Su Cheng retrieved the blow-dryer from the cabinet beneath the mirror and sat at the head of the bed to dry her hair.
The hairdryer hummed softly by her ear. The comfort and coziness of the room made Su Cheng feel completely relaxed, almost as if she were back in the real world staying at a hotel on vacation.
Once her hair was dry, Su Cheng touched her unevenly trimmed locks. She hadn’t expected that a single trip to a dungeon would net her a brand-new hairstyle upon return.
“Once I find some scissors, I might as well just chop it all short.”
“Next up, time to organize everything.”
“Wait, why is there an extra calendar on the wall?”
Su Cheng looked at the calendar hanging above the television: Month 0, Day 5, Friday.
“Could it be counted starting from the moment I entered the apartment? Apartment time syncs with the dungeon, so it’s been exactly five days…”
Aside from that, Su Cheng couldn’t think of any other way to calculate the calendar.
Her gaze fell upon the pile of items on the floor. She first tore open a piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth.
The iron shovel was a bit dirty, so she moved it to the corner of the bathroom.
Taking inventory of the food, the two storage slots had brought back: 30 small breads, two boxes totaling 24 chocolates, 10 packs of biscuits, and six 500ml bottles of mineral water.
She stuffed all of them into the lower cabinet of her desk, while the medicines brought back went into the upper drawer.
After taking out one pack of toilet paper, she tucked the remaining pack and a half into the wardrobe for now.
Drinking half a bottle of water and eating another pack of biscuits, Su Cheng smacked her lips. “I want to eat a nice, hot, hearty meal… sigh.”
Lying down on the sofa, Su Cheng unlocked her phone.
There was one unread message in the apartment group chat.
Wednesday 【Group Owner】Residents of 1203, 1207, and 1213 failed to complete dungeon missions and have perished. The vacant apartments will bind new residents.
Thursday 【Group Owner】Residents of 1219, 1222, 1226, 1227, 1240, and 1244 failed to complete dungeon missions and have perished. The vacant apartments will bind new residents.
Checking the owner chat without a group owner, unread messages over these past five days were sparse. Most people were either like Su Cheng—not active posters—or still inside a dungeon.
Scrolling further up, the messages were mainly posted by people who had just returned from a dungeon. Over the past two days, postings from people who hadn’t entered a dungeon yet had practically disappeared.
After all, there was no food in the apartment. Newcomers without points had nothing to eat or drink if they didn’t enter dungeons, and wouldn’t last more than a few days.
【49: I’m back from the dungeon. Extreme cold weather, I almost froze to death, and I only got 200 points! The input and output are totally disproportionate!】
【01: You have to sign up for a membership to even enter the supermarket. It cost me 30 points! How many points does a single dungeon even give?! The apartment is forcing people into dungeons!】
【01: “The stuff in the supermarket is super expensive too, and just think about the 1,000 points for utilities every month… Points are simply not enough to spend.”】
【25: My dungeon was acid rain. Not many points, but I got lucky, hid out, and finished the mission.】
【43: Maybe one day when I can’t take it anymore, I’ll choose to commit suicide with sleeping pills. I don’t want to struggle and run for my life in dungeons anymore…】
…
…
Su Cheng flipped through the chat history and remembered she hadn’t added Yan Yu yet. She searched for the name “Yan Yu” in add contacts.
Several accounts named Yan Yu from different apartments popped up.
Su Cheng added “District D, 3654” behind the name, leaving only a single Yan Yu account.
She sent a friend request.
I am Su Cheng.
A minute later, the request was accepted.
【Yan Yu】: When are you planning to go into a dungeon again?
【Su Cheng】: Haven’t decided yet. What about you?
【Yan Yu】: Tomorrow.
【Su Cheng】: So driven? At least rest for a night.
【Yan Yu】: I’m coming up on my utility payment soon, and I bought some things, so my points aren’t enough. This time I’m planning to go into a special dungeon.
A special dungeon…
【Su Cheng】: Good luck!
【Yan Yu】: You too.
Su Cheng genuinely hoped Yan Yu would successfully complete the dungeon and return to the apartment. At the same time, she hadn’t expected Yan Yu to push herself this hard—emerging from one dungeon straight into the next without giving herself a moment to breathe.
However, it also indirectly illustrated how the apartment’s high commodity prices were truly pushing people into a desperate corner.
