[Brain storage area]
[Universal ten-centimeter claiming area (don't ask—it's all useful)]
"You borrowed ten thousand from Speedy Loan Treasure before?"
Across the desk, the bald man scrolled through his phone. Li Zhengyang's credit report was on the screen.
"Yeah."
"Do you own a home?"
"No."
"What about a car?"
"Bro, I'm a student. How would I have a car or a house?"
The bald man slapped his phone down on the desk, cigarette dangling from his mouth. He couldn't be bothered to look at him again. "Then what are you doing here? We're not a charity."
Li Zhengyang sat still on the stool.
This so-called "financial company" was tucked away on the third floor of an urban village.
There was one desk and two chairs in the office, with a few cases of bottled water tossed in the corner. It was just a shell company.
"Bro, take another look."
Li Zhengyang leaned forward a little. "I have a steady income. The school gives me a monthly allowance."
"What school?"
"Martial Arts Junior College."
The bald man glanced at him. "A junior college student with no house or car and ten thousand in debt already, and you're telling me you have a steady income?"
"I can pay it back."
"What are you going to pay with?"
Li Zhengyang pointed at his kidney. "This."
The bald man froze for two seconds, then laughed.
Ash fell on the desk. He didn't care and simply wiped it away with his hand.
"You're an interesting kid."
"Really, bro. I need the money urgently." Li Zhengyang sounded so sincere that the bald man gave him another look.
He was in his early twenties, skinny, and wearing a faded jacket. He looked like a broke student.
But on closer inspection, the kid was pretty handsome.
The bald man had seen plenty of people like him.
Gamblers, addicts, young people living beyond their means—every kind of person walked through that door, and not one of them was normal.
But this kid seemed different. He was too calm.
"I can only offer you my shadiest loan. Borrow ten thousand, take home seven thousand, pay back twelve thousand. If you're late, interest accrues daily at two percent. I'm telling you upfront: if you can't pay it back, don't say I didn't warn you."
"Fine."
The answer came absurdly fast.
The bald man's eyebrow twitched.
He'd been in this business for six years and had never met anyone who agreed without even asking about the terms.
Most people hesitated when they heard terms like these. Even if they were putting on an act, they'd at least pretend to be conflicted.
But this kid didn't hesitate.
"Did you understand? You borrow ten thousand, take home seven thousand, with three thousand deducted upfront. If you're late..."
"I understand." Li Zhengyang cut him off, then said something that left the bald man completely stunned. "Can I borrow more?"
"...What?"
"With interest like that, can I get a higher limit? Eighty or a hundred thousand?"
The bald man's cigarette nearly fell out of his mouth.
He stared at Li Zhengyang for several seconds, making sure the other man wasn't joking.
In six years, he'd seen all kinds of borrowers, but this was the first time anyone had asked to raise their limit and specifically chosen the shadiest loan.
"What do you need it for?"
"Cultivation."
The bald man thought he was talking nonsense, but Li Zhengyang looked far too serious.
After half a minute of silence, the bald man stubbed out his cigarette and looked him over again.
"Twenty thousand. You take home fourteen thousand and pay back twenty-four thousand." The bald man held up two fingers. "If you're late, it's two percent daily, compounded. Think carefully. This debt could bury you."
"Bro, would you raise the limit if I took some nude photos?"
"Get lost!"
"Don't be mad, bro. Twenty thousand is fine. Deal."
Signature, fingerprint, photos of both sides of his ID, and a photo of him holding it.
The entire process took less than ten minutes.
The bald man pushed over a neat stack of cash: fourteen thousand.
Watching Li Zhengyang shove the money straight into his pocket without counting it, the bald man suddenly felt he might never get it back.
Not because the kid wouldn't be able to pay.
Because he never planned to.
"I'm off, bro. I'll be in touch." Li Zhengyang stood up and brushed off his pants.
"Wait." The bald man called after him. "Don't change your phone number."
"I won't, don't worry."
As the door closed, the bald man muttered to the empty office, "Is that kid out of his mind?"
After leaving the urban village, Li Zhengyang turned into an empty alley.
He reached into his pocket and felt the stack of money, then pulled out his phone.
A translucent interface appeared on the screen.
No one else could see it. Only he could.
