"Look at the dean's expression. Every time he shows that constipated face, he's about to set a trap for someone."

"That old sly fox of a dean won't rest until he's extracted every last penny of value out of someone."

"He probably won't stop until he turns that thing on everyone's head green. I'd love to see what other nonsense he can come up with."

Feeling that Zhang Menglong was about to start tricking people, the three of them were even more excited than Zhang Menglong himself.

"Got it!" Zhang Menglong slapped his thigh, "Folks, how about adding a protective fee value-added tax?"

"Protective fee value-added tax?" The treasure hunters looked at each other, confused. They knew about "protection fees" and "taxes", but putting the two together was a blind spot for their knowledge.

"Let me explain this protective fee value-added tax to you," Zhang Menglong said earnestly, "Let's say you're a Level Four life form. In this treasure vault, won't you find it hard to take even a step or find any treasure? You might even encounter others, and your Fire of Fate could be taken away."

"But if you're a strong Level Five peak life form, someone else's Fire of Fate is just a treasure in your pocket. You can even roam around the beasts' territory, crazily grabbing their Fire of Fate and treasures. Am I right?"

Everyone nodded. These two sentences made perfect sense. Two treasure hunters with a significant disparity in strength will definitely have vastly different opportunities in the treasure vault.

A weak treasure hunter might not get anything and get eliminated directly, whereas, for a strong treasure hunter, this place is practically Heaven.

"However, in this situation, whether you're a low-level or high-level life form, you end up the same," Zhang Menglong pointed at the beasts outside the city, "As soon as you step out, you'll be reduced to nothing but bones."

"Although the cost I incur to protect you is the same, does the significance of gaining the qualification to continue treasure hunting in this vault mean the same to you?"

"Does it mean the same?" Everyone asked themselves.

Of course not. To put it bluntly, although philosophers in the universe advocate that life has no intrinsic value difference and everyone is equal, the stronger a person is, the higher their life value!

A slightly weaker Level Five peak life form might upgrade their Fire of Fate to orange after staying a while in the vault, getting a lot of good stuff, but a slightly stronger Level Five peak life form might upgrade it to red, or if lucky, seize an opportunity to break through to a Level Six life form!

Are their values here the same? Of course not!

"So, in fact, your life's value is different," Zhang Menglong pointed to the Flames of Fate above their heads, "Look at them. They're just a bunch of chickens, so their lives are only worth 40 billion Cosmic Coins. But you're different. You're stronger, and the opportunities here are different. Collecting only 40 billion Cosmic Coins, I think, is an insult to you!"

"Damn, my logic just shattered!"

"Wow, the dean's mouth is invincible. He can talk his way around anything. I actually feel the urge to pay up; it's a wonder he's not doing MLM."

"If you want to charge more, just say so. Why beat around the bush? We're all adults here, speak straightforwardly."

This group of treasure hunters glanced at each other. Honestly, they thought what Zhang Menglong was saying made a lot of sense. They indeed believed their lives were worth more than others, and that's the reality: they all entered the vault at the same time, but their harvest significantly exceeded others'.

Being acknowledged made them naturally happy, but paying more wasn't what they wanted. Such recognition was entirely unnecessary!

"Think about it, as long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood," Zhang Menglong continued to brainwash them earnestly, "The treasure hunt has just begun. There's a long way to go. As long as you keep your life, what's there that you can't get?"

"And as I've just said, I have obsessive-compulsive disorder. You see, everyone else's head is glowing green, but yours is still yellow. How out of place do you look? We're all family here. Since we're family, we should be neat and tidy, right?"

"But..."

"Look, my obsessive-compulsive disorder is pretty severe. If I can't resolve it, I might lose my temper, or even go crazy. When I lose my mind, I hit even myself, I'm afraid..."

The ten Black Warriors seemed to get what Zhang Menglong meant, aggressively stepping forward by two steps.

"What are you doing? I'm an honest merchant. You're making me look like a robber!"

"What's the deal with this double act? Without your command, would those Black Warriors move forward?" They cursed Zhang Menglong's shamelessness in their hearts again.

"We'll pay the tax!" They had already picked up on Zhang Menglong's hint.

Damn it, after all that runaround, it was just about paying up, wasn't it? What else could they do? If they didn't want to be directly eliminated, they'd have to obediently accept the exploitation of capitalism, right?

"I'm not asking for much, just another 20 billion Cosmic Coins!"

Hundreds of treasure hunters, after paying this protective fee value-added tax, suddenly had green glows on their heads, but most of them were still yellow, proving that their few days had brought some modest gains, at least they gained not less than what Zhang Menglong collected in taxes.

"Oh, you're still yellow? Better top up another 20 billion!"

"What?" The remaining people were unwilling, "Mr. Zhang, we've already paid the tax!"

"Do you not know about the Level Seven ladder taxation?" Zhang Menglong said, "In our Ritian Sect, there's a huge gap in income levels among different classes. If a society wants to achieve common prosperity, it must reduce high-income earners, help high-income earners, let the high-income pay more taxes, and let the low-income pay less taxes. I see great potential in you, you certainly need to go by the high standards."

"Let me give another example. In our place, those with incomes below 5,000 are not taxed, but if you exceed 5,000, there's a Level Seven ladder tax standard ranging from 3% to 45%."

Zhang Menglong pointed at the first batch of people, "They're too weak; not even qualifying for the protective fee value-added tax threshold. Earlier ones barely reached the tax standard, as for you, you're definitely elite class. Congratulations on reaching the high-level tax ladder!"

This move from Zhang Menglong left those three students from the Super God Academy completely dumbfounded.

"Damn, the dean actually mastered the tax system so thoroughly. Was he an economics major in college?"

"I heard the dean studied polymer materials, probably learned this stuff just to fool people."

"And he congratulates them! Why does it sound like paying more is such an honorable thing?"

"If you had to choose, would you prefer to earn five thousand a month and pay no tax or earn a billion a month and pay 45% tax?"

"I'd choose to drop dead!"

...

"Congratulations on reaching the second ladder standard, how about another 10 billion then!"

"Wow, you're still yellow? Now it's the third ladder protective fee value-added tax standard, pay another 10 billion!"

"Brother, you're impressive; among these people, I'm willing to call you the strongest. Why not pay another 20 billion? You'll be this year's tax pioneer, and I'll have someone make you a banner later!"

From these thousands of people, Zhang Menglong once again extracted protective fee value-added taxes ranging from 40 billion Cosmic Coins to 130 billion Cosmic Coins.

After collecting this money, apart from Zhang Menglong and those three students from the Super God Academy, everyone's heads turned a complete luscious green.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Menglong finally nodded with satisfaction, "Thanks to all the exemplary taxpayers for your cooperation, let's give them a round of applause!"

"What are you standing there for? Clap!"