"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

Sword light filled the sky, shooting down toward the people on the ground. Only when that sword light fell right between their brows did they truly feel it—Zhang Menglong really wasn't afraid of anything; he really dared to kill them all!

"We'll go! We'll leave right now!"

Terror soaked everyone's backs in cold sweat. They shut their eyes and spat out their final plea for mercy.

That Sword Qi also halted at this hair‑trigger instant; some strands had even pierced into their brows, even into their skulls. If their plea for mercy had come a fraction of a second later, this Sword Qi would have punched straight through their heads.

Fresh blood slid down from Mo Lingyun's brow. His eyes were still dazed—this was the closest he had ever felt to death in his whole life. Only now did he realize how stupid it had been to threaten Zhang Menglong.

He really could, by himself alone, suppress hundreds of millions of the Empire's proud sons so that they couldn't lift their heads!

"Last chance! Get lost!"

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Zhang Menglong didn't want to kill people either. After all, most of them had simply been incited by Mo Lingyun and the others; their crimes weren't to the point of death. But he also wouldn't feel the slightest pity for these people—letting them keep their lives was already the biggest concession he was willing to make!

These more than four hundred million people slunk out of the safe base with their heads hanging. From the instant they stepped past the edge of the base, their safety would no longer be guaranteed in any way. They once again recalled the terror of being dominated by the Night Demons!

Thinking of this, they immediately quickened their pace. Now wasn't the time to wallow in dejection; what they had to do now was immediately find a relatively complex terrain with places to hide. Otherwise, the moment darkness fell, it would be their doomsday!

...

Zhang Menglong withdrew all of the Sword Qi. The ones who remained let out a sigh of relief; fortunately, they hadn't been riled up by Mo Lingyun and the others. Even though Zhang Menglong was practically squeezing them for their very last drop of wealth, as long as they were alive, there was still hope.

"I thought about it; five million Divine Crystals is indeed a bit too expensive for most of you," Zhang Menglong suddenly said.

This instantly made the eyes of the remaining people light up. What was going on with Zhang Menglong? Did he suddenly grow a conscience?

A conscience? That kind of thing simply didn't exist for Zhang Menglong. He was only aiming for sustainable profit! For most people, relying on the Energy of this Ancient Cave Heaven to generate five million Divine Crystals per day was practically impossible.

Most of them had to rely on their past savings to fill in the gaps. In just this one month, their value had practically been squeezed dry. If they ran out of money, they would ultimately be forced to leave. If it went like that, Zhang Menglong might end up not earning a single cent in the end.

He had roughly run some tests: an ordinary Fifth-grade Divine Breath Martial Artist could, going without food and drink for a day, condense about a hundred Third Grade Divine Crystals—equivalent to one million First-grade Divine Crystals.

A Sixth-grade Divine Breath Martial Artist could manage about 1.5 to 2.5 million per day, while a Seventh Grade Divine Breath Martial Artist could easily reach over three million, or even more.

With this data in hand, it was easy for Zhang Menglong to set a price.

Below Fifth-grade Divine Breath, three hundred thousand Divine Crystals per day; Fifth-grade Divine Breath, five hundred thousand; Sixth-grade, eight hundred thousand; above Sixth-grade, one million!

Of course, this was only for the cheapest rooms. If they wanted better services, they'd have to pay more!

Although the price was still very high at first glance, for most Martial Artists this rate was already extremely cost‑effective. You wouldn't find anything cheaper than this even in the Hong Yun Empire's hotels.

The Martial Artists secretly rejoiced even more in their hearts. Those who had been incited were really tragic suckers! If they could hear this news now, their mentality would absolutely collapse.

"Many thanks, Mister Gu!"

"Mister Gu really is thinking of everyone. You truly count as a philanthropist."

"Exactly, those people just now really didn't know what was good for them. For us to receive your protection is already incredibly lucky; they really shouldn't have acted like that!"

All kinds of rainbow flattery rose one after another. In an instant, Zhang Menglong was transformed from a heinous capitalist into a philanthropist.

"Look quick, retribution has come!"

Right at this moment, a Twilight Line slowly crept over from the distance. Although it was moving slowly this time, the people who had already left the survival base probably didn't have much time left. It was just that now, it was already too late for regret.

As the Twilight Line swept past, a few minutes later, wails like ghosts and howls like wolves echoed around the periphery of the survival base. They could even vaguely see some pitch‑black figures prowling along the edge of the darkness.

Every now and then, a few sharp claws would probe out, only to be forced back by the burning light.

"They're screwed!"

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat for those who had left. Those four hundred million people probably wouldn't meet a good end.

The disturbance died down, and just as the others were about to leave, Zhang Menglong's voice rang out once again.

"Everyone, no need to rush back just yet! Since you're all here today, I have a bombshell announcement to make!"

"A bombshell? What kind of news?"

"Could it be that he's found the legacy left by the predecessor of some superpower?"

"Or has he found a way to deal with the Night Demons?"

Zhang Menglong's words made everyone restless with anticipation.

"That's right, some of you may have already guessed it—I have indeed found a way to deal with the Night Demons! Tomorrow night, I will hold a product launch to showcase the new products invented by the Like‑Home Survival Base!"

"And after the product launch, all products will be available for purchase. From then on, you'll be able to freely leave the safe base and explore every corner of this Ancient Cave Heaven!"

"Waaah!" With Zhang Menglong's confirmation, the entire survival base instantly boiled over. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Up to now, it had already been a month since this trial began. Everyone had tried countless methods, but none could effectively counter the Night Demons. Just to test feasibility, who knew how many had been dismembered by Night Demons or assimilated into Night Demons themselves.

Day after day of bad news had driven all the Martial Artists into a kind of torpor. They had once imagined themselves roaming this Ancient Cave Heaven, seeking legacies and harvesting fortune and destiny, but now they could only huddle in a survival base, working for someone they hated.

The news Zhang Menglong announced was undoubtedly a jolt to everyone!

"He's found a method? Is it reliable?"

"It should be, right? Otherwise he wouldn't dare brag in front of so many of us."

"No wonder he lowered the city's housing fees. If this is true, then our need for lodging drops a lot. If the rent were too high, no one would be willing to keep living in the survival base."

"You're overthinking it. Don't you know what kind of person Gu Xiao is by now? Would he ever give up a single chance to make money? I bet these products of his will each be more expensive than the last, and will earn even more than running this survival base. Otherwise how could it make sense?"

"Isn't there a product launch tomorrow? Let's all go and see whether he's really telling the truth."

"If it really lets us walk freely in the darkness, then even if it's a bit pricey, it doesn't matter."

"I really can't wait!"

...