COZMART: Corner Shop of Visiting Gods

By the time evening rolled around, Eathan was putting the final touches on the battered shop.

He tightened the last bolts of the half-splintered table with a grunt, [Minor Reconstitution] whirring faintly under his palms. The worn tabletop gleamed, slightly lopsided but standing.

Across the room, Taeril sipped from a to-go coffee cup—different branding from the usual. He sat perched on the cashier counter, one ankle crossed loosely over the other, scrolling through news headlines on his tablet like he had absolutely zero involvement in the earlier destruction.

Eathan wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. Before he could properly collapse onto the newly fixed chair, the automatic glass doors whooshed open.

"Is this COZMART, or did I stumble into a Rift already?"

Eathan turned at the voice.

The man who stepped in looked about as far from a grand celestial commander as a man could get.

He wore a slightly wrinkled NASA bomber jacket, charcoal jeans faded at the knees, and boots that had definitely seen better days. A satchel slung over one shoulder was plastered with an entire ecosystem of worn-out patches—space logos, game characters, and what suspiciously looked like a limited-edition figurine tag.

Eathan blinked slowly.

Was he being pranked again?

The newcomer swept a critical gaze across the haphazardly patched walls and half-fixed furnishings, eyebrows arching with profound skepticism. On his chest pocket was a patched-up name tag:

[Li Wei]

[Commander of Area 003]

Eathan barely resisted the urge to pinch himself.

Li Wei's attention shifted back to Taeril, his expression flat. "White, I'm already underpaid. The least you could do is offer a mortal some tea or snacks. I'm running on ninety percent coffee, ten percent spite right now."

Taeril's lips curved into a faint, slow smile. Without looking up from his phone, he gestured lazily toward the high stool where Chewie sat, sketching math formulas onto her tablet with ruthless precision.

"Chewie, get Captain Li some tea. Let's not risk him collapsing mid-lesson."

The eleven-year-old didn't even glance up as she responded, deadpan. "Should I deduct the tea costs from Captain Li's monthly equilibrium salary?"

Li Wei sighed, flopping one arm against the doorframe for extra flair. "Forget it. I'll just chew on my self-respect."

Without missing a beat, Taeril patted Eathan's shoulder as if passing a bag of potatoes to the next person in line. "He's your problem now. Follow instructions. Try not to explode."

Then, just like that, the white-haired menace sauntered into the backroom, leaving Eathan standing there awkwardly with a half-dried rag still in his hand.

Li Wei exhaled, like he had aged another twenty years just by existing in COZMART's gravitational field. He wandered toward the newly repaired table, giving the patch job a look that could only be described as a concerned citizen calling the health inspection hotline.

As Eathan shifted uncomfortably, a familiar light pinged across his HUD:

[SYSTEM] NOTIFICATION

[Side Quest (new!)]

Assist Commander Li Wei with tag-node repair tasks! (Progress: 0%)

Reward: +80 Karma, +20 Qi Tokens, [Receipt Printer (Lv. 1)] proficiency upgrade

Before he could react, Li Wei turned.

Tired but sharp brown eyes locked onto him, and for a second, Eathan felt like he was standing under a security scanner naked.

"So," Li Wei drawled, "you're the kid with a deity OS jammed into your brain. Congrats. My condolences."

Eathan scrambled to bow his head in some awkward hybrid between a greeting and an apology. "Uh—yes—sir—Eathan Lin. It's a pleasure to—"

Li Wei waved him off, as if swatting away an annoying mosquito.

"Save the intro. I know who you are." He cracked his neck with a grimace, slinging the satchel off his shoulder and letting it thump onto the table. "Let's get straight to it then, intern—I don't have enough salary left to waste breathing oxygen and small talk simultaneously."

Eathan straightened, the rag still clutched in one hand. He had a feeling that the survival rate for tonight's "training session" had just taken a nosedive.

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Unaware of his internal laments, Li Wei dug into his patched-up satchel and yanked out a battered-looking holopad, flicking it to life with a tap of his knuckle. Holographic projections flickered above the screen—dozens, maybe hundreds of glowing orbs labelled as tag-nodes hovering over the Pacific Rim, crisscrossed with lines that mapped out jittery numbers like the frantic threads of a spiderweb.

"First things first," he said dryly, "you're going to learn how utterly stupid some of this system is."

He glanced pointedly over his shoulder toward the backroom, where Taeril was most definitely not helping, then muttered under his breath, "Some idiot thought it was a good idea to instill grocery receipt printers with divine qi and convert them into vessels for multi-functional talismans."

Eathan blinked, glancing unconsciously toward the dusty, rumbling old printer at the corner of the cashier's counter. Li Wei pulled up a few quick examples with a swipe of his hand. Images floated up one after another: a cheap pack of instant noodles, a bottle of brown sugar bubble tea, a bundle of toilet paper rolls.

Each barcode shimmered faintly with corresponding magical signatures.

"Instant noodles? Minor fire spell. Bubble tea? Healing or protection, depending on the flavour. Toilet paper—" He glanced at Eathan without even blinking. "—Don't ask."

Eathan opened his mouth, thought better of it, and nodded solemnly.

