Doomsday Grocery Store – CH198

Chapter 198

“Brother Qi, we’ve got a new Drift Bottle!” Tang Yu’an immediately sat up like a carp flipping out of water the moment he saw the system notification.

Zhou Qi, who had already woken up, nodded helplessly.

He had also noticed the empty bottle hanging by the Dream Drift Bottle window. Although it felt somewhat absurd, there was an odd sense of inevitability to it.

After all, this was Tang Yu’an, who always seemed to get what he wanted.

“Is this because of the level upgrade?” Zhou Qi couldn’t help but speculate.

He remembered that new functions related to Drift Bottles had been unlocked at levels 10 and 15 before.

“Yup!” Tang Yu’an nodded enthusiastically. “I just hit level 20! Looks like Xiao Cao and Xiao Shi have already opened for business as well.”

Zhou Qi nodded. He could verify this through the log records of Store #1.

Transactions completed by employees and store upgrades were all recorded there, and branch managers could check these logs at any time.

“Besides unlocking the new Dream Drift Bottle, are there any other rewards?” Zhou Qi asked.

“There are!” Tang Yu’an began reading them out loud.

First, the wholesale market now had five new items: oyster sauce, chicken jerky, canned fish, rain boots, and light bulbs.

“More meat and condiments! And now, electrical appliances too,” Tang Yu’an said excitedly.

Zhou Qi nodded again. The wholesale market’s condiment selection had already expanded to a total of ten types: refined salt, cooking oil, white vinegar, soy sauce, white sugar, black pepper, MSG, chicken bouillon, cumin, and oyster sauce. With these, basic cooking was no longer an issue.

So, when that deity had swept away all their condiments the other day, Zhou Qi had been surprised but not overly upset. He had quickly replenished the stock using points.

This time, besides new items in the wholesale market and the addition of a new Drift Bottle, there were several other upgrades:

[Unlocked RV Upgrade Function]
[Portable Storage Slot +1, Total Slots: 24; Authorized Slots +1, Current Authorized Slots: 5]
[Unlocked “Item Appraisal (Intermediate)” skill. Details available on the Skill Panel. Item slots in the Dimensional Storefront increased to 5.]
[Seven-Day Flash Sale Refresh Card +1]

That’s right—not only had the RV upgrade function been unlocked, but Tang Yu’an’s appraisal skill had also been upgraded!

Upon reaching Level 20, Tang Yu’an had officially advanced to the rank of Mid-tier Merchant.

[Item Appraisal (Intermediate)]
Description: A skill exclusive to mid-tier merchants, obtained through unlocking the appraisal compendium and leveling up as a merchant.
Function: Allows the user to appraise the basic information of items and lifeforms. Each appraisal costs 10% of the item’s value in points. Appraising sentient lifeforms has a fixed fee of 10,000 points.

The appraisal skill could finally assess sentient lifeforms! However, the appraisal fee was absurdly high—10,000 points for each use!

This meant they could no longer deduce the value of sentient lifeforms based on the appraisal fee alone. To learn any information, they’d have to first pay the 10,000-point fee.

Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but shake his head. It seemed like the system was truly desperate for points.

He closed the skill page and granted Zhou Qi access to the newly unlocked portable storage slot. Afterward, he turned his attention to the RV upgrade function.

The RV upgrade interface was located on the store page of the Peace Grocery Store, likely because this function was currently exclusive to it.

Tang Yu’an opened the interface to check.

[Please select the part of the RV you wish to upgrade:]

[1. Vehicle Body]
[2. Interior Space]
[3. Driving System (Locked)]

Tang Yu’an noticed that the third option required a merchant level of Lv25 to unlock. He then glanced at the experience points needed for the next level:

[XP Progress: Lv20 (13/25,200)]

“…”

After advancing to a mid-tier merchant, the XP required to level up had increased exponentially!

Tang Yu’an silently looked away from the XP bar, deciding to leave it to time since it was no longer a short-term goal.

“The vehicle body can be upgraded. Every component can be replaced, but it costs points,” Tang Yu’an said as he browsed through the RV upgrade options.

“As for the interior space, it mainly involves expanding the capacity—like those super storage containers that look small on the outside but are huge inside. However, in addition to upgrade points, you also need Void Stones.”

Zhou Qi nodded. “We don’t need to expand the interior space for now, but upgrading the vehicle body might be worth trying.”

After all, they could open the RV door and directly return to the Peace Grocery Store. Keeping the interior as it was might actually help maintain appearances.

On the other hand, upgrading the vehicle body’s components would improve their mobility and durability during outdoor operations.

