Before, they didn't really think it was a big deal. After all, how strong could one person be? They had more people, so they believed they had the advantage. But after learning that ability users existed, they realized the world was not so simple. Maybe the owner of this shop was also an ability user. If they could build a good relationship with a powerful ability user, that would be very helpful. Arthird thought that in the future, ability users would be in control.
But then Arthird thought of a problem. Even though he still had some gold and could keep buying more, the amount of gold inside the base was limited. Later, if everyone started collecting gold, it might become hard to find any.
If there was no more gold, then what could they use to trade with Tracy? They didn't want to lose this simple and easy way to get supplies.
"Tracy, do you only take gold? Are there other valuable things that we could use as money?" Arthird asked.
"Of course. As long as it's something valuable and I accept it, it can be used as money. But I won't accept just anything. It has to be something I need," Tracy said.
In the real world, she had already made too many mistakes. She wouldn't take things that were hard to sell or things that would just pile up and take space. If she couldn't sell it, she wouldn't accept it.
"Do you take crystal cores?" Arthird asked.
Tracy didn't know what crystal cores were. But thinking about the way this world was, and the novels she had read before, she guessed maybe zombies in this world had crystal cores inside their heads too.
But even if they did, she wouldn't have any use for them. She couldn't sell them like gems. She was also worried they might carry a virus and could pollute the real world.
Even so, getting a few to study could be interesting. Inside the dimension shop, it was completely safe.
"You mean the ones from zombie heads? Are those useful? If you have some, I can buy a few to study," Tracy said.
She wanted to study crystal cores to see if she could also gain powers. After hearing that Kei got powers, she felt jealous. She also wanted strength so she could protect herself. Then she wouldn't have to hide in the dimension shop all the time. She could walk freely in the world of the apocalypse.
Arthird looked surprised. Did Tracy not know how crystal cores worked? But then he remembered she never went to the base. She wouldn't know that people had already discovered the use of crystal cores. The base had even made a basic strength-enhancing medicine. So it was normal that she didn't know.
"Tracy, you can open a shop here and not worry about evolved zombies. That means you must be a very powerful ability user. The base already found out that crystal cores can help. Ability users can absorb the energy inside them and become stronger. I thought someone like you had already done that. I didn't expect you to not know. You must be very gifted. The base also made a kind of medicine that can help normal people become stronger. If you ever get the chance, you should visit the base. Maybe the information there could help you," Arthird explained.
Tracy was very happy when she heard this. She didn't expect the base to have made medicine that could help people grow stronger. If she could get some and use it, maybe she could improve herself too.
If she had the chance, she really wanted to try.
"If crystal cores are that useful, I'll accept them as money in my shop. Thank you for telling me," Tracy said.
"It's no big deal. Everyone in the base knows already. You would've found out sooner or later," Arthird replied.
Arthird's team left the shop with lots of supplies. They were happy and satisfied.
After they left, Tracy brought more goods from her house into the shop. She had thought the supplies she prepared were enough. But now it seemed like they weren't. She didn't know how many more people would come today. If the supplies ran out, she would just tell them to come back the next day.
She also remembered what Arthird said. She looked around at the nearby shops. If she used the two next to her as storage rooms, that might work.
But if she wanted to change the two shops into storage rooms, she would have to clean them up first. Right now, those two places were full of junk and needed to be cleared.
Even though the two shops were close to her, she didn't dare to go out and clean them. There were zombies nearby. Some of them had even evolved. If she made one mistake and got bitten, she would die.
So even if she wanted to sell more goods to people, her safety was still the most important. She would wait until she could find someone to help clean the shops. Then she could use them as storage.
Not long after Arthird's team left, another small group came into her shop. This group had fewer people. But as soon as they entered, Tracy felt a very dangerous and evil feeling.
By that time, she had already filled her shop with more supplies. When the group walked in and saw all the goods, they were very surprised and excited. They didn't think the shop was real.
"You're the owner here?" a man with a fierce face asked.
"Yes, I'm the owner. You can call me Tracy. What do you need?" she asked.
