She’s a Passerby, But Can See the Protagonist’s Halo

Yan looked at the clothes Lu Chen was wearing—a water-blue robe made of seemingly high-quality material, with a classical yet distinct style unlike anything sold in the convenience store before.

What kind of dimension had he visited to suffer such torment? He looked like he’d been blown up by something.

Lu Chen took several deep breaths, pressing a hand to his left chest as if to confirm his heart was still pounding wildly.

"Make yourselves at home. I’ll go change and clean up first."

Yan watched as he climbed up from the ground, attempting a suave gesture with a snap of his fingers before opening a door and vanishing.

However, given his current disheveled appearance, the two of them couldn’t help but find his retreating figure somewhat pitiful.

This wasn’t their first time at the dimensional convenience store, so since the owner had given them the go-ahead, Yan and Zhu Jue decided to browse freely.

Yan noticed the merchandise on the counter seemed untouched since last month’s stock.

She pinched her chin thoughtfully. So, after last month, Lu Chen had gone to another dimension to restock, only to run into some kind of mishap.

Dimensional travel came with risks—caution was paramount!

As Lu Chen hurriedly washed up and changed, the memory of his latest dimensional expedition filled him with despair.

Staring into the mirror, he groaned at the sight of his meticulously maintained hair now sticking out like a feather duster. Even after washing, it refused to cooperate. With a resigned sigh, he grabbed a comb, but the more he tried to tame it, the worse it became. In the end, he gave up and tied it all back with a hairband.

Ever since the VIP lounge upgrade was successfully completed, he had managed to gather five VIP customers, fulfilling the requirement for a reward draw.

The prize? A limited-time opportunity to explore an unknown dimension.

Lu Chen’s convenience store was currently connected to a futuristic interstellar era, a post-apocalyptic world, and an ancient civilization from centuries past.

In all his previous dimensional travels, he had mostly stayed inside the store, waiting for customers to arrive. Even when he ventured out, it was only to gather supplies or observe the era—rarely had he encountered any real danger.

His greatest safety net had always been his ability, as the owner, to summon and dismiss dimensional doors at will.

The store relied on these doors to attract customers, but for Lu Chen, any door—no matter its form—was a gateway home.

After some deliberation, the thrill of adventure won out, and he decided to explore this unknown dimension.

It wouldn’t interfere with his usual dimensional cooldown period, and who knew? He might stumble upon something valuable or discover a fascinating new world.

And then he fell straight into the biggest trap of his life.

He had come dangerously close—agonizingly close—to never making it back.

Lu Chen’s hands trembled. The vastness of the multiverse was humbling; no dimension could be underestimated.

This unknown world was nothing like the low-martial or sci-fi dimensions he had visited before. It was far beyond his capabilities.

This was a high-martial dimension.

To be more precise, it was a world straight out of a xianxia novel.

Unaware of the specifics beforehand, Lu Chen had packed everything he could think of into his personal space capsule before setting off.

On his first day in this dimension, he remained as cautious as ever. Seeing people dressed in ancient-style clothing eased his mind slightly, though he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of disappointment.

He rummaged through his space capsule for a set of clothes to blend in, from hairpins to robes, aiming to appear utterly unremarkable. Then, he exchanged a plain silver hairpin for some silver at a pawnshop.

At first, he assumed this was just another ordinary ancient world. But when he noticed people carrying swords at their waists—some belts even doubling as flexible blades—he silently raised his threat assessment, concluding this might be a wuxia dimension. He kept a watchful eye on the streets, half-expecting spontaneous brawls or dramatic tavern showdowns.

Fortunately, such scenes were rare. Lu Chen guessed that this small city, called Starpluck Town, was just an ordinary settlement where common folk lived their lives.

Even on the third day, when he spotted groups of people in uniform attire wielding standardized weapons, he assumed they were members of some martial arts sect.

But then he witnessed two groups confronting each other—and watched in shock as flames burst from one person’s palm.

That was when he realized his mistake.

This wasn’t a wuxia world.

An ancient setting, yes—but not one with mere superhuman abilities.

Another fighter countered with a sword flourish, summoning a droplet of heavy water that extinguished the flames in an instant.

This was cultivation. This was xianxia.

In that moment, Lu Chen understood the true danger of this world. In ancient dimensions, he could pass himself off as a celestial being. In the interstellar era, societal order was stable. Even in post-apocalyptic worlds, safety could be found within the walls of a base.

