More guests came one after another.
Because of what happened to the earlier troublemakers, the new ones didn't dare to cause problems. They saw what Tracy could do and spread the news back to the base.
When Kei and his team arrived at Tracy's shop, they saw the "statues" standing in front of it.
"Boss Tracy, your business is really good," Kei said.
"Thank you. What do you want to buy today?" Tracy asked.
"We saw many people carrying supplies just now. We thought maybe you sold everything. But since you still have some left, we'll take all of it," Kei said.
"A few teams came before you. I've been thinking about this. My shop is too small, and I can't store much. I thought about cleaning up the two shops next door and using them as storage, but they're messy and need to be cleaned," Tracy said.
"That's no problem. You're so busy. We have many people here. Let us help clean the shops. It's just sweeping and clearing things. It won't take long," Kei said kindly.
"Then I'll thank you, Captain Kei," Tracy said.
Tracy didn't want to clean it herself. She had planned to punish those troublemakers and make them clean it. But since Kei offered to help, she accepted.
"Boss Tracy, about those people outside your door, who are they? Why are they standing there?" Kei asked.
"They came to buy supplies, but they saw that I was a woman alone and tried to rob me. I taught them a small lesson and froze them in place. Let them suffer for a while," Tracy said.
"So that's what happened. Boss Tracy, you're really powerful. They were too bold to try something like that," Kei said.
Inside, Kei was surprised. He already guessed Tracy was strong, but he didn't expect her to be this powerful. She froze so many people, and she didn't even look tired.
If they had ever upset her, they would be in big trouble. Being frozen was already lucky. If she got angry, she could've killed them on the spot.
Thankfully, they had always been respectful to her and never had bad thoughts. Otherwise, they would be the ones suffering today.
Kei's team had a lot of people. They either bought the supplies or went out to hunt zombies. With so many helping hands, the two shops were quickly cleaned and ready to use.
"Thank you, Captain Kei. You helped me a lot. If I had to clean both shops myself, I don't know how long it would've taken," Tracy said.
"No need to thank us. It was nothing," Kei replied.
"By the way, I heard the base found out how to use crystal cores. Power users can absorb energy from them. From now on, I accept crystal cores as payment too. If you run out of gold, you can trade with cores," Tracy said.
"That's great. I was worried about what we'd do when our gold ran out. I didn't think you'd solve that so quickly," Kei said.
Only evolved zombies had crystal cores, and they were hard to kill. But Kei's team had three power users. With enough people, they could still take down evolved zombies.
"I also heard the base made a beginner enhancement potion for normal people. If possible, can you bring one for me next time? I'll trade supplies for it," Tracy said.
"Of course. Next time we come, we'll bring one. That potion helps normal people and power users too, but for us, using crystal cores is more cost-effective," Kei said.
Kei's team took away the rest of the supplies. Tracy had nothing left to sell. Even the goods at home were gone. So there was no reason for her to keep the shop open.
She was ready to close and leave, but she needed to handle the frozen people outside first.
Those people were already terrified. They had been standing frozen for a long time. Their whole bodies hurt. If they could move, they would've already collapsed.
"What do you think I should do with you?" Tracy asked.
"Boss Tracy, please spare us. We know we were wrong. We won't ever try to mess with you again. Please let us go," the big man said.
"Letting you go just like that is too easy. I don't want to kill you, but since you tried to rob me, you have to pay something. Each of you must give me ten crystal cores to buy your lives. What do you say?" Tracy asked.
"Boss Tracy, we did kill a few zombies and got some cores, but evolved zombies are very strong. We only killed five. We really don't have enough crystal cores," the big man said.
"You're really useless. I'll take the cores you have now. I'll let you go, but you must sign a debt note. When you get more cores, pay me back. There are 17 of you. I want 200 crystal cores in one month," Tracy said.
"Boss Tracy, didn't you say ten each? That's 170. We already gave you some. Shouldn't we owe just 165?" the big man asked.
"You think borrowing from me doesn't come with interest? I said 200, so it's 200," Tracy said coldly.
She didn't try to hide it. She was clearly demanding more than she first said.
But Tracy wasn't worried they wouldn't pay. Once they signed the debt note from the dimensional shop, no one could break the contract. If they failed to pay, everything they owned would be taken, including their souls.
When the one who created the Dimensional Shop did it, they weren't someone kind-hearted. Naturally, they wouldn't do anything unprofitable. But for Tracy, the current rule actually made things more convenient.
These people wanted to survive, so they didn't dare disobey Tracy's instructions. They pressed their thumbprints on the IOUs she handed out. Still, what they truly thought inside, only they themselves knew.
It was just an IOU, after all. Even in peaceful times, if they wanted to deny the debt, there was nothing Tracy could do. Now that it was the apocalypse, if they blatantly refused to repay, there were no laws to hold them accountable.
