Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 10

The Immortal lamp emits a soft glow. There is no ice in the room, yet the air feels cooler than if there had been.

Lin You has never believed in gods. People in the world are ignorant, unable to stay grounded, and instead place their hopes in deities and Buddhas.

He used to scoff at the idea of “gods.” No one has ever seen a god. However, he has encountered many alchemists who pretend to be divine, selling elixirs that harm people.

But now… He has no choice but to believe.

Lin You picks up a transparent container, places the white pills into his mouth, and swallows them with water.

He has contracted consumption at the worst possible time, just as the locust plague arrives.

The city is thrown into chaos. The locusts blot out the sky, a vast, dark mass that makes it impossible to see anything if people dare to step outside.

The locusts devour everything in their path.

No matter how many people try to kill them, they can’t drive them away, nor can they eliminate them entirely.

That day feels like a nightmare—so terrifying and bizarre. The surrounding villages are barren, and just when Lin You is about to leave, his consumption flares up, forcing him to seek treatment first.

But all the doctors in the city have left, and despite his family offering a large sum of money, no one comes to help.

Instead, the family servants kidnap a doctor for him. The doctor confirms the consumption diagnosis and explains that there aren’t enough herbs to treat it. His only option is to manage the illness and hope that, one day, he might recover on his own.

Lin You has lost all hope. He hasn’t lived long enough, and he doesn’t want to die.

But fate has already sealed his path. Life and death, misfortune and happiness—none of it is in his hands.

After swallowing the medicine, he stares at the cup in his hand.

The cup is crystal clear, without a single impurity. He has seen all kinds of gemstones and crystals, yet none can compare to this cup’s clarity.

Such a precious gem… and they use it as a cup…

And it has been given to him without hesitation.

It is clear to him that The Lord Immortal doesn’t covet anything from them—he truly only cares about sincerity.

“You will stay here for the next two days,” Cao’er’s mother enters the security room, wearing a mask. By now, everyone inside and outside the supermarket is wearing a mask. Though it is a bit stifling, since the Immortal has given the order, they dare not disobey. “The Lord Immortal said you need to take your time to recover from your illness. Don’t rush to leave. As long as the medicine works, you can take it with you.”

Lin You asks, “Where are Brother Zheng and the others?”

Cao’er’s mother replies, “They’re out shopping. From the looks of it, they’d empty out the whole supermarket if they could.”

Lin You furrows his brows. “Madam, what does the word ‘supermarket’ mean?”

Cao’er’s mother doesn’t know either, so she vaguely explains, “The supermarket is The Lord Immortal’s cave. The things inside aren’t things you can find in the mortal world. You can go in too tomorrow, once you’re wearing a mask. For now, just focus on resting!”

Cao’er’s mother is eager to leave.

She is afraid, not of the illness—but of people like Lin You, the noble class he represents. To her, these people are fundamentally different from her.

They are all human, yet not the same.

She and others like her are born of mud; Lin You and his kind are born of trees.

Mud can be trampled on. Trees can reach into the clouds.

Back inside the supermarket, Cao’er’s mother lets out a long breath of relief upon seeing Brother Zheng’s group frantically stuffing items into their shopping carts.

Zhao Er wants everything!

The Lord Immortal has everything!

Just a single silver hairpin could “trade” for all this? Good thing the Immortal isn’t an ordinary person doing business, or else he would have been at a loss!

“Brother Zheng! Look at this!” Zhao Er smiles like a child, and the scars on his face seem especially vivid. He holds up a bag of cotton candy. “Like clouds!”

Brother Zheng doesn’t have time to pay attention to him. The brothers are acting like gluttons, eager to stuff everything into their shopping carts.

The cart itself is a marvel. It looks like iron, but isn’t iron. It has four wheels, which isn’t uncommon, but these wheels are incredibly flexible. They can turn forward, backward, left, and right, unlike the wheels they are used to, which only turn forward or backward.

