Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 598: Gathering outside Fanling City
"Right away, Shopkeeper." Pan Ruo moved quickly, disappearing into the inventory room and returning seconds later with three unadorned spatial bags.
Lin Mo tossed one to Xiaoyu and handed another to Meiyu.
"What’s in this, Boss?" Xiaoyu asked, peering into the bag. She pulled out a massive, crude-looking iron mace that looked like it belonged to a low-level bandit, followed by a handful of [Ironhide Gummies] and a stack of [Tortoise-Shell Spirit Embodiment Sticker Seals]. "A mace? Boss, I punch things. Or I zap them. I don’t club them like a caveman! Besides, I have this gauntlet!"
"You can still punch them tonight, Xiaoyu, but you do not zap them. And that club is just a part of the bundle. You can choose not to use it." Lin Mo instructed. "Remember the intel we extracted on the Viridescent Hollow. The Dyshanti can be considered spiritual parasites. They feed on elemental qi. If you throw your [Nine Heavens Storm] at them, you aren’t hurting them; you’re giving them a gourmet buff. Tonight, we rely entirely on physical enhancements, blunt trauma, or the sharpness of our weapons."
"I understand, Shopkeeper. Should I tell Scholar Weiwei to bring the Aether-Knights, too? They can gain experience in the Anchor." Wu Meiyu suggested.
"Hmm? Weren’t they sent to the northern border of your kingdom to help with the defense against the barbarian tribes there?" Lin Mo asked.
"Un. Royal Brother returned there temporarily because the barbarian tribes launched another attack and requested the new unit to test their mettle. The ’Aether-Knights’ are currently holding the line at the northern forts, acting as an impenetrable wall against the horde of barbarians coming from the mountains at the north of Eastern Abyssal Domain."
Lin Mo shook his head, instantly discarding the idea of a recall. "Let them stay, Your Highness. Pulling them back here would be a logistical waste and a terrible misuse of a strategic asset. Besides, your Royal Father needs them there to showcase the power of his new investment."
"This Anchor is right on our doorstep, and we are already swarmed by our eager patrons. I doubt they’ll all get their turn to explore it tonight."
He adjusted the strap of the spatial bag over his waist, ensuring his own [Starlit Dragon Spear] was securely stored in his inventory. Tonight, he wouldn’t be using it. The starlight qi it naturally conducted would be too tempting a meal for the entities waiting inside.
"We won’t be going in and clearing it ourselves. We are to test Pan Ruo’s ’Anti-Magic Vanguard Kit’ and to gather initial data on the spawn rates and environmental hazards of the Viridescent Hollow. We go in, smash some weeds, evaluate our new bundle and we get out. Simple, convenient, and highly educational."
"If you say so, Boss," Xiaoyu sighed as she switched into a different pair of gauntlets. She punched a few times before frowning, unimpressed at the power behind it. "It just feels so... unrefined. Where’s the flash? Where’s the explosion? How am I supposed to look like a peerless prodigy punching with this junk?"
"True prodigies can make even worthless junk a treasure, Xiaoyu," Lin Mo said, tapping the side of his head. "Besides, your Nine Heaven Exquisite Body alone already gives you enough physical enhancements that the likes of cultivators focusing on refining their bodies cannot compare."
"Heh... There you go, Boss. And you dare say you still lack the knowledge."
"You silly girl. Isn’t that common sense?"
Wu Meiyu chuckled while Liu Xiaoyu pouted and grinned slyly. She clearly knows what she’s doing. She’s deriving fun from Lin Mo’s reactions.
With their loadouts adjusted for the specific environmental hazards of the new Anchor, the trio exited the Divine Convenience Store.
The moment they stepped out of the glowing perimeter of the store and into the streets of Fanling City, the magnitude of the impending event was fully showcased in front of them.
It was three in the morning, an hour when the city usually slumbered under the quiet watch of the moon.
Tonight, however, Fanling City was brighter than midday.
"The mortals of the city will have a difficult time finding sleep," Wu Meiyu lamented.
The eastern gates of the city had been thrown wide open. Stretching from the city walls all the way to the jagged foothills just a few hundred meters away was like a festival.
Nearly ten thousand cultivators had gathered. Bonfires dotted the landscape like fallen stars. The smell of roasted meat, cheap ale, and spiritual herbs permeates the air.
