"Are you here yet?"
"Don't be nervous. Your grades are so good, you'll definitely pass."
"Don't worry about the surgery fees. Mom found a new part-time job and will definitely help you raise the money. Just focus on the interview."
Looking at the message from his mother on the screen, Zhang Yu silently put away his phone, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and waited quietly.
After a long while, a number was called from ahead.
"Candidate number 989, Zhang Yu."
Zhang Yu stood up and walked into the interview room.
He looked at the three interviewers and flashed a polite smile he had practiced for a long time: "Hello, gentlemen. I'm Zhang Yu from Dongyang Junior High School."
The middle interviewer looked at him and said calmly, "Why do you want to apply to our school?"
Zhang Yu: "Your school has a long history, profound heritage, and abundant teaching resources, and has consistently cultivated many outstanding talents for society..."
The interviewer frowned and interrupted, "Don't give me that platitude."
Zhang Yu honestly replied, "I want to get into a prestigious university. Songyang High School has the highest university admission rate among the schools I can apply to."
The interviewer smiled slightly, looked at the materials in his hand, and said, "Hmm, perfect scores in all subjects, first in the whole school? No wonder you were recommended." "Your grades are fine, but to get into Songyang High School, your internal exam scores alone are far from enough."
He thought for a moment and casually asked, "How many hours do you sleep each day?"
Zhang Yu: "Five hours."
The interviewer was surprised: "Five hours?"
"Our students, starting from elementary school, average no more than two hours of sleep per day. And our outstanding graduates from previous years basically don't sleep at all."
"You sleep five hours a day? That means you study three hours less than others every day. Over nine years, that's nearly ten thousand hours less..."
Zhang Yu was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected that despite thinking he was working incredibly hard, there was still such a large gap between him and others in terms of effort.
Zhang Yu quickly replied, "I'll try my best to catch up with them."
The interviewer on the left asked, "How much of the high school curriculum have you studied?"
Zhang Yu calmed himself slightly and confidently said, "I've already self-studied the first year of high school."
The interviewer frowned slightly: "Only the first year? Don't you know that we assume students have already completed the high school curriculum in class?"
Zhang Yu was stunned. This was another piece of information he didn't know, and what he thought was an advantage had instantly become a disadvantage.
Just as he was at a loss, the interviewer in the middle asked the next question.
"To improve learning efficiency and prevent early romantic relationships, our school requires all students to undergo sterilization surgery (removal of relevant organs) before enrollment, so they can focus solely on their studies."
"You knew that?"
Finally, he heard something he already knew, and he quickly replied, "My family is already preparing. I will definitely have the sterilization surgery before the start of the semester to maintain my hormone levels at the optimal level for school."
The interviewer nodded noncommittally: "Alright, that concludes today's interview. You can leave now."
Zhang Yu walked out of the classroom anxiously, feeling that his interview seemed shorter than the other students'.
After he left, the middle interviewer shook his head: "He's in middle school and still hasn't been sterilized. This kid's determination isn't strong enough."
The female interviewer beside him smiled: "I think he came here knowing nothing. He has none of the required test reports or extracurricular exam scores. It just goes to show that the quality of recommended students from ordinary middle schools is declining year by year. If it weren't for the support policies, they wouldn't even be qualified to see us."
The middle interviewer nodded: "Sigh, I thought poorer people would work harder. Maybe my expectations were too high."
"Let's keep him as a backup for now."
With that, he tossed Zhang Yu's resume into the wastebasket, squeezing it among hundreds of other backup resumes.
Although Zhang Yu felt his interview hadn't been very successful, he didn't have time to dwell on it. He had already begun preparing for interview after interview, visiting one different high school after another.
"Zhang Yu, we understand your family's financial situation may not be able to afford the tuition here. However, we offer preferential loan services for impoverished students, as long as you're willing to mortgage some unimportant organs..."
"Don't worry, you've come to the right place. We know you're male, and although our school is an all-girls school, we never discriminate against men. Once you complete the gender reassignment surgery, not only will you be able to enroll, but you'll also be considered a promising student with a strong Dao heart, giving you the opportunity to enter the elite class to study the Yuan Yin Qi Refining Technique..."
"Unfortunately, you're still a little short of our admission standards. However, this year, to help impoverished students, we've introduced a special talent policy. If you're willing to give up your physical body, you can study within the Principal's Myriad Soul Banner as a soul cultivation talent..."
"Young man, you've come to the right place. This is the perfect high school for a commoner genius like you.
