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

The First Empire's virtual network was completely destroyed.

That holographic image was frantically copied, forwarded, and discussed on various information platforms.

In just half a day, the number of views on the video exceeded the Empire's statistical limit, and the numbers turned into gibberish.

"Did you see that sword light? It spanned billions of kilometers across the starry sky!"

"With one strike, the beast tide was wiped out, and the star beasts on the Kailo side were dealt with."

"If our First Empire were to be struck by such a sword, who could withstand it?"

"Are you blind? The shop owner is human! He's from the Empire!"

The topic quickly gained traction, and public opinion split, clashed, and then converged at an alarming pace.

In restaurants and teahouses, in ship cabins, and in virtual council chambers with thousands of participants, the same issue is being discussed everywhere.

Then, I don't know who spoke first.

"Could you please ask the shopkeeper to help the First Empire resolve its star beast problem?"

This sentence is like a pebble thrown into a boiling oil pot.

"Yes! Please, shop owner, make a move!"

"The shop that doesn't rip off the poor is located within the Empire's borders. How can the shop owner just stand by and watch the Empire be swallowed up by star beasts?"

"Did you even pay anything before you started yelling? Their shops clearly display their prices, why don't you go place an order yourself!"

"What price did the Kailos pay to persuade the shop owner to come?"

"I don't know, but our First Empire can definitely get them to help."

Despite the arguments, a consensus gradually formed amidst the quarrels—they needed to find the shop owner.

And it has to be fast.

How long did it take for the Caesar Empire to go from being attacked to its demise?

A month? Or less?

The First Empire's territory was more than ten times larger than Caesar's, but the strength of the Star Beasts was also clearly increasing.

That night, the major families of the twelve main cities made their moves almost simultaneously.

In the Yan family's residence in Tianque City, the study was brightly lit.

The patriarch, Yan Beiwang, stared at the few seconds of footage on the holographic screen over and over twenty times, finally uttering only four words: "Buy cards online."

The butler beside him paused for a moment, then asked, "Master, what kind of card should we buy?"

"We won't rip off the VIPs of this shop, even if they're from poor people." Yan Beiwang turned around, his face grave. "Open the highest tier. No need to use the family account; use my private treasury."

The butler's lips moved as if he wanted to say that it was an astronomical sum.

But when he saw the light in the patriarch's eyes, he swallowed his words.

At the same time, similar conversations were taking place among some major families in the twelve main cities, including the Yun family of Beichen City, the Lan family of Luori City, and the Cang family of Yunjian City.

A clear fact was laid bare before everyone: that golden sword light that cleared the field with a single strike was more effective than any fleet of the Empire.

The owner of that sword light owned a shop in the city.

What does buying VIP mean? It means guaranteed security.

Even if VIP status is useless, at least they won't become the shop owner's enemy because they paid money!

The wealth accumulated by these prominent families began to flow into Wang Wei's shop.

But at this moment, deeper undercurrents are surging on Purple Emperor Star.

The capital of the First Empire, Purple Emperor Star, deep within the Imperial Palace.

A closed-door meeting had been going on for four hours.

The core members of the empire sat on either side of the long table.

The Minister of War, the Chief Steward of the Interior, three senior ministers, and several princes of the direct line of the royal family.

The Minister of Military Affairs spoke first: "You've all seen that image of the sword light. My opinion is clear: the shopkeeper, Wang Wei, is of human race, within the empire's territory, and is one of our comrades."

Across from him, the Third Prince lightly tapped the table: "Comrade-in-arms? He's been running his shop for so long, has he ever proactively contacted the Empire? All he cares about is business, all he cares about is energy liquid!"

"And... he helped the Kailo tribe fend off the beast tide!"

"The Kailos are an enemy of my First Empire."

"He's helping the Kailo clan." The Third Prince smiled. "He's shielding the Empire's enemies from disaster, yet he turns a blind eye to the Empire itself. Do you think he's reliable?"

The Minister of Military Affairs' face darkened: "Does Your Highness believe the shopkeeper will side with the foreign race?"

