Chapter 205: Fortune God Number One, University and Junior College (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 205: Wealth God Supreme, Universities and Colleges (Requesting Monthly Votes)

"Of the eight departments, the very first established by the immortals was the Ministry of Finance and Taxation. Its paramount deity is none other than the Great God Yicai Haisheng."

"The currency circulating through every tier and sect of Kunxu is minted and issued by this same Great God Yicai Haisheng."

"It can be said that among the eight departments, fiscal matters reign supreme. This Great God Yicai Haisheng can be deemed the God of Gods, the Sovereign above Sovereigns, reverently hailed by all as the God of Wealth."

"Yet, as time wore on, the ten great sects gradually realized that merely controlling the issuance of currency was insufficient."

"They had to master the scale and circulation of currency across every tier to truly tighten their grip on Kunxu."

"Should a fault line appear in that mechanism, it could trigger a cataclysmic Kalpa of heaven and earth, igniting relentless corporate wars. Amidst the ensuing misery of the masses, countless souls would leap from high-rises, noble houses would crumble overnight, and mighty corporations would fall into ruin..."

"The immortals of the ten great sects are, after all, neither flawless nor infallible. Over the long centuries of their rule over Kunxu, several such world-rending Kalpas have broken out, tossing Kunxu into utter turmoil and absolute chaos."

"Yet, those untainted True Immortals—who transcend the three debts, exist outside the five insurances, and possess the sovereign right to mint their own coin—invariably remain unscathed by these tribulations, emerging every time the dust settles to rebuild Kunxu anew."

"Consequently, the immortals of the ten great sects began directing the orthodox deities of the eight departments to reclaim the wealth of the mortal world."

At this point, Fuji sighed, her voice laced with an intense yearning and envy. "With one hand dispensing wealth and the other clawing it back, the entire profit of Kunxu’s thirty-six tiers is held firmly in their grasp. The life, death, fortune, and poverty of countless trillions of living souls hang entirely upon their fleeting whims."

Listening to Fuji’s protracted explanation, Bai Zhenzhen exhaled a long breath.

Though a mere high school student who could not grasp every nuance, she understood one fundamental truth: making money... or rather, reclaiming currency, was of paramount importance to an orthodox deity.

Fuji continued, "Every orthodox deity faces an annual evaluation goal centered on making money, or specifically, how much currency they can successfully reclaim."

"Therefore, if we present that sixth-rank deity with an opportunity to squeeze money from the Zhou family, it will represent a magnificent merit in her eyes."

"However, even an orthodox deity cannot act with complete impunity, let alone a mere sixth-rank goddess."

"Thus, our task is to provide her with an opening, to forge a leverage point. Once that is done, she will naturally sink her teeth into the Zhou family."

Several hours later, even as Zhang Yu and his two companions spun their stratagems, the enemies they anticipated had already struck the first blow.

Zhang Yu's phone vibrated, delivering a message from Yun Ni, the patrol captain of Songyang City.

Yun Ni: The higher-ups have suddenly initiated an audit on redundant personnel. If you and Bai Zhenzhen wish to keep your positions as divine assistants, you must start logging daily office hours from next week.

Zhang Yu’s brow twitched slightly. If he had to sit in an office every single day, where would he find the time to cultivate and earn money?

Yet, he was loath to carelessly discard this status as an outsourced divine assistant. He immediately typed back: Is there any way to bypass the office hours?

Yun Ni: No way out. This inspection is incredibly strict; even I cannot shield you this time.

Beside him, Fuji prompted softly, "Ask her if she knows the underlying cause."

After a round of careful probing from Zhang Yu, Yun Ni finally replied with a single word: Zhou.

Understanding dawned in Zhang Yu’s heart. "Is the Zhou family making another move?"

"First came the curriculum reforms at school and the mandatory extra tutoring, and now they want to chain me to an office desk?"

Zhang Yu could keenly perceive that his time for study, cultivation, and earning money was being methodically compressed. Had an ordinary student encountered such a barrage, their mindset would surely fracture piece by piece, causing their grades to plummet and their cultivation to regress.

Staring at Yun Ni’s response, Bai Zhenzhen let out a cold snort. "What on earth does this Zhou family want? They won't fight us openly, yet they insist on disgusting us step by step?"

Fuji remarked thoughtfully, "They are applying pressure to break you."

Zhang Yu asserted, "In any case... it is impossible for us to meekly report for office hours. Since the Zhou family possesses the influence to sway the upper echelons of the patrol team, conforming to their demands would only draw us into their rhythm, leaving us vulnerable to repeated targeting."

"We must dictate the tempo, exploiting the current information asymmetry to counter the Zhou family."

...

Not long after Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen returned to school the following morning, having ridden the overnight train.

After covertly activating the power of the detection ritual within his body a few times for validation, Zhang Yu once again sensed that hidden camera lens that had been tracking him from the shadows.

"As expected, the surveillance resumed almost the precise moment we returned."

Nevertheless, neither Zhang Yu nor Bai Zhenzhen betrayed any sign of awareness. Feigning ignorance of the watchful eye, they proceeded with their normal routines of classes, cultivation, physical training, and tutoring sessions.

Meanwhile, upon the rooftop of a building not far away.

A young man was observing Zhang Yu's daily life at school through a camera lens.

The youth possessed handsome features, though his height stood at a mere one hundred and ninety centimeters—a stature considered short among cultivators—yet an aura of fierce bravery emanated from his very bones.

His name was Yue Jincheng, a fresh recruit who had joined the security forces of the Wanxing Group less than a year ago.

