Some of the people Tracy chose were really happy because she offered good pay and the job was easy.
"Yes, boss," they said.
After hiring the workers, Tracy could leave the shop in their hands. Her shop mainly sold food and daily items, so it wasn't likely to lose money. At worst, she would only lose a bit of rent and utility bills. But since she had earned a lot in the post-apocalyptic world, she didn't need to worry.
With her shop in the real world running smoothly, Tracy returned home. She wanted to check if her promotion from yesterday had worked.
When she arrived at her little shop in the other world, there was no one outside. But Tracy felt confident. Even if no one picked up the sky lantern flyers, someone must have heard the radio message. She believed someone would come soon.
In the post-apocalyptic world, many electronic devices couldn't work anymore because there was no power. But small ones like radios could still be used. That's why different bases used radio to share news.
Some survivors often listened to the radio to hear updates. So many people had already heard Tracy's broadcast.
The reason no one came yet was that they didn't believe it. They thought it was someone's prank.
After all, who would open a shop way out on the edge of the city during such a dangerous time?
And who would trade supplies for gold? The prices sounded too low. If it was true, the seller would lose too much.
Even if most people didn't believe it, some still had hope and wanted to go take a look.
But Tracy's shop was in an area with a few evolved zombies. Survivors who weren't strong enough didn't dare go there alone.
Last night, Kei's team didn't turn on their radio, so they didn't hear the message about Tracy's shop. But by the next day, they still got the news.
"Captain, something's wrong," Meron said.
"Why are you in such a rush? What happened?" Kei asked.
"Captain, turn on the radio and listen," Meron said.
Kei turned on the radio. When he heard the message, his face became serious. He didn't expect Tracy to use the radio to advertise her shop. Now a lot of people probably knew about it. They couldn't keep it to themselves anymore.
He always knew this day would come. Secrets never stay hidden forever. But he didn't think it would come this soon.
"What do people at the base think about the message?" Kei asked.
"Most think it's fake. They believe it's just a joke. But even though they don't believe it now, soon they will. Captain, should we do something?" Meron asked.
"It's no use trying to stop the news. Don't waste your time. If we upset Tracy, it'll only hurt us," Kei said.
They could try to spread false rumors so others wouldn't believe the message. But that would only delay people for a few days.
Once people went to the shop, they would know the truth.
And if that happened, people might hate Kei's team for misleading them.
But what they feared most was if Tracy found out they tried to stop others.
If Tracy refused to trade with them anymore, they'd lose a lot.
Even if others found the shop, Kei's team could still trade with Tracy. They already had a lot of gold.
While Kei's team talked, other teams at the base had already made plans to visit Tracy's shop.
One of those was Arthird's team, the ones who had been watching Kei's group.
"Boss, do you think this message is real? Trading gold for supplies and the prices are so cheap? It sounds too crazy. If someone wants to lie, at least make it sound real," Huzi said.
"When I first heard it, I didn't believe it either. But then I remembered something. Do you remember how Kei's team came back with full loads of supplies two times and didn't get hurt at all?" Arthird asked.
"I've always wondered where they got all that stuff. I think they used gold to trade. I also remember when they used food to get useless gold jewelry. I didn't understand why. Now I do. They were trading it. We have to hurry and collect more gold. We didn't gather much before. Now this message is spreading. If we're too slow, we won't even get leftovers," Arthird said.
"Got it. I'll go now. Right now, most people still don't believe it, so we can still buy gold easily. But Kei's group has been buying for days, and gold prices are already rising. They clearly knew early and made a fortune in secret. That's so sneaky," Huzi said.
Kei's group couldn't hide their actions. Soon everyone figured it out.
While Tracy waited in her shop, two or three survivor teams were already driving toward the location of her shop in the other world.
Kei also gathered his team and prepared to go to Tracy's shop. At first, he wanted to take them out to hunt zombies.
But now, having supplies was more important.
Several teams were already heading to Tracy's shop. He wasn't sure if there would be anything left by the time they got there.
Hunting zombies wasn't as important as making trades.
With enough food, they could always get more crystal cores.
