Chapter 11: Buying on Credit
It was already getting late, and a heavy drowsiness settled over Song Yuqing and the others waiting outside the gates of Base No. 27.
While waiting for Liu Xiaona and Sister Qin to arrive, Song Yuqing had managed to build a surprisingly good rapport with Xie Hao, the one-armed guard. She even promised to bring him a brand-new, premium folding inflatable bed next month in exchange for exactly twenty zombie corpses.
Song Yuqing made the deal sound like she was breaking the bank for him, but in reality, the inflatable mattress would barely cost her a fraction of a point in the parallel world. She knew it was always better to frame things generously to ensure smooth, profitable business dealings down the line.
Xie Hao, meanwhile, was privately calculating his own windfall. He could harvest the zombies’ crystal cores to sell to the base supermarket, and then turn the useless, hollowed-out corpses over to Song Yuqing for high-end gear. It was a brilliant way to kill three birds with one stone, and he was going to make a fortune.
Song Yuqing glanced at his missing limb. “If I can track down a functional prosthetic arm for you, would you be willing to trade sixty zombies for it?”
She had watched him struggle to pick up loose objects earlier. His movements were incredibly clumsy, and it was obvious his body hadn’t yet adapted to operating with only one hand.
“Are you serious?!” Xie Hao blurted out, his eyes wide. “You can actually get your hands on a prosthetic limb?!”
Seeing her nod with a serious expression, the guard almost shouted with excitement.
“From now on, whatever you need at this base, just say the word.” Xie Hao couldn’t hide his suddenly flattering, eager smile. “My name is Xie Hao, by the way.”
“Thank you, Brother Xie. You’re a good man,” Song Yuqing said, stepping forward to shake his remaining hand. “I’ll be relying on you to look out for me from now on.”
Phew. Song Yuqing let out a quiet breath of relief. Fortunately, Xie Hao wasn’t nearly as difficult to deal with as his thuggish exterior suggested.
“Song Yuqing!” a low voice hissed from the shadows.
Song Yuqing scanned the darkness but couldn’t spot the source of the whisper.
“Song Yuqing! Over here! Look over here!”
As she kept searching the open road, Xie Hao tapped her shoulder and pointed toward the perimeter. Liu Xiaona was currently crouched behind a thick concrete utility pole just outside the fence, doing his absolute best to hide his massive frame.
Song Yuqing hurried over and looked down at the burly man wedged behind the pole. Liu Xiaona looked up at her, his eyes brimming with pure, anxious grievance.
“Don’t talk to that thug! You’re going to get yourself into serious trouble!”
“Relax,” she whispered back. “He’s officially become a premier customer of God’s Supermarket. If anything goes sideways tonight, he’s going to act as our inside support.”
“Oh?” Liu Xiaona muttered, deeply skeptical that a guy like Xie Hao possessed a single shred of kindness.
“By the way, where’s Sister Qin? Didn’t you go back into the compound to fetch her?”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. Her squad might have been sent out on a late scavenging run, and she just hasn’t made it back yet.”
“Alright, let’s map out our strategy,” Song Yuqing said, dropping into a squat beside him. “For this first run, I’m bringing the inventory directly to the consumer. My current stock is limited, so I’ll clear the bags and head right back to Chen Town. Your job is to act as my marketing agent and spread the word. We’ll offer early-bird discounts to our first buyers, and eventually, we can even establish a dedicated supply line between here and the shop.”
“Deal! And I’ll give you a generous commission for every successful transaction,” Song Yuqing added. “Whatever you want to eat, drink, or use from my inventory, it’s yours.”
“Awesome!” Liu Xiaona beamed. He and Sister Qin had originally planned to abandon Base No. 27 as soon as possible. But looking at the layout now, it seemed they could stick around a little longer to secure some real food.
“There’s just one catch,” Song Yuqing noted. “Starting out, no one is going to have a stockpile of dead zombies ready to trade…”
While Song Yuqing and Liu Xiaona were huddled behind the utility pole ironed out their business strategy, the glare of heavy headlights cut through the dark. Lin Han’s reinforced, armored SUV swept past the gates, driving back into the compound.
“Good evening, Mr. Lin!” Xie Hao yelled, his voice unusually loud and rigid as he saluted the vehicle.
Inside the plush interior of the car, Lin Han kept his eyes closed, resting his head against the leather seat while casually swirling two glowing crystal cores between his fingers. The apocalypse was truly magnificent. Having superpowers was absolute bliss. He was finally living the lavish, high-society life he had always deserved.
Ever since he realized that crystal cores could rapidly evolve his spatial ability, he had thrown himself into hunting walkers, hoarding cores, and violently plundering local supply depots. His overwhelming power had quickly earned him a VVIP entry ticket into Base No. 27. Because rare spatial abilities were highly coveted by the base directors, he had instantly been brought into the inner circle.
