Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 27

In addition to the pistol that Zou Ming takes out, Ye Zhou now has four pistols in his possession. One of them is purchased immediately after he receives the money, as a means of self-defense. Ye Zhou has already decided who will receive the guns.

At dawn, Ye Zhou uses the broadcast to summon the people he has chosen to the break room.

Zou Ming, meanwhile, goes to wake up Sun Hao, who has spent the night “recovering.”

Today, no matter what, they need to find the path up the mountain, scout the bandits’ situation, and see what their leader looks like.

With a pair of binoculars in hand, it shouldn’t be difficult to observe the situation without alarming the bandits.

“Why am I here this time…?” the man mutters, puzzled.

Zhou Wen is not a particularly noticeable person. He isn’t as strong as Wu Yan, nor as fast as Chen Liu. Usually, unless called upon, others wouldn’t even realize he is around.

Wu Yan smiles at him. “The Lord Immortal has taken an interest in you. You must have extraordinary abilities, so don’t belittle yourself.”

Zhou Wen nods awkwardly.

He is somewhat intimidated by Wu Yan, as Wu Yan can read and write and comes from a wealthy landlord family. Zhou Wen, on the other hand, is just a common tenant farmer. He has four younger brothers, and only he has married because he is the eldest.

Before the famine, his brothers have already gone to the city for work—digging, carrying stones, and hauling goods for merchants. They earn a meager living. His parents die on the road while fleeing the famine. They are elderly and have spent their whole lives doing heavy labor, so their legs and backs are worn out. They rarely do any work, and even then, they feel uncomfortable. Worse still, they have to travel day and night.

Zhou Wen has spent half his life as the eldest and later becomes a husband and father. He hasn’t been able to protect his parents, but he has to protect his wife and children.

He isn’t someone who can survive on his own. If his wife and children are lost, he will surely find a way to die with them.

Among the employees, he never stands out, but whenever asked to do something, he always does it well.

“I think it’s because of the way you were yesterday,” Chen Liu suddenly speaks up. “You’ve got some guts.”

Only then do the others recall how Zhou Wen, who usually appears timid, actually dared to beat up Sun Hao the day before.

“You really didn’t seem like someone who could have such a temper.”

“You scared me.”

Zhou Wen presses his lips together and says decisively, “They eat people, so they deserve to die!”

He still remembers being pressed to the ground, his mouth full of dirt, his wife stripped and humiliated by those men, and his son seen only as a pig to be slaughtered.

To this day, Zhou Wen still doesn’t know how he broke free or how he managed to bite the man who held him down.

When he comes to his senses, his mouth is full of blood and the taste of rust. He has torn that man’s neck to shreds.

Without any weapons, his teeth are the hardest and sharpest thing he has.

Since then, he no longer flees with strong, healthy people. Instead, he stays with his wife, children, and a group of the elderly, weak, and sick.

He hates them. He hates everyone who eats people, everyone who can harm his wife and children. His hatred remains buried deep inside him, and he longs for the day he can take them all down with him.

After killing someone, he fears nothing. His world has become clear.

Wu Yan pats his shoulder and says, “Let’s go, The Lord Immortal is waiting for us.”

The four people summoned to the break room are Wu Yan, Chen Liu, and Zhou Wen.

Ye Zhou has thought carefully when choosing these people. Wu Yan, as expected, is the leader among the male employees. If he has leadership ability, it means he is someone they can trust.

Chen Liu, after being disciplined, has become more cautious. He is naturally small and thin—easy to hide behind a tree and hard to spot. Perfect for scouting and pathfinding.

Zhou Wen is there to supplement their strength, and he’s actually recommended by Sarah.

Sarah believes that the others are incapable of achieving great things—not because they are unwilling to kill, but because they are reckless by nature.

Zhou Wen, however, seems timid but has the heart of someone who would fight to the death.

“When it comes to life and death, those who fear death will die first,” Sarah has told Ye Zhou. “If a person isn’t afraid to die, even if they aren’t very skilled, they can still intimidate others. After all, if they are willing to risk their life, others may not dare to do the same. Sometimes, that’s exactly how the weak defeat the strong.” Sarah speaks proudly, “I’ve killed vampires stronger than me because they were afraid to risk their lives. But I had no way out—I had to fight. He had a way to escape, so he hesitated. He never understood why he lost.”

Ye Zhou agrees with her reasoning.

He himself has never fought before, let alone fought for his life, so he can only rely on Sarah and Zou Ming’s advice.

Ye Zhou tells Wu Yan and the others their plan clearly.

“They’re at the mountaintop,” Ye Zhou says. “If we don’t wipe them out completely, your safety will always be at risk. This is a pistol.” Ye Zhou points to the three pistols on the table. “Zou Ming will teach you how to use them.”

—Ye Zhou himself has received special training from Zou Ming last night.

Although Ye Zhou’s aim is average, having never used a gun before, if the distance is close enough, he can still hit the target.

However, where he hits is another matter.

Ye Zhou isn’t discouraged. Zou Ming has assured him that with his progress, he will eventually become an expert marksman.

