Chapter 242: The Ideologically Backward Zhang Yu
Oasis Tower, 1111th Floor.
The top floor of this new landmark in Songyang City was now the highest point in the entire metropolis.
And at this moment, as Zhang Yu stood at the very pinnacle of the city, he could see the grand hall was filled with employees of the Oasis Corporation.
A deafening crack echoed from the sky.
One after another, fireworks composed of divine lightning burst apart. As bolts of lightning intertwined, arcs of electricity formed two words in the night sky: “One Billion.”
In the hall, the host shouted, “To celebrate our food loans breaking the one-billion mark, all food and alchemical enhancers are free tonight! And everyone’s bonus for this month will be doubled!”
“Let us thank Mr. Wang!”
Everyone cheered. Mr. Wang smiled and waved his hand dismissively. “Everyone, keep up the hard work. Strive to expand our food loans to ten billion! A hundred billion! A trillion in the future!”
“In the future, this very hall will produce 100 billionaires!”
The crowd screamed, and the atmosphere in the hall grew even more feverish.
Someone shouted, “Mr. Wang! Red envelopes!”
Wang Yin laughed heartily. With a mere thought, countless interest-free Red Envelope Talismans materialized and rained down upon the crowd, inciting another round of cheers and pushing the atmosphere to its peak.
Bai Zhenzhen let out a cheer and rushed forward to grab the Red Envelope Talismans.
Wang Yin walked over to Zhang Yu. “What’s wrong? Not going to grab any?”
Zhang Yu forced a smile. “I’ll let the regular employees have them.”
Wang Yin laughed heartily. “That’s the spirit. You’re going to get richer and richer. When a man has money, he has to learn not to compete with those beneath him for such trifles.”
Wang Yin then glanced at Zhang Yu’s training skin. “Follow me. I have something good to show you.”
With that, he pulled Zhang Yu into another room.
A young man with a build similar to Zhang Yu’s was standing there; he bowed quickly upon seeing them.
Just as Zhang Yu was wondering what this was about, Wang Yin said, “Take off the skin. Give it to Zhang Yu to wear.”
To Zhang Yu’s astonishment, the young man peeled off his own skin as if it were a coat, revealing the raw, bloody flesh beneath.
Wang Yin patted Zhang Yu’s shoulder and smiled. “I told you before to get a real skin. Since you seemed reluctant, I took the liberty of buying this training skin for you.”
Seeing the shock on Zhang Yu’s face, Wang Yin spoke like a connoisseur. “High-end training skins all come from the human body. To maintain their activity, they must be nourished daily with essence blood and treated with secret methods. They are often worn by a ‘living hanger,’ who maintains the training skin through daily cultivation.”
“This kind of handcrafted skin is leagues beyond the mass-produced garbage you’re wearing.”
“I specially selected this one. It came from a master of external arts. Wearing it will strengthen your own defensive techniques and allow you to break past your limits.”
“You might not know this, but our Netherworld University has a divine technique called the Blood God’s Scion, which excels at flaying and skin crafting. While my own skills in the art are lacking, my eye for quality is quite sharp…”
“Come on, hurry up and change into it. Throw that fake skin of yours away, and don’t you ever wear it out and embarrass me again.”
Looking at the young man, the so-called living hanger, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Doesn’t it hurt?”
The young man paused for a moment, a smile forming on his blood-streaked face. “We have our pain receptors blocked before we enter this line of work.”
“You can rest assured, sir. I’ve been in this business for over twenty years and have extensive experience caring for real skins. There won’t be a single flaw on it…”
Watching the man hold up the skin, about to dress him in it, Zhang Yu cursed internally, They’re insane. This Kunxu is completely insane.
Noticing the look of resistance on Zhang Yu’s face, Wang Yin frowned. “You don’t like this skin?”
The young man holding the skin, afraid the sale would fall through, quickly said, “Mr. Zhang, if you don’t like this one, our shop has other types of real skin. Should I have them brought in?”
Wang Yin took the skin from the young man’s hands, examining it from all angles and occasionally draping it back over the youth to check the fit.
“The quality of this skin is excellent,” he said, puzzled. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”
Zhang Yu watched Wang Yin’s movements. For some reason, even though the man was selecting equipment for him, giving him a gift, Zhang Yu felt an aura from Wang Yin that terrified him more than anyone he had ever met before.
He watched as the man handled the youth and the human skin with the same casual air one might handle a coat and a coat rack.
He saw the look in Wang Yin’s eyes as he gazed upon the youth and the skin.
And in that moment, Zhang Yu felt he suddenly understood why there was no hostility in Wang Yin’s eyes, only friendliness.