Tang Yu’an nodded in agreement, but he didn’t rush to initiate the upgrades. Instead, he checked the time—there were still over three hours left until the Dream Drift Bottle and Summoning Spell fusion would be complete.

Noticing Tang Yu’an’s hesitation, Zhou Qi paused for a moment before suggesting, “For now, let’s not send this bottle into the Dream Sea.”

Tang Yu’an was taken aback. “Why not?”

“It takes too long to make a round trip,” Zhou Qi explained. “Since we can be certain that this bottle can reach Uncle Tang and Auntie Tang’s dream world, why don’t we first send supplies directly to them?”

“Judging by the dimensional code, it seems like our original world has already entered the apocalypse. Uncle Tang and Auntie Tang will definitely need these resources.”

After all, when the system had transferred them here, their entire store had come along. But Uncle Tang and Auntie Tang had only been left with a small delivery truck.

“You’re right—we should prioritize getting supplies to Mom and Dad!”

Tang Yu’an fully agreed with Zhou Qi’s suggestion and immediately began compiling a list of supplies to send back to their original world.

However, he quickly realized something and said, “But we don’t have a Spirit Storage Pouch, and this bottle can’t hold much…”

Even if they had a storage artifact like a Spatial Capsule that could expand capacity, the bottle’s opening was far too small. Many items simply wouldn’t fit, not to mention that they didn’t even have a Spatial Capsule at the moment—

The one they got from Cosona had already fused with the auto-refilling insulated water bottle.

“Can we buy one from the Dimensional Store?” Zhou Qi asked.

“Let me check!”

Tang Yu’an quickly opened the Dimensional Store and searched for it, but the result was—

“Wow, it’s so expensive! A single Spatial Pouch costs 200,000 points!” he said, wincing at the price.

Their current points balance was just over 200,000. If they bought the Spatial Pouch, their remaining points would be almost gone, and they might not even have enough left to pay their employees.

“After all, a single Spatial Stone is worth 50,000 points, so it makes sense that spatial-type items are expensive,” Zhou Qi sighed.

“So, should we buy it now?” Tang Yu’an asked.

“Let’s wait,” Zhou Qi said after thinking for a moment. “Give it three days. If we can’t find another solution by then, we’ll buy a Spatial Pouch.”

Tang Yu’an looked a bit conflicted but eventually nodded. “Alright.”

During these three days, they could try to earn more points. That way, even if they had to buy the Spatial Pouch, they’d still have some balance left, and it wouldn’t feel as painful.

“Let’s go to the Jufeng Grocery Store and use the Sales Boosting Card!”

They had one 48-hour Sales Boosting Card and two 6-hour ones. They could start with a 6-hour card and draw in more customers for the Jufeng Grocery Store.

Zhou Qi nodded. “We can also finish the ‘Eliminate Dangerous Creatures (3)’ mission.”

“Right! That mission rewards us with two 48-hour Sale Boosting Cards and five spins on the Lucky Wheel!” Tang Yu’an’s eyes lit up. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll get a suitable special item!”

With that, they quickly freshened up, had breakfast, and left the Peace Grocery Store, teleporting to Jufeng Town.

Sure enough, Xiao Cao and Xiao Shi had already opened for business, and Old Li was helping out in the store.

The Jufeng Grocery Store was surrounded by a crowd of people, all there to buy low-priced salt. Seeing the dense cluster of glowing dots outside the shop, Tang Yu’an temporarily dismissed the idea of using the Sales Boosting Card.

The mountain paths were narrow, and the sheer number of people made it easy for a stampede to occur. It was better to wait until tomorrow to reassess the situation.

They watched the store’s operations for a while. Thanks to the windowed counter design, the store’s safety had indeed improved significantly. The Black Bear Mercenaries had also stationed two guards in front of the window to maintain basic order.

“Grandpa, do you think we should also assign someone to guard our store here?” Tang Yu’an asked Old Li for his opinion.

“What are you suggesting?” Old Li asked.

“Do you think Brother Lan Lin is trustworthy?”

In the Desolate Grocery Store, the strongest awakened ability user besides Zhou Qi was Lan Lin.

After spending some time with him, both Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi felt that Lan Lin was a decent person and someone they could trust.

Lan Lin had shown great enthusiasm for exploring new knowledge, and under his influence, the research room they had set up was gradually achieving results.

What surprised Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi was that the original purpose of the research room was to facilitate the exploration of abilities. However, after Lin Zhen joined, the research topics were no longer limited to just abilities.