Ye Zhou doesn’t expect too much from himself, given that he has never received professional training. He can’t expect to be perfect immediately.

His highest requirement for himself is to stay calm and hit the target.

Wu Yan and the others have no objections.

“Does The Lord Immortal want to go personally?” Wu Yan still dares not look Ye Zhou in the eye.

Ye Zhou nods. “Yes, I need to see for myself.”

This is his battlefield, and he can’t be a turtle hiding in his own home, leaving others to fight.

Chen Liu and Zhou Wen don’t dare speak to Ye Zhou. They focus on what they are doing, as they will do whatever The Lord Immortal tells them.

They don’t fear the bandits. With The Lord Immortal personally overseeing them, how could a group of bandits be their match?

This is probably The Lord Immortal’s way of training them.

Wu Yan mutters, “The Lord Immortal has spoken, and we have no choice but to obey.”

Ye Zhou reminds them quietly, “This mission may be dangerous. Be sure to say your goodbyes to your families.”

Wu Yan nods, “Yes.”

When The Lord Immortal sent them out, he warned them of danger, but nothing happened.

Although they encounter bandits a second time, Sarah is there to protect them.

To them, nothing in this world can truly be considered dangerous.

Once they leave the break room, Chen Liu excitedly says, “The Lord Immortal entrusted us with such an important task. It shows that we’ve been doing well lately.”

“Do you think these pistols are Immortal artifacts? They must be more powerful than the repeating crossbows, right?”

He waves the pistol around excitedly.

Wu Yan is curious as well. The pistol is so small, can it really be more powerful than the repeating crossbow?

Perhaps Immortal artifacts are more powerful the smaller they are?

As they reach the supermarket entrance, they see Zou Ming leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, waiting for them.

Zou Ming has a cold, aloof demeanor, with an air of danger that keeps others at a distance. Though they are all employees of the supermarket, they aren’t close to Zou Ming, and they wouldn’t say much to him even if they ran into him.

They’d rather be around the demon Sarah than risk speaking to Zou Ming.

Even Wu Yan would avoid Zou Ming whenever possible.

Logically, they face bandits who have killed countless people. Why should they fear Zou Ming, someone who has never killed in front of them?

Yet that aura of intimidation is impossible to ignore.

When Zou Ming sees them, he straightens up and gives a slight nod to Wu Yan. “Follow me.”

He leads them to a hidden area because the pistols don’t have silencers—pistols from the system are sold separately, and since Ye Zhou is now broke, they need to find a different place to practice without alerting the bandits on the mountaintop.

Wu Yan cautiously asks Zou Ming, “Brother Zou, how does the pistol compare to the repeating crossbow?”

Zou Ming replies flatly, “You’ll know soon enough. No need for me to describe it.”

Wu Yan: “…”

Ah, Brother Zou’s temper is so bad, he probably won’t get a wife.

But before he can finish his thoughts, he sees Zou Ming raise his hand, and a loud “bang!” echoes as a nearby tree shakes.

The speed is so fast, Wu Yan and the others barely see what has happened.

It seems like something has flown out. What is it?

Zou Ming turns to them. “Go take a look.”

Wu Yan nods repeatedly and leads Chen Liu and the others to follow Zou Ming.

When they see the tree with a hole punched through it, Wu Yan gasps, his eyes wide in shock—this artifact is so powerful! Just now, Chen Liu had been handling it casually!

Chen Liu is equally terrified, holding the pistol like a hot potato, feeling like he has just walked a tightrope between life and death.

Zou Ming seems to know what they are worried about. “The pistol has a safety mechanism. If you don’t disengage the safety, pulling the trigger won’t do anything.”

Wu Yan quickly asks, “What’s the safety?”

Zou Ming, though difficult to approach, answers all their questions. He points to the safety on the pistol. “When the safety is set to this side, and you see an F, the gun can fire. When it’s set to S, it’s in safety mode.”

The pistols from the system are of high quality and won’t jam or misfire.

“You can think of the S as a snake. If you see a snake-shaped pattern, it means the gun won’t fire,” Zou Ming explains. “Remember to disengage the safety when it’s time to use the gun. The pistol’s effective range is limited,” Zou Ming continues. “Try it out first.”

Pistols are primarily for self-defense, but to defeat the bandits, they will still need the machine guns Zou Ming has brought.

The terrain is also important.

Ye Zhou and Zou Ming have discussed that it would be best to lure the bandits to lower ground where Zou Ming and the employees can use machine guns and repeating crossbows from higher ground. That is when the machine gun’s advantage—its long range, wide area, and greater lethality—will be most apparent.

Unfortunately, Zou Ming only has one machine gun on hand.

Ye Zhou has seen a similar machine gun in the system’s marketplace, and it costs two million.

Even without purchasing the machine gun, he can’t afford it.

The cheapest one costs 1.5 million, and that is still out of his budget.

Thus, he has reluctantly settled for buying pistols.

At least they are guns, which are stronger than cold weapons.

From dawn to noon, Wu Yan and the others don’t stop practicing. Guns are expensive, but bullets are cheap, so Ye Zhou buys them by the box, enough for everyone to use.