78: Chapter 78: The boss's promises, even if poisoned, must be swallowed.

This line of text was like a drop of scalding molten iron hitting an already boiling cauldron of despair, causing it to explode instantly.

Echo was still immersed in the immense grief of his companions' tragic deaths and the shock of the failed mission, but the message on that stone slate was already being transformed into the most raw, naked fear through the eyes of his only remaining subordinate—"Ghost."

Food. In this claustrophobic, high-consumption hellhole, food was life—the only source for maintaining Battle Qi. Having it halved was tantamount to a death sentence.

Ghost's breathing suddenly grew heavy. For the first time, his eyes, which had always remained hidden in the shadows, uncontrollably darted toward the Guild Leader beside him.

A complex glint, a mixture of fear, suspicion, and a beast-like will to survive, flickered in his eyes.

He did not speak, but his body had already made the most honest choice.

Instinctively, he took a half-step back, putting a subtle distance between himself and Echo—a distance that allowed for cooperation but also immediate escape.

The movement was small, almost imperceptible, yet it acted like an invisible blade, severing the last fragile bond of "companionship" between them.

Echo felt it. He didn't even need to look at Ghost's expression; he could read everything from the suddenly thick and tense atmosphere in the air.

Levi's rules, once again like an invisible hand, gripped his throat. This time, it wasn't his hope that was being choked, but the foundation of his leadership—trust.

"Ghost..." Echo's voice was hoarse and dry as he tried to rally what remained of his team. "We must..."

Before he could finish, Ghost's figure blurred like a true phantom and darted away.

He didn't attack the mutated Cave Demon Spider that had just finished its kill and was gnawing on the remains of the cage; instead, he lunged at a lone adult Cave Demon Spider in the distance, which was trembling in fear from the earlier commotion.

The cold glint of a dagger flashed and vanished, precisely slicing open the spider's abdominal sac. Ghost didn't even have time to deal with the carcass; he grabbed the clump of spider silk, still coated in warm mucus, and rushed without looking back toward the supply collection point Bolt had left behind. That was where the scoring happened.

With his actions, he gave the clearest answer: From now on, there was no "we," only "I."

Echo froze in place, his chest feeling as if it were blocked by a boulder, each breath stinging. Watching Ghost's desperate, almost pathetic retreating figure, a sense of powerlessness, deeper than the sting of betrayal, flooded over him like a tide.

He had been wrong. He had previously thought that with his prestige and ability, he could piece this broken team back together.

But he had overlooked the most fundamental point: in this system of rules established by Levi, loyalty and prestige were worthless. The only thing that could buy food was the cold, constantly ticking number of individual contribution points on the stone slate.

At the valley entrance, in the image projected by the magic crystal, Ghost's selfish yet efficient actions were clearly displayed. Levi's hand, holding a cup of black tea, was steady as a rock.

He didn't even look at the crystal, simply observing the beautiful face of Princess Ella Radiant beside him, which looked somewhat distorted by shock and confusion.

"Do you see?" Levi's voice was soft, as if stating a law of physics. "A united organization is a threat because it has a unified will and demands; it will ask for negotiations and attempt to resist. But a group that has been atomized, forced into internal competition for survival, is the most efficient tool. Everyone becomes an independent piece-rate worker. To avoid being eliminated, they will unleash productivity far exceeding that of team collaboration, even at the cost of turning on each other."

His gaze turned to Echo in the crystal image, standing alone, his figure appearing incredibly desolate.

"I don't need any Shadow Guild. I only need obedient, efficient, and easily replaceable 'Echos.' Right now, he is passively becoming exactly what I want."

Ella Radiant felt a chill run through her body. Looking at Levi's gentle and refined profile, she felt for the first time that this man was more terrifying than any abyssal demon she had ever seen.

The evil of a demon was chaotic and ostentatious, while Levi's evil was a kind of order—calm, precise, and possessing the cold texture of an industrial assembly line.

Deep in the mine, Echo finally moved. He did not chase after Ghost, nor did he blame him. He simply turned around silently, facing the mutated Cave Demon Spider that was still hissing.

In those dead-gray eyes, all emotions—sadness, anger, despair—receded like a tide, leaving behind only a pure, extreme calmness.

Since the rules could not be defied, he would become the strongest within them. Since the team was dead, he would let the name "Echo" become the only emblem on the individual contribution leaderboard.

"Hum—" A surge of Battle Qi, far more condensed and sharper than ever before, exploded from within him.

It was no longer the power he had held back while leading the team, but an all-in gamble, casting aside all worries. The black sword light, like lightning tearing through the darkness, met the elite-level monster head-on with an unstoppable determination.

This was a death match with no tactical beauty to speak of. Echo abandoned all intricate dodging and maneuvering, engaging in head-on collisions with the Cave Demon Spider in the most direct and savage way possible.

Sparks flew as the sword blade ground against the carapace; every attack left a new wound on his own body, but also embedded itself deeper into the spider's defenses.

He was using his own life to squeeze out every ounce of potential, trading it for that damned number that determined his life or death.

