Apocalypse Supermarket: I Exchange Noodles for Artifacts

Chapter 3: The First Trade

The red warning box blinked on the glowing screen, casting a sharp light across the checkout counter. Jax stared at the twelve hour countdown timer ticking down fast. He needed to get a beast core soon, or his safe zone would lose power and he would end up as ghoul food.

Jax looked at the shelves filled with simple store goods. He walked over to a stack of basic instant noodle cups, picking up a red paper cup.

[Item: Spicy Beef Instant Noodles]

[System Effect: Grants 300% physical strength for 5 minutes when eaten hot.]

[Exchange Value: 1 Basic Beast Core.]

Jax smiled softly. Everything in his store had turned into a secret weapon. With these items, he wasn't just a poor clerk anymore. He had full control over life and death in this broken world.

Suddenly, a loud metallic bang echoed from the street right outside the store.

Jax walked up to the clean glass window and looked out into the red haze. Down on the sidewalk, a big green metal dumpster was shaking violently. A man was crammed underneath the dirty trash bin, his legs kicking wildly as he tried to pull himself deeper into the dark shadow.

"Help! Somebody save me!" a high voice screamed from under the dumpster.

Jax recognized that voice instantly. It belonged to Mr. Sterling, the greedy owner of the convenience store and Jax’s abusive boss.

Sterling was a fat man who wore expensive silk shirts and heavy gold rings. For six months, Sterling had treated Jax like dirt. He made Jax work twenty-hour shifts, yelled at him for small mistakes, and constantly threatened to fire him without pay whenever Jax asked for his rightful wages.

Right now, Sterling’s expensive silk shirt was ripped and covered in dirt. His face was pale with sheer terror, and blood was dripping down his left leg.

Two mutated ghouls were standing near the dumpster. Their sickly gray bodies twitched as they growled, sniffing the air for the smell of fresh blood. Their long bone claws scraped against the metal sides of the trash bin, making a awful screeching noise.

Sterling peeked out from under the dumpster, his small eyes darting around the empty street. That was when he saw the bright lights inside the convenience store.

Through the clear glass window, Sterling saw Jax standing comfortably behind the counter. He saw the full shelves of food, the bright lights, and the bottles of clean water. Most importantly, he saw that Jax was completely unhurt, looking fresh and full of energy.

Sterling’s eyes went wide with shock. A look of disbelief washed over his face, quickly replaced by his usual arrogant attitude.

"Jax!" Sterling yelled, his voice cracking as he kicked one of the ghouls away with his boot. "Jax, you lazy idiot! What are you doing standing inside my store? Open the front door right now!"

Jax did not move an inch. He slowly crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his boss through the glass.

"Did you hear me, boy?" Sterling barked louder, his face turning red with anger despite his fear. "That is my store! I own every single shelf and every bottle of water in there! Unlock the door this instant and let me in! If you let those monsters touch me, I will make sure you never work in this city again!"

Jax let out a dry, cold laugh. It was crazy how Sterling still thought he had power over him.

"Your store?" Jax called out through the barrier, his voice cool and calm. "You didn't pay the rent for this place last week, Mr. Sterling. And ten minutes ago, you fired me on the phone without giving me my three hundred dollars in back wages. You said I was fired and worth less than a dead dog."

Sterling gasped as one of the ghouls snapped its sharp teeth just an inch from his foot. Panic finally broke through his arrogance.

"I was just joking, Jax!" Sterling begged, his voice rising to a high squeak as he tried to crawl closer to the store entrance. "You know I like to joke! I'll pay you your wages! I'll double your salary! Just open the door and give me a bottle of water! My throat is burning!"

Jax picked up a cool bottle of purified water from the counter. He walked slowly to the glass door, stood right behind the glowing golden shield, and held the bottle up so Sterling could see it clearly.

"You want water?" Jax asked, his voice filled with cold mockery. "It costs one beast core, Mr. Sterling. No credit. No promises. Cash or cores upfront."

"Are you insane?" Sterling shrieked, tears of rage and fear falling down his dirty cheeks. "You want me to trade with you? I am your boss! You are just a low-life worker! Give me that water now or I'll kill you!"

Sterling scrambled out from under the dumpster and lunged toward the glass entrance, desperate to break inside.

He didn't notice the two ghouls turning around quickly behind him. One of the monsters raised its black claws and slashed hard across Sterling’s back, sending the fat man crashing onto the concrete right in front of the store step.

"AGHHH!" Sterling screamed in pain, rolling over onto his back. He pressed his back against the outside of the glass door, his body shaking violently.

He looked up at Jax through the glass, his eyes wild and full of desperation.

"Okay, okay! I'll pay you!" Sterling sobbed, reaching into his coat pocket with shaking fingers. He pulled out a thick stack of hundred-dollar paper bills tied with a red rubber band. "Look! I have money! There is ten thousand dollars here! Ten thousand in cold hard cash! Take it all! Just open the door and let me inside!"

Sterling slammed the heavy stack of money against the glass door, begging for his life.

Jax looked at the green paper bills. In this new ruined world, paper money was nothing more than useless trash. He was about to tell Sterling to get lost, but something else caught his eye.

As Sterling pressed his hands against the window, his right sleeve pulled back slightly.

Right on Sterling’s wrist was a dark, swollen bite mark. The skin around the wound was already turning black, and dark purple veins were spreading quickly up his arm toward his heart like a poison spider web.

Jax narrowed his eyes as the golden screen flashed in front of him.

[Warning: Human target outside is infected with the Mutation Virus.]

[Time until full mutation: 60 seconds.]

Sterling offered Jax $10,000 in cash to open the door, but Jax noticed a dark, venomous bite mark spreading across Sterling’s wrist.