Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 599: Establishing Raid Lobby

"Shopkeeper Lin!" Wei Xian, while still maintaining his dignity as the City Lord, called out to him and bowed. "Your Highness! You have arrived. The spatial fluctuations are peaking. The diviners estimate the breach will fully open in less than an hour."

Lin Mo couldn’t help but wryly smile. Why does he need diviners when he could just stand near the entrance of the Anchor and check the status there?

"Mhm. You’ve done well maintaining order, City Lord," Lin Mo said, offering a reassuring nod. "I trust it won’t be chaotic once the Anchor entrance opens. By the way, have the warnings been disseminated?"

"Yes, Shopkeeper. Repeatedly," Wei Xian sighed as if he still couldn’t trust whether the cultivators understood it or not. "We broadcast your warning across the Bulletin Board and in this place every ten minutes. ’No elemental spells. No spiritual qi projection. Physical augmentation only.’ But..."

The City Lord gestured helplessly to a group of rogue cultivators near the front, their hands already crackling with eager fire and frost magic. "...you know how cultivators are. Telling a spellcaster not to cast spells is like telling a fish not to swim. They rely on their arts. Many believe their specific flames or lightning will be the exception."

Lin Mo’s eyes narrowed. "I suppose we cannot help it. Experience will be the better teacher."

He glanced at the sea of cultivators. Their auras were flaring, eager to show off the 50% combat efficiency boost that was currently suffusing their limbs. It was a potent drug, this feeling of sudden boost in their strength. It was natural to feel invincible.

Luckily for them, they weren’t like mages who only knew how to cast spells. Most cultivators start their journey by practicing martial arts along with breathing exercises to gather the spiritual energy and awaken their dantian. But after that, it would depend on whether their cultivation technique required them to continue practicing martial arts, which would grow increasingly arduous. Otherwise, they’d focus on learning spells or mystical arts to augment their combat power.

"Let them learn the hard way," Lin Mo added. "We provided the patch notes. If they didn’t read the terms and conditions before entering the dungeon, the resulting ’Game Over’ is entirely on them."

Wei Xian and his lieutenants tilted their heads as those terms were foreign to them.

Meanwhile, Wu Meiyu let out a refined giggle while shaking her head. "A harsh truth, Shopkeeper. But a necessary one. In the royal court, we say that a lesson written in blood is never forgotten."

"And a lesson written in lost Dimension Essence is even more permanent," Liu Xiaoyu chimed in, casually swinging the crude, ugly iron mace over her shoulder. Despite the barbaric weapon, she still looked like a peerless fairy descending from the heavens. The visual dissonance was staggering.

Somehow, she’s now eager to use that rather than relying only on her fists. Who knows? She might create another combat style with it.

"Don’t worry, Boss! When they start crying for help, I’ll go in and smash some weeds! This mace is ugly, but with the 50% buff, it feels like I’m swinging a mountain!"

"Sure. Sure, little genius."

"Hey! What do you mean by that, Boss? Even if I can fit perfectly in your arms, that doesn’t mean I’m still little!"

Lin Mo’s eyebrows twitched. He couldn’t tell if the young woman was intentionally saying some misleading things or not. Nonetheless, he couldn’t deny what she just said. After all, it already happened before. When she snuck into his bed with the excuse of trying to catch his Celestial Providence.

Recently, they didn’t have time to rest on the quarters anymore, so it hadn’t been repeated yet.

"Shopkeeper, when we return to the store, please fulfill my Royal Father’s request."

Suddenly, Wu Meiyu’s voice echoed in his head and he once again felt cornered. That request... it was about accompanying his daughter in one of the private suites of [Celestial Hot Spring].

Liu Xiaoyu’s mischief triggered her to act.

Shaking his head inwardly, Lin Mo glanced at Wu Meiyu and nodded, silently agreeing, before walking down the entrance of the Anchor. He tapped the still dormant door, pulling up its status.

[Anchor - VYFB#0010]

[Status: Activating (Estimated Time: 48 minutes 22 seconds)]

[Mode: Group Exploration (Maximum of 8 teams of 12 at any given time)]

[Estimated Threat Level: Moderate]

[Number of Areas: 4]

[Energy Signature: Viridescent Energy (Strengthened)]

[Accessibility: Spirit Condensation Stage to Core Formation Stage]

Because he had already interfaced with the Anchor’s Core before, the status reflected was more detailed than the usual blank slate they get when encountering an entirely unknown anomaly.

