Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 578: Social Link
Since the Divine System Interface gave Lin Mo administrator access to the Bulletin Board, he didn’t need to get a personal Viewing Jade. However, that didn’t stop the patrons from using the new feature to instantly add him to their ’Friend List’ just by searching ’Shopkeeper’ username.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The sound was incessant, like a rapid-fire assault on his eardrums that echoed directly in his mind. Then, a torrent of notifications cascaded down his vision like a digital waterfall.
[Friend Request: ’SwordSaintWannabe’ wants to add you.]
[Friend Request: ’PillPopper99’ wants to add you.]
[Friend Request: ’I_Love_Xiaoyu’ wants to add you.]
[Friend Request: ’ViolethavenHater’ wants to add you.]
"Thousands..." Lin Mo groaned, clutching his head. "In seconds. Do these people not sleep? Don’t they have cultivation to do?"
Beside him, Yu Qingyan covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. The romantic, serene atmosphere of the bamboo glade had been thoroughly shattered by the aggressive enthusiasm of the store’s patrons.
"It seems popularity is the greatest inconvenience of all, Shopkeeper," She teased, her eyes crinkling with amusement. "You are the center of this web. Everyone wants a direct line to the spider."
"I am not a spider. That’s Venom Master Xun’s department," Lin Mo grumbled. He frantically mentally tapped at the interface, searching for a specific setting. But after being interrupted multiple times by new friend request notifications again, he used his voice to command it, "System, filter requests! Only accept from Golden Patrons and Staff! Auto-reject the rest! And mute notifications!"
[Filter Applied. 14,892 Requests Declined. 12 Pending.]
Silence finally returned to his mind. Lin Mo let out a long sigh of relief. He looked at the remaining requests. Wu Meiyu, Liu Xiaoyu, Xiao Ya, Pan Ruo... and naturally, Venom Master Xun, who had attached a winky-face emoji to her request message. Where did she even find that icon?
There was also the SwordFairy, Jiang Jianxin, who immediately sent a message, asking him to accept her request. Chu Yueying also didn’t miss out on it.
With a wry smile, he accepted them one by one.
Then, he looked at Yu Qingyan.
"Are you not going to send it?" He asked softly.
Yu Qingyan smiled, pulling out her Viewing Jade and tapping on it a few times.
[Friend Request: ’MistyRain’ wants to add you.]
Lin Mo accepted it instantly. A small, golden icon representing her appeared on his very short, very exclusive friends list.
"Mhm. Now that’s another channel you can use to message me anytime without going through the official distributor channel."
"I will endeavor not to flood your inbox with my messages, Lin Mo. However, pardon me if I sent images that may or may not contain an update." She replied playfully.
"Should I expect a close-up of your face?" Lin Mo teased with a raised eyebrow. "Or perhaps the scenery, along with a detailed analysis of how you conduct your job as the Emissary."
"Perhaps both. You’ll just have to wait and see, Shopkeeper." Ending that with a wink, Yu Qingyan put her Viewing Jade away.
"Indeed. I’ll look forward to that." He replied. "Well then, I suppose I should take my exit and leave you to experience the convenient amenities this private suite provides."
He tried to stand up, but Yu Qingyan looked up at him with her eyes filled with reluctance to part with him.
"Must you go?" She asked softly.
Lin Mo fell silent for a few seconds, just staring at her expectant eyes. After a while, he shifted slightly, abandoning the thought of standing up.
"No. I suppose the store won’t collapse if I take a few more minutes. And... it would be inconvenient to leave a lady with such a heavy expression. We can’t have our Official Distributor frowning, can we?"
Yu Qingyan’s expression instantly brightened, transforming from reluctance to a radiant, flower-like bloom. She scooted closer again, reducing the gap between them to zero.
"Thank you, Lin Mo," She whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder again. "Just... stay like this. For a moment."
"Mhm. Just a moment."
They sat in comfortable silence while the artificial moon cast a silvery glow over the steam-filled glade. It was a rare moment of peace for Lin Mo.
No schemes, no sales, and no looming threats that needed to be addressed. Just the warmth of the water and the steady, rhythmic breathing of the woman beside him. Through the [Twin-Frost Resonance Ring], he could feel her contentment washing over him. Somehow, it also brought comfort to his own perpetually active mind.
