The single, swaying beam of a flashlight at the end of the street quickly multiplied into eight.
The sound of footsteps drew closer—heavy, hurried, but organized. This wasn't a mindless mob; these were survivors.
Leading them was a man in his early thirties wearing a dark tactical jacket. He gripped a short-handled hatchet modified from a fire axe. His movements were disciplined, his eyes instinctively checking every blind spot as he approached. He wasn't new to leading a team through the ruins.
Behind him followed seven others: two men, three women, a teenage boy, and a younger woman who was being half-carried by the rest. They were armed with whatever they could scavenge—steel pipes, kitchen knives, crowbars, and trekking poles. Their faces were a mask of exhaustion and bone-deep vigilance.
The moment Wang Defa saw them, he sprang to life, waving frantically. "Over here! Over here! There's water! Medicine! Food! This shop has everything!"
The lead man froze. His gaze locked onto the blindingly bright lights of the convenience store.
It was too bright. In a city swallowed by darkness, this shop stood out like a clean, steady beacon—or a high-tech lure placed in the middle of a wasteland.
He didn't move immediately, but a burly man with a buzz cut behind him couldn't hold back. "God damn, it really is a shop," he spat, lunging forward with a steel pipe, clearly intent on being the first through the door.
"Sun Tao, get back here!" the leader barked.
Too late. Sun Tao reached the door, his hand barely brushing the glass—
Vrrrrm!
A ripple of pale gold light flared from the doorframe.
In the next heartbeat, the man hit an invisible, high-speed wall. Bang! He was sent flying backward, the steel pipe clattering away as he skidded half a meter through the bloody rainwater. He curled into a ball, clutching his chest and wheezing in agony.
Silence fell instantly. The group of eight went rigid. Even Wang Defa was stunned; he knew the door was "weird," but seeing a grown man tossed like a ragdoll brought a cold sweat to his neck.
Lin Wu stood inside, holding a half-filled cup of water. Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but it carried perfectly through the intercom.
"This shop runs on rules." "First: No rushing the door." "Second: No pointing weapons." "Third: No shouting." "Break a rule, and you're out."
She let her gaze drift over Sun Tao, who was struggling to breathe. "Since it's your first time, I'll let it slide. Try it again, and you won't be doing business here tonight—or ever."
Sun Tao's face turned a bruised shade of purple, but he didn't dare move again.
The leader stepped forward, stopping at a safe distance. He looked at the glass door, then at the piles of black ash on the pavement where monsters had once stood. His expression darkened. Wang Defa hadn't lied; this place was anything but ordinary.
"Name's Zhou Cheng," he said. "Used to be with the community fire brigade. We don't want trouble. We're here to trade."
Lin Wu looked him over. "Got anything worth trading?"
Zhou Cheng nodded and signaled behind him. Two people stepped up and unzipped their backpacks. The haul wasn't massive, but it was practical.
Two high-capacity power banks. Three packs of batteries. A hand-crank radio. Two canisters of unsealed gasoline. A small, locked medical kit.
Lin Wu's system panel flickered to life.
[ NATIVE TRADE ITEMS DETECTED: BATTERIES, POWER BANKS, RADIO, FUEL, MEDICAL KIT ] [ VALUATION: MEDIUM ] [ HINT: HIGH-DEMAND SURVIVAL GEAR. THE RADIO AND FUEL HAVE INCREASING LONG-TERM VALUE. ]
Not top-tier loot, but solid. She shifted her gaze to the woman being supported by the others. The woman was pale, her right pant leg cut open to reveal a makeshift bandage soaked in blood. It didn't look like a bite; it looked like a jagged gash from broken glass or rusted metal.
"What happened to her?" Lin Wu asked.
"Took a fall while we were running," Zhou Cheng answered quickly. "It's not a bite. We've been watching her—no fever, no tremors, she's fully conscious."
The woman, He Qing, nodded through gritted teeth. "I'm not infected."
Lin Wu didn't respond immediately. Behind her, the crafting table emitted a soft chime.
[ HEMOSTATIC SPRAY CRAFTING COMPLETE. ]
Perfect timing.
Lin Wu turned and retrieved a sleek, silver-white spray bottle from the dispenser. It was small, but it emitted a faint, cold luminescence that looked nothing like over-the-counter medicine.
Zhou Cheng's team was mesmerized. In a world without power or hope, she was manufacturing medicine on the spot. Even Wang Defa's eyes bulged, his greed nearly overriding his fear.
Lin Wu walked to the door. "Eight people outside. Only two come in." She pointed at Zhou Cheng and He Qing. "The rest stay out."
Sun Tao snapped, "Why?! We're a team—"
Lin Wu cut him off with a single look. "Because it's my door."
