Famine 56: Convenience Store

Nidhogg landed on the ice, his leather boots cracking the frozen surface as he stepped into the convenience store.

A brilliant shaft of sunlight shone into his eyes.

Gurgle, gurgle… The air was laced with the aromatic scent of oden, white steam curling in the atmosphere.
The shelves overflowed with colorful goods, dazzling in their variety, neatly arrayed in a row. Every kind of supply was fully stocked. In the distance, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, blue skies and drifting clouds floated in tranquil stillness.

“Anyone here?” Nidhogg called out in a raised voice.

No answer.
The store operated only by its own set of rules.

A faint twitch flitted across the corner of Nidhogg’s eye.

He took a turn around the convenience store, pacing step by step.

Self-heating equipment, medicine, thermal clothing, sticky bombs, dense fog signal flares—these supplies appeared to be of exceptional quality, many of which couldn’t even be found in the Divine Marketplace, yet here they hung like ordinary merchandise with price tags surprisingly cheap.

Nidhogg raised an eyebrow slightly. Just like that, he strolled along and casually grabbed a few of each type, packing a bag full of miscellaneous supplies.
He didn’t touch any food, though.

Just as he was about to leave, the store’s glass door snapped shut.

The light above the door flickered twice, and a mechanical prompt sounded: [Dear customer, the total for your selected goods is 362 credits. Please pay.]

Ah, how harmonious.
Meticulous order and a pristine, clean convenience store—just like something out of a fairy tale.

“Guess what?” Nidhogg grinned, hands thrust into his pockets, leaning forward. “I’ve quit the bad habit of paying for things I buy.”

Crash—!
His dragon wings unfurled, air currents sweeping up, shattering the glass. Amidst the storm of fragments, Nidhogg’s vertical pupils narrowed slightly.

“…”

Si Zhiyan sat upright on the farm sofa. From the moment he awoke, he had watched the entire live broadcast.

With the vision of a god, he saw everything clearly.

Beneath that seemingly relaxed back, Nidhogg’s muscles were tensed to the utmost, his mind hyper-focused, ready to explode into motion at any second.
This was a probe. A test of the rules here.

A careful response was needed.

Yet, after that brief encounter before, Si Zhiyan could already tell that this player with the title of [The Omen of the Apocalypse] was unfathomable, his strength certainly above that of the shadow clone.

Direct confrontation would yield no good result. He’d have to think of something…
Si Zhiyan lowered his eyes, took a sip of coffee, and shut them.

Swoosh!

The swirling white mist in the store instantly wrapped around Nidhogg’s shoulders and back, a violent sensation of pressure pinning his expanding dragon wings in place.

The mist thickened, and beyond its layered folds, a figure flickered in and out of sight, appearing at the farthest edge of his vision.

A calm voice sounded from behind the mist and shelves:

“Dear customer, please refrain from altering your form among the shelves. Disrupting the arrangement of goods causes unnecessary trouble for the staff.”

When did he get there?

“Now that’s more interesting…”

Nidhogg smiled, rubbing his neck and rolling his shoulders. With a kick, he suddenly shot forward like an arrow loosed from the string!

“You don’t think just because you’re hiding, I can’t find you, do you?”

Si Zhiyan’s reaction was so quick he barely caught a flicker of movement, yet in the blink of an eye, a flare of dazzling fire burst before the shadow clone. Nidhogg’s figure moved lithely as a panther, fingers pressed together like a blade, striking straight at his target!

So fast! Si Zhiyan’s pupils contracted in the farm.
This blow alone could at least deal eighty percent damage to the shadow clone’s energy.

But Si Zhiyan neither dodged nor retreated, simply stood his ground, hands clasped behind his back, watching with composure.

Amid the howling wind, he spoke quietly: “No need to worry.”

Crack.

Nidhogg’s hand froze, fingertips lingering less than half an inch from Si Zhiyan’s eyes.

“Me, worry? Worry about what?” Nidhogg arched an eyebrow, retorting, “Worried your convenience store uses so much power it causes global warming?”

“Maybe you should be worried the convenience store is an anomalous zone with an influence range, and might harm Shi Tou.”
Si Zhiyan replied calmly.

