Doomsday Grocery Store – CH54

Chapter 54

The argument between Chi Hao and Yuan Bao soon attracted the attention of two little bystanders.

The cat and dog, who had been playing on the ground, quickly trotted over. Wang Cai jumped onto a chair, and Yin Bi joined it, both tilting their heads as they stared at Chi Hao. Spectating….

Chi Hao: “…”

The previously righteous and slightly angry red-haired young man started to wilt under the scrutiny of those four little eyes.

What? Never seen someone refuse to work before?

Chi Hao muttered a low curse, tossed the broom aside, and sat down on the ground, looking like he was ready to rebel.

It’s not like they’re going to eat him just because he won’t go clean the warehouse, right?

“Woof!”

Yuan Bao, clearly displeased with Chi Hao’s attitude, flashed right in front of him.

Chi Hao flinched but still didn’t want to back down. Just as the tension was about to escalate, a system message suddenly popped up.

The system panel hadn’t appeared in a long time, catching Chi Hao off guard.

He hadn’t checked the system panel in ages—he couldn’t leave the grocery store, couldn’t earn points, and without points, he couldn’t redeem any items. Looking at the system was just a reminder of what he couldn’t do, so he had ignored it.

But just as he was preparing to slack off, the long-dormant system panel appeared again.

[Congratulations! You have triggered the Daily Task “Clean the Store.”]

[Description: With the other two store employees away, you’re the only one who can take on the responsibility of cleaning the store. The mysterious merchant hopes you’ll complete this task.]
[Task: Complete the daily cleaning of the store (0/1)]
[Reward: 2 Points ]

[Friendly Reminder: This task can be completed once daily. Completing it five times in a row earns an extra points bonus.]

Chi Hao: !!!

The mysterious merchant actually assigned him a task?

So why hadn’t it triggered yesterday?

Chi Hao thought back and quickly concluded that it was likely because—yesterday morning, Yu’an and the others had done the cleaning before they left, so he didn’t get the task!

Chi Hao rubbed his chin, so there’s points to be gained for cleaning every day?

No wonder Yu’an and Zhuo Qi reminded him so many times to keep up with the cleaning—it must have been because of this!

Chi Hao eyed the reward.

So, does that mean he’ll get 2 points every day he cleans? That sounds…kind of low.

But remembering that his monthly base pay was only 10 points, he felt like 2 points was decent—and after five times, there was even a bonus!

This task was simple, and just starting out, every bit of points counted.

Chi Hao quickly adjusted his attitude.

So, he’d have to clean the warehouse? With three pets around, could that thing in the warehouse really harm him?

Just as Chi Hao made up his mind and was about to go clean the warehouse, he saw a black-and-gold shadow pounce toward him. He didn’t dodge in time and was knocked flat on the ground.

Looking down, he realized that Yuan Bao was about to sink its teeth into his neck!

Holy—was it really going to bite?

Chi Hao quickly grabbed his broom, holding it between himself and the little puppy’s mouth. “Stop, stop! I’m going to clean it! Right away!”

He kept dodging, yelling, “If you hurt me, An An’s going to be mad when he finds out!”

Yuan Bao remained undeterred.

If it weren’t worried about shifting back to its original, much larger form and potentially damaging items in the shop, it would’ve changed back and bitten this guy’s head off!

Even in this form, though, it could still teach him a lesson.

As Chi Hao continued dodging, a thought suddenly came to him.

“If you bite me, my blood’s going to make a mess on the floor. Do you want to clean that up? An An specifically asked you to keep an eye on me so I’d get the cleaning done!”

Hearing this, Yuan Bao hesitated.

Just then, Yin Bi barked in agreement, wagging excitedly, almost as if it was talking, while Wang Cai meowed twice in support.

Yin Bi remembered just how dirty Chi Hao had made the floor when he first came, and it had taken the owner ages to clean it up!

Finally, Yuan Bao stopped.

It glared at Chi Hao, its murderous gaze fading, replaced by a look of deep disdain.

Chi Hao: “…”

While he was glad to keep his life, why did he still feel so defeated?

