Lu Chen quietly observed the young couple sitting calmly in the spacious VIP lounge. Whether it was the newly upgraded snack bar corridor they had just passed through or this VIP reception room, which clearly didn’t belong to any existing technology on Earth, the expressions of Yan and Zhu Jue were far too composed.
The pair of jade-inlaid couple rings still rested in Lu Chen’s hands, yet they now felt unbearably hot to the touch. His head dipped slightly, not daring to et their eyes just yet, afraid he might catch a glimpse of their mocking gazes—though, for now, that was only his imagination.
"System, say sothing!" Lu Chen urged inwardly.
"Reply to the Dinsional Host: The system can currently only detect that the VIP clients possess high spending potential."
Hearing this, Lu Chen froze. "So, you’re saying they aren’t hosts from other dinsions?"
Before he could relax, the system continued:
"The Dinsional Host’s current authority is Level 3. The system shares the sa level as the host. If a higher-level dinsional host is concealing their identity, the system cannot detect them."
Lu Chen: "…"
"So, you can’t detect higher-level dinsional hosts. You can’t confirm the couple’s identities either."
His eyes flickered as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
When he first obtained the dinsional system, Lu Chen hadn’t assud he was the only lucky one in the universe.
Especially during the "Dinsional Host" tutorial, he had learned firsthand about this unique profession.
Take his ho planet, Earth, for example—still rooted in modern technology, not yet advanced into the cosmic stage of dinsional civilization. As a host, he was among the lowest-tier, yet also the one with the easiest path to sudden wealth.
All he needed was to find the right dinsion and the right goods, then play the role of a cross-dinsional middleman—buying and selling between worlds. Leveling up this way was fast.
Especially since he had chosen the "Snack Bar" function—aning his dinsional store could stock just about anything, buying and selling without limits.
Besides the snack bar, Lu Chen rembered that new dinsional hosts could choose from many options: dinsional farms, dinsional hotels, dinsional restaurants, and more.
But whether it was farming, cooking, or hotel managent, specializing in any of these required personal skills.
And Lu Chen? He had none of those. So, he’d played it safe and picked the snack bar—fulfilling a childhood dream.
Back then, his decision hadn’t been made lightly.
The dinsional system had warned him: choosing the "Snack Bar" path ant breadth over depth. Specializing in a single field, like running a dinsional restaurant, made it easier to access higher-rated dinsions at low levels. Using ingredients from lower-tier worlds to impress high-tier diners was a quick way to level up.
Many hosts who specialized in single-function dinsional businesses—farrs, restaurateurs—loved scouring smaller dinsions for rare ingredients, raw materials, seeds, and the like.
Different hosts had different temperants. In occupied dinsions, the polite ones might ask permission before taking anything. Others barged in, grabbed what they wanted, and left—sotis even wreaking havoc.
Then there were the top-tier dinsional hosts, rumored to have grown bored of high-tier worlds. So loved slumming it in lower dinsions, disguising themselves as locals to experience "authentic" life. Others took perverse joy in teasing fledgling hosts.
Now, recalling this part of the tutorial, Lu Chen couldn’t help but compare it to the couple before him.
Thinking back, Yan and Zhu Jue had been different from the mont they stepped into his dinsional snack bar.
They were his first custors. And when he’d stocked up on interstellar-era snacks—like those mind-bending Mistberries—they’d accepted it all without batting an eye, buying everything without question.
At the ti, Lu Chen had chalked it up to their open-mindedness. Later, when he learned they were students at Bin University, he’d rationalized it further: top students could adapt to anything, right?
Since then, the couple had beco regulars, always the first custors every month.
In fact… his snack bar’s door had sought them out.
Lu Chen had never quite figured that part out. Compared to his other custors—so timid and reverent, kneeling before him as if he were a god, others wary yet fawning—this couple had always treated him with easy familiarity.
Every visit felt like eting old friends. They moved through his snack bar with more ease than he did.
For this very reason, Lu Chen had a particular "soft spot" for young couples. They were around his age, so there was no generation gap, and conversations flowed more naturally. He didn’t have to put on airs, making them rare clients he didn’t need to overperform for.
When the couple first suggested using the convenience store as a loophole for studying, Lu Chen had simply thought, "The minds of top students are truly terrifying."
But now, a new realization struck him.
There was an obvious detail he had overlooked all this ti.
The chain-adorned glasses perched on Lu Chen’s nose weren’t just for show.
Ever since he unlocked access to two different dinsions, one of the upgrade rewards he received was a skill called "Custor Hint Display."
It allowed him to see certain details about custors who entered his store—nas, professions, backgrounds, or even a brief hint. This was how he managed to navigate the challenges of running a business in the post-apocalyptic dinsion with more confidence.
The skill could be toggled on or off. Currently, it was installed on his left lens, alongside the newly acquired "Custor Potential Scanner" on the right.
A tap on the left lens revealed the hint display, while the right showed a custor’s spending potential.
Back in his ho world, modern-day Blue Star, Lu Chen rarely activated the hint feature. He considered it a test of his observational skills—a way to hone his ability to read people through their mannerisms and deduce information on his own.
He didn’t know if this dinsional system would vanish one day, so he wanted to master the art of social interaction and reading subtle cues himself, rather than relying on external aids.
But in unfamiliar dinsions where supernatural forces existed, Lu Chen had no choice but to depend on the system’s assistance.
Now, gloved fingers brushed lightly against the left lens as he focused on the couple sitting across from him.
[Scanning current custors…]
[Custor Hint: Just an ordinary couple. Nothing special.]
Lu Chen: "…"
"System, don’t you think this hint is a little off?" he asked inwardly.
