Chapter 37
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 37: An All Encompassing Trap
Bang
As the door closed, Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling were left alone in the office.
Lan Ling continued lifting the barbell in his hands as he spoke. “President, this Zhang Yu… is quite greedy.”
Zhou Chechen lay back on the sofa, chuckling softly. “He’s from The Poor. It’s normal for someone who suddenly rises to prominence to become arrogant in their youth.” He paused, then added with a wry smile, “If I had improved by 70 points in a month like he did, I’d be just as arrogant.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Let’s give him another month to consider.”
Lan Ling’s gaze turned icy. “President, you’re seriously considering sweetening the deal again?”
Zhou Chechen replied calmly, “Lan Ling, you haven’t seen enough of The Poor. You still don’t understand them.”
“Limited by their upbringing, experience, and living standards, The Poor often have narrow horizons.”
He gestured vaguely towards the door and continued, “In a situation like that, nine out of ten would have signed the contract on the spot.”
“But Zhang Yu’s ability to remain calm and say he needs time to consider it actually makes me respect him even more.” A calculating glint entered his eyes. “If he can improve his score further in the Monthly Exam a month from now, what’s the harm in upgrading his contract by one tier?”
Lan Ling frowned. “I’m just worried someone like that will become greedy and insatiable.”
Zhou Chechen chuckled. “Come on, Big Lan, be magnanimous. Don’t squabble with those below us.”
“Zhang Yu and we aren’t on the same path. He won’t be competing for our positions. We have never been rivals.”
“In fact, the better he does and the more he improves, the more we stand to gain. He’s worth investing in…”
As he spoke, Zhou Chechen placed a Spirit Interface Mask over his head.
“I’ll be in the Spirit Realm for tutoring all afternoon. Don’t bother me unless it’s urgent.”
***
Inside the cafeteria.
As soon as Zhang Yu left the Student Council office, he rushed over to Bai Zhenzhen. Seeing her calmly eating, he blurted out, “A-Zhen, you better give me a damn good reason!”
“Do you know how much willpower it took for me not to sign that contract?”
“You have no idea how much that guy admires my talent…”
Bai Zhenzhen calmly replied, “Did he rush over to shake your hand the moment you walked in, not even bothering to put on his shoes?”
Zhang Yu paused, momentarily stunned, and his rant stalling mid-sentence.
Bai Zhenzhen continued, “It’s the same every time Zhou Chechen tries to get someone to sign a contract. That’s how he treats everyone.”
“Huh?” Zhang Yu was taken aback.
So, he’s playing the “rush out barefoot to greet a friend” game with me, is he?
[Note: The phrase used here is 倒屣相迎 (dào xǐ xiāng yíng), a classical idiom. It alludes to a story where a high-ranking official rushed to greet an esteemed guest with such haste that he put his slippers on backwards. It signifies showing profound respect and admiration.]
“And he cleared your debt, right?” Bai Zhenzhen pressed, her eyes sharp.
“Well… yeah…” Zhang Yu said doubtfully now.
Bai Zhenzhen snorted and asked, “Did he really clear them? or more like, he just became your creditor?”
“Did he also tell you not to worry about interest or rushing to repay the debt, saying you can pay it back slowly after you graduate from university and find a proper job?”
Zhang Yu was even more shocked. “He said the same thing to you too?”
Bai Zhenzhen said, “He probably says the same thing to all the targets he’s trying to sign.”
“But don’t you dare think this as a kindness or a good thing.”
“When he says you don’t have to rush or pay it back, it’s just empty words.”
“If you don’t keep up with your payments and the debt goes into default, the decision-making power shifts entirely to him.” She leaned in, her gaze intense. “If he truly doesn’t care, then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“But if he applies for forced enforcement, all the money in your account will be immediately used to repay the debt.”
Her voice hardened as she continued, “If that’s not enough, they’ll seize your most valuable assets to cover it. Think about it. What’s your most valuable asset right now?”
Zhang Yu’s gaze flickered. He didn’t actually have much in the way of assets. Forced enforcement would probably just leave him listed as a deadbeat.
Bai Zhenzhen snorted coldly. “Your most valuable assets are your Cultivation, your flesh and blood forged through countless trials, and your Dantian, honed through relentless practice.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes narrowed. “You mean they would…?”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded. “Forced Enforcement. If you have money, you repay the debt. If you don’t have money, they auction your assets. Once your worldly possessions are gone, they will naturally move on to your organs, your flesh and blood, your Dantian…”
Although Zhang Yu had long since given up any expectations for how low Kunxu could sink, Bai Zhenzhen’s words still made his heart plummet.
Bai Zhenzhen went on with her explanation. “Don’t even think about running. This contract isn’t just ink on paper.”
“Remember the Ministry of Law within the Eight Ministries of Principal Deities?”
Zhang Yu felt a prickle of dread.
“When the student council signs someone,” Bai Zhenzhen continued, ” they use talismans to respectfully summon the Great God of Pacts from the Ministry of Law to bear witness. Any enforcement will also be carried out by the Eight Ministries of Principal Deities.”
That bastard, Zhou Chechen! Zhang Yu’s alarm grew with each word. Brother, I opened my heart out to you, and you’re scheming against me? Are you trying to ship your own brother to some organ-harvesting hellhole?
Across from him, Bai Zhenzhen pressed om, “However, if you fully comply with the contract and your score improves to meet their expectations, they might not do anything to you.”
“But there’s another crucial catch. It lies in the other part of the contract, the part concerning your choice of university and major when you apply, and the penalties for violating those terms.”
“In other words, after signing the contract, they’ll be the ones to decide which university and major you pursue and what you do from then on.”
