Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 37

Lin You and his companions come and leave in a hurry, barely staying the night. It is Ye Zhou who insists they stay for a night.

After all, if an employee doesn’t want to come with him, they will have to follow Lin You and his companions south. Ye Zhou fears they might encounter accidents during their night trip, so he gives them a strong flashlight. The flashlight supports both batteries and solar charging, although the charging is slow, it is better than nothing if the battery runs out. He also gives them plenty of extra batteries, enough to last until they reach Anyang City. It is also a thank you for helping to escort people.

Ye Zhou isn’t worried about the butterfly effect. Since he came here, who knows if he is the wind stirred by a butterfly?

Once Lin You and his companions leave, Ye Zhou stays in the break room and goes on a shopping spree. It is the first time he realizes how much he enjoys “shopping.” With enough funds, he doesn’t have to worry about anything, not even checking prices—he just keeps pressing the purchase button.

Ye Zhou quietly marvels—nothing is happier than having money!

When hiring a bodyguard, Ye Zhou quickly searches for Chen Shu’s name and presses the hire button. He also hires a doctor named Zhou Yuanhe. Since he isn’t familiar with medical equipment, Ye Zhou doesn’t buy anything and plans to let the doctor purchase it himself once he arrives. After all, anything will have to be bought through the system, so there is no need to worry about being scammed.

Thinking about it, the system has its advantages, not all disadvantages, though it is strange that it never responds to his doubts.

Wu Yan and his friends enter the break room around nine in the evening. As Ye Zhou expects, more than half of them are unwilling to leave with him. Compared to the “new world” they don’t understand at all, they prefer to stay in the place they know and have grown up in. Especially the elderly. Even though things are turbulent there and they might still be poor if they stay, they love this land more than anything.

Ye Zhou looks at Wu Yan. “Give me the list of people willing to stay.”

Wu Yan hands Ye Zhou the written list along with the “contract” stamped with his handprint. Chen Liu also wants to stay. Although Ye Zhou feels sorry, he can only wish him the best.

Chen Liu’s parents don’t want to leave either. They had longed to follow The Lord Immortal, but that was when the “immortal” was still on this land.

Ye Zhou spends five minutes registering the employees and their families. The actual number of employees in the store drops sharply from 26 to 12, and with the addition of the baby, it will be 13.

The one thing that relieves Ye Zhou is that Wu Yan, Cao’er, and her daughter don’t leave. Wu Yan is the most quick-witted among the men. The other employees are obedient, but too obedient. They don’t understand Ye Zhou’s implied meaning or guess his thoughts. They simply follow instructions without thinking. Though this means no mistakes are made, it also causes a lot of trouble. A quick-thinking middleman is needed. Like Cao’er’s Mother. Compared to Wu Yan, Cao’er’s Mother’s guesses are more accurate. And Ye Zhou is certain of her loyalty.

People who are loyal to him, understand his intentions, and can communicate with him are rare and hard to find. If Wu Yan and Cao’er’s Mother stay, Ye Zhou will have a headache.

“Where is the next plane?” Zou Ming sits on the armrest of the computer chair. He sits lightly, not putting all his weight on it. One arm wraps around Ye Zhou’s shoulder, almost half-hugging him.

Ye Zhou doesn’t find anything strange and brings up the available planes for Zou Ming to see. “There are only two: Minzil Continent and Luoyang Base. Which one do you think is better?”

Zou Ming asks, “Where do you want to go first?”

Ye Zhou pauses. “To be honest, I don’t want to go to either. Minzil sounds like a magical continent, sounds like a magical continent, a Western-style world full of foreigners. It makes me feel really unsafe. As for Luoyang Base, just the name sounds dangerous.” Ye Zhou sighs, “And the system doesn’t give me specific details, just the name of the place and I have to guess. Although I’ve decided to leave tomorrow, I haven’t picked a destination yet.”

Zou Ming suddenly speaks. “Luoyang, I heard from someone at work that it’s relatively stable.”

Ye Zhou blinks, looking at Zou Ming with hope. “Do you have information about Luoyang? Tell me in detail.”

After Ye Zhou speaks, he goes to make two cups of black tea—he is afraid green tea might keep him up at night. Ye Zhou brews the tea and sets it on the coffee table. He pulls Zou Ming’s arm and gently guides him to sit on the sofa. His amber eyes never leave Zou Ming.

