Chapter 5: Space Gate
As the old saying goes: since you’re here, you might as well make the best of it.
Song Yuqing pulled a small notebook from the cashier’s drawer. It contained a neatly written inventory of all the stock inside God’s Supermarket. Holding the book, she began doing a physical count. Excluding the food and drinks she had consumed herself and the items she had just sold to Lin Han, the stock on the shelves was already a quarter less than what was recorded.
“Master Fu, does God’s Supermarket have a back warehouse?” Song Yuqing eyed the pale green door. If there was a storage room, it had to be behind that door.
“Nope. Don’t you have your own spatial inventory? Your space is the supermarket’s warehouse.”
Wow, she thought, he really knows how to work an angle. He was using her personal superpower as free real estate.
However, Master Fu’s reminder jogged her memory. There were three doors inside her spatial void. One white door led to that fiery hellscape, but the other two were black doors…
“The black doors in your space lead to parallel universes,” Master Fu explained calmly.
A shiver ran down Song Yuqing’s spine.
“Open a door to a parallel world and start stocking up for God’s Supermarket!”
The moment his voice faded, a gleaming gold card materialized out of thin air, floating before her.
“Here. Consider this your reward. One zombie is worth one hundred points. You currently have a balance of four hundred points on this card.”
Song Yuqing swiped the gold card out of the air, raising an eyebrow. “How much buying power does four hundred points actually give me?”
“That depends entirely on the parallel world you end up in. Some worlds have massive inflation, while others have dirt-cheap prices.”
Master Fu trailed off, deep in thought. He felt like his memory had been glitching lately, as if he were missing a vital piece of information.
Song Yuqing entered her spatial void. Staring at the three doors, she felt a flicker of hope, though it was quickly overshadowed by anxiety. How could she be sure the parallel world wouldn’t be dealing with the exact same apocalyptic nightmare? Was this really how she was supposed to restock the store?
She reached toward one of the black doors and gripped the handle.
“Parallel worlds are shaped by the subconscious mind,” Master Fu warned, though his timing was terrible.
Song Yuqing had already turned the handle and pushed the door open. All that greeted her was an absolute void. It was a vast, blinding expanse of white—no paths, no landmarks, and no direction.
“Don’t be so impatient,” Master Fu chided. “First, you need to visualize the parallel world you want to visit. Picture what it looks like and the kind of surprises it has waiting for you~”
Song Yuqing immediately yanked her left foot back from the abyss, her skin feeling ice-cold.
“Oh, by the way, once a door is opened, whatever parallel world you generated gets permanently locked into that slot,” Master Fu sighed. “Man, what a waste of a good door. You only get one chance to generate a new world per month.”
Song Yuqing’s hand was already hovering over the handle of the second black door. Hearing his words, her heart sank. “Give me a do-over.”
“What are you offering in exchange?”
“I’ll film a promotional video for God’s Supermarket.”
“That’s literally just part of your job description.”
Song Yuqing frowned. She realized she had absolutely zero leverage over Master Fu. This was a dangerous dynamic; she would have to be far more calculating moving forward.
“But hey, since you’re showing some real initiative, I’ll give you one more shot. Use it wisely this time, and don’t let me down.” Master Fu proved to be a bit of a softie. He figured a novice store manager needed some encouragement and support to stay motivated.
“Fine.”
Song Yuqing took a deep, centering breath. She closed her eyes and began to visualize a beautiful, idealized world: a place where prices were dirt-cheap, where terrifying zombies didn’t exist, and where people lived peaceful, happy lives. Most importantly, she imagined a world where her parents were still safe.
With her palms sweating slightly, she slowly turned the second doorknob.
When she opened her eyes, she was standing at the threshold of a breathtaking new world. Soaring silver skyscrapers pierced the clouds. Pedestrians strolled casually along high-tech, transparent skywalks. Down on the plazas, giant pandas rushed past carrying bundles of bamboo, and giraffes walked by sporting tiny, stylized umbrellas around their necks. Up in the sky, a massive neon billboard pulsed with light, displaying the logo for this world’s branch of “God’s Supermarket.”
Suppressing her excitement, Song Yuqing took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.
She materialized seamlessly on a crowded overpass. Commuters brushed past her, entirely unfazed by her sudden appearance.
Song Yuqing stopped a passerby to ask for directions to the largest supermarket. The local pointed toward the massive neon sign, giving her a look of utter bewilderment. He was clearly wondering what kind of country bumpkin didn’t even know where God’s Supermarket was.
Song Yuqing picked up her pace, heading toward the building. She was entirely captivated by this universe. The fashion alone was incredible—everyone was dressed beautifully in uniquely designed, avant-garde clothing.
