Ch 124: My Multiverse Supermarket

The technicians arranged by Councilor Su arrived together with the Su Oil Group’s shipment of heavy fuel.

Qi Jiayu and the others took the opportunity to let those technicians handle the refueling work.

Before Newborn Island set sail again, Xu Jiayi visited several times—not only to purchase more supplies but also to help them demand reparations from the Li family.

With General De’an’s death, the Dusa Archipelago had fallen into chaos. The Li family, though furious that Newborn Island had caused Li Guangren’s death and destroyed their fleet, dared not attack again.

Until they figured out how Newborn Island had counterattacked, any further offensive would be suicide.

So they agreed to pay compensation, eager to see Newborn Island leave the Dusa waters and “go cause trouble somewhere else.”

Zhou Li treated the compensation as public funds for the island, converting it into supermarket points and transferring it to Newborn Island’s corporate account.

Qi Jiayu would use that money to issue wages, purchase goods, and receive refugees from other islands.

Some of these new residents came from Savi Island, others from Lonewind Island.

When the Dusa Archipelago first fell into turmoil, Xu Jiayi had taken advantage of the chaos to seize several of Li Zairen’s islands.

After Li Zairen’s repeated failures—and his desperate bid for power that led him to pull all his private troops to the main island—his reputation on places like Vira Island had plummeted.

Once his atrocities on Savi Island were exposed, both his subordinates and the citizens rejected him. Xu Jiayi barely had to lift a finger to take over his territory.

Controlling those islands also meant she now bore responsibility for their civilians’ welfare.

With Newborn Island as a massive resource depot behind her, she wasn’t short on supplies—but feeding so many mouths was still a heavy burden.

So when some citizens who had gone to Newborn Island didn’t return, she turned a blind eye. If Newborn Island didn’t send them away, it probably meant they needed manpower too.

Even so, Qi Jiayu still called Xu Jiayi to run background checks.

Newborn Island was no haven for criminals. Anyone who had committed crimes elsewhere couldn’t use the island as a place to hide from justice.

Since the supermarket’s defense system could only passively protect and couldn’t automatically identify criminals, proper background checks were left to professionals.

Some applications were approved right away.

For example, Dr. Chu—who came with Du Xiaogan’s recommendation.

Dr. Chu had been drawn by the medical pod. When she heard that Du Yishi had regained speech and chewing function, she was astonished. She’d once been reluctant to leave her small clinic and patients, but upon hearing that news, she packed up immediately.

Qi Jiayu invited her to join the shelter’s hospital as a resident doctor.

And so, after the deputy island master, the security captain, logistics head, and sanitation leader (Grandma Du), Newborn Island finally had its doctor.

Du Xiaogan also invited a talented chef to move to Newborn Island.

Before the apocalypse, this woman had cooked for grand banquets.

After the end came, banquets vanished and no one needed chefs. Skilled only with her wok, she had been forced to scavenge and fight zombies for survival.

That was how she met Du Xiaogan, and through many collaborations, they’d built a solid partnership.

When Xu Jiayi later stabilized Lonewind Island and scavenging was no longer necessary, they drifted apart.

Now, Du Xiaogan invited her not only out of friendship, but because with so many new technicians aboard, the shelter’s canteen urgently needed a head chef.

The woman hadn’t expected to find work again—she came happily and at once.

She also recommended several relatives and friends who wanted to move to Newborn Island. Qi Jiayu didn’t approve them immediately; she passed the list to Xu Ouge for vetting.

Priority went to those who could contribute to the island’s development.

To prevent Li family spies from infiltrating, new residents were forbidden from bringing any communication devices that could reach the outside world.

Qi Jiayu also advised them: “Newborn Island won’t stay in one sea area forever. If you still have loved ones on Savi or Lonewind Island, think carefully before applying.”

When the day of departure came, Zhou Li saw how smoothly Qi Jiayu and the others were managing affairs and felt at ease initiating a world jump.

This time, though, she sensed something strange—a brief pause mid-transition.

Usually, dimensional travel was instantaneous, but this time the supermarket seemed to stutter. It only lasted a moment, yet for someone as experienced as Zhou Li, who had jumped dozens of times, it was impossible to miss.