“And on top of that, there are all sorts of other restrictions, and any violation comes with an exorbitant penalty…”
Seeing Zhang Yu’s bewildered expression, Bai Zhenzhen said impatiently, “You mean you didn’t read that part of the contract?”
Zhang Yu retorted righteously, “I was so tempted by the benefits in the first part that I could barely stand it. I was afraid I’d sign it if I kept reading, so I quickly turned down Zhou Chechen and rushed to the cafeteria to find you, didn’t I?”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded. “Alright, I’ll give you that, Yu Zi. You’ve shown remarkable willpower.”
Then she changed the subject. “Yu Zi, have you ever noticed that the filthy rich kids at our school rarely get into conflicts with us poor devils?”
“Haven’t they always been gentle and polite, rarely using their influence to bully anyone?”
Zhang Yu thought for a moment, then nodded. “It does seem that way.”
Bai Zhenzhen said, “That’s because the rich and the poor aren’t even competing on the same track. From the very beginning, they never saw us as rivals, which is why they can afford to act human.”
Zhang Yu frowned. We all take the same National College Entrance Examination. What does she mean we aren’t competing on the same track? Can they get into university with cheerleading scholarships or something?
Bai Zhenzhen continued, “It’s because the poor are trying to get into ordinary universities, while the goal for those filthy rich kids is one of the Top Ten Universities.”
“For them, with their family’s wealth, getting into an ordinary university is a given. They don’t even consider us poor as competition.”
“It’s only for the Top Ten Universities that they have to compete tooth and nail against other wealthy students.”
Zhang Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Then can’t poor students apply to the Top Ten Universities?”
Bai Zhenzhen replied, “The Top Ten Universities have a limited number of admission spots, and even fewer are allocated to each city.”
“In a place like Songyang City, the combined annual quota for all ten of them… is only a few dozen students in total.”
“They had been monopolizing those spots from long time through various means.”
“A-tier contracts are one of their methods. They sign contracts with talented, high-achieving poor students to directly control which universities they apply to.”
“Of course, if you sign the contract, you can’t apply to the top Ten Universities, but you become their investment project. They’ll continue to be polite and friendly, your good classmates.”
“But if you don’t sign, or if you ever show an inclination to apply to the top Ten, then you truly become their competitor.”
“What would await you is ruthless competition. You would see their truly inhuman methods and feel pressure bearing down on you from all sides.”
“The admission spots for the Top Ten Universities are a resource their circle jointly safeguards, something they will never allow any poor fool to lay a finger on.”
“On this point, the Student Councils of all the Key High Schools rise and fall together.”
“And don’t expect the school to intervene much. When the social power of the students’ parents far outweighs that of the school, the Principal often can’t control the Student Council either.”
Hearing Bai Zhenzhen’s words, Zhang Yu immediately understood. The young masters of Songyang were colluding to ostracize the poor stinkers.
In that moment, he felt as though he were witnessing an invisible net, vast and all-encompassing, shrouding all the students, suffocating and oppressing them with its weight.
Zhang Yu could not help but exclaim, “Is the gap between the Top Ten Universities and ordinary universities really this vast? Enough to inspire such fear?”
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and replied, “What else would you expect?”
“The Ten Great Sects are an inescapable part of life in Kunxu, from birth until death. They wield the power that shapes its destiny.”
“Only by entering the Top Ten Universities can one even hope to join the Ten Great Sects.”
“As for graduates of ordinary universities? The Ten Great Sects would not accept them as disciples. At most, they might become employees of a corporation affiliated with one of the Ten Great Sects.”
Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. It seemed even after graduation, one could not escape educational discrimination. Graduates of ordinary universities were destined to remain contract workers for life.
Bai Zhenzhen continued, “And of course, there is another crucial point. Only through the Ten Great Sects… can one achieve Immortal Ascension.”
A hint of longing was now evident in her tone.
Immortal Ascension. It was the ultimate pursuit of countless cultivators. It could be said that every Cultivator who embarked on the Path of Immortality had dreamed of this goal.
Hearing this, Zhang Yu also remembered that Immortals only existed within the Ten Great Sects.
Bai Zhenzhen concluded, “In short, that is the situation.”
“To get into the Top Ten Universities, you will face a relentless oppression from all sides.”
“Yu Zi, now that you know all this… what do you plan to do?”
Under Bai Zhenzhen’s gaze, Zhang Yu looked deeply conflicted.
Should I sign the contract? If I sign, I can study and take exams in safety. With a Feather Book, even if I only get into an ordinary university and work for a Sect group, I should still be able to do quite well, right?
But… the Ten Great Sects…
At that moment, Zhang Yu thought of the Immortal Spirit Roots that only disciples of the Great Sects could have implanted, the Immortal Sect-Grade Cultivation Arts that only they could use, and the reality that only disciples of Great Sects could achieve Immortal Ascension…
Between the futures offered by the Top Ten Universities and ordinary ones lay countless chasms of all kinds, some he was aware of and many more he was not.
As Zhang Yu hesitated, an ominous chill surged through him, accompanied by the countdown’s reappearance. It reminded him of something.
Heh… Study hard, work hard, get into university, join a Great Sect, then make money to buy all the antiques in my shopping cart.
To join a Great Sect, I have to get into the Top Ten…
Damn it… I never really had a choice to begin with.
Seeing Zhang Yu’s constipated expression, Bai Zhenzhen patted his shoulder and said, “Take your time. It is not an easy decision to make.”
“They should have given you a month to consider it.”
As Bai Zhenzhen stood up to leave, Zhang Yu suddenly asked, “What about you, A-Zhen? What are you planning to do?”
Bai Zhenzhen paused slightly, then replied with unwavering determination, “I will not sign.”
“I am going to get into the Top Ten.”
As the chill slowly dissipated within him, Zhang Yu seemed to see his own choice clearly.
He smiled. “Then let us do it together.”
