Ch 19: My Multiverse Supermarket

When Xian Sanniang learned that Qiao Sinang had brought a band of marauders back, claiming they wanted to meet the goddess, she immediately sent her two children running up the mountain to find the goddess.

First, both of her children could speak the refined tongue.
Second, the goddess’s place was the only truly safe haven.

She waited until the children had reached halfway up the slope before volunteering herself to guide the bandits.

When she met Qiao Sinang, Xian Sanniang’s face was cold, and Qiao Sinang looked visibly uneasy.

But both women knew—they were acting.

After all, Qiao Sinang had led outsiders into the settlement. Whether or not it was for the goddess, her act was still a form of betrayal.

As a villager, Xian Sanniang should appear resentful toward Qiao Sinang.

If she didn’t show anger, the bandits would grow suspicious and assume they were plotting together to trap them.

So, after just a brief glance, the two fell naturally into their roles.

Seeing the lack of interaction between them, the bandit leader became even more certain that the two women couldn’t stir up any trouble.

Still, as they climbed the mountain, he ordered his men to mark the path—just in case they were being led into a trap.

*

Inside the supermarket.

After hearing what the two little children said, Zhou Li wasn’t alarmed at all. Instead, her eyes gleamed with anticipation as she looked toward the entrance.

She asked, “System, can you take on ten of them?”

The system replied, “They’re clearly coming with bad intentions. Why do you sound excited?”

Was this really a for-the-people attitude?

Zhou Li said, “I’m not excited—I’m indignant, heartbroken. Clearly, you systems don’t understand human emotion.”

System: “…”

Zhou Li told the two children to stay hidden inside the supermarket, then turned the external surveillance cameras toward the path outside.

As night fell, Qiao Sinang and Xian Sanniang finally appeared—leading a group of rough, dangerous-looking men.

The ones in front were on horseback, the rest on foot. Several were carrying two blood-drenched corpses.

The men’s hands gripped long blades, their eyes cold and indifferent to life and death.

Qiao Sinang said to the bandit leader, “You shouldn’t have brought the bodies up the mountain. This will anger the goddess.”

The leader gave a derisive laugh.

He had done this deliberately—to intimidate that so-called “goddess.”

If necessary, he planned to prop the corpses up right in front of her “cave.”

But once they reached the top, he paused. The “cave” was far too bright—light from inside illuminated everything within several dozen paces.

No candlelight could burn that bright.

At the border where light met shadow, the bandits stopped.

Xian Sanniang and Qiao Sinang, as if unaware of the tension behind them, continued straight toward the glowing structure.

The leader hesitated briefly, then steeled himself and waved his hand. His men spread out, surrounding the “cave.”

Qiao Sinang and Xian Sanniang’s nerves were taut the entire way up.

Only after stepping through the supermarket doors did they drop the act, worry flashing across their faces.

“Goddess, forgive me!” Qiao Sinang blurted out first.

After all, she had been the one to bring these men here and disturb the goddess’s peace.

Zhou Li silently regarded her without saying a word.

What was this woman even talking about?

Xian Sanniang glanced at Qiao Sinang’s tear-reddened eyes, then at the goddess’s unreadable expression, and stepped forward to plead.

“Godd—Little Boss, Qiao Sinang didn’t mean to bring bandits here. She was forced. Those two bodies outside—they’re the bandits’ doing.”

Just as she spoke, the bandit leader, having finished arranging his men, stepped inside—and caught every word.

He narrowed his eyes, a cold smirk forming. Knew they were lying.

But when he looked around, his sneer faltered.

The spacious building contained only three women and two children—nothing threatening.

And the place didn’t seem to have any hidden traps either.

Then his eyes widened.

There were piles of goods stacked inside—an unbelievable abundance of supplies.

Outside, the other bandits could see it too through the glass.

Their faces lit up with greed.

“We’re rich!”
“No more starving, boys!”
“Who’d have thought people this rich were hiding in the mountains?”
“Look at this woman—so decadent she even used glass for her doors!”

Now, every gaze was fixed hungrily on the supermarket.

Their eyes devoured the sight, minds already planning how to divide the bounty.

Driven by greed, they pressed right up against the glass, practically drooling.

…

The moment the bandit leader entered, the system detected hostility.

However, because no attack had yet occurred, the supermarket’s defensive functions didn’t activate.

Zhou Li herself didn’t show any obvious hostility either.

She said, “Welcome.”

Her calmness unsettled both Xian Sanniang and Qiao Sinang.

In the goddess’s eyes… were they no different from the bandits?

Would she avenge them—or punish them all the same?

The bandit leader turned to Xian Sanniang. “What did she say?”

After a brief hesitation, Xian Sanniang decided to translate truthfully.

The leader chuckled. “At least you’re honest.”

Xian Sanniang stiffened, then realized—he understood the refined tongue!

A deserter turned bandit, he had wandered through many regions and robbed countless merchants.

So whether it was the refined tongue or local dialects, he understood a fair bit of both.

He had only pretended not to understand the refined tongue to see what Xian Sanniang and the others were plotting.

Now that he knew their true nature, he no longer felt any fear.