Finally, accompanied by a shrill, mournful cry, the massive body of the mutated Cave Demon Spider collapsed with a crash. Echo's short sword had pierced through its compound eyes, straight through its entire skull.

Leaning on his sword, he knelt half-way beside the spider's corpse, covered in blood, like a god of slaughter crawling back from hell.

Without a moment's rest, he began to skillfully carve up this priceless "trophy" with hands that trembled slightly from overexertion. The hard, dark-gold carapace, the massive poison sac, the silk glands that far surpassed those of ordinary spiders... every item represented high performance points far exceeding ordinary materials.

When he dragged the massive corpse back to the collection point, the individual contribution leaderboard on the sub-terminal slate had already refreshed.

[Individual Contribution Ranking] 1. Echo: 732.5 2. Ghost: 41.2

It was a shocking gap.

Ghost stared blankly at the number. The faint joy he had felt just moments ago from surpassing the Guild Leader was instantly shattered by the cold reality.

He finally realized that in this cruel game, so-called "internal competition" and "infighting" were just a pathetic joke in the face of an absolute gap in strength.

Echo did not look at him, simply walking silently to the supply crate, taking the largest portion of food and water, then walking to the furthest corner. With his back to him, he began to eat and tend to his wounds in silence.

Isolation had been established. He was no longer the Guild Leader, just the number-one ranked "employee."

A few days later, when the cleanup work in the hatchery neared its end, the rock-like figure of Bolt the Troglodyte reappeared deep in the mine. He brought new orders from the Lord.

"Given that the hatchery clearing mission is preliminarily complete, all 'employees' will move to the next phase—'Trial Mining Operations.'" Bolt recited the instructions in his monotonous tone.

"You will be assigned to different independent mining areas, responsible for clearing residual monsters and conducting preliminary ore extraction. Everyone's food and lodging will be settled based on the output of your respective mining areas. The higher the output, the better the treatment; zero output means zero supply."

After speaking, he distributed several crude maps to Echo and Ghost—the last remaining remnants of the Shadow Guild. On the map, each mining area was clearly separated, with no direct connecting passages between them, like individual cages.

Echo took the map, his gaze landing on the area he had been assigned—"Mining Area G-7." The annotation for this area on the map was extremely simple, with only a deep, profound arrow pointing into the ground and a line of small text: "High risk, potential high value."

He said nothing, simply putting the map away and turning to walk toward the dark tunnel leading into the unknown.

Behind him, Levi took in everything through the magic crystal. In his hand, he held a more detailed exploration map of the mine. On the blueprint, the mining areas assigned to the assassins were all circled in red ink, labeled with terms like "barren," "shallow," and "no mining value."

As for "G-7," where Echo was headed, it was the only path leading to the core of the entire vein—that region of truly astonishing Mithril-rich deposits. Of course, it was also the road of death, where monsters were the densest and most dangerous along the way.

A satisfied smile appeared on Levi's face. He needed an "advance pioneer" who was strong enough and obedient enough to clear the biggest initial obstacles for him. The current Echo was undoubtedly the best candidate.

He gently placed this "beautified" distribution map of the mining areas onto a velvet-covered table beside him.

At the valley entrance, the originally chaotic temporary camp had been cleared away, replaced by rows of neat seats, fluttering Byron Family flags, and a temporarily constructed, rather grand-looking wooden platform.

The noble representatives who had been "rescued" and had purchased insurance were now sitting under the stage, dressed in fine clothes, each wearing an expression of relief at having survived, alongside a greedy anticipation for future returns.

Levi adjusted his collar and walked slowly onto the platform. He cleared his throat, facing the dozens of "investors" from all over the kingdom sitting below, and offered a smile that was full of apology yet incredibly sincere.

"First of all, please allow me to extend my most sincere apologies to everyone here for the accident that occurred a few days ago." His voice, transmitted through a miniature amplification magic array, clearly spread throughout the venue.

"It was precisely because of that unfortunate incident that we realized just how great the risk of putting all our eggs in one basket is."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below, his tone shifting to become impassioned. "But a crisis also signifies an opportunity! Thanks to the day-and-night life-and-death efforts of our brave exploration team, we have successfully cleared a batch of absolutely safe, independent mining areas on the periphery of the mine that are ready for immediate extraction!"

He pointed to the meticulously drawn map on the table beside him, where the separated areas were outlined in gold lines, looking incredibly tempting.

"In order to further diversify risk and allow all investors to see returns faster, I have decided to auction off the primary mining rights for this first batch of 'safe mining areas' in an open, fair, and just manner to all our partners present here!"

As his voice fell, the entire venue was silent at first, then erupted into an irrepressible commotion and buzz of discussion.

They had originally thought they would have to wait a long time to see returns, never expecting to have the chance to get a piece of the pie themselves so quickly.

Although it required further investment, the words "safe," "independent," and "immediate extraction" seemed to carry magic, deeply attracting them.

Watching the greedy light flashing in the eyes of the crowd below, the corners of Levi's mouth curled up slightly. And the prologue to this grand capital game had only just begun.