Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 94

Ye Zhou is drying his hair—when Chen Shu calls him over the walkie-talkie, he’s still covered head to toe in shower gel.

He feels like he has a karmic tie to cliff tops. In the last world, he lands on a cliff; in this one, he’s back on a cliff.

The weather in this area is severe. The drone footage from the highest point shows a continuous stretch of snow-covered mountains and frozen land. Fortunately, the supermarket has heating, so they can adjust the temperature and stay unaffected by the cold wind outside.

But they’ve come at the wrong season—midwinter. At this time of year, even if there are people living nearby, no one roams around.

Hoping to encounter customers is a pipe dream.

What’s more, this is his first time in a new dimension. Until he meets the profit quota set by the system, he can’t jump to another dimension or adjust the timeline of this one. He has to stick it out until the snow melts and spring returns.

Ye Zhou leaves the break room as soon as his hair is half-dry.

Sarah and Cao’er are sitting on the sofa playing Gobang.

“I lost again.” Sarah reluctantly picks up the chess pieces. “I wasn’t taking it seriously this time. I’ll definitely win next round.”

Cao’er accepts her prize—a bag of melon seeds—and holds back a laugh. “Sister, how about checkers next?”

Her sister has never won a single game of Gobang, yet loves playing it so much. Who knows how many bags of candy she’s already lost?

But if you don’t play with her, she gets upset.

Sarah looks up and sees Ye Zhou coming out of the lounge. She immediately tosses aside the chess pieces and strides over. “Boss.”

Ye Zhou asks, “Zou Ming and Chen Shu went out?”

arah nods. “They did. There was a man sneaking around outside. Chen Shu caught him and tied him up. Do you want to take a look?”

Ye Zhou says, “I’ll go. Don’t go over there yet—don’t scare him.”

Ye Zhou doesn’t know whether this dimension’s Warring States period has Hu people. In his own world, they do—but just in case, it’s better if Sarah doesn’t approach.

Sarah has no interest in the tied-up man and nods. “Okay, boss. Do you want to play chess later—Gobang?”

Ye Zhou answers tactfully, “How about trying another game?”

Since Sarah got hooked on Gobang, she’s been dragging people to play it non-stop. Ye Zhou likes the game too, but it’s no fun to keep winning all the time.

In fact, Cao’er is the only one still willing to play with her.

Sarah shrugs, a bit aggrieved. “Boss, go do your thing. I know I’m terrible at it.”

Ye Zhou feels a little soft-hearted and says, “I’ll play with you later when I’m free.”

Sarah’s mood changes instantly. She grins. “Okay! I’ll wait for you.”

Ye Zhou heads to the infirmary.

Inside, Zhou Yuanhe is treating the man who’s been tied up for frostbite.

As Ye Zhou reaches the door, he hears Zhou Yuanhe saying, “Three of your toes are frostbitten and need to be amputated.”

Chen Dan looks at him in a daze.

Zhou Yuanhe continues, “If we don’t cut them off, the infection could spread to your foot or even your leg. Then we’d have to amputate the whole thing. Losing three toes won’t affect your walking, though it might impact your running.”

Chen Dan whispers, “Are you really a doctor?”

“Yes,” Zhou Yuanhe replies.

Chen Dan lights up. He wriggles like a caterpillar—he’s still tied up—and cries out, “Doctor! My king, he was frostbitten too!”

Zhou Yuanhe snapped, “Stop squirming! Stay still! If I cut in the wrong place, I’ll throw you out!” Zhou Yuanhe snaps, “Stop squirming! Stay still! If I cut in the wrong place, I’ll throw you out!” He scolds again, “You’re already in this state and still worried about someone else? You got a death wish?”

Chen Dan immediately says, “I’m just a nobody. If I die, Chen still has other scouts. But the king—there’s only one!”

Zhou Yuanhe sneers, “Well, at least you’ve got guts.”

Chen Dan looks at Zhou Yuanhe’s face. Though scared, he summons all his strength to say, “I won’t die—ahhh!!”

Ye Zhou silently turns and walks away.

Zhou Yuanhe is a doctor. To him, all lives are equal. He doesn’t believe a king’s life is more valuable than a soldier’s.

In his heart, Ye Zhou is quietly rooting for this nameless soldier.

“Lord Immortal.” Wu Yan, standing guard at the lounge door, calls out softly.

Ye Zhou nods to him and says in a low voice, “Stay here. He’s tied up, so he shouldn’t be able to run.”

WYe Zhou walks down the hallway to the glass doors and looks outside.

The supermarket lights illuminate the immediate area, but the moonlight is weak, and visibility is limited.

Leaning against the wall, Ye Zhou waits for about twenty minutes before he sees Zou Ming and Chen Shu returning through the snow.

Each of them carries a person on their back, but their steps are steady.

Due to the large difference in temperature between inside and outside, Ye Zhou has disabled the automatic glass door sensor. It now has to be opened manually with a button.

As they reach the steps, Ye Zhou presses the button and opens the door.

“Why are you dressed so lightly?” he frowns.

Chen Shu finally notices. “Damn, no wonder I felt so cold.”

Ye Zhou: “…”

He looks at Zou Ming. Please don’t say you forgot too, or I’m going to lose all hope in the both of you.

Zou Ming replies, “I just wanted to see how long I could last in this temperature.”

Ye Zhou: “…”

What a ridiculous reason.

“You two have some hot water first. Aunt Li and the others have set up a tent. It’s warm. Take them inside and lay them down,” Ye Zhou says, glancing at Zhou Wen and the others who follow.

(Translator’s Note: Aunt Li is Ye Zhou’s name for Cao’er Niang. The author continues to use Cao’er Niang throughout.)

Zhou Wen understands and helps carry the people Zou Ming and Chen Shu brought back into the tent.

“I’ll ask Zhou Yuanhe to check them for frostbite,” Ye Zhou says. He turns to Zou Ming and Chen Shu. “Just two of them out there?”

Chen Shu replies, “There’s more. I think at least a thousand or two.”

Ye Zhou whispers, “Do they have money?”

“They do,” Chen Shu whispers back. “The one Zou Ming carried is a general. He said if we save their king, he’ll offer a thousand gold.” Chen Shu pauses. “Boss, how much is a thousand gold?”

Ye Zhou frowns. “No idea. I don’t know much about the Warring States period. I just know Qin Shihuang unified the six states and that they used bronze coins. What’s this gold they’re talking about? Is one coin equal to one gold?”

Chen Shu says, “Doesn’t matter—we’ll just sell it to the system. As long as the payment comes from within this plane, we’re good.”

Ye Zhou relaxes. “That makes sense. A king should have some money.”

“I’ve been fishing like Jiang Taigong here, but I didn’t expect to catch such a big fish.” He smiles. “Maybe I’ll hit my quota soon.”

The system has set him a business target of fifty million on this plane.

It sounds like a lot, but even a small monarch should be able to cough that up, right?

Turning a fifty-million profit is tough, but generating a fifty-million transaction? Not impossible.

“What about the rest of the people outside?” Chen Shu asks. “They probably won’t make it through the night.”

There’s no wind shelter, no fire, and their clothes are poor quality. Who knows if there’s even cotton in this plane? With the temperature this low, they could die at any moment.

Ye Zhou thinks for a moment. “Even if we could help, now’s not the time. We’ll wait for King Chen to wake up.”

“I heard them call him Marquis Chen,” Chen Shu adds.

Ye Zhou is surprised. “Not a king?” He blinks. “Oh, right. In the beginning, they were all marquises—then later promoted to dukes and kings. I’ve really forgotten my history,” he mutters, ruffling his hair.

Just then, he notices Zou Ming approaching.

Ye Zhou quickly steps aside. “Don’t touch me. I’m scared of hair loss.”

Zou Ming, who hasn’t even raised his hand yet: “…”

“I’ll call Zhou Yuanhe,” Ye Zhou says, walking off with Zou Ming toward the infirmary.

Behind them, Chen Shu shivers. Now that she’s stopped moving, the cold hits her hard. She rushes off to get a blanket and a cup.

By the time they reach the infirmary, Zhou Yuanhe has just finished the amputation.

Chen Dan, whose toes are completely necrotic, doesn’t even feel pain—he falls asleep during the procedure.

The long journey has already pushed him to his limits. If not for sheer willpower, he might’ve collapsed on the road.

He’s thin and burns through calories fast. Even Zhou Yuanhe is amazed he’s made it this far.

“I’ll be right there,” Zhou Yuanhe says when he hears Ye Zhou calling. He immediately goes to wash his hands.

After washing and disinfecting, he steps out. “This guy’s unbelievable. Three necrotic toes, one useless arm—and he still came all this way to scout ahead.”

Ye Zhou says, “Must be sheer willpower.”

Sometimes, human spirit surpasses even the strongest body.

Zhou Yuanhe joins him. “How many more like him? If they’re all like this, I won’t survive treating them.”

Zou Ming says, “About two thousand.”

Zhou Yuanhe sucks in a sharp breath. “I quit. I’m resigning right now! I’ll even pay the penalty!”

Ye Zhou laughs. “Don’t worry. Let’s wait until those two wake up.”

Zhou Yuanhe relaxes. “Good. Otherwise I would drop dead. Boss, can you hire another doctor?”

Ye Zhou replies, “Depends on how much money they have. We’ll find out once they wake up.”

Maybe because he hasn’t seen the crowd outside yet, Ye Zhou doesn’t feel anxious.

Though confident in their firepower, two thousand people is still a lot—better to be cautious.

Inside the warm tent, Chen Yan slowly regains consciousness.

For a moment, he can’t tell where he is.

There are no beams or tiles overhead, and the walls around him look unfamiliar.

Has he entered a celestial palace—or a monster’s den?