Ch 63: My Multiverse Supermarket

An Yixiao drew her blade and dashed forward, intercepting Zhang Pu’s strike.

Zhang Pu’s body jerked, and in an instant, he flipped backward, retreating out of the supermarket’s protective boundary.

He no longer looked remotely human. Two horns had sprouted from his head, and four fangs jutted out from his mouth, crossing over each other like some blue-faced, tusked demon from legend.

Among all the aberrations An Yixiao had seen, he was, ironically, one of the more “handsome” ones—but there was something off about him.

It was like seeing an alien suddenly appear in a ghost movie—still terrifying, but in a way that didn’t fit the scene at all.

“Guild leader, why isn’t that guy moving?” Lü Chui asked, struggling to his feet with a puzzled look.

An Yixiao remembered well how they’d been chased by Zhang Pu the previous night.

Zhang Pu was an S-rank aberration with the ability to summon changgui—spirit thralls whose strength could reach as high as A-rank.

However, the more changgui he summoned, the weaker each one became.

They were troublesome opponents. Zhang Pu would hide behind them, avoiding direct attacks while draining her stamina and consuming her items.

But this time, he wasn’t doing anything—not even summoning changgui. Why was he standing there like a statue?

Suddenly, her gaze fell on the ground.

Her own shadow was clearly visible under the supermarket’s lights.

She turned and looked back at the supermarket, and something clicked in her mind.

—Zhang Pu wasn’t attacking because of the supermarket!?

She recalled what An Fengxuan had told her: the “manager” of New International Department Store had once been hunting players, but failed when the player hid inside a supermarket.

Realizing this, An Yixiao immediately retreated back inside.

Inside, Zhou Li was busy discussing with the system whether this aberration qualified as an “anomaly.”

The system had explained before that “anomalies” were a subset of aberrations.

“So how many kinds of aberrations are there?” she asked.

“Based on origin, form, and core nature,” the system said, “they include extraterrestrial aberrations, biological-experiment aberrations, dark aberrations, and anomalies.”

“I understand the first two and the anomalies,” Zhou Li said. “But what are dark aberrations?”

“They’re entities whose minds and bodies have twisted after their spiritual worlds were corrupted.”

When An Yixiao came back inside, Zhou Li stopped talking to the system and watched her curiously.

An Yixiao got straight to the point. “Shopkeeper, why can Wang Hui come in freely, but Zhang Pu can’t?”

Both were S-rank aberrations—why was Wang Hui allowed to enter while Zhang Pu was blocked outside?

Zhou Li replied, “Fighting is prohibited inside the supermarket. Anything that might damage the store isn’t allowed to happen here.”

“Thank you,” An Yixiao said, and then walked right back out.

Zhou Li: ?

Why thank me?

…

An Yixiao looked at Zhang Pu and said, “Curfew is about to start.”

Her words seemed to enrage him, but he only paced back and forth nearby, never crossing the threshold.

Lü Chui asked, “Guild leader, why are you even talking to him?”

An Yixiao didn’t answer.

Zhang Pu prowled restlessly for a while, then, unable to contain himself, summoned a changgui and sent it charging toward them.

An Yixiao grabbed Lü Chui by the collar and dragged him back into the supermarket.

The changgui’s attack struck the door—and in that instant, it screamed in agony.

Zhang Pu’s monstrous face twisted, then abruptly turned and fled.

The changgui vanished as well—whether destroyed or recalled, no one could tell.

Lü Chui stared in shock.

Then, battered and half-dead, he collapsed to the floor, exhaling in relief. “We’re alive…”

An Yixiao’s suspicions were confirmed, and she felt a renewed sense of confidence about clearing this dungeon.

She cast a subtle glance at Zhou Li—yes, this supermarket really was the key to ending the Game.

Zhou Li’s expression nearly broke when she saw Lü Chui’s arm bent the wrong way.

That had to hurt like hell.

Her medical supplies probably wouldn’t help anyway.

Fortunately, Lü Chui didn’t need her intervention. His innate ability was regeneration; as long as he remained inside the dungeon, his injuries would heal quickly.

That was precisely why An Yixiao had brought him along.

Only now did she answer his earlier question. “The rule about not staying out past curfew might not have been made for players specifically—it applies to all of Dawn Village’s residents.”

Lü Chui frowned. “But didn’t we go outside last night?”

“We made it back to our ‘lodging’ within the required time,” An Yixiao said. “Leaving again afterward doesn’t seem to violate the rule.”

“That works? Then… should we head back now?”

An Yixiao turned to Zhou Li. “Shopkeeper, can we stay here?”

Zhou Li said, “You can, but once business hours end, you can’t linger.”

“When does the supermarket close, then?”

That question stumped her.

Clearly, the flow of time outside didn’t match the time inside the store. Even if she said it closed at ten p.m., An Yixiao and Lü Chui might not perceive that correctly.

“I can give you a reminder half an hour before closing,” Zhou Li offered.

