Prisoner of the Life Bank

Remaining survival time: 167 days, 6 hours. Life Points: 4965 (-5000).

Rule-level ability Life Bank at your service. Your current assets are negative. Please turn losses into profits as soon as possible, or even your life will soon go bankrupt.

Expected income today: 0. Expected expenditure today: 1.

47 days remain until month-end settlement. Expected repayment for this period: 1,000 points. Please ensure your account balance remains positive.

Lu PingAn woke from a deep sleep and instinctively opened his System Panel.

".Ah, another day of waking up poor."

The moment Lu PingAn woke up, the -5000 on the panel hit him like a blow.

Other transmigrators relied on their systems to feast and drink their way to the pinnacle of life. As for him, he had gotten a death countdown right from the start.

Life Points were simple and straightforward. One point per day. Once they hit zero, he was done for.

He had even started out owing 6,000 points—roughly twenty years, with 1,000 already repaid. He had to repay 1,000 points every month. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be facing Bankruptcy Liquidation in six months at most, then he would be finished.

"Ugh, this piece of junk is supposed to be some Tier Z pollutant, a top-tier ability with an ultra-high threat rating? It's gotten my personal freedom restricted."

"What are you muttering about, PingAn? Breakfast is ready."

The shout from outside made Lu PingAn get up helplessly. Ever since he had started "living together" with that person, staying up late to play games had become history.

"I made dishes you like today."

".With your cooking, every dish tastes the same. I seriously suspect your 'price' was sacrificing your sense of smell."

"Then don't eat. I'll go feed the neighbor's cat."

"I'll eat, I'll eat."

Lu PingAn sighed helplessly, lowered his head, and focused on eating.

Xia Qin sat across from him, seemingly delighted by the improvement in her cooking.

She had a melon-seed face, slightly full red lips, long brows and eyes. Her bare face wore no makeup at all, yet she radiated vitality and presence.

Her usually neat, energetic short hair was somewhat messy, and the side-swept bangs of her bob covered her right eye.

Even with fatigue on her face, she still had a clean, refreshing air about her, along with a beautiful face that left no room for anyone to mistake her gender.

Her full lips, tempting enough to make one wonder how they tasted, combined with the mysterious tear mole beneath her left eye to give first-time viewers an inexplicable sense of stunning surprise.

To Lu PingAn, the woman before him was beautiful as a flower: black eyes, short hair, and long legs. She was exactly his type—if only she were not such a mother hen.

".What time did you get back last night?"

After taking a mouthful of rice, Lu PingAn glanced at the television. It was reporting yet another serious Pollution Incident at some shopping mall, with who knew how many dead.

"Three thirty, maybe. There was a somewhat troublesome assignment."

Xia Qin yawned. As the Vice Captain of the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs' Third Special Task Force in the Zion District of Ancient City, overtime was routine, and having her days and nights reversed was normal.

After all, supernatural pollution and crimes alike were more common at night than during the day.

Lu PingAn sighed and lightly patted Xia Qin's shoulder.

The next instant, she perked up at a visible rate. Her pale face flushed blood-red, her hair regained its luster, and she looked so energetic it was as if she had just enjoyed a full day of beauty sleep.

"Thanks! Your ability is really useful."

"Heh. Otherwise, why would I be illegally detained by you?"

"What? What did you say? I put a tremendous amount of effort into applying for your monitored residence. Without me as your guarantor, you would have—"

She trailed off before saying it, but Lu PingAn knew the word she had left unsaid was "eradicated."

In a sense, it was indeed the Vice Captain before him, a keeper of secrets, who had guaranteed his survival after that massive Pollution Incident.

Xia Qin sprang to her feet excitedly. She felt brimming with strength, like she could work overtime for another whole day without issue. Then, full of enthusiasm, she went to binge-watch dramas.

She had worked the night shift yesterday and was off today. Even though she had recovered, there was no need to go be a corporate slave.

But Lu PingAn glanced at the invisible panel again and, sure enough, saw the expected notification: "Life Points -1."

"Ugh, another day shaved off my life."

