Chapter 6 - SpiritMart Was Hidden in a Convenience Store
Maya dragged Eli to a convenience store three blocks from campus.
The sign said QUICKMART.
The inside looked normal until Maya bought a bottle of water and said, “Receipt code seven-nine-nine.”
The cashier sighed.
“Students.”
A refrigerator door swung open by itself.
Behind it was an elevator.
Eli stared.
“Okay. That is objectively cool.”
The elevator opened into a neon-lit underground market packed with people selling glowing herbs, jade chips, spirit batteries, talismans, and swords disguised as umbrellas.
A sign read:
SPIRITMART — NO REFUNDS AFTER TRIBULATION.
His system went insane.
[NEW LOCATION DISCOVERED.]
[MARKET DATABASE PARTIALLY UNLOCKED.]
[HOST FINANCES: STILL EMBARRASSING.]
Maya bought a healing pill for sixty dollars.
Eli checked the price tag.
“Sixty?”
“That’s cheap.”
“I ate cereal with a fork yesterday because I couldn’t afford dishwasher detergent.”
Maya stared at him.
“You know water exists, right?”
“Please respect my struggle.”
At a junk stall, the system highlighted a cracked metal ring.
[COMMON ITEM?]
[ANALYSIS FAILED.]
[DEFIANCE RESPONSE: BUY IT.]
“How much?” Eli asked.
The seller shrugged. “Five bucks.”
Maya whispered, “It’s trash.”
“Great. I can afford trash.”
He bought it.
The instant it touched his finger, the ring heated.
A hidden inscription appeared.
[NINE VEIN STORAGE RING — DAMAGED]
[VALUE: ESTIMATED $4,800]
Eli slowly looked at Maya.
“Still trash?”
Before she answered, a man behind the stall said, “I’ll give you five hundred for it.”
The system displayed his name.
[LUCAS VANE — QI GATHERING VI]
May you like
[WARNING: EXTREMELY PUNCHABLE.]
