Chapter 380: Troublesome Customers

Several days later, a young man quietly entered Cameron City.

He didn’t attract much attention.

Compared to the countless survivors entering and leaving the city every day, there was nothing particularly unusual about him. He wore a simple set of combat clothes, carried a backpack, and had two androids following him from a short distance behind.

The young man was Renji, a newer member of the Codebreakers Guild.

He had been sent here to take over for Farrah at Kai’s Shop.

However, instead of immediately going to the shop, Renji decided to spend a few days exploring Cameron City first.

It was his first time visiting the city.

And there was something else he really wanted to learn more about...

The Zodiac Factions.

He just learned through the Guild Chat that the Zodiac Factions had become much more prominent. Even someone who wasn’t particularly interested in politics couldn’t ignore their influence.

Among them, the Aries Faction had attracted the most attention recently.

The faction had suddenly begun protecting a certain shop in the city, and rumors about the shop’s owner had spread throughout the city.

Renji naturally wanted to know more.

He had heard about the Aries Faction from other members of the Codebreakers Guild, but hearing about something and seeing it with his own eyes were two different things.

So, instead of immediately reporting to Kai’s Shop, Renji spent the next few days walking around Cameron City.

He visited several busy streets, watched the members of different factions, listened to conversations between survivors, and quietly observed how the city operated.

The more he explored, the more interested he became.

Cameron City was far more developed than he had expected.

There were shops selling equipment, players gathering in groups before leaving the city, merchants exchanging supplies, and various factions establishing their own areas of influence.

It was completely different from other places Renji had visited before.

And then there was the Aries Faction.

Renji quickly noticed that the faction’s members were particularly active around a certain area.

The reason wasn’t difficult to guess.

They were protecting Kai’s Shop.

Renji had already heard about it before coming here, but he hadn’t expected the security to be this obvious.

Several powerful awakened fighters could often be seen nearby, and ordinary Survuvirs rarely caused trouble around the shop.

After observing everything for several days, Renji finally decided that he had learned enough.

It was time to report to the shop.

When he finally arrived, Farrah was standing behind the counter.

She was organizing several items when she noticed someone approaching.

Her eyes immediately landed on the unfamiliar young man.

"Can I help you?"

Renji smiled politely.

"Are you Farrah?"

Farrah nodded.

"Yes. Who are you?"

"I’m Renji. I’m from the Codebreakers Guild."

Farrah paused.

She looked at him for a moment before her expression changed slightly.

"That Renji? The one in the Top 10 Rankings?"

"Yes."

"I’ve heard about you."

Farrah had never met Renji before. He was a newer recruit and had joined the Codebreakers Guild after she had already started working at the shop.

Still, the guild members had mentioned him before.

Apparently, he was a fairly capable Survivor and had two androids that usually accompanied him.

Farrah looked behind Renji.

Then she frowned.

"Where are your androids?"

Renji immediately understood what she was asking.

"Oh, I left them somewhere... I can’t have them always following me around."

Farrah blinked.

"You came all the way here without them?"

"I wanted to explore the city myself."

Renji shrugged.

"They tend to attract a little too much attention, so I left them behind. I figured they could stay at the shelter and help with some tasks while I was here."

Farrah nodded.

"That makes sense."

She had already seen enough unusual things in the apocalypse that two androids no longer surprised her very much.

"So you’ve been here for a few days?"

"Yes."

Farrah stared at him.

"And you only decided to come here now?"

Renji gave an embarrassed smile.

"I wanted to look around first. I’ve never been to Cameron City before."

Renji glanced outside the shop.

"And I wanted to learn more about the Zodiac Factions."

Farrah’s expression became slightly more interested.

"Did you learn something?"

Renji nodded. He had already spent several days observing them, so he had a fairly good idea of how much influence they had around this area.

"They are all powerful."

"Hahaha! They’re definitely powerful. I don’t know everything about them, but they’ve helped protect the shop several times."

Renji nodded thoughtfully.

"That’s what I wanted to learn more about."

Farrah looked at him for a moment before smiling.

"Well, you can worry about the Zodiac Factions later."

She pointed toward the shelves behind her.

"If you’re taking over for me, you have a lot to learn first."

Renji followed her finger and immediately became serious.

"The shop?"

Farrah smiled.

"Kai expects us to handle it properly, so I’m going to teach you everything before I leave."

Renji nodded.

"Understood."

***

Just like that, Farrah began explaining how the shop operated.

She taught him how to organize the items, how to check inventory, how to deal with customers, and which products needed to be kept in specific areas.

She also explained how Kai preferred the shop to be managed.

"Don’t randomly change the prices."

"I won’t."

"If someone asks about an item you don’t understand, don’t make something up. Just tell them that you’ll need to check first."

"Understood."

"And don’t let people cause trouble inside the shop."

Renji nodded seriously.

"What if they’re members of a powerful faction?"

Farrah glanced at him.

"Especially then."

Renji couldn’t help but smile.

"Got it."

Farrah continued teaching him for several hours.

At first, Renji simply listened.

But as time passed, he began asking more questions.

He was surprisingly quick to learn.

Farrah soon realized that she wouldn’t have to worry too much about leaving the shop in his hands.

"He learns fast."

She couldn’t help but feel relieved.

She had been stuck managing the shop for weeks, and although she didn’t hate the job, she had been eager to return to leveling.

Now that Renji had finally arrived, she could finally return to hunting and improving her strength.

After finishing another explanation, Farrah looked toward him.

"I think that’s enough for today."

Renji nodded.

"Thank you for teaching me."

"No problem... Tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to deal with the more troublesome customers."

Renji’s expression became slightly serious.

"There are troublesome customers?"

Farrah stared at him.

"Of course."

She sighed.

"You’ll understand soon."