Nidhogg: “…”
How did he know that name? Was he eavesdropping just now? A couple of thoughts flashed through Nidhogg’s mind, but not a muscle moved on his face; he simply grinned, assuming a new stance. “The fact that I haven’t ground him to dust on the spot shows I’ve already honored old ties. Don’t you think you ought to give me a good reason…”

Si Zhiyan merely smiled without replying and continued:

“When we first met, you seemed fierce, but in fact, you didn’t hurt anyone.”
“On the contrary, the very first thing you did upon appearing was help him disperse the predatory mist.”

“This is the polar icefield, vast and without topography, the stars can’t be used to tell direction, nor is there any landmark.”
“If Shi Tou and the others had to feel their way out alone, who knows how long it would have taken to escape.”

As he spoke, he glanced down and adjusted his cuffs.
Speaking to strangers was growing more routine for him, but some nervousness lingered, making him reluctant to meet others’ eyes.

Left here, measured.
Nidhogg stared at him intently, lips pursed, cold sweat slick on his brow, trickling down his cheeks.

Si Zhiyan, recalling the things he’d seen when placing the convenience store and scouting the area, continued in a soft voice:

“The ice of the polar field is thin and brittle. Beneath it, nine-tenths of what you step on is dark void—fall in, and you’re lost to the abyss with no hope of survival.”
“But if you drop into the river, and follow its current, that’s actually the fastest way off the icefield.”

“You could only have known that if you’d spent a whole day scouting after world-hopping here.”

Si Zhiyan lifted his gaze:

“And as for why you were in such a hurry to get him out… the reason is simple.”
“Your coordinates were just broadcast to the Divine system. For someone who can fly, using the icefield to hold off enemies is the best choice. But that will inevitably turn this place into a hotspot of danger.”

“The conclusion is obvious, dear customer.”
“—You saved him.”

Before the Xubei team awoke, Si Zhiyan had eaten a skewer of oden, divining the team’s fate.
After his last bite of tempura, two characters appeared boldly on the wooden stick:

[Great Fortune]
“With the help of a noble, misfortune will turn to blessing, all will go well.”

Nidhogg, clearly, lacked for neither supplies nor credits.
From this brief exchange, it was obvious the man wasn’t some mindless brute who charged forward at all costs.

He’d come here to provoke for a reason.

Partly, it was out of curiosity at the appearance of this anomalous convenience store, to test its depths and confirm whether it posed any harm to Shi Tou.

In the mist, the shadow clone replied in a tone stripped of emotion—

“No need to worry.”
“A convenience store is just a convenience store.”

At that very moment, behind Si Zhiyan, the floor-to-ceiling window Nidhogg had just shattered began to float up on its own; the fragments drifted together and slowly reassembled themselves, restoring the pane as if nothing had happened.

The self-repairing ability of the [24-hour Unstaffed Convenience Store].
No perceivable energy fluctuations came from it at all.

Nidhogg: “…”

At last, the lazy smile faded from his face.

Nidhogg: “……Who are you, exactly? A player? An anomaly? A chosen one? Or a Divine’s blessed?”

Si Zhiyan inclined his head gently and answered, calm as still water:
“Merely an ordinary farmer.”

Nidhogg stared expressionlessly at the shadow figure.

Si Zhiyan met his eyes with equal serenity.

On the farm, his real palms began to sweat.
Only he himself knew: even if the shadow clone and the entire convenience store combined their strength, they could not withstand a breath of the evil dragon’s fire.

After a long moment, Nidhogg finally looked away.

“Enough.”
He broke out once more in a radiant smile and, with a twist of the wrist, dispelled the swirling flames and withdrew his dragon wings.
“Boss, you’re refreshingly straightforward. Well then, I wish you prosperous business.”

Nidhogg circled the shadow, waving a hand nonchalantly as he strode forward.

Beep—
The door light flashed red.

The convenience store’s prompt sounded dutifully: [Dear customer, the total for your selected goods is 362 credits. Please pay.]

Three hundred sixty-two… oh well, what a trivial amount.
With one hand in his pocket, Nidhogg swept his Divine System wristband and paid.

The door still didn’t open.

[Dear customer, the destroyed glass door: 8,200 credits; damaged floor and shelves: 4,000 credits in total. Please pay.]

