Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 57

The breeding farm area chosen by Yang Guoqin is a rough plot of land. The trees and flowers have been cleared, leaving only a patch of weeds that have just begun to sprout. Workers are already laying pipes, but it will take at least several months to build a factory from scratch. The fastest construction time will be about two months.

Yang Guoqin, who arrives late, drives toward Ye Zhou. He doesn’t bring any servicemen this time—only the driver who has been with him.

“How is it? Isn’t it a good place?” Yang Guoqin smiles as he approaches. “This land was originally intended for a woolen mill, but later, they decided to concentrate all the large factories at Changfeng Base for safety reasons, so this project was put on hold.”

Ye Zhou raises an eyebrow. “Eggs are generally not put all in one basket. What if something happens to Changfeng Base?”

Yang Guoqin shakes his head. “Changfeng is in a good location. If something were to happen there, we would have been gone long ago.”

The factory has to be built in the safest location to ensure a stable supply of materials.

Yang Guoqin continues, “It’s a bloody lesson. Luoyang wasn’t actually on the front line before, but after other bases had problems, we became the front line. The factories of those bases were destroyed, and all the initial investments in manpower and materials were wasted.”

Although zombies still roam outside the barbed wire, they come in small groups. There has been no situation where all the soldiers had to go to the front line to fight them off.

“How did the zombie tide come?” Ye Zhou asks. “I haven’t seen a large group of zombies lately.”

Yang Guoqin smiles bitterly. “We don’t know. Scientists have proposed several theories, but none of them have been proven. Anyway, the situation is that if the zombie tide doesn’t come, life will be more stable. If it does, we’ll have to figure out how to deal with it.”

Ye Zhou nods. “By the way, is the photon cannon fully charged?”

At the mention of the photon cannon, Yang Guoqin’s smile becomes more sincere. “It’s fully charged, but I’m not sure if we should use it yet.”

In theory, he should have tested the photon cannon’s power right after charging it. But what if a zombie tide comes and the cannon is still charging?

The last zombie tide was small to medium in size, and they could resist it with guns. But if a super-large zombie tide comes, they will need artillery, missiles, and tanks.

The fighter jets at Luoyang Base can still fly, but they are out of missiles.

There is only one base capable of producing missiles, and every base is trying to get their hands on them. Missiles are a consumable, and production can’t keep up with demand.

“If a large zombie tide comes and the photon cannon runs out of power, then all my investment will be wasted, right?” Yang Guoqin sighs and then asks somewhat uneasily, “Boss Ye, how long will you be staying here? Will you be heading to other bases later?”

He is worried that Ye Zhou might just pack up and leave, and there would be nothing he could do to stop it.

Ye Zhou shakes his head. “I’m not leaving for now.”

Ye Zhou doesn’t elaborate on the reason, and Yang Guoqin doesn’t ask further.

“By the way, there’s one more thing,” Yang Guoqin says, pursing his lips. After a few seconds of hesitation, he adds, “I want to borrow someone from you.”

Ye Zhou frowns. “Borrow someone?”

Yang Guoqin glances toward Zou Ming and Chen Shu. “Zou Ming and Chen Shu—were they in the military before?” After thinking for a moment, he adds, “Zou Ming doesn’t really seem like it, but Chen Shu probably was.”

“You’ve got a good eye,” Ye Zhou chuckles. “But asking me won’t help. You’ll have to ask them yourself. As long as it’s not during working hours, they can do whatever they want. I have no objection.”

Yang Guoqin chuckles. “You’re a generous boss.”

Ye Zhou shrugs. “I’m not some ruthless landlord. I can’t make them work 24/7. But what do you need them for?” Ye Zhou asks curiously.

Yang Guoqin unwraps a candy and hands one to Ye Zhou. “The zombie numbers outside have been low recently. I want to organize some teams to patrol the area and deal with any zombies to prevent them from gathering. We can’t just stay in the base waiting for the zombies to attack.”

Ye Zhou hesitates. “Then go ask them.”

Ye Zhou thinks the idea is dangerous—he wouldn’t want to go out himself. But he can’t refuse on behalf of Zou Ming and Chen Shu.

While Yang Guoqin goes to ask them, Ye Zhou takes a walk. He takes a deep breath and feels the fresh scent of grass. Looking up, he sees birds spreading their wings on the trees in the distance.

Despite the zombie crisis, the earth is still full of life. Whether it’s people or animals, survival is strong in them all.

Cao’er has gone off to pick wildflowers with the others.

They have spent a long time in the supermarket. Back in the Daliang Dynasty, the bark of trees had been peeled off, and they hadn’t cared much for flowers.

Now that the environment has changed, and the area is safe enough, their repressed love for beauty has come alive.

It isn’t just the women—Wu Yan and the others are the same.

Poor citizens of the Daliang Dynasty couldn’t afford decorative items. With no money, wildflowers became their most accessible form of ornament.

Ye Zhou even sees Wu Yan’s wife tuck a small purple flower behind his ear.

The couple looks very pleased with themselves.

The children haven’t come out this time, so the adults are picking flowers for them.

