Chapter 118: Huabei Overdraft

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Not long after parting ways with Jiang Cheng, Tianming discovered that the spirit of the system—the little coffee-colored spirit cat—had appeared before him once again. It floated in midair, moving along with his footsteps. Just as he was about to ask, a puzzled look on his face, the little spirit began to meow.

“Meow~~”

“Master, congratulations. You have obtained a total of five hundred and eighty prestige points this time. You have surpassed the thousand-point milestone and have one thousand two hundred prestige points remaining. Would you like to enter the Myriad Realms Marketplace?”

What the heck—so many?

Tianming had originally thought it impossible for him to gain any prestige points this time, but he had never expected not only to receive some, but to receive so many. After all, it had been Sister Xue and the others—not him—who had ultimately rescued the person trapped inside the cage.

“No need. Xiaoling, just tell me directly, or give me a recommendation. That will save me the trouble of searching,” Tianming replied inwardly after pondering for a moment.

After weighing the matter, Tianming decided to leave the choice to Xiaoling. As the spirit of the system, it was thoroughly familiar with the items inside and was far more capable than a novice like him. Besides, he was on the road and could not afford to be distracted.

Tianming had also discovered that Cloud-Mist Ravine was actually some distance from Blackwater Town. But it made sense. With the town so densely populated, how could they possibly have set the entrance and exit there? They would have been discovered long ago.

“I recommend that Master activate the Huabei Prestige Points branch. With your current prestige, it would be difficult to purchase anything truly beneficial,” Xiaoling replied, licking its paw.

“The Huabei Prestige Points branch? What kind of function is that? …Wait, don’t tell me it’s a branch specifically designed for borrowing prestige points and putting off repayment for a while…”

Upon hearing the name, Tianming could not help voicing his surprise. Then, as if he had thought of something, he wore an incredulous expression. He had never expected a function developed by that particular person to be adopted by the Universal Dora System from the ultra-future era.

“Correct. Master is very clever to have guessed it so quickly.” Xiaoling floated around in a circle and praised him with newfound respect.

“…”

That answer left Tianming staring wide-eyed and speechless. He had never expected his guess to be right. He simply did not know what would happen if he failed to repay the debt, or when repayment was due. If the arrangement was too exploitative, he would simply ignore it and keep his prestige points for now.

“Master, you may rest assured! The Huabei Prestige Points branch allows you to overdraw ten thousand prestige points at once, and you do not need to repay the entire amount immediately. You only need to repay two thousand each month.” Seeing the worry written across Tianming’s face, Xiaoling seemed to sense his concern and offered another explanation.

A benefit?

Tianming’s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. He only needed to repay two thousand prestige points each month?

After all, he had obtained one thousand two hundred points in less than a single day. This news had come at exactly the right time, and the heavy weight in Tianming’s heart finally eased somewhat. But another question soon arose. No matter what, he still had to be cautious.

“Ten thousand isn’t much, and it happens to be an amount I can repay right now. I can even pay it in installments. But Xiaoling, you seem to have left out one detail. What happens if I can’t repay it?”

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Compared with everything Xiaoling had said before, this was the question Tianming cared about most.

“If you cannot repay it, Master will be forcibly exiled to Purple Ore Star to perform hard labor. You will earn prestige points in exchange for a certain amount of work completed there, and there will be no time limit. However, if you refuse to perform the labor, you will remain on that planet indefinitely,” Xiaoling continued.

“What? Hard labor?”

After remaining dazed for a moment, Tianming’s thoughts churned like storm-tossed waves. He immediately turned toward Xiaoling with an indescribably strange expression.

…

“Brother Chu, what’s wrong? Are you troubled by something?”

Kuang Zhen was a man of few words. He had noticed Tianming’s constantly shifting expressions along the way, but had not asked him about them until they reached a towering building. Only then did he finally speak.

“Ah! Oh, it’s nothing, nothing.”

Tianming had still been reeling from the consequences of being unable to repay the debt when he suddenly remembered that someone else was beside him. He was startled, and although his reaction was not especially exaggerated, his words became somewhat incoherent.

“Uh…”

Kuang Zhen stared at him speechlessly, wanting to say something but ultimately holding back.

He had been wondering why Chu Yun had not spoken a word throughout the journey. As it turned out, he had been lost in thought about something else. Although Kuang Zhen still found it somewhat hard to believe, he had no choice but to accept it. If Tianming did not wish to speak, there was nothing he could do to force him.

Besides, Kuang Zhen himself disliked meddling in other people’s affairs. A little peace and quiet was perfectly fine.

“Hahaha… We’re here, are we? I was just thinking about something. By the way, Brother Kuang, if there’s anything you’d like later, please feel free to order it. The Chu family may not have much else, but we certainly have money. We shouldn’t waste the opportunity, right? Shall we go?”

Seeing an inn ahead, Tianming gave the strangely expressive Kuang Zhen an awkward but polite smile. He then gestured invitingly and waved him inside.

“Brother Chu, you’re too kind.”

Understanding what Tianming meant, Kuang Zhen did not refuse. After glancing at the four large characters on the signboard overhead—Cloud Black Inn—he nodded slightly and entered first.

“Xiaoling, let me overdraw ten thousand prestige points. Keep them for now; I’ll use them to make a purchase later.”

After hesitating briefly, Tianming spoke inwardly before following Kuang Zhen into the Blackwater Inn without further delay.

“Understood!”

The moment the words left his mind, Xiaoling transformed into a streak of golden light and vanished into thin air.

…

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The instant Tianming stepped into the Cloud Black Inn, a tranquil and peaceful feeling welled up in his heart. There were not many people inside at the moment. Only a few tables were occupied by oddly dressed individuals drinking together. Their auras were all exceptionally steady and impossible to discern.

“Could it really be them?”

Unlike Tianming, who remained completely unconcerned, Kuang Zhen had been blending into Blackwater Town for some time and naturally recognized certain people. He immediately cast a particularly astonished glance at the four individuals seated beside the wall.

They seemed to notice his gaze. The four men set down their cups and rose to their feet, displeasure flashing in their eyes as they looked toward the two newcomers. At the same time, they wore puzzled expressions, as though wondering who the pair were—and how they could remain so calm and composed.

One was a middle-aged man wrapped in a black robe, his face impossible to see. The other was a young man whose age and experience were difficult to determine.

“Are they unfamiliar faces?”

“Hmph! Under normal circumstances, perhaps. But this meeting must not be exposed. I’ll go see who they are.”

“How strange. Judging by their appearance, could they really not know the people here?”

…

After a brief moment of confusion, a fierce, murderous aura suddenly emerged from the eyes of the four men. In an instant, the surrounding air seemed to freeze. They looked eager to make a move, and the temperature around them rose rapidly.

“Sit down. No trouble.”

A sinister voice suddenly came from somewhere, yet it was so faint that it sounded almost like the vibration of an insect’s wings.

Upon hearing it, the four men instantly deflated like punctured balloons. The surging heat in their eyes was extinguished at once. After glaring fiercely at Tianming and Kuang Zhen, who stood behind them as though nothing had happened, they had no choice but to withdraw their gazes and sit back down to continue drinking.

Phew…

Kuang Zhen, who had been paying close attention all along, was sweating profusely. Only after passing by the four men did he sit down and draw a deep breath.

“Waiter, come here! Bring us your finest wine and most delicious dishes. This young master has plenty of money!”

Although Tianming was somewhat surprised by the strange atmosphere in the inn, he paid it no mind. After all, counting himself, there were now two experts at the Void Nether Realm keeping watch.

There was no need to be so overly cautious.