Chapter 131
“…How did you even open this bank?” Chen Ji frowned. How could the city’s god allow Lu Chuan to steal its business?
“I made a deal with the god. Sigh, I had to use my foster parents’ remaining value, plus half my own soul.” Lu Chuan sighed dramatically. “The cost was huge — I may never earn it back. So if you help me out, could you take a lower wage for part-time work?”
Chen Ji’s pupils shrank. He scanned Lu Chuan from head to toe in shock.
“You traded half your soul? Do you realize how heavy a soul’s value is? With so much gone, your sanity should have plummeted. Wait… why do you seem fine?”
“Oh, maybe because my sanity was already low.” Lu Chuan grinned. “I think it was a bargain. A soul’s not that important. As long as I can make a profit, what’s the big deal?”
Right, I forgot.
His sanity value had only just scraped past the passing line; back then, he didn’t even qualify for loans.
But Chen Ji had assumed that since Lu Chuan had already become a player on the Master Rankings, his sanity should’ve mostly recovered by now. Turned out… barely passing was his normal state?
“To redeem your soul from the gods, you’ll need to pay at least double the cost,” Chen Ji sighed. “How much can your little bank even make—”
Before he finished, he saw Lu Chuan pointing at the huge stack of contracts piled inside—every single one signed by the residents here, tied to their loans, using their own value as collateral.
“This much. Think it’s enough?” Lu Chuan asked casually. “If not, I’ll just expand more business. After all, this city has plenty of people.”
Chen Ji pulled out a special calculator issued by his company, and the numbers on its screen skyrocketed.
More than enough!
The total value of these contracts could buy Lu Chuan back ten times over!
How did he even manage this?
“These residents are basically livestock raised by the gods. They’re used to only trading with deities—nothing else moves them. Yet you actually scraped together this much value right under the gods’ noses?” Chen Ji couldn’t help but ask. “The gods must already have their eyes on you.”
“Huh? This is my divine challenge dungeon. Isn’t it normal for the gods to be watching me?” Lu Chuan countered. “In fact, it’d be better if a god came for me. If I can find their incarnation, I can clear the dungeon. If a god comes looking for me personally, I’d thank Him for the trouble.”
The same old flavor.
Chen Ji found himself speechless.
“By the way, what’s your role in this dungeon?” After some small talk, Lu Chuan probed for information. After all, Chen Ji was at least an employee of a loan company—technically a subordinate of the God of Exchange, strictly speaking even an enemy. But still, since they were old acquaintances, wasn’t sharing some insider info only fair?
“I’m here to help this city be reborn.” Chen Ji gave Lu Chuan a subtle look. “The god dislikes imperfections. He wants a new batch of followers. You’d best be ready—it’ll happen within days. If possible, I’d like to keep trading with you in the future.”
Don’t die here.
He didn’t spell it out, but he believed he’d said enough for Lu Chuan to understand.
Before, Chen Ji had wondered whether Lu Chuan would notice the city officials’ scheming. Then he saw Lu Chuan running his bank every day.
Perfect. Lu Chuan clearly had no idea about the officials’ tricks—his mind wasn’t even on that.
Sure enough, Lu Chuan’s smile froze for a moment. “I knew the main quest wouldn’t update for no reason. So it’s you lot stirring things up in the background.”
“This is just the city’s fixed cycle.” Chen Ji smiled faintly. “Even gods don’t truly live forever. How could He allow humans to? Humans are never satisfied—so long as they aren’t, they’ll always stir up trouble. Lu Chuan, I can’t betray my god to help you. But if you want to do business with me, I can loan you what you need.”
He didn’t forget to push his company’s services: “I’ve got items to restore sanity and souls. I can even set you up with installment payments.”
Lu Chuan immediately grew cautious.
“No need, thanks. I’ve got items to restore sanity.” Ones that could even bring him back to full—just not freely usable, with some time restrictions.
Failing to land him as a client, Chen Ji looked a little disappointed.
“Don’t be down. I’ll introduce more clients to you later,” Lu Chuan said seriously. “I’m only snatching a bit of your business in this dungeon. Once I’m out, I won’t care at all for vague things like souls or abstract value. I like real wealth—tangible, touchable.”