Ye Zhou wants to say something but stops when Cao’er’s mother shouts, “Pick less! Just two handfuls per person! Leave some for the others!”

Laughter rings out from the group. “We know!”

“Just pick some for the little ones, not two handfuls!”

Ye Zhou smiles at them unconsciously. When he realizes he’s smiling, he freezes slightly.

Ye Zhou touches his cheek, feeling a peaceful calm.

“Boss Ye!” Yang Guoqin stands beside Zou Ming and calls out to Ye Zhou. “Come here!”

Ye Zhou walks over.

“Zou Ming and Chen Shu agreed to it,” Yang Guoqin says, looking apologetic. “They’ll go in the morning and be back before noon.”

Ye Zhou glances at Zou Ming, then at Chen Shu, and can’t help asking, “What if you catch the virus outside?”

Chen Shu smiles. “We won’t. We’re in good health.”

Ye Zhou frowns. “Being healthy doesn’t make you immune to viruses.”

Yang Guoqin quickly adds, “We’ll give them full protective gear. Everyone going out will be fully suited up, and they’ll undergo strict disinfection upon return.”

Ye Zhou: “You said people had to be quarantined before. Now they don’t need to be?”

Yang Guoqin goes silent. Ye Zhou looks at Zou Ming and sighs. “Come here.”

Zou Ming follows him a short distance away.

Once Ye Zhou is sure Yang Guoqin can’t hear them, he speaks in an urgent tone, “I thought you would refuse! If you come back infected, the whole supermarket is finished. We’ll all turn into zombies!”

“I don’t know what danger lies outside. I also believe that you and Chen Shu will avoid getting bitten by zombies! But the virus isn’t like the zombies. The virus is much worse than zombies!” Ye Zhou says quickly, his gaze fixed on Zou Ming.

Zou Ming’s face remains expressionless, as always.

No matter what Ye Zhou says to Zou Ming, Zou Ming’s expression never seems to change, and Ye Zhou always thinks that he’s just calm and steady. But now, Ye Zhou feels like grabbing Zou Ming by the shoulders and shaking him awake.

Even if he sympathizes with the people here, this isn’t their home world, and they have no responsibility for it. It’s okay to help within their means, but it’s reckless to gamble with their own safety and the safety of the entire supermarket.

Zou Ming observes the mixture of emotions on Ye Zhou’s face and gives a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

Ye Zhou catches the expression with sharp eyes and is infuriated. “You’re still smiling? You can still laugh about this?”

Zou Ming shakes his head slightly, and there’s a subtle sense of indulgence in his tone that Ye Zhou almost misses. “What Chen Shu said is true. After we sign the contract with the system, as long as we’re not on the original plane, we won’t be affected by bacteria, viruses, or infectious diseases. Otherwise, every time we traveled, we’d bring different pathogens along. We’d be walking biohazards.”

Ye Zhou blinks. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

Zou Ming is silent for a moment. “… I thought you knew.”

Ye Zhou lets out a sigh of relief. “So that’s how it is. No wonder I felt something was off, but I couldn’t figure out what.” He quickly changes the topic. “But it’s still dangerous for you to go out. It’s fine if you don’t go. Besides, Yang Guoqin can’t offer you anything in return.” Ye Zhou adds, “If you sympathize with the people here, there are other ways you can help. You don’t need to risk your life. If something happens to you, I…”

Zou Ming raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Ye Zhou sighs again. “How would I explain it to your relatives and friends?”

Zou Ming’s expression darkens. “… I’m an orphan.”

Ye Zhou shakes his head. “Didn’t someone leave things behind for you? Isn’t that a relative or a friend? I think relationships aren’t just about blood.”

Zou Ming’s face darkens further. “It’s not family.”

Ye Zhou doesn’t argue. “Friendship then.”

Zou Ming shakes his head. “It’s not friendship either.”

Ye Zhou looks at him closely and asks carefully, “Is it love?”

Zou Ming’s expression softens, and he silently acknowledges it.

Ye Zhou mutters, “You’ve got a strange taste.”

Zou Ming finally can’t take it anymore and laughs. “He’s a very good person. No one can help but love him.”

Ye Zhou waves a hand dismissively. “I’m not talking about that. I mean, he raised you and left you supplies. That’s almost like a mother. You call that love?”

Zou Ming’s tone grows distant. “… I never thought of him as an elder.”

Ye Zhou decides not to press the topic any further, feeling it would be better to leave it alone. Instead, he turns back to the original subject. “Just be careful when you go out. Nothing else matters. What matters is that you come back safely. Before you can protect others, you need to protect yourself first.” Ye Zhou sighs. “I know it sounds selfish, but for me, this isn’t the land where I was born and raised. This isn’t my country, and these aren’t my people. Even though the culture may seem similar, they are them, and we are us. You should keep that in mind too.”

Ye Zhou’s voice softens. “Sometimes, being a little selfish isn’t a bad thing.” He looks directly into Zou Ming’s eyes. “Do you understand?”

Zou Ming’s eyes are deep, like a bottomless well. Ye Zhou stands at the edge, peering in, and for a moment, it feels like there are unseen hands in that well, as if they might pull him in at any second.