Chapter 210: Wealth God First, University and College

"Among the Eight Departments, the first one established by the immortals was the Finance and Taxation Department, and the first great god of that department was Yi Cai Hai Sheng."

"The currencies used by all layers and sects of Kunxu are all issued by this Yi Cai Hai Sheng."

"It can be said that among the Eight Departments, Finance and Taxation comes first, and this Yi Cai Hai Sheng can even be called the god of gods, the god above gods, also revered as the God of Wealth."

"But later the Ten Great Sects gradually discovered that simply controlling currency issuance was still not enough."

"They had to control the scale and circulation of currency in each layer to better govern Kunxu."

"Once problems arose, it could trigger a Cataclysmic Calamity, leading to one company war after another, causing countless deaths and destruction, eventually resulting in unknown numbers of people jumping off buildings, countless wealthy families collapsing, and countless companies perishing..."

"After all, the immortals of the Ten Great Sects were not flawless and infallible. Throughout their many years of governing Kunxu, multiple Cataclysmic Calamities had occurred, turning Kunxu upside down and plunging it into chaos."

"But those flawless true immortals who stood outside the three loans and five insurances, and could even issue currency on their own, always managed to avoid the influence of these Cataclysmic Calamities, always coming out to reorganize Kunxu after each calamity ended."

"Later, the immortals of the Ten Great Sects began having the Eight Department Orthodox Gods reclaim the world's wealth."

Fu Ji, speaking here, sighed with great longing and envy: "With one hand issuing money and the other collecting it, the profits of all thirty-six layers of Kunxu are firmly in their grasp, and the life and death, fortune and misfortune, poverty and wealth of billions of living beings are all at their whim."

Bai Zhenzhen listened to Fu Ji's long account and let out a breath.

As a high school student, she hadn't understood everything, but she understood one thing: earning money—or rather, currency recovery—was very important to the orthodox gods.

Fu Ji said, "Every orthodox god has an annual assessment target: to earn money, or rather, to recover a certain amount of currency."

"So giving that Sixth-Rank God an opportunity to earn money from the Zhou family is a great merit for her."

"But even orthodox gods cannot act arbitrarily, and she is only a Sixth-Rank God after all."

"So what we need to do is give her an opportunity, create a handle, and then she will naturally bite into the Zhou family."

Several hours later, just as Zhang Yu and the other two were planning, the enemy they had anticipated made their move first.

With the vibration of Zhang Yu's phone, it was a message from Yun Ni, the patrol captain of Songyang City.

Yun Ni: The higher-ups suddenly want to check for redundant personnel. If you and Bai Zhenzhen don't want to be dismissed from your divine assistant positions, you'll have to work in the office every day starting next week.

Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. If he had to sit in the office every day, where would he find time to practice and earn money?

But Zhang Yu was reluctant to give up the identity of outsourced divine assistant easily, so he immediately asked, "Is there any way to avoid working in the office?"

Yun Ni: No way, this inspection is very strict. I can't protect you guys either.

Fu Ji reminded him from the side, "Ask her if she knows the reason behind it."

After Zhang Yu inquired a few times, Yun Ni replied with a single character: Zhou.

Zhang Yu understood in his heart: "So the Zhou family made another move?"

"First the curriculum reform at school and extra tutoring, and now they want me to work in the office?"

Zhang Yu could feel that this was gradually compressing his time for studying, practicing, and earning money. If an ordinary student encountered such a situation, they would likely gradually lose balance in their mentality, their grades would drop, and their cultivation would regress.

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Yun Ni's response and snorted coldly, "What exactly does the Zhou family want? They won't fight, just keep disgusting us step by step?"

Fu Ji said thoughtfully, "They are putting pressure on you."

Zhang Yu said, "Anyway... I can't just obediently go to the office. Since the Zhou family has the power to influence the patrol team's upper levels, if we go to the office, we'll only fall into their rhythm and be targeted again and again."

"We have to follow our own rhythm and use the existing information gap to deal with the Zhou family."

When Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen returned to school on the overnight train, it was already the next morning.

After Zhang Yu tested the power of the detection ritual within his body several times, he once again sensed the camera that had been secretly monitoring him all along.

"Indeed, no sooner had we returned than they started monitoring again?"

But neither Zhang Yu nor Bai Zhenzhen showed any sign of noticing; they pretended they hadn't discovered anyone watching and continued attending classes, practicing, exercising, and tutoring normally at school...

At the same time, on the rooftop of a nearby building.

A young man was using a camera to observe Zhang Yu's life at school.

The young man had handsome features and was only about 1.9 meters tall, considered short among cultivators, but he exuded a tough, courageous aura from within.

The young man's name was Yue Jincheng, a new employee who had worked in the security unit of Wanxing Group for less than a year.

When he was first assigned to monitor Zhang Yu, he was earnest and diligent, not letting a single move of Zhang Yu slip past his eyes, carefully scanning every second of surveillance, only hoping to make a contribution early, get a promotion and a raise, and become the security team leader.