"I didn't say that," the Third Prince said calmly. "I just meant—a businessman who's purely in business will help you if you offer a high price today, but what if someone with more power offers an even higher price tomorrow? Can his loyalty be written into the contract?"

At the end of the long table, the person who had remained silent slowly raised his hand.

Everyone immediately fell silent.

After a long silence, a deep, steady voice rang out: "Wait and see. Watch his next move."

After a slight pause, the voice added another sentence, very softly, yet it seemed to lower the temperature in the entire council chamber by several degrees:

"The empire does not bow to individuals, no matter who they are."

No one spoke again.

As the event ended, the Minister of Military Affairs walked last, glancing back at the empty long table.

Wang Wei was unaware of the controversy on Purple Emperor Star.

I'm too lazy to know.

At this moment, he has returned to Jiangnan City.

Night falls.

The city lights in Jiangnan have been turned on again.

People have rebuilt the surface city and moved back from the underground base.

Of course, the underground base city was also completely preserved.

In case another disaster strikes someday, there's no need to dig a hole temporarily; it can be used directly.

Outside the city, hunting teams were clearing out the scattered roaming beasts in the darkness, with firelight and energy beams flickering in the distance.

Inside the city, however, there is a completely different atmosphere of everyday life.

A batch of new shop signs have been installed on both sides of the street. The neon signs sway gently in the night breeze, their colors reflected on the damp ground.

Music drifted from a distant tavern, mingling with the scattered conversations and laughter of passersby, drifting and gathering again in the night breeze.

Vendors pushed their carts along the street, hawking grilled meat skewers. The sizzling oil on the charcoal fire filled the air with a delicious aroma carried by the night breeze, making one's stomach rumble.

Several teenagers ran past the alleyway, arms around each other's shoulders, clutching the cards they had just bought.

On the roadside, the owner of a barbecue restaurant was carrying chairs back when he saw Wang Wei standing there in a daze. He called out, "Hey, bro, wanna have a drink?"

Wang Wei did not respond.

He stood there, his gaze sweeping over the windows that were lit up.

There were figures moving around inside the window; some were carrying bowls, some were comforting children, and some were shouting something into their phones.

Wang Wei withdrew his gaze and walked away into the distance.

At the street corner, a woman dressed in plain clothes sat alone at a stall, happily eating her late-night snack, with a table full of empty bowls in front of her.

Wang Wei walked over step by step.

"forward……"

Before he could even open his mouth, the woman, without looking up, gestured with her hand: "Sit down and eat."

Wang Wei was taken aback, and had no choice but to sit down opposite her.

"How did you get out of Yuxu?" Wang Wei asked in a low voice.

The woman picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, chewed it, and raised an eyebrow: "Shh, listen."

Wang Wei was taken aback.

He subconsciously broadened his attention—

The streets are normal, the vendors are normal, and the pedestrians are normal.

He then extended his reach into the surrounding residential buildings.

everything is normal.

Further away, on the third floor of a hotel, Wang Wei suddenly "saw" a room.

A man and a woman are busy on the bed.

The woman suddenly gave the man a shy shove: "You rascal, aren't you going home for the Dragon Boat Festival? Your wife will get suspicious."

"Don't worry," the man mumbled without looking up, "at home she just watches dramas, browses Taobao, and scrolls through Xiaohongshu. She doesn't even see me."

After the man finished speaking, he asked, "You got home late, aren't you worried about your husband?"

"Hmph," the woman said irritably, "when he gets home, he either plays games or reads those cheesy novels, and he ignores me completely."

"Hehe..." The man chuckled wickedly. "If they hadn't done this, neither of us would have done this."

"You're so annoying." The woman blushed and hugged him back.

Wang Wei withdrew his gaze, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and said softly, "I didn't expect that you, senior, would also be interested in things like having affairs."

The woman in plain clothes put down her chopsticks, looked up, and stared at him with a surprised expression:

"What do you mean by having an affair?"

Wang Wei: "..."