Ch 126: My Multiverse Supermarket

Lamanda decided to conduct trials for new alchemical potions in the Emerald Wasteland.

That meant she would have to live in this dangerous region teeming with shadow creatures.

Fortunately, she was an alchemist—and had plenty of means to protect herself.

“…Alchemists have spells that repel shadow beings. That’s what allows us to walk safely at night,” Lamanda explained to Zhou Li, who was brimming with curiosity.

Zhou Li suddenly understood. “No wonder you could reach here so easily after dark.”

An Fengxuan glanced at Natisha. “So alchemists counter shadow mages, huh? No wonder you’re her teacher.”

Natisha pouted slightly, clearly disagreeing but too lazy to argue.

Lamanda laughed. “Not quite. Natisha used to be my apprentice—she studied alchemy under me.”

Alchemy was a branch of knowledge; anyone recognized by the Goddess of Wisdom could learn it.

However, because many secret alchemical formulas were held by members of the Alchemy Guild—and those alchemists were unwilling to teach followers of other gods—most people assumed only alchemists could practice alchemy.

Natisha had once been an exceptionally gifted apprentice, until something happened that drove her to leave the Guild and devote herself to the Goddess of the Underworld Moon.

Neither Zhou Li nor An Fengxuan pried into her past.

Zhou Li asked Lamanda, “Where do you plan to live?”

Lamanda said, “This area seems suitable. But I’ll need to build a small house. Do you sell wood and stone here?”

The supermarket didn’t—but she could order them through the auction hub.

Lamanda purchased a batch of timber and stone, then left with her newly bought elemental gemstones.

Seeing that Natisha hadn’t gone, Zhou Li asked, “And what about you? Need anything?”

Natisha’s eyes gleamed. “Shadow-elemental gemstones.”

Without hesitation, Zhou Li took out all the deep-purple sea fluorite.

Natisha said, “I thought you wouldn’t sell them to me.”

These shadow-elemental stones would be enough to sustain her cultivation until she reached the rank of Grand Shadow Mage.

The stronger she became, the more control she would hold over this region.

Did the shopkeeper not worry she might break through the energy field surrounding the supermarket?

Zhou Li looked puzzled. “Why wouldn’t I sell them? I’m running a business—why would I refuse a chance to make money?”

Natisha’s lips curved. “You have principles.”

Zhou Li thought privately: not really.
Her “principles” fluctuated with her mood—and she was definitely guilty of double standards sometimes.

Natisha bought every shadow gemstone, then went on a spree at the vending machines.

When Zhou Li checked the backend logs, she saw that Natisha alone had purchased over a hundred boxes of instant noodles, more than a hundred cans of luncheon meat, and two hundred cases of bottled cola.

Zhou Li: …
Was she planning to live on instant noodles and soda three meals a day?

Just as Zhou Li wondered whether Natisha would summon her undead bandit minions again to help carry everything, Natisha raised her staff and drew a magic circle. Then she placed a can of cola in its center.

A flash of dark light—and an undead creature clawed its way out of the ground. It picked up the cola, bones creaking as its jaw clicked.

Zhou Li: ?
…Don’t tell her the undead liked drinking cola.

Natisha repeated the spell, summoning several more undead.

The creatures carried the goods into the circle and, within moments, sank back underground with all of it.

Catching Zhou Li’s look, Natisha explained, “At night, the undead and spirits are more active—the chance of summoning them successfully is higher. These ones aren’t bound by contracts, so they require offerings.”

Zhou Li understood now. During the day, the undead hadn’t wanted to respond, but those bandits she’d summoned earlier were her slaves—they required no sacrifice to appear.

“Thanks for satisfying my curiosity,” Zhou Li said.

“You’re welcome, my lady boss. Farewell.”

Natisha’s figure was quickly swallowed by the black mist.

When it finally dispersed, only the whisper of wind remained.

It took a long while before the prairie animals dared to emerge again.

Zhou Li closed the supermarket and prepared to head upstairs for some rest.

An Fengxuan called after her. “Boss, may I ask—does this world have any connection to the one where the zombie virus broke out?”

She’d wanted to ask for a long time. Why did the elemental stones from this world appear in the zombie world?

Was there a link between the virus and this realm?

Zhou Li asked, “Why do you want to know? Do you think understanding the connection might reveal something about your world’s truth?”

An Fengxuan met her eyes, then nodded solemnly. “Yes. If I can understand how these worlds are related, maybe I can find a way to save the Infinite World players.”

Zhou Li said, “Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer.”

An Fengxuan looked disappointed—but quickly regained her resolve. “That’s okay. I’ll find the answer eventually. Thank you, boss.”

Zhou Li hadn’t lied—she really didn’t know.

But privately, she’d already asked the system, “Is it possible that this world and the zombie world somehow fused? Maybe the magic elements from this realm leaked into that one, which is why magic here is disappearing—and why sea fluorite started forming under the zombie world’s oceans.

“Sure, the Age of Waning Magic began hundreds of years ago, and the zombie virus outbreak only happened five years back. They seem unrelated—but what if the virus had existed long before, just waiting for a trigger? Maybe a lab leak, or melting glaciers releasing it into the air… that’s how movies usually go.”

The system replied, “An interesting hypothesis. But whether it’s correct—you’ll have to verify it yourself.”

Zhou Li was used to that vague attitude. She muttered, “Even if the worlds did merge, where did the zombie virus come from? This world doesn’t seem to have one.

“Wait—it may not have a zombie virus, but it does have undead, spirits, and death knights. And they say death knights spread plague… maybe the virus is just another kind of plague.”

She had never seen a death knight, so she couldn’t be sure.

“Actually,” Zhou Li said to the system, “I got the idea from the Infinite World realm. The Game that invaded that world seems to suppress its world consciousness—like one plane’s will invading another’s, the stronger foreign entity devouring the native one.”

She suspected that because the Infinite World’s “dungeons” were modeled after real worlds—and since that “real world” wasn’t the one An Fengxuan came from, it must be another.

Perhaps Anyi Xiao had already noticed the same clues and was trying to find a way to drive the Game out.

But she probably didn’t realize this was a conflict at the plane-consciousness level.

That wasn’t something human effort could easily change.

“Could the disasters that suddenly struck the Interstellar Realm also be due to fusion with some unknown world?” Zhou Li wondered aloud.

As for the Ancient Realm, she hadn’t noticed anything abnormal yet—its plagues and famines seemed natural for that historical period.

Zhou Li didn’t think further on it.

These answers weren’t ones that could be found quickly—maybe not in years, decades, or even a lifetime.

For her, the more worlds she visited, the more information she gathered, the closer she’d get to the truth.

☢️☢️☢️