Viridescent Hollow Forward Base.

"Forty-eight minutes left," Lin Mo muttered as he climbed back up and glanced at the sprawling sea of eager faces. "City Lord Wei, with ten thousand cultivators and a maximum capacity of ninety-six at any given time, a stampede is inevitable the moment that barrier drops. We need to manage the queue."

Although a disciplined queue happened naturally in the Conduit Towers and previous Anchors, the number of cultivators back then wasn’t in this magnitude, where thousands were waiting for the opening.

Wei Xian grunted and awkwardly coughed, "I have stationed the entirety of the City Guards, Shopkeeper, but even they might be overwhelmed by the sheer enthusiasm of your... patrons."

"Indeed. Although we can trust their discipline, it’s best to sort out whatever chaos that may or may not ensue once the countdown ends." Lin Mo said as he produced the Store Token. Through it, he quickly accessed the Divine System Interface, navigating to the [Feedback and Suggestions].

He wrote a proposal for an update to the Viewing Jades regarding establishing queues within it for every Anchor and Conduit Tower. As a placeholder, he named it the [Event Management] module.

And then, sent it out. As for whether Zhenren Lihua or the old man Taihao would read it right away, he had no idea. He just had to trust them.

"For now, Xiaoyu, create a thread on a Bulletin Board and pin it with a title, VYFB#0010 Team Queue Registration."

"On it, Boss!" Xiaoyu excitedly chirped as her fingers flew across her Viewing Jade. Within seconds, the crimson banner of a pinned thread blazed across the top of the Bulletin Board.

Then, after doing so, he used spiritual energy to amplify his voice, announcing it to everyone in the area.

"Dear customers, please check your Viewing Jades and direct your attention to the pinned thread."

"The Anchor will not be a free-for-all. To prevent unnecessary trampling and ensure a convenient exploration experience, a digital queue will be temporarily established there. Register your twelve-man parties by commenting under it."

"This is going to be a temporary fix. In the future, we will be rolling out an update on the Viewing Jade. There will be an ’Instance Matchmaking’ tab where you can select any Anchor or Tower connected to our store. You will be assigned a queue number and an estimated time of entry. You’d better be there, or you will be skipped. Additionally, those who don’t have a group to join can also queue there, and you’ll be matched to form a complete squad. No one gets left behind. That is the rule of convenience. The system will handle the sorting, so keep your eyes on your screens and wait for your group number to be called."

For a moment, the ten thousand cultivators stared at him, then at their Viewing Jades in profound silence.

Eventually, chaos erupted.

"We need someone with a healing spell and a body cultivator! Our leader has already registered. We are Group 14! Must have high physical endurance and supplies from the store!"

"Group 42 is looking for two more! Sword cultivators will be prioritized! We provide free Sticker Seals and Card Talismans!"

"Solo Core Formation physical cultivator here! Match me up! Let’s get that Dimension Essence!"

The shouts echoed across the plains, but there was no pushing, no shoving, and no drawn blades.

Although it was an Anchor from an Outer Realm that no one among them had encountered yet, the fear of missing out on the prize for the leaderboard, combined with the implicit threat of being permanently banned from the Divine Convenience Store by the ’Convenience Saint’ himself, kept the massive army in check. It was, as Lin Mo had visualized, a mimicry of an MMORPG raid lobby brought to life.

City Lord Wei Xian wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, staring at the orderly crowds forming neat clusters based on their assigned digital numbers. "Shopkeeper... I am once again in awe of your methods. Should I send Lan’er to your store too? Make her learn the ways of convenience."

"It’s just line management, City Lord," Lin Mo replied, "If you give people a fair system and a clear path to a reward, they will gladly police themselves. Besides, it’s still not a proper system. And please, let Miss Lan decide it for herself."

"Forty-eight minutes is a long time to wait, though," Xiaoyu mumbled, swinging her crude iron mace like a pendulum. The heavy whoosh of the air parting around the weapon made several nearby cultivators step back nervously. "Boss, are we going to be Group 1?"

"Yes." Lin Mo answered before turning to Wei Xian, "City Lord, may we get the assistance of your City Guards to fill the vacancy in our group?"