Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 17

In the early morning, the employees have already gone to bed, and the supermarket is almost completely silent.

Only Ye Zhou can’t sleep. Five hours have passed since he pressed the hire button, but the bodyguard he hired still hasn’t shown up.

With something weighing on his mind, Ye Zhou can’t sleep no matter what.

He grabs a bunch of snacks and a tablet, takes a folding stool, and goes to the supermarket entrance to sit down.

If the bodyguard hasn’t arrived by dawn, he’ll go back to the break room and try to sleep.

The stars shine brightly tonight, but the moon is covered by dark clouds, hinting that it might rain tomorrow.

But a single rain won’t be enough to quench the thirsty land. Based on Ye Zhou’s observation, these dark clouds should dissipate by morning.

Ye Zhou plays the offline version of Plants vs. Zombies with Coke and potato chips, along with a few bags of spicy strips. He occasionally looks up, scanning the surroundings.

Time passes slowly. Ye Zhou yawns, and by three o’clock in the morning, he can’t keep his eyes open anymore.

His eyelids feel like long-separated lovers, desperately wanting to stay together.

Just as Ye Zhou is about to pack up and head back, a bright light suddenly flashes across the horizon.

The light only lasts for a moment, illuminating the night sky before vanishing again, leaving the sky dark once more.

Ye Zhou stands up, excitement flashing in his eyes.

He has been a little worried, afraid that the people he hired might not speak Chinese.

The biggest issue is that he doesn’t know Japanese or Korean, only basic English for daily use—his other languages are limited to what he learned from teachers.

To be honest, he gave up on learning more after passing the CET-4. Since he aims to run a supermarket, he doesn’t think it’s necessary to learn English well.

If he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have forgotten so quickly.

Ye Zhou hurries down the steps. Just as his feet hit the ground, he hears movement in the woods, the dry grass rustling.

His eyes light up as he focuses on the direction of the sound.

As the footsteps draw closer, the figure of a man comes into view.

Just like in the photo, the man has dark eyes and double eyelids, which make his eyebrows appear deep.

His eyebrows are thick but not coarse, his nose straight, and his lips are thin—though not so thin that they make him seem cold-hearted.

His hair is short and easy to maintain, but it doesn’t make him look dull. Instead, Ye Zhou thinks he exudes a sense of unruly temperament, like a black panther, agile and powerful, ready to pounce on his prey at any moment.

The man is dressed in all black—a black jacket, black trousers, and a black heavy machine gun slung across his back. A pistol is strapped to his waist.

He looks like a walking fortress.

Ye Zhou’s eyes brighten even more—he brought his own weapon! He has saved money! This bodyguard is definitely worth hiring!

“Zou…” Ye Zhou starts to call out the man’s name when he sees someone step out from behind him.

Ye Zhou: “!!!”

He remembers that he has hired two adult men!

A girl walks out from behind the man. She wears a black puffy skirt, a black gauze ornament on her head, and lace with intricate patterns along the hem of her skirt.

Although Ye Zhou isn’t a fashion expert, he can’t help but think that the girl looks like she’s wearing a Western medieval dress. He doesn’t understand that it’s called Lolita fashion.

She doesn’t look Asian at all. She has light blonde curly hair and red eyes.

Ye Zhou: “…”

He remembers that this girl is the vampire who offered to work for just three thousand, which seemed surprisingly cheap!

The “little girl” who is actually four hundred and twenty years old.

But he hasn’t hired her! The person he hired is a big, burly man with fists as large as sandbags—someone he feels would be reliable.

“Sarah?” Ye Zhou looks at the girl walking toward him.

The girl nods, points to her earrings, and says in a sweet, childlike voice, “I have a translator.”

Ye Zhou breathes a sigh of relief. If he had known there was such a thing as a translator, he wouldn’t have worried about the language barrier.

“Wait.” Ye Zhou frowns. Even though he knows the girl is over 400 years old and definitely isn’t a helpless child, he still can’t help but feel concerned. With a helpless expression, he asks, “Why are you here? I didn’t hire you!”

Sarah shakes her head, looking confused. “That’s your problem. I received the contract and came here after signing it.” Ye Zhou wants to say more, but Sarah interjects, “Don’t underestimate me. My salary isn’t cheap because I’m not capable, but because no one hired me! You all judge people by appearances. You think I’m still a child, but I could take down a hundred people like you.”

Ye Zhou: “…No need to use me as an example. That’s not the point!” Ye Zhou comes to his senses. “You’re a vampire! Sis! Ancestor! What do you usually eat?!”

Sarah waves her hand dismissively. “I’m not picky. Human blood is the best. If there’s no human blood, cow blood is okay, and chicken blood is second. I don’t really like pig blood, but I’ll make do if there’s nothing else. If you don’t prepare it for me, just give me an advance on my salary,” she adds. “I’ll buy it myself.”

A vampire… so down-to-earth.

