Ch 44: My Multiverse Supermarket

Sophia pointed at the flat-screen television and asked Zhou Li, “Does this work?”

“It does, but there’s no signal.” Zhou Li turned it on, and the screen repeatedly flashed the warning: No Signal.

Sophia then pointed at the air conditioner. “What about that?”

Zhou Li was curious. “You don’t have TVs or air conditioners?”

“We use light screens,” Sophia explained. “They work the same way as our light-brain systems—you can project images through them. As for air conditioners, Mia Star’s highest temperature used to be only around twenty-five degrees Celsius, so we gradually phased them out. Later, we switched entirely to air circulation systems to keep the temperature pleasant. When it’s cold, we pair that with heating systems…”

Zhou Li’s mind jumped tracks. “So Mia Star doesn’t grow watermelons or grapes?”

Those fruits typically need temperatures between twenty-five and thirty degrees, and the greater the day–night difference, the sweeter they become.

Sophia said, “We have native fruits on Mia Star—some taste similar, others look similar—so they were also given names like ‘watermelon’ or ‘grape.’ But in recent years, the highest temperature has dropped below five degrees. We can’t grow fresh produce anymore. People only eat rehydrated preserved fruits and vegetables that were dried and stored years ago.”

Zhou Li was shocked. “But you have miniature artificial suns and can build greenhouses. Even then you can’t grow anything?”

“The disasters on Mia Star aren’t just about weather and energy,” Sophia said.

If it were only a climate issue, people wouldn’t be so hopeless.

Scientists had discovered that when the temperature fell, the soil froze as well.

Even inside greenhouses, the soil lost all vitality.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have resorted to growing crops hydroponically.

Sophia said meaningfully, “This planet is already dead—or perhaps merely asleep. A handful of humans isn’t enough to wake it.”

That was far beyond Zhou Li’s comprehension, so she didn’t respond. Instead, she asked, “Why are you so interested in Blue Star’s ‘antiques’?”

Sophia wandered around the room, her eyes finally resting on a photo frame on the sideboard.

“Who’s this?”

“My mother.”

“No wonder.”

Zhou Li frowned. “No wonder what?”

“I’m not interested in Blue Star antiques,” Sophia said softly. “It’s just that… compared to Mia Star’s inventions over the past two centuries, I’m more familiar with creations from that earlier era.”

Zhou Li thought, Another cryptic talker!

She changed the subject. “When will you buy the vending machines for me?”

“I already did, on my way up. They should arrive any minute.”

Right as she finished speaking, someone outside called out—they had arrived with two towering machines, asking her to sign for them.

Seeing the vending machines, each nearly a full story tall, Zhou Li asked, “These are vending machines? They’ll take up the whole store!”

“The spatial-folding technology used for storage isn’t advanced enough yet,” Sophia explained, “so they still require this many components. But everything except the terminal can be installed underground.”

Zhou Li: …

Mia Star’s technology somehow managed to feel both advanced and primitive at the same time.

Just then, the system chimed in. “You can leave that to me.”

“System, you’re finally useful!”

“‘Finally’? What do you mean ‘finally’? I’ve always been helping!”

Zhou Li quickly agreed. “Yes, yes—without you, I couldn’t manage the supermarket so smoothly.”

The system, instantly smug, replied, “Since you’ve just signed two major orders, we’ve been granted authorization—your interdimensional jump limit has increased to once per day!”

“That’s great,” Zhou Li said, genuinely delighted.

To people in the Earth plane, she and her supermarket had never gone anywhere.

But from her perspective, she was “on business trips” every few days—sometimes vanishing for what felt like several days to her while only minutes passed on Earth.

It created strange moments like “her mother only thought they hadn’t met for a month, but Zhou Li herself had experienced a full year apart.”

Frequent travel between planes, however, came with downsides. Translated on Hololo novels. Since time stopped on her home plane while she was away, she sometimes suffered jet lag or circadian rhythm problems.

Still, now that she had vending machines, she could rest upstairs and let regular customers shop through the terminals.

Thinking that, Zhou Li told the delivery crew, “Just leave them there.”

“Don’t you want us to install them?” one of the workers asked.

“No need, I’ll do it myself.”

The “workers” exchanged nervous looks.

Had the shop owner seen through their disguise?

They had planned to use this installation job as an excuse to investigate the supermarket’s secrets—but clearly, she wasn’t someone easily fooled.

“She’s sharper than she looks,” one of them muttered, and they quickly drove away.