Tracy didn't wait long before she heard the sound of cars outside. There were also a few gunshots. It seemed like someone had arrived. Her advertisement really worked.
"Boss, there is really a shop here. You are so smart for bringing us. If not, we would have missed this chance," Huzi said.
"Let's go have a look. But I don't know if this shop is really like the ad said. Can it really give us that many supplies?" Arthird said.
"There's only one woman here, and she looks so weak. Why don't we just rob her? Then we don't need to pay gold. Isn't that better?" Huzi said.
"It's not that simple. If someone can open a shop here, she must have some power. She has stayed safe for a long time. If she was easy to rob, someone else would've done it already. And if she didn't have confidence, why would she dare to advertise so much? People like that are either crazy or strong. Do you think she's crazy?" Arthird said.
"You're right. If we mess with someone like her, it won't end well. Anyway, she only wants gold. The price is not high, and we don't need gold. So just give it to her," Huzi said.
Huzi said that only because he didn't know how strong Tracy was. If he found out she was just a normal person, he would probably attack her. They might even kill her and take everything. This was the end of the world. Morals didn't matter anymore.
Luckily, Tracy had something to protect her. As long as she was inside the dimension shop, no one could hurt her.
When Arthird and his team entered the shop, they were shocked. The shop was full of supplies. Even though Arthird guessed it might be real, seeing it with his own eyes still surprised him.
What kind of person was the shop owner? How could she run a store during these times? She was definitely not normal.
But strong people usually had strange habits. Arthird didn't know anything about Tracy yet, so he stayed polite.
Tracy was happy to see so many people come in. She smiled and said, "Hello, welcome to my little shop. There are many goods here. The prices are written clearly. You can also order things."
"Can you sell anything?" Arthird asked.
"If I can get it, then I can sell it," Tracy said.
"You are really powerful. But why did you open the shop here? There are not many people around. It doesn't seem like a good place for business," Arthird said.
"That's my personal reason. Do you need anything?" Tracy said.
Tracy didn't want to explain. Arthird didn't mind. He just asked casually. Since she opened the shop here, she must have her own reason.
But he didn't know that Tracy was upset inside. She also wanted to open the shop in a busy place, maybe inside a base. But she had no choice. She was just unlucky.
Arthird didn't waste time. He looked around and was very happy. He didn't expect so many supplies here. The prices were low. It felt like they were almost free. Before, they followed others and collected gold. Now it was finally useful. The value had increased many times.
Many people at the base knew about the shop. But Arthird and his team arrived first. The shop wasn't big. It looked full, but there actually wasn't a lot of stuff. If they came late, they might not have gotten anything.
So Arthird didn't wait. He took out a big pile of gold.
"Boss, I want everything in the shop. Can you tell me how much gold you need?" Arthird said.
"You want everything? Can you carry it all?" Tracy asked. She looked surprised.
But she didn't need to worry. Arthird's team was not like Kei's team. That team had only five people and one car. Arthird's group brought many cars. They could easily carry everything back.
"Of course. No problem," Arthird said.
This was Tracy's first big sale. She didn't hold back. She counted all the items in the shop and gave him the total price.
Arthird gave her the gold. He was very satisfied.
"Boss Tracy, your shop is too small. This place is empty now. Why don't you move to a bigger shop?" Arthird asked.
That was something Tracy had also thought about. Before, only Kei's team came. So the small shop was enough. But now there were more customers. The space was clearly not enough.
"I just opened not long ago. I haven't thought about everything yet. I'll think about your idea," Tracy said.
"When will you open again?" Arthird asked.
He didn't want to miss a place where he could get so many cheap supplies. But now that he bought everything, even if Tracy had great skills, she would still need time to restock. So he wanted to know.
"You can check the schedule on the wall. If I'm not here when you come next time, just write down what you need and when you will return. Put the note in this wooden box. I will see it and prepare what you asked for," Tracy said.
After hearing that, Arthird respected her even more. In this world, it was hard to find someone so confident. If she wasn't lying, then she really had strong abilities.
He was glad they didn't try to fight her. Even with more people, they might not have won.