“A quarantine,” Wu Meiyu mused. “Using poison to fight a swarm. It is a fitting strategy for that region, but it might be lacking.”

“It is the only strategy we have right now,” Lin Mo replied, closing the interface. “We are fighting fires on multiple fronts, Your Highness. We have to let one burn slowly so we can extinguish the one that threatens to burn down the house.”

He rubbed his neck as he felt the weight of command settling heavily on his shoulders. The store was flourishing, the money was pouring in, but the threats were escalating just as fast.

“Let’s go downstairs,” Lin Mo said, shaking off the grim mood. “Brooding won’t solve anything. Let’s find that broke-ass monk. I need to hear his opinion. And maybe ask him and his traveling companion to check the south instead of the tower.”

—

Branch Store, Blazing Ridge, Southern Wilderness.

Branch Manager Chi Yang had completely settled into her role. With her experience as the leader of that village dealing with the Crystalweb Tyrant, it didn’t take long for her to acclimate to the new environment.

And at the moment, after spotting the villager she hired to look after the [Divine Barter & Appraisal Terminal], she walked over to help him out.

The young man named Ah’Niu was struggling to explain the concept of ‘fluctuating market value’ to an Ironbone Clan warrior who wanted to trade a sack of raw spirit ore for a [Stardust Repeater]. Those ores couldn’t even be counted as low-grade spirit stones as they were too impure. It could never match the value of that artifact.

“Remember, Ah’Niu,” Chi Yang said, instructing the young man instead of taking over to talk to the customer. The tone she used radiated a calm authority that she hadn’t openly possessed a week ago. “The terminal doesn’t lie. It assesses purity, density, and current demand. If the customer isn’t satisfied with the terminal’s offer, remind them that the Harvester’s Guild is always open for direct trade. We provide the platform, not the price floor. Do not let them bully you. You are staff. Behind you stands the Shopkeeper.”

“Understood, Manager Chi!” Ah’Niu bowed gratefully.

The Ironbone warrior, hearing the mention of the Shopkeeper, immediately retracted his imposing aura and grumbled a quiet apology, accepting the credit value given by the machine after scanning his sack of spirit ore.

Seeing that, Chi Yang nodded and walked back behind the main counter. She adjusted her green and white uniform, smoothing out a wrinkle.

The [Gemstone Heart Scripture] was circulating quietly within her, drawing warmth from the rich veins of sunstone beneath the ridge.

It was a busy morning. The news of the Flash Raid and the Towers and Anchors in the Eastern Abyssal Domain had already reached the south through the Viewing Jades, sparking a new wave of interest.

For some reason, even the stubborn elders of the Emberfall Tribes had gotten their hands on it. Some of them, who had initially refused Akasha’s outreach, were now sending envoys to ‘inspect’ this new power that appeared in their region.

With the threat of the insectoid, they truly couldn’t just turn away everyone, especially when those foreign creatures started encroaching on their territories and causing the tribesmen to die or flee for their lives.

Just as she was about to check on another villager-turned-store staff, her Branch Store Token, which she kept clipped to her belt, vibrated violently.

Chi Yang’s heart skipped a beat. She tapped the token, and Lin Mo’s message projected in front of her.

[To: Branch Manager Chi Yang]

[Priority: Urgent]

[Message: Manager Chi, scan data confirms a Stabilized Anchor in the northwestern badlands…]

As she read the directives and their key points like ‘Stabilized Anchor’, ‘Sovereign Territory’, ‘Containment’, and ‘Do Not Rescue’, the color drained from her face.

The missing tribes. Most of them were trapped in a foreign territory established on their soil.

And the order was to leave them there. For now.

It was a cold calculation. A leader’s decision.

A week ago, Chi Yang might have wept at the cruelty of it. She might have at least asked Lin Mo if they could save them the way he ordered Venom Master Xun to save their village. But now, she is a Branch Manager. She understood the weight of resources and of risk. Saving a few at the cost of the many was bad business. It was… inconvenient.

“Containment,” She whispered bitterly. Then, her eyes hardened. “Understood, Shopkeeper.”

She didn’t waste a second. She turned to Ah’Niu and the other staff member she positioned at the checkout counter. “Hold the fort. If anyone asks, I am in a strategic meeting with our partners. Do not disturb us unless the store is on fire.”

