My Days Running a Supermarket in the Apocalypse

"We don't have scrambled eggs with tomatoes today. Our supermarket has new dishes every day. Please come this way."

Today's dining area serves plain noodles and braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens pastries.

After more than a week of experimentation, Shan Nai discovered that, apart from rice and steamed buns which do not take up the space of two dishes, everything else counts as one dish.

Take today's little meat pie for example; it has filling, so it naturally occupies a place.

"Today's dishes are plain noodles and braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens pastries! They're worth 9 points and 5 points respectively, and they're delicious. Would you like to try some?"

Shannai led him to the dining area and pointed to a bowl of fragrant noodle soup and a palm-sized, crispy, and shiny little meat pie.

A large bowl of clear soup was topped with a few specks of oil and chopped scallions, along with a bright yellow fried egg and a few tender green bok choy.

Li Jianan pursed his lips tightly, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily. "One serving, please!"

Who can resist such tempting food?

Never mind, let's eat this first!

I can just buy two fewer packs of cookies and try to save up crystal cores later.

"Okay!" Shannai took the card and happily swiped 14 points at the front desk.

Li Jianan looked at the large bowl of fragrant noodles, took a deep breath, first slurped up some soup, and then slurped up large mouthfuls of chewy and smooth noodles.

The preserved vegetable and braised pork pastry was small, and he finished it in just a few bites. He couldn't resist buying two more, and it was hard not to love the fragrant and crispy meaty texture.

Enjoying air conditioning and noodles, with a bag of supplies in his arms, Li Jianan felt like he was in paradise.

Seeing that he was enjoying his meal, Shan Nai realized that she hadn't had dinner yet. She had eaten plain noodles for lunch, so she wouldn't eat them for dinner.

She opened the "Boss's Special Kitchen" menu and looked at it. "Crab roe fried rice, fried rice noodles, braised pork knuckle rice... Crab roe fried rice, please!"

Honestly, every time Yamana is given a choice between three options, she's very conflicted because she wants to eat them all!

The crab roe fried rice was served with a bowl of egg drop and vegetable soup, which Yamanaka really enjoyed.

"Thank you for saving me today, boss. I'm done eating, goodbye."

Li Jianan kept an eye on the countdown timer on the back of his hand. He was a law-abiding and honest man who wouldn't deliberately waste time in the store unless there was something to do.

Because it was late at night, he needed to go out and find a safe place to hide and heal his wounds.

He had been using his supernatural abilities to stop the bleeding from the wound on his shoulder, but it still needed some time to heal.

"Yeah, you're welcome."

Shan Nai wiped her mouth and waved at him, but then remembered something and, seeing his back as he turned away, stood up and called out to him, "Brother Li, wait a moment."

Li Jianan turned around. "Is there anything else?"

"So, I'd like to ask if you know of any bases nearby?"

City A was once a provincial capital with a population of ten million. The city center was even more densely populated, with a large number of zombies and high danger, so there were not many survivors.

However, there should be many bases around the city.

Last time, I learned from a customer that there was a Hope Base 100 miles east of City A, and Yamana also hand-drew a simple map to mark the location.

Li Jianan paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "As far as I know, there are three large bases in City A. The closest one is the Hope Base in the east, followed by the Tomorrow Base in the south, which is more than 200 miles away. The furthest one is the Freedom Base in the north, which is 300 miles away. There are also some small shelters, but I don't know their exact locations..."

Shan Nai quickly took out his notebook and carefully wrote down the details and locations he mentioned.

According to Li Jianan, after the apocalypse broke out three years ago, the country first sent people to protect scientific research, medical and other talented personnel. These people are the hope of mankind and need to be given special protection.

In the first year, the government also set up formal bases in various places, but the apocalyptic natural disasters were merciless and the virus was too fierce. As time went by, the global social order gradually collapsed, and the official bases also had special restrictions on the number of people they could recruit.