“System?”

The system replied calmly, “It’s fine—just a bit of resistance.”

“Resistance?” Zhou Li blinked. “We’ve been to the Steam and Magic world before. Why resistance now?”

“Some of the gods are… displeased,” the system said blandly.

Zhou Li’s eyes flicked to the pile of sea fluorite—no, elemental stones.

“So the sulking gods are from the steam faction, huh? Don’t tell me it’s because of these?”

The system stayed silent.

“Got it,” Zhou Li said. “They’re just jealous!”

Then, muttering to herself, she added, “What, they think I only brought elemental stones? Please, look at all the tech I packed this time!”

After all, fair trade required balance—she’d brought goods for both the magic and the steam factions.

Back on the Emerald Wasteland, she’d already seen steam cars, light bulbs, and pocket watches. From that, she had a general sense of the tech level here.

She figured the world hadn’t yet reached the telephone era; communication was probably still dominated by telegraphs.

So, in advance, she’d submitted a procurement list to the Auction Hub—including early communication-industry equipment.

She didn’t know whether the steam gods could hear her, or what they’d think if they did—but saying it aloud made her feel better, so she dropped the matter entirely.

…

She didn’t realize that while she and the supermarket were gone, the minor disturbance her presence had caused in Atmos and Mayelia was still spreading.

Rebecca and the sentries from the Vitus Outpost had returned to investigate, only to find nothing.

The two acacia trees were still there, as were the traces of battle—but the supermarket itself was gone.

Had the bandits from Boulder Town destroyed it?

Impossible—even they couldn’t erase a building from existence.

To find out, the sentries clashed with the Boulder Town bandits in a brief skirmish.

From that encounter, they learned that the little shopkeeper was supposedly a shadow mage who had killed over a dozen bandits. Maybe she had used some secret spell to hide the store.

Rebecca was skeptical. She’d never sensed a trace of magic from that woman.

But not knowing much about shadow mages, she couldn’t rule it out.

The investigation ended inconclusively.

Rebecca sold her extra elemental stones to an alchemy master, Lamanda, and ordered a large batch of healing potions.

The Black Raven Legion was desperately short of healers—clerics, druids, and paladins could heal, but their only paladins came from the Church of Light and would leave once the mission was over. With soldiers constantly on the front lines, they needed an abundance of potions.

Healing potions came in tiers. Basic ones treated minor wounds; internal injuries or broken bones required intermediate ones.

As for high-grade potions, their formulas and materials had been lost since the Age of Waning Magic.

If the injury was magical—damage to soul or mind—potions alone were useless; only a cleric’s spiritual restoration spells could help.

The legion had long wanted to recruit a cleric, but followers of the Life Goddess aimed to serve her in her divine realm, not wander mortal lands. So, they were rare in both Atmos and Mayelia.

Druids could touch the soul, but they cared more about nature than healing people. Ironically, though part of the magic faction, they were most active in Atmos—constantly sabotaging capitalists who destroyed the environment.

Thus came a popular joke across the lands: If you’re looking for a druid, don’t go to Mayelia—check the prisons of Atmos instead.

Lamanda, intrigued by the story of the elemental stones, asked Rebecca about their origin.

After hearing it, she packed up her belongings and insisted on going with Rebecca to the Emerald Wasteland.

Rebecca tried to dissuade her: “When I left, the supermarket had already vanished. Even if you go, you won’t find anyone.”

Lamanda smiled. “That’s fine. I have a student there. If I can’t find the shop, I’ll find her.”

Rebecca sighed and assigned a ranger to escort Lamanda as a guard to the wasteland.

Others soon followed her lead—traders, mercenaries, even rival conglomerates.

The Mayelian Senate’s merchant caravan, the roaming Thorn Independent Consortium, and the Glorious Syndicate (which had stolen intelligence from the Aka Corporation) all dispatched investigation teams.

But the Senate worked slowly, the Thorn group was too weak to cross the wasteland quickly, and the Glorious Syndicate didn’t even know the exact coordinates—so the first to arrive was, of course, the alchemy master Lamanda.