That’s not how you look at a person. That’s how you look at a piece of property, a pet, a small animal…
Just then, two people entered from outside: Sheng Jie and Tan Shishan, who had also earned Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates.
However, their auras were completely different from before. Their every breath caused the surrounding spiritual energy to tremble, and they radiated an oppressive power that seemed to bore right through you.
Wang Yin glanced at them. “Oh? You’ve reached Foundation Establishment?”
Sheng Jie quickly bowed. “Our families scraped some money together to let us establish our foundations early, so we can get used to the power and have a slight edge when we start university.”
Although Zhang Yu’s income had skyrocketed, he would still need another six months or so to save enough money to buy a Heavenly Spiritual Root.
But for Sheng Jie and Tan Shishan, who had reached the peak of Qi Refinement long ago, all they needed was the Qualification Certificate to achieve Foundation Establishment with their families’ support.
Witnessing this, Zhang Yu sighed internally. The wealth gap meant that even though he had been more outstanding than them during the Qi Refinement stage, he was now falling behind them on the path to Foundation Establishment.
And if he wanted to reach Foundation Establishment before graduating from high school, he would ultimately need the support of the man standing beside him, Mr. Wang.
Mr. Wang paid no mind to the two new Foundation Establishment cultivators. Instead, he looked at Zhang Yu and smiled. “I’ve checked it. It’s perfect. Hurry up and put it on for me.”
And so, under the happy gaze of the living hanger and the envious stares of Sheng Jie and Tan Shishan, Zhang Yu silently put on the training skin Wang Yin had given him.
Mr. Wang laughed heartily. “I knew I didn’t choose wrong. That skin really suits you.”
“Wear this to meetings from now on, you hear?”
In Zhang Yu’s mind, the visualized Crippled Ox from his Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art had, for some reason, come to a complete standstill.
Looking at the Crippled Ox, which refused to move no matter how he circulated his heart art, Zhang Yu thought, What a useless heart art.
Do I have to be miserable and exhausted, constantly facing pressure and crises, just for you to work?
I need to buy a Heavenly Spiritual Root. I need to reach Foundation Establishment.
I don’t want to be poor in Kunxu my whole life! I don’t want to lose to those rich kids just because I don’t have money!
Besides, a training skin is just a piece of equipment in Kunxu. It’s no big deal…
In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.
It was now May.
Inside Songyang High School.
Zhang Yu looked at the 29 million in his bank account and thought, Soon. I’ll be able to buy the Heavenly Spiritual Root and reach Foundation Establishment very soon.
Suddenly, he heard the sounds of a fight.
Zhang Yu frowned and saw that Zhou Chechen was being ganged up on by a dozen other students.
“You think you’re still the Student Council president? Your Zhou family is washed up. You have no say on the school board anymore…”
“Zhou Chechen, you’re no richer than us now.”
“Hand over your homework!”
“Hehehe, today I’m going to see what kind of alchemical enhancers the Student Council president uses!”
Zhang Yu hadn’t wanted to get involved, but as the commotion grew more and more outrageous, he finally couldn’t help but speak up. “Get lost. Don’t cause trouble near me.”
At Zhang Yu’s low command, the students surrounding Zhou Chechen scattered in fear.
Zhou Chechen silently picked himself up, glanced in Zhang Yu’s direction with a slight nod, whispered a quiet “thank you,” and then turned to leave.
But Zhang Yu knew that the Zhou family, lacking a competitive edge, had missed the opportunity to partner with the Oasis Corporation and was now in decline.
Zhou Chechen’s days at Songyang High School were likely to get much harder.
But… what does that have to do with me?
When Zhang Yu went to the cafeteria for lunch, he noticed that the price of synthetic food had gone up again. Even his tablemate, Qian Shen, seemed to be eating less than before.
That evening, he went to the Oasis Tower for another meeting.
Looking at the next service slated for promotion, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but grit his teeth. Mortgaging flesh and blood?
Following the successful launch of their food loans, the Oasis Corporation had decided to introduce a flesh and blood collateral service, allowing users to repay their debts with their own bodies.
Although he knew such practices already existed in Kunxu, watching the corporate executives discuss how to collect the flesh, how to appraise it, how to monetize it, and how to store it still made Zhang Yu feel as if he were watching them skin living people alive and serve them up for dinner.
Time, passing in a haze of both unease and comfort for Zhang Yu, moved into June.
With another college entrance exam season over, Zhang Yu was only three months away from starting his senior year.
By now, Zhang Yu’s account balance had exceeded 33 million.
Nevertheless, he still went to the stronghold in the dark world of tutoring, intending to teach a few classes and earn some extra money.
At least the atmosphere here felt more relaxed than at the Oasis Corporation.