*

[Daily Task (3) Complete. Points +2]

[Congratulations! All Daily Tasks Complete. Lucky Spin Chance +1]

Seeing the system prompt pop up, Tang Yu’an, who had just finished dinner and was anxiously waiting, breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, the store was fine.

The daily task Chi Hao received was one that Tang Yu’an had sent. After realizing Chi Hao hadn’t done the cleaning, Tang Yu’an had explored the employee page and issued him the task.

Previously, he had simply shared the daily task with Zhou Qi, so with Chi Hao not completing it, Tang Yu’an guessed either something had gone wrong, or he hadn’t actually assigned Chi Hao the task.

After careful research and testing with Zhou Qi, he finally assigned Chi Hao the task.

If Chi Hao manages to complete the task for five consecutive days, he’ll earn an additional 10 points as a bonus, totaling 20 points. While it might seem a bit modest, it’s definitely appealing enough for him.

It didn’t take long for him to complete the task, did it?

With the lucky spin chance in hand, Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but rub his hands together and asked Zhou Qi, “What do you think I’ll get this time?”

Zhou Qi smiled, fully confident in An’an’s lucky streak.

“Definitely something useful for us.”

“Mm!”

Tang Yu’an took a deep breath, rubbed his hands for good luck, and hit the spin button.

The pointer spun round and round, finally landing on—

[Congratulations! You have unlocked low-tier Tech Plane item: “Textile Fabric.” Details available in the wholesale market.]

Tang Yu’an blinked, fabric? Like fabric to make clothes?

Curious, he opened the wholesale market and found this item wasn’t a single product—it was…

An entire category!

The wholesale market now displayed a new category labeled[Textile Fabric], and upon expanding it, he saw—

[Cotton Fabric: 10 points/meter]
[Available colors: Black, white, gray]
[Unlockable colors: Red, yellow, blue, green, cyan, purple, pink, brown…]
[Note: Each color set unlocks for 10 points, and for an additional 5 points, you can adjust the shade with each order.]

[Linen Fabric: 20 points/meter]
[Available colors: Black, white, gray]
[Unlockable colors: …]

[Locked Fabrics]
[Polyester: Unlock for 10 points]
[Nylon: Unlock for 10 points]
[Coarse Cloth: Unlock for 25 points]
[Wool Fabric: Unlock for 50 points]
[Fleece: Unlock for 50 points]
[Down Fabric: Unlock for 100 points]
[Silk: Unlock for 100 points]
[ … ]

Note: All fabrics are 1.2 meters in width.

Seeing the long list of locked fabrics, some he didn’t even recognize, Tang Yu’an gulped.

“How’d it go?” Zhou Qi asked, curious since Tang Yu’an hadn’t said anything. Did he finally draw something different?

Soon enough, Tang Yu’an’s face broke into a grin. “Brother Qi! You were right—I did get something useful! We can make new clothes now!”

He shared the [Textile Fabric] category with Zhou Qi, who took a look in the employee store and went silent. This time, the item…Was really useful!

In fact, it seemed even more practical than fuel. Though fuel could generate electricity, which was important to him, it was out of reach for most people in a post-apocalyptic world where even basic needs were hard to meet.

But fabric—this could solve a crucial need for warmth.

Items like fleece and down fabric were great for keeping warm, while for hot days, breathable fabrics like linen and cotton were ideal. And the latter two were available directly with a fairly low point requirement.

They could even produce and sell these fabrics in the future. After all, Tie Jin had shown interest in such items and had even offered five mutated metal arrows for a trade!

Exchanging 10 points for 1.2 square meters of cotton fabric would be plenty to make a cute custom outfit for Jin Lili!

Of course, he’d have to check market prices tomorrow at the market to see what everything was worth in this world.

“Brother Qi, can you see the locked fabrics?” Tang Yu’an asked.

Zhou Qi nodded, “I can.”

“Then could you try unlocking wool fabric?” Tang Yu’an suggested.

Wool would be useful for keeping warm, so unlocking it now for 50 points wouldn’t be a waste.