“…”

So it costs to auto-repair?
A twitch flickered at the edge of Nidhogg’s eye. He raised his system wristband to pay the full balance.

The door stayed shut.

“This isn’t over?” Nidhogg raised his eyebrows, looking up at the light strip.

This time, it was not the store’s mechanical voice but Si Zhiyan’s calm shadow that answered: “No. Your account has been settled.”
“Mr. Nidhogg, the reason I wish to keep you here is to ask you a question.”

“—Are you willing to become an employee of the convenience store?”

“Ha?!”

Nidhogg’s voice shot up half an octave in disbelief.
He waved his hand and pointed at himself,

“Who? Employee? Me?”

“That’s right.”
Si Zhiyan nodded slightly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and went on,
“My convenience store needs customers. Your coordinates are broadcast server-wide every fifteen days, making you the perfect advertisement. And you, in turn, need a safe place to rest. If we cooperate, we can both get something better out of the deal.”

Nidhogg nearly doubted his own ears after hearing this.
He was so exasperated that he ended up laughing, curiosity overtaking his ire. “What are you planning to pay me?”

Si Zhiyan replied coolly: “A daily wage of 700 credits, paid out at the end of each day. Meals and lodging not included. Two days off per week.”

“Seven…”
Nidhogg actually burst out laughing.

Seven hundred credits? His daily routine expenses—just the burning of curses afflicting his body—ran into tens of thousands.

Seven hundred! To hire him!
It was so preposterous that he didn’t even know how to retort.

He gestured helplessly, silent for a while before sighing with feeling:
“Shame that after the apocalypse, the mental hospitals closed down—it really isn’t good for humanity as a species.”

“The pay isn’t the point. As for real compensation…”

The shadow floated in the swirling mist, calm and motionless as a mountain, as usual, dropping a bomb in an unruffled voice.

“—I can guarantee you Shi Tou’s safety.”

Nidhogg’s face changed.

“Even with you drawing enemy fire, Shi Tou is still at the top of the Chosen leaderboard. The broadcast images have made it clear—becoming the top Chosen draws special attention from the Divine.”
“If you’re untouchable, there will still be those with ulterior motives who’ll seek to eliminate Shi Tou first, claim the number one ranking and communicate with the Divine, then take their time dealing with you.”

Si Zhiyan pointed straight to the heart of the matter: “Shi Tou’s situation is still perilous. You know it.”

Nidhogg grinned: “I can protect him myself.”

Si Zhiyan said coolly, “You’ll soon have to face challengers.”
“If you stay by Shi Tou’s side, you’ll only show the way to those challengers—and one day, you’ll see Shi Tou’s corpse for yourself.”

Nidhogg snapped his fingers.

Boom!

In a flash, Si Zhiyan’s nerves jolted; the shadow clone instantly dissolved.
A mass of explosive gas erupted in the spot where he’d just stood!
In a second, nothing of the shadow clone remained.

Goods scattered, tumbling everywhere.

In the burning flames, Nidhogg crossed his arms, his smile unchanged, but the light in his eyes razor-sharp and icy. “My patience has limits.”

The evil dragon stretched, flexing his limbs, and thrust one hand to the side. Fingers opened wide. A massive two-handed sword, wreathed in fire, dropped from the void and crashed into his hand.
A giant double-edged blade forged from dragon bone, its ridge hollow and filled with slow-flowing magma as red as blood. Every droplet that hit the ground seared a burning hole in the floor.

“Don’t think you can hide and I’ll never find you.”

Nidhogg smiled, repeating the words once more.

Boom!

The convenience store…
No, now inside the farm itself.

In front of Si Zhiyan’s real body, within the cottage beside the Grail black hole, a surge of fire exploded!

BOOM!!
Two sharp cracking blasts as space ripped apart.

Blazing fire roared forth, engulfing the wooden cabin in a split second. The heat surged, incandescent flames pierced the clouds. The wood grain warped in the scorching heat, emitting a relentless, shrill crackling.

The space before him split open like butter beneath a hot knife. Nidhogg, wreathed in flying sparks, flashed through the rift.

Every limb and bone of his body burned with overwhelming fire, his smile dazzling, imbued with the madness and malice of a devil.

The herald of the apocalypse, the evil dragon Nidhogg!

