My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse

Chapter 997: Chapter 995 Store’s Status

Curious, she checked the listed items and saw that the normal, non-bidding products had already sold out again, despite her limits on how many of the same item a customer could purchase per listing. It was clear she now had a solid following.

So, she quickly pulled up the store’s profile to take a closer look:

[Omni Treasure Vault]

[Store Level: 1

Followers: 100,000

Likes: 34,000

Reviews: 1,500

Current Listings: 20 items]

Seeing the stats, Kisha was pleasantly surprised. The numbers had climbed so high that she hadn’t even noticed; perhaps this was what 008 had been referring to. The growth also made her happy, a clear sign that her hard work was paying off. Smiling to herself, she began checking which items needed replenishing and then moved on to the territory warehouse to review her inventory.

[Territory Warehouse #1]

[Vegetables:

Grade C Spiritual Cabbage: 10,000 kg

Grade C Spiritual Carrots: 20,000 kg

Grade B Spiritual Carrots: 15,000 kg

Grade C Spiritual Rice: 30,000 kg...

Fruits:

Grade D Spiritual Peach: 5,000 kg

Grade B Spiritual Peach: 900 kg

Grade D Spiritual Apple: 1,500 kg

Grade C Spiritual Apple: 3,000 kg

Grade B Spiritual Apple: 1,500 kg...

Meats:

...]

The list was long, and with the different grades of items, Kisha realized that her supplies weren’t as abundant as she had thought. She had been continuously selling off her stock in the warehouse, much like she did with the first few stocks she had, which were selling like pancakes. But since opening the bidding, the situation was gradually changing; her warehouse stock was slowly building up again.

This didn’t bother her anymore. Unlike before, when her warehouse was overflowing with unsold items, now that the marketplace had opened and outsiders were entering the base, she knew her supplies might soon become insufficient. It made sense to stop selling items cheaply through the Sales Channel. In fact, scarcity could drive prices up, especially with such high demand.

Kisha wasn’t in a rush to replenish her stock just yet. Instead, she planned to let the bidding continue, allowing her customers to experience the tension and hunger of competition. This "hunger marketing" strategy would encourage them to bid higher, turning their impulsive desire for the items into bigger profits.

After all, if customers assumed that the next batch of goods would be easily restocked, they might hold back their bids. They could even set a ceiling price for certain products, thinking it wasn’t worth bidding higher since another batch would come soon.

If her customers started thinking that way, the prices in the bidding section wouldn’t rise much, and if that happened, what would be the point of having a bidding section at all?

She wanted it to function like a true auction: the highest price wins. With that in mind, Kisha changed her plan; she put all the best products up for bidding, leaving the lower-quality items for occasional restocking. After checking her warehouse one last time, she closed the store.

"Host, aren’t we supposed to ride the momentum of our store’s name update and branding, get more people buying our products, and make the brand widely known?" 008 asked, clearly baffled by Kisha’s sudden change in decision.

"Can’t I change my approach? After all, hunger marketing is a proven strategy, and far more effective than our original plan. Besides, wasn’t it already part of the initial strategy? I’m just taking it to the next level," Kisha said nonchalantly.

With this approach, she wouldn’t have to work nonstop inside the territory space on Alchemy or inscriptions. She’d have more time to track the progress of other projects and even experiment with spiritual cuisine, a skill that could prove useful in the future.

Especially now, with her decision to head to City D and the Aerospace Facility to help develop the Lightbrain device, which would greatly improve HOPE Base’s communications and day-to-day operations by connecting seamlessly to their centralized system.

"Host, I didn’t realize you were already thinking so far ahead," 008 said, a hint of surprise in its voice. "Alright, I’ll keep monitoring the store and let you know if there are any changes. But since we won’t be restocking as regularly as before, other customers, or even merchants, might start pestering you for trades instead. What do you think about that?"

"Just skim through the requests," Kisha said, taking a sip of her drink. "If they’re offering something good and aren’t asking for too much in return, let me know, I might accept the trade. As for the ones with excessive demands, just turn them down; no need to bother me about it."

She spoke casually, while Edison sat beside her, silently holding her hand, while sipping his strawberry milk, his feet happily dangling and swaying.

"Understood, Host." After responding, 008 immediately went off to carry out its tasks as instructed.

Kisha then quietly checked the territory interface, reviewing the progress of the other ongoing projects. The interface was incredibly useful, almost like a comprehensive planner, clearly displaying the status of each task and showing who was assigned to what. Through it, she could see Duke and the other Winters men out in the field, inspecting the soil to determine whether it was suitable for construction.

At the same time, Engineer Steel was inside the laboratory, already beginning a briefing. He was walking his team through the Lightbrain Device’s blueprints during a formal meeting. The atmosphere there was noticeably lively; this project was undeniably futuristic, far more advanced than their current technology. Everyone wanted a place in it, eager to learn and absorb new knowledge. Even Dr. Shuveck was present, listening intently and nodding in approval.

"City Lord, your order is ready," the barbecue stall owner said cheerfully as he hurried over to Kisha. "I even added a few extra skewers as a small thank-you for supporting my business."

He handed her a paper bag lined with fresh banana leaves, the aroma of grilled pork skewers still wafting from within, his smile bright and genuine.

"Oh? Thank you, then I won’t stand on ceremony," Kisha said with a smile as she accepted the paper bag.

Since he had called it a thank-you gift, she didn’t bother refusing out of politeness. After all, it was true, she had returned to buy more and had spent a considerable number of crystal cores. For an ordinary household, that level of spending was already more than generous.

"Please come back anytime," the stall owner said with a wide grin as he waved Kisha off.

The neighboring vendors, who had also benefited from her visit, joined in, waving enthusiastically, clearly pleased with the unexpected sales she had brought them. Kisha nodded back to each of them before leading Edison away and heading home.

Now that her outing was over, she planned to return to her territory space, to introduce Edison to Daisy and share her purchases with her husband and the rest of the family.

Edison didn’t say a word as he willingly followed Kisha all the way to the villa district. They entered Villa #1, and just as she was about to continue inside, Kisha frowned and almost clicked her tongue.

She had expected it to be difficult to convince Edison to come with her, his grandfather had warned that the boy could become anxious around strangers. Yet here he was, following her without hesitation. Instead of relief, a new worry crept in. ’What if he trusted others just as easily?’ The thought tightened her chest, and concern for his safety rose even higher.

She quickly tried to reassure herself. ’Maybe it’s only because his grandfather gave permission... maybe he’s only this comfortable with me.’ Holding on to that thought, she adjusted her mindset and led Edison toward the backyard of the villa.

Before heading into the forest beyond, Kisha suddenly knelt in front of him, bringing herself to his eye level.

"Little Eddie," she said gently, her voice soft and cautious, "I’m about to take you to a special place. But it’s a secret, only my family and a few very important people know about it."

She looked at him seriously, though her tone remained warm.

"Can you promise me you won’t tell anyone about it? I mean anyone... even your grandfather."

Although she knew Edison rarely spoke and tended to shut himself off from the world, Kisha still wanted to be certain he would keep this a secret. After all, he might accidentally let it slip to his grandfather, and Edison was still far too young for her to feel comfortable taking harsher measures.

The thought alone made her uneasy.

She didn’t want to bind him with a slave contract, much less resort to something like the Heart Gu Pill. Those options never even crossed her mind seriously. Instead, all she could do was talk to him, treat him with sincerity, and hope he would understand the importance of what she was asking.

For now, trust was the only choice she was willing to make.