When first assigned to monitor Zhang Yu, he had been exceptionally meticulous and diligent, refusing to let a single movement escape his gaze, scrutinizing every second of the footage in hopes of securing an early achievement to earn a promotion, a raise, and the rank of security captain.

After all, in the current era, the number of university graduates in the second tier of Kunxu was swelling rapidly. For someone of his origins from the first tier, remaining in the second tier was an uphill battle fraught with immense difficulty.

Consequently, an increasing number of university students returned to their hometowns upon graduation, causing the pool of graduates in Songyang City to expand year after year, rendering employment scarcer by the day.

Yue Jincheng deeply treasured this hard-won position. Since his induction, he had lived at the company day and night, paying for his own meals and overnight lodging fees to remain on-site, trailing behind his superiors and never passing up an opportunity for overtime.

When entrusted with this surveillance detail, he had been filled with grand ambitions, but the longer he watched Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, the more helpless he felt.

In particular, as he witnessed their identical daily routines play out day after day, Yue Jincheng felt his own time and life being slowly ground away. Imperceptibly, he found his working hours dragging on ever more sluggishly, and his fingers scrolling through his phone with increasing frequency.

Staring at the lens that captured Zhang Yu currently refining his physique, Yue Jincheng sighed inwardly, "At least you are cultivating. But what am I accomplished by watching you cultivate every single day?"

After observing Zhang Yu in this listless manner for several hours, Yue Jincheng finally could not contain himself. Speaking into the transceiver, he addressed the person on the other end, "Senior Si, waiting around blindly like this isn't a viable strategy."

"Shouldn't we take the initiative?"

On the opposite side of the rooftop, a woman was monitoring Bai Zhenzhen while listening to an audiobook.

It was none other than Si Zhouyu, who had previously tailed Bai Zhenzhen during her food delivery runs.

Hearing Yue Jincheng’s proposition, Si Zhouyu knit her brows. "What are you planning to do?"

Yue Jincheng argued, "Whether it's Zhang Yu or Bai Zhenzhen, no matter how formidable they seem, they are ultimately just two high school students."

"With our skills, neutralizing them would be child's play—whether we choose to steal their phones or infiltrate their apartment."

"Once we do that, whatever secrets they possess will be laid bare before us."

Though Si Zhouyu harbored similar thoughts and believed that matching their cultivation against two high schoolers would be an effortless endeavor, as a veteran employee who had gone twenty years without a promotion or a raise, her desire for advancement was tempered by a grim understanding: one must never act on personal initiative regarding tasks assigned by company leadership.

Si Zhouyu immediately countered, "The leadership's arrangements carry a profound purpose. Do not act recklessly."

Yue Jincheng frowned, casting a glance at the audiobook-absorbed Si Zhouyu, a flicker of disdain crossing his eyes.

He had always held a measure of contempt for this senior colleague who had stagnated for over two decades without a single promotion. Upon learning a few days prior that she was merely a vocational college graduate, his disrespect had only deepened.

After all, he, Yue Jincheng, was a proud graduate of a formal Seventy-Two Lower Academy—a true university graduate.

As for the Jinzhou Institute from which Si Zhouyu had graduated, did it even deserve to be called a university?

"I cannot allow myself to waste my days away as she does, squandering the prime of my youth."

"In a year or two, my corporate rank will undoubtedly surpass hers."

Time marched swiftly onward amidst Yue Jincheng’s monotonous surveillance.

That evening, as he watched Zhang Yu leave the school grounds and head toward the subway station, Yue Jincheng froze in slight surprise. "This brat usually runs home to save money. Why is he willing to splurge on the subway today?"

Left with no choice, Yue Jincheng trailed Zhang Yu onto the subway, beginning a sequence of transfers across various rail lines.

However, as an employee at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage who was specifically dispatched to track and monitor targets, he naturally possessed specialized methods.

His form shifted seamlessly, his muscles rippling and adjusting beneath his clothes. Combined with the various garments stowed in his backpack, he managed to alter his appearance entirely each time he drew near to Zhang Yu.

Wandering through the winding subterranean network of the subway, Yue Jincheng followed Zhang Yu all the way out of a station located in the distant suburbs.

Watching the other party run toward the distant outskirts, Yue Jincheng, following behind, suddenly perked up with renewed vigor.

“Could it be that this kid is finally making a move today?”

“The time has come for me to claim my merit.”

Just as he was pondering whether to notify Si Zhouyu, who was monitoring Bai Zhenzhen on the other side, a message came from her.

It turned out that Bai Zhenzhen had also taken the subway and headed to the suburbs.

Before long, Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu converged, both feeling a surge of excitement as they watched Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen still moving swiftly ahead not far away.

Half an hour later, seeing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen buy tickets and enter the protected area, both furrowed their brows.

Yue Jincheng couldn’t help but ask, “Should we go in?”

Si Zhouyu replied, “Obviously—we have to follow and see who they’re meeting.”

Yue Jincheng winced as he glanced at the protected area’s price list, then said, “Will the company reimburse this?”

Si Zhouyu: “Of course.”

But in her heart, she thought, “Though when the reimbursement comes is anyone’s guess. I just hope Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen bring me some surprises this time.”

Yet shortly after they entered the protected area and located Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen again, they found the pair already wearing oxygen masks.

“This… could it be the package they received at school today?” Si Zhouyu exclaimed in astonishment. “Looks like they came prepared.”

Yue Jincheng watched Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen breathing from oxygen tanks, then looked at himself and Si Zhouyu gulping down the protected area’s air, and a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

“I hope these two won’t stay here long.”

But clearly, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, equipped with oxygen tanks, had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu could only trail them, watching their own consumption records climb with every breath they took, each increase stabbing their hearts like a knife.

Please vote for monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)