Chapter 217: Martial Artists Should Serve the Public!

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　The effectiveness of MCMAU never ceased to amaze people.

　　The next day, Fang Ping received the school’s reply to permit Fang Ping’s proposal to establish the credit loaning system in principle.

　　Of course, there were some conditions.

　　Money was not required for the credits, but resources were limited. Every year, the school would provide 100 thousand credits as the maximum loan quota.

　　Still, the monetary value of 100 thousand credit was up to 3 billion when converted.

　　In reality, Fang Ping had to do a lot in order for the school to provide the platform a quota as high as that.

　　Number one, both Lu Fengrou and Old Man Li had to come forward as guarantors.

　　Number two, if Fang Ping were to meet with an accident, the beneficiary of the platform was to be the school, rather than Fang Ping’s family.

　　Number three, the annual depreciation rate had to be within 5% for the annual statement. Claims for students who had died in battle was not to be investigated by the school. Instead, it would be fully borne by Distance Ltd’s platform.

　　Number four…

　　All in all, the school gave a lot of conditions.

　　It also included random account checks as well as occasionally prompts to ensure that the credits were loaned to students and not personally used by Fang Ping. Furthermore, MCMAU would hire someone specifically to conduct all these checks.

　　The platform was gradually getting on track to become what Fang Ping had envisioned, instead of a company that merely did deliveries.

　　As for the interest rate, it was to be decided by the Distance Ltd platform. They would be responsible for reporting to the school, and after the school acknowledges it, the interest would go back to the school while Distance Ltd’s platform could collect 10% of the interest as management fees.

　　It was normal for MCMAU to be so stingy.

　　10% of the interest as management fee was the least MCMAU could do to pay Distance Ltd.

　　Initially, the school did not even wish to earn anything, but they eventually realized that the interest could be used to make up for possible bad debts. Thus, in the end, all this excess credit and money would go back to the students.

　　…

　　MCMAU did not think 10% was much, but Fang Ping quickly figured out how much they needed to collect for interest.

　　Initially, he wanted a daily interest rate of 0.05%. Obviously, MCMAU would not allow Fang Ping to charge such a high rate as it would add up to a yearly compounded interest of 18%.

　　On the other hand, a daily interest rate of 0.03% sounded low… but the yearly interest would exceed 10%.

　　“If we worked at that limit, the platform could gain at least 1000 credits if it’s 10% of 10 thousand credit a year.”

　　“Realistically, the school will integrate everything once per year. Because the operation time gap is too big, the interest gained from the short-term loans will act as the principal. If everything goes according to plan, the profit for us will be a few thousand credits within a year.”

　　Logistics department.

　　Fang Ping calculated how much they would earn in his head for a while. Suddenly, a golden sheen flashed from his eyes!

　　A few thousand credits be worth tens of millions.

　　To think, the platform could earn this much in a small place like MCMAU.

　　After he thought about this, Fang Ping said softly, “Teacher, do you think a daily interest of 0.03% is high?”

　　“0.03%?”

　　Old Man Li began crunching the numbers in his head for some time when Fang Ping swiftly said, “It’s quite low right? 100 credits would already be too much for a typical student. That would mean an interest of 0.03 credits per day. To be honest, this is a very low interest rate, totaling up to less than 1 credit per month.

　　“But if he got 100 credits in one month in advance, it could be the sole reason for him advancing into Rank-3 from Rank-2.

　　“What’s 1 credit in a month’s time?

　　“Teacher, don’t you agree with this logic?”

　　Old Man Li muttered as he thought, “I guess it’s not that high…”

　　“Mathematically, this is equivalent of the school investing 3 billion. However, I believe that 3 billion is better spent here than anywhere else.

　　“Who knows, MCMAU may churn out ten more Rank-3 and Rank-4 students in a year.

　　“Which, might I add, is a great contribution to humanity!

　　“Moreover, those resources don’t vanish into thin air. At the end of the year, they will go right back to the school, creating a self-sustaining cycle. Not only does the school not lose anything, it will get a good reputation among the students as well…”

　　Old Man Li looked at him without saying a word. Fang Ping laughed.”Teacher, about the rebate problem for the platform…”

　　“What the school means is to maintain the current price because MCMAU’s pills and weapons are limited. As soon as you enact your plan, won’t that mean…”

　　“Teacher, can the school stop being so short-sighted? Let me ask you, where do the pills come from?”

　　Old Man Li hesitated for a moment to think before he said, “Most of the main ingredients come from the Catacombs.”

