Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Grading The Supermarket

“We’ve tried multiple variations, General,” Liu Feng replied, his tone careful.

“The soil quality has deteriorated rapidly, and the hybrid seeds we salvaged were compromised during storage. We’ve exhausted almost all the methods we know.”

The general closed his eyes for a moment, breathing heavily.

The hybrid seeds were supposed to be their last hope, a chance to grow crops that could survive the harsh conditions of the apocalypse.

But now, it seemed like that hope was slipping away.

“What about the reserve seeds from the agricultural vault?” Wang Qingshan asked though he knew the answer already.

“They’re nearly gone, sir,” Liu Feng said.

“We’ve used most of them in previous attempts. We might have enough for one final trial, but the odds are not in our favor.”

Wang Qingshan cursed under his breath.

They had nothing left to barter with except land, and even that had its limits.

The country’s military, once a symbol of strength, was now stretched to its breaking point.

Supplies were dwindling, and people were growing desperate.

If they couldn’t find a way to grow food soon, the safety shelters would be overrun by chaos.

“What about our foreign contacts?” Wang Qingshan asked, hoping for a sliver of good news.

“Has there been any word?”

“No, sir,” Liu Feng shook his head.

“Communication lines with the outside world remain unreliable. We haven’t received any useful intelligence in months.”

The old man let out a weary sigh and leaned back in his chair.

As the soldiers stood in tense silence, Wang Qingshan’s thoughts wandered to the land under military control.

The military had acquired vast amounts of territory, but what good was it if they couldn’t even grow food on it?

They couldn’t hold onto the land forever—not without resources to sustain the people.

Perhaps it was time to consider unconventional solutions.

“Captain Liu,” Wang Qingshan said after a long pause, his voice low but firm.

“I want you to reach out to some of our trusted contacts.

We need food, and we need it now. If that means trading some of our land to secure it, then so be it. We can’t afford to wait any longer.”

Liu Feng’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Sir, are you sure? Trading land… it could undermine our control—”

“I know the risks,” Wang Qingshan interrupted, his tone sharp.

“But without food, control means nothing. The people will turn against us if we can’t provide for them.”

The captain hesitated but nodded.

“I understand, General. I’ll get in touch with our contacts immediately.”

“Good,” Wang Qingshan said.

“And Captain… make sure we handle this quietly. We don’t need word of this getting out to the public.”

As Liu Feng and the soldiers left the room, Wang Qingshan stared at the door, deep in thought.

If the military couldn’t solve this crisis, then perhaps it was time for them to give up completely…

………….

Crystal Cove.

In a forest located on the outskirts of Crystal Cove, a few zombies of level 3 were looking around as if they were trying to find someone.

In the thick foliage of a towering tree, Xi Ping crouched on a sturdy branch, her breath shallow and controlled as she focused on blending into her surroundings.

Her brown hair was tied back tightly, keeping her sharp eyes clear of any distractions.

Below her, three level 3 zombies wandered aimlessly through the underbrush, their heads jerking in erratic movements as they sniffed the air, trying to sense any trace of human presence.

Xi Ping had learned long ago that silence and patience were her best weapons.

She remained utterly still, her body pressed against the bark of the tree as the zombies prowled beneath her.

Just as she was about to exhale softly, she caught the faint sound of voices in the distance.

Her instincts sharpened, and she strained to listen without moving a muscle.

The zombies hadn’t noticed the voices yet—they were still searching, unaware that someone else was nearby.

The voices grew closer.

Two men, their words barely audible, were speaking in hushed tones. Xi Ping narrowed her eyes, her ears finely attuned to every word.

“…planted the device in the east… should be ready soon…”

“…need to make sure no one interferes, especially not the military…”

Xi Ping’s frown deepened, but she made no move.

Her curiosity was piqued, but it wasn’t worth giving herself away—not with those level 3 zombies so close.

She waited, her senses on high alert, as the conversation continued.

“…we’ll set it off at dawn.”

“Good. By then, we’ll be long gone.”

The footsteps grew fainter as the voices began to move away, the men unaware of Xi Ping’s presence high above them.