Thus began what could only be described as a very painful training montage.

Li Wei tossed random products across the room at him—ramen, cheap pens, bubble tea cups, a rubber chicken from the discount rack.

Eathan struggled to catch half of them while simultaneously trying to wield his golden-rimmed barcode scanner that was suspiciously trying to swallow his fingers whole. The scanner blinked when activated, feeding the energy into the battered [Receipt Printer], which churned out talismans based on what he scanned.

On his first attempt, he scanned a cup of yogurt.

1 Qi Token has been subtracted from your [PROFILE]! (50 → 49)

[Pink-Looking Talisman: Minor Cleansing Barrier] has been generated!

The talisman promptly exploded into a puff of strawberry-scented mist. Eathan coughed violently, trying not to slip on the now ridiculously slick floor tiles.

Li Wei looked at him with eyes that were dead inside. "Congratulations. You just invented a tactical anti-hygiene bomb."

On his second attempt, Eathan scanned a clearance shelf candle.

1 Qi Token has been subtracted from your [PROFILE]! (49 → 48)

[Cinder Talisman: Annoying Dust] has been generated!

The talisman self-ignited into a pathetic flicker of blue flames before immediately snuffing itself out.

Li Wei studied the dissipated flames, then turned towards him with a flat expression. "Well, at least we know you're skilled at wasting resources efficiently."

On Eathan's third attempt, he canned a brown sugar bubble tea cup with extra tapioca pearls. This time, the talisman shimmered brightly before stabilizing into a glowing, amber-coloured sheet. A faint warmth radiated from it.

1 Qi Token has been subtracted from your [PROFILE]! (48 → 47)

[Delicious-Looking Talisman: HP Replenisher] has been generated!

The [SYSTEM] flashed with a triumphant ping:

You have completed [Side Quest]:

Assist Commander Li Wei with tag-node repair tasks!

You have been rewarded: +80 Karma, +20 Qi Tokens

Skill [Receipt Printer] has levelled up! (Lv.1 → Lv.2)

Higher-grade receipts now generate stronger minor talismans.

[Integrity] has increased by 1% (16% → 17%)

[Humanity] has decreased by 1% (94% → 93%)

Li Wei nodded approvingly, arms crossed. "Not bad. At least you won't cause mass property damage now."

Eathan blew out a breath, unsure of whether he should consider that validation. He tucked away the scanner for now, but still clutched the successful talisman like it was his college diploma. From what he was gathering, the success in maneuvering these skills lay in practical, creative application rather than theoretical understanding of the skill. In other words, he needed to learn how to "think outside the box."

Encouraged by the progress, he ventured a question that had been gnawing at him.

"Commander Li... how do you handle being, you know, normal? Compared to them?"

He'd learned earlier, while scanning barcodes, that Li Wei was the only mortal commander on the Council of Ten. At his question, the man leaned back against the newly repaired table, stretching until a faint crack popped from his shoulder.

"The trick," he said, almost fondly, "is never letting the immortals know mortal ingenuity outperforms divine arrogance nine out of ten times."

Li Wei tapped his chest lightly, the NASA logo crinkling under his fingers.

"And caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine."

Then, more seriously, he added, "But more about you and your [SYSTEM]. The stats? Keep climbing that [Integrity] bar, that's fine. But whatever you do—don't let your [Humanity] bar fall too low. Humanity anchors you. Lose that... and even infinite power will feel meaningless."

Eathan absorbed the words silently, feeling the weight of them settle in his chest. After a pause, curiosity overcame him again.

"So uh... are you really from NASA?"

Li Wei snorted, almost spilling his coffee. "I wish. My real job is overseeing orbital node maintenance for MSR. Think NASA, but with no funding, endless overtime, and an annual demon invasion bonus."

"MSR?"

"Mortal Spiritual Registry. Every commander reports under it. It's the department that keeps your world from collapsing every Friday night." He grinned then, tired and cynical, but somehow... reassuring. "But hey, on the bright side, I'm constantly one cosmic crisis away from finally earning decent pay. Or better—an early retirement."

Before Eathan could ask more, a shrill beep sliced through the air. Li Wei glanced at his smartwatch, then grimaced. An alert flashed in angry red letters:

[Minor Node Breach Detected]

Offshore — Class-D Rift

Li Wei rubbed his temples in exhaustion. "Fantastic. Exactly what I needed. Another unpaid overtime shift."

He turned to Eathan, raising an eyebrow thoughtfully. And just like that, Eathan's instincts screamed back danger.

"How about some practical training, intern?"

Before he could even refuse, Li Wei straightened, already marching toward the door. He called loudly toward the backroom: "White! Borrowing your disciple to clean up your mess. If he dies, send condolences to my bank account!"

A lazy voice floated back: "Have fun, Captain. Remember to bring him back with all his limbs."

Li Wei grumbled darkly under his breath as he shoved open the glass door, holding it open for Eathan with a vaguely threatening look.

"Typical. Gods command from couches while mortals patch the leaks."

As they stepped into the cool New York evening, Li Wei clapped him on the back hard enough to make him stumble.

"Welcome to your new life, intern."