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As soon as 008 sent the notification, a flood of angry private messages poured in from customers.

Many were outraged, believing that a bidding system should be exclusive to high-ranking stores with a reputation for offering rare, valuable items.

These established stores had already proven themselves, providing the best of the best from across worlds, often becoming leading figures in their respective realms.

The mere idea that a newly opened store in the sales channel would introduce such a bidding system seemed not only presumptuous but audacious.

Customers felt that the store was overstepping its bounds, flaunting arrogance by attempting to implement a system meant for only the most established sellers.

Typically, low-level stores like 008’s would adopt a humble and subservient approach toward their customers.

While they set fair prices for their items, these stores often competed to offer the lowest prices, aiming to attract more customers and improve their retention rate.

Their focus was on building a strong reputation through positive reviews, hoping that over time, this would allow them to rise in status and eventually level up.

While Kisha’s approach was bold, 008 couldn’t help but feel a sense of worry.

However, 008 understood Kisha’s strategy.

Even if customers ranted and vented their frustration, they wouldn’t be able to find any Scarlet Honey elsewhere.

After all, when 008 acquired Bell, it ensured that no other store in any sales channel would have any other Scarlet Queen Bee.

Wanting to avoid being bombarded with endless private messages, 008 muted the notifications and even blocked those sending harassing messages, reporting them to the system moderators.

Since 008 and Kisha hadn’t violated any rules or guidelines, the moderators quickly acted, issuing warnings to the offenders.

The channel fell silent once more.

Shortly after, 008 began receiving a flood of positive reviews from customers who had purchased the Scarlet Honey again, along with messages eagerly inquiring about the next restock.

Following Kisha’s strategy to keep the customers hooked, 008 deliberately left the messages unread and didn’t respond.

As a result, those who had experienced the effects of the Scarlet Honey set up notifications for 008’s sales channel, eager to be alerted as soon as new items were stocked.

Especially those from the Murim world, who were familiar with the legendary Scarlet Honey, became even more determined to acquire more.

As a result, 008’s sales channel began to gain recognition, steadily growing in popularity.

But thanks to the Scarlet Honey, they had earned 100,000 system points almost effortlessly, which made both Kisha and 008 giggle with delight.

Kisha’s system points were now back to 145,000, and there were still some slave contracts left in the store. An idea suddenly surged in Kisha’s mind.

"Do you think you’ll be able to find the remaining materials we need to complete the Solar Panel?"

"Host, we can," 008 replied. "Buying it from the system store would be overkill. We can get it from mission rewards or the resource crates in your inventory without spending any points."

"Oh, now that you remind me, we do have unopened resource crates in the inventory, and more will be coming in from the ongoing missions."

Kisha soon abandoned the idea and decided to focus on improving her inscribing proficiency instead.

Seeing how dedicated she was, Duke chose not to disturb her. Instead, he focused on his own cultivation near the crystal.

Meanwhile, the other members of Winter’s group returned and followed suit, immersing themselves in their own cultivation.

Those who felt the stirring of their awakening immediately made their way to the medical facility for assistance.

Despite the ongoing Geostorm outside, which kept the entire base on edge, the residents chose to place their trust in Kisha and focus on what they could control.

While confined to their homes, the solo artisans set to work, using the limited supplies they had scavenged from around the base.

Their goal was clear: to open their stalls as soon as the storm passed.

In the workshop, the artisans were equally busy, especially the food artisans.

With an abundance of food supplies at their disposal, many began crafting pickles, dried foods, and even ham, smoked fish, and cured meats, ensuring they were well-prepared for what lay ahead.

Thanks to the bustling activity, the base didn’t feel as gloomy as other places, even with the ongoing Geostorm.

008 had done an excellent job of changing the city shield to a new one, ensuring that no wind could be felt from the outside, despite the continuing tornadoes and hail.

Meanwhile, in the small building beside the Central Hall, Doctor Shuveck and Engineer Steel were in high spirits.