—Don’t think you can hide and I’ll never find you.
This time, the reference was not the mist—but the entire shadow clone.

He’d torn through space, tracked the target to its source. At last, Nidhogg could see this so-called farmer.

A young man with black hair, black clothes, and eyes of crimson.

The farmer’s features were handsome, his skin deathly pale. A jet-black trench coat billowed like crow’s wings in the heat.
In his hand was a cup of coffee, his body languid on the sofa, with a fluffy white horned rabbit sprawled across his knees. Minute chills burst from the rabbit, shielding him from the halo of heat.

At this level, magical beasts were no match for him.
Nidhogg extended his dragon wings, raised his bone sword, and brought it down in a direct, overhead slash!

…

Wait, something’s wrong!
Suddenly, Nidhogg’s pupils contracted.

The man’s expression was utterly calm, devoid of fear.

The next second, a blinding flash exploded before Nidhogg, slamming him straight into the ground.

Bang!!

“Shit!”
Nidhogg was embedded in the shattered wood floor, and could hear his own bones crack, his skin melting in the searing light.

The apocalyptic flames ceased abruptly; the tongues of fire retreated like a receding tide.
The burning wood beams hovered above the farmer’s head, fading wordlessly into nothing.

Unhurried, the farmer stroked the horned rabbit, as if this blaze that had razed a house was but a child’s careless scribble: clumsy, unworthy of note.

Hoo.

The farmer gently blew on his coffee, shifting the foam aside, then took a sip.
He then raised his eyes, calm and aloof, looking down at the trembling, jaw-clenched Nidhogg wedged in the floorboards.

He didn’t even need to invoke the power of the lawnmower.

[Farm Rules]
[1. The Farmer is Supreme.]

Si Zhiyan had tested it long ago: this rule applied to [all players].

In this, the farm afforded him enormous security. When anomalies broke through the barrier, he needed to handle them himself; but as for the farm’s produce and the players within, he had no need to fear betrayal or rebellion like that from Gu Haoping. Anyone who needed subduing, all it took was a thought.

The rules of the farm stemmed from the farm itself, requiring no energy at all, existing almost on the level of causality.

The moment Nidhogg started repeating “Don’t think you can hide,” Si Zhiyan realized what he was hinting at.
In fact, it reminded him—the shadow clone was not invulnerable after all, and he must be wary of these origin-tracing, long-range attacks.

But that was perfect.

Nidhogg acted insane, but in truth, his actions were calculated and precise.
Such a man could never be talked into cooperating.

If Si Zhiyan wanted Nidhogg to cooperate, he would have to prove his ability to protect Shi Tou by force—no shortcuts.

On the open icefield or in interdimensional space, a fair one-on-one was unwinnable for Si Zhiyan.

Deliberately enraging Nidhogg and luring him to the farm was the best strategy.

And for Nidhogg…
It was an absolute blessing.

Si Zhiyan sat with his coffee, observing him.

Embedded in the floor, Nidhogg’s wounds were already closing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
He propped himself up, hair falling in tatters, brows knit, his shirt torn to reveal tightly knotted, golden-brown muscle. Sweat-mixed soot and congealed blood streamed along his musculature, making him tremble.

“Ha…”

He laughed.
Hoarse, pained, punctuated with ragged gasps—yet slowly, he broke into laughter.

“Haha… Hahahaha… hiss… Hahahahaha!”

“Good! You’re something else! You really are!”

Nidhogg braced himself, abruptly raising his head, blood streaming, his slit pupils bright with undisguised excitement.

“Alright! I’ll do it!”

“What the hell are you, anyway? Not a player, not an anomaly, you know the Divine, you’ve got that stench about you… Eh, what’s it matter? So long as you can truly guarantee that brat’s safety, what’s it to me if I work with you?”

“Speak! What do you want from me?”

“What business does your convenience store do? What contracts does it take, who does it kill? Destroy settlements? Fulfill god-quests in the Spire Zone? Wipe out all comers? I’m fine with any of it!”

“Hmm…”

Si Zhiyan sipped his coffee slowly.

“Let’s start with goods recognition and shelf arranging.”

“Now, go clean up the mess you’ve made.”
“And don’t steal the oden. Pay for what you use.”

The convenience store is simply a convenience store.

Nidhogg: “…”

“?”