Ch 135: My Multiverse Supermarket

The attack on the supermarket had been carried out by a group of rangers—and a single mage.

They had used wind-element magic to accelerate their arrows, greatly increasing their lethality, and even carved multiple enhancement runes into their bows.

If their target had been an ordinary house, it would have been reduced to rubble in a single volley. And there hadn’t been just one arrow—there had been six, all fired simultaneously.

But they had gravely underestimated the supermarket.

They thought that even if they failed, they could simply drink acceleration potions and escape at once.

What they didn’t expect was that, the very second they launched their attack, a counterstrike from the supermarket—hundreds of meters away—hit them first.

They never even figured out what had happened before they lost consciousness.

When the Senate knights brought the bodies back to camp, none of the nobles stepped forward to help.

Only one baron, after receiving a subtle signal from a count, asked, “Are they dead?”

The knight captain replied, “Not yet, but their condition is strange. We can’t wake them. It’s as if they’ve lost all perception of the outside world.”

“Doesn’t this look like… their souls were pulled out?”

A collective gasp rippled through the nobles. That kind of sorcery was typical of the fanatical followers of the Goddess of the Nether Moon.

Had they been mistaken all along? Was the “supermarket” not the realm of a new god, but the domain of a shadow archmage?

The baron began sowing fear, claiming the supermarket was dangerous and urging the nobles to unite against it.

Ariel walked up, took out a mirror, and cast a linking ritual.

Moments later, Wendisha and Zhou Li appeared in the mirror, their conversation projected for all to hear.

Wendisha asked, “My lady, I heard there was an attack here recently?”

Zhou Li thought for a moment and said uncertainly, “Probably.”

“Probably?”

Zhou Li smiled. “This place has a ‘protective formation’ that reflects all attacks. To avoid alarming customers, I made it soundproof. If you hadn’t said it was a human attack, I’d have thought some mindless beast was scratching at the door.”

Wendisha: …

The nobles: …

Was she mocking the rangers—saying their attack was nothing more than a tickle?

Wendisha, keeping her composure, said, “I see. Would you be willing to lift the spell from one of the attackers so we can interrogate him? Once we identify who ordered it, we’ll hand them over to you for punishment.”

Zhou Li said nothing.

There hadn’t even been any spell—it was a purely physical counterstrike.

Mistaking her silence for displeasure, Wendisha quickly added, “My lady, the Senate had no part in this. Since magic was used, the culprits must have ties to Mayelia. I must investigate, lest false accusations tarnish the Senate’s name.”

She herself was furious. Who could be so foolish? Even knowing this “supermarket” might be a divine realm, they still dared attack it.

If a god’s realm could be breached by a handful of minor rangers and mages, it wouldn’t be much of a god’s realm at all.

They couldn’t even defeat a high archmage—what made them think they could challenge a being akin to a deity?

Zhou Li said, “Don’t worry. I’m not interested in who sent them, nor will I take it out on anyone else. The moment they attacked and I retaliated, the cause and effect between us ended.”

In other words: You want to investigate? Fine. Do it however you wish—but leave the supermarket out of it.

That cold, detached indifference—unconcerned with life or truth—fit perfectly with Wendisha’s idea of what a god should be.

The nobles, upon hearing her response, all fell silent.

Because they finally understood—no matter how much they resented this “god” for standing apart from them, she could annihilate them in an instant.

And she didn’t care about their opinions at all. It was as if she were saying outright: Stop overacting. I’m not here for your petty dramas.

She cared only for… trade.

Ariel ended the connection and said, “Chief Wendisha stated that even if the Lady doesn’t pursue it, she will continue the investigation.”

The baron muttered, “If even She doesn’t care, what’s the point?”

Ariel snapped, “She may not care, but we’re not the only ones here. The Radiant Consortium and the Thorn Consortium will seize this chance to spread rumors that the Senate was behind the attack. For the Senate’s reputation, we must get to the bottom of this!”

…

In the Radiant Consortium’s villas, Kemeigao was sending a telegraph.

After transmitting it, his subordinates reported the latest developments.

Kemeigao grinned. “Knowing Arka Corporation, they’ll never swallow their pride. The fact that they’ve stayed quiet means Ebus knows exactly how terrifying that supermarket is. By hiding the incident, he’s waiting for others to make the same mistake.”