　　“Think about it, the more the students spend, the faster they improve. Doesn’t that mean they will have to go down and fight in the Catacombs? Naturally, that would mean that the natural ingredients would be replenished…”

　　Fang Ping continued, “Where do alloy weapons come from?”

　　“Most of them come from the Catacombs as well…”

　　“Isn’t that the same concept? Moreover, don’t you need manpower to build alloy weapons? Over here in MCMAU, weapons are generally not manufactured in batches, but individually forged.

　　“Most of them are made by students from the School of Production, but they’re not exactly the enthusiastic type when you invite them to participate.

　　“During their time in school, they spend more time thinking about which company to enter in the future than actually participating…

　　“But if they carry huge debts now, don’t you think that they’ll start taking the initiative to work?”

　　“So, you’re saying…”

　　“So, what I’m saying is, there’s no point for the school to worry about the lack of resources.

　　“Even if they spend now, everyone ends up getting stronger, resulting in higher earnings for them.

　　“At the end of the day, the wool of the sheep is still on its body. The profit still goes back to the owner when it’s harvest season, so the school has nothing to worry about.”

　　“I’ll go back and ask again. Just sort your side out. If we don’t get back our 100 thousand credits, it won’t be a credit problem anymore. Kid, if that time comes, we’ll sell you off if you can’t afford to pay us back. Get ready to work for the school for the rest of your life without pay!”

　　Fang Ping pouted and objected, “Except if the people who loaned the money died in battle! I mean, if that time comes, it will probably mean the end of the world. Would you still care about money then?”

　　Old Man Li had no words to retaliate.

　　The logic was too sound!

　　If enough students died in battle that they were not able to cover their losses, then humanity would have bigger problems to worry about.

　　‘If this kid puts it this way, then does it mean that he doesn’t intend to do anything about the issue of repayment?’

　　For a moment, Old Man Li was lost in his thoughts.

　　Fang Ping read the room and said, “Teacher, I have to head back first. I’ll come look for you another time. Don’t worry about being the guarantor, I won’t let you be the scapegoat. I, Fang Ping, am not such a person.”

　　Old Man Li was stupefied as he nodded his head. ‘We were merely talking about paying back loans. When did we start talking about who would become the scapegoat?’

　　Old Man Li noticed Fang Ping was about to leave, so he said, “I want to bring you somewhere in the next few days.”

　　“Where do you want to take me?”

　　“I’ll bring you somewhere nice. You’ll be able to learn a lot of things there. It’ll be good for you to visit there at least once before entering the Catacombs.”

　　Fang Ping was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly said, “Thank you, teacher. Say, teacher, do you have a granddaughter?”

　　Old Man Li glanced at him. After half a second, he softly replied, “Get out of my sight now before I…”

　　Before he could finish his sentence, Fang Ping ran out of the room.

　　…

　　Outside of the logistics department.

　　Fang Ping shook his head and sighed. ‘Didn’t I learn this from Old Wang?

　　‘Look at Old Wang, he’s so good at *sskissing. He’s already gotten his teacher’s young daughter to be his child bride.’

　　Old Man Li was a Peak Rank-6. If he kissed his *ss well, he would not have to worry about anything when he finally becomes a Grandmaster.

　　He took his phone out and gave Li Chengze a call to talk about the loaning scheme on the platform.

　　To be frank, it was a simple thing. His market would be students from MCMAU.

　　There were not many students from MCMAU.

　　The school had all of the student’s information and records. All he needed to do was add some functions to the platform and he would be done in a few days.

　　“It’s too bad that money loaned won’t be included in Wealth. If it were the case, then my Wealth would’ve hit the 100 million mark after I borrow just 3000 credits.”

　　Fang Ping wallowed in his regret. If this were the case, then he would have gotten some credits for himself the moment the doors opened.

　　Fang Ping was busy talking to himself when he saw a few buses stopping in the distance.

　　Nanjiang’s team had returned.

　　…

　　“Fang Ping!”

　　Tang Feng got off the bus when he saw Fang Ping about to run away from them. He called out, “Come back here!”

　　Fang Ping helplessly walked toward their direction.

　　“Who said you could run away? Unorganized and undisciplined!”

　　Tang Feng scolded before he said, “If you don’t have anything important to discuss, then stop bothering Old Li at the logistics department. You’ve got a reputation for frequently trying to get a cheaper rate from the logistics department. I heard that once you get it, you’ll tell everyone about it. If everyone asks for it, what will Old Li do?”

　　Fang Ping sheepishly replied, “I’m doing a high-volume trading business!”

　　“Even so, you shouldn’t make Old Li’s life harder. The school has already decided the conversion rate. It’s not something that Old Li can decide for himself.