She noticed a middle-aged man leaning over the railing of the overpass, admiring the view. He wore a silver one-piece jumpsuit made of a strange, iridescent fabric that subtly shifted colors in the light. Song Yuqing stared, completely enamored by the aesthetic.
Catching her staring, the middle-aged man let out a sigh, stretched lazily, and picked up a device that looked like a sleek futuristic vacuum cleaner. He then proceeded to casually clean the walkway.
Song Yuqing: …Okay, so even the sanitation workers here look like high-fashion models.
Suddenly, the rich, savory aroma of cooked meat drifted on the breeze, making her mouth water instantly. Following her nose, she wandered over to a bustling steamed bun shop.
She scanned the menu hanging above the counter. It listed options like bamboo shoot and pork buns, sweet corn buns, crystal shrimp dumplings, taro pastries, and even bitter melon buns. Some sounded mouth-watering; others just sounded bizarre.
Song Yuqing pulled out her gold card and handed it to the shopkeeper. “Three bamboo shoot and pork buns, four taro pastries, and five shrimp dumplings, please.”
She was completely lost in the delicious aroma until a sharp beep snapped her back to reality. The shopkeeper had swiped her card. Song Yuqing felt a sudden wave of anxiety, praying she hadn’t just blown her entire budget on breakfast.
“That will be 0.1 points,” the shopkeeper said, handing over a clear food bag and the gold card.
Song Yuqing let out a massive sigh of relief. Talk about elite quality at bargain-basement prices! This is the definition of bang for your buck!
She continued walking toward the supermarket, happily munching on a bun and swinging the bag in her hand. In her excitement, she failed to notice that the remaining bamboo shoot and pork buns inside the transparent bag were rapidly shrinking.
By the time she reached the grand entrance of God’s Supermarket, she looked down and realized the bag was completely empty.
“Wait, did I seriously eat all of that already?” Song Yuqing touched her stomach, still feeling a bit unsatisfied. She made a mental note to save some points to buy more buns later.
Filled with anticipation, she stepped through the sliding doors. A row of sleek metal robots waved their mechanical arms, cheering in unison, “Welcome~!”
Before she could even look around, a red convertible automated cart glided up to her, its door popping open smoothly.
Wow, major supermarkets really hit different, she thought.
Song Yuqing slid into the leather seat, feeling like a VIP. It was the first time in her life she had ever driven a car inside a grocery store.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a giant panda sitting contentedly near the entrance, holding a few taro pastries and eating them with absolute relish.
Navigating the massive aisles of God’s Supermarket, Song Yuqing steered her little car through the towering displays. What does my post-apocalyptic store need most? Water, instant meals, weapons, and clothes!
Within minutes, her car’s storage compartment was loaded with plastic pouches of purified water spheres, various flavors of self-heating emergency rations, and a dozen high-voltage stun batons. Now, she was eyeing a rack of silver athletic wear.
I shouldn’t take too much, she thought, grabbing a few sets. Just a couple of outfits for myself.
She continued her leisurely cruise through the aisles, tossing a row of gleaming, razor-sharp kitchen knives into the vehicle. The cart was getting seriously heavy. Song Yuqing estimated that the haul would almost completely fill her current three-cubic-meter spatial inventory. If she grabbed anything else, she risked running out of room.
I’ll just window-shop the rest, she told herself. I can always buy more next time.
Despite her internal lecture, her hands refused to cooperate. She found herself grabbing a premium, collapsible air mattress. She had officially clocked enough hours on that miserable, squeaking camp bed back home!
After covering most of the grocery and hardware sections, she wandered into the bookstore aisle. Instinct told her that a world overrun by zombies required proper reading material. She began pulling titles off the shelves: The Taoist Encyclopedia: 1,001 Questions, Emergency Trauma and First Aid, The Complete Wilderness Survival Guide, and How to Coexist with Flora and Fauna.
Suddenly, her eyes caught a title on the history and science shelf: A Century Ago: The Great Zombie Outbreak.
She froze. Without hesitation, she threw the book into her pile.
Driving up to the checkout lane, she noticed the cashier giving her a profoundly shocked look. Did I buy so much that I actually scared the staff? she wondered, calmly handing over her gold card.
Beep.
“Your total comes to 399 points.”
Wow, talk about cutting it close. Exactly 0.9 points left. Song Yuqing was actually glad; she had deliberately wanted to keep some spare change to grab more meat buns on her way out.
She drove her loaded cart to the exit plaza. She wanted to transfer the haul into her spatial void right then and there, but the area was packed with people. She was terrified that if she used her superpower out in the open, she would cause a public panic.
Right next to her, a mother was aggressively lecturing her child. “This kind of sushi tastes way better when it’s hot! Eating it cold is going to give you diarrhea! If you want to eat it right now, just spark a flame and heat it up yourself. Use a low simmer, do you hear me?!”
