Doomsday Tower Supply Guide

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Mentally ahead of her time, quirky fruit shop owner Mingxi × Tower-climbing record holder, food-disorder-afflicted, cold butcher Xu Wangshi. (A tall, muscular guy belongs with a short-haired cutie!)

Also known as: "I Left the Psychiatric Hospital and Opened a Juice Shop, Then Fell in Love at First Sight with the Butcher Next Door"

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On the first day after Mingxi was discharged, the whole world exploded.

Not because of her devastating beauty, or because she'd done something earth-shattering, but because...

An alien civilization thought Earth was hopelessly weak and decided to destroy it.

Humanity could only prove its worth by conquering a tower that reached the heavens.

Other people awakened their professions, joined the government, and bravely climbed the tower to fight for humanity's survival.

And her?

Because of her recent psychiatric history, the government mercilessly turned her away.

Great. The Earth Online update had left her out.

Thanks for asking. She's very confused, but plans to find a factory job first.

On her way to the job market, Mingxi suddenly got framed by a young woman.

The sweet-looking girl cried as she shoved the shop keys into Mingxi's hand. "Sis, help me! You're the only one who can take over this shop!"

Mingxi: ???

The next second, the "Juice Shop Management System" bound itself to her. [Ding! Rent this month: XXX! Utilities: XXX! Repairs: XXX! If payment is overdue, electric-shock debt collection will begin!]

Mingxi: Huh?

And the best part was the shop's back door. It was a shortcut into the tower?!

Beyond the door were swarms of enormous fruit that could move and run.

Mingxi: System, are these fruits legit?

[Of course! All-natural, with no additives! (Thumbs-up)]

Mingxi: ?

*-

After some time, the juice shop was thriving. Its juice had such miraculous effects that tower climbers from all over the world flocked to it.

One cup restores health, two restore mana, and three bring you back from the dead. Even the King of Hell gives it his seal of approval!

But the shop has one problem: Could the butcher next door please stop chopping bones in the middle of the night?! It's so loud she can't sleep and it's making her nerves fray!

One night, Mingxi followed the noise and found a chopping block piled with indescribable... chunks of meat?

She turned around and found a gloomy, knife-wielding hottie looming over her, his gaze cold enough to freeze someone to death.

Mingxi fixed her eyes on his firm, well-defined muscles. A tearful trickle of drool escaped the corner of her mouth. "Hey, handsome... Um, is this meat cooked through?"

Only later did Mingxi find out that the guy was No. 1 on the government's wanted list: Xu Wangshi, a food-obsessed big shot who used high-risk monsters as ingredients. No one could beat his tower-climbing record.

As for why he climbed the tower, his purpose was simple: to stock the fridge.

Later, he became Mingxi's personal bodyguard, fruit hauler, and... boyfriend, as declared by Mingxi alone.

Mingxi's daily routine now: She holds up a blender cup. "Charge! For the new limited-edition flavor!"

Xu Wangshi hefts his butcher knife. "Yeah. For tonight's late-night snack."

*-

One day, the government's strongest climber livestreamed his tower run, thinking he could finally conquer the stupid tower and save Earth.

But when he reached the top floor, he saw a pair of lunatics hacking away at the final boss.

Xu Wangshi: "That final boss is a rare ingredient. Don't damage it."

Mingxi swung her big club, knocked it out, and dragged it away. "Okay, anything you say, babe~"

The entire livestream chat exploded.

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This is primarily a shop-management novel with a laid-back pace and a bit of an otherworldly MMORPG feel. The apocalypse is just the backdrop, so the story as a whole isn't especially heavy on the end-of-the-world atmosphere. Please make sure you're okay with that before reading!

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1. A one-on-one romance from beginning to end. The leads are mentally a hundred years ahead of their time. A crazy guy with a crazy girl: a perfect match!

2. The heroine is a chaotic fun-seeker and genuinely mentally ill, with a mind that works differently from most people's. The hero is a human weapon and a lonely gourmet who climbs the tower purely for the food.

3. Apocalypse countdown + tower climbing + shop management + comedy + food = a chaotic stew of too many ingredients. (A world with a whole bunch of elements is practically my trademark.)

4. This novel was inspired by and pays tribute to the tragically taken-down song "The Vain Butcher." And hey, this year the song won its comeback contest, so I opened this novel to celebrate!

5. The blurb may seem a little unhinged. The story itself is the real guide.

Theme: I will save the world.