Ch 68: My Multiverse Supermarket

It was as if her words had triggered a forbidden phrase. The group suddenly went berserk, lunging toward Zhou Li and An Yixiao in a frenzy.

But before An Yixiao could move, the supermarket’s protective system activated, restraining them instantly and throwing them out of the shop.

It was the first time An Yixiao had witnessed what happened when someone violated the supermarket’s rules. Judging by the sheer power of that defense, she suspected that if she herself ever triggered the rules, she wouldn’t be able to resist either.

After all, she recognized one of them—Duan Jing, a quasi–S-class player ranked tenth, who had gone missing three months ago.

If even Duan Jing couldn’t endure the supermarket’s punishment for more than five minutes, then even at her peak, An Yixiao doubted she could last half an hour.

Still, she was sure this wasn’t Zhou Li’s personal doing—it felt more like an automatic defensive mechanism built into the supermarket itself.

Suddenly, Duan Jing stirred and pushed herself up from the ground.

She tried the door but found that no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t open.

After watching for a moment, An Yixiao said to Zhou Li, “Boss, can you let her back in? She looks like she’s regained her senses.”

Zhou Li told the system to temporarily remove Duan Jing from the blacklist.

Once allowed back in, the first thing Duan Jing did was close the supermarket door—and lock it.

Zhou Li: …

Wait, how did you even lock that? Did you file a report with the police first?

After securing the lock, Duan Jing immediately turned to An Yixiao. “An Yixiao, why are you here too?”

An Yixiao didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “What’s going on with you?”

Duan Jing patted her own face, still pale with fear. “This dungeon is horrifying. The pollution runs too deep—if you’re not careful, your mind gets washed and twisted.”

An Yixiao said, “To have lasted three months in that, you must have reached S-class by now.”

“Three months?!” Duan Jing looked shocked.

“Mm. From the outside world’s perspective, you’ve been missing for three months.”

Duan Jing collapsed weakly onto the floor.

An Yixiao showed neither sympathy nor concern. “Tell me what kind of dungeon this is.”

“It’s a privately run training school,” Duan Jing explained. “They claim to teach traditional culture and moral education—but in reality, they’re teaching female virtue.”

Zhou Li interjected, “Wait a sec—weren’t there male students in there?”

“This is a rule-simulation dungeon,” said Duan Jing. “Everyone who enters—regardless of gender—takes on the identity of a student here. And this school only enrolls female students. When players first enter, they still remember who they are. But as the corruption spreads, their self-identity warps until they fully accept this place and assimilate into it.”

Zhou Li’s expression turned odd. “So this dungeon’s… pretty gender-equal, in a twisted way.”

No matter male or female, everyone had to study “female virtue.”

An Yixiao said, “So those missing players—they were all like you, assimilated after being corrupted.”

Duan Jing’s gaze dimmed. “In here, staying awake is a sin. Once you realize what’s happening but can’t leave, the only escape left is to end yourself.”

She paused, then changed the subject. “How did you two even get here? And what’s with this supermarket? The moment I stepped inside, my mind cleared up.”

This wasn’t An Yixiao’s topic to handle, so she stayed silent.

Zhou Li raised her hand. “This is my supermarket. And before you ask—no, I’m not a player or an anomaly. I’m just a small business owner running a convenience store.”

Duan Jing: …

She turned to An Yixiao, silently asking for confirmation.

“I’m the security guard,” said An Yixiao.

Duan Jing gasped. For Zhou Li to hire An Yixiao as security—just how powerful was this woman?

“But what about Blue Owl Guild?”

“If a guild can’t function without me,” An Yixiao said flatly, “it’s better off disbanded.”

“…Okay, yeah, you’re definitely real. Not a dungeon illusion,” Duan Jing muttered.

Once she was fully lucid, hunger hit her hard.

But her artifacts were all polluted, so the supermarket wouldn’t accept them. She could only turn to An Yixiao for help.

“Don’t look at me,” said An Yixiao. “I owe the boss eighty-eight years of labor to pay off my debt.”

Duan Jing snorted. “The great President An, reduced to wage-slave debt repayment—never thought I’d see the day!”

“Oh? Still in the mood to mock me? Didn’t three months of ‘female virtue’ lessons teach you any humility? Boss, throw her out.”

“Hey, are you mad?” Duan Jing protested.

Zhou Li sighed. “…Oh, so you two are rivals, not friends. Great. I’m the unwilling extra in your drama now?”

Seeing no help from An Yixiao, Duan Jing turned to Zhou Li instead. “Boss, if you get me out of here, I’ll open ten supermarkets just like this one for you!”

Zhou Li gave her a dry smile and said nothing—letting her stew in her own offer.

Eventually, An Yixiao, wanting more information about the dungeon, used her membership card to buy Duan Jing some food.

As Duan Jing ate, she ranted between bites. “This school is insane. Order takeout? They call you immoral. Everyone has to eat at the cafeteria three times a day—no snacks, no desserts, no drinks outside mealtime.”

In this dungeon, ordering delivery wasn’t an option. And the cafeteria food? It was all polluted.

Players who didn’t want to starve had to either eat their own supplies or find ways to suppress the corruption caused by cafeteria food.

But sneaking your own food risked being caught—and if you were, punishment followed.

For the first three days, Duan Jing had managed to sneak her own rations.

On the fourth, a “classmate” reported her.

If she hadn’t used an artifact to share the punishment, she’d have lost half her life.

After that, she was put under strict surveillance and forced to eat cafeteria meals daily.

Even with her powerful mental strength, she could only suppress the corruption for so long.

In a world where pollution was everywhere, her guard slipped, and her mind began to erode. She forgot the days, her past, herself.

Every brief moment of clarity only deepened the despair—making the pollution grow worse.

If not for the supermarket and An Yixiao, she might have been completely assimilated by now.

“An Yixiao, why don’t we team up?” Duan Jing suggested.

“I can’t,” said An Yixiao. “I’m a stowaway.”

Understanding instantly, Duan Jing turned to Zhou Li. “You smuggled her in?”

“Hey, hey,” Zhou Li waved her hands, “don’t slander me. I run a legitimate business. Smuggling’s illegal.”

Her supermarket operated with an interplanetary trading visa.

The Game didn’t represent the will of the planes, so her shop’s movement between dungeons was perfectly legal.

“Eat up and head out,” An Yixiao said coolly.

Duan Jing didn’t want to leave.

Zhou Li, changing topics, asked, “Weren’t you lot here to buy something? What did you come for?”

Duan Jing’s expression twisted painfully. “Laundry detergent. The ‘teacher’ says a virtuous woman must wash her husband’s clothes by hand. Only then can he feel her sincerity and devotion.”

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