Dimensional Storekeeper

Chapter 197: New Tasks Assigned, Eight Ball One Winner!

“Sissy.” someone called again.

“You’ve got gravel on your face.”

Then dumped more.

Qin Zhu lay there, breathing mud, limbs twitching.

No qi.

No power.

No glory.

Just dust, chains, and aching joints.

Qin Zhu spat out a clump of gravel.

His hands trembled.

Not from effort, but from the weight of a single, agonizing realization—

He should never have tried to rob that freakishly terrifying young man in the first place.

That damned convenience store.

That damned smiling owner.

And now… Qin Zhu was here.

Stripped of everything.

He didn’t deserve this.

He didn’t.

He – !

Another rock slammed into his foot.

“Move faster, Sissy!” someone barked again.

He gritted his teeth and shoved the pain down. Deep.

Because the truth was?

No one here got to complain.

The prisoners – slaves, really – had all done something.

Some were swindlers.

Some were killers.

Others burned villages, scammed sects, sold forbidden pills to children.

Qin Zhu wasn’t even the worst of them. Not by a long shot.

And yet here they all were.

Shoulders chained. Collars sealed. Qi crippled beyond repair.

They weren’t even allowed to die.

Suicide? Blocked.

The collars detected lethal intent. Faint pulse of energy – instant suppression.

They could try starving.

It wouldn’t work. The collars would force the body into hibernation mode. Feed on stored fat and spiritual residue. Keep them just barely alive.

Old age was the only freedom.

And even that took a long time.

This was the kind of place where dreams weren’t broken. They were buried.

You could try to escape. Technically.

But why would you?

You weren’t fast anymore. Or strong. Or clever.

The guards weren’t even cultivators – just hardened ex-convicts with clubs and full legal right to beat you into the floor for breathing too loud.

Try running?

You’d crawl back within two days. Broken. Bruised. Starving.

Begging for the shovel again.

Some said it was harsh.

Others said it wasn’t harsh enough.

Because imagine if they weren’t locked in here.

Imagine if people like Qin Zhu were still out there.

Lurking.

Pretending to be nobles.

Swindling innocent shopkeepers. Poisoning wells. Robbing cultivators.

Pretending they were untouchable.

No.

This was justice.

Twisted, brutal, cold.

But justice all the same.

Labor Camp #7 wasn’t hell.

It was society’s garbage fire.

The place you dumped the rot, lit a match, and watched it smoke until it stopped moving.

A place where men like Qin Zhu weren’t punished.

They were put to use.

Crushed down.

Molded into something barely useful again.

This place built character.

Not the good kind.

Just enough to make you remember:

Some people were never meant to walk free again.

And Hao?

Hao was completely oblivious to all of it.

He had no idea that Qin Zhu was currently using a rock as a pillow and arguing with a particularly aggressive rat over a stale biscuit.

But even if he did know…

Would he feel guilty?

Maybe.

Because Hao, for all his quirks and sarcastic remarks –

Was still human.

Not just in body, but in heart.

He wasn’t a saint.

But he wasn’t cold either.

Still, being human meant something complicated.

You could feel sorry for someone… and still believe they deserved what they got.

You could hate suffering… and still understand why it happened.

You could carry a little guilt in your chest… and keep walking forward anyway.

Because at the end of the day, morality wasn’t a clean cut.

It was messy.

Full of scraped knees and blurry lines.

Sometimes, the right choice still left a bad taste in your mouth.

Sometimes, you didn’t get to feel good after doing good.

And sometimes, you didn’t even know if what you did was good at all.

You just made the best call you could… and kept walking.

…

Anyway.

That was yesterday’s brain spiral.

Today?

Hao was chillin’.

Because time had moved on, the store had gotten even busier, and more importantly –

At long last, his last task was done!

────────────────

Main Task 1: Sell 100 Soft Served Ice Cream, 50 Wing Blast, and 50 Tuna Mayo Onigiri

Progress: 100/100 Ice Cream, 50/50 Wing Blast & 30/30 Onigiri

Reward: Unlock new feature – Pool Game Billiard. The game will be set up in the store after business hours.

Status: Completed! Claim your reward now?

────────────────

Reward claimed!

[All tasks completed! New tasks have been assigned. Keep up the hard work and grow the store even further, host!]

Hao pumped his fist.

Finally.

It had been a grind – steady, relentless – but not exhausting.

Just… satisfying.

There was something real nice about seeing progress stack up. Especially when it meant unlocking cool new stuff.

He was fired up to see what came next.

’Aight, let’s see if this next batch hits harder than the last five.’

────────────────

Main Task 1: Eight Ball, One Winner. Host a player pool tournament in-store after hours

※ Only customers who’ve made at least one purchase and rented the billiard pool at least once are eligible to join.

※ At least 4 participants must be actual customers. Employees are not allowed to participate.

※ Single elimination. One winner.

※ Tournament prizes will be displayed on the official poster released after business hours.

Progress: 0/1 Tournament Successfully Hosted

Reward: Unlock a new world! 3 random worlds will be presented as options. Upon selection, a door will automatically be established in that world, linking it to the store.

────────────────

Hao barely skimmed the first line before grinning.

A tournament?

Now we’re talking.

The system really went all out on this one. Cooked something tasty and served it hot!

He hadn’t even scrolled all the way down, but a question was already forming in his head.

’Wait. It says employees can’t join… but I’m the owner, right? That’s not technically the same thing.’

A pause.

Then another thought.

’System, hypothetically – if I enter, that’s not breaking the rules, yeah? I’m just supervising very, very closely… with a cue stick.’

[Host, no. You are not allowed to participate. You have significantly more experience and skill than your customers. It would be the spiritual equivalent of body-slamming toddlers.]

[As the owner of the Dimensional Convenience Store, you must strive for dignity. You cannot be this shameless, Host. Twisting rules just to bully newcomers? Truly, where is your pride?]

Hao gasped. Pressed a hand to his chest, as if wounded by the system’s cruel judgment.

’System… Aren’t you being a little harsh? I just wanted to bond with my customers. Build morale.’

’Create memories!’

He turned slowly, staring at the wall as if reenacting a tragic stage play.

’Is that so wrong?’

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