Ch 98: My Multiverse Supermarket

Seeing that they weren’t willing to talk, An Fengxuan didn’t press the issue. She decided she’d go investigate herself after work.

With her tools, even without the supermarket’s protective field, she was confident nothing could go wrong.

Qi Jiayu, realizing An Fengxuan was clearly capable, decided to be open and build some goodwill—maybe even form a partnership.

If this woman really had bad intentions, she could’ve easily trapped them the moment they walked in. Why bother selling them supplies first?

Qi Jiayu said, “We found a sealed control center on the island. We didn’t go in because we were afraid of triggering traps or releasing zombies.”

Fang Qin caught the hint of dishonesty in her tone and immediately understood—she was spinning it to sound less suspicious. So she chimed in, “Right. From our experience, this is definitely an artificial island. There’s probably an underground shelter beneath it, but given that there are already zombies on the surface, things below must be bad too.”

An Fengxuan didn’t doubt them. She turned to Zhou Li, curious what the boss thought.

Zhou Li wasn’t interested in the zombies—but the artificial island caught her attention. “In your opinion, can this island be reactivated?”

Her wording made everyone pause.

An Fengxuan thought, So the boss really does know the island’s nature… no wonder she’s the boss!

The three women from Ansu, however, stiffened.

How did she know the island could be restarted?

Then they reasoned that since they’d already revealed it was an artificial island, it wasn’t strange that she knew such islands could move. Maybe they were just overreacting.

Qi Jiayu replied, “Hard to say. If it was abandoned because the shelter below turned into a zombie nest, we’d just have to clear the zombies or reseal it. But if it was a mechanical failure, then there’s no way to restart it.”

Zhou Li felt a pang of regret. She had hoped the island could be restored—then she could travel to other islands to trade.

An Fengxuan said, “Boss, let me check it out!”

Everyone looked at her.

Leaving the supermarket meant stepping beyond its protection field, and Zhou Li didn’t want her taking that risk.

An Fengxuan leaned in and whispered, “I’ve got a defensive tool. It can’t block infection, but if I’m attacked, it’ll trigger a shield.”

It was a one-time-use item that created a five-minute protective barrier strong enough to withstand anything below S-level force.

Five minutes would be more than enough time to fight her way back.

Zhou Li exhaled, a little reassured, but still warned, “If it looks bad, don’t take risks—come straight back.”

An Fengxuan nodded, then turned to Qi Jiayu and Fang Qin. “You two coming?”

The two exchanged looks.

Finally, Qi Jiayu said, “I’ll go. They’ll stay here.”

“I’m going too,” Fang Qin insisted. “Two’s better than one.”

Qi Jiayu cut her off. “You stay.”

Though she was reluctant, Fang Qin stayed behind.

An Fengxuan took a knife from her “elementary school backpack,” strapping it to her side for quick access.

Qi Jiayu stared at the pack, eyes wide. “How did you even fit that in there?”

An Fengxuan smiled mysteriously. “You from the military?”

Qi Jiayu nodded. “That obvious?”

“I know someone from the military—same kind of energy as you.”

Though she didn’t say who, Qi Jiayu relaxed a little around her.

Inside the supermarket, Fang Qin and Lin Xiaole began gathering supplies according to their list.

Zhou Li, with nothing to do, opened the auction interface again—and was surprised to see a surge of new listings.

The old self-heating meals were still there, but now there were burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, baguettes, even branded coffee drinks.

Zhou Li: …
So who’s running the supermarket now, me or them?

All of it would sell well, sure—but the problem was short shelf life.

She didn’t dare buy too much at once. But if demand spiked, she could always restock from the auction.

Just as she was about to close it, she noticed a new tab labeled “Trade Group.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“That’s a VIP buyer channel,” the system explained. “You can post your own purchase lists there. If sellers have what you need, it will automatically start a bidding process.”

Zhou Li’s eyes lit up. “Now that’s useful!”

She’d always worried about missing listings while offline.

“But wait—VIP buyer?”

“Buyers recognized as possessing significant influence. Think of it like your Grain Trading Center’s membership tiers.”

“Oh, like those novels where the hero gets invited to an exclusive auction and they have to verify his assets first?”

System: … “Something like that.”

Zhou Li grinned. “Guess I’ve finally made it big!”

“As sales champion, you qualify as a VIP buyer,” the system confirmed.

She wasted no time—uploaded the supply list meant for Julia Bates.

“If anyone picks up the order, I won’t need to source grains from the trading center anymore.”

That center mainly dealt in rice and wheat, rarely soybeans.

And since domestic soy relied on imports, she preferred not to add strain to her own world’s supply. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Moments after she submitted the list, soybeans actually appeared on the auction—and they were cheap.

She’d looked up the prices before:
Domestic wholesale was 4,300 yuan per ton (≈2.15 yuan per jin),
Brazilian exports around 1.53 yuan per jin.

Here, the auction price was just 2,000 yuan per ton—1 yuan per jin.

Her heart raced. If I posted a new order and bought in bulk, I could resell them back home for a fortune…

But she quickly dismissed the thought.

Prices there fluctuated with demand. Julia Bates only needed soy for extracting oil and later agricultural experiments, not mass production—she’d ordered just two tons.

If Zhou Li started buying by the tens of thousands of tons, prices would skyrocket.

The system warned, “Make sure you have enough funds preloaded—if not, your bid will fail.”

Zhou Li pooled Julia’s deposit with the supermarket’s account funds.

“Good thing I’ve still got a cushion,” she muttered.

Unlike normal deals where buyers pay deposits first, the auction required full upfront payment—a one-shot transaction.

Luckily, purchases were limited by membership points:
someone with 300,000 points couldn’t buy a 500,000-point item,
but someone with 500,000 could buy one worth 300,000.

When the order cleared, she did the math—massive profit.

Take the soybeans: bought at 1 yuan per jin, sold in her store at 4.68.

Cutting out the middleman really paid off.

Still, she didn’t plan to drop the price.

In the city, soy went for nearly 7.8 yuan per jin; too steep a discount might get her reported for “market disruption.”

Suddenly the system asked, “Bidding complete. Ready to receive shipment?”

“Wait,” Zhou Li said quickly.

She had nowhere to put it all yet.

The folded-space storage feature wasn’t available yet, and she didn’t want to waste time before the next interstellar jump.

“Can I delay pickup?” she asked.

“Yes. The auction will hold it for up to 72 hours:
first 8 hours free,
24 hours costs 0.5% of transaction value,
48 hours 1%,
72 hours 1.5%.”

Zhou Li: …
So they charged fees on both ends now?

Still, the storage fee was far cheaper than burning energy for space compression.

She planned to let the auction hold the goods for 72 hours, then move them into folded storage right before the deadline—just in time for delivery in the interstellar world.

Everything set, she glanced at the sky and asked, “How’s An Fengxuan?”

The system answered, “Life signs stable.”

Zhou Li exhaled.

…

Before dark, An Fengxuan and Qi Jiayu returned—filthy, spattered with blood.

“You’re hurt?” Fang Qin and Lin Xiaole asked warily.

“No,” they said in unison.

“Just zombie blood,” Qi Jiayu added. “We killed a lot of them.”

Even so, their companions stayed cautious.

Qi Jiayu didn’t mind—she took out a pair of handcuffs. “Old rule.”

Fang Qin was about to cuff her when Zhou Li said, “Wait.”

All eyes turned to her.