I chose the safe house, and the Human Alliance regretted it.

Purple Emperor Star, the capital city.

The most prosperous city in the empire

It was noon, and sunlight shone through the energy shield onto the luxurious building, reflecting a dazzling golden halo.

Wang Wei stood in front of a 100-story building and looked up at the sign above the entrance—Yaoyao Lingxian Space Design Co., Ltd.

The headquarters was much more impressive than the branch office in Dixing City; the entire building belonged to them, and a huge holographic screen was embedded in the exterior wall, playing the company's promotional video on a loop.

"Far ahead, an industry benchmark, with over 10,000 patents, serving millions of families, there is only first place, no second..."

Wang Wei smiled slightly and pushed open the door to go inside.

The receptionist was a woman with refined features, dressed in business attire, and sporting a standard professional smile.

"Hello sir, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for your boss," Wang Wei said.

Do you have an appointment?

"no."

"I'm sorry, but without an appointment—"

"Just say that the owner of a shop that doesn't rip off poor people has arrived," Wang Wei interrupted her, his tone flat. "He's here to collect his money."

The receptionist's smile froze for a moment.

Of course she knew not to rip off poor people.

These past few days, he's been all over the internet and virtual spaces.

Throughout the entire empire, almost everyone knew this name.

"Please...please wait a moment." The receptionist's voice began to tremble.

She dialed the internal line and whispered a few words.

After hanging up, she looked up, her professional smile replaced by a cautious one: "The boss would like to invite you up. 111, top floor, direct elevator access."

Wang Wei nodded and stepped into the elevator.

A moment later, Wang Wei appeared on the top floor.

People lined both sides of the road, respectfully welcoming them.

A female secretary bent down at a 90-degree angle. "Shopkeeper, please come with me."

Wang Wei glanced at the half-open collar of his shirt, nodded, and said, "Hmm."

The door to the top-floor conference room was open, and five people were sitting inside.

When Wang Wei walked in, all five people stood up at the same time.

The leading man took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steady: "It's an honor to have the shop owner here... I'm so sorry for not greeting you sooner..."

"Don't be so polite." Wang Wei walked straight to the head seat, sat down, and crossed his legs. "I'm here to collect debts."

The air in the meeting room froze.

"Ten billion vials of energy liquid." Wang Wei held up one finger.

The people present stared wide-eyed at Wang Wei, their faces filled with disbelief.

A moment of deathly silence,

The leading man's throat bobbed: "Shopkeeper, we have already offered a compensation plan of 100 million units—"

"That's compensation for the complaint," Wang Wei interrupted him. "Ten billion weapons are compensation for you sending a star-destroying warship to bomb me. One thing at a time."

The meeting room was deathly silent.

"Impossible!" The leading man panicked. "We're a legitimate company, how could we possibly possess a star-destroying warship?"

"Oh?" Wang Wei looked at him. "You mean the shop owner is lying?"

"No, no, there must be some misunderstanding," the other person quickly explained.

"Hmm?" Wang Wei frowned. "Are you doubting my abilities as the shop owner?"

The group of people were dumbfounded.

The man before us is known as the one who unravels the secrets of the world and settles human affairs.

No matter what they say, it's wrong!

However, they also realized that Wang Wei was only there to collect the money.

In the past, they were the ones who harvested the韭菜 (a metaphor for exploited people), but now they have become the韭菜 to be slaughtered at will.

"Shopkeeper," the leading man's voice was hoarse, "we can't come up with 10 billion units. Our company's market value isn't even that much..."

"That's your business." Wang Wei stood up, smiled, and said, "...The blacklist should be updated too."

As soon as he finished speaking, the five people slumped into their chairs, looking at each other in bewilderment.

.........

Starry Sky City.

The first branch of a store that doesn't rip off poor people.

Zi Jin moved extremely fast.

In less than half a day, Starry Sky City, Flying Star City, Azure Star City, Mirror Star City, Ocean Wave City, Windfall City, Cloud City, Frost Moon City, Sunset City, Heavenly Palace City, and North Star City—

The First Empire has signed contracts for prime locations in all eleven other major cities.

It's not a rental, it's not a purchase, it's a gift.

If we don't cheat the poor in our branches, those people will be in a rush to deliver.

The stores have uniform decoration and storefront signage.

The sign above the entrance reads: "We don't cheat the poor."

The moment the news was announced, the virtual world exploded.

"No more ripping off poor people, our stores are opening branches! Simultaneous opening in eleven major cities!"

"Membership system? What does that mean? You have to pay to enter the store?"

"Regular members get one energy drink, Silver members get ten, Platinum members get one hundred, VIP members get one thousand, SVIP members get ten thousand, Diamond members get one hundred thousand... Exclusive VIP members get over one million!"

"Are you crazy? What can you do with so much money?"

"Regular members are immune to the influence of the Kailo race's consciousness. Diamond members need not worry about the threat of star-destroying warships. VIP members can enjoy the owner's personal intervention once."

"??? Is this real?"

"It's been published on the internet, do you think it's true or not?"

"Regular members receive one energy drink, unlimited. In other words, just one drink is enough to get on the white list!"

"Wait, I think I get it. This isn't a membership, it's insurance."

"There's a queue at the Xingyu City branch; there are already over 300 people ahead of us!"

"The Feixing City branch is also seeing long queues!"

"The same long queue as in Cangxing City!"

"Jingxing City, Hailan City, Fenglin City, Yunjian City... they're all in the queue!"

"Are you all crazy? One vial of energy liquid! That's 30 billion Imperial Coins!"

"How much is your life worth?"

"..."

"You only have one life, but you can earn more energy liquid."

Eleven main cities, eleven branches, with long queues forming in front of the stores.

It extends from the store entrance all the way to the end of the commercial street, and then around the corner at the end of the street.

Some people even traveled from the frontier star systems back to the Empire by starship, just to register for a membership.

Some ordinary people spend all their savings to collect enough for one bottle of energy liquid and register as ordinary members.

They didn't expect the shop owner to do it himself; they just wanted that white sign—proof that they weren't Kylos.

Those with some wealth directly register for Platinum membership.

One hundred vials of energy liquid are bought in the hope of a "what if".

What if another star-destroying warship comes one day?

Platinum members, at least, will be ranked higher on the store owner's protection list.

Members of large families, on the other hand, readily offer VIP, SVIP, and Diamond memberships.

Ten thousand or a hundred thousand cigarettes are nothing to them.

As for the exclusive VIP guests, the number exceeds one million.

No one has registered yet. But everyone is guessing who will be the first.

Emperor Star City, Commercial Street.

When Wang Wei returned from Zidi Star, it was almost dark.

He walked to the front of his shop and stopped.

The queue stretched from the store entrance all the way to the end of the commercial street, with no end in sight.

Wang Wei walked through the crowd with a blank expression and entered the store.

Bai Lu was sweating profusely behind the counter, the store's virtual system already filled with a dense array of names.

"How much did you collect today?" Wang Wei asked.

Bai Lu looked up, her eyes shining: "I can't even count them all, the number of registered members has exceeded... See for yourself."

Wang Wei glanced at the numbers and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Hmm." He nodded. "The black and white lists need updating."