After all, in this day and age, there were more and more college students from the Second Layer of Kunxu, and it was extremely difficult for someone like him, who came from the First Layer, to stay in the Second Layer.

Thus, more and more college graduates returned to their hometowns upon graduation, causing the number of college graduates in Songyang City to increase year after year, making jobs harder and harder to find.

Yue Jincheng also cherished this hard-to-come-by job; since joining the company, he lived there day and night, paying for his own meals and the overnight fee for staying at the company, following the leadership closely, never missing any opportunity to work overtime.

When he first got this monitoring job, he was full of ambition, but the more he monitored Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, the more helpless he felt. Especially watching the two repeat their daily lives day after day, Yue Jincheng felt his own time and life being constantly worn away.

Unconsciously, he found that his work hours were getting slower and slower, and the number of times he swiped his phone was increasing.

At this moment, looking at Zhang Yu, who was tempering his body in the camera, Yue Jincheng sighed inwardly: "At least you're still cultivating; what's this all about, me watching you cultivate day in and day out?"

After observing Zhang Yu for several hours in sheer boredom, Yue Jincheng finally couldn't help but say to the other end of the intercom: "Senior Si, waiting like this isn't going to work."

"Should we take the initiative?"

On the other side of the rooftop, a woman was listening to a novel while monitoring Bai Zhenzhen.

It was Si Zhouyu, who had previously followed Bai Zhenzhen while delivering takeout.

Hearing what Yue Jincheng said, Si Zhouyu frowned and said, "What do you want to do?"

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

"With our abilities, if we want to deal with them, whether it’s stealing their phones or sneaking into their apartment, it’s all a piece of cake."

"Then we'll know whatever secrets they have."

No mistake, first release, content in one look!

Although Si Zhouyu had similar thoughts and also felt that with their cultivation levels, dealing with two high school students would be easy, as a veteran employee who hadn't received a promotion or raise in twenty years, while she wanted a promotion, she also understood that the tasks assigned by the company leadership should never be handled without authorization.

Si Zhouyu immediately said, "The leadership has their own deep intentions in their arrangements. Don't cause trouble."

Yue Jincheng frowned and glanced at Si Zhouyu, who was still listening to the novel, a look of disdain flashing in his eyes.

He had always looked down on Si Zhouyu, a senior who hadn't been promoted in over twenty years, and when he learned a few days ago that she was only a junior college graduate, he held her in even lower regard.

After all, he, Yue Jincheng, was a proper graduate of the 72nd Lower School—that was a real college student.

As for the Jinzhou College where Si Zhouyu graduated, how could that be called a university?

"I can't waste my time away like her, squandering my prime years for nothing."

"In a year or two, I'm sure I'll be above her in rank."

Time passed quickly in the midst of Yue Jincheng's boring surveillance.

That evening, watching Zhang Yu walk toward the subway station after school, Yue Jincheng was slightly stunned: "This kid usually runs home to save money. Why is he willing to take the subway this time?"

Yue Jincheng had no choice but to follow Zhang Yu onto the subway, switching between different train lines.

However, as an employee at the Qi Refining peak and assigned to track and monitor the target, he naturally had unique methods.

His figure shifted, his muscles twisted, and combined with the clothes in his backpack, he could change his appearance every time he got close to Zhang Yu.

After riding the subway in circles, Yue Jincheng followed Zhang Yu to a subway station on the outskirts.

Seeing the other party running toward the distant suburb, Yue Jincheng, following behind, suddenly perked up.

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

"It's time for me to make my merit."

Just as he was wondering whether to inform Si Zhouyu, who was monitoring Bai Zhenzhen on the other side, he received a message from her.

It turned out that Bai Zhenzhen had also taken the subway to the outskirts.

Soon after, Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu gathered together, both somewhat excited as they looked at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who were still moving quickly not far ahead.

More than half an hour later, watching Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen buy tickets and enter the protected area, both frowned.

Yue Jincheng couldn't help but ask, "Shall we go in?"

Si Zhouyu said, "Nonsense, we have to follow and see who they're meeting."

Yue Jincheng looked at the consumption list of the protected area with some pain and asked, "Will the company reimburse this?"

Si Zhouyu: "Of course."

But she thought to herself: "However, it's hard to say how long it will last. I just hope that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen can surprise me this time."

But shortly after the two entered the protected area, when they found Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen again, they saw that the two had already put on oxygen masks.

"Is this... could it be the delivery they received at school today?" Si Zhouyu exclaimed in shock. "It seems they were well-prepared."

Yue Jincheng watched Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen breathing from oxygen tanks, then looked at himself and Si Zhouyu breathing the protected area air deeply, and suddenly had a bad feeling.

"I hope these two won't stay here long."

But obviously, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who had their oxygen tanks, didn't plan to leave immediately.

Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu could only follow them all the way, watching their own consumption records increase with every breath they took, their hearts bleeding from the cost.

——

For the February monthly ticket redemption, please see the pinned post in the book club, which contains conveniently sorted numbers.