CHAPTER 488: WEEKLY TASK REWARD

Chi Yang’s expression turned serious. "Chieftain Akasha is currently outside, maintaining the perimeter with her elite warriors. She has received... troubling news from her scouts. The insectoid swarm has spread further than we imagined. Several minor tribes of the Emberfall collective have gone silent."

"Silent?" Wu Meiyu frowned. "That usually means annihilation."

"Or they retreated to join the larger tribes," Lin Mo corrected, intentionally avoiding the worst scenario as he recalled the nature of the insectoids he had seen. "Let’s go talk to Akasha."

They stepped out of the store. The night sky of the Southern Wilderness was blanketed with brilliant stars, unmarred by city lights, but the horizon to the west flickered with the eerie green glow of distant battles.

The camp of the Blazing Maw Tribe was already like a small district that housed the loyal patrons of the store. Warriors sharpened bone spears, while shamans chanted low blessings over piles of store-bought talismans.

Akasha stood near a large bonfire, studying a crude map drawn on a beast hide. Seeing Lin Mo approach, she immediately dropped to one knee, her fist over her heart.

"Convenience Saint," She greeted, her voice filled with reverence.

"Please, Chieftain Akasha, just ’Shopkeeper’ is fine," Lin Mo sighed, resigning himself to the title. "Manager Chi tells me you’ve lost contact with your kin."

Akasha stood, her beast-skull mask hiding her expression, but her posture was tense. "Yes, Shopkeeper. The Red Sands, the Ash Walkers, and the Obsidian Fang tribes. No runners have returned. No signal fires have been lit. Although their situation is not similar to ours, who were banished to the periphery, they’re still far from the central area of the Emberfall Tribes."

She pointed a clawed gauntlet at the map. "The Emberfall Tribes are fractured. We, the Blazing Maw, were outcasts because we embraced the ’forbidden’ fire of the earth’s blood. But they are still our blood. If the swarm takes them..."

"Then the Southern Wilderness loses a significant portion of its population, and we lose potential customers," Lin Mo finished pragmatically. "And we gain a massive army of insectoids on our doorstep."

He looked at Akasha. "Chieftain, I have a commission for you. A Store-Sponsored Mission."

"Please, you need not ask, Shopkeeper. Our tribe now follows the teachings of your ’convenience’." Akasha kneeled in reverence, ready to receive whatever mission Lin Mo would give her.

"Convenience is for everyone, Chieftain. Especially those who don’t know they need it yet," Lin Mo said with a faint smile. "Take a detachment of your best warriors. I’m authorizing Manager Chi to release a stockpile of different talismans and [Antidote Pills] to you on credit on top of the [Convenience Combat Kits] your tribe has been granted to use."

He gestured to the vast darkness beyond the ridge. "Find them. Save who you can. If they want a place to stay, you can bring them back here, to the safety of the branch’s formation. Tell them the Blazing Maw did not abandon them. Tell them... the Divine Convenience Store offers shelter for its patrons."

"And if they refuse?" Akasha asked, her voice hard.

"Then leave them a map, a packet of spicy noodles and a few cans of soda," Xiaoyu interjected with a grin. "It will work. I know it will. Your tribe also got lured by it, right?"

Lin Mo chuckled. "She’s not wrong. But prioritize your safety above all else. Do not hastily engage the insectoids as we still don’t know a lot of things about them or the extent of their corrent forces that spilled into our realm. If you can, send a message to the main tribes of the collective too. Deliver those spicy noodles and ghost pepper-flavored potato chips. Just make them aware of our existence."

Akasha bowed deeply, her trembling shoulders betraying her emotion. "It shall be done. The Blazing Maw will bring the lost sheep to the shepherd and enlighten them with your convenience. We leave at once."

"Also," Lin Mo added, stopping her before she could bark orders. "Talk to the High Priest or Venom Master Xun and take a few of the Poison Demon Cult’s priests and acolytes with you. I know you they can be difficult to work with, but their poison arts are effective against the insects, and they can act as... forceful persuasive agents if the other tribes are stubborn."

Akasha hesitated, then nodded. "A poisonous blade is still a blade. I will ask for their assistance."

As Akasha rushed off to mobilize her forces, Lin Mo felt a vibration in his pocket.

It was his Store Token.

He walked back inside the branch store and it immediately popped up.