Zou Ming lowers his head slightly, not looking at Ye Zhou, but rather the tea in his hands. The surface of the tea ripples gently in the air conditioning, like ripples on a calm lake. Zou Ming’s expression remains neutral, as if telling a flat, emotionless story. “Luoyang Base is different from my dimension. My world was ruined by nuclear and technological pollution—an artificial tragedy. Luoyang Base, on the other hand, was destroyed by zombies.”

Ye Zhou: “…Is this a movie?” Only in movies did zombies destroy the world, right?! How could real, living people lose to mindless, slow zombies?

Zou Ming quickly clarifies Ye Zhou’s unspoken doubts. “Zombies are fast and can see in the dark. Their hearing and sense of smell are far stronger than ordinary humans. You don’t have to be bitten or scratched. As long as you touch something they’ve been in contact with and then touch your mouth or nose, you’ll get infected.”

Ye Zhou frowns. “Isn’t that unscientific?” When he watches zombie movies before, he always finds the existence of zombies unscientific.

Zou Ming continues, “To truly kill them, you have to destroy their brain or spine.” He pauses to think. “It’s more accurate to say they’re not ‘zombies,’ but parasites. Have you ever seen a parasitized cicada? Their brains and bodies are hollowed out, but they can still move.”

Ye Zhou shudders. “That’s a bit disgusting.”

Zou Ming agrees. “Their purpose isn’t to destroy humans, but to reproduce. The human body serves as a breeding ground for them. When they accumulate enough energy, they break out. But before I left, scientists in that plane confirmed the human body as a breeding ground. However, there’s never been a complete hatching.”

Ye Zhou: “…How about… we go to that other continent instead?” His mind is filled with two words—dangerous. And dangerous again!

Zou Ming suggests, “I still recommend going to Luoyang. Although it’s dangerous, at least we have some information. Even if we go, we won’t be blindly stumbling around. And if we don’t go now, we can always go later. Instead of heading to a place with no information, it’s better to go after unlocking new system content in Luoyang Base.”

Ye Zhou blinks. “New system content?”

Zou Ming nods. “When the total turnover hits 30 million, the protective shield will unlock.”

Ye Zhou groans. “30 million? Why doesn’t it just rob us? Is it serious about letting us do business? It’s just playing tricks!” The turnover isn’t counted uniformly; the 30 million must be earned in Luoyang Base.

“The apocalypse! What’s valuable in an apocalypse?” Ye Zhou grumbles. “Even if gold is everywhere, if it’s not valuable in this plane, the system won’t give us much. Without money and a protective shield, I won’t risk going to Minzil. And I can’t make a profit. Isn’t this a dead cycle?” Ye Zhou stares into Zou Ming’s eyes.

Zou Ming shrugs. “We have no choice.”

Ye Zhou slumps onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. It feels like he has given up on everything.

“Where will you choose to go?” Zou Ming walks to Ye Zhou and places a hand on his shoulder.

Ye Zhou sighs weakly. “What else can I choose? I can only go to Luoyang.” If Minzil is even more terrifying than Luoyang Base, with no preparation, landing there will mean disaster.

Ye Zhou sits up slowly. “It’s settled. Let’s go to Luoyang Base. I’ll take a shower. Or do you want to go first?” Ye Zhou turns to ask Zou Ming.

Zou Ming shakes his head. “You go first, I’ll watch a movie.”

Ye Zhou nods. “Okay.”

After both take a shower, Ye Zhou turns off the lights in the break room. He plans to chat with Zou Ming a little before sleeping, but the sudden drowsiness hits him. The moment his head hits the pillow, he falls into a deep, dreamless sleep, without even saying good night.

That night, Ye Zhou doesn’t sleep well. He has a vivid and terrifying nightmare. He dreams he is walking alone in a sea of blood and corpses, yet under his feet, there is a strange, narrow, winding road. He doesn’t know where he is going or why, but he feels compelled to keep walking.

He walks for what seems like tens of thousands of years, but it isn’t physical fatigue—it is psychological. He longs for the end of the road.

At some point, he feels that the end is near. After the next hill, monsters greet him—some humanoid, some unfathomably large, grotesque beings. They wave their limbs as they rush toward him.

Ye Zhou tries to escape, but his feet are nailed to the ground. He can only watch the monsters closing in, drowning him.

Darkness swallows him.

“Ye Zhou!!”

“Ye Zhou! Wake up!”

Someone is calling his name—

In the darkness, Ye Zhou thinks, Who could it be?