Ch 78: My Multiverse Supermarket

“Crrrkkk—”

It was the sound of sharp nails scraping across glass—shrill, grating, and unpleasant.

An Yixiao opened her eyes and turned around.

The heavy iron doors groaned as their rusted wheels creaked, dragging them shut. Bit by bit, they sealed off all view of the outside world.

“Welcome to Mingde Academy.”

The director of discipline stood with a false smile frozen on his face. His eyes swept over the group of players, but when they landed on An Yixiao, they paused for half a second.

An Yixiao lowered her gaze as if meek, though in truth she was quietly observing both the school and the dean himself.

His brief hesitation hadn’t escaped her notice.

So, he did remember her.

That meant the dungeon hadn’t reset since her last visit.

And since she had entered this time with a normal student identity, the dean had no legitimate reason to attack her—at least, not yet.

Then, the director’s eerie voice sliced through the tense air. “…Did you hear me?”

An Yixiao snapped back to the moment and, along with the other players, replied in unison, “Yes, sir.”

A smile crept across the dean’s face, cold and triumphant. “Then recite the Student Code—now!”

The players’ hearts clenched.

A life-or-death challenge, right from the start?

Fortunately, the director’s target was only An Yixiao. His long, knotted finger—like a dried-up tree branch—pointed straight at her.

An Yixiao remained calm.

She had entered this dungeon before. She knew nearly every rule that applied to both students and staff.

And for someone with her memory, the Student Code was something she could recite backward.

But she also knew the trick hidden in this test: with every rule she recited, her “pollution value” would increase.

That, of course, was the director’s true intent.

He knew she was dangerous—so he struck first.

Luckily, An Yixiao had come prepared this time.

Once she passed the director’s trial, several players were led away by instructors to their assigned classes.

As if on purpose, An Yixiao was sent to Spring-Autumn Class—the one with the highest pollution level.

There, a student named Kong Ru was assigned to explain classroom conduct to her.

When she saw his face—its features already warped and misplaced—An Yixiao quietly pulled out an item she’d prepared in advance.

The “Eye of the Anomaly.”

Though in truth, she thought a better name would be the “Right Eye of the Anomaly,” since it had once belonged to an S-class anomaly named Wang Hui.

After clearing the Dawn Village dungeon perfectly, Wang Hui had even given her his left eye as a reward.

Here, however, she dared not use that left eye—the one that could pierce all illusions—because the pollution in Mingde Academy was too strong. If she saw something she wasn’t meant to see, she could be corrupted instantly, reduced to madness, and become one of the monsters herself.

So she used only the right eye—to quietly monitor the entire school.

When a giant eye appeared, floating high above the campus, the director noticed immediately.

He felt his authority being challenged.

But by the time he rushed to Spring-Autumn Class, An Yixiao had already dismissed the eye and was quietly “attending class.”

With no evidence to prove the eye belonged to her, the director could only shoot her a cold “I’m watching you” look before leaving without a word.

When the bell rang for the end of class, Duan Jing appeared at the classroom door almost instantly.

She looked one step away from hugging An Yixiao’s leg and sobbing. “You’re finally here! You don’t know what kind of days I’ve been living without you!”

An Yixiao: …

Where was the pride of the great Miss Duan now?

But Duan Jing’s real concern was, “Is the boss back?”

An Yixiao said, “At the field, beside the playground.”

“Huh?” Duan Jing blinked, confused.

They barely had time to exchange greetings before the bell for the next class rang, forcing them back to their respective rooms.

It wasn’t until the lunch break that the surviving players finally gathered.

Only half a day had passed, yet one of their number was already gone—one of the Dali Guild players who’d come to rescue Duan Jing.

A pang of guilt rippled through her chest.

As she led the group toward the playground, she gave them a brief but firm warning.

“I’m grateful you came to help me. But this dungeon is too dangerous—even I can’t clear it alone. Don’t be reckless. If it comes to it, you must leave, no matter the cost. Only by staying alive can there be hope for tomorrow!”