Let me tell you about the benefits here. We've added a brain-boosting agent to your drinking water, ensuring you maintain a level five level of focus at all times.
Every day, your homeroom teacher will give you over 900 grams of special supplements for bull demons, guaranteeing your cultivation effects are more than ten times stronger than before.
Even the air circulation system is filled with nerve-stimulating fillers, so you'll never need sleep again—and all of this is free.
Of course, to tolerate these function-enhancing supplements, you must undergo modifications at our designated hospital.
Don't worry, it'll just involve implanting some small magical artifacts to boost your metabolism. Here's the price list…"
One interview after another, one question after another.
Either the threshold was unattainable, leaving him with no hope.
Or it was a trap, a contract that made him feel like he was about to be swallowed whole.
All of this made Zhang Yu feel suffocated by the pressure.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that his top grades in his ordinary suburban junior high school were worlds apart from the students in the city center.
Even now, he only knew the tip of the iceberg regarding the exact extent of the gap between them.
All his hard work over the past years seemed like a joke.
In the end, he was no different from those lazy classmates; he wouldn't get into high school either.
Back home, Zhang Yu sat silently like a statue.
His phone on the table vibrated repeatedly.
Mother: How did the interview go?
Mother: I have to work overtime today. Remember to heat up the food in the fridge.
A moment later, the phone vibrated again.
Mother: Son, don't worry. Whether you choose sterilization or gender reassignment surgery, Mom will definitely raise the money for it.
Zhang Yu didn't look at his vibrating phone. He just stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to think about the future, but his mind felt completely blank, unable to process anything.
Just then, his phone vibrated violently again.
Zhang Yu initially ignored it, but after the phone vibrated for over a minute, he finally couldn't resist picking it up, only to find the caller had already hung up.
Then he received a message from the other party: Your 5,000 yuan backup fund is ready and will arrive in ten seconds…
"A microloan ad?"
"Hmph."
Zhang Yu thought to himself that his interview materials had probably been sold by some school.
But after putting his phone down for a moment, he picked it up again and reopened the message.
…
That night, when his mother returned home from work, she found Zhang Yu, who had previously looked ashen-faced, seemingly recovered and sitting upright at his desk reading.
"Mom, don't worry, I won't be defeated so easily."
"If it doesn't work this year, I'll try again next year. I'll definitely cultivate immortality!"
"Tomorrow I'll go find a tutoring class. I'll make up for everything I'm missing, one by one."
The next morning, Zhang Yu rushed out, and returned that evening with a beaming smile.
"Mom, I found a cultivation tutoring class. The teachers there are all from top high schools. Studying with them will definitely get me into high school."
"Don't worry about the tuition. They know I've always had good grades and that my family isn't wealthy, so they've temporarily waived my tuition. As long as I get into Songyang High School next year, I won't have to pay it back. Consider it advertising for them."
"Don't worry, it's a big company, they won't lie to you."
His mother watched Zhang Yu leave for tutoring classes before dawn every day and study until two or three in the morning after returning home late at night.
Seeing the high school textbooks he kept bringing home—Chinese, math, physics, and so on—and knowing he planned to finish all the general education courses in high school (excluding the cultivation path) within a year, she felt gratified by her son's ambition.
But when she saw the boxes of medicine he brought back, a hint of doubt arose in her heart.
Zhang Yu explained with a smile, "Mom, from childhood to adulthood, I've already studied 10,000 fewer hours than those top students. If I don't work harder, they'll only fall further behind."
"These nerve stimulants will allow me to sleep only half an hour a day, improving my learning efficiency, at least preventing me from falling further behind those students in the city."
"Don't worry, these medicines are free."
"The principal of our tutoring center thinks highly of me; he gave me these medicines."
Hearing that they were from the principal, his mother was even happier that her son was appreciated.
Soon, Zhang Yu brought back even more things.
Besides various high school textbooks and nerve stimulants, there were capsules to regulate hormone levels, supplements for monsters, and bottles of unpackaged powder. Zhang Yu offered many explanations: sometimes he said it was a cheap item he bought while working part-time, sometimes a gift from a classmate, sometimes a reward from his tutoring class…
His mother was happy for her son's diligence, and even more so for his popularity and excellent performance at the tutoring class.
She transferred 1000 yuan to Zhang Yu, telling him to remember to thank his classmates and teachers.
But gradually, she noticed that Zhang Yu's emotions were starting to change. Sometimes he would leave home cheerfully in the morning, only to return home in the evening and go straight to sleep without saying a word.
