Divine Convenience Store, Fanling City.

The day’s operations swiftly passed. With capable assistants, Lin Mo didn’t even need to concern himself with customer service anymore. Unless important, Golden Patrons also couldn’t get an audience with him. Instead, he just spent most of the day watching over the store and its staff. He would sometimes intervene if a situation threatened to breach the peace of his sanctuary.

But with Pan Ruo’s terrifyingly accurate predictive customer service and Wu Meiyu’s imperial glares, such interventions were becoming exceedingly rare.

At the moment, Lin Mo was looking at the new messages sent by Executive Woody and Orange Silk Matriarch Layla.

It had only been a day and they had already gotten a response from the Executive President and the Rainbow Silk Matriarch themselves.

Lin Mo found it satisfactory, especially after reading what they’re willing to do to show their sincerity for partnering with the store.

"A bank account with one hundred million high-grade spirit stones. That’s a billion in the system’s standard. Although that sounded so generous as a starting capital to use for introducing the Credit Line, I doubt they will allow me to use them all right away. After all, there’s only so many patrons right now, even if I loan each of them a hundred high-grade spirit stones, it would barely put a dent in that vault. They also need to issue their own loans to profit from the patrons."

Lin Mo tapped his fingers rhythmically on his desk, his mind shifting into full risk-assessment mode. "Let’s see. Is this the Sacred Foundation Bank’s way of offering a guarantee? A safety net? They are showing me their vault to prove they won’t default when I process thousands of transactions a minute. Well, I guess I’ll send them a method on how to properly evaluate a patron’s ’Convenience Score’. That way, they won’t drown someone in debt and make them default right away. Naturally, it should be higher than their current standards."

He closed Woody’s message and turned to Matriarch Layla’s message next.

"Mhm. I like their sincerity. Opening inns outside the Celestial Shuttle Hubs are the way to go. And if they’re also going to open some entertainment pavilions, it’ll drive more patrons’ motivation to continue diving and climbing."

His eyes then moved further down the text, causing his lips to stretch further, "And they’re more thoughtful than the Sacred Foundation Bank. Locations of three Anchors and two Towers within the Western Sacred Lands. The distance between each site was considerably wide. Deploying Store Beacons to them will greatly boost productivity and transportation."

Lin Mo thought about whether it was time to disseminate all the intelligence he gathered about the Outer Realms as well as the Fractured Planes where the towers seemed to originate.

Once everyone became aware of it, it would surely switch the trend in the whole realm. Everyone would start taking the Anchors and Towers seriously. Naturally, it would also make the world more chaotic. Even now, there were probably factions hogging the towers or anchors to themselves. Just like that one sect that the bald monk destroyed before he arrived at Eastern Abyssal Domain. They were keeping a tower all to themselves, preventing other cultivators from challenging them.

But upon thinking about it, Lin Mo thought it was reasonable. After all, it appeared in their territory. If he wasn’t aware of their significance, he also wouldn’t really bother searching for them and just continue managing the store, hoping it would grow further for his dream of a comfortable second life.

"Meiyu, what do you think?" Lin Mo asked after sharing the contents of both missives with the First Princess, who had silently glided to his side with a fresh pot of [Spirit-Calming Tea].

Wu Meiyu set the delicate porcelain teapot down, her dark eyes skimming over the floating holographic text. She didn’t rush to answer. She took a moment to pour the tea, allowing the fragrant, calming steam to act as a buffer between the raw data and her analysis.

"The Heavenly Silk Consortium and the Sacred Foundation Bank... " She finally murmured, handing a cup to Lin Mo. "They are offering you the keys to the Western Sacred Lands’ treasury and culture. It is a surrender masquerading as a partnership. However, regarding your thought on releasing the intelligence on the Outer Realms..."

She took a graceful sip from her own cup, her gaze turning sharp. "It is a double-edged sword, Shopkeeper. At the moment, the intelligence being shared by the patrons should be enough."

"While your intent is to unify the realm against a common enemy, you must account for the inherent greed of cultivators. If you publicly broadcast the exact nature of the Highland Realm’s mind control, or the Viridescent Hollow’s energy-siphoning, you will undoubtedly prepare the righteous sects. But you will also be handing a manual of exploitation to the unorthodox and the ambitious."