She kept her body still, ensuring the zombies below didn’t catch wind of her scent or hear the faintest rustle of movement.

After what felt like an eternity, the two men disappeared into the dense forest, their voices fading into the distance.

The zombies, losing interest in their search, began to drift away, their movements slow and lethargic as they lumbered toward the deeper parts of the woods.

Once the danger had passed, Xi Ping allowed herself to relax slightly and continued to hunt forgetting about the conversation that she had heard.

……………..

At midnight.

Su Jiyai asked the system to lock the door and teleport her out.

Once outside, Su Jiyai started the construction again.

Her primary goal was to finish the decoration and product placement in the supermarket.

After 4 hours of continuous work, Su Jiyai looked at the supermarket with a satisfied expression.

But her satisfaction didn’t last longer because the next second she heard the system’s prompt.

[Detecting the grade of the supermarket…

Size of the supermarket measured…

Product quality measured…

Hygiene measured…

Grade of the supermarket decided…]

Hm?

Su Jiyai was amused and asked,

“Does the grade of the supermarket even matter?”

[Yes host.]

“Oh? So what is the result? Is it an A grade? Or S grade?” Su Jiyai asked expectantly.

[Neither.]

“Then is it SS-Rank?” Su Jiyai’s eyes brighetend.

As if it couldn’t bear Su Jiyai’s delulu behavior, the system answered,

[Its E-Rank.]

“What?” Su Jiyai instantly wilted. “Why so low?”

[The size of the supermarket is too small…the products are of uneven quality…and even the hygiene isn’t much better.]

Su Jiyai gritted her teeth.

She had worked on the decoration of the supermarket for 2 days, continuously hoarding products from her 2nd dimension hunting to the point that she fell sick.

She even endured a penalty from the system for the product.

Now it was grading her work as E-Rank?

However Su Jiyai quickly calmed herself and said in a nonchalant tone,

“So what…even if you grade my supermarket an E-Rank place, what can it change?”

[Indeed it can change nothing.]

Su Jiyai smiled. A hint of smugness flashed past her eyes.

[Until you cross over C-Rank…there truly is no benefit.]

“Huh?” Su Jiyai quickly understood the system’s meaning. “You mean there is a benefit waiting for me as long as my supermarket crosses over C-Rank?”

[Yes host.]

“What is it?”

The system did not respond immediately

“Come on, tell me!” Su Jiyai persisted, her curiosity piqued. “What kind of reward are we talking about? An upgrade to the store? Or golden ticket?”

[The host must first meet the required conditions to unlock the information.]

Su Jiyai’s expression darkened.

“Conditions? You could’ve just told me from the start. What do I need to do to raise the rank of the supermarket?”

[To raise the rank of the supermarket to C-Rank, the host must complete the following tasks:

1. Expand the size of the supermarket by at least 400 square meters.

2. Ensure all products meet a minimum quality standard.

3. Improve the hygiene and ambiance of the establishment.]

[Ding! A special mission has been triggered! Improve the grade of the supermarket to C-Rank!

Progress: 0%

Reward: ???]

“Why is there a question mark?” Su Jiyai asked.

[Host you are not qualified yet to know the reward.]

Su Jiyai gritted her teeth.

She kept on feeling as if the system was calling her incompetent in 20 languages.

Taking a deep breath, Su Jiyai targeted the third condition. Hygiene.

“System should I clean the shop some more?” Su Jiyai asked with slight confusion.

But the system remained silent.

“System?”

[I am sorry host, I can’t help you in this quest.]

Su Jiyai was surprised however she didn’t continue to further question the system.

She decided to try the solution she had thought of and cleaned the supermarket once more.

Looking at the progress bar which moved from 0 to 2%, Su Jiyai repeated the process in the hopes that it would rise, but to her dismay, the progress bar remained at 2%.

This showed that her guess was only partially true.

Su Jiyai opened the system panel and saw a cleaning section that had also been unlocked.

There was an option to buy a mop, bucket, clothes, and some cleaning chemicals.

However, her attention was attracted by something else.