"The Grim Reaper that maintains peace?" one of the men chuckled softly. "That organization certainly has an interesting name."

"Given humanity's current oppression under the monster horde, I believe our primary military focus should remain on exterminating the monsters," stated another man, his face sharply chiseled, with eyebrows like drawn blades, exuding a clear military bearing. "Otherwise, we risk becoming an anti-human faction ourselves."

"That's not necessarily true."

"Without strength, how can we fight the monsters? We should first consolidate the guilds within the base city, and only then concentrate our forces against the beasts."

"Hmph."

A palpable tension filled the conference hall, each man firmly rooted in his own opinion, convinced the others were utterly misguided.

"Enough," Long Zhixiang said, tapping his fingers on the armrest of his seat, his gaze deep. "This blood feud cannot go unavenged. Regardless of other concerns, we must strengthen ourselves and consolidate more resources and talent in our hands. Only then can we hold our ground in this torrent of rampant monsters; otherwise, only destruction awaits." His voice was detached yet carried a subtle weight of authority.

If the base city represented a major nation, the guilds were its corporate conglomerates. Their differing statuses dictated fundamentally different approaches and perspectives. Ye Chen stood like a colossal mountain against the tempest, unmoved by wind or rain, thus contemplating the future of humanity. Long Zhixiang, conversely, was like a small skiff in a storm, focused only on shoring up the hull to weather the immediate crisis and reach the far shore.

"The Death God organization?" A cold light flickered in Long Zhixiang's eyes. "If they truly possessed such power, capable of treating the leaders of major guilds, even the base city itself, like sheep, why bother allowing us to hold command? Wouldn't it be much simpler to cultivate their own subordinates and replace us outright?"

Little did he know that in Ye Chen’s eyes, he had already become one of Ye Chen's subordinates, ready to be eliminated the moment he stepped out of line.

...

A night passed, the rain ceased, and the sky cleared, allowing crystalline droplets to fall from the tips of the branches.

Ye Chen bid farewell to Bai Long and the others, setting out alone to locate a suitable site for establishing the base city. Meanwhile, Bai Long and his group covertly assisted Xu Tianguo and his associate in managing the guild.

Following Ye Chen's instructions, Xu Tianguo drastically increased welfare and various incentive programs, offering reward policies twice as generous as other guilds. This immediately caused an uproar. Many individuals from the lower tiers, seeing their benefits skyrocket, almost doubted their own senses, becoming wildly excited—some even weeping tears of joy.

Subsequently, Xu Tianguo tightened recruitment standards and stratified all members into two main tiers: the Black Armor Camp and the Blood God Hall. Beyond these, a third tier, the Superhuman Hall, was established. Anyone who successfully integrated a gene could join, assigned ranks according to a strict hierarchy. Within the Superhuman Hall, numerous specialized detachments were created: Melee Detachment, Ranged Detachment, Detection Detachment, and Support Detachment.

Within each detachment, Superhuman Barracks were founded, such as the Ant Battalion, the Cockroach Battalion, and others. Currently, superhumans were uncommon, but in the future, everyone would be one; in other words, failing to become superhuman meant one wouldn't survive to see that future.

The benefits offered by the Superhuman Hall were incredibly high, startling even major guilds like Long Teng and Huihuang. Leaders from various guilds, and even generals within the Huaxia Base City, began to feel restless, contemplating defecting.

Furthermore, from these three main halls, a selection of elite talent—those possessing sharp insight and formidable strength—were chosen to serve as Deacons within the Guild Deacon Council. Above the Deacons existed the Elder Council, but the requirements for entry were so excruciatingly demanding they bordered on the absurd. However, the accompanying benefits were so immense that countless people desperately vied for a place, though few possessed the requisite strength.

To become an Elder, one simply needed sufficient combat prowess; prior experience in commanding troops or large-scale battles was irrelevant. The minimum physical requirement for joining was Level 60—and this was only the current stipulation; as time progressed, this threshold would inevitably rise.

Implementing Ye Chen’s plan, Xu Tianguo decreed that everyone joining the Deacon or Elder Councils must ingest a poison. This was not the mere boiled water Ye Chen had used to bluff Xu Tianguo earlier, but a genuine toxin, meticulously developed and refined by Mo Feng, potent enough to give even Bai Long the chills.

The name of this poison was the "Divine Dragon Pill."

The poisoning system was implemented to prevent subordinates from relying on their superhuman status to stage insubordination. Although such a measure naturally caused resentment among many, the Brightness Guild was not the first to adopt it; many other guilds had already employed similar tactics. Thus, most people with insider knowledge did not react with surprise, viewing it instead as a necessary evil.

Even though the poison system was standard, only Bai Long and his inner circle knew that, among all guilds, the Brightness Guild’s poison was likely the most lethal, given its origin from Mo Feng's hands.

The poisoning policy primarily served as a test of commitment. As long as one remained loyal, an antidote would be provided whenever the poison manifested its effects. Taking it on schedule ensured survival.