"First of all, they attend this world’s top university—that’s not ordinary. Second, they’re both talented and good-looking. How is that ‘nothing special’?" he argued.
The hint’s dismissive "nothing special" felt like a blatant cover-up!
In journalism, there was a saying: the fewer the words, the bigger the story.
And this couple’s hint was by far the shortest Lu Chen had ever seen. Back in the post-apocalyptic world, he’d been bombarded with information—custor abilities, juicy gossip, even niche preferences.
But now? The hint display was utterly useless against these two.
[No further hints available at this ti.] The dinsional system responded.
Lu Chen’s suspicion deepened. There were only two possibilities:
One, the couple truly was as ordinary as the hint claid.
Two—and far more likely—his current skill level couldn’t reveal more about them. Either his rank was too low, or theirs was too high.
After all, Lu Chen had dealt with S-rank superhumans in the post-apocalyptic world. Even the most powerful figures there couldn’t evade the hint display. So how could this couple?
Carefully, he handed the ring back to them. "Good clarity. A pair like this would easily go for a small six-figure sum."
Yan let out an indifferent "Oh," confirming the estimate was about right.
Lu Chen had casually quoted the price of an average jadeite ring, but his gaze was loaded with aning.
"Ordinary," the hint claid?
Yeah, right. Not even ghosts would believe that!
Secret operatives, ghost kings, wood-elent superhumans—Lu Chen was certain these were entirely different domains.
One belonged to a classical supernatural-fantasy dinsion, the other to a superhuman world. There was no way that silver bell bracelet and this jadeite ring ca from the sa universe. The power systems would be a complete ss otherwise.
Unless… they were from the real world?
No. There was only one conclusion.
Based on Lu Chen’s limited understanding, these two artifacts had to be sourced from separate dinsions. And the only ones capable of that were dinsion lords themselves.
Playing dumb? Absolutely playing dumb!
Back when he was still a novice dinsion lord—before upgrades, before remote artifact scanning, before unlocking new skills—he’d been completely fooled.
The couple hadn’t even bothered hiding much, probably assuming he’d never notice.
Now, Lu Chen recalled their first visit to his dinsional convenience store. They had seed genuinely startled and awkward at first, but that act had dropped suspiciously fast.
Tch. Couldn’t even keep up the pretense for more than a few minutes!
Though perhaps their initial surprise had been real. At their level, they likely never expected to encounter such a "complete rookie" like him.
Despite their efforts to blend in, the cracks were there. Being labeled "ordinary" yet holding VIP status was contradictory in itself. Add his inability to scan them properly, and the truth was obvious.
Still, one thing puzzled Lu Chen.
"System, do you think they’re just being mischievous, or are they here on a cross-dinsional trip to ss with newcors and relive their youth? Was there so ulterior motive behind them coming to my place to study before?" Lu Chen’s mind was in turmoil. He had always seen the two as just an overachieving, competitive couple, but now he wondered—what if their earlier "bug-exploiting" visits had a hidden purpose?
Even the fact that his cross-dinsional convenience store refreshed its stock monthly, with the couple always being the first to arrive—could they have orchestrated that? Maybe they just wanted to check out his store’s inventory as soon as possible.
For a mont, Lu Chen felt lost, unsure how to interact with them now.
"The abilities of high-tier dinsion lords are beyond my reach. What if they have so hidden agenda on Earth? I wouldn’t stand a chance against them. They seem nice, but appearances can be deceiving, and my warehouse supplies are limited. Could they just… take over this dinsion?" His thoughts raced with questions.
"Dinsion Lord, please rest assured. While the system cannot detect high-tier dinsion lords, I can confirm that every dinsion lord must be a native of their own dinsion. High-tier lords may enter, but they will inevitably be suppressed by the local dinsion’s rules," the system replied.
"But the beginner’s guide ntioned cases where high-tier dinsion lords invaded and caused chaos. How could they do that if they’re suppressed?" Lu Chen pressed.
The system paused briefly before responding. "There are indeed rogue high-tier dinsion lords who use special thods to infiltrate lower-tier dinsions, bypassing the suppression."
Lu Chen’s heart skipped a beat. "You an like those demonic possession plots in xianxia novels? I’m a native of this dinsion, so if a malicious dinsion lord wanted to invade, they’d have to… possess ?"
The system reassured him, "Dinsion Lord, there’s no need to worry. Your dinsion is a low-tier, technology-based one. Even if a high-tier dinsion lord ca here, there’d be little to gain—just tourism at best. And they’d need to maintain a good relationship with you."
Lu Chen: "…So we’re not even worth their ti, huh? What do you an by ‘maintaining a good relationship’?"
"Cross-dinsional lords are already bound to other dinsions and don’t belong here. Even if they enter in ordinary bodies, they’ll face rejection. As the local saying goes, ‘a strong dragon cannot suppress a local serpent.’ Outsiders need your help to mitigate the dinsion’s suppression and absorb its essence," the system explained.
In that instant, Lu Chen had an epiphany.
He got it. He understood! He saw the light!
In simple terms, foreign dinsion lords needed a local connection.
So that’s why Yan and Zhu Jue had lingered in his store all day, studying and refusing to leave—they were using him as a "recharge point" in this world! And showing up first every month? Just another way to "renew their stay," absorbing traces of this dinsion’s essence through minor transactions, pretending to have its permission so they could keep living on Earth!
Now it made sense. The couple truly ant him no harm—no wonder they’d always been so friendly.
If they really were high-tier dinsion lords, they were practically his seniors! Even a little advice from them could be invaluable!
Lu Chen smiled at them. "New stock just arrived. Want to take a look?"
High-tier dinsion lords! Please take under your wing, buy everything, and spoil rotten!
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