Chapter 6: Preparing for a Rainy Day-Você me pediu para fazer um empréstimo para cultivar? Eu elimino a dívida fisicamente!(Quando a caneta toca o papel, a melodia das nuvens surge.)

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In just three short months, the gap between ordinary professionals and those from prestigious noble families has become an unbridgeable chasm. Heights that bottom-tier professionals could not reach in a lifetime are merely the starting point for the scions of noble houses. You observe the events unfolding around you, gathering every scrap of information you deem useful. Although you recognize the immense power of these noble clans, you possess ample confidence in your own new future. They have the accumulated resources of three generations, while you... you are cheating.

After the level assessment concludes, a bombshell announcement is delivered by the chief examiner: Du Yuhan, currently ranked first on the Jiangcheng leveling leaderboard, has achieved the top rank in the entire province with an exceptional level of 15. The moment this news breaks, the entire arena erupts. Even those professionals who are still at their initial levels—empty-handed, burdened with mountain-high debts, and covered in wounds—cannot help but puff out their chests with a sense of excitement and pride upon hearing of Du Yuhan’s provincial victory.

Watching this scene, your heart feels a complex mix of emotions. The success of this young lady of the Du family is built upon a foundation of massive resource allocation. And where does the money of these noble families come from? Or, to put it another way, is the shadow of these noble clans lurking behind these various loans and ruthless strategies? At this stage, you choose not to dwell on these questions. Lacking the strength to back it up, pondering these things offers no benefit and only breeds trouble.

During the intermission, the chief examiner begins to announce the requirements for the second round of the grand examination: the practical combat assessment. First, there are restrictions on participant numbers and levels. Because the practical assessment is deemed too dangerous, only professionals at level 2 or higher are eligible to participate. You frown upon hearing this. You checked the relevant data before coming, and in previous years, no such restriction existed. Even level 1 professionals could participate; at worst, it was dangerous, or they might lose their lives at the assessment site. Adding this restriction now—does it mean this year’s assessment is far more perilous? Or has there been a major shift in the nature of this year's test?

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You decide to wait and observe the situation, ready to quietly retreat behind the crowd if things look wrong. After all, you still lack sufficient understanding of this world, and your own survival remains your top priority. Soon, the examiner reveals the location for the practical assessment: the Mist Wetlands, located outside the safety zone. You have heard of the Mist Wetlands on the forums. While the abyss monsters on the periphery are not high-level—with plenty of level 1 creatures present—the core of the wetlands is home to swarms of level 2 abyss monsters. Most importantly, unlike dungeon monsters, abyss monsters typically appear in massive groups, and there is a high probability that a group will contain a level 4 or 5 regional boss. Therefore, this is extremely dangerous for you. Without a second thought, you turn and leave. With this time, you would be better off farming materials in the dungeon hall to sell for money.

Just as you settle back into your quiet life of daily monster-slaying and material farming, various lending institutions—Gracious Loans, Equipment Loans, Skill Loans, and others—begin a coordinated barrage of phone harassment. You even spot groups of people loitering outside your rental unit, taking photos and leaving markings. You have read about such situations on the forums. Because you did not participate in the grand examination and lack the qualification for a professional university, you are no longer under their protection, and these institutions are beginning to ramp up their tactics.

However, you are also familiar with their timelines and methods: within one year of default, these agencies will at most harass you with phone calls or visit your neighborhood to notify your family. Unfortunately for them, you have no family. Thus, you are fearless. You continue your unwavering routine: taking out more loans and farming the Wolf Forest.

On February 17, in the 126th year of the Extraordinary Era—New Year’s Day, a time when others are reuniting with their families—you are still grinding in the Wolf Forest as usual. The word "rest" does not exist in your dictionary. After all, you have no idea when these lenders might transition to violent debt collection. You must improve your strength as much as possible in the shortest amount of time to prepare for the worst. If you are ever driven out of the safety zone, you must at least have the ability to survive in the wilderness.

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On March 1, in the 126th year of the Extraordinary Era, after reaching level 4, your deep understanding of the wolf packs allows you to break through their siege and finally stand before the dungeon boss: the Alpha Wolf. Seeing the boss's double-layered health bar and its staggering stat sheet, you decisively abort the dungeon run. Dungeon bosses possess innate advantages; ordinary professionals can only defeat them by leveraging superior levels, gear, skills, and items, combined with coordinated team tactics. For a lone wolf to kill a boss, it tests individual combat skill and the ability to "pay-to-win" to the extreme. Clearly, you possess neither.

You feel helpless about this. After all, the items dropped by a boss are the most valuable part of a dungeon run and the main source of income. Although your harvest has increased since leveling up, you can now only afford to buy one shard of a God-Gifted Crystal to refine each week. However, as you reached level 4, the experience gained from these shards has diminished even as your experience requirements grow. This means you need vast sums of money to support your climb to level 5. Of course, refining a pure, primary God-Gifted Crystal would be far more effective, but the problem is that you simply cannot buy them. After so much time dungeon-crawling, you have only found one by sheer luck, which shows just how low the drop rate for these crystals is in this world.

On July 5, in the 126th year of the Extraordinary Era, personnel from Gracious Loans begin visiting your home frequently, joining forces with the Soul Loan collection team to try and drag you to their institution for a "soul evaluation." You realize the situation is spiraling out of control. Perhaps it is time to move. Because you are on the list of defaulters, you cannot use the inter-city teleportation arrays. Therefore, if you want to switch to another safety zone, you must leave the safety zone and cross the wilderness on foot. But before that, you need to make some preparations to survive your journey through the wilds.