Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 68

“Do you want milk tea?” Sarah asks Feng Ling, who is sitting in a daze in the rest area.

Feng Ling looks up, confused, and says, “Ah?” She rubs her hands, still in disbelief that she is here and has actually been hired.

No matter how much she interacts with her companions, she knows she is a burden to them.

Her heart disease requires medication. Once she leaves the service center, the base won’t cover her medication and treatment expenses, and her life will become difficult.

No matter how hard she works, she can barely make ends meet — assuming there is even a factory willing to hire her.

As for setting up a stall? It is just a dream. Who would buy processed food now? There are so few customers, and she might not even make enough to cover her medication costs.

Feng Ling even considers stopping her medication and not looking for a job at all. She has many problems and doesn’t want to burden others.

But when her companions drag her over and make her stand in front of the supermarket owner, she ultimately can’t bring herself to give up completely.

Nervously, she introduces herself — she isn’t stupid, she is very smart. Although the school didn’t teach much, she studied on her own at the library and borrowed a lot of books.

Before the zombie virus hit, she had at least completed high school.

This is the first time in Feng Ling’s life that she has to boast about herself. She is so embarrassed that she wants to hide, but she still finishes her introduction.

She nervously awaits the boss’s reaction, her heart pounding.

Though she knows she probably won’t be hired, Feng Ling still can’t help fantasizing about the only possibility.

When the young and handsome boss smiles and nods at her, she suddenly realizes she has been hired.

That moment feels like a dream.

Feng Ling takes the milk tea Sarah hands to her, purses her lips, and hesitantly asks, “Boss, you really won’t lose money hiring me? I can’t do any heavy work.”

Now that she is hired and has signed a contract, she can finally express her concern.

Sarah replies, “Just wait until we move to another place. Cao’er was in worse health than you before.”

Cao’er, who comes out to get snacks, overhears Sarah and leans over, saying, “I was so thin before that I was just a bag of bones!” She says this proudly: “I was dark and thin, looking particularly scary. Want to see pictures? My sister has some.”

Feng Ling doesn’t realize that “sister” means Sarah. Reluctantly, she accepts the phone Cao’er hands her.

Feng Ling holds the phone, not knowing how to use it — touch-screen phones have long been “obsolete.” Nowadays, people just need phones that can make calls, send texts, and aren’t easily broken.

So aside from those who need them for work and can get a “brick phone,” most people use walkie-talkies.

Feng Ling has heard of these phones but has never used one. She holds it carefully, not daring to touch it.

When Sarah shows her the photo, Feng Ling gasps, “So thin!”

It is just a bag of bones, with a shaky head, but still grinning at the camera.

That smile doesn’t inspire warmth — it only terrifies anyone who sees it.

Since Feng Ling has now joined the supermarket and will be traveling with them tonight, Cao’er sees her as one of their own. Knowing they’ll be spending a lot of time together, she no longer holds back and says, “The next place the Lord Immortal says we’re going is called Minzil Continent. What a weird name. Is the land called Minzil, or is it the country on it that’s called Minzil?” Cao’er can’t figure it out. She hands Feng Ling a jelly snack, generously saying, “Here, take it. It’s on me.”

Feng Ling accepts it, feeling a little embarrassed, and says, “Thank you.”

Sarah says, “I think it’s the land that’s called Minzil. Maybe it was once the name of a dynasty, and after it fell, the land took the name.”

Feng Ling listens, feeling more and more confused, not understanding what they are talking about. But she sharply catches onto one particular word. She doesn’t dare interrupt while Cao’er is talking, but when Cao’er finally stops, she asks, “Did you just say…Lord Immortal?”

Immortal?

As in a deity?

As in a deity?

Cao’er nods. “Yeah, the boss is an Immortal. He can travel through countless small worlds. The world you’re from is just one among countless others. They say there are three thousand worlds! Maybe even more than three thousand.” Cao’er points to herself. “The small world I come from is different from yours. There aren’t any monsters outside. But we also don’t have such tall buildings,” Cao’er adds. “And no two-wheeled vehicles either.”

Sarah reminds her, “Those are called bicycles.”

Cao’er nods.

Feng Ling asks, half-believing, half-doubting, “Are you from ancient times?”

Having been briefed by Sarah about the modern versus ancient distinction, Cao’er confidently declares, “Where I’m from, it’s modern! We’re not from the same world, so you can’t use your standards to judge us.”

Feng Ling: “……”

That actually makes sense.

Seeing that Feng Ling has been given enough mental preparation, Sarah pats her on the shoulder and says, “We’re leaving tonight. It’s best not to sleep at all. You should know that when we first arrived here, we landed right in the face of zombies, right?”

Feng Ling stiffly shakes her head.

