Under the full-scale suppression from Star Ring, the once-bustling
Even the Life Players who had come to sign up at Candlelight had dwindled to a trickle—only a sparse dozen or so stood in line waiting for assessment.
Passersby on the commercial street couldn't help but shake their heads at the sight.
In contrast, a three-story trading firm not far from Candlelight was absolutely thriving. Nearly every player was rushing inside, as though a single step's delay would mean missing out on what they wanted.
"Star Ring is playing ruthless. In every NPC city across the Star Moon Kingdom where Candlelight has a branch, all standard goods and anything similar to Candlelight's offerings are being sold at half price—basically at cost.
Such a massive cash-burning strategy was something even the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion wouldn't casually attempt—the daily expenditure alone would be enough to make an ordinary superpower hemorrhage. Only Star Ring, dead-set on destroying
But undeniably, the loss-leading approach worked remarkably well. It had completely starved
Not only were Candlelight's sales plummeting and revenue shrinking, but the income of Life Players had dropped in tandem. On top of that, Star Ring's aggressive recruitment of decent-quality Life Players had lured away a significant number of Candlelight's mid-tier and advanced Life Players.
If this continued,
After all,
A stagnating
When
Star Ring's willingness to pour such staggering amounts of money into this strategy was largely rooted in that very calculation. Otherwise, they wouldn't have paid such an enormous price.
"That's exactly why we're here. Otherwise, the deal we need to discuss simply can't move forward,"
With that,
The moment the two stepped inside, the players from various factions who had been scouting Candlelight's situation couldn't help but take notice.
"Why are Tianji Pavilion's
"Didn't they say the Heavenly Secrets Commerce had already kicked Candlelight out? What are the two of them doing here?"
"Could it be that the Heavenly Secrets Commerce wants to invite Candlelight back in?"