As the first piece of paid content, the pricing for the Blacklight Chapter in the Tidal Secret Realm was far from conservative.
To play through it completely and clear it in one run would consume nearly a thousand contribution points.
After Adventurers clear the main storyline and activate free exploration mode, each entry still requires a fee. This is an even bigger bottomless pit and can recover a large number of contribution points for the territory.
After all, in Miracle City, a normal zombie soul essence is worth only 10 contribution points.
A high-quality first-tier five-star soul essence like the Tank Zombie would not exceed 200 points.
This means that if Adventurers want to fully experience the Blacklight Chapter, they must hand over nearly a hundred normal zombies, or five Tank Zombies, or at least one second-tier soul essence.
And Adventurers have many daily expenses.
For example, activating guild services, staying in inns, and entering the city all require spending contribution points.
Other core services, such as Divine Stone teleportation and soul-essence contracts, also require contribution points.
In addition to basic and core services, Victor Kane was actively developing value-added services, such as selling characters and firearms in arena mode. These would become long-term and stable sources of income.
For Adventurers, earning a thousand contribution points was not easy.
Saving that amount was even harder.
Yet despite the high price of the Blacklight Chapter, Adventurers still welcomed it enthusiastically, because the experience and quality of this special secret realm were worth the price.
Outside Miracle City, no other known Underground City could offer anything similar.
Victor Kane nodded slightly.
"Not bad. This operational strategy can continue in the future."
He planned to make grinding gameplay, story secret realms, ultra-high-difficulty secret realms, and online service-type secret realms the foundation of Miracle City.
These systems would allow players to either grind large amounts of resources or continuously harvest the energy generated by Adventurers.
Worlds like the Blacklight Chapter—where the protagonist's abilities were extremely powerful and the difficulty relatively low—would be turned into paid content.
Why not make the Blacklight Chapter free and let Adventurers experience the thrill of playing an overwhelmingly powerful protagonist?
Victor Kane believed that things obtained too easily would never be cherished.
Only those who contributed to Miracle City should enjoy low-difficulty, high-satisfaction secret realms.
And if Adventurers played as Alex for too long, becoming addicted to overwhelming power and doing whatever they wanted, would they still be able to calmly experience slower-paced secret realms like Red Dead Redemption, GTA, or Zelda in the future?
Most Adventurers had the heart of a child and easily felt joy.
But some people would inevitably raise their expectations and begin to prefer only easy and satisfying secret realms, losing patience with slower and more difficult worlds.
Different players liked different styles.
But sometimes the Lord had to manage expectations.
This would help maintain the long-term stability and prosperity of the Underground City.
From the perspective of territorial income, higher power systems did not necessarily mean better secret realms.
Even if worlds like Star Wars, Warhammer 40K, or even Journey to the West could be created, they would not produce much profit at this stage.
The reason was simple.
Adventurers' ranks were still too low.
They could not obtain loot beyond their own level.
Victor Kane launched the Blacklight Chapter precisely to control the secret realm's rhythm through a charging mechanism, strengthening the territory's economic vitality and ensuring the smooth operation of Miracle City.
---
Meanwhile, inside the secret realm.
The Adventurers continued their actions.
Brock Hammer arrived at Apartment 15A on Gitte Street. Standing on the rooftop of a tall building, he observed the situation below.
Black Watch troops surrounded the apartment building. A dozen heavily armed soldiers guarded the entrances and exits.
"Brothers, this doesn't look good," Brock Hammer said to the Adventurers outside.
"It seems my sister Dina has been captured. These guys are waiting for me to walk straight into their trap."
Peter King said, "What are you afraid of? Just break in through the window and kill them!"
Victor Cole added, "Yeah. With Alex's strength, are you really afraid of these weaklings?"
Brandon Stone frowned.
"That's not good. Alex is strong, but Dina is just a normal person. If something goes wrong and she dies, the main storyline will fail."
Ethan Hart nodded.
"It's better to use a safer method."
Lucas Snow said, "The Black Watch probably doesn't understand Alex's abilities yet. You could disguise yourself as a Black Watch officer and sneak in."