He had then deliberately copied Song Yuqing’s business model to establish the official base supermarket. Together with the ruling directors, they used the monopoly on food to firmly control both the superpower elites and the ordinary human laborers.
The more crystal cores he consumed, the more terrifying his power became. Now, his spatial inventory wasn’t just a storage void—it had evolved into a lethal, ultimate technique. He could manifest a spatial tear to instantly erase an opponent from existence, leaving no trace behind—exactly like a cosmic eraser.
Unfortunately, the move drained an astronomical amount of energy. He had only attempted it once, and that single strike had completely depleted his supernatural reserves.
As Lin Han’s luxury truck glided smoothly toward the villa district, Xie Hao watched it go, a deep flash of envy burning in his eyes.
Song Yuqing and Liu Xiaona squatted behind the concrete pole until their legs went completely numb, eventually just giving up and sitting flat on the dirt. Song Yuqing pulled two neatly packed bento boxes from her space, handing one to the burly man.
Once they finished this meal, the real work would begin.
As Song Yuqing was happily chewing her food, she suddenly felt a cold breeze on the back of her neck.
“What exactly are you guys eating?” Xie Hao asked, staring intently at the bento box. His eyes were glued to the perfectly seasoned eggs, thick chicken drumsticks, fresh cabbage, and roasted potatoes.
Song Yuqing: “…”
Without a word, she materialized a third bento box and thrust it into the guard’s hands.
“Eat up,” she said deadpan. “But once that container is empty, you’re officially on the clock helping us.”
Xie Hao didn’t hesitate for a single second. He snatched the box and began devouring the contents with absolute relish, tears practically welling in his eyes. He hadn’t tasted real, fresh food in what felt like an eternity. Inside the compound, only the high-ranking directors in the villas were allowed to eat fresh vegetables. Ordinary psychics like him were strictly rationed to two measly meals a day—and each meal consisted of nothing more than a single fistful of dry, stale rice.
Xie Hao had never felt so profoundly grateful for a meal in his entire life.
Liu Xiaona shot the guard a heavy, resentful glare, thoroughly unhappy about sharing their premium stash. He was definitely a man who knew how to hold a grudge.
By the time they finished eating and drinking, pitch-black night had completely fallen over the wasteland. The trio patted their full stomachs and immediately split up to execute their designated roles.
Song Yuqing systematically unloaded her entire inventory, piling the crates of bottled water, instant meals, and gear onto the grass just outside the base line. Xie Hao stood guard right beside the pile, rifle in hand, while utilizing his earth-type ability to manifest a low retaining wall to maintain an orderly line. Meanwhile, Liu Xiaona bolted back into the residential sectors, darting between the rows of tents and aggressively spreading the news like wildfire.
“Hey! There’s a rogue merchant selling premium food right outside the gates! Delicious bentos, instant noodles, clean water—everything you need!”
“First come, first served! And she’s letting people buy on credit!”
“No crystal cores required! She only takes zombie bodies!”
“If anyone’s heading out to hunt right now, let’s team up! The more walkers you take down, the more food you get to bring home!”
“I swear on my life it’s real! If you don’t believe me, go check the front gate and ask Xie Hao yourself!”
Though a significant portion of the hunters intensely disliked Liu Xiaona and initially thought he was just begging for a beating, the mention of Xie Hao’s involvement piqued their curiosity. One by one, they slipped out of their tents and followed him past the wire fence to see what was happening. If the rumors were true, they stood to make an absolute killing.
They risked their lives every day fighting hordes and harvesting cores, only to be rewarded with less than a cup of rice per shift. None of them possessed the financial capital to actually buy luxury goods from the corrupt base supermarket.
“Who the hell is bold enough to set up a black market out here?” one hunter muttered as they walked. “Aren’t they terrified of competing with the base supermarket’s monopoly?”
“Trust me, she’s one of the most terrifyingly badass people I’ve ever met,” Liu Xiaona replied, his mind flashing briefly to Sister Qin. “…Well, one of them, anyway.”
“Hey! Liu Xiaona!” Aunt Zhang suddenly called out, grabbing his arm as she emerged from the crowd. “Is Song Yuqing actually out there?”
“Yeah, she’s parked right outside the perimeter.”
“Are you two completely insane?” the older woman whispered frantically. “What if the base supermarket owner finds out? You’ll both be violently executed or thrown out to starve!”
“Don’t sweat it, Aunt Zhang. Once everyone gets a taste of real food, no one is going to snitch,” Ai remarked, materializing silently from the shadows. She glanced around the crowd. “By the way, where’s Sister Qin?”