Speaking of commodity prices, Su Cheng put down her phone. “Time to go check out the supermarket.”
With no change of clothes available, Su Cheng could only step outside wrapped in her bathrobe.
The elevator lobby happened to be empty, with elevators No. 1 and No. 2 sitting vacant.
Su Cheng stepped into elevator bay No. 2 and pressed the B1 button.
The elevator descended.
Su Cheng didn’t enjoy the feeling of riding this elevator; her heart always felt a stifling sense of heaviness.
Perhaps it was because the memories brought by dungeons weren’t pleasant ones—the elevator was the passage into dungeons, making even the act of riding it unappealing.
Ding~
The elevator doors opened.
What greeted her eyes was a medium-sized supermarket.
A neon sign hung overhead bearing striking large characters: Apartment Supermarket.
Aside from the supermarket, the B1 level also served as a parking garage. Su Cheng spotted numerous vehicles parked around the perimeter of the shop.
Bicycles, electric scooters, and cars were parked in designated zones.
Su Cheng pushed open the supermarket doors, triggering a sensor chime: “Welcome~”
A queue for checkout had formed in front of the cash register, manned by a single female cashier wearing black-rimmed glasses. A heart-shaped hairpin was clipped into her fluffy wool-roll curls, and she looked to be around twenty years old.
Among those in line, quite a few people were dressed in bathrobes just like Su Cheng. Su Cheng’s entrance didn’t draw much attention, as everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Yet their expressions looked eerily similar—laden with varying degrees of worry and anxiety.
A notice was posted on the wall beside the entrance.
【Purchase Instructions:
The apartment supermarket welcomes every member, but will not open its doors to residents with zero points.
First-time entering residents will top up their membership at checkout. Ordinary VIP membership: 30 points; Senior VVIP membership: 300 points; Super Black Diamond SVVIP membership: 3,000 points.
To rent vehicles or purchase access cards, please process the request at the front desk.
Items inside the supermarket are divided into supermarket-exclusive goods and ordinary goods. Different items are placed in separate zones. To help residents quickly find what they need, please first review the simple supermarket layout map below.】
The supermarket layout map was drawn quite simply, dividing items into four major categories: food, daily necessities, medicine, and weapons, located respectively in the top-left, bottom-left, top-right, and bottom-right corners of the supermarket.
The map also marked the locations of search terminals in each zone with blue icons.
Stacked shopping baskets sat beneath the notice.
Casually grabbing a basket, Su Cheng headed first toward the medicine section. Medicine and weapons were in the same direction, and she planned to check out those areas first.
The supermarket shelves were fully stocked with goods, just like in the real world. A glance across the floor was dizzying.
Reaching the medicine section, shelves displaying supermarket-exclusive medications were marked with eye-catching yellow signs.
Su Cheng noticed that ordinary medicines were packaged and sold in boxed sets, with tag cards detailing descriptions and prices.
【Common Medicine Gift Pack — Basic Edition: Contains one box each of ordinary cold medicine, fever reducer, anti-inflammatory drugs, and anti-diarrhea medication. Price: 200 points.】
【Common Medicine Gift Pack — Upgrade Edition: Contains one box each of ordinary cold medicine, fever reducer, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-diarrhea medication, antibiotics, anti-allergy drugs, bruise liniment, vitamins, and band-aids. Price: 500 points.】
Aside from these, items like eye drops and ear drops sold for 30 to 50 points.
As for emergency medications like epinephrine injection ampoules, painkiller shots, and items requiring refrigeration like insulin and vaccines, they commanded a higher price point, ranging from 500 to 800 points.
All in all, medications were available in complete variety, but prices were definitely higher than market value.
Su Cheng looked left and right before finally casting her gaze toward the supermarket-exclusive shelves.
Her eyes immediately locked onto the white spray bottle Yan Yu had used on her previously.
【All-Purpose Spray (30ml): Best used for bruising, burns, scalds, and sprains. Avoid direct contact with tissues and mucous membranes. Price: 100 points.】
Su Cheng clicked her tongue. Such a tiny bottle cost 100 points?!
Checking other items, none of them were cheap.
