Way of the Devil

“Now, it’s time to hunt your friends in this place…” Bai Shi straightened his body and slowly walked into the darkness.

When he disappeared in the darkness, Lu Sheng approached the scene with the intention of cleaning it up. He suddenly sensed the presence of an armor from the girl. Just as well, he could keep it for himself. Even if he could not fit it, he would sell it for money.

However, when he was about to step out from his hiding place, two figures in black robes and white masks suddenly flew out of the shadows. They stood before the girl’s body and started clearing it away with familiar movements.

Lu Sheng entertained the thought of attacking them, but when he saw this, he dismissed the thought.

This academy was clearly not as safe as it appeared. People died in the academy. In less than a day, he had witnessed two murder cases already.

Judging from the movements of these black-robed men, it was apparent that this was not their first time carrying out such an activity. It was extremely possible that they did this frequently.

For them to move so freely within campus grounds, they were most probably affiliated with the academy.

‘Currently, the only thing I have is my Harmonizing Power. I can’t fight an armor head on yet. What a shame…’ Lu Sheng initially intended to clear the body away. He did not expect the black-robed men in the academy to beat him to it.

He witnessed the entire process of the black-robed man taking care of the body. His brows knitted ever tighter.

‘I need to think of a way to earn some money. I need a huge sum of money to buy armors and the various parts associated with them.’ Lu Sheng kept thinking with Jorin’s poor man’s logic. He tried to think of a way to earn money besides robbing and scavenging bodies.

The skies gradually brightened up. He stood in the shadows for a while longer before slowly making his way back to his dormitory.

All of a sudden, he saw an advertisement stuck on an electric pole he passed by.

The advertisement was not at all eye-catching. It was stuck under a poster for lingerie.

The instant Lu Sheng saw this advertisement, he beamed.

“This is it!” He immediately made the decision.

**************

Two hours later, in an old rented house outside the academy.

“How much do you want?” asked a man in a thick black overcoat, round hat, and shades in a deep and slightly threatening tone. He directed his question to Lu Sheng, who stood before him.

“How much can I have?” Lu Sheng asked with a straight face.

“Hmm… You’re a student of Platinum Academy. In theory, with your student card and your ID, you can borrow 2,000 tibs.”

“2,000 tibs? Can I borrow more?” Lu Sheng said with a frown. “I don’t even mind if you charge me the highest interest rate. Don’t worry, I only need the money to circulate my finances. I’ll pay you back in a month.”

“The highest interest rate… is 70%. You can borrow up to 10,000 tibs. That’s the highest, I can’t give you more. Unless, you have something else as collateral,” the man replied seriously.

“10,000 tibs…” The buying power of one tib was equivalent to 100 renminbi[1. Roughly 14$ right now.] back on Earth. Lu Sheng did some conversions to know how much 10,000 tibs was worth. It was equivalent to a million renminbi; it was truly a grand amount.

“You really can’t go higher?” he asked again.

“I can’t. After all, your only identity is a student of Platinum Academy. We can’t guarantee that you’ll pay in time.” The man shook his head gloomily. “You should know that 500 tibs is enough to feed a family of three for an entire year.”

“Very well…” Lu Sheng produced his own student card and ID. He handed them to the man for the registration procedure.

“What if I offer my academy armor as collateral?” he suddenly asked.

“Hmm… Student armors are usually made of ordinary materials. However, the techniques involved in their making do make some valuable references. Which major are you from?” The man was also surprised. Student armors were only practice armors. Although they were weak, the design and the power system were amazing. It could fetch a good price in the market as well.

However, any student found trading his or her student armor would be immediately expelled from the academy. It was also possible for them to be brought to court.

“Are you sure?” the man asked in a deep voice.

“I’m sure.” Lu Sheng nodded.

The man did some careful calculations, and said, “In that case, you can borrow up to 30,000 tibs.”

‘Three million, huh? Not bad.’

Lu Sheng was quite satisfied with this. Although borrowing from a money lender with a high interest rate was dangerous, the advantage was that he would be able to procure sufficient funds in a short amount of time. As for paying the money back, the lender had to have been dreaming.

Whoever dared to ask him, Lu Sheng, to return the money he borrowed through his own efforts would be looking for a quick death.

Lu Sheng exited the rented house. He was holding an IC card in his hands. 30,000 tibs was already loaded into it.

The deadline for the repayment was one month. A month later, he would have to pay an interest of 70%.

Shortly after, Lu Sheng quickly searched for the advertisements of other money lenders. He went to four companies and borrowed a huge sum of 100,000 tibs in total.

With his identification and academy armor as his collateral, he stamped and signed all the documents and successfully “borrowed” the huge sum which would be used to circulate his finances.

Lu Sheng returned to the academy. They would be having an experience class of the armor course.

The day after tomorrow would be their final examinations. Then, they would be having one week of holidays. After that, the teaching materials would be distributed, and they would start the next semester.

The schedule was tight. Although students could skip classes, the experience class in the afternoon was not the ordinary kind of class. It was a preparation for the armor course in the next semester.

According to the notification letter sent out by the academy, it was highly possible that they would get to see a real Authenticated Soldier Armor, albeit the most basic one.