“I haven’t seen her all day,” Liu Xiaona admitted, his brow furrowing.
He had run through a dozen scenarios in his head. Maybe her squad had been routed far into the ruins to clear a high-tier sector, maybe they had lost their bearings in the dark, or maybe they were currently locked in a stalemate with a massive mutant boss. The only scenario he absolutely refused to entertain was that Sister Qin had been killed. In his eyes, Sister Qin was an absolute, invincible war goddess.
“She’ll be back before midnight at the latest,” Liu Xiaona stated firmly. The moment she passed the gates, he was going to pull her over and brief her on this massive operational shift.
Ten kilometers away, along the dark, ruined highway leading back to the compound, a massive golden blade lay entirely abandoned in the dirt. The metal, which usually gleamed as bright as a mirror, was now marred by a deep, crushing set of heavy tire tracks running right across the flat of the steel.
Back at the gates of Base No. 27, a massive, winding queue had formed outside the earthen barrier. Everyone spoke in hushed, terrified whispers.
“Shh! Keep your voices down! If Mr. Lin catches wind of this, we’re all dead meat.”
Several hunters kept casting nervous, sweating glances toward the glowing villa district in the distance, their palms slick with anxiety.
Song Yuqing sat behind her makeshift counter, meticulously logging everyone’s names, the items they selected, and the exact number of zombie corpses they owed on credit into her notebook. She wasn’t worried about anyone defaulting on their tabs; Xie Hao stood right beside her looking thoroughly menacing with his rifle, and the refugees harbored a healthy amount of fear toward the guard. Rumor had it that Xie Hao possessed powerful, shadowy backers within upper management.
“Listen up! If anyone fails to deliver their zombie count tomorrow night, you are permanently blacklisted from buying supplies!” Liu Xiaona barked, pacing up and down the line like a drill sergeant. “Accurately calculate how many walkers you can realistically take down! Don’t get greedy! If you take out a massive loan and fail to pay it back in corpses, it’s going to be incredibly embarrassing for you.”
“Huh? What are you doing here?” Liu Xiaona suddenly paused, spotting the thin little boy who had been hauling heavy baskets of dirt at the construction site earlier mixed into the crowd.
“I… I can fight zombies too,” the little boy stuttered, his voice trembling as he gripped his shirt.
“You’re way too young, kid. You haven’t even awakened a superpower yet.”
“But I’m so hungry,” the boy whispered, looking down.
Liu Xiaona fell silent, a heavy lump forming in his throat. What were ordinary, unawakened civilians supposed to do in a world like this? They could barely outrun a basic walker, let alone hunt them down to trade for food.
Within an hour, every single drop of water and scrap of food Song Yuqing had brought was completely sold out. All that remained on the grass were self-defense weapons like high-voltage electric batons and heavy kitchen knives. Despite the lack of food, a massive crowd of refugees remained, clutching their empty stomachs and staring at her with desperate, longing eyes.
“That’s all for tonight, everyone! Everything else is cleared out,” Song Yuqing announced gently. “If you still need supplies, you’ll have to travel down to Chen Town and find me at God’s Supermarket.”
A collective groan echoed through the crowd. Those who had missed out felt an immense wave of regret, and a few dark glances muttered about reporting the operation to the base supermarket out of pure spite.
“But listen up!” Song Yuqing called out, her voice cutting through the discontent. “Anyone who didn’t manage to buy anything tonight, step up and log your names right now! On my next run, everyone on this waitlist gets a free hot meal on the house!”
A massive, ecstatic cheer instantly erupted from the crowd.
Song Yuqing stepped out from behind the counter, her eyes tracking the low energy at the edge of the clearing. She walked over to where Liu Xiaona stood silently beside the gaunt little boy.
After assessing the kid for a quiet moment, she reached into the remaining weapon crate, pulled out a heavy-duty electric baton and a thick, razor-sharp kitchen knife, and placed them firmly into the boy’s small hands.
Even without a fancy superpower, the kid needed to learn how to put down a zombie. In this broken world, he had to learn how to fight to survive.
The boy blinked his long eyelashes, staring down at the heavy weapons. He gripped the hilt of the knife and balanced the weight of the baton, executing a pair of smooth, incredibly fluid practice swings. His form was absolutely flawless.
Song Yuqing raised an eyebrow, thoroughly surprised. “Have you actually practiced martial arts before?”
“My mom paid for me to go to a traditional martial arts academy before the world ended,” the boy whispered, his eyes locked on the gleaming steel.
Back then, he had trained tirelessly just to perform synchronized routines on a brightly lit stage. Now, that exact training had become his only shot at staying alive.
