"So, Your Highness," Lin Mo began as they returned upstairs to wait for the store’s closing, "How do we greet them? As conquering heroes, wary diplomats, or eager merchants?"

Wu Meiyu served him a cup of freshly-brewed tea before sitting next to him, "The way I see it, treating them as conquering heroes would validate their arrogance and imply submission. Treating them as wary diplomats acknowledges their threat but positions us defensively. Neither is optimal. As for the third option, it doesn’t fit the disposition of someone leading a powerful territory."

Understanding their identities, Wu Meiyu naturally tried to look at it from her own perspective and incorporate her own standing. Even she, as an Imperial Princess of a kingdom, can never act as a mere merchant, as she has standards to base her decisions on. Coming to the Divine Convenience Store as an envoy was an example. It just so happened that the desire to stay grew on her after experiencing what it is like to be part of the store.

Furthermore, there are also the sects within the Eastern Abyssal Domain serving as an example. Instead of antagonizing the Divine Convenience Store, they all became its patrons after understanding the influence behind it.

As for those three experts, they are the heads of their respective sects. They’ll have to weigh their decisions properly. The fact that they’re coming without the entire force of their sects goes to show that they’re either curious about the Divine Convenience Store or they’re confident enough to deal with it on their own.

"You are the Convenience Saint, Shopkeeper. You have humbled warlords and outmaneuvered ancient sects. You must treat them exactly as you treat everyone else who walks through those doors. We greet them as such. Prospective customers in need of your services. Unless they’re here to cause trouble."

"Mhm. Spoken like a true employee of our establishment." Lin Mo chuckled, though he entirely agreed.

Wu Meiyu blushed in slight embarrassment, but her lips curved up into a beautiful smile.

"It is the only logical approach," Lin Mo continued as he took a sip of Meiyu’s tea.

Outside, the sky was just starting to dim. Still, there was a long line waiting for their turn to shop at the store.

Although the interior had already expanded a few times from upgrading the store tier, it’s still not possible to hold thousands of customers at once. It’s only the size of a supermarket, after all. At most, a few hundred will already be considered crowded. And with the Celestial Shuttle Hub also contributing to the flow of customers, those lining up outside would still need to wait at least five minutes, no matter how quickly it moves.

Luckily, he didn’t need to worry about them getting dragged into a mess if those three westerners arrived with bad intentions. The line will disperse the moment the store hours end.

Furthermore, there’s still the Divine Guardian Statue, ready to repel even experts at the Immortal Embryo Stage.

A few hours later, the familiar, gentle melody chimed throughout the building. The new automated announcement system informed the patrons of the end of the store hours.

The Golden Patrons lounging on the second floor scrambled up to leave, bidding farewell to Lin Mo and Wu Meiyu.

Downstairs, the patrons browsing the store’s products hurriedly picked up what they needed and lined up at the counter. Consequently, those in the arcade and the hot springs also began to wrap up their sessions, rushing to the front with damp hair and flushed faces. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

They knew better than to test the strictness of the store’s closing protocols, especially after hearing rumors of the Guardian Construct physically relocating loiterers.

Within exactly ten minutes, the last patron stepped past the threshold, be it going to the Celestial Shuttle Hub or stepping out to Fanling City.

One of the staff then went to flip over the signage to ’Close’. Pan Ruo then started coordinating the other staff, consisting of the rogue cultivators and mortals, to begin cleaning.

Restocking the shelves after closing was naturally not needed anymore as everything would be magically restocked overnight. Same for the inventory room.

Lin Mo and Wu Meiyu soon descended from upstairs after most of the staff signed off and got their daily wages, joining Pan Ruo, Xiao Ya and Liu Xiaoping to wait for the day’s evaluation.

[Day 28 Evaluation: Excellent]

[Sales Summary: 5,420 Transactions]

[Revenue: 4,980,545 Intermediate-grade Spirit Stones]

[Dimension Essence Balance: 7,214,328 DE]

[Tier Progression: Renowned Store (46,181,045/100,000,000), Golden Card Patron (932/1000)]

"The Golden Patron requirement is close to being completed but we’re still halfway through the required sales." Lin Mo muttered as he inspected the current status of the tier progression. "Nevertheless, it’s not far. The daily revenue is now close to five million. That’s with the addition of revenue from renting the Divine Arena as well as the arcade and Celestial Hot Spring. Dimension Essence will gradually refill naturally after that big purchase of Greater Aura of Combat. In a few days, I can upgrade another Aura."

