Chapter 1

My name is Jamie Thrushwood. All I wanted was to join a horror game and win some prize money.

Instead, I accidentally clicked the wrong page, and I registered as an employee!

Luckily, the employee benefits were pretty decent, so I rolled with it and showed up for work anyway.

On my first day, I discovered that although the customers looked wildly unsettling, they were all unusually friendly and enthusiastic.

They told me the place had not been running in a long time and that they were really happy to finally see someone working here again.

They even helped me clean up the store and set up the shelves.

I spent three hours writing down everything they wanted, then another full day going out to restock.

On my third day, I carefully organized the merchandise and neatly lined everything up.

Then, I waited eagerly for my very first batch of customers.

What I did not expect was that more than a dozen players would find this place first.

They barged in holding all kinds of weapons, punched through my brand-new glass door, and stomped across the floor with blood-soaked boots, ruining the surface I just mopped.

Before I could even react, they rushed behind the counter and tied me up.

The leader planted his foot on my shoulder and laughed loudly.

"I knew it! This place is a safe house. All these supplies are ours now!"

The players behind him immediately started sucking up.

"Man, Mr. Crawford really knows his stuff!"

Another joined in. "No kidding. He camped here all day for this!"

Gavin Crawford sneered and kicked me in the stomach with disdain.

"I thought this was some new boss. Turns out, it's just a useless nobody."

Pain shot through me, and I curled up instinctively.

That only made the others' eyes light up with excitement.

"This is the weakest NPC I've ever seen," one exclaimed.

"Later, we should stab her a few extra times and upload it online!" another chimed in.

Gavin waved impatiently. "Do whatever you want, but grab the supplies first!"

I shook my head desperately, trying to stop them.

Those were the goods I stocked for the NPCs!

Every single item was something they begged me repeatedly to make sure I brought them in!

Gavin let out a mocking laugh. "Begging? That won't work. We kill players all the time. You think we'd spare a trash NPC like you?"

They began looting the place like there was no tomorrow.

Realizing they could not carry everything, they took half and smashed the rest.

An entire day of my work was trampled under their feet.

"Hey, this supermarket's got a solid selection."

"Whoa, there's even spicy fish jerky!"

A player ripped open the package and stuffed it straight into his mouth.

I'd already stopped struggling, watching them with a blank expression.

Wrong.

That was not fish jerky. It was spicy human jerky, ordered by the siren boss next door.

Another player said excitedly, "There are fruit roll-ups, too! Though the shape's kinda weird."

Of course, it was weird.

That was misfortune tongue roll-ups, specially ordered by the ghost bride.

"Yo, everyone, check this out! This shredded kelp goes perfectly with instant noodles!"

They ate greedily, shoving food into their mouths, tossing half of it away.

I watched coldly, then glanced up at the clock.

A strange metallic scent of blood began to fill the air.

The lights in the supermarket slowly dimmed.

The battle-hardened players all froze at the same time.

And then, the clock struck ominously.