Sometimes he would be happily eating, but after receiving a phone call, his brow would furrow, and he wouldn't be able to eat a single bite.
She knew it must be the pressure of cultivating immortality that was making Zhang Yu so tense.
She could only buy him more of his favorite foods and save more for his tuition, hoping to alleviate some of his stress.
Gradually, she also noticed that Zhang Yu was extremely attached to his phone. Not only was it almost always with him, but he also wouldn't allow anyone to touch it without permission, and he would always go into the bathroom and close the door before answering calls. Once, when she took her phone to charge it because it was out of battery, Zhang Yu scolded her angrily.
Understanding the pressure he was under, she dared not touch Zhang Yu's phone again, fearing it would affect her son's cultivation.
Suddenly, one day, Zhang Yu asked her for tutoring fees, saying that the tutoring center had invited a senior who had been admitted to a top university to give them lectures, and this was money for the senior.
Then came the recommendation fee for the high school admissions teacher.
Then came the fee for the hospital's spiritual root testing.
And then there was the cost of buying civilian-grade children's flying swords with the other students in the tutoring center.
From two or three thousand to seven or eight thousand… the last time, he made her transfer 20,000 yuan directly, saying it was for renting a Heavenly Spiritual Root.
But finally, good news arrived: Zhang Yu had successfully entered Songyang High School.
The mother was overjoyed. She was proud of her son's hard work and talent, and readily agreed to all the tuition, miscellaneous fees, medicine fees, and so on that Zhang Yu asked for.
After school started, Zhang Yu's demands for money increased, and the family gradually fell into financial difficulties.
Finally, one afternoon, hearing the voice on the other end of the phone, his mother's heart skipped a beat.
"Hello? Is this Zhang Yu's mother?"
"Do you know that your son's loans are 30 days overdue...?"
That night, Zhang Yu confessed everything to his mother.
For over a year, the various expenses incurred during his studies weren't the freebies, rewards, or gifts he claimed... the money all came from loans he took out from various platforms.
"Mom, I'm sorry."
"But I really want to cultivate immortality."
"Even if I can't pay off the debt for the rest of my life, I still want to cultivate immortality..."
After hearing all this, his mother silently sold all the valuables in the house and then borrowed more money to pay off Zhang Yu's debts.
She thought her son could finally focus on cultivating immortality.
But she soon discovered that her son had new overdue loans.
Loan repayment... loan repayment... loan repayment...
Finally, his mother couldn't help but advise Zhang Yu to spend less money. "Mom, you can't stop taking this medicine. If you stop, your Dao heart will regress, and all your previous efforts will be wasted…"
"You absolutely must rent a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Without it, my magical power won't keep up…"
"You need to top up this tutoring class VIP card, otherwise I won't understand the cultivation techniques the teachers are teaching at school…"
Advanced immortal cultivation techniques allow mortals without spiritual roots to embark on the path of immortality, but the price is the regularly expensive learning and maintenance required to continue.
Three months of school have passed in the blink of an eye. Watching the debt pile up, until even the rent and utilities are no longer affordable… it all feels like an endless nightmare, and the mother finally can't bear it anymore.
So, when Zhang Yu came home from school one day, he didn't see his mother.
After reading his mother's message, he sat there for a long time, finally silently going up to the rooftop.
…
On the rooftop of the rented apartment.
A sharp pain shot through the man's mind, gradually awakening his chaotic consciousness from the darkness.
He opened his eyes and looked ahead, seeing a bustling street in the distance, its streets overflowing with sewage.
Neon lights flashed across the street's facades, and above, rows of dark buildings huddled together, seemingly obscuring the sky.
Below him stood a dilapidated apartment building, its weathered red brick walls projecting videos of financial advertisements. The ads featured ethereal immortals recommending interest-free 30-day "cultivation loans" to new users.
"Am I playing dirty?"
"Where am I?"
As he pondered this, he turned his head and saw the rooftop filled with candles.
Rows of candles, flickering with a scarlet glow, surrounded him and a worn-out doll.
It was a rag doll, its fabric yellowed and faded, its stitching crooked and uneven, as if it might tear at any moment.
The eerie scene seemed to trigger a jolt in his brain, causing fragmented memories to churn and leap through his mind. "This isn't China anymore... I've been transported to another world?"
He found it hard to accept his transmigration.
But the vivid memories of immortal techniques in his mind kept assaulting his consciousness, gradually merging him with his original self while constantly reminding him that he was now in another world.
This was Kunxu, a super-structure standing on the earth in a pyramid shape, with thirty-six floors above ground and eighteen floors underground.