But here? The order of mortals meant nothing in the face of true power.

Lu Chen was aware of the dangers of this world, but he also saw the immense possibilities for wealth.

In ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‍the days that followed, Lu Chen behaved like an ordinary mortal, visiting teahouses to listen to storytellers recount the legends of "Star Warriors."

In this realm, one could cultivate their body and harness the power of celestial stars to strengthen themselves. Major sects often took their names from constellations, and warriors who practiced different star-based techniques exhibited elemental-like stellar energies akin to the five phases.

When the storyteller spoke of top-tier Star Warriors shattering the void, tearing through space, or traversing continents, Lu Chen marked these superhuman warriors as his greatest threats in this world.

But what he never expected was how absurdly and unfairly he would fall into a trap.

Lu Chen was merely blending in with a crowd of mortals, watching the spectacle of warriors. Rumors had spread that a mystic realm near Zhaixing City was about to open, and various sects were holding martial contests to determine the order of entry and the number of spots available.

Unremarkably, he stood among the spectators, barely able to catch glimpses of the warriors in the sky through the jostling crowd. Before his mind could even process their movements, the fights were already over.

In the interstellar world, Lu Chen had feared his identity as an ancient human would be exposed. He dared not undergo genetic modification, and even after buying enhancement drugs, he never drank them.

In the post-apocalyptic dimension, he spent two months without showing the slightest hint of awakening any supernatural abilities.

Now, in this high-martial world, watching these Star Warriors who could soar through the skies and vanish into the earth, Lu Chen felt a genuine longing. No matter what weapons or tools he acquired, true power could only come from mastering it himself.

Mortals had no path to the Dao. Pretending to be a gullible mortal desperate to learn martial arts, Lu Chen bought several supposed cultivation manuals from street vendors—all of which turned out to be scams.

His bone age gave him away, and no sect would take him. In the end, Lu Chen decided to join a minor family as an outer disciple, hoping to exchange contributions for a genuine foundational technique and see what real warrior cultivation looked like.

Even if things went south, he could always escape through a door and return home.

And then—

He encountered the unpredictability of an unknown dimension, an unknown world.

Though the acceptance by the steward had been somewhat careless, Lu Chen did become an outer disciple. He was even issued a slightly worn but fire-and-water-resistant martial robe, a pair of shoes, and a dimensional pouch containing a first-tier weapon.

At the time, he didn’t realize that every gift from fate comes with a hidden price.

After being ordered to change into his new attire, Lu Chen and the other disciples were taken away for body tempering.

Tempering, indeed.

They were led to an exotic fire mine and locked inside. Each day, they had to mine at least ten pieces of ore—or else they’d go hungry and face beatings.

In other words, they were mining slaves.

The dimensional pouch was for storing ore. The weapon was for chiseling rock. The fire-and-water-resistant robe was just to make the expendable slaves last a little longer.

The reason they had tricked a group of mortals into this was simple: the moment a warrior entered the mine, the ore would vanish or flee. Only mortals could extract it.

But mining was no easy task. Every strike against the rock triggered explosive reactions from the exotic fire ore. The entire mine was unstable, with eruptions happening anywhere, anytime.

The worst part? There were no doors in the mine.

This meant Lu Chen couldn’t leave. Eating, drinking, and even relieving himself had to be done inside the mine. Day by day, his condition deteriorated.

Hidden beneath his skin, his space storage ensured he never ran out of food or water. But he soon realized that despite being fully equipped, he had forgotten the most crucial item.

He should have brought a door!

To make matters worse, because this was an exploration of an unknown dimension—not one of the three stable dimensions connected to his dimensional shop—he couldn’t automatically return after a month.

Heaven wouldn’t answer his cries, and the earth wouldn’t heed his pleas. Every day as a mining slave was torment. A single misstep meant a beating, and the living conditions were horrifying. Even worse was the unrelenting mental strain. According to the old-timers in the mine, surviving a month in the exotic fire mine was sheer luck. Three months meant a natural death.

Not dying in another world was a blessing.

After changing back into his clothes and returning to his shop, Lu Chen nearly fell to his knees at the sight of the young couple casually brewing tea at his table.

Saviors! Lifesavers!

Lu Chen guessed that the couple had come for their monthly "refresh" visit, but since he wasn’t there and the door remained closed, they must have grown impatient and somehow forced him back!