　　“Let me just make it clear for you, any losses are covered by Old Li himself. So, don’t keep treating everyone as fools just because you think yourself smart!”

　　Fang Ping tried to open his mouth, but no words came out.

　　Tang Feng crooned, “Anyways, you know very well what you’re doing. We’ll be meeting at the Building of Practical Combat Training later!”

　　“Fine.”

　　Fang Ping seemed a bit listless as he thought, ‘Had Old Man Li been using his own money to cover me this whole time?’

　　Previously, he thought that Old Man Li was super powerful and wealthy just because he was in charge of the logistics department.

　　…

　　After Tang Feng left, the rest of them came down from the bus. Fu Changding walked over to him and said softly, “Why don’t we meet up with Zhao Lei tonight?”

　　walked over to them. Upon hearing what Fu Changding said, Zhao Lei’s face turned dark as his eyes pierced Fu Changding coldly.

　　Fang Ping was a middle-stage Rank-3 and was not an opponent.

　　Fu Changding on the other hand… ‘This guy needs a beating!’

　　Fang Ping ignored him and temporarily pushed aside the words he had just heard. After some thought, he asked softly, “Anyone lacking in credits?”

　　“Duh!”

　　“What if… What if I lend everyone some credits now? One or two hundred credits will be no problem either. What do you guys think?”

　　The moment he said this, everyone lined up to look at Fang Ping.

　　Normally, martial artists had good ears and eyes. Thus, at that moment, everyone heard what he said.

　　Fang Ping read the room and said, “Of course, I’m just giving an example. I’m not the one loaning it to everyone. Actually, it’ll be the school doing so.

　　“I’ve just had a discussion with the school about how everyone is lacking finances, especially as we’re entering the period when all of us are pushing for our Peak-Rank status.

　　“It won’t be logical for everyone to stop training just because we lack some credits, right?

　　“I looked for the dean specifically to talk about it and it seems that the school may agree to my proposal. If the school really allows us to get a credit loan in advance, everyone will be able to improve their strength quickly. When everyone has improved, don’t you think they’ll be able to earn the credits back easily?

　　“Earning 10 credits may be hard for a Rank-1 martial artist. But what’s thirty or fifty credits for a Rank-2?

　　“It may be hard for a Rank-2 to earn 100 credits, but it’s a piece of cake for a Rank-3 or an Upper-stage Rank-3.

　　“If anyone agrees with this, you should tell me so I can propose it to the school. Anyway, I think it’s pretty doable.”

　　“Fang Ping, are you for real?”

　　Yu Xianghua stood out and intently asked, “Can we really get a loan?”

　　Fang Ping cleared his throat and said, “You’ll probably need to fork out a bit to pay the interest. For example, if you get a 100 credit loan, you’ll have to pay 1 credit every month.”

　　“That’s only a tiny bit!”

　　Yu Xianghua did not mind it at all!

　　When the students occasionally underwent a breakthrough, sometimes all they lacked was the 100 credits. If they were able to get the credits in advance, then they would have been able to breakthrough. Therefore, 1 credit a month would not be a big deal to them.

　　They could do a mission just like that. It would not be a problem at all.

　　If they converted it into cash, it would merely be 30 thousand.

　　This made Fu Changding and the rest very excited. He curiously asked, “Fang Ping, is this for real?”

　　“Yeah, the school intends to do so. I’m just here to ask for everyone’s opinion since it’s supposed to benefit the students.

　　“When we get back, I’ll give everyone a questionnaire. If everyone agrees to it, I’ll go to the school to negotiate.”

　　“You’re really something!”

　　Yang Xiaoman was surprised as she said, “Wow, I can’t believe you’re able to initiate a new policy in MCMAU now!”

　　Fang Ping let out a nervous laugh, “We’re all students here. If you guys get stronger, MCMAU will, in turn, get stronger as well. If we do the missions together, it’ll be safer for us.

　　“Going at it alone doesn’t even come close to working together. Even if an individual is strong, it doesn’t mean anything in the long run.

　　“I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Some students weren’t able to achieve a breakthrough from training due to the lack of resources. Deep down in my heart, it makes me very uncomfortable.

　　“Moreover, if you become a member in our Ping Yuan Club, we’ll give everyone extra benefits!”

　　Fang Ping looked at everyone and pretended to be secretive, “Our Ping Yuan Club has been doing a great service, so the school has decided to give our club members some free credit loans.

　　“Of course, this is way better than what other people are getting. Ping Yuan Club currently isn’t recruiting anyone from the outside, otherwise, it’ll be too messy since it’ll be filled with outsiders.

