Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 26

In the dark cave, tattered flags hang on all sides, with the word “Zhao” written in blood.

The cave reeks with an unbearable stench. More than a dozen men stand in the cave, and at the top of the stone steps sits a high chair, draped in a full tiger skin.

“My Lord! There’s a monster!” The man kneeling in the center of the cave is in a panic. His whole body shakes, and he seems to have forgotten how to use his hands and feet. Trembling, he shouts, “She… she ripped out Wang Yong’s heart!”

The man sitting on the tiger-skin chair stands up. “Monster? Who?”

“The girl! The one who looks like a Hu!” the man replies.

The bandits standing nearby all gasp sharply.

“You sure you saw it right?!” The ‘Chief’ furrows his brow. “There are no such things as ghosts or demons in this world! Maybe you’re just scaring yourself.”

“It’s not just me—he, they, they all saw it too!” the man insists.

“Her nails grew so long…” The man demonstrates, the length of which is enough to shock anyone. “She pierced Wang Yong’s back, like stabbing through tofu…”

The man stammers, “That, that strange house must be the monster’s lair!”

The ‘Chief’ sneers. “Have you ever heard of a demon who lets a captured human go out and run errands? A demon? So what if it is a demon? Are demons immortal?!” The ‘Chief’ suddenly raises his voice. “I have the blessings of the Buddha, a body of vajra that cannot be broken. Whatever demons or monsters come my way—I will destroy them all! You’ve all eaten two-legged mutton before—what now, you’re scared?!” The ‘Chief’ continues, “I fear no ghost or god, let alone demons. Conquer the mountain, take the monster’s lair—only then can we survive!”

The man collapses onto the ground. “Chief… I’m not going. That’s a demon, Chief! I’m not going…”

The ‘Chief’ steps down from the tiger-skin chair, descends the stone steps, and stands in front of the man. He raises his longsword, and just before striking, he shouts sternly, “If you shake the army’s morale, I will kill you!”

With one thrust, he runs the man clean through the chest.

The entire hall falls silent.

The ‘Chief’ turns to the underlings beside him. “Drag him out.”

The henchmen bow their heads, approach cautiously, and with all their strength drag the body away, leaving a winding trail of blood on the ground.

The ‘Chief’ returns to his ‘throne’ and says to his close men, “We can’t wait any longer. We must take that place within three days. There’s not a living soul within five li around here—if this continues, our brothers will either starve to death or fight each other to death. Since I lifted the ban…”

In the past, when food was scarce, they would resort to cannibalism, targeting those closest to them. Though they didn’t want to kill their brothers, what about those they had little relationship with? Or those they didn’t even know?

In the end, even he, the ‘Chief,’ wouldn’t be able to escape. He is just a man, afraid of death. He regrets not heading south at the time.

But now, things have reached a point beyond his control.

His confidants hesitate. “Chief, that’s still a demon’s lair…”

“If we’re wrong, we could all die in there.”

The ‘Chief’ flings his sleeve and roars in anger, “Enough! You think staying here means you’ll live?! We’ve only got four hundred or so brothers. Even if we eat one a day, how long can that last?”

The confidants, moved by his words, bow their heads in silence.

One more day is one more day. They can’t afford to think too far ahead. Listening to the ‘Chief,’ they realize that killing each other isn’t a viable option.

The ‘Chief’ says, “Didn’t the monster only kill one person? If she was truly powerful, none of them would have escaped! Don’t panic when you hear about monsters. Wang Yong and his men have never seen a Hu person. If the Hu people use any tricks, it’s normal for them to mistake it for magic. If you’re still uncertain about this battle, we won’t win no matter what,” the ‘Chief’ says, his eyes wide. With his square face, his words carry immense weight.

“Since the ‘Chief’ has said so, we brothers must go!”

“That’s right! Whatever kind of monster it is, if it stands in our way, it must die!”

“The house is huge; there must be plenty of food. And there are women too!”

They laugh. “How long has it been since we saw a woman?”

“The little girl earlier wasn’t bad, but unfortunately, she was disobedient and bit the ‘Chief.’ We had to drag her away to be a sheep.”

“That woman had no sense. I saw several women who have given birth in that house. We’ll make sure they serve the ‘Chief’ well and give him a few sons.”

The ‘Chief’ has no interest in sons. He already has a family and cares little for children born to village girls. But he still has an interest in women.

