Chapter 211: An'an's Plea, Zhang Yu's Plan

Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu watched the bill that grew with every breath they took, their hearts aching more and more.

On the other side, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen strolled along the tree-lined path of the reserve, gazing at the endless forest before them, feeling their minds gradually calm down.

Breathing in the oxygen from the tank, Zhang Yu said with some emotion, "The first time I came here, I didn't prepare an oxygen bottle. I had to be careful with every breath, afraid of wasting even a moment, so I never got to properly look at the scenery."

Bai Zhenzhen nodded slightly, looking at the serene and distant forest under the moonlight as she walked slowly along the path. She felt her spirit uncharacteristically relax.

Bai Zhenzhen suddenly recalled that it had been a very long time since she had taken a walk aimlessly like this, without either cultivating or studying.

And this feeling of walking with Zhang Yu without having to do anything made Bai Zhenzhen feel incredibly relaxed.

"If only there were a day when we didn't have to study or cultivate, when we could just space out as we pleased, take walks as we pleased, waste as much time as we wanted... that would be wonderful."

But thinking this, Bai Zhenzhen let out a soft sigh. She deeply understood how difficult it was to achieve this in Kunxu.

The pressure of the Foundation Establishment exam always followed her like a shadow.

Yunjing's overwhelming and crushing strength was like a needle piercing her heart. Every time she thought that the Xianduye might still be studying hard at this very moment, she could never fully relax.

But Bai Zhenzhen truly felt exhausted—from high school until now, she had been getting more and more tired, and the foreseeable future would only get worse year by year, sometimes making her feel like she couldn't catch her breath.

"Sigh, at least take this opportunity to relax a little..."

Just then, Bai Zhenzhen heard the sound of punching wind. Turning her head, she saw Zhang Yu already cultivating again.

"You little bastard, still rolling, huh..." Bai Zhenzhen opened her mouth, but finally sighed helplessly and began to practice as well.

She lamented inwardly, "Sigh, this is the fate of a high school student. If you don't want to be eliminated, giving all your time and effort is the bare minimum requirement."

Nearby, Zhang Yu felt the cold receding in his mind and cursed inwardly, "This stupid ritual, it won't even give me a moment to relax."

However, although the two seized the time to cultivate, being in the reserve, they dared not absorb the spiritual energy around them, afraid that their currently extremely poor selves would go broke.

On the other side, Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu frowned as they watched the two actually start cultivating.

"Why are they cultivating here?" Yue Jincheng said through gritted teeth. "My money is almost not enough to deduct."

Si Zhouyu sighed beside him and said, "Hand me your phone."

"This is the company's employee loan channel. First, borrow some money from here."

Yue Jincheng asked in surprise, "Our company also has an employee loan channel?"

"What's so new about that?" Si Zhouyu chuckled. "Which company doesn't have one? 'Focusing on employee financial services, let employees get early raises and early enjoyment'—that's the company's slogan."

"Haven't you always wanted a raise?" Si Zhouyu gestured toward the phone in Yue Jincheng's hand. "If you apply for a pay-raise preview here, you can automatically borrow a salary every month."

Yue Jincheng naturally had no interest in some early experience, but now if he wanted to continue tracking Zhang Yu, he had no choice but to borrow some money.

Although unwilling, Yue Jincheng finally gritted his teeth and borrowed a sum of money first to tide things over.

Continuing to watch Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen cultivate in the reserve, Yue Jincheng was thinking that maybe these two had come here specifically to cultivate, and today's surveillance might yield nothing.

Then he saw Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen move again, and soon they entered a breeding base inside a red tower.

Inside the breeding base, the little red panda An'an looked at the two in surprise. "Why are you here? And how did you buy tickets directly without a reservation?"

Because of insufficient funds, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen hadn't come to freeload off the spiritual vein cultivation at the breeding base for a long time.

Hearing An'an's question now, Zhang Yu smiled slightly. "We're not here to cultivate. Just came in for a walk."

Bai Zhenzhen, on the other hand, patted An'an's head and asked, "An'an, have you lost weight?"

An'an answered them randomly, always looking preoccupied.

Zhang Yu naturally saw that An'an had something on her mind, but he himself was in enough trouble; how could he spare the energy to care about others?

Finally, An'an couldn't help but ask, "Are you two not going to come and freeload off the spiritual vein here anymore?"

"Please, come cultivate here, okay?"

Looking at An'an with her tail drooping, Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu exchanged helpless glances. Having spent all their spare money, where would they get money now to freeload off the spiritual vein?

Besides, whether it was Zhang Yu or Bai Zhenzhen, both of their mana was getting closer to the 100-unit limit of Qi Refining, so they no longer had such a need for spiritual veins. Even if they had money, they would definitely buy cultivation techniques first.