"Shopkeeper, I have a suggestion."

Suddenly, Pan Ruo spoke up.

Lin Mo turned to her and nodded, signaling for her to speak.

"I may be presumptuous, but the current layout of the store is a little messy, resulting in patrons getting lost in the aisles sometimes. May you allow me to rearrange it to maximize our daily foot traffic and sales flow?"

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued. "Go on."

"Currently, the healing items are placed near the entrance for quick access, which is logical," Pan Ruo explained, her eyes tracking invisible lines across the store floor. "However, if we move the [Fruity Healing Tablets] and the [Ironhide Gummies] deeper into the store, adjacent to the [Celestial Duel Gear] accessories and the premium snack aisles, patrons will be forced to walk past higher-margin items. The visual exposure alone, combined with the lingering adrenaline from their Tower climbs or Anchor raids, will increase impulse purchases by an estimated twenty-two percent."

She pointed toward the beverage coolers. "Furthermore, placing the [Heavenly Dew Soda] directly opposite the [Taihao Spicy Noodles] is efficient, but if we separate them slightly and place some artifact shelves between them, they will naturally linger in the weapons section while consuming their meals. A fed customer is a relaxed customer, and a relaxed customer spends more Dimension Essence."

Pan Ruo also talked about moving the dedicated lounges for the patrons to rest or dine in. She suggested moving the area close to the arcade and enclosing it with the artifacts derived from modern appliances and shelves of premium boxed meals and the best-sellers.

Lin Mo stared at her, a slow, brilliant smile spreading across his face. He wanted to applaud. She was describing the fundamental principles of supermarket psychology. The ’IKEA effect’. It’s the deliberate labyrinth design meant to trap consumers in a loop of temptation.

And she had deduced it entirely on her own in less than a week.

"Pan Ruo," Lin Mo said as he couldn’t help but pat her head. "You have just become an absolute menace to the wallets of the Eastern Abyssal Domain. I like it. Permission granted. You’ll be granted the store’s architectural interface to shift the shelves tonight."

"It shall be done, Shopkeeper," Pan Ruo bowed, her serene face betraying a flicker of profound satisfaction.

"Shopkeeper Boss, can I help?" Xiao Ya also chimed in and naturally, Xiaoping also raised his hand. The boy would not do anything without Xiao Ya now.

"Sure. You two should assist Pan Ruo."

The thought of the young woman being a reincarnated immortal had already moved to the back of his head. He’ll deal with that when the time comes. Compared to him, who just accepted whatever layout the store would become every time it expanded, Pan Ruo’s insight was too valuable for the store.

With the three of them walking away excitedly, Lin Mo and Wu Meiyu turned towards the door, staring at the night sky outside.

He pulled up the interface and brought up the [Anomaly & Corruption Sensor Network] once more.

The holographic map of the continent materialized, hovering above the low table between him and Wu Meiyu. The three distinct, blazing golden dots that represented the Immortal Embryo and Law Integration stage experts were no longer on the western border.

They had crossed the vast expanse of the Eastern Abyssal Domain with terrifying, unnatural speed.

"They’re coming, Your Highness." Lin Mo said. At the same time, he controlled the Divine Guardian Statue to stand in front of the store with its weapon ready to be unleashed in case of emergency.

"The city feels it. And someone from the Bulletin Board had already posted about encountering them. They slowed down a bit as they seemed to be confused about how our region operates now." Wu Meiyu brought up her Viewing Jade, pointing directly at the most active thread at the moment.

Although most of them had no idea about their identities, some Golden Patrons who were clearly Sect Masters who had a general knowledge about the Western Sacred Lands could tell that those three were no ordinary figures.

"If they figured out that those three are heads of the forces allied to the Violethaven Temple, they will definitely be shocked." Lin Mo said in amusement.