Chapter 21 - 21: Supermarket Membership
Song Jian had been waiting patiently for the kaleidoscope of light to coalesce. After more than an hour, the colorful glow gradually faded, and a three-story supermarket appeared in the center of Camel Square.
Finally, Song Jian sighed in relief. During the day, he had been constantly worried about whether the Doomsday Supermarket would reappear. If not, the ten zombie nuclei in his bundle would be useless.
Standing at the entrance of the supermarket, Song Jian looked through the glass doors and saw an array of items inside. There was an abundance of products, not only daily necessities but also a variety of tools and even weapons.
There were two guns in Song Jian’s pack now, a handgun and a double-barreled shotgun. Except, because he had used up all the bullets, the handgun only served as a nutcracker and the shotgun, without ammunition, was as good as a fire stick.
It seemed that the Doomsday Supermarket had a certain deterrent range. After its appearance, the monsters that had been wandering around Camel Square were nowhere to be found.
Song Jian had chosen this mansion as his safe house for its proximity to Camel Square. The attributes of the monsters became more dangerous at night; a Level One mutated zombie was still manageable, but if he came across a mutated beast dog during the night without using his “Earth Teeth Assault” ability, there was no way he could win with just the Tiger Fang Dagger.
Just like the previous night, Song Jian entered the supermarket and placed the ten zombie nuclei on the counter beside the self-service terminal in the lobby.
Next, he selected the “Complete Task” option on the self-service terminal screen. Before long, a self-service membership card procedure was displayed on the screen.
Following the process, Song Jian pressed his handprint on the screen a few times and stared into a camera on the terminal for a few seconds, soon a membership card was dispensed from the machine.
The metal membership card was lightly weighted and felt very smooth. The touch of it gave off a high-end feel.
The membership number on it was: A9527
“It seems like there are already over nine thousand people who have a membership card in this supermarket.” Song Jian thought, feeling a slight pressure.
The screen started to blink, displaying the details stored in Song Jian’s membership card. Under his personal information were two tiny lines: “Doomsday Coins: Zero, Sales Points: 1000.” Just as the supermarket had advertised the day before, one would receive 1000 points once the membership card was issued.
Beneath the membership details were membership rules. At the end of each rule, the same phrase was recurring: “Failure to comply with the stipulated rules will result in extermination.” The phrase “extermination” was highlighted, like blood, catching one’s attention, and chilling one to the bone.
Holding his membership card, Song Jian headed towards the product area. Before entering, there was a transparent glass door vaguely allowing a view of the row of shelves at the front filled with various life-sustaining supplies, such as rice, flour, fruits, and vegetables, further beyond were shelves lined with tools. However, due to the distance, he could not see it clearly.
Further beyond, there was a seemingly endless row of shelves laden with various goods.
Song Jian swiped his membership card in the magnetic slot next to the glass door, and the door opened automatically. He hesitated momentarily and then stepped inside.
As he truly entered the interior of the supermarket, Song Jian realized that the supermarket was vaster than he initially anticipated. He could only see up to a few dozen meters ahead, while everything beyond was shrouded in mist. But when he approached the mist, it would disperse on its own. Song Jian was worried if he went too far, he might get lost in the supermarket.
“Rice: 1/Doomsday Coin per kilogram, flour: 1/Doomsday Coin per kilogram, cornmeal: 1/Doomsday Coin per kilogram…”
“Apples: 1/Doomsday Coin per kilogram, bananas: 1/Doomsday Coin per kilogram,…”
“Celery: 1/Doomsday Coin per kilogram, tomatoes: 1/Doomsday Coin per kilogram,…”
After wandering around the front shelves for a while, Song Jian was astonished to find that the price of all these food items was 1 Doomsday Coin per kilogram.
Song Jian guessed that the Doomsday Coin must be a form of currency in the game. He found it peculiar that all items had the same price.
“Perhaps these common items are not very valuable in the game…” An idea suddenly popped into Song Jian’s mind.
Thinking of this, Song Jian felt a pang of excitement and briskly walked towards the shelves in the back.
After several dozens of meters past the first seven or eight rows of shelves, he spotted tools – chainsaws, shovels, axes, lighters. Their quality was mundane and their price was a single Doomsday Coin.
Further in, the goods on the shelves began to emit a milky white glow. From here onwards, the quality of the goods was no longer mundane but ordinary. Among the countless white-quality goods were occasional items glowing green or blue, which could be considered small treasures.
The variety of goods here ranged from weapons to equipment. The prices saw a significant leap, ranging from a low of a few Doomsday Coins, to dozens or even hundreds. The number of Doomsday Coins needed increased with the quality of the item.
Song Jian felt that he had already walked a few hundred meters, but he was still surrounded by fog. He could see a sea of green and blue glowing items ahead, and further away, silver and even gold glows were visible. However, being too far away, he couldn’t see clearly, and beyond them was a haze of white fog.
Song Jian hesitated to go further; he was genuinely afraid he’d get lost in the supermarket. He didn’t have a single Doomsday Coin on him, so despite being surrounded by alluring goods, he had no way to possess them.
After wandering around, Song Jian noticed that the gear here was all below Level Thirty; there was no gear for levels above thirty.
“Martial Arts Secret Scroll section?” Song Jian brightened at the sight of bookshelves lined with various tomes.
He stepped forward and looked at the items. They were all Skill Books.
“Black Tiger Punch, Wave Palm, Rock Splitting Kick… these seem more like farming moves, and to learn these skills, corresponding basic skills are required. Each Skill Book costs between five to eight hundred Doomsday Coins.” Song Jian flipped through a few and looked disappointed.
“Basic leg technique, Basic punch, Basic step, Basic body movement… So expensive!” Song Jian found the basic skills required for the “farming moves”. Each basic skill book cost three hundred Doomsday Coins, which left him speechless.
“I wonder how much my Earth Teeth Assault skill would sell for here.” Song Jian thought to himself. Although he did not know the power of these skills, he had a gut feeling that most of them were probably not as powerful as Earth Teeth Assault.
After wandering for over an hour, Song Jian finally found a section next to the regular goods that also held numerous items. Except that the products here were all used and placed haphazardly, without any set arrangement.
Song Jian went in and found that the goods here did not require Doomsday Coins for purchase, instead, points were needed.
“So the 1000 points given by the supermarket are used here.” Song Jian thought to himself.
“It’s just that the items here are… quite dismal.” Song Jian frowned as he picked up a green fruit that seemed to have been bitten by someone to examine..