"I thought the person who dared to open a shop here must be someone amazing. But you're just a young girl. And from the looks of it, not even an ability user. I don't know how you've survived this long. Looks like we're lucky today. You look good. There's a lot of stuff here too. We'll take the supplies. And you too. If you come with us, you'll eat and live well. That's better than staying here, living in fear and doing business," the man said with a cruel smile.
Tracy frowned when she heard what the big man said. She already knew that people in the apocalypse were not easy to deal with. But she didn't think she would meet someone so bad this quickly.
Luckily, in the Dimensional Shop, no one could hurt her. Also, no one could take anything from the shop without her permission.
If someone tried to hurt her or steal something, the shop's defense system would turn on. Tracy could even kill them if she wanted.
She said calmly, "If you are here to do business, then you are welcome. If you are here to cause trouble, I will have to ask you to leave."
The big man laughed and said, "Brothers, did you hear that? This little girl wants to throw us out. We have so many people and she is all alone. And she's just a normal girl. How will she throw us out?"
He stared at her and said, "Be smart and come with us. We might treat you better. If not, we have many ways to make you suffer."
One of the men added, "Boss, don't scare her. She's a beauty. We haven't seen such a fresh girl in a long time. Since she has a shop, she must have a way to get supplies. Why not let her join us? Her goods and supply lines will become ours."
The big man nodded and said, "You're right. I'm tired of those other women. It's time for something new. And she looks like a virgin too. We're lucky."
Their dirty words and the way they looked at her made Tracy feel very uncomfortable. But they had only talked. They hadn't done anything yet, so she couldn't punish them.
She could kick them out, but that felt too easy.
She was sure they would take action soon. Once they did, she would not let them go.
Tracy needed to scare people like them. The shop was still new and people would come and try to take advantage. She had to show her power.
If people kept making trouble, it would affect her business. She didn't have many customers already. If this continued, the shop spirit would never wake up.
The big man stepped forward and tried to grab Tracy. He wanted to pull her into his arms. Tracy looked very different from the women who had suffered in the apocalypse. Her skin was clear, her face looked healthy, and she was very pretty.
Tracy quickly moved away. The man missed and became angry.
He shouted, "You really don't know how lucky you are. I chose you, and you dare to dodge me?"
"If you listen to me, I'll let you stay by my side. If not, after I'm done with you, I'll give you to the others. You'll regret it."
Another man said, "Boss eats meat, and we drink soup. This girl needs to be taught a lesson. With Boss's skills, she'll give in easily. The women we caught before all acted tough at first, but they gave in quickly."
"When I'm bored of her, I'll let you guys have her too. She looked pretty, so I thought of giving her a chance. But she doesn't appreciate it. Go move the supplies. After that, we'll head back to base. With this woman, we'll get more goods. We can enjoy life however we want."
Tracy hated these men. She was kind, but she could not stand people like them.
Just from their words, she knew they had hurt many women.
They were not human anymore. They were monsters.
But Tracy had never killed anyone. She was just a normal girl. She hadn't even killed a chicken before.
Even if she knew these men were evil, she still couldn't bring herself to kill.
Still, she had to punish them. She also needed to show her power.
Just as the men tried to steal supplies, the shop's defense system activated.
Now Tracy could punish them any way she wanted. Before, she could only throw people out. Now she could even kill them.
Suddenly, the men couldn't move.
They shouted, "What's going on? Why can't we move? What trick did you use? Let us go or you'll be sorry!"
They didn't understand what had happened. But Tracy was the only other person in the room, so they knew it had to be her.
At first, they thought she was weak. But now they saw that she had powers.
That's why she wasn't afraid. That's why she could open a shop here.
They started to panic. They only bullied weak people. Now they were scared she might kill them.
But they were clever. When they saw that Tracy wasn't going to kill them, they started to shout again.
They tried to threaten her. She was just a young girl who couldn't kill. They were not scared anymore.
Tracy still didn't want to kill them. But she knew she had to teach them a lesson.
She also needed to let everyone know that her shop was not easy to mess with.
So no matter how much they shouted, Tracy didn't answer.
She moved them to one side of the shop. She made them stand there like statues.
They kept yelling at first. But Tracy didn't look at them.
After a while, they stopped shouting. Being frozen like that was painful. Shouting took energy.
They decided to stay quiet and save their strength.