That, Chen Ji could believe.
They didn’t talk much longer before Chen Ji excused himself and left.
He still had tasks to do, still needed to oversee the work.
“The Loan Brother went off toward the City Lord’s manor,” Lu Chuan muttered to #888. “If I’d chosen that pair of official foster parents at the start, maybe I’d have uncovered the officials’ schemes. But then, I probably wouldn’t have learned the secret of trading with the gods so quickly.”
The three foster families each corresponded to a different opportunity.
Since Lu Chuan had chosen Exchange, the other paths were naturally closed to him.
[Host, that loan company guy basically said he’s here to destroy the city. If we killed or trapped him, we could stop it, right?] #888 suggested.
“We could,” Lu Chuan admitted, touching his nose, “but then the god Himself would come to do it. If possible, I’d rather not face Him too early. It’s bound to happen eventually, but since the Main God System might have tricks ready for me, we should prepare first. Besides, isn’t dealing with Loan Brother easier than dealing with a god?”
Why pick the hardest target first?
[Host, then what’s your plan?]
The quest required them to survive even after the city’s destruction. So they needed to learn how exactly the city would fall, and what they must do to survive. But Chen Ji hadn’t said a word about that.
“If we’re running a bank, how could we pass up the officials?” Lu Chuan grinned, flashing white teeth. “They’re premium clients. Not signing contracts with them would be such a waste!”
The next day, Lu Chuan carried a stack of blank contracts, dragging along a few temporary helpers as “sales reps.” Together, they set up a desk near the entrance to the City Lord’s manor as a makeshift counter, surrounded by promotional posters offering perks like rice, flour, and oil for signing up.
Officials hurried past, immediately recognizing who he was.
The city’s notorious bank stirring up all the noise recently—that was his doing.
And somehow, this guy even had the means to smuggle people in from outside?
Of course the officials had their own networks and knew just how booming Lu Chuan’s loan business was. They just hadn’t expected him to openly peddle it right in front of their noses.
Arrest him?
On what grounds?
They felt a massive headache. But with more urgent matters to handle, they hesitated.
All day long, not a single official approached him.
Lu Chuan wasn’t anxious.
He packed up after the first day, and the very next morning returned again—this time setting up a tent around his desk, offering at least a little privacy.
Now even more eyes lingered on his stall.
With a tent, their figures would be concealed. That made approaching to “do business” far easier.
“…Papa, Mama, what’s that over there?” A player in the form of a child had pestered his foster parents into letting him follow them to work at the City Lord’s manor—only to see Lu Chuan’s little stall nearby.
It had to be another player’s setup.
Unfair! He was still stuck as a child with no way to change back, yet another player was already running a business right at the government’s doorstep. Still, he had an important piece of intel linked to Main Quest 3. If he sold it well, maybe he could escape his current plight.
“Don’t go near them. They’ll kidnap children. When Mama goes to work, you’ll stay in the office and do your homework, okay? No fussing, or I’ll never bring you again…” The foster mother kept lecturing, but the player’s thoughts were already flying toward Lu Chuan’s tent.
He had to find a way to connect with that player.
Elsewhere…
“…Exchange complete.”
A man dressed as a janitor collapsed to the ground. Another, now in official garb, flexed in his new body.
He hid the janitor’s body in a restroom under repair, then followed the planned route deeper inside to investigate.
Who else could this be but Starry Ming?
He hadn’t even found Lu Chuan yet when Main Quest 3 updated.
Starry Ming was already used to these Master-Rank dungeons. Just when you thought you were safe, they’d hit you with a sudden twist. This dungeon was no different, and he wasn’t surprised.
Three foster families—two already chosen by others. His foster family had given him the power to swap bodies.
Like now: with the other’s consent, plus a small offering to the gods, he could easily exchange souls and bodies.
Naturally, he could use this to investigate more hidden secrets.
Turning a corner, Starry Ming spotted another “official” sneaking toward the exit.
Outside stood a large tent.
