Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System

An entire shelf full of snacks. Chocolates, chips, instant noodles. It looked like something from another world.

Without another word, they rushed forward. John grabbed a pack of instant noodles. Mia reached for a chocolate bar.

But as John tried to tear open the noodles, nothing happened. The packaging wouldn't open. No matter how hard he pulled, it stayed sealed.

He gave a bitter laugh. "This illusion is too good. Even the food feels real."

Mia sighed, holding the chocolate close. "I thought we really found a treasure."

They were about to sit down and cry when a voice suddenly rang out.

[Please do not open food items before paying for them.]

Both of them jumped.

John looked around. "Did you hear that?"

Mia nodded slowly, her mouth slightly open.

Both of them turned to look at the item in their hands. That's when they noticed it, a small white tag stuck to the corner of the packaging. It had something printed on it.

"Wait a second," John said, squinting at it. "This has a… price?"

Mia leaned over to look. Her eyes widened. "You're right… it says 100 points."

John and Mia slowly turned to face each other, their expressions frozen. Then, without saying anything, they both had the same terrifying thought.

"…Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" John asked, his voice low.

Mia slowly nodded. "That these points… they might be talking about money."

John bit his lip and whispered, "What if 1 point equals a million federal coins?"

Mia's face turned pale. "That would mean this cup of instant noodles is 100 million federal coins?!"

Her eyes widened in panic. "How are we supposed to pay that?! We only have, what, 10 million left between us? That's why we've been crawling around deserts looking for food like rats!"

John gave a bitter smile. "If that's true, then we can't afford even a single chip in this place."

They both stood there in stunned silence for a moment. The shelves around them were filled with food. So much food. But if each item cost that much, then it was all just for show. They were starving in a world made of gold.

John muttered, "Maybe… maybe there's something cheaper."

Without waiting, both of them started walking through the aisles, checking every single shelf. Mia picked up a candy...250 points. John checked a canned drink, 500 points. A small cake? 100 points.

Everything was too expensive.

Mia groaned. "Isn't there anything under 10 points?"

They searched more, faster now, hoping to find something, even a crumb. But every item had at least 100 points or more.

Just as their hope was about to vanish again, Mia's eyes caught something on the far wall. A glowing screen with big blue letters:

[Exchange Rate: 1 Level 3 Zombie Crystal = 10,000 Points]

Her heart skipped. "John!" she whispered and tapped his arm. "Look!"

John turned, followed her gaze, and saw the screen.

Both of them stood frozen.

"…No way," he said, barely breathing.

They stared at the board, then at each other, then back at the board.

"One crystal... ten thousand points?" Mia whispered, almost scared to believe it.

Then their eyes dropped lower to the bottom of the screen where another message flashed:

[1 Point = 1 Federal Coin]

They did the math quickly in their heads. One Level 3 crystal = 10,000 points = 10,000 federal coins.

Which meant… the noodles they were holding, marked at 100 points, were just… 100 federal coins.

John stared at the noodles. "This… this thing only costs 100 coins?"

Mia blinked, confused. "That can't be right… food costs more than that even in the black market."

"But this is what it says," John said, showing her the price tag again. "A hundred points. If a Level 3 crystal is worth 10,000, we can buy a hundred of these!"

Mia looked around with wide eyes. "Does that mean… this isn't an illusion?"

John looked at Mia, still holding the noodles in his hand like it was made of gold.

"Maybe... this place is real. And it takes zombie crystals as payment instead of cash."

Mia blinked hard, like she was trying to wake up from a dream. "But why would they do that? Why not just use normal money?"

John scratched his head.

"I don't know. Maybe this place isn't for normal people. Maybe it's made for people like… hunters. People who fight zombies and collect crystals."

Mia slowly nodded. "That makes sense. It's like a secret shop for survivors."

They both looked at the shelves again. Now it didn't look like a dream anymore, it looked like hope.

John grinned. "Mia, how many Level 3 crystals do we have left?"

Mia quickly opened her backpack and took out a pouch. She counted fast. "One… two… three… six! We have six left."

"That's 60,000 points!" John said, eyes wide. "We can buy so much!"

Mia's hands were shaking as she looked at the food. "We can eat. Like, really eat."

John laughed for real this time. "I want ten noodle cups. No—twenty!"

"I want cookies," Mia said, hugging herself. "And chocolate. And chips. And a soda!"

They both burst out laughing, their voices echoing through the empty store. For the first time in weeks, maybe even months, they felt alive.

Then John stopped laughing. "Wait. How do we pay?"

Mia looked around. "There must be a counter or something."

They both walked slowly toward the front of the store, like they were afraid it might disappear if they moved too fast. Just then, a small panel on the wall lit up. A robotic voice spoke again:

[Please insert crystal to begin checkout.]

John pulled out one Level 3 zombie crystal and held it in his palm. It glowed faintly, like blue fire trapped inside.

"Alright," he whispered, and gently pushed it into the slot.

The panel blinked.

[Crystal detected. Balance: 10,000 points. Please scan your items.]

Mia and John stared at the glowing panel. Their hearts were pounding, but now for a good reason.

One by one, they started grabbing everything they could. Mia pulled cans of canned Meat and packed them into the cart.

John found a shelf full of canned Vegetables, the kind that lasted for years, and tossed them in too.

They grabbed packets of soup, bags of rice, stacks of energy bars, boxes of dried fruit, and all kinds of snacks. It felt like a dream where they finally had enough to eat—not just today, but for a long time.

But then Mia stopped and looked around. "Wait… have you noticed something?"

John blinked. "What?"

"There's no fresh stuff," she said, pointing. "No milk, no eggs, no real bread. Not even whipped cream."

John looked around, too. She was right. Nothing needed a fridge. Everything was long-lasting, like survival food. It was weird, but it made sense. "Guess they only sell food that won't spoil."

"Still," Mia said, smiling, "it's better than nothing."

They kept loading up. The carts got fuller and fuller. At one point, John picked up more instant noodles and tossed them into the cart. But when he tried to grab even more, a robotic voice spoke:

[You cannot purchase more than 50 of the same item.]

John paused. "What the…?"

Mia frowned. "So there's a limit?"

"Guess so. No hoarding," John said with a chuckle. "Fair enough."

They quickly figured it out; they could buy anything they wanted, but only up to 50 of each item. Still, it was more than enough.

By the time they were done, they had filled three whole carts. Even then, there were still tons of things on the shelves they hadn't touched. But this was more than enough for now.

They pushed the heavy carts to the glowing checkout panel.

One by one, they scanned their items.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Each time, the screen showed the points going down. When they were finally finished, the total price read:

[Total: 45,000 Points]

John and Mia stared at it. "That's it?" Mia whispered.

"That's only 45,000 federal coins…" John said, eyes wide. "We still have points left!"

They looked at each other in disbelief.

John didn't wait anymore. He tore open the chocolate bar, and this time, it worked. The wrapper peeled off easily, just like normal.

He broke off a piece and handed it to Mia. She took it with shaking hands.

Together, they put the chocolate in their mouths.

It melted instantly, sweet, smooth, soft, and perfect. Like magic.

Their eyes widened.

Mia covered her mouth. "It's real…"

John nodded slowly, his eyes filling with tears. "It's really real."

They both started crying, not from sadness, but from joy. Real food. Real taste. After all the pain, all the hunger, it was finally here.

Then, John spotted something shiny in the corner of one of the carts.

It was a small glass bottle filled with glowing white liquid.

He picked it up and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Mia? Why did you buy a superpower awakening potion?"