Zhou Qi agreed and unlocked wool fabric as requested.

The system deducted 50 points from his account—

Though Tang Yu’an had always considered their points collectively, their accounts were technically separate.

Once Zhou Qi’s points were deducted, Tang Yu’an saw that [Wool Fabric] had indeed been unlocked in his store, and his eyes lit up.

Before, Chi Hao had needed 500 points to unlock fuel—something Tang Yu’an had intentionally set high, believing that Chi Hao would be able to earn points quickly once he returned to the fortress.

Now, however, for the textile fabrics he hadn’t yet unlocked, Zhou Qi could unlock them, giving Tang Yu’an access in his own store as well. So…

“Does that mean employees can help me unlock fabrics and colors in the future?” Tang Yu’an asked, eyes sparkling.

Although he had plenty of points now, there were dozens of fabrics yet to unlock, which would cost around a thousand points in total. Adding the colors would be even more costly, just thinking about it hurts!

If his employees could help with the unlocking, he’d be able to save so many points.

Of course, he didn’t count Zhou Qi as an employee.

Zhou Qi was family, not just an employee.

“In theory, it’s doable,” Zhou Qi said, agreeing with Tang Yu’an’s idea. He added, “You could hide the fabrics I’ve already unlocked or set higher unlock conditions for employees.”

This way, when comparing options, employees would naturally prefer fabrics with lower unlock costs.

“Yes!” Tang Yu’an beamed, “You’re a genius, Brother Qi!”

Zhou Qi chuckled softly. Though it might seem a bit unfair to the employees…

As the system suggested, just being recruited by the mysterious merchant and gaining access to the employee store was already a huge stroke of luck in this apocalyptic world, so there wasn’t really much to complain about.

“By the way, what did you get from the lucky spin last night?” Zhou Qi asked, remembering something.

With the robbery and murder last night, his mind had been elsewhere, so he hadn’t brought it up.

“Oh, I got a special item,” Tang Yu’an replied.

“…” Zhou Qi kept his smile in place and continued, “What kind of item?”

Hopefully, it wasn’t another overpowered trinket like the magical series of marbles…

“It’s called the Cloak of a Thousand Faces,” Tang Yu’an explained, “but it feels a little underwhelming.”

He took out the cloak, which was pure black with a hood, looking quite plain and a bit flimsy, with material that didn’t seem all that impressive.

Tang Yu’an read the description to Zhou Qi.

“It only works onstage.”

He draped the cloak over himself and, picturing someone in his mind, said, “See? Nothing happened.”

Zhou Qi examined the cloak thoughtfully, then leaned in and whispered an idea.

Tang Yu’an’s eyes widened. “Huh? Do I really have to do that?”

Zhou Qi cleared his throat. “Just give it a try.”

After a moment of hesitation, Tang Yu’an stood under the floating umbrella, wearing the cloak, and declared loudly, “Life is a stage, and I’m always on it!”

“Now, I am Mo Ke, and Mo Ke is me!”

As he said the words with conviction, the cloak began to move as though animated by an unseen wind. The hood floated up and settled itself on his head.

Suddenly surrounded by darkness, Tang Yu’an almost jumped, but quickly realized this was part of the cloak’s effect and steadied himself, maintaining a serious expression.

Under Zhou Qi’s watchful gaze, Tang Yu’an, now fully wrapped in the cloak, began to grow taller, his body expanding as he transformed.

Zhou Qi’s eyes widened, watching the magical transformation unfold before him.

At last, the changes stopped.

With the hood still covering his eyes, Tang Yu’an cautiously peeked out from under it and exclaimed, “Brother Qi, you got shorter!”

And…

Realizing he now had a completely different, deeper voice, he covered his mouth in shock.

What was happening? He…

Seeing Zhou Qi’s startled face, Tang Yu’an quickly took out a mirror from his storage.

In the reflection, he saw a face—familiar yet strange—and gasped, stuttering, “I… I actually turned into Brother Mo Ke?”

Seeing “Mo Ke,” with his mature features, utter these words in a childish voice, Zhou Qi’s normally composed expression broke a little.

Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that this was still his An’an, not the real Mo Ke.

“Mm,” he nodded, “It’s completely convincing.”

Tang Yu’an studied his reflection, touching his face and turning his head from side to side. No matter what angle he looked from, it really was Mo Ke’s face.

He remembered Mo Ke’s way of conjuring flames, so he stretched out a hand and thought, I’m Mo Ke, I can control fire!

Suddenly, a faintly glowing flame flared up in his palm.

Tang Yu’an gasped.

“Brother Qi, look! I have power now!”

Zhou Qi quickly adjusted to Tang Yu’an’s new “appearance,” eyeing the flame in his hand with a slight frown.

Then, he reached out.

“Brother Qi, what are you doing?” Tang Yu’an jumped, pulling his hand back as Zhou Qi’s fingers neared the flame.

“Don’t move.”

Zhou Qi reached further, and under Tang Yu’an’s concerned gaze, touched the flame with no reaction at all.

“Huh?”

Tang Yu’an then tried holding a piece of paper near the flame, but no matter what he did, it wouldn’t catch fire.

“Oh… how disappointing…”

So it was just an illusion. It looked like real fire, but it didn’t actually burn.

Tang Yu’an sighed, clearly let down.

Seeing him discouraged, Zhou Qi instinctively reached out to pat his head as usual, but upon seeing Mo Ke’s mature face, he froze and awkwardly pulled his hand back.

“Though it doesn’t have any real power, it might be surprisingly effective for intimidation.”

Tang Yu’an nodded, then began moving around the room, testing his new body with a smile.

“Even if I can’t use his powers, I’m definitely stronger like this!” He held out a fist to Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi met his fist with a hand, and they playfully pushed against each other, comparing their strength.

In his Mo Ke form, Tang Yu’an was suddenly strong enough to match Zhou Qi.

After gaining his powers, Zhou Qi’s physical abilities had improved quite a bit, making him much stronger than when he first arrived in this world.

Now, Tang Yu’an could match him—quite a significant boost.

“Though it’s probably still a bit weaker than the real Mo Ke,” Tang Yu’an concluded, pulling back his hand, analyzing his new body’s limits.

After all, since it was the cloak that transformed him, a difference from the original was understandable, but regardless, this Thousand Faces Cloak was a very useful tool for him right now!

“It’s just a shame about the limitations; it can only be used once a day, and each use lasts just 60 minutes.”

Tang Yu’an thought for a moment and said, “Should we go for a walk?”

Back in Desolate City, he used to sleep early each night because it was dangerous outside and there wasn’t much to see anyway. But in Jufeng Town, things were different. The town was reasonably safe at night, and now, with the Shadow Umbrella and the Thousand Faces Cloak as disguises, Tang Yu’an’s adventurous spirit was stirring.

Zhou Qi considered it and nodded. “Then let’s go for a walk,” he said. After all, the Shadow Umbrella still had plenty of uses.

He stood up, looked at “Mo Ke’s” face, and couldn’t help suggesting, “I remember you bought a monkey mask at the lantern festival?”

Tang Yu’an nodded.

“Put on that mask,” Zhou Qi advised, “just in case Mo Ke’s acquaintances see you.”

“Oh, good idea!” Tang Yu’an said. He used his skill to retrieve the mask from the shop loft.

The mask was a flimsy plastic one, a bit small for Mo Ke’s face. Zhou Qi took scissors, cut the top half, threaded it with a string, and tied it onto Tang Yu’an.

“I’ll make you a sturdier one when we get back,” he promised. “Now that we can get fabric, I’ll make a proper eye mask.”

With the mask on, he looked a bit odd, but Zhou Qi thought it was much better this way.

“Alright, let’s go.”

After all the preparation, the cloak’s duration was down to just four or five minutes.

“Okay!” Tang Yu’an nodded.

They slipped out of the room, the Shadow Umbrella concealing their movements as they quietly left the Jade Pavilion.

As the night wind whipped around them, the Shadow Umbrella nearly flew out of Tang Yu’an’s hand, but he managed to grab hold of it just in time.