The man's face went green with suppressed rage. Zhou Cheng didn't waste time on ego. "Can we bring our weapons?"
"You can," Lin Wu said calmly. "But I wouldn't advise using them."
Zhou Cheng stared at her for a few seconds, then nodded. "Fine."
Lin Wu authorized the entry. The golden light shimmered. "Zhou Cheng, He Qing. Access granted."
As they crossed the threshold, Zhou Cheng hesitated for a heartbeat. It wasn't cowardice—it was the sheer surreality of the transition. Outside was freezing, damp death; inside was bright, clean, and perfectly climate-controlled. It felt like stepping into another dimension.
He Qing's shoulders visibly slumped the moment she entered, the tension leaving her body as the warmth hit her.
Zhou Cheng placed the medical kit, the fuel, and the radio on the counter. "How much does this get us?"
Lin Wu didn't answer. Instead, she shook the spray bottle and looked at He Qing's leg. "Let's test the medicine first."
"Test it... first?" He Qing stammered.
"Testing is part of the trade," Lin Wu said matter-of-factly. "If it works, the price goes up."
Zhou Cheng's respect for the "Owner" grew. She wasn't selling snake oil; she was selling results.
Lin Wu knelt and snipped away the blood-soaked bandage, revealing a nasty gash. Without a word, she sprayed the wound.
Shhh—
A fine mist settled over the injury. He Qing stiffened—not from pain, but from a sudden, biting cold. It felt like a layer of pure ice was sealing the wound, numbing the throbbing ache instantly.
Within seconds, the bleeding stopped. The jagged edges of the wound, previously swollen and angry, seemed to settle.
"It... it stopped," He Qing whispered, her voice trembling with relief.
[ NATIVE CUSTOMER TRIAL COMPLETED. ] [ SATISFACTION: EXCELLENT. ] [ REPUTATION +2. ]
Lin Wu stood up and set the bottle on the counter. "Now, let's talk price."
She gestured to the pile of gear. "The fuel, the radio, the kit, and the power banks. In exchange: one crate of water, six bags of bread, eight cups of instant noodles, one hemostatic spray, one box of fever medicine, and a pack of painkillers."
It was a fair deal, but far from cheap. Zhou Cheng frowned. "Only one spray?"
"I make these myself. High overhead," Lin Wu leaned back, her tone lazy. "Pay the price or wait in line. That's how business works."
Zhou Cheng went silent for two seconds, then pulled a heavy set of keys from his pocket. "I'll add this."
Lin Wu looked down. "What are they?"
"Backdoor keys to the community service center," Zhou Cheng said. "There's solar emergency lights, toolboxes, and bottled water they didn't have time to move. It's not much, but the supplies should still be there."
[ TRADE INTEL DETECTED: SERVICE CENTER KEYS ] [ VALUE: MEDIUM-HIGH ] [ REMARK: VALUABLE FOR REAL-WORLD SCAVENGING. ]
"Deal," Lin Wu said. "I'll throw in two more bottles of water and two cans of food."
Zhou Cheng let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. In this new world, finding a place that actually traded fairly—and offered safety—was a miracle.
With a wave of her hand, Lin Wu summoned the supplies from her storage. Crate after crate appeared on the counter with a heavy thunk. He Qing stared at the pile, her eyes welling up. She had thought she wouldn't make it through the night; now, she had enough to survive until next week.
As Zhou Cheng began packing the goods, he paused. "Manager Lin."
"Hm?"
"I wouldn't turn off the lights tonight if I were you."
Lin Wu looked up.
"We weren't the only ones who saw the light," Zhou Cheng lowered his voice. "There's a gang over at the old wholesale market. They've been watching this place. Their leader is a man called 'Scarface Liu.' He isn't the type to negotiate. If he finds out you have water and meds... he won't be coming here to trade."
Su Yu's face went white. Qi Ye straightened up, his hand hovering over his hilt. Even Wang Defa outside shrank back into the shadows.
Lin Wu didn't panic. She just looked at Zhou Cheng. "How many?"
"At least a dozen," Zhou Cheng replied. "And... they might have real hardware."
The shop went quiet. Then, the system panel flared.
[ HOSTILE HUMAN FACTION DETECTED. ] [ ESTIMATED STRENGTH: 14. ] [ THREAT ASSESSMENT: MEDIUM. ] [ MISSION: MAINTAIN STORE ORDER. REWARDS GRANTED UPON SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE. ]
Lin Wu watched the notification, her lips curling into a faint, dangerous smile.
This wasn't trouble. This was a trial.
She tapped the counter three times. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Fine," she whispered. "I'll be waiting for them to try and shut me down."