Lan Lin also had an impressive talent for crafting. Many of Lin Zhen’s ideas could be brought to life with his help. If he couldn’t manage it himself, he’d bring the problem to the research room for discussion.

Since Lin Zhen’s designs primarily aimed to improve production efficiency, they were closely tied to the abilities of those who used the research room. As a result, the ability users could occasionally provide valuable suggestions.

This made the research room’s topics more diverse and expansive.

“You’re planning to recommend Lan Lin as an employee?” Old Li frowned. “He’s probably not great at handling business.”

Lan Lin was a good person, but his sharp tongue could be quite off-putting. Even Lin Zhen, who had grown up with him, sometimes found him hard to bear.

Still, the Desolate City Haven was currently quite short-staffed.

Xiao Cao and Xiao Shi were busy with business in Jufeng Town, and while Lin Zhen could help out occasionally, she had recently become obsessed with studying. She wasn’t as proactive as she used to be, leaving Old Li feeling overworked.

“That’s not an issue. The Jufeng Grocery Store doesn’t need someone to attract customers,” Tang Yu’an explained.

His main reason for hiring Lan Lin was to have him guard the Jufeng Grocery Store and prevent incidents like the previous robbery from happening again.

As long as the store continued selling salt, it wouldn’t lack customers, even if the staff weren’t particularly welcoming.

“If that’s the case, maybe Xiao Cao or Xiao Shi could return to the Desolate City Haven to help you out, Grandpa. That way, you’d have an easier time too,” Tang Yu’an continued.

Old Li chuckled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll talk to Xiao Shi and Xiao Cao about it first and see if they’re willing. I’ll prepare them mentally in advance.”

The business at the Jufeng Grocery Store was booming, and they might not be keen on giving up half their earnings. It was better to approach the topic carefully.

Tang Yu’an thought that made sense and nodded. “Alright, thank you, Grandpa!”

Afterward, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi headed into the basement, unlocking the secret passage and entering it. They were preparing to clear out the dangerous creatures in the tunnels.

Of course, before entering, Tang Yu’an cast a Light Blessing spell on himself and Zhou Qi.

As they left, Old Li returned to the store’s front.

Since the doors and windows were tightly shut, the store was dimly lit even during the day. It relied on the glow from luminescent fruits to provide enough light for normal operations.

Xiao Cao sat at the window counter, handing salt to customers and tossing the wild vegetables and mushrooms she received into a nearby basket.

Xiao Shi, sitting behind her, was responsible for restocking the salt when it ran out and moving full baskets to the side to replace them with empty ones.

Although Xiao Shi couldn’t exactly call himself idle due to the speed at which salt was selling, he was noticeably less busy than Xiao Cao.

Taking advantage of a break, Old Li pulled Shi Tou aside for a private conversation.

“Are we really going to have Brother Lan Lin come here?” Shi Tou asked, slightly stunned.

Old Li nodded. “I heard about what happened last time, so I suggested to Xiao Qi that he arrange for an awakened ability user to guard the store. I also recommended Lan Lin.”

“Once he’s here, either you or Xiao Cao can return to the Desolate City Haven to help me out. If you’d prefer, you could take turns instead.”

Shi Tou didn’t hesitate and replied, “No need to take turns. I’ll go back.”

Old Li studied him for a moment. “Think carefully—there are far fewer customers at the Desolate City Haven than here in Jufeng Town.”

“It’s fine. Xiao Cao loves running the business. Let her stay here. Brother Lan Lin is a very capable awakened ability user; he’s much better suited to protecting Xiao Cao than I am.”

Even while speaking with Old Li, Shi Tou’s eyes remained fixed on the window counter, his body tense and ready. From the way he stood, it was clear he was prepared to rush over and protect his sister at the first sign of trouble.

“If it weren’t for the manager and the little miracle doctor last time, we might’ve gone down with the store,” Shi Tou said, his voice low.

He recalled the scene vividly—those frenzied mobs surging toward them. Though he had grown up facing all sorts of danger, nothing had ever shaken him as much as that day.

Those people were like bloodthirsty beasts, a black wave rushing to tear him and his sister apart, leaving nothing behind.

And it wasn’t just “like”—they had almost succeeded.

When he was younger, before the master of Hong Li Mountain took over as the area’s leader, he had witnessed people throwing children into boiling pots…

Nothing mattered more than survival.

“I’m willing to trade places with Brother Lan Lin, but only if he promises to protect Xiao Cao,” Shi Tou said, his young face filled with unyielding determination as he looked at Old Li.