Thank heavens!

Yan, noticing Lu Chen’s tied-up but wildly disheveled hair, let out an "Uh—" before commenting, "That hairstyle’s… unique. High crown, not bad."

Lu Chen gave a bitter laugh. "Just glad to be alive. Thank you."

Until he fully recovered, he had no plans to reopen his shop for other customers.

Lu Chen picked up his teacup and gulped it down, coughing violently. His space storage was still filled with self-made trash—wrappers and the like. During his days as a mining slave, he had been constantly on edge, and even carbonated drinks had tasted bland.

Yan and Zhu Jue watched his state, suspecting he had been through some war-torn era. He probably carried deep psychological scars and didn’t want to dwell on the memories.

"Nothing new in stock this month, right?" Yan glanced at the counter, casually changing the subject.

"Nope... nothing new," Lu Chen replied.

The mortal cities in the martial world had a production level similar to ancient times. To avoid drawing attention, he only kept daily necessities for personal use.

"Take whatever else you need," he said. To these two, these items probably weren’t even worth considering as toys.

"Not much, then," Yan mused.

"Oh, would this be useful to you?" Lu Chen suddenly remembered. In the mines, he had only handed in the bare minimum quota each day, sometimes even falling short like the other slaves.

To keep himself motivated, he had secretly hoarded a lot of the rare flame ore he dug up, stashing it in his space storage.

A red crystal the size of a fingernail appeared in his palm.

This seemed to be a higher-grade, more precious type of flame ore. He hadn’t dared to ask about it, quietly hiding it away. Over a month, he had only managed to find this tiny piece.

In his other hand, he held a large cluster of flame ore, indistinguishable from ordinary rubies to the untrained eye.

"Here, take them," Lu Chen said, extending his hands to offer them.

To Yan and Zhu Jue, one looked like an enormous ruby, the other a tiny speck.

"No, no—these are way too expensive. I couldn’t afford this even if I sold myself," Yan said after a quick glance.

A ruby this massive would raise too many questions about its origins. She was starting to suspect Lu Chen had stumbled into a dragon’s hoard—no way a gem this size could come from Earth.

"I’ve got plenty," Lu Chen said, and suddenly, a pile of blood-red "gems" materialized in his arms.

Yan and Zhu Jue: "..."

This was just showing off! No one flaunts wealth like this!

Zhu Jue refilled Lu Chen’s tea, and with a clatter, Lu Chen pushed the flame ore toward them.

"VIP customer gift. You have to take it."

Based on his experience across four different worlds, this was the most valuable thing he could offer—at least in terms of pure, natural worth, disregarding technological factors. It would remain so for a while.

Yan stared at the terrifyingly large gemstone and suddenly realized the fingernail-sized one was nothing more than pocket change to someone like him.

"Then... just this tiny one," she muttered, picking the smallest piece.

Lu Chen must have come from a world drowning in rubies if these meant nothing to him.

Anything bigger was too much to accept.

Mentally calculating the price of a three-carat, high-purity ruby, Yan resigned herself to repaying him through long-term patronage.

Seeing her finally accept it, Lu Chen sighed in relief.

They must recognize its value and know how to use it—otherwise, it’d be a waste in his hands. At least this way, he felt a little better.

Yan had originally planned to ask Lu Chen if he had any protective talismans, but given how he seemed willing to give away his entire fortune today—as if he’d suffered some deep trauma—she swallowed the question.

The two didn’t stay long, soon excusing themselves to continue their trip to the antique street. Left alone, Lu Chen sprawled on the floor of his little shop.

This journey across worlds had made him feel like a naive fool.

The world was far more treacherous than he’d imagined, filled with dangers beyond his comprehension.

His past smooth sailing had given him an inflated sense of his own abilities.

Everything he had relied on his interdimensional shop. Without it, he was defenseless—completely at the mercy of others.

He had to get stronger.

But this time, he hadn’t managed to obtain any cultivation techniques, and the modern world lacked the astral energy of that other realm.

Wait—

Lu Chen suddenly sat bolt upright. If this high-tier interdimensional couple had accepted his gift, they must know its worth.

Given their status, they’d probably visited similar worlds—maybe even lived in one with supernatural elements.

Could he trade with them for cultivation techniques or something to boost his combat power?

Or... would they take him as a disciple?