Chapter 671: Urgent Matter
Lin Mo’s room was marked as the ’Shopkeeper’s Suite’. In fact, it could even be called as the Master’s Bedroom.
It was massive, dominating the end of the hall. The bed alone, carved from something similar to fragrant sandalwood and draped in cloud-silk sheets, was large enough to comfortably sleep five or even more.
It was a bed designed for an emperor, or perhaps, a very successful merchant with a growing list of ’valued partners’.
Last night, he had entered it to finally sleep after the exhausting ordeal of his body tempering. He had explicitly said his goodnights.
But then Meiyu had lingered, claiming she needed to discuss the morning shift schedule in a ’quieter environment’.
Then Qingyan had appeared, stating she needed to review the northern distribution routes before she departed at dawn.
Neither woman had suggested sleeping. They had simply sat on the edge of the absurdly large bed, chatting politely over his prone form. Yet the unspoken rivalry crackled between them like static electricity. He had no choice but to get in between them to prevent it from escalating.
But somehow, amidst the soft murmur of their voices and the overwhelming exhaustion of his newly forged [Silent Stream Stellar-Iron Body], the two women pushed Lin Mo into the bed before they took their place beside him.
Did something more intimate happen? Well, if Yu Qingyan sneakily turning Lin Mo’s head for her to reach his lips and Wu Meiyu embracing him could be counted as intimate, then something did happen.
Although it didn’t pass the boundary they crossed during their separate stays in the hot spring with him, this solidified their own stances.
In any case, Lin Mo was now in a bind.
He had woken up just now, trapped between a royal decree and a distributor’s monopoly.
He carefully analyzed his options.
Option A: Slowly levitate out of the bed using his [Stellar Domain].
Risk Analysis: High probability of waking one or both. The sudden absence of his body heat would trigger a subconscious reaction. Awkward explanations might be brought up as a result.
Option B: Feign sleep until one of them naturally wakes up and leaves.
Risk Analysis: At any moment, Liu Xiaoyu might burst in and find this arrangement. Knowing her, she’d either jump in or post the scoop on the Bulletin Board for the patrons to gossip over.
Option C: Wiggle out.
Risk Analysis: Impossible to execute given how cultivators are light sleepers.
"In fact, they might’ve already woken up and were also weighing their choices." Lin Mo inwardly as he tried to get a feel of his arms that were both underneath the women.
Luckily, with his new Acquired Physique, his muscles didn’t fall asleep from their weight.
A while later, a soft, groggy voice murmured to his left.
"Shopkeeper." Wu Meiyu shifted as her dark eyes fluttered open. She blinked once and twice as her eyes darted across his chest to where Yu Qingyan was resting peacefully on his other shoulder.
Before he could say anything, another voice came from his right.
Yu Qingyan also chose the moment to open her eyes, "Lin Mo."
Although they both called out to him, their eyes found each other and sparks seemed to manifest as their gazes clashed in rivalry. Clearly, they were trying to read each other’s intentions.
Lin Mo could only gulp down and carefully move his hands to their heads, patting them gently, "It’s a new day. I’m flattered to have you two by my side but let us get up first. We have a store to open."
Neither woman moved immediately.
Wu Meiyu’s grip on his chest tightened as she closed in further, a subtle assertion of her proximity.
"The store does not open for another hour, Shopkeeper. And as Chief Operations Officer, I believe I am entitled to dictate the pacing of our morning routine."
"And as the Official Distributor of the Northern Route. I am operating on a tight schedule, Lin Mo. I have a long journey ahead. A moment of... comfortable stability before returning to the north may be beneficial for my efficiency, don’t you think so?"
Yu Qingyan smoothly countered, her voice sounding like a calm stream that subtly hid her competitiveness. Like Wu Meiyu, she shifted slightly as her arm hooked around his neck before pressing her face at the crook of his neck.
Lin Mo felt a wave of warmth and headache that had absolutely nothing to do with cultivation bottlenecks. He knew he couldn’t act subtly anymore. He could only accept his fate. Besides, it’s not like he truly wanted to run away, and the two women didn’t necessarily want to put a label on their relationship. At least, not at the moment. This kind of companionship already satisfied them.