After a moment of silence, Old Li said, “If you’re so concerned about protecting her, maybe it’d be better to send her back to the Desolate City Haven.”

Hearing this, Shi Tou let out a heavy sigh and gave Old Li a look that said, You just don’t get it.

Under Old Li’s curious gaze, Shi Tou, looking utterly exhausted, said, “Xiao Cao loves running the business. Sending her back to the Desolate City Haven wouldn’t make her happy.”

“If she could stand staying there, she wouldn’t have dragged me to the Jade Pavilion Inn to sell hot soup before the Jufeng Grocery Store was even repaired.”

Old Li finally noticed the dark circles under Shi Tou’s eyes and patted him on the shoulder with understanding.

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Lan Lin,” Old Li assured him.

Back in the underground tunnels, Tang Yu’an couldn’t help feeling a little nervous.

Fortunately, this time Zhou Qi seemed perfectly normal—no longer influenced by the spirit parasite within him. Seeing this, Tang Yu’an let out a sigh of relief.

With flashlights in hand, they began searching the tunnels for mutated creatures.

Thanks to their experiences in the Giant Wood Forest, the two boys had become much bolder and more composed. No matter what unexpected situations arose, they handled them with ease.

After all, the tunnels were merely dark. The density of mutated creatures here was nothing compared to the Giant Wood Forest.

Before long, they had killed six mutated creatures, most of which were bugs, with only two being rats.

The two mutated rats were enormous, over a meter long each, with sharp teeth capable of biting through solid rock.

One of the rats, realizing the situation was unfavorable, tried to escape but was swiftly struck down by Zhou Qi, who drove his machete through its head in one clean blow.

[Congratulations! You’ve completed the special mission: Eliminate Dangerous Creatures (3). Rewards: Points +300, Wholesale Market Discount Coupons (30% off) x2, Sales Boosting Cards (48 hours) x2, Lucky Wheel Spins x5.]

They had received their rewards!

At the same time, the next mission, Eliminate Dangerous Creatures (4), was triggered. The required target count had increased to 60.

Unfortunately, this mission was tied to their current dimension. Killing mutated creatures in other dimensions wouldn’t count. Otherwise, it would have been easier to complete in another dimension.

Zhou Qi collected the teeth and claws of the mutated rats, while the rest of the materials were sent back to the Desolate City Haven for the residents there to process.

“Let’s head back,” Zhou Qi said.

“Alright,” Tang Yu’an replied.

As Tang Yu’an looked at the map, he suddenly noticed that in the location marked as Lu Yan’ position, there was now an additional green dot besides him.

Lu Yan was in the abandoned chemical factory, a place filled with toxins. It was hard to imagine who else could survive in such an environment besides him.

“Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since we’ve picked up any bottles from Lu Yan,” Tang Yu’an remarked.

Zhou Qi thought for a moment and speculated, “Maybe his wish has already been fulfilled, so he doesn’t need to make any more wishes in the dream world.”

The Drift Bottles they collected from the Dream Sea all belonged to dreamers with intense desires they wanted fulfilled, which is why they were called “Dream Wishers.”

If Lu Yan no longer had a strong desire, it was natural that his bottles wouldn’t appear anymore.

Tang Yu’an nodded. “As long as he’s safe and happy, that’s all that matters.”

When they returned to the Jufeng Grocery Store, they found that the number of customers hadn’t decreased—it had actually increased.

Tang Yu’an checked the map markers and noticed several of Jin Fu’s subordinates lingering near the store, though Jin Fu himself was nowhere to be seen.

The last time they’d dealt with Jin Fu, they had hit him with a lot of misfortune marbles. Who knew what had happened to him afterward?

As luck would have it, Captain Hei Xiong had come by to check on the situation, so Tang Yu’an curiously asked him.

“Are you talking about Jin Fu?” Hei Xiong’s expression turned odd. “After he left the guard station, I heard a boulder rolled down the mountain and broke his leg. Then, after someone took him back, a string of misfortunes followed.”

“Let’s just say he’s still alive, but he’s probably in no condition to cause trouble anymore.”

However, just because Jin Fu was out of the picture didn’t mean everything was safe. After all, when he went to buy salt in Linhai Town, he would’ve traveled with an entire caravan. There would be plenty of others to replace him.

When Tang Yu’an heard how severely Jin Fu had been injured, he realized he didn’t feel particularly happy about it.

If possible, he didn’t want to solve problems by destroying others. It seemed he’d need to use the misfortune marbles more cautiously in the future.

“I’ll have my men keep a closer eye on things,” Black Bear said.