Ye Zhou turns his attention to the man standing behind Sarah. He doesn’t need an introduction. Ye Zhou knows exactly who he is—he even knows his hobbies and specialties, thanks to his profile.

“Zou Ming?” Ye Zhou extends his hand to the man.

Zou Ming nods and shakes Ye Zhou’s hand.

Ye Zhou breathes a sigh of relief. The man doesn’t seem difficult to get along with.

Although one is the employer and the other the employee, it’s always better to get along than to meet as enemies.

“I’ve prepared a room for you. I originally hired two men… so I only prepared one room,” Ye Zhou says, glancing at Sarah again.

Sarah looks appalled. “I’m not sharing a room with a man!”

Zou Ming doesn’t seem bothered. After a brief silence, he asks, “Is there a tent?”

Ye Zhou replies, “If you don’t mind, you can sleep in the same room with me. My break room is quite large and can fit another single bed.”

Zou Ming doesn’t object, and neither does Sarah.

The room given to Sarah is the security room at the entrance of the supermarket. Although it’s small, Cao’er’s Mother has carefully cleaned it, so it’s spotless and very neat. The bedding is changed, and an additional bed is set up for her.

Ye Zhou doesn’t ask too much about their backgrounds or abilities in detail.

Though the resumes aren’t very detailed, the two bodyguards have just arrived and come in the night, so they must need to rest.

Even if they don’t, they likely need to adjust to the time difference.

He can ask questions tomorrow.

After seeing the security room, Sarah makes a request: “Can you make me a coffin? I don’t have high demands—a wooden one will do, but it would be even better if it were an iron coffin.”

She seems very satisfied with the security room, which is small but clean. For vampires, rooms don’t need to be large. Even if they live in a castle, they’d still sleep in a coffin.

Ye Zhou replies, “I’ll check the system. If I can’t buy a coffin, I’ll make you a wooden one.”

Sarah smiles at him. “Can you make it thicker?”

She asks in such a naturally coquettish tone that, combined with her little-girl appearance, it completely smooths over Ye Zhou’s initial frustration.

At this point, Ye Zhou even starts doubting himself, wondering if he’s made a mistake with the hiring. Maybe he really has clicked the wrong person. And if it’s his own fault, then it isn’t fair to take it out on this “little girl.”

He smiles back at her. “I’ll try my best. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat before bed?”

“No need.” Zou Ming has already folded the single bed. With a smooth motion, he takes off his coat and drapes it over his shoulders. Underneath, he wears black tights that fit snugly to his body, highlighting the muscular contours of his arms, chest, and abdomen.

Ye Zhou can’t help but glance at Zou Ming’s arms.

Zou Ming’s body is incredibly fit. The muscle mass isn’t the result of taking supplements, and he doesn’t aim to have the biggest muscles possible. It’s the peak human physique, achieved purely through exercise, with no excess muscle or fat—just right.

He doesn’t have fists the size of sandbags, but if he throws a punch, few could withstand it.

It would be a lie if Ye Zhou says he isn’t a little envious of such a physique.

But he also knows that getting a body like that isn’t something that can be achieved by willpower alone.

Ye Zhou is in the best shape back in high school. He plays basketball whenever he isn’t in class, and when he takes his shirt off, he has six prominent and tight abdominal muscles. Every time he plays, girls bring him water and towels, treating him like the lead in an idol drama.

He even makes a lot of female friends because of this.

But once he goes to college, things change. People grow distant, and they rarely hang out anymore.

In high school, Ye Zhou focuses on games and basketball, with no time or interest in early relationships.

When he gets to college, he pours all his energy into chasing his dream. He becomes stingy with himself, and romance is the least of his concerns.

By the time he graduates, he loses interest in dating. His focus shifts entirely to running a supermarket, and he believes love is the enemy of success.

One of his female friends breaks up with her boyfriend of six years due to the difficulty of finding a job after graduation, and the stress is overwhelming.

Now, Ye Zhou is in the same place—no more thoughts about love.

But looking at Zou Ming, he can’t help feeling a slight “body crisis.”

It seems that staying in the break room all the time, like an otaku, won’t cut it. He needs to start exercising properly.

Otherwise, when danger strikes, he might not even be able to run fast enough.

Zou Ming seems to notice Ye Zhou’s lingering gaze. He slightly raises his head and looks directly at him.

Ye Zhou is caught off guard and awkwardly mutters, “You have a great physique.”

Zou Ming nods slightly, unfazed, and responds in a calm tone, “Do you want to touch it?”

Ye Zhou’s mouth twitches. “…I’ll pass, thanks.”

He initially worries that his employee might have a bad personality.

Now, it seems the issue isn’t a bad personality, but rather the opposite—Zou Ming’s personality is just a little too good.

Zou Ming nods again, then lifts the folded bed with one hand. “Lead the way.”

Ye Zhou leaves the security room and walks toward the break room.