Chapter 16: Using the Team as Collateral for a Loan

As you stepped out of the laboratory clutching a mid-level Divine Gift Crystal, the teaching director’s cold, piercing gaze clung to you like a persistent wound. You understood his thoughts clearly: as long as you were gone, he would find relief. So this time, you decided to stay in Cloud City for a while, postponing any ventures into the wilderness. You would first convert this unexpected windfall into your own combat power before making any moves.

A single mid-level Divine Gift Crystal could be exchanged on the market for a hundred basic Divine Gift Crystals. Yet, due to the rarity and non-circulating nature of the mid-level crystals, you could usually get around one hundred and fifty basic crystals in exchange. Combined with the transfer fee from the instrument left to you by your mentor, you now had the capital to reach level nine.

But you would not enjoy this glory alone. You knew full well the challenges awaiting you once you entered the wilderness. Such scenarios could only be met by a well-organized team. Unless one possessed overwhelming strength capable of solo domination, individual power was never true power. After all, in this world ruled by extraordinary professionals, the synergy generated by teams far surpassed that of lone wolves.

With your help, the True Heart Squad’s combat power soared rapidly, all members rising to level seven. Suddenly, Lin Xue and the others held you in even higher esteem, their words tinged with fervor. Coming from ordinary families, they knew their own circumstances too well. Without you, they wouldn’t even dream of university; even the lowest-tier college would be out of reach! Let alone keeping pace with university progress, or leveling up several times within a year of enrollment.

They dared not imagine how bleak their lives would be without your acceptance. In the quiet of night, their hearts surged with emotion. You were their sun—the light dispelling the shadows of their world—the shining pillar guiding their souls forward. You were the leader they would follow for life.

In the 126th year of the Extraordinary Era, June, Cloud City’s Second University held its final exams. With approval from the Warrior Academy’s leadership, the teaching director personally supervised the tests, which were measured through practical combat. The exam took place a hundred kilometers outside Cloud City, in the Blackstone Swamp.

For every university student, the final exam results were crucial. They determined not only GPA but also the possibility of joining the top thousand battle squads or financial conglomerates in the Federation. According to the school’s promotion, outstanding grades or experience as student council president could earn extra points during recruitment.

Yet, you paid no mind. Especially after the teaching director had repeatedly acted warm and kind in front of you, you outright feigned illness, claiming severe injuries sustained during a dungeon battle made you unable to attend the final exam. Upon hearing this, the teaching director rushed over, bringing a healer with him. But once you presented documentation of stress-related psychological symptoms, he fell silent. Before leaving, he cast a meaningful glance your way.

By September of the 126th year, all members of the True Heart Squad had reached level eight. The overall strength boost, coupled with the team’s six major glyphs—attack, defense, speed, recovery, ambush, and stealth—enhanced systematically, raised the squad’s combat power to a new height. The True Heart Squad could now clear the level-seven dungeon, Nightfall, at the cost of only minor injuries.

By your estimate, the Black Bay debt collection team that had cornered you during the last simulation posed no threat to the True Heart Squad. Yet you weren’t in a rush to settle that score. After all, this was your golden period for growth—missing this opportunity would mean losing everything. You had to seize it.

During this time, the teaching director assigned multiple field training tasks to you as a sophomore warrior academy student, but you refused every single one. By the third refusal, the school issued a formal reprimand. By the fifth, you received a minor disciplinary record. Upon learning this, you laughed without reason. You’d even been marked for a major offense before—what was one more reprimand or minor punishment? It seemed the teaching director was nearing his limit. Understandable—paying one mid-level Divine Gift Crystal monthly wasn’t easy on anyone.

However, aside from refusing field training, you participated fully in all other courses, achieving excellent grades across the board, leaving the teaching director no grounds for further complaint.

In March of the 127th year, aided by both the True Heart Squad and the teaching director’s resource support, you had amassed enough basic Divine Gift Crystals to ascend to level ten. Yet, beyond level ten, the job advancement task posed a formidable barrier for ordinary professionals.

Task one: collect one thousand basic Soul Crystals!
Task two: slay one thousand elite abyssal creatures of level six or above.

For noble-born youths, the first task was trivial—basic Soul Crystals could be bought with money. For the wealthy, anything solvable by money was no problem. The second task was also effortless for them.

But for ordinary professionals, both tasks were difficult! Especially those burdened with heavy debts. While in safe zones, debt collectors had to respect Federation law. Beyond them, debtors were at their mercy.

Most importantly, you had to consider the teaching director’s influence now. Therefore, you needed thorough preparation before leaving. For example, raising all True Heart Squad members to level ten. Or replacing all squad glyphs with mid-level ones.

Each step demanded considerable expense. Yet you had no complaints—after all, you had faced despair and helplessness before. In this world, there was no truly hopeless environment; only those who despair of their surroundings.

The heavens never close off all paths—if you wish to walk, the road lies beneath your feet.

By July of the 127th year, with your full support, all members of the True Heart Squad reached level nine. By August, the squad completed the glyph system upgrade, all six major glyphs elevated to mid-level, greatly enhancing the squad’s combat endurance.

In November, the squad’s tank king, Wang Meng, surged to level ten. From then on, the True Heart Squad’s resistance to damage improved significantly, allowing them to clear level-eight dungeons with only minor injuries, increasing their daily income.

Afterward, you went to the dungeon hall and paid an 800,000 registration fee, officially registering the True Heart Squad as a Federation-recognized team. Simultaneously, the squad received its own emblem.

As captain, your privileges on the intelligence network increased.

In January of the 128th year, armed with the True Heart Squad’s recent income statements, you secured joint collateral loans from several major financial institutions in Cloud City. Ultimately, disregarding high interest rates and offering generous bribes to financial managers, you leveraged the squad’s reputation to access multiple discreet financial projects, obtaining a substantial loan from Cloud City Bank.