"That makes sense!"
Brock Hammer immediately transformed.
He walked confidently toward the apartment building.
"Captain Perry!"
Several soldiers saluted immediately.
When Brock Hammer transformed into Captain Perry, not only were the appearance and clothes identical, but even the fingerprints and irises matched perfectly.
"Any unusual situations?" Brock Hammer asked.
"Reporting, sir. Everything is normal."
"Stay vigilant. The target is cunning. Don't give him any opportunity."
"Yes, sir!"
"Take me upstairs," Brock Hammer ordered.
"I found new evidence and need to interrogate Dina Moeser personally."
The soldiers suspected nothing.
One of them escorted Brock Hammer to the fifteenth floor by elevator.
Two armed soldiers were guarding Dina.
Before they could salute, Brock Hammer snapped the escort soldier's neck.
In a flash, he punched through another soldier's chest, grabbed the third by the throat, slammed him to the ground, and crushed him underfoot.
Everything happened too fast.
Dina screamed in terror.
"Dina, it's me. Don't be afraid."
Brock Hammer returned to his original appearance.
Dina stared in shock.
"Alex? Impossible! You were dead!"
"I don't know what happened," Brock Hammer said.
"I woke up in the morgue with strange abilities, but I've lost most of my memories. I need your help."
After a short conversation, Dina finally believed him.
No wonder the Black Watch soldiers had surrounded the building.
"This isn't safe," Dina said. "We should go somewhere else."
"Any suggestions?"
"I have a secret studio in central Manhattan."
"Leave it to me."
Brock Hammer jumped directly from the fifteenth floor.
He landed like a meteor, instantly killing a soldier and knocking several others aside.
Before the remaining soldiers could react, he attacked.
Every punch struck with the force of a speeding car.
Within seconds, several soldiers were sent flying.
The remaining troops opened fire.
But it was useless.
The strength gap was enormous.
Brock Hammer defeated them all and absorbed their bodies.
Immediately, he felt his strength increase.
"Alex is incredible," he said excitedly.
"He can fight endlessly and absorb all organic life. Humans, zombies—everything becomes his fuel."
"And the more he absorbs… the stronger he becomes."
The Adventurers watching the stream were amazed.
Soon after, Brock Hammer escorted Dina to her studio in Manhattan.
Inside the small hidden room, they began discussing Alex's past.
Dina revealed that Alex had worked as a researcher for the Blacklight Project.
Five years had passed since they last met.
A few days earlier, Alex had sent her documents exposing secrets about the Blacklight Organization.
But before she could investigate them, something happened to him.
Dina then opened a laptop.
"This is the computer you sent me two days ago."
Brock Hammer shook his head.
"I can't remember."
After unlocking an encrypted file, Dina displayed a photo of a woman.
"Who is she?" Brock Hammer asked.
"Elizabeth Greene," Dina said.
"According to the file, she's being held on the fifty-first floor of the Gentek Building."
The Adventurers immediately grew excited.
Lucas Snow said, "If Alex sent this laptop before the accident, then the clues inside must be extremely important."
William Sleep nodded.
"This woman is probably the key to everything."
Just then—
[Ding! You have triggered a main quest: Investigate Elizabeth Greene!]
Brock Hammer felt a surge of excitement.
Finally, he had a clear objective.
But another message appeared.
[You have completed the prologue of the Blacklight Chapter.]
[Please unlock additional chapters to continue the main storyline.]
The prologue had ended.
Brock Hammer could either leave the secret realm or continue exploring until the time limit expired.
Of course, he chose to continue exploring.
Even without the main storyline, he could still complete side quests and hunt Black Watch soldiers to increase his final evaluation score.
---
Nearby, the other Adventurers continued discussing the mystery.
Lily Rain asked,
"The zombie disaster hasn't started yet, but it's already showing signs. What caused it?"
Cathy Meow replied,
"It's strange. Such a huge city collapsed so quickly."
Sam Goose said,
"Maybe we'll witness the entire apocalypse through the story."
The Adventurers were filled with curiosity about Alex's past and the unfolding mystery of the Blacklight Chapter.
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