Starting from the largest floor, which resembled a continent, each floor was a new world.
As for what the world outside Kunxu was like, Zhang Yu had no answer.
He only knew that within Kunxu, it was a world where major immortal sects reigned supreme.
These major sects were high above, almost monopolizing all sectors, including food, energy, transportation, education, scientific research, medicine, finance, and the internet. The government and military were like security guards in front of the sects' enforcement teams.
But ordinary people were not fortunate enough to enjoy most of the benefits brought by immortal technology; instead, they were busy making a living every day.
He was Zhang Yu, a high school student living on the first level of Kunxu, who had been admitted to Songyang High School and was currently obsessed with some strange ritual…
"I am now Zhang Yu from another world."
Just then, a sharp pain shot through his palm, waking Zhang Yu from his reverie.
He looked down and saw a transparent symbol appear in his palm, slowly turning black.
"What is this?"
The surrounding crimson candlelight flickered in the night breeze.
The tattered doll on the ground stared at him, its empty eyes made of black buttons.
He tried to recall what was happening, but the more he tried, the more his head throbbed and he felt dizzy.
The atmosphere in the air grew increasingly eerie and sinister. Zhang Yu clutched his still-dizzy head, feeling the world spinning around him.
When he regained his senses, he found himself unsteadily leaving the rooftop and walking back to his front door.
Glancing at the rent overdue notice, Zhang Yu stepped into the room. All he saw was a bed and a table.
"Is this my home?"
Feeling his sticky, sweat-soaked skin and the unbearably stuffy environment, Zhang Yu reached for the air conditioner remote, only to realize there was no air conditioning.
He tried to take a shower, but found the water was off.
Zhang Yu slumped onto the bed in frustration.
"What a lousy place."
"So what if there are immortals? This life is worse than in a world without immortals."
Zhang Yu's gaze swept across the wall, noticing that the wall behind the table was covered with certificates of merit from elementary school to high school.
First grade, second grade, third grade… all the way up to junior high, the former Zhang Yu had almost always been first in his grade.
Looking at the certificates, memories of receiving awards flooded Zhang Yu's mind: "The original Zhang Yu was a diligent and hardworking student, consistently achieving excellent grades from a young age."
"The Songyang High School I'm currently attending is also a top-tier high school in the city."
"I was a top student!"
Recalling the knowledge in his mind, Zhang Yu's eyes gradually brightened: "Getting into a prestigious university would allow me to reach Foundation Establishment, joining a major sect would allow me to form my Core, and I could climb the ranks in Kunxu, leaving this slum, enjoying the benefits of more immortal techniques, and living for hundreds more years wouldn't be a problem."
Thinking of this, Zhang Yu suddenly felt that coming to this world wasn't such a bad thing.
Just as he was thinking this, his phone suddenly rang.
"Hello?"
"Hello Mr. Zhang Yu, your loan on our platform is 3 days overdue..."
Hanging up the phone, Zhang Yu scrolled through his phone's message inbox and found a dense barrage of payment reminders, all from the original owner's overdue loans on various platforms.
At the same time, related memories also surged into his mind.
"This guy started taking out loans for tutoring before even entering high school. After entering Songyang High School, to catch up with everyone's grades, he had another brilliant idea: to improve his grades by taking out more loans to pay off more loans. He borrowed money everywhere for medication and extra tutoring, forcibly pushing his potential. In the end, not only did he borrow more and more money, but his potential was also gradually drained."
"This guy is raising a fake genius disguised as a cultivator, using online lending platforms."
"Even his mother couldn't stand him anymore and eventually left."
Calculating his total overdue loans, Zhang Yu's forehead immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
He discovered that with the compounding interest, Zhang Yu owed a total of over 700,000 yuan to various platforms.
And looking at his own account, he only had a little over 50 yuan left.
"He owes seven hundred thousand… damn it!"
Zhang Yu slammed his fist on the bed, roaring, "In this world… even for a high school graduate, this is a huge debt!"
"No wonder this guy is obsessed with those weird rituals… he's just a hopeless debt-ridden dog."
"He's had his fun, now I'm supposed to pay off his debts?"
At the same time, the lights in the room suddenly went out.
After repeatedly pressing the switch and observing the other neighbors, Zhang Yu confirmed one thing… his power was off.
"This lousy place…"
"If only I could go back home first thing tomorrow morning…"
With a jumble of chaotic thoughts churning in his mind, Zhang Yu finally drifted off to sleep in bed.
And on his palm, the once transparent symbol was now one-tenth filled with black.