[Pay-to-Win Martial Arts System] [Function: One yuan equals one day of the host's cultivation progress] [Current Blood-Qi Value: 108]
This thing had appeared three days ago.
He hadn't transmigrated or been reborn, and there wasn't some old man living inside a ring.
One morning, he woke up with something in his head, like his phone had automatically updated with an app. It was simple and crude to an absurd degree.
Spend money, gain Blood Qi.
Once his Blood-Qi Value reached a certain level, he would break through automatically.
How did it work? No idea. Where did it come from? No clue. Was it safe? Who cared?
He was just a broke student. Why worry about all that? As long as it felt good, that was enough.
He'd put the ten thousand he'd borrowed before into the system and gained 100 Blood-Qi Value, bringing his total to 108. He'd crossed the threshold from Martial Disciple to Rank-One Martial Artist.
What did being a Rank-One Martial Artist mean? He'd trained at Martial Arts Junior College for two years, but his Blood-Qi Value had been stuck at 8. No matter how much he trained, it wouldn't rise. His teacher said his aptitude was average and suggested he become a masseur after graduation, since Martial Disciples had strong hands and were suited to that kind of work.
But now, ten thousand yuan had solved a problem he'd been struggling with for two years.
So he'd gone to borrow money from another lender.
Li Zhengyang pulled the fourteen thousand out of his pocket and, without a moment's hesitation, tapped recharge on the system interface.
A flash of white light appeared. The money vanished.
[Recharge successful!] [Recharge amount: 14000] [Blood-Qi Value gained: +140] [Current Blood-Qi Value: 248] [Current realm: Rank-Two Martial Artist]
A surge of heat burst from his Dantian. His organs warmed along with it, his muscles swelled, and his bones cracked. It hurt, but it was the kind of pain that could get addictive.
Li Zhengyang leaned against the wall and waited for the rush to pass.
Rank Two.
The strongest student at the whole junior college was a Fourth-Rank Martial Artist. He'd trained for three years and was considered exceptionally talented at a junior college. He'd beaten everyone his age and already had a guaranteed spot in the college-to-university transfer program.
With twenty-four thousand yuan in debt, Li Zhengyang had already caught up to half his cultivation.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
He clenched and unclenched them.
The strength in his hands felt completely different from what it had three days ago.
Worth it. So damn worth it.
Leaning against the wall, Li Zhengyang started doing the math.
He'd borrowed ten thousand before and gained 100 Blood-Qi Value. Today, he'd borrowed twenty thousand, taken home fourteen thousand, and gained another 140.
He'd taken home twenty-two thousand in total, and his Blood-Qi Value was now 248.
What about his debt? He owed ten thousand on the first loan and twenty-four thousand on the second, for a total of thirty-four thousand.
Was it a bad deal?
By normal standards, it was a terrible one.
But by Li Zhengyang's standards...
"I borrowed it fair and square. Why should I pay it back?"
He said it out loud without feeling guilty.
It wasn't that he was born shameless. The system had given him one very clear understanding: by the time the debt collectors came looking for him, his Blood-Qi Value would only be higher, never lower.
Loan sharks beat people up?
Then they'd see whose fists were stronger!
Were there Martial Warriors on the debt collection teams?
Sure, but the best they could manage was probably Fifth Rank. He could just keep recharging.
The question wasn't whether he should pay the money back.
The question was where to get the next loan.
It was a shame he had no parents, no car, and no house. Even borrowing money was hard.
Li Zhengyang put away his phone and rolled his shoulders and neck. His joints cracked in a rapid series.
His whole bearing was completely different from what it had been ten minutes ago.
Just then, his phone rang.
The number was saved as "School."
He answered, and an unfriendly middle-aged man's voice came from the other end.
"Li Zhengyang?"
"Speaking."
"This is Director Wang from the Academic Affairs Office. Where are you right now? Come to my office."
"What is it, Director Wang?"
"Come first. We'll talk then."
The call ended.
Li Zhengyang stared at his phone, a little bewildered.
What could the Academic Affairs Office want with him? Was it about skipping class? He hadn't been going much lately, busy studying the system and finding money.
But Martial Arts Junior College wasn't very strict about attendance. You just had to pass the assessments.
Had the practical assessment at the end of the month been moved up?
Whatever it was, he might as well go over now.
Before you continue