Lin Yao sat behind the counter, her chin resting in her hand, watching the scene unfold with the detached interest of someone watching a reality TV show.
Su Ling stood amidst the groaning bodies of the "Wild Dogs" raider gang. She hadn't killed them.. killing was messy and Lin Yao had strictly forbidden blood on the patio but she had dismantled them.
The Raider Leader, a giant of a man known as 'Meat Hook' (a name he had chosen for himself, regrettably), was clutching his right thigh.
Inside the store, Lin Yao tapped the holographic screen.
[Main Task: Sell 20 Items. (1/20)]
[Side Task: Generate 50 Crystals. (2/50)]
Lin Yao sighed through her nose.
"System, this is inefficient," she muttered. "I have a store full of premium goods, a guardian who looks like a supermodel assassin, and zero paying customers. Just a bunch of guys bleeding on my driveway."
[Host, a good merchant finds opportunity in chaos. Also, please remind the Guardian not to loot the bodies outside the designated zone.]
Lin Yao looked up. Su Ling was currently wiping her blade on Meat Hook's vest, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
"You're fast," Meat Hook grunted, his face pale under the neon green war paint. He tried to stand, but his leg buckled. He hissed in pain. "You... you're a Ghost."
"I'm a Store Manager," Su Ling corrected coldly, flipping her hair. The movement released a fresh wave of rose scent that seemed to physically offend the raiders. "And you are loitering."
Meat Hook looked at the store. He looked at the warm light, the clean shelves, and the woman in silk pajamas eating chocolate behind the counter.
He was a raider. He took what he wanted. But he wasn't stupid. He knew when he was outclassed.
"We... we didn't know," Meat Hook rasped, holding his leg. "We thought it was just a stash house."
"It's a boutique," Lin Yao's voice projected through the external speakers. "And we are open for business. Though, we usually require customers to have intact hamstrings."
Meat Hook's eyes narrowed. He looked at his wound. The blood was flowing fast. In the wasteland, a wound like this was a death sentence. Infection would set in within hours. Gangrene by tomorrow.
He looked at the pristine shopkeeper.
"Do you..." Meat Hook swallowed his pride. "Do you sell meds? Bandages? Coagulants?"
Lin Yao's eyes lit up.
She stood up straight, smoothing her pajamas. This was it. The upsell.
"Su Ling," Lin Yao called out. "Let him approach. But if he touches the glass, cut off a finger."
Su Ling stepped aside, sheathing her knife. "You heard the lady. Crawl."
Meat Hook gritted his teeth. Supported by two of his less-injured lackeys, he hobbled toward the automatic doors.
The doors opened. The raiders blinked, their milky eyes widening. It was like stepping into heaven.
Meat Hook limped to the counter, leaving a trail of dirty footprints that vanished instantly thanks to the System's auto-cleaning floor.
"I have crystals," Meat Hook said, slamming a heavy, grease-stained pouch onto the counter. It clinked heavily. "I need to stop the bleeding. Give me a medkit."
Lin Yao smiled apologetically.
"I'm afraid we are currently out of stock on standard medical kits," she said.
Meat Hook's face fell. He gripped his club. "Then what good are you?"
"However," Lin Yao continued, raising a finger. "We do have a specialty item. High absorbency. Sterile cotton. And infused with a mild analgesic charm to soothe... cramps and other pains."
She reached under the counter and produced a pink package.
Heavenly Soft Sanitary Pads.
Meat Hook stared at the package.
The two lackeys behind him stared at the package.
Su Ling, standing by the door, snorted.
"You're joking," Meat Hook growled, his face turning a shade of red that clashed with his green hair. "You want me... the Scourge of Sector 4... to slap a pad on my leg?"
"It stops the bleeding," Lin Yao said with a straight face. "It reduces pain by 40%. And it stays dry for up to eight hours. Do you want to keep the leg, or do you want to lose it to the rot?"
Meat Hook looked at his leg. The blood was pooling in his boot.
He looked at the pink package. It featured a cartoon cloud smiling happily.
He looked at the crystals in his pouch.
"How much?" he whispered, his soul dying a little.
"One crystal per pack," Lin Yao said.
Meat Hook didn't hesitate this time. The pain in his leg was throbbing in time with his heartbeat.
"Fine," he barked. "I'll take it."
He tossed a crystal onto the counter.
Lin Yao processed the sale. [Transaction Complete.]
She handed him the pack. Meat Hook tore it open with his teeth, ripped out a pad, and slapped it onto his gash. He wrapped it tight with a strip of cloth from his shirt.
The effect was instantaneous.
Meat Hook's eyes widened. The stinging, burning fire in his leg dulling to a manageable throb. The cool sensation of the 'charm' seeped into his muscle.
"Holy..." Meat Hook breathed. He flexed his leg. It still hurt, but he could stand. "It actually works."
He looked at Lin Yao with a newfound reverence. This wasn't just a shopkeeper. This was a witch. A witch with powerful artifacts disguised as women's products.
