Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 28

After dark, the supermarket turns off the lights in the hall at 10 pm, as usual. Only the lights in the break room and warehouse remain on. Normally, the employees would already be asleep by this time, but tonight, no one is resting.

Wu Yan’s wife sits calmly at the bedside, holding a baby bottle and nursing their crying daughter as she speaks softly: “Since it is an immortal who summoned you, then go. We’re staying in the supermarket—we won’t be in any danger.”

The baby girl, satisfied, smacks her lips twice, spits out a bubble of milk, and opens her arms.

Wu Yan’s wife lifts the child upright and gently pats her back. After a while, she lays her down to sleep.

“I know you want The Lord Immortal to recognize you,” Wu Yan’s wife continues. She understands her husband well. He is always driven. Whenever he does something, he has to do it well. The family’s oil isn’t selling, and the grain store in the town has lowered its prices. He would rather sleep outside and walk to the neighboring town to sell it at a fair price than lower the price himself.

He is stubborn and wants to stand out—stubborn like an ox.

But it is because of that stubbornness that the family has survived.

“But you have to remember, you’re still mortal,” Wu Yan’s wife warns as she pats Wu Yan’s hand. “Remember that you still have a daughter.”

Wu Yan looks at his daughter’s slightly red cheeks and smiles at his wife. “I’m not going to die. You haven’t seen the magic weapon The Lord Immortal gave me! It’s amazing! If my aim improves, it won’t take much effort to shoot through the willows,” Wu Yan continues. “Don’t worry, I won’t show off.”

Although Wu Yan’s wife has never seen the magic weapon The Lord Immortal gave him, she knows it has to be something special. “I just want to remind you not to show off. Do what you can.”

Wu Yan grins. “I know, don’t worry!”

This time, Cao’er is going too—after all, she knows how to use the repeating crossbow.

Cao’er wears a gloomy expression, thinking she isn’t really cut out for archery. That night, she isn’t even sure if she hits anyone.

She hopes to hit the target to prove her ability, but at the same time, she doesn’t want to hit anyone, as killing people isn’t a good thing.

She sighs in despair.

On the other hand, Cao’er’s mother isn’t worried at all. She keeps reassuring Cao’er, “Since you can use the crossbow, what are you worried about? Just follow The Lord Immortal! Don’t think about anything else.”

Cao’er sighs. “Mother, fighting means death!”

Cao’er’s mother looks puzzled. “Isn’t that natural? Anyway, you won’t die; it’s the bandits who will die.”

Cao’er rubs her face. “Mother, you’ve never killed anyone, so it’s easy for you to say.”

Cao’er’s mother slaps her on the back. “If I weren’t old, would I let you go? Look at the others—they’re only doing odd jobs. When The Lord Immortal returns to heaven, it won’t be their turn to ascend. We’re different!”

Cao’er doesn’t understand what is different between her and the others, but since her mother says so, she doesn’t dare argue. If her mother asks her to go, she won’t dare to refuse.

“You have a good relationship with Sarah. She will watch over you, and you’ll be fine,” Cao’er’s mother adds, lowering her head with a glint of shrewdness in her eyes. “You should read more and learn more. When you do well in the future, you’ll become The Lord Immortal’s right-hand. When The Lord Immortal can’t stay with you and returns to heaven, you’ll be able to ascend with him!”

Since learning that Wu Yan thinks his daughter has one foot in The Lord Immortal world, Cao’er’s mother feels she can’t fall behind. Wu Yan’s daughter can become an immortal, so why can’t her daughter?

Cao’er nods obediently.

Ye Zhou expects that tomorrow, as they prepare to go up the mountain, the employees will cry, confess their feelings, and share debts accumulated over the years with their families. However, to his surprise, they all tell their “sons,” “husbands,” and “daughters” to work hard, avoid shame, strive to become famous in one battle, and follow The Lord Immortal to heaven in the future.

No one considers that this trip might be dangerous.

Ye Zhou, on the other hand, feels a pang of guilt in the break room.

“I keep thinking about the gun, so as soon as something happens, I want to shoot,” Ye Zhou lies on the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling like a boneless salted fish. “But I could’ve hired people—security guards, bodyguards, whatever.”

Zou Ming responds, “You hire someone, but what about after this is over? You’d need at least a one-month contract. Most people want three months.”

“Then you can hire fewer people.”

“Then just hire fewer people,” Ye Zhou says. “Hire ten. After this is over, just have them stay in the supermarket for three months.”

Zou Ming says, “If there’s no income in those three months, when they leave, you’ll still have no trained staff, no gun, and no accumulated experience. Everything will really be back to square one.”

Ye Zhou blinks. “…You make a good point.”

Hiring someone might solve the immediate problem, but the deeper issues would persist.

He doesn’t have a reliable source of funds, and he can’t guarantee when his next business will be finished.

The most important issue is that he needs to train his staff.

Even if these employees don’t go with him to the next plane, he still hopes to leave them with something they can use to survive in this dangerous world.

After all, the employees are working diligently for him.

He made it clear before that he couldn’t help them if something happened outside, but they are still willing to risk their lives to work for him.

Ye Zhou reflects on how others treat him.

“So, I did the right thing by accident?” Ye Zhou laughs.

Initially, he felt guilty, but now he thinks he has actually made a good decision.

Zou Ming says, “You can’t always rely on the system, nor can you depend on hired help for your safety.” Zou Ming says calmly, “Even with contracts in place, there will always be loopholes. The system’s protection clauses are crude. The only restriction on employees is that they can’t harm you directly.”

Ye Zhou is confused. “Don’t employees want to make money and return to their own planes?”

His goal is to return to his original world, not get involved in inter-plane trade.

Zou Ming says, “It’s normal for people like me, who have no family burdens and come from worse environments, to want to stay. People like me aren’t uncommon among employees.”

Ye Zhou responds, “…You don’t have to use yourself as an example.”

Zou Ming remains calm. “I wouldn’t do that.”

Ye Zhou is left speechless. He can’t decide if Zou Ming is honest or just simple-minded.

Since he has to face the “battlefield” tomorrow, Ye Zhou eventually falls asleep. After getting the smoke bomb, he says goodnight to Zou Ming and lies in bed, counting sheep with his eyes wide open. When he reaches two thousand, he feels hungry and gets up to call Zou Ming, who is also awake, to have supper together.

They stay up until dawn, and Ye Zhou finally falls into a deep sleep.

The day and night rotate.

Ye Zhou is woken up by his alarm clock.

By 10 am, there are sounds of footsteps outside the break room door. Ye Zhou finishes washing up and steps out, finding the employees already fully armed.

They are all excited, with tense expressions, but no fear. They seem as if they are preparing for something grand rather than a fight.

Sarah has also changed her clothes. She might have a special ability to clean her clothes, because she usually wears a lace puffy skirt, but today, likely for the sake of mobility, she wears sports trousers and a short-sleeve shirt, with her blonde hair tied in a bun.

Not just Sarah, Cao’er has dressed the same way, though her hair isn’t long enough for a bun, so she only ties it in a cute ponytail, like a little broom.

Ye Zhou smiles at them gently. “It’s still early. Do you want to go out?”

Wu Yan hurriedly says, “Immortal, let’s go out and find a place to practice our aim.”

Ye Zhou doesn’t agree with this plan. “We’ll be setting off soon. You should rest first and check if you’ve forgotten anything.”

Having already prepared their weapons the day before, there is no need to sharpen them again today. They need their energy for the climb and the battle ahead.

Wu Yan doesn’t insist and quickly says, “Then let’s bring more water.”

Ye Zhou nods, then turns to Cao’er’s mother. “You’re in charge of the supermarket. Don’t let anyone touch anything they don’t understand, understand?”

He doesn’t want to risk a fire in the supermarket while he’s away.

Cao’er’s mother assures him. “Don’t worry, Lord Immortal. If anyone dares mess with anything, I’ll make sure they—”

She catches Ye Zhou’s look and doesn’t finish her sentence, just gives him a fawning smile.

Ye Zhou nods slightly and waits for everyone to disperse before going off to find food.

By 11 am, Ye Zhou sets off with his employees.

They are fully equipped—not just with weapons, but also wearing hiking shoes and carrying bags, some even with tents. They all have a mosquito repellent smell lingering on them, though it’s barely noticeable unless you’re near them.

Ye Zhou feels like they are heading out for a trip, and for a moment, he feels tired just watching them.

Zou Ming and Sarah, however, are empty-handed. Sarah brings nothing, and Zou Ming only carries bullets and machine guns.

Ye Zhou straps his gun to his waist, following the map he drew yesterday, and sets off on the mountain road once again.

As soon as he steps onto the road, Ye Zhou feels a sense of calm.

This is the most dangerous challenge he has faced in this world.

And he has no choice but to face it—there is no turning back.

At noon, the sun scorches the land as always, but deep inside the cave, it is cool and comfortable.

A group of men in torn clothes lies sprawled across the floor. They will be moving tonight, so this is their chance to relax.

They have been watching the others and believe they hold the upper hand.

A man standing guard at the cave entrance leans drowsily against the stone wall, his head bobbing like a pecking chicken. He gradually leans further into the cave, drawn by the cooler air.

No one notices a small, scrawny figure slowly approaching the cave entrance.

Chen Liu hunches over, moving with soft steps—not out of innate stealth, but because of a chronic ailment left behind by his time fleeing famine.

He has never been strong. His parents had only him, their only child. Weak and frail, he can’t farm much. The family scrapes by on his parents’ health alone.

Later, he joins the bandits on Mount Huang. Though he gets enough to eat, the constant fear never leaves him—he’s been terrified from the day he arrived.

Not long after leaving the mountain, disaster strikes again.

With his family weak and elderly, Chen Liu never dares speak loudly or travel with stronger men. Every time they need a new path, he has to scout it alone. His already weak steps become even lighter.

He never expects that this weakness will become an advantage.

Carefully sticking close to the stone wall, Chen Liu creeps to the cave’s entrance. Like a cautious little animal, he squats against the wall, slowly pulls out the smoke grenades from his bag, and—following Zou Ming’s instructions—pulls the pins and rolls them into the cave, one by one.

He is extremely cautious. Aside from the faint sound of the smoke bombs rolling over the stone floor, there is no other noise.

The bandit guarding the cave entrance is still asleep. He seems to hear the clatter of something hard rolling, and groggily opens his eyes for a look. Everything outside the cave appears as usual, so he yawns, assumes it is just loose rocks falling, and closes his eyes to continue sleeping.

There is nothing of value in the cave except for a pool of water. There are no edible animals within a ten-mile radius for a long time. Unless the government launches an extermination campaign, they are perfectly safe hiding here.

Chen Liu swallows nervously and rolls all the smoke bombs into the cave. Then, he stands on tiptoe and retreats along the path he came from. His heart pounds wildly in his chest, his cheeks flush, his steps quicken, and he becomes more and more excited.

When he finally reaches the woods, he involuntarily sits down on the ground.

He has done something big!

Only he could pull this off!

After a long moment, Chen Liu slowly stands up with the help of a tree trunk and looks at the hillside across from the tree hole.