They had successfully recharged three batteries to 100% and safely stored them, ensuring a plentiful supply of electricity for the future.

However, they now faced a new challenge: the pole Kisha had installed atop the Central Hall.

It was absorbing too much powerful lightning, and they feared it wouldn’t last much longer.

Despite this, the data they had gathered was invaluable.

They now only needed to replace the wiring and chips at the bottom of the pole, as they were nearly fried from the constant strain.

Fortunately, the materials used for the pole were made from a sturdy metal, which prevented it from exploding or splitting after several powerful lightning strikes.

However, their new challenge was figuring out how to replace the wiring and chips within the pole without causing any further damage or getting hit by the lightning.

The days passed quickly, with the Geostorm raging for two more days, leaving only two days remaining before the 30-day nesting period mission given to Kisha by the system.

She and the others barely noticed how quickly time had flown by, as they were all busy in their respective tasks.

Duke had reached a point where he was ready to level up again, while Kisha had reached 100% mastery proficiency and advanced to intermediate inscribing after working tirelessly within her territory.

She also helped 008 manage the store in the sales channel.

By now, Kisha had used up the 1,000 sheets of parchment, earning another 135,000 system points. Both items in the store had sold out, and she had yet to restock the Scarlet Honey.

Even Mrs. Winters had been coming in and out of the territory space to cultivate alongside Duke and the others, managing to level up to level 2.

Sparrow and Vulture were also on the verge of leveling up to level 3.

Kisha, not wanting to fall behind, balanced her work on inscribing proficiency with cultivation, and was now just one step away from leveling up herself.

After what felt like a month, everyone left the territory and were greeted by the bright sun and calm weather outside.

The residents of the base began to emerge from their homes, no longer hearing the loud thunder or the howling winds.

The streets inside the base remained as clean and tidy as they had left them, but when the soldiers climbed to the top of the wall, they saw the horrific scene outside.

Outside the walls, there was nothing left intact.

The cars on the street were nearly shredded by the tornadoes, their twisted remains scattered across the area.

Some were embedded in buildings, while others hung upside down in the most unlikely places, and a few had been thrown several kilometers from their original locations.

008, too, was growing nervous, concerned that the city’s shield wouldn’t withstand much longer after three days of nonstop Geostorm.

Fortunately, there were brief moments when the hail would stop, and the number of tornadoes surrounding the base would subside, only to pick up again after a while.

These temporary lulls, though brief, were enough to help conserve the little protection energy the city shield still had left.

The trees outside the base had been completely uprooted, and not a single lamppost remained standing, all torn down by the tornadoes that had circled their base like a giant spinning top.

Outside, the floodwaters had risen to ankle-deep, but thankfully, they had already cleared out the mutated rats from the sewers before the storm hit.

Without that precaution, they might have been at risk for leptospirosis.

The situation they faced, though concerning, was relatively mild compared to other areas.

In some places, entire cities had sunk beneath the ocean, like Port City, where only the tips of towering buildings now poked out from the water.

Other regions had been torn apart by tornadoes, mudslides had swallowed an entire village, and flash floods had wiped out half of some communities.

However, there was no way to truly convey the devastation happening around the world, and Kisha and her team now needed to focus on strengthening their defenses.

After all, the three days of blood rain would likely trigger the evolution of the zombies.

They were fortunate, though, that the relentless tornadoes had acted as a natural barrier, shredding any evolving zombies that dared to approach their base during the storm.

Now, with the storm finally over, it felt as though they were merely experiencing the calm before the real storm.

Kisha could sense a shift in the air, an unsettling tension that made her skin crawl and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She immediately instructed her team to begin preparations.

The 30-day nesting period in the base was coming to an end in two days, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that the mission had not only been to keep her within the base, but that something significant was about to unfold.

While Kisha and Duke were busy securing the base, she sent Sparrow on a mission they had prepared for—to head north and pretend to retrieve the surviving livestock from a farm in that area.