The bandit leader turned his gaze toward the oddly dressed yet very young and harmless-looking woman—Zhou Li.

He asked in the refined tongue, “You’re the goddess they’ve been talking about?”

Zhou Li smiled slightly. “Just call me Little Boss.”

To the bandits, that timid smile looked like fear.

They sneered. So this was the so-called goddess—just a fraud.

The leader now completely dismissed her.

“I’m asking you—where did all these things come from?”

Zhou Li said, “That’s a trade secret. No comment.”

What a joke—who would casually reveal their supply chain?

The leader’s face darkened. Drawing his blade, he snarled, “Stop pretending to be divine. You’re nothing but a witch deceiving ignorant villagers with cheap tricks!”

Zhou Li, having completed her standard customer service routine, instantly dropped her politeness. “So are you buying anything or not?”

By now, Xian Sanniang and Qiao Sinang had pulled the two children into the corner of the supermarket.

Qiao Sinang felt secretly relieved that the leader hadn’t truly listened to her earlier warnings.

If he had taken her words to heart and treated the goddess with reverence, she wouldn’t have had any chance to avenge their fallen companions.

The bandits didn’t take Zhou Li’s firm tone seriously.

To their ears, her sharp words were just bravado—the louder she spoke, the more scared she must be.

The leader hesitated briefly, then decided to call all his men inside.

Even if the place held traps, his men could serve as shields.

But the bandits, unaware of his sinister thoughts, could no longer restrain themselves. They surged into the supermarket, hands reaching greedily for the goods they’d been eyeing.

The next second, screams of agony tore through the night sky.

…

The bandit leader kept his eyes on Zhou Li, ignoring his subordinates’ chaos.

But when he saw how calm she remained, an uneasy chill crept into his chest.

This wasn’t a bluff. She truly didn’t fear them at all.

What was her trump card?

By the time he thought of questioning Xian Sanniang, it was too late.

He saw his men—those who had tried to grab the merchandise—suddenly clutch at their throats as if strangled by invisible hands.

Their bodies lifted off the ground, suspended in midair, as a gust of wind surged upward beneath them.

Their mouths hung open, desperate for breath, but no air came. Their faces twisted in suffocation.

One man, thrashing wildly, kicked over a shelf—and the moment he touched the ground, his body convulsed, his pants darkening with urine.

A roaring filled the leader’s head.

Now he understood. There were no traps.

The woman before him truly wielded divine power.

He was just beginning to surrender when his own punishment arrived.

…

In the corner of the supermarket, Xian Sanniang, Qiao Sinang, and the two children watched as divine retribution struck the bandits. Tears of relief streamed down their faces.

Even if they knew these men had been driven to banditry by corrupt officials, once the blades had been raised against their own, there could be no reconciliation.

Either the bandits died—or their settlement would.

They had gambled everything, trusting that the goddess would favor the defenseless.

And they had won that gamble.

*

Four minutes passed.

The unconscious bandits were all flung outside.

The human brain suffers permanent damage after four to six minutes without oxygen.

Even if these men didn’t end up brain-dead, they would never be the same again.

Outside, a crowd of refugees had gathered to watch.

Witnessing the goddess’s punishment once more, they felt both vindicated and filled with awe.

Zhou Li stepped out of the supermarket, stood over the bandit leader, and muttered, “Trying to pull a zero-dollar purchase? What do you think this is?”

After muttering, she swept her eyes over the crowd, then turned back inside.

Xian Sanniang and Qiao Sinang were helping her lift the fallen shelves, while the two children mopped up the puddles of urine the bandits had left behind.

They already knew well how to use mops.

Zhou Li glanced at the clock. “Time’s up. Store’s closing.”

Xian Sanniang hurriedly left with her children.

Qiao Sinang, after stepping outside, suddenly turned back—and knelt at the entrance.

Zhou Li, just about to lock the door: “?”

She asked, “What are you doing?”

Qiao Sinang said, “I brought these bandits here. Please, goddess, punish me.”

Even though the divine lady hadn’t punished her earlier, some matters needed resolution.

Otherwise, the families of her two slain companions would never forgive her.

Zhou Li said, “You were clever—using the store’s rules to deal with them. Whether that was right or wrong, there’s no standard. I have no standard for judgment either.”

If the supermarket hadn’t had protective functions, Qiao Sinang’s act would’ve been nothing but dragging disaster to the mountain.

By that logic, Zhou Li should’ve blamed her.

But she wasn’t the type to condemn people over hypotheticals.

That only led to pointless mental exhaustion.

Qiao Sinang couldn’t quite grasp what Zhou Li meant.

As the door closed and the lights inside the supermarket went out, she stayed kneeling, motionless.

Behind her, furious refugees seized the bandits’ blades, tore open the leader’s armor, and stabbed him through the gut—avenging their dead loved ones.

[Author’s Note]

After Qiao Sinang knelt—

Zhou Li: “What’s this? Lost goods aren’t eligible for reimbursement!”
System: “That’s what happens when you don’t buy shipping insurance.”
Zhou Li: “?”
Qiao Sinang: “?”

☢️☢️☢️