Ch 85: My Multiverse Supermarket

After clearing the [Mingde Academy] dungeon, An Yixiao returned to the Public Hall.

Because the system could track her position, the small supermarket followed her back as well, reappearing near the Blue Owl Guild headquarters.

The last time the supermarket had appeared, it had come and gone abruptly. This time, as soon as it showed up again, players who had been keeping watch immediately reported the news to their respective guilds.

Within just a few hours, representatives from the top five guilds had arrived.

Though some members of the Blue Owl Guild were unhappy about it, An Yixiao explained that the Boss didn’t like people interfering with her business. So they refrained from kicking the other guilds out.

An Yixiao didn’t bother to mention more details.

After all, if those guilds ended up offending Zhou Li and got themselves blacklisted by her, that would only benefit Blue Owl.

“Besides,” An Yixiao said calmly, “there are still plenty of smart people in this world.”

Duan Jing, who had been gloomy ever since losing so many companions in the dungeon, was distracted by this and tossed a toy in her hand with a faint smirk.

“Sure, there are smart people,” she said, “but some of them have been in power too long—used to bossing around low-level players and ordinary folks. They’re not stupid, but sometimes, cleverness backfires.”

…

“I’m Han Xi, Vice President of the Carefree Guild.”

Inside the Good Life Supermarket, Zhou Li had only just transitioned back to the Public Hall when she was immediately surrounded by a wave of “enthusiastic” customers.

Outside, members of Blue Owl were explaining to new allies from Dali Guild how to earn supermarket points and shop, but Zhou Li had already made a tutorial video—a PowerPoint turned into a looping presentation on a tablet.

Even so, most people still preferred to ask her directly.

She was already tired of answering the same questions over and over.

But lately, she had been reflecting on her own behavior. She might face similar situations in future jobs—dealing with repetitive questions and irritating clients—and she would need patience to handle them well.

So she treated this as early job training.

Hearing the man speak, Zhou Li asked politely, “What kind of service would you like to process today?”

Han Xi blinked.

She continued, “Membership registration, points redemption, or bulk orders? The counter currently only handles those three services.”

“…I’m here to invite you to join the Carefree Guild,” Han Xi said stiffly.

Zhou Li replied matter-of-factly, “Sorry, that’s not one of the available services.”

Han Xi frowned, assuming she didn’t understand how powerful his guild was.

He puffed himself up and said, “The Carefree Guild is the largest and strongest guild of all. We have two S-rank players. Our guild master, Lin Ao—known as ‘Proud Sky’s Chosen’—is ranked third…”

Zhou Li interrupted before she could stop herself. “Isn’t An Yixiao ranked third?”

Han Xi froze, face darkening.

After clearing two S-class dungeons in a row, An Yixiao had jumped from sixth to third.

There couldn’t be two players in the third slot, so Lin Ao had been pushed down to fourth.

They clearly weren’t used to being knocked from their usual high position.

Zhou Li realized she’d just poked a sore spot for no reason.

Exposing that truth did nothing except humiliate the Carefree Guild.

“I’m not a player,” she said lightly. “I won’t be joining any guild.”

Han Xi bristled, but since she wasn’t being openly hostile, he forced a smile and said, “That’s fine. Our guild welcomes all—players and non-players alike. Join us and you’ll be treated as an honored guest, with full access to guild resources.”

Zhou Li silently wondered if he was deaf. She had just said she wasn’t a player—what would she need with their resources?

And his pitch sounded nice on the surface, but she knew how it would really go: the moment she joined, the supermarket would effectively become Carefree Guild’s supermarket, and its goods their “resources.”

“I’m not joining any guild,” Zhou Li said flatly. “If you’re only here to recruit me, please leave. You’re interfering with my work.”

Her time was far too precious for meaningless social chatter.

Han Xi’s temper finally began to boil over. The moment she dismissed him, his face turned purple with rage.

“Whatever Blue Owl can give you, Carefree can give too!” he snapped.

Zhou Li looked up from her counter. “An Yixiao personally watches the door for me. How far is your ‘Proud Sky’s Chosen’ willing to go?”

He hadn’t even shown his face.

Han Xi choked on his words.

Who does she think she is? he fumed silently. As if our guild master would lower himself for a shopkeeper!

But he couldn’t say that aloud—it would burn every bridge.

The supermarket’s origin was mysterious, and rumors claimed it could shield players from corruption and act as a safe haven inside dungeons.

If that was true, it was worth any cost to seize it. Han Xi suspected the supermarket itself was a special item, and that its ability to travel between dungeons came from the shopkeeper’s innate skill. If so, it could be taken.

But since they didn’t yet know her full capabilities, he couldn’t risk open conflict.

Thinking quickly, he said, “Our guild master is currently inside a dungeon. When he clears it, he’ll come invite you personally. His offer will be far better than mine.”

“No need,” Zhou Li replied calmly. “It won’t matter who asks—I’ll still refuse.”

Han Xi tried to argue again but was promptly driven out by Chen Jiaoyan and the other Blue Owl players.

“Hey, can you not? If you’re not here to get a membership card, don’t block those who are!”

“Yeah! The Boss doesn’t want to talk to you. Take a hint and scram!”

“With all this time you’re wasting, the Boss could’ve processed five more memberships already!”

Han Xi’s face turned the color of raw liver. “You—!”

But since this was Blue Owl’s territory, he didn’t dare cause trouble.