Seeing Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu remain silent, An'an became dejected.

Bai Zhenzhen couldn't help asking, "Did Xiong Wenwu run into some problem?"

An An said softly, "Red Tower High School has started a body-tempering experimental class, but besides grades, you also have to pay a registration fee to get in. Arwen doesn't have enough money, and his grades have started falling recently."

"I want to help him scrape together some money, but my wages are too low." "If you two are willing to come and leech off the spirit vein, you don't have to tutor him, just give a little money."

Bai Zhenzhen glanced at Zhang Yu and said, "How about we introduce Yu Xinghan over here? He should need to leech off a spirit vein, right?"

"Anyway, he has to spend money to cultivate at a spirit vein, doesn't he? It would be cheaper for him here."

Zhang Yu rubbed his chin. Over these past few days, he had grown increasingly familiar with Yu Xinghan and had learned quite a bit about the kid's many tricks.

"If he comes here to leech off the spirit vein, he can make another cut from the price difference. He'll definitely be willing, and he'll also keep it secret."

So Zhang Yu nodded, looked at An An, and asked, "We can't come ourselves, but we can introduce someone with money. Is that okay?"

An An's eyes went wide instantly, and her fluffy head nodded repeatedly.

Zhang Yu said, "Then it's settled. I'll contact him for you later."

Having casually resolved An An's problem, Zhang Yu then asked, "Do you have surveillance footage we can look at here?"

So Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen went to the surveillance room, and in an instant, they could see every corner of the breeding facility.

Nothing was missed—every single feed was on full display!

"Mm." Zhang Yu quickly spotted Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu appearing in the camera feed: "Let's see when these two came in."

An An was also taken aback. This old, remote breeding facility rarely saw visitors even in weeks or months, yet today, besides Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, two more people had shown up?

Under An An's operation, the surveillance footage quickly rewound.

Watching the changing images on the screen, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "They came in shortly after we did?"

"Then it's highly likely these two are the ones tailing us."

Bai Zhenzhen beside him said, "These two look very unfamiliar—they might have the ability to alter their body shape and facial features."

As someone who could also change his form, Zhang Yu had naturally anticipated this as well.

"But appearances can change in countless ways—the way they paid for tickets cannot."

"The moment these two bought tickets to enter the breeding facility, their accounts were recorded."

He thought to himself, "According to the plan, we'll lead them around a bit more later, waste more of their money, and mess with their state of mind."

"Speaking of which... they've probably recorded quite a bit of footage of us training by now. Later, we'll give them something big to catch, then directly report them for secretly learning martial arts..."

Zhang Yu glanced at the Thunderclap Talisman ready to be activated on his phone.

This talisman left to him by Zhang Pianpian could emit a thunderclap alarm, summoning the patrol team's armed forces to enforce the law within a minute.

Zhang Yu had already contacted Patrol Captain Yun Ni, and he could activate it at any time.

This was the leverage Zhang Yu, after discussing with Fuji and Bai Zhenzhen, planned to provide Deng Bingding.

"Although Deng Bingding is only a sixth-rank Wandering Spirit of the Four Directions, to the powerful clans of Songyang City, she can already be considered very high in status."

"But having a high status doesn't mean she can do whatever she wants. On the contrary, because of her high status, she can't directly oversee the local clans in Songyang City—she has the power but no place to use it."

"However, if she can catch these two tailing me, and they've been secretly filming the Spring and Autumn Infinity Zen that I learned in the Foundation Building exam, then Deng Bingding can use the confidentiality of Foundation Building exam candidates' information as an excuse, giving her a chance to get involved in Songyang City..."

But Zhang Yu also understood that plans couldn't keep up with changes. While this was their general direction, they would need to adapt on the fly if unexpected situations arose.

All sorts of information flashed through his mind quickly. Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and An An said their goodbyes, planning to leave the breeding facility.

Zhang Yu led Bai Zhenzhen out of the surveillance room, walking back along the path they had taken into the facility, and soon ran into Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu, who were looking for them.

Yue Jincheng and Si Zhouyu pretended to be ordinary tourists watching the monster-blooded beings in the study rooms, but their attention was entirely focused on Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

Carefully following the two, Yue Jincheng glanced at his bill again, a flicker of impatience and agitation in his eyes.

"If we keep tailing them like this, the money I borrowed will all be gone."

"And who knows if they're actually doing anything today? If these two are just out wandering around..."

As a recent college graduate who had just started working, Yue Jincheng still had to pay back his upbringing loan and his college loan, and he also had to buy medicine to maintain his cultivation. He never had much money.

At the thought of possibly spending all his money today and getting nothing in return, a trace of irritability flashed in his eyes.

Should he borrow another sum?

Salaries don't rise, but debts surge instead?