“Loan services? What’s the interest rate?”
Meng Lian was surrounded by the fragrance of orchids, feeling a tickle in his ears and a flutter in his heart, but his mind remained exceptionally clear.
After all, compound interest can be daunting; once it starts accumulating, even if he successfully passed the entrance exam, he would be crushed by debt later on.
“It’s not much, just five percent interest per day.”
The senior smiled sweetly, but Meng Lian nearly choked on his saliva upon hearing that.
How much! Five percent a day!
Why don’t you go rob a bank instead?
Meng Lian quickly did some mental calculations. If he only borrowed two thousand credits, after a week, with principal and interest, he would have to repay two thousand seven hundred credits. That seven hundred credits would be pure profit! It was outrageous!
Meng Lian swiftly distanced himself from the senior. He realized that these witches were all black-hearted merchants; it was clear they had done this kind of shady business before.
“Don’t go, junior! Your main task as a new student is to pass the entrance exam. Taking a loan isn’t a big deal. If you’re worried about repayment later, don’t worry! I have a solution.”
Seeing that Meng Lian was about to flee, the senior anxiously grabbed his hand.
“What solution?”
“Come here, come here! I have a way to ensure you can pay off the loan, and you might even have some left over.”
She led Meng Lian to a corner with relatively fewer people and then mysteriously pulled out a small booklet from her bosom, making Meng Lian stare in confusion.
“Don’t look at it too much; you’ll have one too, and maybe even bigger than mine!”
The senior noticed Meng Lian’s stunned gaze and, rather than getting annoyed, smiled mischievously.
Hearing this, Meng Lian found himself at a loss for words.
“There’s a fortune to be made in books. These are quick ways to earn money. You can see which one suits you best. After you successfully become a witch, come back to me, and I’ll prioritize providing you with resources.”
The senior opened the booklet, and Meng Lian curiously moved closer to take a look, only to feel his vision darken.
The images in the booklet were so explicit that even a mosaic wouldn’t suffice to pass the censors. The so-called money-making methods were actually about becoming a courtesan or a “spirit possession collector”!
“No, no! I’ll look for other methods! Excuse me, goodbye, no, never again!”
Meng Lian’s face turned green with shock, and he hastily fled the scene, while the senior was still unwilling to give up. “Don’t go, junior! There’s nothing wrong with this! Our clients are all beautiful older sisters. You won’t lose out at all! Junior, how about considering it again?”
Consider what?
Meng Lian stumbled a bit and quickly distanced himself from the shop.
He realized this was clearly an underground one-stop service.
First, they drained the new students’ credits under the guise of entrance exams, then offered high-interest loans. Finally, after the new students transformed into witches and couldn’t repay the high-interest loans, these people would send the newly transformed witches to become courtesans, making another huge profit.
It was downright shady!
But the problem was, as that senior mentioned, the main task for new students was to pass the entrance exam, and these witch potions seemed to be their only option. Even if there were pitfalls, new students had to jump in.
Meng Lian looked at the frenzied new students around him buying witch potions. They likely shared the same thought: pass the exam first and worry about the rest later.
He shook his head, trying to cast aside those distracting thoughts. He was there to go undercover, not to become a courtesan.
Surely, he wouldn’t be stealing intelligence from a bed in the future, right?
Um… maybe thinking like that wasn’t entirely out of the question?
Meng Lian immediately stopped this dangerous line of thought. As a soldier of the Alliance, he had his pride. The idea of seducing witches to extract intelligence from a bed was something he would never consider!
As he walked down the street, Meng Lian tried to find other ways to help him pass the exam besides the witch potions.
Unfortunately, it seemed that all the witch seniors had conspired together; almost every shop on the street was selling witch potions. When he inquired, he discovered that the loan services in each little shop had shockingly similar terms—five percent interest per day.
Great, they were truly trying to bleed the new students dry!
Meng Lian frowned. He looked at the two thousand credits he held in his hand and felt a bit shaken.
To complete his mission, he first needed to successfully become a witch. As for loans, there would always be opportunities to repay them later.
Moreover…
He recalled the images in that explicit booklet, feeling a bit shy, and the senior’s words echoed in his ears.
If the future clients were all beautiful older sisters, it wasn’t entirely impossible…
Stop! Stop! Meng Lian, how could you fall so low so quickly?
What about your pride? What about your beliefs?
But I’m doing this to complete my mission!
Ugh, you’re just lusting after their bodies. How shameless!
Thus, Meng Lian hesitated as he reached the end of the street.
At the end of the street stood only a souvenir shop, which was quite deserted compared to the bustling shops selling witch potions.
It made sense; new students were spending all their credits on witch potions, so who had spare money for souvenirs?
However, it felt strange that, while the entire street was selling witch potions, suddenly there was a small shop selling souvenirs.
Meng Lian observed the shop, which had an antique decor. A wooden sign read “Mo Du Memorial Shop,” and there were two life-sized stone lions at the entrance.
After hesitating for a moment, he decided to enter the shop.
Perhaps there was another way to help him pass the entrance exam?
Though the hope felt slim.
Upon entering, he found the shop rather quiet, with only a few new students who seemed to share his thoughts.
“Boss, boss! Do you have other methods for us to become witches?”
As expected, someone spoke up to inquire at the counter.
The shopkeeper was a pink-haired loli, who was currently asleep with her head resting on the counter. When someone called her, she woke up with a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth. She rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep, but when she heard the new student’s question, she instinctively replied, “Yes, brother, we have some… Hah~ Sorry, I mixed that up.”
The shopkeeper stretched, revealing a childlike figure that was devoid of any allure. She yawned and rummaged in the back for a while, finally pulling out a golden ball.
“Can you see this?”
She asked the new student in front of her, but Meng Lian felt puzzled as the student stared at it for a long time and then angrily exclaimed, “Are you messing with me? You’re holding nothing! If you’re claiming you have something, then tell me, can you see it?”
“Hah~ I never said I could see it. Since you can’t see it, don’t waste time here. Get lost and go buy more potions. Maybe one day I’ll even point you out.”
The shopkeeper looked small, but her mouth was quite foul. The student’s face turned red with anger, and he scoffed before storming out of the shop.
Seeing this, the remaining students shook their heads and also left, leaving only Meng Lian and the foul-mouthed loli in the shop.
“Tsk tsk, no talent and still thinking you’re the chosen one? Just obediently drink the potions!”
The foul-mouthed loli stuck out her cute tongue and made a face. Noticing Meng Lian was still in the shop, her little face showed some impatience.
“What are you looking at? Acting as if you can see something. Just go buy potions. In a few days, when you’re working in some shop, tell your senior. Maybe I’ll even take care of you.”
Meng Lian remained silent, carefully examining the golden ball in the loli’s hand and, to his surprise, he vaguely saw a golden dragon shadow flash inside.
“Um, senior, how come there’s a dragon in this ball?”