“Brother!” A man comes over, his dark face glowing with excitement. “Look at this!”

Brother Zheng finally glances at him, clearly annoyed. “Stop calling me! I’m busy!”

In the monitoring room, Ye Zhou is eating a hamburger and drinking Coke while watching the screen.

Of course, the hamburgers aren’t freshly made. They can only be heated, and they don’t taste as good as fresh ones, but it is better than nothing.

He has even added some lettuce and tomato himself.

Now, they can choose whatever they want, as long as they have enough “money” when they check out.

The things they pick aren’t expensive, so they should have enough.

The currency exchange method at the supermarket checkout is actually quite favorable for Ye Zhou.

It is based on the local purchasing power of the items. For example, a silver hairpin might be worth about one tael of silver here, so the value would be adjusted accordingly, rather than using the modern silver price.

So, this group of people is actually quite wealthy, though they don’t realize it.

Perhaps they also understand that they have to hurry. Cao’er’s mother has told them they can’t stay long, so they fill their carts with dry foods, like dried meat, and a lot of compressed biscuits.

They seem to fear hunger, so they mostly choose food, particularly dry goods that are easy to carry.

Although they want porcelain and glass cups, they also know the items are fragile and might not make it back in one piece.

So, they decide to buy three decorative crystal balls, the kind that plays music and has snowflakes.

Ye Zhou thinks they are quite clever. They prioritize survival items first, then buy rare goods that aren’t fragile, with a high chance of making it back intact. Even if only one crystal ball survives, it will be enough for them to profit.

Biting off more than you can chew helps no one.

Everyone understands that in theory—but not everyone can follow through in practice.

Ye Zhou doesn’t think ancient people are stupid. It’s just that when faced with temptation, few people can truly hold firm.

At checkout, Zhao Er takes out his silver hairpin. Brother Zheng also pulls out the dagger he has been carrying in his chest. The remaining few men follow suit, each taking out the most valuable item they have on them.

But as they stand before the checkout counter, all of them look uneasy and anxious.

The items they offer clearly don’t match the value of what they want to buy.

Even aside from the crystal ball, the meat alone is far more valuable than what they have brought. What they have could not possibly cover the cost of so much food.

Ye Zhou walks out of the monitoring room. He has spent a month trying to teach the employees how to collect money.

However, the employees can’t read, and they can’t learn Arabic numerals. Despite his nearly month-long efforts, no one has managed to understand. Ye Zhou can’t tell if it is his lack of experience as a teacher, or if the employees simply can’t grasp the lesson.

He isn’t particularly bothered by the way Zhao Er and the others look at him. After all, he’d often been stared at that way by the employees. Over time, he has grown used to it.

“Lord Immortal!” someone shouts suddenly.

Zhao Er and the others freeze, not daring to look at Ye Zhou’s face. In a panic, they all kneel and begin kowtowing without waiting for Ye Zhou to instruct them to stand. The sound of their foreheads hitting the tiles gives Ye Zhou a headache.

He glances at Cao’er’s mother, who quickly understands and shouts, “Get up quickly! The Lord Immortal doesn’t require you to kowtow.”

Ye Zhou: “…”

While he doesn’t want them to kowtow, hearing it come from Cao’er’s mother makes it feel somewhat off.

The group stops kowtowing but still dares not stand. They have witnessed all sorts of strange occurrences in the “supermarket” and fear showing any disrespect.

Initially, Ye Zhou worries that they might have ill intentions after seeing the supermarket. Now, however, he realizes his concerns are unnecessary.

People, when confronted with the unknown, often feel more fear than excitement.

While they might be thrilled by the supermarket’s wonders, they fear him—“The Lord Immortal.”

It all stems from the fear of the unknown.

Ye Zhou thinks that if he ever boards an alien spaceship, he’d likely be excited, but he wouldn’t dare let his guard down—who knows if the aliens might suddenly pull out a laser cannon and vaporize him?