“Keep the women. Leave no men behind, but let the children live. When they grow up, they’ll be the most loyal.”

As they discuss the spoils of taking the strange house, all their fears seem to fade away. They forget about the monsters lurking there.

“What’s a monster? If they’re so powerful, why don’t we see them more often?”

“Exactly! We’ve defied the imperial court, so why should we fear a few monsters?!”

The ‘Chief’ finally smiles. “It’s good to see you thinking like this. Let those who shouldn’t speak, stay silent. Don’t let the other brothers know there are monsters there.”

The confidants exchange glances and understand. “It’s just right to eat before fighting.”

***

“You have a pistol, and I have these two.” Ye Zhou stands outside the supermarket, holding two guns in his hands. He wonders aloud, “Usually, the system sends me things the next day. Why did it send guns tonight?”

“Maybe it’s because guns are more expensive?” Zou Ming responds, “You can distribute my pistols; I have plenty of machine guns.”

Ye Zhou doesn’t refuse. After all, machine guns need a setup to fire from a distance, and in close combat, pistols are more useful.

“There are more than 400 of them…” Ye Zhou mutters. He has never been so worried.

Even with hot weapons, the enemy’s numbers are overwhelming. They have no chance in close combat.

This time, he will bring everyone who can use a crossbow.

The best strategy Ye Zhou can think of is to strike first.

They must catch the enemy off guard and scare them out of their wits.

It’s best to kill a few and let others escape so they won’t be under so much pressure. Those who are scared won’t dare come back.

Even if they want to return, the harsh environment won’t allow it.

“It’s still because we don’t have enough money.” Ye Zhou rubs his hair irritably. “If I had a few hundred thousand more, I could buy grenades. Even two would be enough to scare them.”

He has been proud of the money he earned, but now he realizes it isn’t enough to guarantee his safety.

“It’s alright,” Zou Ming comforts gently.

Ye Zhou notices that Zou Ming has strange confidence in him. It isn’t flattery—it’s genuine belief that he can overcome the challenges. Zou Ming’s confidence is stronger than his own.

“We need to have Sun Hao scout the way tomorrow.” Ye Zhou rubs his hair again.

He has this nervous habit—rubbing his hair when frustrated. He doesn’t want to rub his face and get it dirty.

Zou Ming watches Ye Zhou’s tousled hair and almost reaches out to touch it.

Ye Zhou, catching his attention, says, “I’ll give Sarah a gun.”

Zou Ming’s tone is cold. “She doesn’t need it. She can’t use a gun and can’t aim accurately.”

Ye Zhou’s eyes widen. “She’s not an iron wall. If we’re in hand-to-hand combat, she’ll get hurt and die, right?”

Zou Ming replies, “She heals very quickly. As long as she’s not hurt by silver, she can regenerate infinitely—flesh or bones.”

Ye Zhou: “It will still hurt, though.”

Zou Ming laughs unexpectedly. “Yes, it will hurt.”

Ye Zhou, stunned by Zou Ming’s rare smile, can’t understand why Zou Ming is laughing.

Was there a generation gap between them? But their ages are about the same. Maybe it’s because they grew up in different environments?

Ye Zhou sighs, “Next time you act, could you notify me first?” He adds softly, “I know if you hadn’t gone to find Sun Hao, we wouldn’t have known about the people on the mountain or the way up, but I want to have the right to know. After all, I’m the employer, right?”

Zou Ming tilts his head slightly, then, after a brief moment of contemplation, nods. “I remember.”

Ye Zhou breathes a sigh of relief and pats Zou Ming on the shoulder. “I’ll go grab some food. We can eat and talk. I can’t sleep anyway.”

Ye Zhou takes four ham sausages and a self-heating hot pot, then grabs two bottles of Coke and some spicy strips before returning to the break room.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Ye Zhou says as he opens the self-heating hot pot, the delicious aroma filling the air. “Once we find the way, we’ll go over and check things out, but we need to be careful not to get caught. We have to take everything with us and not split up. If we’re discovered, we’ll have to fight back immediately. If we act alone, one person being caught could be the end of us.”

If the enemy takes hostages, they’ll be too distracted to focus on a direct fight.

Ye Zhou isn’t a god; he can’t just wave his hand and save people.

He opens a bottle of Coke and downs a sip. “If I hold you back, you can beat me up.”

Zou Ming opens his mouth—but says nothing.

How could he bear to do that…