Chapter 946
Chapter 946 - 932 Life-risking Money
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8 min read
"Official" must be just and fair, whereas "civilian institutions" do not need to be.
The Life Bank was Lu Ping’an’s core ability, and thus, Life investment became the main pathway... This profession must always adhere to concepts of mutual benefit, justice, and equality.
Just like the Central Bank of a country, not only must it act according to rules and regulations, but at its core, it does not pursue profits, but rather the financial and economic stability of the entire nation.
"...This thing doesn’t make money, and even, many times, it must operate at a loss to gain attention."
Lu Ping’an’s Life Bank provided many "Welfare Buildings," and the "tax" collected was automatically invested in the operating costs of the public account; creating new rule buildings often required additional investment.
This is also like the "Central Bank" in reality, which often operates at a loss, and its business indicators are not focused on profits.
Moreover, a country, with just one Central Bank/Official Bank, is not enough; its economic activity would be as stagnant as dead water.
"...So, this is my professional system; this is my... nation."
After Lu Ping’an broke through to the fourth-tier, the Courtyard naturally underwent another expansion.
The result of this expansion was the disappearance of the previous "emptiness" and "isolation," and what lay before everyone was the "small town" Damu saw.
Previously, it revolved around the Bank Building as the nucleus, with expanded plots of land, and more rule buildings were placed.
Now, there stood a small town whose full extent was obscured, with buildings placed in accordance with the terrain. Although they were still the same buildings, the feeling they gave had changed completely... Compared to the current "Sanctuary," the previous one resembled a 1:1 scale model toy.
At this level, it was somewhat like a "Divine Kingdom."
If we were to set a standard of a nation, "Official" must be neutral and just; but does "Official" really have no bias? No need for interests? If that were the case, there would be no need for competition between nations or for conflict within ethnic groups of a nation.
The development of a nation and ethnic groups also has additional requirements for various survival resources and living spaces, many of which are not suitable for the Official to handle personally...
"...Besides the ’Central Bank,’ my ’nation’ needs additional supplements..."
Once Lu Ping’an assumed the role of "Accountant," not only did the Bank headquarters experience corresponding rule changes, but other rule buildings and career abilities also underwent some changes.
For instance, the bank counters, the "Beast Taming Garden’s" Cultivation Chambers, the roaming borrowers—those "changes" were more like external interfaces, channels that enabled the integration and activation of new abilities.
The Life Bank was the main building, the "financial pillar" of the entire country, and also the core function, while the other rule buildings, those Lu Ping’an mapped as "career paths," were also independently and effectively operational.
The Life Bank was mainstream, while other "paths" were tributaries. The biggest difference was that those "professions" served the interests of Lu Ping’an...
"...Relying only on the Accountant, God knows how long it would take me to form a ’Life Coin’... "
Lu Ping’an looked at the account book in his hand, calculating the results of his harvest.
If one relied only on the Accountant’s "benevolence" to acquire "debts," not only would it take too long, but the process would also be fraught with risks... The same words, if repeated often, would naturally invoke suspicion.
However, if the Accountant’s abilities were to act as components of the "Courtyard," as an external supplement to the "Life Bank," then it would be much easier to obtain "Gold Coins."
"The first Gold Coin is a hundred points, the second one requires three hundred..."
Why was a loan starting from five hundred points offered to Damu? Because five hundred just met the standard for two coins.
If he couldn’t repay his debt at the time of settlement, Lu Ping’an could transform the debt into "Gold Coins"... Clearly, this was an extremely expensive ability, especially since this time it was a "personal loan," meaning Lu Ping’an himself was lending out the money, and his total capital pool was only in the thousands and under heavy consumption.
And now, Lu Ping’an toyed with two Gold Coins in his hands... gold coins marked with the cute Meow head!
"...Lu Ping’an Meow, when are you going to spend these Gold Coins, meow."
"Don’t rush me, let me play with them for a couple of days..."
"By the way, Meow, are you now eating my..."
"I don’t owe you anything, meow!"
Well, that scared the kid so much that her tail stood straight up.
These two gold coins, naturally, were not exchanged using life-points but were earned by using the accountant’s ability to rack up "favors".
Considering Meow’s personality and the fact that she did owe Lu Ping’an quite a bit, it only took him a couple of days to earn them... but the progress bar for the third gold coin was stubbornly stuck at 3%.
"...After all, that is real life-saving money."
The "Life Gold Coin" system was clearly one of the cores of Lu Ping’an’s professional framework.
And just having produced one or two gold coins, even if they are only used on an individual level, still represents a lethal degree of power.
"...With one gold coin, I could make Cat kneel down and sing ’Conquest,’ or do upside-down juggling."
With a single gold coin used alone, you could make a not-so-excessive demand to the "Original Owner"... The premise of not being excessive is that it won’t be instinctively resisted to the extreme, and this degree of resistance can vary.
For instance, Lu Ping’an could ask Meow to come over and touch his face, but they couldn’t go any further...
"Ugh, that’ll require extra payment!"
One gold coin might not be much, but paying two simultaneously would mean the request must be carried out "as long as it doesn’t impact their own life safety".
It’s fair to say that two gold coins are at the level of "selling one’s body," but that still isn’t where the power of these coins truly lies.
"...Rest assured, I won’t buy away your ability..."
As long as it’s a face-to-face transaction of gold coins, Lu Ping’an can "force-sell" one of the other person’s "possessions" without affecting their life or death.
Yes, anything they own can be bought, including extraordinary items like "Abnormal Abilities" and even intangible items like "dignity".
Indeed, if someone is unprepared and has two gold coins from Lu Ping’an, it’s as if they’ve handed over their life and death to him.
In actual combat, Lu Ping’an could directly buy away an opponent’s core abnormal ability; even if he might not use it himself, the opponent would be crippled in the short term. And if he were to be more ruthless, Lu Ping’an could directly buy the opponent’s "limb" or "organ".... Losing part of an organ wouldn’t kill a professional, but having a big part missing on the battlefield would essentially spell doom.
The third one?
"The second one is the selling-yourself money, the third one is for buying and selling..."
The second only requires three hundred points, but the starting price for the third is a thousand points, which on Lu Ping’an’s account book means the second one takes three times longer than the first to earn, and the third is three times that of the second.
The third coin’s restriction is that there are "no restrictions", and one can straightforwardly give the command to "go die".
Of course, this kind of use is limited to the "accountant" level, showcasing the sly and vicious nature of the "Contractor" class to the fullest extent.
However, Lu Ping’an taking two of Meow’s Cat’s Gold Coins was certainly not to swindle her or to watch her dance... He could see Meow dance any time he wanted, there was no need to spend the gold coins for that.
"Alright, stop worrying about it, I’m going to use them now..."
In fact, in Lu Ping’an’s view, using the gold coins directly was just too wasteful.
He picked up the two gold coins, tossed them casually, and then...
They dropped straight into the Life Illustration’s newly added coin slot in the Three-in-One.
— End of Chapter 946 —