But as the Oasis Corporation consolidated its power by merging with various companies, corporations in the education sector like the Immortal Resonance Group increased their anti-piracy efforts, even showing signs of abandoning their affiliated gangs as one might discard a used chamber pot.
Meanwhile, as employee wages and benefits continued to fall, enrollment in tutoring classes also dwindled.
Some of the older students, in particular, saw their lifespans completely depleted and reached the end of their lives after their incomes fell.
Now, every time Zhang Yu entered a classroom, he would see that more of the elderly students were gone. His income from the dark world of tutoring plummeted as a result.
July.
The weather in Songyang City was gradually heating up.
And in this sweltering heat, Zhang Yu’s savings finally surpassed 38 million.
It was around this time that some scandals regarding the Oasis Corporation were exposed online.
At a company party that day, Zhang Yu, who was dining with Mr. Wang, couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Wang, about that business of using mortgaged flesh and blood as an ingredient in food…”
Wang Yin heard him and said casually, “Oh, that.”
He looked at the curious expressions on Zhang Yu’s and Bai Zhenzhen’s faces and smiled.
“That’s all just fake news cooked up by reporters. How could the company possibly add human flesh to synthetic food?”
Zhang Yu felt a wave of relief. Kunxu is crazy, but I guess it’s not that crazy yet…
Wang Yin continued, “Synthetic food is so cheap. Adding human flesh would be a financial loss.”
“We only use the mortgaged flesh and blood from users when we’re selling to the upper layers.”
Zhang Yu froze. “Selling to… the upper layers?”
Wang Yin smiled slightly as he looked at them. “You didn’t really think we’re doing all this just to make money on the first layer, did you? What use is first-layer money? You can barely spend it up there.”
He patiently explained to them, “You’ll understand once you get to Netherworld University. The upper layers authorize Immortal Dao techniques and export their products to the lower layers in exchange for all kinds of resources.”
“The human body is a great treasure trove. Blood, flesh, skin, bone, marrow, brain, even resentment and souls—they all have their uses.”
Wang Yin added, “And if they’ve undergone body modification surgery and are diligent in their own cultivation, their value is even greater.”
Zhang Yu’s expression soured. “So they pay for their own modifications, feed themselves alchemical enhancers, and cultivate, all to make themselves more valuable and easier to sell?”
Wang Yin replied, “In the process, they can improve their grades and have a better chance of getting into a good university. Even if they fail and have to sell their flesh and souls, they can get a higher price. It’s a good thing for them.”
“Besides, our Netherworld University, along with Heavenly Demon University, have an extremely high demand for these materials.”
“If our supply of materials is insufficient, how can we compete with the other members of the Ten Greats?”
“And the higher you go, the higher the cost of human resources. Many places even prohibit mortal farming, and they have human body protection acts, regulations on the emission of resentment…”
Wang Yin sighed with some emotion. “From that perspective, the upper layers are far less cost-effective than the first layer. We were forced to come down here.”
Zhang Yu gritted his teeth. “So… we’re selling the people of the first layer—their flesh and blood—to the people of the upper layers?”
Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen was also stunned, apparently never having imagined such a dark secret behind the Oasis Corporation’s business.
Wang Yin glanced at them, sensing their resistance, and said, “You two were born into mortal families on the first layer, so your thinking is ideologically backward. I can understand that.”
“But you must remember, the people of the first layer sell their own flesh and blood.”
“They want to sell, so we buy. I always give them a fair price. It’s a transaction between willing parties.”
“Even if they don’t sell to me, they’ll sell to someone else.”
“This is perfectly normal on the path of the Immortal Dao.”
Wang Yin tried to persuade them earnestly. “Besides, in another year, you’ll be going to a university on the second layer. This place will have nothing to do with you anymore. You should think less about the affairs of the first layer and focus on preparing for your Foundation Establishment.”
“You two are very talented. You might even make it to the fifth or sixth layer. Don’t waste this opportunity.”
Seeing the silent Zhang Yu and the bewildered Bai Zhenzhen, Wang Yin frowned slightly, seemingly displeased with their reactions.
Like someone watching a pet dog guard its food, he shook his head and sighed. “Am I the one giving you money, or is it someone else?”
“Shouldn’t you listen to the one who pays you?”
“If you still can’t figure it out, take a few days off. Think it over carefully until you understand.”
“You’re both smart.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Zhang Yu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then he thought of the tens of millions he and Bai Zhenzhen had in their accounts.
He thought of the Heavenly Spiritual Root they planned to buy, of Foundation Establishment, of the Ten Greats…
And Zhang Yu discovered that his body, tempered a thousand times over, was now utterly devoid of strength.