Lu PingAn's damned system was not the standard benefit package granted to transmigrators. It was a type of ability in this world, and in a sense, a curse upon himself as well.

Within Lu PingAn's Life Bank, the balance dropped by "-1" every day, while every ability he could use only had the effect of "spending money."

Life Bank Sub-Ability 1, Deferred Payment of Life: Converts the price that must be paid in life into installment payments. Current maximum: six installments over six months. Minimum: three installments over three days.

Sub-Ability 2, Life Investment: Invest in creditworthy targets. Guaranteed return rate: 10%. Maximum return rate: 20%. Current investment limit: three people. Invested targets: Xia Qin (1 point per day), Lei Huo Ren (1 point per day).

Those were the only two abilities Lu PingAn had, and each was worse than the last. The latter in particular meant letting others use his life, making him feel sick with how self-sacrificing it was.

Yet he had to use it, and use it hard, desperately shortening his own lifespan.

"Didn't they say abilities could possibly level up with enough use? I've already wasted more than thirty points. Why is there still no sign of anything happening?"

If he could not awaken a new sub-ability and increase his Life Points, Lu PingAn would definitely be finished in six months. If he struggled hard enough, perhaps there was still hope.

If that were all, though, Lu PingAn would still hesitate. After all, every point he spent meant one day less to live.

When the clock in the room reached eight, Lu PingAn took a deep breath, lay back in his chair, and prepared himself for the impact.

"System, settle yesterday's returns."

Settling returns from invested target Xia Qin. Please remain in a stable state. Calculating yesterday's investment returns.

Lu PingAn no longer had the energy to look at his panel. In an instant, far too many memories crashed into his mind. His entire body felt as though an electric current had passed through it, almost making him convulse.

"Damn, what a fierce woman."

Within those memory fragments, Captain Xia fought savagely and charged at the front. In the first half of the night, she beat up street punks. In the second half, she beat aberrant monsters. She fought from the west side of the city to the east, beating monsters and underworld thugs alike until they called her auntie.

The memories were extremely fragmented, with no beginning or end. They were mostly scenes of battle—how she beat people, how she exerted force, how she moved.

Obtained a small amount of Combat Fighting experience.
Obtained a small amount of firearms experience.
Obtained a trace amount of Forbidden Knowledge.

The panel instantly flooded with notifications. Once things settled down, Lu PingAn suddenly felt an urge to go out and beat someone up. In fact, he really had become better at beating people up.

Combat Fighting (Keeper Style): Level 2, 6/100

Firearm Technique (Pistol): Level 1, 87/100

The rising "experience points" proved it. A kid who had never fought before now knew how to use a gun and fight.

That was the return from "investment." Lu PingAn traded one day of his life for a great deal of combat experience and technique, gaining Profession Skill improvements recognized by the System Panel.

And these Profession Skills were the stepping stones to higher professional ranks, as well as what he relied on to evolve his ability.

"When my combat and shooting reach Level 10, I should be able to try becoming a Gun Fighter. Among first-rank supernatural professions, that one is fairly useful."

The next instant, another round of convulsions struck him as the "dividend" from his second investment target arrived.

Naturally, someone worthy of Lu PingAn's investment was no ordinary person.

This time, it was a supernatural Professional—a runner.

Settling yesterday's returns from invested target Lei Huo Ren.
Obtained a small amount of running experience.
Obtained a small amount of Breathing Technique skill.
Obtained a small amount of Space Perception instinct.

For no apparent reason, Lu PingAn's mind now held a great deal of experience and technique for playing Spider-Man.

But what delighted him was the final notification.

Obtained a small amount of insight into the Black Iron Grade spell "Ground Shrinking." Current progress: 58/100.

That also meant Lu PingAn was getting closer and closer to becoming a true Professional.

"Fifteen days until the college entrance exam. Looks like I need to find more 'leeks' to harvest experience from. But that also means getting closer to death and shortening my life even further."

But Lu PingAn had no complaints. After all, every day he lived now was basically a free bonus.

It all began thirteen days ago, when he had still been a Cancer Patient.

Back then, he had still been struggling just to make it to dawn.