“Thank you,” An Yixiao said, catching the aroma wafting from the hot food display and realizing she was hungry.

She bought a sticky rice chicken and stood there for a moment, unsure whether to sit on the floor or lean against something.

Zhou Li bent down behind the register and pulled out two small folding stools. “Find a quiet corner and sit,” she said.

Standing around like that was bad for business.

Something stirred in An Yixiao’s chest—she thought the little shopkeeper was intentionally shielding them, not wanting the aberrations outside to notice their presence.

“Guild leader, this supermarket…” Lü Chui finally caught on that there was something strange about it.

An Yixiao nodded. “This is the same supermarket I told everyone to look for.”

Lü Chui suddenly understood. No wonder the guild leader had been making so many inexplicable decisions.

No wonder the aberrations couldn’t enter.

Excited, he said, “Then this could be a player safe house—a refuge!”

An Yixiao asked, “And how many people do you think this place could hold?”

Lü Chui fell silent.

An Yixiao continued, “The shopkeeper hasn’t thrown us out—maybe because there aren’t many customers right now. But once it gets crowded, things could get chaotic. Besides, depending on this place for safety isn’t a long-term plan.”

She hadn’t sought out the supermarket to hide in it. She wanted to uncover its secret—and find out whether they could replicate whatever Zhou Li was doing.

…

Unlike the warped perception they’d experienced in the village office, time here flowed normally.

That meant their sense of time wasn’t being distorted.

But something was still odd—though it felt like they’d only been in the supermarket for half an hour, the moon outside had already traveled from east to west.

When curfew hit, thick black fog enveloped the outside. Within it appeared twisted, grotesque faces, roaring in fury as if demanding to know why An Yixiao and Lü Chui had dared to stay out past curfew.

Their wrath pounded against the supermarket’s invisible barrier, a storm of resentment powerful enough to shake the air.

But since the two of them were inside, the psychic pollution barely touched them.

Lü Chui stared, dumbfounded.

He whispered, “Guild leader… if we were out there right now, we’d be torn apart.”

An Yixiao said calmly, “We can hide for now, but not forever. When we leave tomorrow, we don’t know what’ll happen. Heal up as fast as you can.”

“Got it.”

Inside the store, Zhou Li felt her usual protective chants no longer worked.

She decisively shut the doors, then opened her playlist and hit loop on The Great Compassion Mantra. She even told the system to broadcast it through the supermarket’s PA system.

In an instant, the eerie silence of Dawn Village was shattered by the sound of chanting. One by one, lights flickered on in every house.

The black fog scattered. Faceless aberrations began gathering around the supermarket.

They had no mouths, yet Zhou Li could somehow hear their complaints:

“Who plays music this late at night? Do you have any idea how loud that is?”

“And it sounds terrible!”

Zhou Li didn’t know where she found the courage, but she grabbed a loudspeaker and shouted back, “You lot are the ones coming here in the middle of the night making noise! You think I can’t fight back just because I’m alone? Don’t gang up on me—it’s bullying!”

The villagers: …

An Yixiao and Lü Chui: …

The little shopkeeper seemed to have wandered into the wrong kind of story.

“You’re breaking the game’s rules!” one faceless villager shouted.

“I haven’t even set foot in your territory,” Zhou Li retorted. “Why should I follow your rules? You’re the ones stepping into my store—here, you follow my rules.”

That left the villagers speechless for a moment.

“Then what about them?” one villager pointed at An Yixiao and Lü Chui, sitting quietly in the corner.

Both of them froze.

“They’re customers,” Zhou Li said. “What’s wrong with customers shopping at a store?”

“Then I want to buy something too!” another villager shouted.

“You can,” Zhou Li said smoothly. “Do you have a membership card? If not, you’ll need to sign up first.”

The villagers started whispering among themselves. “Who even has a membership card?”

One of them pulled a card out of nowhere. “Is it this?”

The others turned to stare. “Why do you have one?”

“I—I don’t know,” the villager said blankly.

Zhou Li scanned the card. “This belongs to Zhang Xiulan. Are you Zhang Xiulan?”

“I am Zhang Xiulan!”

“Show your face, then. Otherwise the card won’t match—you can’t use it.”

Zhang Xiulan froze.

Slowly, facial features began forming on her once-blank face—eyes, eyebrows, a nose, a mouth.

Zhou Li handed the card back. “You may enter and shop.”

Zhang Xiulan took the card, confused. “Huh? When did I even sign up for this?”

“Two days ago,” Zhou Li said matter-of-factly.

Zhang Xiulan hesitated. “Then… what should I buy?”

An aberration snapped at her. “Buy something? Tear them apart!”

Zhou Li raised her voice in warning. “Hey! You know there are rules here. If you incite violence inside my supermarket, that’s a violation. Aren’t you villagers trying to win the Five Beauties Village award? Does egging someone on to break the rules really fit the standards of a Five Beauties Village?”

☢️☢️☢️