Sarah blinks. “…Oh right, I forgot. Yang Guoqin had ordered us not to spread that around. Anyway, if we’re lucky, we’ll land somewhere safe. If not, we might crash straight into danger.” Sarah continues, “You’ll also have to learn a lot in the future — not just supermarket work, but also how to use a gun, how to shoot. The supermarket offers good benefits. Since you like studying, the boss can even find online courses for you, as long as you get your work done. After signing the contract, you can’t back out — the boss should have told you that. If you want to quit, you have to give a month’s notice in advance.” Sarah finishes and looks at Feng Ling. “Anything else you want to ask?”

Feng Ling opens her mouth but ends up asking a completely unrelated question. She whispers, “Little sister, how old are you?”

Her serious tone doesn’t sound like a child imitating adults at all — it isn’t cute; it is chilling.

Cao’er says, “Sister is over four hundred years old. She’s a leech demon.”

Feng Ling blinks.

Has she wandered into a den of lunatics? Her companions have never mentioned that the supermarket staff are mentally unstable!

Feng Ling doesn’t dare provoke Cao’er or Sarah but instinctively presses herself against the wall, ready to bolt at any sign of trouble.

“We’re leaving,” Sarah says, pulling Cao’er away. The two don’t look back at Feng Ling, leaving her the space and time to digest everything.

Feng Ling thinks everything here is very strange.

And no one has warned her it would be like this.

After Cao’er and Sarah leave, Feng Ling quickly walks toward the supermarket entrance — but when she stands before the door, she doesn’t push it open.

What could she do after leaving? Go back to being a burden on her friends?

Feng Ling stops. Her reflection appears in the glass.

Her face is full of fear and helplessness, but gradually, it calms.

So what if everyone here is crazy? Is she really any better? She might not even be able to do the work they can.

Since she is already here, she has no intention of going back to being a burden.

Feng Ling carries her water basin into the warehouse — she has her own bed there, surrounded by curtains on all four sides, made of light-blocking fabric, providing a bit of privacy for each person.

The water basin and toiletries are provided by the supermarket — free of charge, not even costing any points.

The warehouse is huge, carrying that familiar smell of goods, like cardboard boxes. The older folks often clean when they have free time, so the place stays very tidy.

Feng Ling doesn’t dare talk much with others. She crawls into her curtained space but doesn’t sleep, just stares blankly at the light above.

Voices drift in from outside the curtains.

“I wonder what the next small world will be like.”

“The Lord Immortal said it might be crawling with monsters!”

“He also said maybe everyone there looks like Sarah, with golden hair and blue eyes.”

“Or maybe red hair and green eyes.”

“Only monsters can have so many different colors.”

“But I’ve seen young people here dye their hair too.”

“Last time I saw a young man dye his hair green. If his eyes hadn’t been the same color as ours, I’d have thought he was a monster too.”

…

Listening to their conversation, Feng Ling grows increasingly uneasy — their tone is just too strange, not like the people at the base at all.

Sometimes when they speak quickly, a weird accent slips out.

She feels like Alice, except she hasn’t fallen into Wonderland — she has landed in some bizarre, surreal world.

Hugging her knees, her chin resting on them, Feng Ling thinks of the boss’s face.

In her ears, it is as if she can hear his voice again.

“Make sure to read the notes carefully before signing,” the boss has emphasized multiple times as he handed her the contract.

Feng Ling pulls out the contract copy from under her pillow.

When she signed it, she didn’t read carefully — she just desperately wanted a job, a bite to eat, anything to stop being a burden.

Besides, her companions have been working at the supermarket for a long time and have told her what kind of person the boss is.

He is generous, rarely angry — maybe because no one has crossed his bottom line yet.

Though he doesn’t interact much with the employees, he has never skimped on their benefits.

Such a person is unlikely to be a bad person.

Feng Ling flips to the second page of the contract, where the notes are. The very first line under the title “Notes” reads:

【Please note: This supermarket is a dimensional supermarket. Employees, by signing, voluntarily agree to dimension jumping. Only after terminating the employment contract can they return to their original dimension.】

Feng Ling’s eyes widen, but before she can properly digest the words, she hears voices from outside the curtains:

“It’s starting!”

“Quick, look at the window! I missed it last time!”

…

Feng Ling carefully pulls open the curtain to look at the window.

If her eyes aren’t deceiving her, and if no one is playing tricks outside the window—

Then what she sees is the scenery outside the window changing at the speed of milliseconds.

Feng Ling places her hand on her face and pinches.

Ow — no pain. Is she dreaming?

“You’re not pinching hard enough,” Cao’er says kindly as she leans over. “Let me help you.”

Without waiting for a reply, Cao’er pinches Feng Ling’s left cheek.

Before Feng Ling can say thank you, she lets out a heart-wrenching scream.

Not a dream.