"This is good stuff," Meat Hook muttered. He looked at his men outside. Half of them were bleeding. Cuts, scrapes, old infected wounds that never healed.
He looked back at Lin Yao.
"I'll take them all," Meat Hook said, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a handful of glowing red crystals. "Give me everything you've got. Ten packs. Twenty."
Lin Yao's heart leaped. Jackpot.
She reached for the stock behind her.
[System Alert!]
[Rule No. 1 Violation: Purchase Limit Exceeded.]
[To ensure fair distribution in the apocalypse, each customer is limited to ONE unit of each item type per 24 hours.]
Lin Yao froze. Her hand hovered over the stack of pink packages.
"Are you kidding me?" she hissed under her breath. "System, they are raiders. They are literally trying to give me money."
[Rules are absolute. Hoarding leads to market instability.]
"Market instability? The world ended ten years ago!"
[Rules. Are. Absolute.]
Lin Yao closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She forced a smile back onto her face and turned to Meat Hook.
"I apologize," Lin Yao said through gritted teeth. "Store policy. One pack per customer, per day."
Meat Hook stared at her. "What?"
"I can only sell you one," Lin Yao repeated.
"I have money!" Meat Hook shouted, slamming his fist on the counter. "I'm offering you twenty crystals! Who turns down money?"
"I do," Lin Yao said, pointing to the sign that had just materialized on the wall. [
LIMIT 1 PER CUSTOMER]. "My supplier is... very strict."
Meat Hook looked like he was about to swing his club. He needed those meds. His boys needed those meds.
"Rules are rules," Lin Yao said, crossing her arms. "I can't break them."
Meat Hook stared at the sign. His brain, usually reserved for calculating raid trajectories and meat distribution, began to churn.
One per customer.
One... per... customer.
Slowly, a grin spread across Meat Hook's face. It was a hideous expression that exposed several gold teeth.
"One per customer, huh?" Meat Hook asked slyly.
"That's what it says," Lin Yao nodded.
Meat Hook turned around. He limped to the door and yelled at the battered men groaning on the pavement.
"OI! YOU MAGGOTS! LINE UP!"
The raiders looked confused. "Boss?"
"GET IN HERE!" Meat Hook roared. "SINGLE FILE! HAVE YOUR CRYSTALS READY!"
He turned back to Lin Yao, looking triumphant.
"They're customers," Meat Hook said, gesturing to his twelve filthy, bleeding, terrifying henchmen. "Right?"
Lin Yao blinked. She looked at the System interface.
[System Query: Are these distinct biological entities?]
[Processing...]
[Confirmed. Multiple customers detected.]
Lin Yao's smile turned genuine. It was a beautiful, capitalist smile.
"Why yes," Lin Yao purred. "They certainly are."
Meat Hook shoved the first lackey forward. The man, missing a tooth and smelling of gasoline, looked terrified of the clean floor.
"Buy the pink thing," Meat Hook ordered.
"B-but Boss," the lackey stammered. "I don't... I don't bleed from there."
"IT'S FOR YOUR SHOULDER, YOU IDIOT!" Meat Hook smacked him. "BUY IT!"
The lackey scrambled to the counter, dumping a small, cracked crystal onto the marble.
"One... uh... one healing pad, please," he squeaked.
Lin Yao beamed. "Excellent choice."
Beep. [Transaction Complete. Sold: 1 Pack. Sales: 2/20.]
"Next!" Lin Yao called out.
The second raider stepped up. He looked at Su Ling, terrified, then at Lin Yao.
"Can I get a bag?" he whispered.
"No bags," Lin Yao said cheerfully. "Next!"
It was a conveyor belt of commerce. One by one, the ruthless killers of the Wild Dogs gang shuffled up to the counter, paid a crystal, and received a bright pink package of sanitary pads.
Su Ling leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching the spectacle. She caught Lin Yao's eye and mouthed, 'You are unbelievable.'
Lin Yao winked.
By the time the last raider had made his purchase, the shelf was empty.
[Main Task Update: Sell 20 Items.]
[Progress: 14/20.]
[Side Task Update: Generate 50 Crystals.]
[Progress: 15/50.]
Meat Hook stood by the door, his arms full of pink packages that he had confiscated from his men. He looked ridiculous. He looked deadly.
"We'll be back," Meat Hook warned, though his tone was less threatening and more... satisfied. "Tomorrow. For the shampoo."
"We open at nine," Lin Yao called out pleasantly. "Don't be late."
As the raider convoy rumbled away, coughing black smoke into the air, Lin Yao slumped back into her chair, laughing.
"System," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I think I'm going to like the apocalypse."
[Congratulations on your bulk sale. Reward Unlocked: 'Fashion' Section.]
A shimmer of light filled the right side of the store.
A rack appeared. Hanging on it were soft, gray oversized hoodies, black leggings, and... were those bunny-ear slippers?
Lin Yao gasped. "Forget the crystals. Su Ling! Come look! We have loungewear!"