As March began, the place grew livelier. With shopping malls and supermarkets gradually reopening, the safety zone slowly regained some of its former bustle.
Walking into the supermarket and seeing the crowds, Chen Shouyi almost felt as if he had returned to the old days—if not for the gasoline lamps overhead in place of electric lights, and the pitifully small variety of goods on the shelves.
He went to the toy section and swept all eight boxes of Barbie dolls, each about fifteen centimeters tall, into his shopping cart.
They were probably all old stock. As time went on, they would likely become harder and harder to find.
Fortunately, each box of Barbie dolls came with eighteen outfits. That made a total of 144 outfits from the eight boxes—enough for Shell Girl to wear for several years. If she was careful with them and patched them up when they tore, they might even last her a decade or more.
Next, he went to the adult clothing section and swept a huge pile of things into his cart for himself.
He was especially hard on clothes and shoes these days.
The clothes and shoes he bought might last a dozen or twenty wears if he was lucky. If he was unlucky, they'd be ruined after a single use. No matter how good they were, the result was always the same for him.
After paying, Chen Shouyi walked out of the supermarket and looked up at the sky. Another gloomy day.
Unlike the universe Earth belonged to, the Otherworld was made up of multiple planes. Aside from the main world, countless demiplanes clung to it, like little bubbles hanging around one enormous bubble.
These bubbles varied in size. Some were dim and dull, while others gave off a faint glow.
Some