　　“In addition to this, we’ll be in charge of Distance Ltd’s platform and may be hosting some events.

　　“For example, we’ll be giving out a Normal Vitality Pill if you buy a Rank-3 Vitality pill from us.

　　“Other than that, we’ll also be giving out a self-defense dagger with every purchase of a C-class weapon.

　　“Keep all this to yourselves for now. The items from the school are limited. Once we get it, we’ll talk more…”

　　Everyone’s eyes shot up. Even Zhang Ziwei, who was not very friendly with Fang Ping, came up and said, “Are you serious?”

　　Fang Ping furrowed his eyebrows and said, “I wasn’t talking to you. I was merely telling my club’s members. It’s rude to eavesdrop.”

　　After he said this, Fang Ping turned toward Fu Changding and the rest. He said, “Let’s walk and talk. These are the benefits I’ve fought for. We don’t want to let the seniors enjoy all of them, do we?”

　　Fu Changding and the rest then scuttled away as they followed Fang Ping. He softly said, “Sorry about that, I forgot that we were surrounded by seniors. I shouldn’t have said that in front of them. Who knows, they may spread the word to others, then our chances of getting it will be slimmer…”

　　When they heard Fang Ping’s whispers, everyone looked at Zhang Ziwei. After half a second, Zhang Ziwei whispered, “I won’t tell anyone!”

　　Everyone nodded their head. The school’s resources were limited. Getting a Normal Vitality Pill with a purchase of a Rank-3 Vitality Pill as mentioned by Fang Ping was indeed a great benefit.

　　Everyone’s budget was tight enough as things stood. They would save whenever they could as, most of the time, they suffered losses when doing missions.

　　…

　　Even though everyone said they would keep it a secret, almost the entire school knew about it by nightfall.

　　“Have you heard? Distance Ltd’s platform is doing a sale on pills. It’s buy one free one with the usual pricing!”

　　“Seriously?”

　　“Why would I lie to you? But keep it on the down low though, the items are limited. If everyone knows about it, it’ll be gone in a second.”

　　“I promise!”

　　…

　　“Do you know that the school is allowing us to get a credit loan? As long as we pay back when it’s due, it’ll be fine. However, the supply is limited. We’ll need to qualify for the review. I wonder if we are qualified enough…”

　　“There’s a loan scheme too too?”

　　“Yeah, I heard it from someone. I heard you could get a credit loan without any interest in Fang Ping’s Ping Yuan Club!”

　　“Why is that?” Someone said unenthusiastically.

　　“What do you mean why? I heard Fang Ping proposed it to the dean and the dean thought it was a good idea. Therefore, Fang Ping took the opportunity to give everyone in Ping Yuan Club a better opportunity by gifting them additional benefits…”

　　“Fuck, if I knew earlier, I would’ve tried to join earlier. Is that all there is to it? This is a big deal. Now, they’ll enjoy all the advantages. Say, do you think we can still join the club?”

　　“I don’t think so. It’s too bad.”

　　…

　　That day, Ping Yuan Club’s members were overjoyed.

　　In the beginning, some of the members did not get the benefits they were promised. Since then, they had started to feel like quitting because they could not see what the advantage of being a member was.

　　However, when they found our they could get a credit loan as a member in Ping Yuan Club, they were ecstatic, especially when they found out they could get the loan free of charge.

　　Compared to everyone else, most of the members from the Ping Yuan Club had never enjoyed any advantages over everyone else. Moreover, some of them had not even reached their martial artistry.

　　However, if they could get the credits in advance, they might be able to break through quickly.

　　In the blink of an eye, the trick worked. Ping Yuan Club went viral and news about the credit loan and platform benefits were hyped up everywhere.

　　…

　　At the same time, Fang Ping tapped Guo Sheng’s shoulder as he complimented, “You did a good job. When the club gets the qualification for management, you’ll receive at least an advance loan quota of 50 credit. It’ll be free so you better use it!”

　　Guo Sheng simpered and curiously asked, “President, this is a benefit right? Then, why did we tell everyone about it?”

　　Fang Ping laughed softly, “Martial artists should serve the public and not only care about ourselves. If we cared only about self-serving, are we still martial artists? Guo Sheng, think about it. Don’t be misled.”

　　“What a wise president!”

　　The chubby guy had a look of admiration on his face. ‘I guess that’s just how aware our president is!’

　　Fang Ping laughed out loud and walked away. ‘Let’s show them what it means to gain both fame and wealth.’

　　‘When the next semester starts, there will be a new intake. We’ll just do the same thing again and attract free labor. Most of the current batch will be martial artists by then, which will be useful in the future.’