*

At ten that night, Zhou Li closed up shop.

Lin Jianshan looked troubled and finally asked, “Boss… now that you have vending machines, does that mean you won’t need me anymore?”

Zhou Li thought for a moment. “There are only two machines. Customers will still come inside to shop manually, so a stock clerk is indispensable. Until vending machines can completely replace people, your job is safe.”

Lin Jianshan brightened. “Thank you, boss!”

As she got ready to leave, Zhou Li asked, “Not buying anything tonight?”

“You’re supplying the orphanage now,” Lin said. “I don’t need to worry about the kids going hungry. I’d rather save up my points for emergencies.”

“You really have faith in this supermarket,” Zhou Li said with amusement. “Everyone else is rushing to spend their points. They think if I ever run out of stock and close down, they’ll lose everything.”

“I believe in you, boss.”

Lin said goodbye and left.

After locking up, Zhou Li asked the system, “So, what’s next?”

“In both this plane and Earth’s plane, installing vending machines will make quite a commotion,” the system explained. “The best way is to use a plane jump during installation—no one will notice. The downside is that the jump will take longer than usual.”

Zhou Li decided immediately. “Let’s avoid drawing attention.”

At midnight sharp, the system began the plane transfer.

Usually, it happened in the blink of an eye, but this time the darkness lasted longer.

Zhou Li glanced at her watch—the hands were twitching erratically.

When they steadied again, thirty minutes had passed.

Time on her home plane had indeed moved forward by half an hour.

Good thing she’d done it at midnight, when no one was around to notice the stillness in her apartment.

“Is it installed?” Zhou Li flipped on the lights eagerly.

The inside of the supermarket looked the same, but outside, against the wall, stood two gleaming vending machines nearly two meters tall.

There were no visible product windows; two-thirds of the structure was devoted to the delivery slot, allowing goods from inside the supermarket to be dispensed through it.

She tried the interface and found that every item in the store had been uploaded—customers could purchase by touching the screen or simply saying the product’s name aloud.

After inspecting the terminals, Zhou Li went to the storeroom.

There, she found that three-quarters of the space had been taken over by a massive container, bigger than a shipping crate.

All the store’s stock was now stored inside it.

“When someone buys an item,” the system explained, “the vending machine draws it directly from this storage unit and delivers it to the terminal.”

“So how do I restock it?”

“There’s a refill port right here,” said the system. “Just place items in it, and it will automatically absorb and categorize them.”

Zhou Li clapped her hands. “Now that’s what I call high-tech!”

As for the remaining quarter of empty space in the storeroom, she was glad to have it—it would help her maintain appearances on this plane by keeping some goods visible.

Thinking about the size of the machines and the parts buried underground, Zhou Li asked, “How do I replace or recharge the batteries?”

“There’s a maintenance mode,” the system replied. “It keeps emergency batteries onboard and can automatically lift the main battery to the surface through the dispenser slot.”

Zhou Li sighed. “If only these could be rolled out everywhere.”

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, she remembered—before traveling to the interstellar plane, she had arranged for a supplier to deliver another shipment around 1 a.m.

She had known that when she returned to the other world, her warehouse stock would be halved. To stay efficient, she had scheduled a late-night resupply in advance.

The manufacturer hadn’t understood why—after all, she’d just restocked two days ago and now wanted the same amount again.

The rate she was consuming goods made her look like a smuggler.

But the more she ordered, the more they earned, so they didn’t ask questions.

Once the restock was complete, Zhou Li and the supermarket shifted back to the interstellar plane.

What she didn’t know was that during the two hours her shop had vanished, Mia Star had nearly turned an entire park upside down.

City Hall already knew the supermarket could disappear without a trace. Last time, Zhou Li had posted a notice beforehand; this time, there had been no warning at all.

The scientific institute couldn’t explain how the vending machines by the door had vanished along with the building.

Even if the supermarket was a spacecraft, the machines hadn’t been installed or loaded yet—how could she have made them disappear too?

The tracking devices hidden inside the machines lost signal the instant they vanished.

When the store reappeared, the signal was still dead.

Even more shocking, the vending machines were now fully installed.

There was no doubt: the tracking devices had been found and removed.

The mission commander spoke gravely. “This was a warning. We can’t afford to act rashly again. From now on, switch to the conservative-contact plan.”

[Author’s Note]

City Hall: The store owner… truly terrifying!

The little boss: Huh?

System: Master of hidden glory [emoji: smug dog].

☢️☢️☢️