Not looking at them, Ye Zhou walks behind the cashier and speaks in a calm tone, “Get up.”

Zhao Er peeks up for a split second, then quickly lowers his head again.

No wonder he’s an Immortal, he thinks. Even more handsome than the nobility. The heavenly realm must be a better place to live than the human world.

Since they refuse to get up, Ye Zhou doesn’t push them.

Over ten minutes later, the leader—Brother Zheng—finally tests the waters by slowly getting to his feet. He still doesn’t dare look at Ye Zhou directly, keeping his head down, eyes on the tip of his own nose, and shuffles awkwardly to the counter. He mumbles timidly, “I—Immortal…”

Ye Zhou gives him a casual nod but says nothing.

Seeing that Brother Zheng stands up and isn’t punished, Zhao Er gets up too and quickly hides behind Brother Zheng.

The rest follow in kind.

Ye Zhou: “……”

No wonder this “Brother Zheng” is the leader. Without any guidance or help, the others might have stayed kneeling.

Ye Zhou goes about his business, first scanning the items they have presented.

To be honest, these items aren’t worth much in modern times. These aren’t antiques, after all. He doesn’t possess any relics from the Liang Dynasty, much less from the Tang Dynasty or Wu Zetian’s era.

Even in modern terms, the silver hairpin could only fetch a couple thousand at most—not a branded luxury item, and certainly not worth much in itself.

But if these are converted into currency in this era, their value changes significantly.

These items have considerable purchasing power here. When converted to modern RMB according to the local rice price, Ye Zhou realizes not only would he not lose money, but he could make a considerable profit.

Of all the things Zheng and Zhao Er brought, the most valuable is a large bag of yak meat. Only the crystal balls have unit prices exceeding twenty.

And that is the retail price—not the cost price.

A trace of a smile appears in Ye Zhou’s eyes. He had initially thought gathering a hundred points would be hard, but unexpectedly, this one transaction is enough.

Suppressing his excitement, he almost can’t help but jump for joy. He has to stay calm; there are too many people watching.

“When are you leaving?” Ye Zhou asks.

Zheng Er is stunned for a while before asking tentatively, “Immortal… are you asking me?”

Ye Zhou nods.

Zheng Er only dares to lift his head slightly and look up at Ye Zhou from a low angle. Seeing Ye Zhou’s nod, he replies in a low voice, “Immortal, we are escorting a nobleman to the south. Now that he’s been blessed with your medicine…”

Ye Zhou says, “Stay here and rest for two days. You’ll leave once his condition improves.”

Since he is playing the part of a “celestial,” he might as well play it to the end. He can go back after they leave—what’s two more days?

Zheng Er, though he very much wants to stay and cultivate under the Immortal, has an aging mother, wife, and children back home. Plus, the families of brothers who have died on the road are still waiting for him to return with money. As much as he is unwilling, he doesn’t dare voice his desire to stay.

But Zhao Er, on the other hand, kneels again with a loud thud, kowtowing fervently: “Immortal, please accept me as a disciple!”

His family no longer needs him; his eldest brother will always make sure his parents have food. His eldest brother, however, keeps a wary eye on him. He doesn’t want to leave! He wants to stay and cultivate immortality with The Lord Immortal! He wants eternal life too!

Ye Zhou glances at Cao’er’s mother, then ignores Zhao Er’s persistent kowtowing and walks back into the break room expressionlessly.

Let Cao’er’s mother handle it—she has experience with this.

If he can really live forever and cultivate immortality, would he still be running a supermarket in this godforsaken place?

He would’ve gone to the heavens long ago to pluck the moon from the sky.

Walking into the break room, Ye Zhou eagerly powers on the computer.

He hasn’t expected his “journey to another world” to end so soon. Though there are a few small “regrets,” it is normal to feel that way in life.

A life without regrets is incomplete.

The computer screen flickers to life.