[Weekly Tasks Completion Reward: 1x Divine Favor Token]

[Additional Reward for completing the first Weekly Tasks: Facility Extension - Celestial Hot Spring]

[Celestial Hot Spring]

[Description: A special facility crafted from the blueprint Taihao provided and worked on by a number of divine beings from the Divine Pantheon. It was a magical, self-sustaining hot spring facility that could be attached to any branch of the Divine Convenience Store. Utilizing the principles of geothermal refinement and hydrotherapy, it provides a supreme relaxation experience. Can be enhanced if linked on a dragon vein or with naturally-born heavenly treasures.]

[Features:

- Healing Waters: Accelerates recovery from physical injuries and mental fatigue by 500%.

- Spirit Cleansing Steam: Gently purges minor impurities from the pores and meridians to an extent.

- Private & Public Baths: Configurable layout.

- Automated Service: Includes towel and robe dispensing, beverage service at the relaxation lounge via vending machines, and self-cleaning protocols.]

[Construction Cost: 2,000,000 Dimension Essence]

[Requirement: Renowned Store Tier]

Lin Mo stared at the description, a slow, wide grin spreading across his face.

"What the hell is this? Hot springs?" He whispered. "And looking at those features, he copied what he’d seen from Earth again. I’m certain there should be hot spring facilities in this realm, it’s not just that industrialized."

"What is it, Boss?" Xiaoyu asked, trying to peek from his shoulder.

"We’ve gotten a reward for the completion of the first Weekly Task," Lin Mo announced, projecting the blueprint for them to see. "What do you think? How profitable will it be?"

"Eh? No way! A hot spring?! With all those features?!" Xiaoyu squealed, clutching Meiyu’s arm. "Boss, it won’t just be profitable, it will always be crowded so you must ensure that it’s big enough or there’s a limit in its capacity. Otherwise, it’ll cause us headaches!"

"A bathhouse..." Wu Meiyu also mused, her eyes lighting up with a different kind of appreciation. "In the Southern Wu Kingdom, such places are centers of social gathering and negotiation for nobles. To have one here, with these medicinal properties... Shopkeeper, this is unprecedented. The impact this will make may revolutionize that industry as well. They will try to mimic every features in it. And for sure, they will come to us for advice."

"Not only that, Boss. Many will pay anything to soak their weary bones in this. Especially women! So, you must not forget to make ours bigger when you configure the layout!"

"Should I? Won’t the men complain about having a smaller space? We also have to account for those who want a mixed bathing experience." Lin Mo teasingly grinned.

"Boss... could it be you’re one of those...? You know, the likes who peek at the women’s bath in those illustrated scrolls Grandpa hides in his study?" Liu Xiaoyu gasped, dramatically covering her chest with her arms while backing away, her eyes wide with feigned horror. "Pervert Boss! I knew it! You want to turn the Celestial Hot Spring into a den of obscenity!"

"If I wanted to peek, I wouldn’t need a hot spring to do it. I have the Area Monitor, now upgraded by the Great Poison Demon’s divine sense, that can monitor everything within the store," Lin Mo deadpanned, though he immediately regretted the phrasing as soon as the words left his mouth.

Xiaoyu’s face turned beet red. "You... you watch?!"

"I monitor for security threats! Not for... that!" Lin Mo pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "And for the record, I was joking about the mixed bathing. We will have separate sections for men and women in public baths. However, private baths can be mixed. We run a respectable establishment, not a pleasure house. Besides, our patrons are all dignified. Though, it won’t be a problem if they just want to relax with their dao companion, will it not?"

Wu Meiyu chuckled, the sound light and airy. "A wise decision, Shopkeeper. Though, in the royal courts of old, mixed communal bathing was seen as a sign of supreme trust among allies. However, given the... volatile nature of some of your patrons. Say, the Poison Demon Cult and the Azure Gale Sect, placing them in a bath together might result in the water turning into poison or a bloodbath. Segregation is indeed the most ’convenient’ safety protocol."

"The most convenient protocol will be kicking out and banning the violators from availing the service, Your Highness." Lin Mo said in finality, "Anyhow, looks like our visit here is done. Let’s go back before Venom Master Xun caught a whiff of my scent and demand my promised private–"

"Running away already, dear Shopkeeper? My, this humble admirer of yours is deeply hurt. And here I thought you came to visit this Caiyin."

Cutting him off, a woman flitted over gracefully and alluringly. Not even Xiaoyu, Meiyu, or Chi Yang managed to react to her sudden appearance.