Since the wind was so strong, he folded up the umbrella once they were a safe distance from the Jade Pavilion.

The night was far from quiet as they followed the mountain path upward toward the sound of voices.

A fire blazed on an open area of the town, with residents without homes gathered around it.

Most had set up tents, while some lay directly on the ground with dry grass beneath them, using whatever scraps they could find as blankets.

The noise came from around one large bonfire, where several people laughed and chatted without regard for those around them who were trying to sleep.

Tang Yu’an could faintly smell alcohol in the air.

He wasn’t surprised; fruit could be used to make wine, and there were production ability users in Jufeng Town, like Grandma Guo, who could cultivate fruit trees. Excess fruit was naturally used for brewing.

Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi walked around the camp area, taking in the town’s sights. They soon realized that most residents without homes lived in mountain caves. With limited cave space, some were forced to stay outside.

After walking the whole perimeter of the town, they finally reached the lake that Old Li had mentioned as the town’s water source.

The lake’s still surface reflected the night sky above, and away from the noise, Tang Yu’an felt a rare sense of peace and tranquility.

He picked up a stone and skipped it across the water.

“Brother Qi, look how good I am!”

Zhou Qi tried to skip a stone too, but he didn’t throw it quite right, and it didn’t go very far.

Tang Yu’an chuckled.

Then, he opened his map, wanting to check the positions of his customers. To his surprise, he saw a red dot on the mountain path.

Tang Yu’an blinked. Was this the mutated snake?

Since there were still unexplored areas in the mountains, the red dot would appear and disappear on the map, only showing up when it reached paths they’d already walked.

But one thing was clear: the red dot was getting closer to Jufeng Town!

“Brother Qi, there’s a mutant creature!” Tang Yu’an quickly informed him. “And it’s coming right toward us.”

Zhou Qi’s face turned serious. “Is it that mutated snake? It’s coming into town?”

“Not yet. If it entered the town, the guards would have reacted by now.”

“Should we go check it out?” Tang Yu’an asked.

Zhou Qi shook his head. “The lightness skill has been used up today; we can’t take unnecessary risks.”

He took Tang Yu’an’s hand, guiding them back toward the Jade Pavilion. “Let’s head back.”

If the fire serpent did attack the town, the lake would probably remain safe, but Old Li was still at the Jade Pavilion—they couldn’t just leave him behind.

As they spoke, the red dot drew even closer and finally reached the path leading to the town gate.

Tang Yu’an held his breath.

It was close enough that the guards should have noticed by now, right?

But everything was still eerily quiet.

Then, just as it seemed about to enter, the red dot paused—and then vanished from the map.

Tang Yu’an stopped in his tracks.

Since he’d fully unlocked the map of Jufeng, he could clearly see the entire mountain top. But after the red dot disappeared, it didn’t show up anywhere in the town.

He stared at the map for a long moment, watching intently, but there was no sign of the red dot reappearing.

So strange!

Did that mutated snake suddenly encounter something that made it decide not to attack the town?

Zhou Qi, holding the Shadow Umbrella in one hand and Tang Yu’an in the other, sighed in relief upon hearing this. Without looking back, he said, “Keep an eye on it and see.”

If the snake really left, that would be ideal.

Without the lightness skill, his mobility was significantly reduced. Even with the Shadow Umbrella and the two beads, safety couldn’t be guaranteed. It was best to avoid contact with any mutated creature if possible.

Finally, the Jade Pavilion came into view.

Just then, the Thousand Faces Cloak’s time limit expired. Zhou Qi felt the hand he was holding shrink back to its familiar size and softness. He turned back to see the boy, returned to his original height, with the monkey mask loosely hanging down, looking slightly silly.

Zhou Qi reached out and gently removed the mask.

“Brother Qi, it seems like that mutated snake really left!” Tang Yu’an said joyfully.

Looking at the boy’s bright, sparkling eyes, Zhou Qi exhaled slowly. He reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair and then pinched his chubby cheek, his own face softening into a smile.