Chapter 21: Underwater Supermarket – Zero Yuan Shopping (Part 1)

Xia Xiaoman gripped her axe tightly, her eyes locked on the person swimming toward her.

Just as she thought another fight was inevitable, the person made a “pause” gesture while slowly approaching.

Xia Xiaoman was confused—what was this guy trying to do?

As he got closer, he pointed at the door lock, then pulled out two iron wires from his clothing and made a motion of unlocking the door.

Xia Xiaoman suddenly understood and backed away, gesturing for him to go ahead and pick the lock.

The man shook his head, clearly unwilling to work for free. After a series of hand gestures, he signaled that he wanted first pick of the supplies once the door was open—only after he was done could Xia Xiaoman go in.

Xia Xiaoman nodded in agreement. After all, once he had picked his share, everything else in the warehouse would still be hers.

With the deal set, the man started working on the lock.

There was a huge difference between an amateur and a professional. What Xia Xiaoman couldn’t unlock in over ten minutes, he cracked in under two.

The man went inside to look around, but when he found that it was just toiletries—shampoo, body wash, and the like—he picked up two bottles, found them too heavy, and tossed them back, swimming out with little interest.

After confirming the contents herself, Xia Xiaoman stored them all in her space and also exited empty-handed.

The man assumed she wasn’t interested in such items and didn’t think much of it. The two of them then started searching for the next warehouse.

The second warehouse turned out to be filled with fruit, which had rotted after being soaked for more than half a month. The moment the door was opened, a wave of disgusting, brownish sludge poured out, nearly making both of them gag.

The third warehouse was filled with beverages. Xia Xiaoman recalled news reports warning that drinks soaked in floodwaters were unsafe—dirty water could seep in through the bottle caps—so she took none of them.

The lockpicker did want some, but they were too heavy and not worth the effort. After a longing glance, he turned to find the next storage room.

The fourth warehouse contained cigarettes and alcohol. The cigarettes were ruined, but the alcohol—thanks to its double-sealed packaging—was likely still good. After he picked a few bottles, Xia Xiaoman stored the rest in her space.

After four warehouses with nothing useful, Xia Xiaoman stopped the man and pointed around, signaling that they should locate the food or grain sections. The food warehouse was likely nearby.

The man agreed—her reasoning made sense—and they set out together.

With a clear target, their search was much quicker. Soon, they found the food section.

The lockpicker got excited and started swimming over, but Xia Xiaoman quickly yanked him back and pushed him behind a shelf. She also signaled for him to turn off his headlamp.

Though puzzled, he complied and switched it off.

A moment later, they saw three or four people appear in the food section, tossing supplies into a fishing net. Once it was full, they hauled it away together.

Once those people swam off, Xia Xiaoman patted the lockpicker’s shoulder and gestured for him to follow her.

They found a warehouse in the food area, but the door was badly dented—clearly from failed attempts to break in—likely why those people had resorted to scavenging the shelves.

Xia Xiaoman urged the man to hurry and unlock the door; the others might come back at any moment.

Once inside, he was stunned. The warehouse was much larger than the previous ones, filled with rows of rice, flour, grains, cooking oil, spices, and canned goods.

He started picking supplies eagerly, swimming in and out with haul after haul.

By his eighth trip, Xia Xiaoman lost patience and gestured: You’re taking this much—can you even carry it all? Enough is enough.

The man was shameless and motioned back: Help me carry some. If I didn’t unlock the door, you wouldn’t have found anything. Think of it as payment.

Xia Xiaoman rolled her eyes and ignored the previous agreement, swimming straight toward the warehouse.

The man didn’t like that and tried to grab her leg to stop her. Xia Xiaoman, furious, kicked him away.

Just then, the group from earlier returned. When they saw the open warehouse, they excitedly swam toward it.

The lockpicker panicked and grabbed his supplies to flee—only for an arrow to shoot toward him, embedding itself in the bag.

Startled, he dropped the supplies and tried to escape. When a second arrow came flying, he swam toward Xia Xiaoman—clearly trying to use her as a decoy.

Xia Xiaoman laughed to herself—So that’s why he wanted to team up. He needed a human shield.

The attackers were using spear guns. Xia Xiaoman dodged the first shot and was about to retaliate when she suddenly felt a strong pull from behind—her oxygen tank had been yanked off.

Looking back, she saw the lockpicker had the guts to tear off her air supply.

With no time to fight, Xia Xiaoman held her breath and rushed into the warehouse, locking the door behind her.

Outside, the lockpicker saw she was sealed inside and bolted. Two of the enemies gave chase while the remaining two stayed to guard the door.

They assumed that without oxygen, Xia Xiaoman would soon have to open the door and escape—so they waited.

Unbeknownst to them, the moment she entered the warehouse, Xia Xiaoman had pulled out a new oxygen tank from her space and swapped it.

After catching her breath, she dragged shelves over to block the door and began storing all the supplies into her space at a steady pace.

Outside, the water around the warehouse door rippled as the two attackers rammed it repeatedly, trying to force their way in.

Once all the supplies were collected, Xia Xiaoman swam to the door and waited for the water to calm. Then, she removed the blockade one item at a time and quietly unlocked the door.

She swam to the top of the doorframe, hooked her legs on the ceiling, and hung upside-down.

Once in position, she pulled out her watermelon knife and wedged it into the door crack, prying the door slightly open.

Suddenly, the door was kicked wide open and a shadow swam inside.

As the figure passed beneath the door, Xia Xiaoman pushed off with her legs and, with both hands, looped the knife around the intruder’s neck—then pulled tight.

The blade sliced straight into his throat, and blood gushed out. Even though she couldn’t breathe through her nose, Xia Xiaoman felt like she could smell the iron tang of blood.

The other three attackers saw their teammate die instantly and quickly retreated, becoming cautious.

They seemed to realize where Xia Xiaoman was hiding and began signaling among themselves to come up with a plan.

After about two minutes, all three swam toward the warehouse—one of them quietly aiming a spear gun toward the ceiling…