Initially, Lu Sheng did not think much about this. After all, it was the most basic Soldier Armor, which would have no external parts. Some of its power systems might not even be as good as a student’s practice armor.

However, he had no choice. Although he had the funds now, he had no way of purchasing an armor. These weapons were regulated by the nation and the great corporations. He could not find any way to buy it without any official reason.

It was the same with the regulation of firearms in the country back on Earth.

He finished his lunch in the cafeteria alone. Lu Sheng walked over to the teaching block, found a long bench at the edge of the field, and sat there as he waited silently.

After waiting for almost an hour, it was almost time for class. It was 20 minutes to two in the afternoon. A male teacher who appeared as young as the students walked onto the field with quick steps.

His other classmates followed behind him, arriving on the second.

Lu Sheng even saw Xia Cheng giving him a smile among the crowd. He returned the gesture.

As the class monitor, Shajay was the last person to arrive. Everyone was soon gathered here. Lu Sheng stood up and joined the other students. They lined up before the teacher.

“I’ve called everyone here even though the finals are almost here, and I think some of you must’ve guessed what we’re about to do now. That’s right. The teacher in charge of your class has asked me to distribute Authenticated Armors to the class,” the male teacher said loudly while clapping his hands. He attracted everyone’s attention.

“It doesn’t matter if you have your own tailored Soldier Armor; you must use the standard Soldier Armor distributed by the academy during the finals. There will be no compromise on this.”

The students had already heard rumors about this. Those who were excited were already excited for a long time. As for the students who had the money and power, thanks to their families, to own their own Soldier Armor, they naturally did not care much for ordinary standard armors.

A staff member in black uniform quickly drove a truck onto the field. The Soldier Armors that were a head taller than the average man were carried out of the truck.

More than half of the students were from an average background. At this moment, they were exceptionally excited. They tried hard to suppress their urge to rush over and touch the Soldier Armors.

The other students from great families, aristocratic families, and plutocratic families were unmoved. It was clear that they owned armors that were much better than these whiteboard standard armors.

Shajay’s expression was calm. He glanced at the peasants with the edge of his vision. As the second heir to the Sha Corporation, it was only natural for him to possess his own Soldier Armor early on.

A General Armor required greater mental cultivation methods and skills. One could only wear it after passing some tests. Hence, he was stuck with a Soldier Armor for now.

However, the Soldier Armor that was tailor-made for him had surpassed the average standard armors.

“Now, I’ll explain about the process of obtaining an Authenticated Armor.” The male teacher started his class with a loud voice.

Lu Sheng was quickly given a basic Soldier Armor. These new Soldier Armors had a single white horn on the forehead, and there was an additional piece of vital part armor on the chest. The rest of the armor was just like tights. It was not much different from the training armors they had before this.

Lu Sheng listened intently to the teacher. At the same time, he swiftly inspected the insides and outside of this Soldier Armor with his Harmonizing Power. After confirming that there were no hidden traps, he followed the teacher’s instruction regarding the authentication method. He walked up to the armor and placed a finger between the brows of the armor.

“Pcchht! Pccht! Pccht!”

The academy armors revealed their internal cavities. The students walked into them, and the first Authentication began.

Lu Sheng placed his body into the armor as well.

With his Harmonizing Power, he could sense countless minute tendrils floating about in the armor. These tendrils had just come into contact with Lu Sheng’s Harmonizing Power, and they immediately linked successfully.

‘This is a simple authentication process.’ Lu Sheng sensed that the shapes and nature of these tendrils were gradually changing. They were becoming more and more compatible with himself. It was as if they had some sort of life within them.

‘This armor doesn’t seem like it’s made by machines…’ A sense of puzzlement flashed across his heart.

At this moment, the male teacher explained further. “Alright, now that everyone’s successfully authenticated, I’ll be explaining about the safety aspect right now.”

This teacher’s name was Cheng Shuyin. He was a teacher who mainly taught the armor testing classes of the armor course. His teaching style was detailed, and he would repeat the details time and again. He took good care of the peasant students.

“After the Authentication, you’ll notice a layer of protective force field around yourselves after you’ve removed the armors. You can control this force field with your will. The defensive power is equivalent to one-tenth of the Authenticated Armor’s. It’s an ability that’s specifically used to protect the controller when he or she isn’t able to return to his or her armor immediately.”

“One-tenth…” Lu Sheng touched his armor again. After walking out of it, he immediately felt a special force field merging into his own Harmonizing Power from the armor. This force field was completely under his control. It was clean and convenient.

‘How appropriate,’ he exclaimed within his heart. If Great Yin could have such a skill as well, they would not have to fret over being unable to defeat the World of Pain.

These armors enabled combat strength to be established very quickly. It was completely possible for every citizen in the country to be a soldier.

After that, teacher Cheng Shuying started explaining about taking care of the armor and the ways to install external parts onto it as well as the other uses for the armor.

Lu Sheng recorded everything down in detail. The first class soon ended.

“Everyone, you may head to the Logistics Department now and choose any accessories that you want. Everyone has a quota for free accessories provided by the academy. Don’t let it go to waste,” Cheng Shuying reminded everyone with a smile.

‘That’s it.’ Lu Sheng had no way of purchasing an Authenticated Armor, but he could modify his standard armor with the funds he had.