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow, motioning for her to continue.

"Imagine a dark faction discovering that the Dyshanti can be used to drain a rival’s spiritual energy," Wu Meiyu explained, her tone turning chillingly practical. "Or a tyrant attempting to capture a Dreilling Mind-Weaver to interrogate them for their psychic arts to enslave their own vassals. Information is power, Lin Mo. Giving it away for free devalues it and strips you of control over how it is used."

Lin Mo leaned back, tapping his finger against the armrest. He hadn’t considered the weaponization of the intelligence by native factions against each other. He had been looking at it through the lens of a cooperative raid, forgetting that the cultivation world was, at its core, a ruthless meritocracy bordering on anarchy. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"A valid point, Your Highness. Free distribution creates chaos. We need controlled dissemination," Lin Mo mused, his mind shifting gears. "However, we also can’t be certain we can handle everything. And it’s only a matter of time before this intelligence becomes common knowledge. Our convenience might’ve been making it easy for us to defend or even conquer but if the whole realm erupts, especially those undiscovered Anchors, we will be severely understaffed and overwhelmed. The Violethaven Temple’s reckless attempt to contact the Highland Realm proves that some are already trying to play with fire."

He swiped a hand through the holographic projections, dismissing the messages and bringing up a blank slate.

"So, there must be some regulation instead. Only our patrons should be privy to this information. Once they’ve got a taste of our convenience, I doubt they’ll be so inclined to just part with it." Lin Mo put on a calculating smile, replacing his earlier frown.

Shortly after that, they also discussed how to integrate the Anchors and Towers that the consortium disclosed. Wu Meiyu gave a suggestion of sending a distributor there like Jin Cheng but Lin Mo believed he didn’t need to hand that task to the Golden Carp.

Instead, he’s gonna give that opportunity to Matriarch Layla. They’re the ones who brought the information, it’s only right that he also gave them that privilege. Furthermore, their plans for constructing Convenience Havens could start in their territory.

Once the Celestial Shuttle Hubs rose, those Towers and Anchors would naturally be accessible to patrons.

—

One hour before the closing time, Lin Mo went downstairs and stepped into the inventory room.

At the far end of the room, another door stood. A week ago, he opened a small space to create an isolation room for the Dreilling Vespera, modifying the inventory room. But after a few days, he decided to formally divide the room and create a dedicated, permanent facility.

Of course, it’s not like he’s going to detain a lot of foreign entities there. But if need be, it’ll be the best place to bring prisoners captured from Anchors. Or perhaps, even enemy cultivators who sought to bring the store down.

Upon stepping into the room, a white corridor opened in front of him. The corridor wasn’t wide nor narrow; it was just enough for three people to walk side-by-side.

On the left and right, rows of rooms divided by isolation and observation rooms were prepared.

At the moment, only the first room had its light on. Lin Mo peeked from the isolation room’s door first to check on the condition of the Dreilling inside.

After that, he stepped into the observation room. He waved his hand and the room became illuminated. Through the glass, he could see Vespera, who was also alerted to his presence as the glass’s dimness lifted, allowing her to see him.

The proud Mind-Weaver, a being who had looked upon Spirit Severing experts as mere insects, was currently curled into a tight ball on the floor. Her immaculate, dark woven robes were disheveled. Her pale skin had lost its luster, turning a sickly, ashen gray.

For a creature whose entire existence was predicated on the constant, overwhelming influx of psychic data, the fears, thoughts, and agonies of thousands of lesser beings, total sensory deprivation was not just a punishment. It was starvation. A sensory void that forced her expanded mind to feed upon itself.

Lin Mo watched her for a moment, his expression impassive. He pressed a button from the side, transmitting his voice to her room.

"Good evening, Lady Vespera," Lin Mo started, donning his usual amiable smile. "It has been a week. I trust your accommodations have been... adequate for reflection?"

"Y-you..." That’s all she could mutter before the light in her mercury-like eyes regained its former spark. "How long do you plan on detaining me here?"