【Physical Constitution Supplement (5ml × 7 vials): Can enhance immune function; long-term consumption over a month yields noticeable effects. Price: 150 points.】
【Muscle-Building Supplement (5ml × 7 vials): Can increase muscle strength; combined with exercise, long-term consumption over a month yields noticeable effects. Price: 150 points.】
【Energy Supplement (5ml × 3): Clears fatigue to a certain degree; cannot be used repeatedly in a short time frame. Price: 100 points.】
【Nutritional Supplement (5ml × 9): Vanilla flavor, specially formulated for malnourished and anemic residents. Price: 270 points.】
【Emergency Ampoule: Stabilizes vital signs during critical endangerment; repeated short-term use yields no stacking effect. Price: 800 points.】
…
Su Cheng looked left and right, yet her shopping basket remained completely empty.
It wasn’t that she was being picky; rather, she couldn’t bear to part with her points.
“No wonder everyone says supermarket prices are exorbitant! Why is everything hundreds of points? Are points supposed to be something super cheap or what…”
Recalling the warning Yan Yu had given her, Su Cheng still picked up a bottle of the spray and a box of physical constitution supplements.
As for the other types of supplements—especially the emergency ampoules—Su Cheng desperately wanted them, but she couldn’t afford them… And this was just the medicine section; her remaining 400 points had to be spent very sparingly.
Su Cheng offered a bitter smile. “Sigh… no wonder Yan Yu pushes herself so hard; points are seriously never enough.”
Sighing, Su Cheng turned around and headed toward the weapon section.
The weapon section didn’t disappoint.
Daggers, machetes, axes, chainsaws, sledgehammers, crossbows, pistols, rifles… everything was available.
Checking the price tags, despite having prepared herself mentally, Su Cheng was still shocked by the prices.
“Hiss… this dagger actually costs 100 points? Isn’t this just a regular, ordinary dagger?”
“Machetes cost 300 points, axes 500 points… crossbows 800 points…”
If something wasn’t expensive, something else was even more expensive!
And that was just on the regular shelves.
Meanwhile, the weapons displayed on the yellow-signed shelves across the aisle possessed a completely different texture—divorced from reality and radiating a higher sense of advanced technology.
Every single item was packaged inside a transparent box.
【Laser Gun: Firepower can penetrate a wall; usage limits apply, please use carefully to avoid self-injury. On sale / promotional discount!!! Price: 2,000 points.】
【Poison Needle Ring: Conceals a poison needle capable of inducing paralysis and fainting in opponents; antidote included. Price: 1,000 points.】
【Storage Card: Increases dungeon inventory storage slots by +2. On sale / promotional discount!!! Price: 100 points.】
【Invitation Envelope: Allows you to invite apartment friends from your phone contacts to enter a dungeon together; the other party may decline. Price: 800 points.】
【Smart Pack: Can dynamically transform backpack forms based on environmental conditions inside a dungeon, automatic connection; base storage capacity is 3, stackable purchases allowed for expansion, compatible to coexist with storage slots. Price: 350 points.】
【Soul-Capture Camera: Allows you to see things invisible to the naked eye through the lens. Price: 800 points.】
【Thunder Talisman: Can inflict damage on non-living entities. Price: 500 points.】
…
Su Cheng looked them over one by one, realizing that her 400 points weren’t even remotely enough!
“If I could have had a laser gun in the last zombie dungeon, expanded my storage slots, and waited out the dungeon exit in a place filled with supplies, wouldn’t that be amazing?”
Su Cheng couldn’t help daydreaming.
“Soul-Capture Camera and Thunder Talisman… these types of items must apply to supernatural-related dungeons.”
The long-haired female ghost from some childhood trauma horror film flashed through Su Cheng’s mind, raising goosebumps along her arms.
After looking through everything, she could only afford to buy a storage card.
Yet compared to a storage card, she wanted the Smart Pack much more right now!
However, to buy the Smart Pack, she would have to put everything else back in her basket…
After hesitating for a full minute, Su Cheng decided to go with the Smart Pack anyway!
If the supplies brought back to the apartment couldn’t cross over to assist in future dungeons and reduce survival difficulty, then the utility of the supplies she had risked her life to bring back would be drastically discounted.
For instance, the pills and food she had brought back this time—if she couldn’t carry them into the next dungeon, wouldn’t that be a massive pity?
Although the Smart Pack had no discount, it ranked among her urgent necessities.
The spray, supplements, and storage card would have to wait until her next trip to the supermarket…
After browsing through a massive circle of the store, the only item left in her shopping basket was a single Smart Pack.
Su Cheng finally understood why everyone she saw in the checkout line right as she walked through the doors wore such an anxious expression…