He decided he’d return to Carefree Guild and rally their members to “teach Blue Owl a lesson.”

He left with his tail between his legs.

Zhou Li considered it a minor incident and soon forgot about it.

Cheerfully, she gathered up the items left behind, kept what she could use, and listed the rest for auction.

By the end of business hours, the supermarket’s profits had risen sharply again.

Just as she was finishing her bookkeeping, the door opened—and An Fengxuan walked in.

“Boss,” she greeted.

“Oh, it’s you,” Zhou Li replied.

An Fengxuan approached, her emotions a mix of excitement and frustration.

“Did you need something?” Zhou Li asked.

“How much does An Yixiao still owe you?” An Fengxuan asked.

Zhou Li handed her the ledger.

Despite An Yixiao’s frequent absences during work hours, Zhou Li had still counted full attendance pay and deducted part of the debt.

An Fengxuan then pulled out a bottle cap. “How much is this worth?”

At first Zhou Li thought it was just a “try again” prize cap—but it turned out to be a rare item.

[Try Again (B-grade)]Year: Unknown
Date of Origin: Unknown
Owner: An Fengxuan
Starting Bid: ???
Buyout Price: ???
Note: Congratulations! This cap grants one opportunity to re-enter a recently cleared dungeon and reset it entirely.

A rather useless item, really. Who would want to replay a dungeon they’d barely survived?

Still, for perfectionist players chasing flawless clears, it had niche value.

“It’s priceless,” Zhou Li said.

“Priceless” could mean it was extremely valuable—or worth nothing at all.

An Fengxuan sighed, then smiled faintly. “That makes sense.”

Zhou Li blinked. “You seem troubled.”

Taking a deep breath, An Fengxuan asked, “Boss, could you transfer An Yixiao’s debt to me?”

Zhou Li nodded. “Sure. Ready to work it off?”

Seeing Zhou Li’s calm expression, An Fengxuan realized the Boss had already known about An Yixiao’s plan.

Of course she had—nothing happened without her approval.

Without it, An Yixiao couldn’t have arranged something like this.

Once An Fengxuan agreed, Zhou Li brought out the labor contract originally signed with An Yixiao, along with a supplemental agreement for debt transfer and employment handover.

“You should think carefully,” Zhou Li warned. “Once you become a formal employee, you’ll no longer count as a normal player.”

Technically, An Yixiao being an “employee” hadn’t prevented her from entering dungeons. Zhou Li had bent the system rules to save her life, not to make her an actual staff member.

But making An Fengxuan official—that was at An Yixiao’s request.

…

Back in the [Mingde Academy] dungeon, An Yixiao had made that request.

She had said, “Boss, I know you’re not from our world—and I know you have the power to bring people from here to other worlds.”

The words had startled Zhou Li, though she kept her expression neutral.

An Yixiao continued, “I woke up once during treatment.”

She was always cautious—trusting no one completely, even among allies.

So even while near death and under anesthesia, her danger sense remained sharp.

When she was being moved into the medical capsule, that sense had briefly jolted her awake.

Though it lasted only seconds before the sedative pulled her under again, she had gathered bits of information from the surroundings—and from Zhou Li’s conversation with the ‘doctor.’

After recovering, she never asked about it directly, fearing she might offend the Boss.

But the more she observed Zhou Li, the more her suspicions solidified.

So she came up with the idea: to ask Zhou Li to take An Fengxuan away from this world.

Seeing that An Yixiao already knew her secret, Zhou Li had spoken plainly.

“I can take her,” she said, “but she’s still part of this world. In another world, she might be rejected by that world’s fabric. She wouldn’t be able to leave the supermarket. She’d appear free from this cage, but she’d actually just enter another one.”

…

Now, Zhou Li gave An Fengxuan the same warning.

“The supermarket and I won’t stay here forever. We’ll travel—to many places, through many worlds. You can think of those worlds as different dungeons. But as a stowaway, you might be rejected by the world itself, so you can’t step outside the store.”

In truth, formal employees were considered extensions of the supermarket and thus unlikely to be rejected by other realms’ governing laws.

But since people from this plane possessed innate abilities and artifacts, bringing them elsewhere could cause catastrophic imbalance—a “dimensional collapse.”

So Zhou Li had to restrict her staff.

And the best restriction was simple: keep them inside the store, like she did.

*

An Fengxuan didn’t object, so the transfer went smoothly.

The system anchor that had been bound to An Yixiao was moved to her.

She didn’t feel a thing.

“Where will I live?” she asked.

Zhou Li brought her upstairs to a guest room.

It was spacious—about twenty square meters—but sparsely furnished: a bed, a nightstand, and a pre-made wardrobe, taking up half the space. The rest was piled with merchandise, leaving only a narrow walkway to the door.

“Make do with this,” Zhou Li said. “Sheets, duvet, and pillowcases are in the closet. Toiletries—you can grab from the store.”

An Fengxuan stared blankly.

So this is the benefit of owning a supermarket…

Zhou Li added, “Before we leave, you can arrange your own accommodation if you want. Just clock in on time. You’ll have four rest days per month, plus some fixed off days. On those, the supermarket closes, and I’ll send you back here.”

She couldn’t take Fengxuan to her original world, so during supply runs back to that realm, she planned to let her employee rest.

An Fengxuan suspected the Boss did secret things on those “fixed off days,” things she didn’t even share with staff—so she didn’t pry further.

☢️☢️☢️