“Yes, Branch Manager!”

Chi Yang strode out of the store. The heat of the Blazing Ridge hit her, but she barely felt it. She headed straight for the large, silk-draped tent that dominated the Poison Demon Cult’s section of the camp.

Two Doom Spiders hissed at her approach, but she didn’t flinch. She simply held up her token, letting the other cultists of the Arachnid Branch see it. They immediately commanded the spiders to retreat, recognizing the authority of the Divine Convenience Store.

“Venom Master Xun.” Chi Yang called out, stepping into the opulent, incense-filled interior.

Xun Caiyin was lounging on her elegant chair, feeding a piece of spirit meat to a small, scuttling creature that looked like a spider with a human torso, a hatchling Drider. It was the first of the clutch to emerge, and it was already radiating a terrifying intelligence.

The Venom Master looked up, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Manager Chi. You look pale. Did a customer return a bag of chips? Or did the Shopkeeper finally decide to visit me?”

“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Neither,” Chi Yang answered. “Instead, the Shopkeeper has sent me a direct order. If you’re close to him, you must have received something as well.”

Xun’s lips curved up wickedly. Then she sat up, the Drider hatchling scuttling up her arm to perch on her shoulder. “Indeed. I’ve received his message. Asking for my assistance. Speak.”

“The northwestern badlands. The scan confirmed it. It’s a Stabilized Anchor. The insectoids have established a hive. They are terraforming the land.”

Xun’s expression shifted from interest to a cold focus. “Stabilized… That explains their seemingly never-ending numbers. They have bridged the realms. And the Shopkeeper’s orders?”

“Containment,” Chi Yang stated. “We are to establish a quarantine zone. We cannot attack yet. They are still dealing with the Anchors. We must hold the South. We need to create a perimeter that nothing can cross.”

“A quarantine…” Xun mused as a dangerous smile spread across her lips. She stroked the head of the Drider. “A cage for the pests. I like it. It sounds… artistic.”

“I need you, Venom Master. And I need Chieftain Akasha. And the leaders of the Ironbone and Spirit Haze. We need everyone.”

“Leave the savages to me,” Venom Master Xun stood up. “Summon them to the ridge. I’ll mobilize the cult to build a wall.”

Half an hour later, a war council was convened in a tent raised just a few steps from the store.

It was a gathering that would have been impossible a week ago, wherein two of the participants were captured leaders of their respective organizations.

Chi Yang stood at the center. To her right was Venom Master Xun, radiating a terrifying, poisonous beauty. To her left was Chieftain Akasha, her armor seemed scorched from recent skirmishes but her presence remained burning like a furnace.

Facing them were the humbled leaders of the local powers. The Ironbone Warlord, a new one was selected after the previous one was pulled down from his position, looked sullen but obedient. The Spirit Haze Sect Master hovered slightly off the ground, his misty form radiating anxiety.

“A Stabilized Anchor?” The Ironbone Warlord groaned, spitting on the red rock. “So the bugs have built a castle. Why don’t we just smash it? The Poison Demon Cult crushed the big spider. Surely we can crush a few bugs.”

“Because this isn’t a spider in a cave, dear customer,” Chi Yang said, her voice amplified by a [Sound-Amplifying Talisman] she had slapped on her collar. “According to the Shopkeeper, it is a sovereign territory. If we march in there without the main force of the store, we will be fighting a stronger swarm. We will die, and the swarm will use us to fuel their expansion.”

She looked at them, channeling the authority she picked up from watching Lin Mo. “The Shopkeeper’s order is absolute. We seal them in and starve them. We wait for the hammer to fall from the Eastern Abyssal Domain. Until then, we are the anvil.”

“Yes. We cannot let them take more of our kin,” Akasha said with her voice filled with frustration.

“Indeed. That’s why Shopkeeper also ordered us to accept any refugees. I’ll leave them to you, Chieftain Akasha,” Chi Yang said, her voice unwavering even as her heart ached. “However, attacking the swarm now is impossible. We don’t know the exact situation there and we might kill the hostages in the crossfire. Or worse, we give the enemy more hostages. Containment is the only way to ensure a future rescue.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep