand: "No need to compensate. Then let me tell you the situation. On Earth, my name is Lu Qiao, and Black Cat is called Aini. Of course, you can call me store manager. Starting today, you are a store employee here."

Charlotte, realizing what was happening, bowed again to Lu Qiao: "Good morning, Manager!"

With that bow, the hem of her skirt struck the shelf again, and another crystal ball fell to the ground and shattered.

"Ah! I made a mistake again!" Charlotte looked at the mess on the ground, at a loss.

"Put Longlin down for now, go out and buy a new set of clothes suitable for work first!" Lu Qiao said helplessly.

Charlotte ran out of the castle with the ancient book in her arms, clearly realizing that her puffy dress was indeed inappropriate.

Lu Qiao picked up the dragon scale and then realized, "It's so light."

The black cat entered and overheard the entire conversation, then explained, "Of course, after all, dragon scales are one of the best materials for armor."

Lu Qiao placed one piece by his bedside and sent the other to the attic.

Lu Qiao hid the remaining three pieces under the bed, along with the guns that had been confiscated earlier.

Luqiao then went to the restroom to get a broom and dustpan to clean up the crystal ball fragments on the floor.

When Luqiao was cleaning, a few foreigners came in, but when they peeked out and saw that only Luqiao was there, they hurriedly left.

Of course, they would also ask where the shop owner was, mistaking Luqiao for a cleaning worker.

Lu Qiao understood that making money now really depended on Monica and this group of old perverts, so Lu Qiao held back and told them to come back tomorrow.

Luqiao understood that the nature of the store's business had completely changed because of the message Monica posted on the platform.

People aren't here for fortune telling, tarot cards, or crystal balls; they're all just lazy bums.

But since the foreigners were willing to pay for Monica's money, what could she say?

Half an hour later, Charlotte returned with a suitcase.

Lu Qiao was utterly astonished. Charlotte, who was 1.58 meters tall, entered wearing a blue cheongsam embroidered with a Chinese dragon. She had her hair tied in two buns, and her hair had turned from blonde to black. She also had a cute sachet at her waist.

The old book had two shoulder straps, and it was being carried on his back like a small schoolbag.

"Hello, store manager! How's this outfit?" Charlotte asked.

At this moment, Charlotte was dressed entirely like a Chinese girl.

"You even dyed your hair?" Lu Qiao asked back.

"It's a new color! The lady at the clothing store on the next street is so kind. I told her I wanted to work as a saleswoman, and she picked out this outfit for me. I've wanted to wear something like this for a long time!" Charlotte said with a smile.

After hearing Charlotte's words, Lu Qiao realized that she had been fooled by the old lady in the Chinatown clothing store. The clothes were indeed beautiful, but something was wrong. This was a fortune-telling shop, and no matter what she wore, she couldn't possibly dress like the people in Chinatown next door.

Lu Qiao was about to criticize this approach as only suitable for working as a waiter in Chinatown, but before he could say anything, a foreign customer walked in.

The customer stared at Charlotte with wide eyes, sitting on the shelf with his gaze completely fixed on her.

Charlotte instantly switched gears and stepped forward to introduce the product earnestly, just like a salesperson.

Her voice was sweet, and she spoke fluent English. Of course, Charlotte didn't know what the item was for, but that didn't stop her from bragging about it.

Reading Chinese novels does have its benefits; they readily offer various claims about increasing good luck, improving health, and warding off disasters.

Charlotte dared to say this entirely because she trusted Lord Aini's reputation.

Luqiao almost forgot that these things came from Yiwu.

With this kind of persuasion, the foreigner, who originally didn't want to buy anything, still picked out a tarot deck and a plastic lizard pendant.

The foreigner kept glancing at Charlotte, unable to look away. After calculating the bill, he received seven hundred and fifty dollars.

Charlotte provided full service, even at the cashier.

After seeing the guests off, Charlotte looked at Lu Qiao and asked, "Manager, is this alright?"

Lu Qiao gave a thumbs up: "Amazing! How do you know all this?"

"After adventurers came to Earth on missions, they took on some jobs so they could read Earth's books! But none of them sold as well as the shopkeeper! This one sold for over seven hundred dollars, that's amazing!" Charlotte explained with a smile.

Charlotte thought it was because Luqiao's products were good, but Luqiao knew it was because the store had been trained by Monica, and the customers were all from a specific demographic.

The old pervert just came to see the beautiful women, and he was obviously satisfied to be able to interact with them.

If Monica simply relied on her charm to attract customers, then Charlotte used her girlish cuteness and naivety.

With a successful deal and profits made, Luqiao was naturally happy.

Charlotte walked towards the road bridge with a smile: "Manager, the Dragon Clan Tournament is in three days. Are you going to give me any special training?"

Lu Qiao, who knew nothing of instruction, pondered and asked in return, "Have you seen the movie 'Shaolin Temple'?"

Charlotte scratched her head: "I know what the shopkeeper is going to say. Sometimes labor is a kind of training, but... I'm just afraid I won't learn much from you in these three days."

Learn skills? Lu Qiao smiled wryly. He didn't need to learn any skills at all. Lu Qiao's thoughts were simple: he would just give the anti-magic stone to Charlotte later.

But Lu Qiao still patiently asked, "What kind of competition is your dragon clan holding?"

"It's like our gladiator tournament, with fourteen subspecies, drawn into pairs to fight, fourteen to seven, then seven to four, the fastest to win gets a bye, semi-finals four to two, and then the final to choose the champion," Charlotte explained.

The black cat realized, "The bottom four aren't supposed to pay tribute, so how were they chosen? Fourteenth is also a loss of seven, so aren't four more to be selected?"

"The team that advances fastest in the first round gets a bye, while the defeated dragons are placed at the bottom. The remaining three losers are then matched three by three to make up the four worst-performing dragons." Charlotte lowered her head as she said this.

Luqiao finally understood: "You guys are always the first to be eliminated!"

Charlotte awkwardly began, "The limitation of the Earth Dragon Magic Core is the ground; dragons... dragons can fly. Over the years, we've made continuous progress and no longer rely on ground attacks, but it's still very difficult to win."

Charlotte explained that her words were, of course, harsh.

But Luqiao also understands that no matter how much you change the terrain on the ground, it has basically no effect once you take off.

All earth dragons are naturally at a disadvantage when facing other dragons. So while other dragons are still using clods of earth and flying sand, Charlotte has already become very strong by learning to use flying swords on Earth. But is that really enough?

Luqiao felt it wasn't safe enough, if possible.

Stone can be condensed into metal, so can it be condensed into something else? At this moment, Lu Qiao had an idea and looked at Charlotte, asking, "Will you listen to whatever I say?"

"Of course! Shopkeeper, you are Lady Enni!" Charlotte said excitedly.

"If I help you win first place, I need you to promise me one thing!" Lu Qiao said.

"What?" Charlotte asked.

Lu Qiao glanced at the black cat, then held up five fingers: "You know, the shame of the Dragon Clan is that the entire race serves other races for a hundred years. I only need you to work for me for fifty years, do you agree?"

Charlotte spoke up, "Of course I can, but I'd like to ask, is there a salary? What are the benefits like?"

"What about the pay? Five days a week, two days off, 9 am to 5 pm, paid on the 1st of each month, double pay for weekends if you work overtime, and the salary?" Lu Qiao paused, stunned. "The salary is just over 30,000 yuan." Lu Qiao said thoughtfully.

"Thank you, store manager!" Charlotte nodded excitedly.

"The higher the pay, the more conditions apply. Tonight, you need to build me a basement with at least two rooms. Tomorrow morning, you need to expand the entire castle by one inch. We'll only expand it a little bit each day!" As Lu Qiao said this, he could already imagine that the real castle was about to be his.

"Understood!" Charlotte nodded.

Black Cat also sensed something was wrong when she heard this. Just then, another foreigner entered the room, and Charlotte continued to act as a sales assistant, enthusiastic and proactive.

The black cat jumped onto the front desk and meowed softly, "What's going on? A salary of over 30,000?"

Lu Qiao pointed at the foreigner: "Being a bodyguard requires you to make people risk their lives. Being too stingy will backfire. And look at the current situation, if the performance continues to be good, we'll really give them a little over 3000.0. If the performance is bad, we'll just cheat and give them 3,000. Anyway, the exact amount is up to us!"

The black cat understood: "Then you're really heartless!"

"That's nothing, let me explain!" Lu Qiao spoke up again.