"Alright. I’m all yours for the next hour." Lin Mo said before using his improved strength to hold them tighter.
—
An hour later, Lin Mo stepped out of the Shopkeeper’s Quarters and into the store proper, finding Pan Ruo already waiting at her new ’station’.
Calling it a station should be a stretch, but since it was like a hybrid of a reception desk and a cash register, along with a wide area that looked like the command nexus of a high-tech corporate headquarters.
Floating around the reincarnated immortal were half a dozen translucent blue screens, each displaying different metrics like inventory levels, foot traffic heat maps, localized spiritual density, and the fluctuating conversion rates of the [Divine Barter & Appraisal Terminal].
But since the store isn’t open yet, she’s simply going through past statistics, studying them like a difficult cultivation technique.
At the current size of the store, there was no need for her to also act as a cashier since more cash registers have been added. There was even one at each section aside from those serving as barriers near the entrance.
"Good morning, Shopkeeper," Pan Ruo greeted with a bow and a soft smile as she waved her hand, dismissing the panels floating around her. "Our current regular and temporary staff are now waiting to be reorganized. They are waiting at the communal lounge for Sister Meiyu."
"Mhm. I’ve seen them." Lin Mo nodded. "You should join her. She should be out in a moment. Also, you didn’t need to worry too much. Since we’ll have a shortage of staff before the hiring process concludes, I’m planning to limit the foot traffic until every position has been filled."
Pan Ruo tilted her head slightly, her flawless brow furrowing slightly. It was such a rare display of disagreement from the reincarnated immortal.
"Shopkeeper, while limiting foot traffic ensures operational stability during a staffing deficit, does it not contradict the principle of maximized gross merchandise value? Now that we’ve expanded, the never-ending line outside will now be negligible, allowing the city to breathe."
Lin Mo couldn’t help but chuckle. She sounded more like a marketing department manager every day.
"Mhm. A fair point, Pan Ruo. But an overcrowded store leads to poor customer experience, shrinkage, and potential altercations. While we can let them litter in our now-spacious store, most of them will still spend a lot of time lining up behind our cash registers. Furthermore, you, Meiyu and Xiaoyu will temporarily not be present on the floor to deal with the hiring process and tournament registrations."
"Oh... I understand, Shopkeeper. I’ve overlooked that detail."
"Mhm. But if we truly need people to fill in temporarily, we can ask Branch Manager Chi Yang to send a few."
Although the branch store’s progress wasn’t tied to the main store, its tier had already been upgraded to ’Renowned Store’. Its progress was quicker than the main store mainly because the Poison Demon Cult was stationed there and it quickly gained the patronage of the two major forces of the Southern Wilderness.
After a while, Pan Ruo returned to the quarters to join Meiyu in organizing the staff.
Then, Lin Mo searched for Liu Xiaoyu, who should be dragging her brother and Xiao Ya around the store, instructing the young woman to prepare the tournament registration venue.
Since it was one of the weekly tasks, he decided to also involve himself in it. Not as a participant, of course. He could arrange another exhibition match to showcase the Awakened Duelist Mode as an interlude.
His plan of climbing the Jade Hollow Conduit Tower could be set aside for later. After all, people from the Bank and Consortium might send people again. He had to wait for them to finalize their partnership.
There are also the reports coming from the Golden Carp Trading Guild as well as the active Anchors.
If there’s anything urgent he had to address, it should be the subjugation of that stabilized Anchor at the Southern Wilderness. Those insectoids would pose a bigger threat than the Dreilling if left untouched.
At that thought, he sent a message to Venom Master Xun, telling her to prepare for a counteroffensive towards the stabilized Anchor.
He heard about Venom Master Xun partially subjugating the Crystalweb Tyrant. She could deploy its spiderlings to create a path underground. On top of that, the High Priest had already sent some results after studying captured insectoid creatures. It included their strength and weaknesses as well as the foreign energy derived from the Outer Realm they originated from.
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