He already had intel that Ebus’s thieves’ guild at Boulder Town had been nearly wiped out trying the same thing.

That was why Kemeigao had rushed here so quickly—and why he’d kept his greed under control.

Of course, he had no intention of sharing that intelligence.

Ever since meeting Ariel, he had been waiting for this very day.

And sure enough, the arrogant nobles of the Senate had taken the bait.

As for the possibility that the Thorn Consortium had attacked? Impossible.

First, they didn’t have the power. Second, they were eager to throw themselves at the feet of the “God of Commerce.” They wouldn’t dare offend the supermarket.

Some of his men voiced concerns that the Thorn Consortium’s growing favor with the “neutral faction” could turn it into a force capable of rivaling both Atmos and Mayelia.

Zhou Li’s speech about “the coexistence of magic and steam” had been heard by both the Senate and the Radiant Consortium.

And they realized that if such an idea spread, the boundary between the two factions would blur.

The hatred between them had lasted over two centuries—and the Radiant Consortium had thrived on it. Their atheism justified factory pollution and deforestation without interference from the followers of the Nature Goddess.

If the Radiant Consortium accepted Mayelia’s existence, those same followers could infiltrate their industries and sabotage them from within.

That would cripple their growth—and their profits.

Such a future was unacceptable.

Kemeigao said, “Mayelia’s so-called ‘Waning Era’ proves that the decline of magical elements is irreversible. In another century or two, magic will vanish entirely. The less they adapt, the greater our technological advantage.”

“But what about the supermarket’s appearance…” someone asked.

Kemeigao wasn’t worried. “That will only delay the Waning Era by a few decades. Magic used to flow freely in the air; now it relies solely on elemental gems. Unless the supermarket can restore the world’s ambient magic, its fall is inevitable.”

Still, the arrival of a “divine realm” was bad news for Atmos’s rapid industrialization. All they could do was suppress the news among civilians.

That was also why Kemeigao wanted to join the Thorn Consortium’s telephone network project. Whoever controlled communication would control information.

*

Zhou Li was unaware of the growing storm beneath the surface.

At closing time, An Fengxuan came to her with a question.

“Boss,” she said, “if the magic from this plane somehow crossed into the zombie world, would that mean people there could learn magic too?”

The question was essentially the same as another she’d asked before—whether the zombie world’s undead had any link to the magic world. Zhou Li still had no definite answer.

“You wanted to learn magic, right?” Zhou Li said. “Maybe you can test that yourself someday.”

An Fengxuan thought for a moment. “Actually, we could try seeing if alchemy potions work on zombies. Senator Su and her daughter are setting up a zombie virus research center. If we gave them some potions, maybe—”

Zhou Li cut her off. “Maybe you should study more alchemy with Ramanda first, and then ask Natisha whether there are spells or plagues that could create zombies—or shadow creatures similar to them. Once you understand the theory, you’ll know what to do.”

She didn’t reject the idea outright—but releasing unknown alchemical agents into another world without proper knowledge was far too dangerous.

According to the system, zombies weren’t truly living, but neither were they dead. Only when Qi Jiayu’s group completely cleared them from the shelter had the system recognized Newborn Island as “unclaimed territory.”

That meant the effects of alchemy potions on zombies were unknown.

If they somehow triggered evolution instead of destruction, it would spell disaster for the fragile balance humanity had built in the zombie world.

An Fengxuan asked, “Boss, don’t you want to study this kind of knowledge yourself?”

“Everyone has their specialty.”

It wasn’t that Zhou Li lacked curiosity—she simply knew her strengths and weaknesses.

She could handle theory, but real combat? That was suicide.

Her greatest weapon in every world was the system. Without it, she’d have died long ago.

So, no—wandering out to study magic hands-on was not an option.

Besides, the system had bound itself to her for interplanetary trade. If she abandoned her post to go on a magical adventure, the system would definitely disapprove.

If it unbound itself, and she couldn’t find her way back to Earth—she’d die in a foreign world.

Thus, Zhou Li’s plan had always been to focus on her duty: collecting items that could strengthen her home plane.

Only when Earth grew powerful would humanity not have to possibly one day live under the rules of things like “The Game,” bound to play by someone else’s whims.

An Fengxuan looked at her thoughtfully, then said with genuine admiration, “As expected of you, Boss!”

Zhou Li: ?

☢️☢️☢️