Tracy was powerful, but still a bit too naive. After leaving, once they gained more power, they planned to come back and take revenge on her. One day, they wanted to teach this "Boss Tracy" a lesson.
"Boss Tracy, we've already pressed our thumbprints. Can we leave now?" the fierce-looking man asked.
"Go on then. Don't forget the crystal cores you owe me. Don't even think about not paying. As long as one of you is still alive, I'll come to collect my debt," Tracy said.
"Of course, how would we dare? We'll definitely gather the crystal cores and deliver them to Boss Tracy as soon as we can," they replied.
Actually, they really had considered going back on their word just now. But when they thought about how powerful Tracy was, they gave up the idea. If she came to the base to collect the debt, they couldn't fight her. And they couldn't leave the base just because of this. In the end, they had to swallow this loss. But once they became stronger than Tracy, they'd make sure to get revenge.
After sending them off, Tracy shut the shop and returned to the real world to prepare another batch of supplies.
Now that she was using the two neighboring stores as warehouses, her stock was much more abundant.
Tracy's Dimensional Shop was now known in the base. Many people had heard about a shop where you could buy all kinds of supplies, and the prices were very low.
Unfortunately, the base was still a bit far away. Random individuals couldn't come and shop. Only exploration teams had the strength to make the trip. Even though there weren't many zombies along the way, if someone ran into an evolved zombie alone, it would mean certain death.
There was no way around it. Still, Tracy was already happy. Recently, the number of customers had increased rapidly. She was making seven to eight deals a day.
At this point, Tracy had received more than fifty crystal cores. These crystal cores were sparkling and beautiful like gems. If you didn't know better, you'd never guess that something so lovely came from the heads of ugly zombies.
Business was going so well that you'd think Tracy would keep pushing forward. But she had already promised Cris that she would accompany Shirley to the amusement park, so she hung a sign on the shop door saying she would be closed for the day.
She had told the exploration teams the day before that she wouldn't be open today. She also asked them to help spread the word around the base so that no one would make the trip and find the shop closed for nothing.
Unfortunately, Kei's team didn't come today. Otherwise, she could have received the beginner-strengthening potion that worked on regular people.
Tracy had been so busy with her Dimensional Shop that she didn't pay attention to anything else. If she had, she would have seen in the newspaper that the criminal who had been captured by the police had escaped. Not only that, he had kidnapped a scientific researcher.
Because of this incident, Cris had to cancel his day off and go track Huro. Naturally, the amusement park date was no longer possible.
Cris had wanted to call Tracy to tell her they needed to reschedule. But since Tracy was in the Dimensional Shop, her phone didn't get the call. When she came out and saw the missed call, she tried calling back. But Cris was already on duty and couldn't answer, so Tracy still didn't know what had happened.
That evening, Cris finally got a chance to call Tracy and said, "About our plan to go to the amusement park, I can't make it anymore. I suddenly got called in for work tomorrow. Let's plan for another time."
"It's fine. I understand. We'll go another time when you're free," Tracy replied.
"Be careful these days. That criminal we caught earlier broke out of prison and kidnapped a researcher. I'm currently chasing him. If you're in danger, ask for help right away," Cris said.
Hearing that, Tracy was very surprised. He had already been caught—how did he escape again? And he even took a researcher?
She felt a bit worried. She had handed over some very important information to the police earlier. What if the guy wanted revenge?
But since he was being hunted by the police, he probably didn't have time to bother with someone small like her. Besides, she no longer had any of the documents he wanted.
Even so, she knew she had to be extra cautious.
It was a shame though. If she had known earlier that she wouldn't be going to the amusement park today, she wouldn't have told her customers she was closing.
But now that she had said it, there was no way to change it. She decided to use the time today to restock her Dimensional Shop. That way, she wouldn't run out of supplies when customers came.
Now that she had a reliable supply source, all she had to do was make a call, and they would deliver the goods to her. Very convenient.
The supplier was also happy to see Tracy placing orders so frequently. They didn't expect her business to be doing so well.
Since her business was thriving, the suppliers could move more goods and make more money. They were more than happy to keep working with her.
After restocking, Tracy filled her Dimensional Shop to the brim. She even stuffed the two extra shops that Kei's team had cleared out with supplies.
She wasn't worried about anyone stealing the goods in those shops. Anything that belonged to her, as long as it was within her sight, she could instantly bring back into the Dimensional Shop.
And if someone entered the Dimensional Shop and hadn't paid, they wouldn't be able to take anything away.
Even though she had told everyone the shop was closed today, some people still didn't get the message. While organizing her stock, she still managed to make two surprise deals. That was a nice bonus.