With no water, no electricity, and no signal, it is becoming increasingly difficult for survivors to contact each other.

In this apocalyptic world, strength and ability represent everything, and differences in social status are redefined.

Many people with superpowers have formed gangs, established private bases, and formed teams of people with superpowers...

Water sources need to be purified, electricity is generated in a special way, and soil pollution makes food cultivation even more precious.

The means of trade and circulation are generally barter, or rare metals and crystal nuclei.

"So which base are you from?" Shan Nai asked, tilting her head as she chewed on her pen.

"Tomorrow's base... well, never mind, I have to go, time's almost up." Li Jianan raised his hand, indicating that there were only a few minutes left in the countdown.

Shan Nai closed the notebook and thanked them repeatedly, "Okay, thank you for the message, goodbye."

As soon as Li Jianan left, Shan Nai closed the shop.

"Hmm... It's hard to wait for customers to come to us on their own..." Yamana lay down on the bed with her notebook in hand, looking worried.

[Yes, host, do you have any good ideas?]

"The information blocking is too effective. It's been almost half a month, and we've only had fewer than ten customers. At this rate, when will we ever earn any points..."

As she was talking, Shan Nai suddenly quieted down and lay there motionless.

[Oh...she's already asleep? She hasn't changed out of her pajamas.]

The system was completely bewildered. Its host had a special skill: it would fall into a deep sleep within three minutes of touching the bed.

If the system had a physical form, it would surely shake its head in resignation.

……

Beep, beep, beep.

After a night's rest, Shannai got up very early.

"6 o'clock sharp, perfect!" Shannai patted the little alarm clock that beeped and beeped.

[Host, when did you set your alarm? That's early.]

Shan Nai blew a few stray hairs off her forehead and jumped off the bed quickly. "I made the order during my lunch break yesterday. You know, the early bird catches the worm, right? It's already broad daylight. I need to hurry up and go out. There might be customers coming to buy things at noon!"

Opening the wardrobe, Shan Nai casually grabbed a white T-shirt and denim shorts.

These clothes were a free gift from the supermarket; the material is quite unique.

Even in the 50-degree heat outside, it still feels cool.

But it can't compare to being in an air-conditioned room, so she wanted to go out earlier.

After all, the temperature is only relatively low in the morning.

The last time I went out to put up advertisements, I didn't think things through quite well.

This is a form of silent advertising; if no one notices the ad, no one will know about her supermarket.

So Shannai plans to explore the city center to see if she can run into any living people, and then go to the Hope Base, which is closest to her.

"System, do you have a loudspeaker? The kind that can record and amplify sound."

Yamanaka is all set to go, but something is still missing.

[Yes, the host can use these promotional tools freely.]

A large blue and white loudspeaker appeared on the cashier counter.

"Thanks."

Shan Nai picked up the megaphone and started fiddling with it. The system's equipment was truly extraordinary; the sound had incredibly strong penetrating power and could transmit over extremely long distances, making it perfect for hawking one's wares through the streets and alleys!

"Great news! Lucky Supermarket across from the downtown building has opened! They have everything – food and drinks! Just bring your crystal cores or valuables and you can shop till you drop! Bread, biscuits, bottled water – apples, bananas, braised eggs – braised pork, rice – a different selection every day! Great news! Great news..."

"Tongzi, how's my recording?" Yamana twitched her ears as she listened to the promotional slogan playing on repeat, her little expression endearing.

[That's...fantastic! No wonder you're the host chosen by this system.]

That makes perfect sense, and Shan Nai likes to hear it.

"Ok, let's go!"

【Host, why don't you have breakfast first?】

"You're hungry, you should eat first," Shan Nai said casually.

The system was speechless. The vast system backend seemed to be filled with a few crows flying by. It was consuming energy, you silly cat!

Shannai wasn't very hungry when she woke up, so she ignored the system's care, hurriedly summoned her electric scooter, tied the loudspeaker to the front of the scooter, and sped off like a gust of wind.