He realized then that he wasn’t just doing this for her. He needed some of this too. Not thinking of anything else but the quiet companionship.
After what felt like both an eternity and a heartbeat, Lin Mo gently shifted.
"Qingyan. The night deepens," He said softly. "And you have a caravan to lead tomorrow. Or are you planning to stay in the store for the foreseeable future?"
Yu Qingyan lifted her head as a reluctant sigh escaped her lips. She looked at him with clear eyes filled with a new resolve. "I will return to the North. My disciples and the team I organize are waiting. I need to solidify the route to the Frozen Spire and spread your convenience to the other parts of the Arctic Sea Palace’s territory. But... I will be back as often as I can. The Celestial Shuttle makes the distance irrelevant, after all."
Lin Mo nodded, "And I will welcome you every time, I guess?"
Her lips curved up into a grin, staring at them sweetly while the spring water rippled at their feet.
"Good. Then, you can go now, Shopkeeper. Before I decide to use my charm and lock you in here with me while borrowing your authority as the Shopkeeper."
Lin Mo chuckled, standing up as well. "That would be a misuse of privileges. Goodnight, Qingyan."
"Goodnight, Lin Mo."
He gently separated from her but before standing up, he reached for her cheek, cupping it gently for a few seconds.
Yu Qingyan’s face turned crimson, but she leaned into it, enjoying the treatment. For her, this gesture from him showed that he’s not a block of unfeeling rock. At the very least, he could show intimacy despite his adamant attempt to keep it all professional.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo immediately walked out of the suite, holding back whatever expression that could form on his face at any moment.
As the door slowly slid shut, the rustling sound of Yu Qingyan’s clothes dropping and her gradual dipping into the spring still reached his ears.
He stood in the hallway for a moment, taking a deep breath to compose himself. His heart was beating a little faster than usual, and so was hers. The sensory link of the ring was too effective.
"Dangerous," He muttered to himself, adjusting his collar. "She is becoming more dangerous than a Void Refinement expert. I need to be careful, or I’ll really end up with a ’First Wife’ before I even reach the Core Formation stage... And the second and third wives might not be far off either, if that happens."
He shook his head and made his way back to the main store.
The lights were dimmed, the staff had gone to their quarters, and the only sound was the low hum of the magical appliances.
However, as he walked towards the Shopkeeper’s Quarters, his mind was pulled back to the new feature that had caused such a stir.
He opened the Divine System Interface, navigating to the [Social Link] tab.
It was chaos.
Along with the Social Link feature, a ’Public Channel’, different from the threads in the Bulletin Board, where every patron could send a message.
And it was scrolling so fast the texts started to blur.
[SwordFanatic77: Whoa. This is great! Looking for companions to climb Floor 5 and beyond of the Abyssal Forest Conduit Tower! Need someone with supporting capabilities! Early Foundation Establishment Stage minimum!]
[PillKing_Cao: Selling [Highland Vitality Candy] in bulk! DM for prices! Will trade for rare herbs, Dimension Essence or any pill-related loot from the towers!]
[Anonymous_Cultivator999: Has anyone seen the Fairy of the Ninth Heaven? I think she’s real! I saw her at the Arcade!]
[GossipMonger: Rumor has it the Golden Carp Guild is buying up all the [Spirit-Infused Rice] in the south. Is there a famine coming?]
"Now, it’s basically a world chat," Lin Mo mused as fascination warred with a headache. "The divine beings really just copied the internet. The trolls will multiply like this as they will find each other. I should have Xiaoyu set another moderator to prevent spammers."
He switched to his ’Friends’ tab.
The icons of his inner circle were all lit up. And to his surprise, there were already ’Group Chats’ formed, and he was invited to some of them.
[Group Invite: ’The Shopkeeper’s Angels’ from FlowingStar]
[Group Invite: ’Divine Convenience Management’ from RainPlum]
[Group Invite: ’Convenience Flag Bearers’ from GratefulVale]
[Group Invite: ’Ancestor Collective’ from VerdantAncestor]