It looked less like an army preparing for a horrific interdimensional invasion and more like a massive, chaotic festival.
Banners of dozens of different sects fluttered in the night wind. Rogue cultivators were setting up impromptu betting pools on who would secure the first Area Core. Peddlers who had bulk-bought from the store earlier in the day were walking through the crowds, hawking [Taihao Spicy Noodles] and [Heavenly Dew Sodas] at a thirty percent markup.
There was even a large tent that was auctioning various treasures. It ranged from spirit beast cores and herbs that weren’t being sold at the store to rewards gained in towers and anchors.
When Lin Mo inquired, he was informed that it was being run by the Verdant Sky Pavilion.
"I see the Verdant Sky Pavilion is not letting grass grow under their feet," Lin Mo observed, a sliver of genuine respect in his tone. "Yu Qingyan might be in the North, but her grandmother understands she couldn’t just sit back now that the Golden Carp Trading Guild had also entered the market."
"Won’t they feel wronged, Shopkeeper?" Wu Meiyu asked.
"Your Highness, you’re the one looking after our store these past few days. Did the Pavilion Master say anything?"
Wu Meiyu paused for a moment before shaking her head. "No. But she sent her assistant, Jing’er, to negotiate with the store to partner with their Verdant Sky Bank. I have sent their proposal to you. It seems you haven’t read it yet."
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes, recalling the messages he received. And then he remembered, there was that proposal about partnering with them regarding the Dimension Essence Wallet and the Store Credits.
However, since both were tied to the system, he didn’t think much of it. At least, not yet.
"If the Pavilion wants to act as our central bank, underwriting loans for smaller sects to purchase bulk supplies from us and handling currency exchange between spirit stones and Dimension Essence, that’s a conversation for another day," Lin Mo replied, waving his hand as if physically brushing the paperwork aside. "We need to see how the market stabilizes first. Monopolies are bad for innovation, Your Highness. Let the Golden Carp and the Verdant Sky Pavilion compete a little. Competition breeds competitive pricing, which is always a win for the consumer. But then again, if Yu Qingyan asked me for it..."
His voice trailed there as he immediately glanced at his side.
Sure enough, Wu Meiyu’s lips curled into a refined, knowing smile. "Always the visionary, Shopkeeper. You pit giants against each other and charge them for the arena. Yet, you’re kinda soft when it comes to those you care about. Perhaps, our kingdom should also enter the competition."
"It’s just good business, Your Highness." Lin Mo chuckled, not daring to say anything more.
As they walked closer to the frontlines, the parting sea of cultivators finally noticed them.
The murmurs of commerce and betting died down, rapidly replaced by a wave of hushed awe and sudden, fanatic reverence.
Word of the 50% combat efficiency boost, the miraculous, invisible aura that had settled over the region a mere hour ago, had already spread. They were now eagerly awaiting their entry into the Anchor so they could feel that enhancement.
"It’s the Shopkeeper!"
"The Convenience Saint! He graces the frontlines himself!"
"Praise the Store! Look at the Assistant Shopkeeper, her aura is terrifying!"
Cultivators of all stripes parted like the Red Sea, bowing deeply as the trio passed. Elite sect elders pressed their fists together in profound respect, while rugged mercenaries dropped to one knee.
Lin Mo maintained his professional, customer-service smile, though internally he was sweating bullets. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Convenience Saint. Why did that have to stick? It sounds like a cheap mascot for a 24-hour convenience chain back on Earth. But at this point, the title was already cemented. He even had a statue being made that would reflect that even further.
"Make way! Make way for the Boss!" Xiaoyu announced proudly, puffing out her chest and marching with an exaggerated swagger.
She twirled a crude iron mace in her hand as if it were a heavenly artifact. The contrast between her peerless beauty and the barbaric weapon drew bewildered stares from the crowd.
"Hey, Boss! Look over there! It’s the City Lord!" Xiaoyu pointed toward a raised earth-platform past the massive crowd and near the enclosure erected to surround the entrance of the dormant Anchor.
City Lord Wei Xian stood there, flanked by his elite City Guards. He looked exhausted with his hair slightly disheveled. Nevertheless, his eyes burned with a fierce, unprecedented energy.
When he spotted Lin Mo approaching, he leaped off the platform to greet them.
