By midafternoon, the plaza was ready for business.
Red ropes formed three neat lines. Yellow arrows led to a cedar booth. A sign listed the price for Floors One through Three and stated in large letters that Floor Nine was closed to standard ticket holders.
Xiaoyao sat behind the window with a stamp, a stone tester, and a stack of numbered passes. Austin stood outside and tested him.
“An ancient elder says the Great Dao does not buy tickets. What do you say?”
“The Great Dao is welcome to enjoy the view. The heavens do not grease our roller bearings. Entry costs five hundred spirit stones.”
“And if he offers double to skip the line?”
“No.”
“And if he demands Floor Nine?”
“No. It is not included in a standard pass.”
Austin nodded. “You have the job.”
Tie Kuang had finished the gift shop beside the exit. Its shelves held miniature hard hats, green safety glasses, grease pencils, and toy pipe wrenches. A warmer near the register held eggs cooked over waste heat.
Austin picked up a toy helmet. “Did you test it?”
“It survived a twenty-foot drop,” Tie Kuang said.
“Good. The students think it has an Earth Ward. It has high-impact polymer. Mark it as a souvenir, not protective gear. The real helmets stay on the safety rack.”
He checked the glasses next. They were sound work glasses, but he crossed out a line on the sales card that promised protection from heavenly lightning.
“Sell what the item does,” he said. “Not what a buyer hopes it does.”
Tie Kuang pointed at the eggs. “Can I still call them Solar-Roasted Vitality Eggs?”
“They are roasted with solar heat. Keep that part. Do not claim they cure damaged spirit veins.”
Pug arrived as they finished the signs. The three-headed hound dropped onto a blanket beside the shop and accepted a piece of jerky. Austin scratched all six ears.
“You are on loss prevention. Bark at thieves. Do not bite customers.”
The center head barked. The right head kept chewing.
A shriek from the east ended the quiet. Flying swords crossed the clouds. Jade ships and golden chariots followed, carrying a thousand armed crusaders.
Austin looked through the booth window. “First large group. Remember, you control the gate.”
Xiaoyao put on his badge. “And if they will not listen?”
“Close it.”
The fleet descended toward the plaza. Xiaoyao inked his stamp and waited.