The situation surrounding Kai’s Shop gradually became more complicated as its reputation continued to spread throughout Cameron City.
At first, Farrah had thought that having more customers would only make her work more difficult, but she soon realized that the problem was not the number of people coming into the shop. The real problem was that other people had started paying attention to the business as well.
Kai’s Shop had originally been nothing more than a small store operating in a rented space belonging to the Aries Faction.
Because of its location, the shop had already enjoyed a certain degree of protection, but nobody had expected it to become this popular.
The products were simply too useful.
Every time Farrah managed to introduce a new item, people would quickly spread the information to their friends, and before long, more survivors would arrive to see whether they could purchase the same thing.
Some customers were only interested in food, while others came specifically looking for items that could help them survive outside the city. There were even people who visited regularly simply because they had become curious about what Kai’s Shop might sell next.
Naturally, the other factions could not ignore such a business forever.
One morning, Farrah noticed that something had changed when she looked outside the shop.
A new sign had appeared across the street.
She stared at it for several seconds before slowly turning toward the young man who had been helping her organize the shelves.
"Did someone open a new shop?"
The young man nodded.
"It opened this morning."
Farrah immediately frowned.
The shop across the street was significantly larger than Kai’s Shop, and unlike their small store, it had several shelves filled with different types of goods that were being sold at surprisingly low prices.
It didn’t take long for Farrah to understand what was happening.
"They’re trying to compete with us."
The young man looked toward the entrance.
"Is that a problem?"
Farrah remained silent for a moment.
Normally, she wouldn’t have cared.
Competition was not unusual, and Kai’s Shop had never relied on having no competitors. However, the situation was slightly different this time because the new shop was not simply selling any products...
They were selling the same products.
Flashlights, raincoats, sleeping bags, tents, canned food, instant noodles, and even some of the other supplies that Farrah had previously brought out during their merchandise rotations were now appearing across the street.
Furthermore, they were selling more than that...
"Seriously..."
Farrah’s expression became slightly strange.
The problem was that some of the products being sold by the new shop were even cheaper than theirs. Still, she couldn’t help but chuckle a little since she knew that they could never compete against Kai.
Kai could produce as many items as he could, and he had a wider range of products compared to what they had seen so far.
If Kai wanted, they would be able to sell more unique products that the others wouldn’t be able to copy at all.
’Still, they’re really quite resourceful. They actually have products similar to what Kai can produce. Wait... Is it another System Talent? But if that’s the case, they should’ve done it before... Maybe this is just their reserves?’
Farrah couldn’t help but wonder.
After all, it would be interesting if they really opened their vault just to mess with their shop.
In any case, this would certainly cause problems with their sale... Although she didn’t really care if the sale was weak, she still didn’t want to see their business being looked down upon...
However, despite having that thought, she couldn’t really do anything about it.
For ordinary survivors, their low price was naturally a very attractive offer.
By noon, several people who had originally intended to visit Kai’s Shop had already entered the new store instead.
Farrah stood behind the counter and watched the situation through the window.
"This is interesting... I guess Kai wouldn’t be bothered about this... So should we just ignore them?" She muttered to herself.
She wasn’t particularly worried about losing money.
However, their store’s popularity had already attracted too much attention, and Farrah understood that the sudden appearance of a competitor was probably not a coincidence.
The twelve factions controlled most of Cameron City’s resources, and although Aries and Libra were friendly toward Kai’s group, the other factions maintained a much more neutral attitude.
As for Cancer, Farrah had already heard enough rumors about them to know that they were not people she wanted to provoke.
She immediately contacted Kai.
It didn’t take long before he appeared in the shop.
Kai had just returned from Perfect World, and after hearing Farrah’s explanation, he immediately walked toward the window and looked at the store across the street.
"So they opened a shop here?"
"Yes."
"Are they causing trouble?"
"Not yet."
Farrah crossed her arms.
"But they’re clearly targeting us."
Kai didn’t immediately respond.
He studied the other shop carefully and noticed that several people were standing outside, handing out discounts and trying to attract customers.
"It looks like they’re trying to force us out through competition instead of directly attacking us."
"That’s what I think as well."
Kai nodded.
"Then let them."
Farrah looked at him with a smile. She expected that much, but she couldn’t help but ask, "You’re not worried?"
"Why would I be?"
Kai turned away from the window.
"If they’re selling ordinary supplies, we don’t have to fight them. We can simply sell something they don’t have."
Farrah immediately understood what he meant.
The other shop could copy their current products, but they had no idea where those products were coming from.
More importantly, they couldn’t copy everything.
Kai’s Shop still had access to an enormous variety of items that could never be obtained through ordinary means.
That afternoon, Farrah quietly changed the merchandise rotation.
The next customers who entered the shop were surprised to discover that the shelves no longer contained the same products that had been available in the morning.
Instead, Farrah placed several folding bicycles near the entrance, along with helmets and stainless steel tumblers.
A small section was also filled with dried fruits and nuts, coffee sachets, wristwatches, and several large water gallons... Furthermore, there was even a shelf filled with medicine or full medical kit!
Those items were the ones immediately purchased by the survivors. After that, the other products were also being sold!
"Wait, you sell these?"
One of the customers pointed toward the folding bicycles.
Farrah nodded.
"We have a limited supply."
The man’s eyes immediately brightened.
"How much?"
Before Farrah could answer, another customer who had been looking around the store suddenly rushed over.
"Wait a minute. You have coffee?"
The man’s voice was loud enough to attract everyone’s attention.
Farrah looked toward the shelf.
"Yes."
"How much?"
"One hundred Credits per pack... however, if you have C-Grade Cores, that would be better."
The man immediately grabbed several packs.
"I’ll take five."
The people around him immediately started looking toward the coffee.
Within minutes, the situation inside the shop became chaotic.
The customers who had originally been planning to buy canned goods suddenly began asking about the new products, and some of those who had visited the shop several times before were delighted to discover that Farrah had brought out items they had been searching for.
The new shop across the street could only watch as their own customers began crossing the road.
Just a day had passed and the competitor’s advantage had disappeared.
Farrah couldn’t help but smile.
Kai had been right.
There was no need to fight them.
As long as Kai’s Shop continued offering products that nobody else could obtain, the other shops could never completely replace them.
However, the situation did not end there.
Several days later, Farrah noticed that the same young man who had previously tried to buy Gordon’s tea was standing outside the shop again.
This time, he wasn’t alone... Three men were standing beside him.
Farrah immediately recognized the clothing they were wearing.
They belonged to one of the neutral factions.
She couldn’t determine exactly why they were there, but she knew better than to underestimate them.
The young man eventually entered the shop.
His eyes immediately moved around the room before settling on Farrah.
"I heard your shop has been selling some interesting things."
Farrah remained calm.
"We have many products."
"I can see that."
The man smiled.
"However, I think we should talk about where you obtain them."
The atmosphere inside the shop immediately changed as the other customers slowly stopped talking.
Still, Farrah’s expression remained unchanged.
"I’m afraid I don’t understand."
The young man smiled and continued.
"You suddenly have products that nobody else can obtain, yet you always seem to have more whenever people come looking for them. Don’t you think that’s a little suspicious?"
Farrah stared at him.
"Are you accusing us of something?"
"Of course not."
The man immediately shook his head.
"I’m simply curious. Apparently, some products in our vault had been missing..."
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