Ch 102: My Multiverse Supermarket

Xu Jiayi had never shown mercy to those aligned with General De’an.

When she first took control of Lonewind Island, she had purged it in blood for three days and nights.

Because of that, her reputation among the upper ranks was terrible.

Yet among the common people, she was respected—because she was one of the few island rulers in the apocalypse who genuinely cared for civilians.

She never collected taxes from her people and strictly forbade her soldiers from harassing them.

She provided free medicine to the sick, sent orphans and disabled elders to the charitable hospice for care, and actively encouraged citizens to learn self-defense.

She distributed weapons freely and even urged women to go out and fight zombies.

She opened up all vacant houses, renting them at very low prices to refugees from other islands, and allowed them to fish in Lonewind’s surrounding waters to make a living.

…

Many of Xu Jiayi’s policies were mocked as naïve and softhearted—some even ridiculed her as a “saint.”

Perhaps because her methods had been too mild this past year, people had forgotten just how ruthlessly she had dealt with her enemies before.

And now, under the deliberate agitation of certain schemers, North Street was in chaos.

North Street lay in the northern part of Lonewind Island. It was the location of the main port—the only route on and off the island—and had become home to most of the new immigrants.

With such a mix of backgrounds, it was naturally the most unstable district.

Not that anyone dared to rob or kill under Xu Jiayi’s rule, but frequent disputes broke out among residents over trivial conflicts.

Coming from a military background, Xu Jiayi lacked experienced administrators. The mediators she sent often failed to resolve the root of these disputes.

Most people, cowed by authority, would pretend to make peace—while grudges quietly festered beneath the surface.

So while today’s riot was triggered by news of the Sulawesi freighter being seized, the real cause lay in the long-buried resentment between the old residents and the newcomers.

One of the ringleaders was a man named Zhang Shen, who had immigrated only a few months ago.

He had once lived under General De’an’s regime in the Dusa Archipelago.

When his wife became pregnant, they realized they couldn’t afford to stay—the medical fees there were astronomical, and even if the baby survived, they couldn’t feed it.

Hearing that Lonewind Island provided free healthcare, they decided to relocate.

Others mocked them for it—“In the apocalypse, when you can barely feed yourselves, you still want kids?”

Zhang Shen had simply said, “Even now, life needs a little hope.”

This wasn’t their first child. Before the apocalypse, they’d had three—ages six, four, and two.

None of them survived the first year after the outbreak.

Their parents had died too, leaving only the two of them.

They lived on in numb despair, questioning what point there was in such hunger and cold—until his wife became pregnant again, giving them a reason to keep going.

After moving to Lonewind Island, Zhang Shen went fishing daily.

Most of the fish were virus-tainted, but some were still safe to eat.

He sold his catch to a native who had leased him a boat, but that man often underpaid him.

Zhang Shen endured it a few times, but as his wife neared labor, he desperately needed money for baby formula. When he tried to negotiate a fair price, tempers flared, and they nearly came to blows.

The island guards intervened, but locals often sided with their own kind, claiming the newcomers were freeloaders.

Zhang Shen had to swallow his anger and carry on.

A few days ago, his wife gave birth to a baby girl.

They’d heard of smugglers selling infant formula, so they paid in advance for a dozen cans.

But that morning came news that the Sulawesi had been seized—the shipment gone, the money lost.

Zhang Shen snapped.

Anxious, furious, and full of old grudges, he lashed out—others joined in, and soon, the brawl spread.

New immigrants and original residents clashed, and the conflict escalated into a riot.

…

Xu Jiayi rubbed her temples.

“Newcomers, old residents—none of that matters,” she muttered. “The real cause is scarcity. If we had enough resources, people wouldn’t tear each other apart over scraps.”

“Should we suppress it?” her adjutant asked.

Her gaze sharpened. “Arrest the ringleaders. Tell the troops—no firearms.”

Suppressing a riot was easy; dealing with the aftermath was not.

The blockade already had people on edge. If anyone spread rumors about her using violence, panic would erupt across the island.

So while she sent officers to interrogate those arrested, she herself went out to calm the civilians.

It was past midnight when she finally returned to her office.

She had just closed her eyes for a brief rest when her secretary knocked and entered.

“Is the interrogation done?” she asked.

“We’ve questioned twenty-three main suspects. Over seventy others are still awaiting interrogation,” the secretary reported, then hesitated. “Commander, we’ve received a patrol report—an island has been spotted seven nautical miles southeast. It’s currently surrounded by Li family escort ships.”

Because of the blockade, Li Zairen frequently sent patrol and escort fleets to patrol nearby waters.

Xu Jiayi’s eyes opened. “An artificial island?”

She knew there were no natural islands within a hundred nautical miles to the east or south.

If something appeared just seven miles offshore—it had to be a movable artificial island.

“Yes,” said the secretary. “The patrol boats are awaiting orders.”

Lonewind’s patrol fleet was authorized only to monitor its own territorial waters. Unless the Li ships fired first, they could not engage.

So when the patrol encountered an unknown artificial island encircled by Li family vessels, they had no choice but to stand by.

“Authorize the patrol to make contact,” Xu Jiayi ordered. “Find out who they are and what they want.”

*

Newborn Island.

After crawling northwest for thirty long hours, the artificial island finally sputtered to a halt around ten p.m.—completely out of fuel.

Zhou Li sighed. “If only I had an Orka energy core from the interstellar world, this fuel problem would be nothing.”

A single ton of Orka energy could power Newborn Island for fifty years.

Speaking of Orka, she remembered the Orka energy crystals she’d stashed inside her E-class item, Treasure-Spitting Golden Toad.

That little toad produced three crystals per day, and by now, she’d collected over fifty.

The crystals were small—each the size of a button—but incredibly versatile. A single one could power a light brain for eight years or an agricultural light generator for over a year.

They weren’t worth much in the interstellar market, but since Zhou Li got them essentially for free, it was pure profit.

Suddenly, Qi Jiayu’s voice came through the radio. “Little Boss, we’ve spotted three escort ships from the Dusa Archipelago. They’ve surrounded us.”

The radios had been found in the island’s control center. Most were broken, but An Fengxuan had tools to repair a few, distributing them so everyone could stay in contact from different areas.

Zhou Li asked, “Did they say anything?”

“Not yet,” Qi Jiayu replied. “No communication so far.”

“Looks like they’re not here to make friends,” Zhou Li said coolly.

Thanks to her crash course from the others, she now knew that the Dusa Archipelago was controlled by the Li family—General Li De’an’s clan.

The Dusa chain had more than eight hundred islands and reefs, making it the second-largest archipelago in the Anhai Sea.

Zhou Li wouldn’t normally judge before meeting someone—she preferred to see for herself who was right or wrong.

But this kind of behavior—surrounding first, talking later—was just plain bullying.

According to Qi Jiayu, under the Inter-Island Convention, the sea within ten nautical miles of any island was considered its territorial waters.

Newborn Island was only seven or eight miles from Lonewind Island—well within its jurisdiction.

Yet the Li family’s ships had surrounded them before Lonewind Island even responded. That was blatant overreach.

“They might try to board,” Qi Jiayu warned.

“Let them,” Zhou Li sneered. “If they can break through the system’s protection, they deserve the prize.”

Qi Jiayu guessed the boss had her reasons for confidence—and she too wanted to see just what that so-called protection system could do.

Just then, the radio crackled again—this time, it was a transmission from a Lonewind Island patrol boat.

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