When they finally saw the familiar sight of the small supermarket, she didn’t hesitate—she ran straight inside.

Only once she stepped through those doors did her heart finally settle.

The other players, however, stood dumbfounded, unable to understand why she was acting that way.

“This little supermarket… wait, how did the owner get in here too?”

“And the whole supermarket came with her?”

Duan Jing turned to An Yixiao. “You didn’t give them a briefing?”

“No time,” An Yixiao said simply.

Besides, she’d already done her part by selling Dali Guild the information that Duan Jing was still alive. Writing them a full dungeon guide was out of the question.

Duan Jing didn’t push it further. “Makes sense. They must’ve insisted on tagging along.”

The Dali Guild members bristled—risking their lives to save her, only to hear her taking An Yixiao’s side.

But Duan Jing had no time to soothe their pride.

She asked Zhou Li, “Boss, how did your supermarket get inside the school?”

Zhou Li didn’t know either.

In her home world, schools weren’t even allowed to run convenience stores on campus, so she was just as surprised to see her shop appear here.

Still, the system was always law-abiding—so maybe this spot technically was zoned for business.

The system spoke up. “No. This is The Game’s doing.”

“Huh?” Zhou Li could hear a rare note of seriousness in its synthetic voice.

“When the supermarket operates outside school grounds,” the system said, “the school can’t touch it. But now that it’s inside, it must obey the school’s rules… This was deliberate. You’re the target.”

Zhou Li asked, “If the supermarket still has its protection protocols, shouldn’t it be fine?”

The system’s tone turned grim. “Think of the protection as one set of governing rules. When rules collide, one must weaken for the other to strengthen.”

Zhou Li understood immediately. “You mean—since the supermarket now falls under school jurisdiction, if it breaks the school’s rules, it’ll be corrupted by those same rules?”

“Then we’re leaving,” she said without hesitation.

The system hesitated. “…No need to panic. A dungeon’s rules can’t overpower the will of a plane itself.”

“But look around,” Zhou Li said. “This entire plane’s already been overrun by The Game. Can its will still even function?”

At that, the lights flickered ominously.

Zhou Li: …

“Great. The plane’s will still has some fight left. Maybe try showing that to The Game instead of me?”

The system said dryly, “Even a dying camel is bigger than a horse.”

The lights flickered again—this time even more violently.

Strangely, that made Zhou Li feel reassured. She even found herself smiling.

The players, on the other hand, were tense, unnerved by the sudden anomaly.

An Yixiao, who had been watching Zhou Li’s distracted expression, asked, “Boss… was that you joking with us?”

Zhou Li looked up at the lights, now steady again. “No. But it is related to me.”

Then she turned to Duan Jing and explained, “I didn’t mean to open the supermarket here. The Game probably didn’t like me helping you cheat and decided to punish me.”

Though Zhou Li said it lightly, An Yixiao sensed the gravity behind those words.

Sure enough, Zhou Li continued, describing how the supermarket, now located within the school, had to follow campus regulations.

An Yixiao frowned, Duan Jing went rigid, and Song Ganlan looked utterly stunned.

Even those who didn’t understand the details could see from the S-class players’ faces that the situation was dire.

“What rules does the supermarket have to follow?” An Yixiao asked. She was already planning countermeasures.

Zhou Li glanced at the list projected by her system. It contained five regulations:

1. All business permits and licenses must be valid.
2. Sale of alcohol and tobacco is strictly prohibited.
3. Operating hours are limited to breakfast, lunch, and dinner periods; students may not loiter during class time.
4. Selling unverified, expired, or spoiled products is strictly forbidden.
5. Trash must be disposed of promptly; pests like mice or cockroaches are not allowed.

Rules 1, 4, and 5 were easy enough.

But The Game’s traps lay in Rules 2 and 3.

[Author’s Note]

These five are, in fact, the real standard regulations for most school campus stores.

☢️☢️☢️