The guild operated on a tiered management structure: Ye Chen commanded the senior echelon, including Xu Tianguo; they, in turn, controlled the Elder and Deacon Councils; and those councils utilized their own methods to constrain the general populace, ensuring the superhuman fighters obeyed orders.

In the harsh environment of the apocalypse, using poison to restrain subordinates was a common and widespread tactic. Everyone who joined the Brightness Guild had to be prepared to swallow the "Divine Dragon Pill."

Thanks to the exorbitant reward policies, many who hadn't yet affiliated with other guilds flocked to them. After all, since taking poison was mandatory everywhere, they might as well do it where the compensation was superior.

In the apocalypse, many were alone, lacking wives or children, making management exceedingly difficult; these coercive methods were often born of necessity. Over time, as this policy became universal across all guilds, the general population accepted it.

Besides recruiting combat specialists, Xu Tianguo, adhering to Ye Chen's directives, also sought out numerous talents in construction, information technology, and other specialized fields, establishing branch offices. Once Ye Chen selected the site for the base city, construction could commence immediately.

This mass recruitment drive ignited a fervor across the base city, with countless people scrambling to enlist, fearing spots would fill up. However, given the stringent recruitment criteria, the majority were regretfully turned away.

The high-level staff of every major guild convened emergency meetings.

In the Long Teng Guild Hall.

"Boss, what do we do?" a handsome young man asked, looking distressed. "That Brightness Guild suddenly went mad, boosting its welfare policies above ours. Many of our members are demanding to quit."

"First, placate them," Long Zhixiang stated coldly. "Under the effect of the poison, they won't dare cause major trouble. Ignore them for now."

The sharp-featured military man beside him observed calmly, "The Brightness Guild must have stumbled upon some treasure, otherwise they wouldn't be making such a drastic move."

"Hmph. They're just a nouveau riche upstart."

"Give it a couple of days. When their finances dry up, let's see how they survive."

The subordinates chuckled cynically.

Elsewhere, in the Huihuang Guild Hall.

"Investigate the background of this Brightness Guild," commanded the Huihuang Guild Master, a broad-shouldered man with dark skin and fierce, tiger-like eyes—a commanding figure whose rough appearance belied meticulous attention to detail. "Judging by the sudden surge, perhaps that old bastard Murong De is secretly funding the Brightness Guild..."

"Hmph. They were nothing more than an ant-sized guild before, yet they dare compete with us?"

"It's not worth dwelling on; pride precedes a fall. Ignore them. With such wide-scale recruitment, they will naturally collapse in a few days when their funding stream dries up."

At the base city headquarters.

Murong De, his expression stern, addressed the commanders and department heads gathered below him. "I hear the president of this Brightness Guild is a man named Xu Tianguo?"

"That is correct."

Hua Buxian pondered aloud. "This man was unknown before. During the opening of the Atlantis Civilization, he aggressively purchased monster carcasses, leading to a current shortage of materials we need for forging weapons. We attempted to purchase from him recently but were refused."

"It’s too strange," Tang Zhu frowned beside him. "How did he know there were weapon forging factories in Atlantis, and that the required material was specifically monster corpses?"

"We need to dispatch some people to keep an eye on them."

The Brightness Guild was officially registered under Xu Tianguo's name. Therefore, information checks through the data department only yielded his records. Even when Ye Chen previously rented housing for Xu Tianguo and the others, he used Xu Tianguo’s name. Although the officials processing the paperwork knew Ye Chen was paying the money, they relied solely on backend data verification and were unaware of the detailed circumstances.

At the Brightness Guild, only Xu Tianguo, his associate, the Cui brothers, and the few individuals present at the previous meeting had actually seen Ye Chen. All of these key personnel had ingested the 'Divine Dragon Pill'; their life and honor were inextricably linked to the guild. Should the guild collapse and Xu Tianguo perish, the antidote would become something they had to discover on their own—and they would likely succumb to the poison before finding any solution. Consequently, under Xu Tianguo's strict orders, none of them dared to reveal anything.

As a massive influx of talent arrived, the guild’s compensation system was rolled out. Xu Tianguo rented numerous commercial properties and storefronts within the Atlantis City sector to establish retail outlets. Every night, he and Huang Tianci worked tirelessly, secretly meeting Ai'erwei to transport weapons and leather armor manufactured in the factory, stocking the shops for sale the following day.

The sudden flood of powerful weapons and armor caused another sensation in the trading market, plunging the entire base city into an uproar. The weapons and armor sold in the shops operating under the Brightness Guild banner were cheaper than those of other guilds; they were waging a price war, rapidly attracting customers.

The market strategy departments of other guilds hastily reduced their own selling prices, initiating a commercial battle. The biggest beneficiaries were the customers, who hoped the guilds would bleed each other dry, driving prices ever lower for their own gain.

Amidst this intense competition, on the ruins of a dilapidated building outside the base city, Ye Chen gazed up at the blue sky, letting the wind whip across his arms. He then opened his Rune Space and summoned Xiao Hei.