The Jufeng Grocery Store was now tied to the interests of all the townsfolk. Even the guards, who currently had access to salt, couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t rely on the store in the future to sell salt.

After all, they couldn’t be guards for the rest of their lives—eventually, they’d retire. Having a Grocery Store like this in Jufeng Town was only beneficial for them.

“Thank you for your help!” Tang Yu’an said.

“No need to thank me,” Hei Xiong replied.

Shortly after, Hei Xiong left, and Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi returned to the Desolate City Haven. They had already announced on the store’s communication channel that they wanted to recommend Lan Lin as a new employee.

Lin Zhen naturally had no objections, and both Shi Tou and Xiao Cao also agreed. With everyone on board, Tang Yu’an officially posted the recruitment notice.

As the branch manager, Zhou Qi then took the lead in explaining the offer to Lan Lin.

“Lan Lin, just say yes already! Do you know who the Mysterious Merchant is? He’s the envoy of the God of Commerce!” Lin Zhen urged excitedly from the side.

Lan Lin, who had initially thought it wouldn’t be a big deal to accept, now turned to Lin Zhen with a skeptical look.

“The God of Commerce?” Lan Lin frowned. “Did you fry your brain on test problems last night, or are you still sleepwalking?”

“I’m serious!” Lin Zhen snapped, clearly frustrated.

“You, of all people—constantly lecturing me about physics and chemistry, preaching about how great science is—are now telling me about some God of Commerce?”

Lan Lin was convinced Lin Zhen had been driven insane by physics and math problems.

“Believing in the greatness of science has nothing to do with believing in the God of Commerce!” Lin Zhen retorted angrily. “All the physics and chemistry I’ve been learning were taught to me by the Mysterious Merchant! And you have no idea how incredible Lord Dark Moon is!”

“Who’s Lord Dark Moon?” Lan Lin asked, confused.

“He’s also an envoy of the Mysterious Merchant! Once you see his posts on the forum, you’ll shut your big mouth! Now hurry up and accept the job!”

Under Lin Zhen’s relentless pressure, Lan Lin finally agreed to the job offer and was promptly dragged away by her to complete the onboarding tasks.

Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi exchanged a glance and silently agreed to let Lin Zhen handle Lan Lin’s employee training.

Although… Lin Zhen herself had been somewhat “corrupted” by Old Mo’s eccentric ways…

When they returned to the Peace Grocery Store, the fusion of the Dream Drift Bottle had already been completed. From the outside, there didn’t appear to be any changes.

Tang Yu’an decided to test it by placing the new empty bottle from that morning into the Dream Sea. As he did so, a system notification popped up:

[You are placing a Dream Drift Bottle (Empty) into the Dream Sea. Please choose your destination:]
[Drift into an unknown domain.]
[Enter the dream of the person with whom you share the closest blood bond.]

It worked!

Tang Yu’an quickly retrieved the Dream Drift Bottle, interrupting the process.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qi had placed a pen and paper on the small table and was drafting a list. Tang Yu’an leaned over to take a look and saw it was all essential supplies.

He chimed in with a few suggestions and then said, “Let’s draw the lottery first.”

After all, they had six chances to draw prizes today!

Zhou Qi paused before nodding. “Alright, let’s see what we can get today.”

Tang Yu’an rubbed his hands together nervously, made a wish for a Spirit Storage Pouch, and clicked the button to spin the wheel.

The pointer spun and spun before finally stopping on—

[Congratulations! You’ve received 1,888 points.]

“Well, points aren’t bad,” Tang Yu’an nodded and continued spinning.

[Congratulations! You’ve received 10 points.]

“Wow! It’s building up to something good, right?” Tang Yu’an said excitedly.

Hearing this, Zhou Qi couldn’t help but grow a little tense as well. He put down his pen and turned his attention to the lottery results.

And then—

[Congratulations! You’ve received a ‘Double Points Card (12 hours).’]

“A 12-hour Double Points Card!” Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but jump up in excitement.

Zhou Qi was momentarily stunned before breaking into a smile. “Not bad! With our current rate of earning points, we could make a huge profit.”

“Yes! I’ll keep going!” Tang Yu’an said enthusiastically.

Even if they couldn’t win a storage pouch, earning extra points would make buying one from the Dimensional Store a much better option.

Treating it casually this time, Tang Yu’an clicked to spin the wheel again. After all, they had already landed a Double Points Card.

And then—

[Congratulations! You’ve received a ‘Dream Drift Bottle Accelerator.’]

Tang Yu’an: 0.0

“Does that mean it can reduce the drifting time?” he wondered aloud.