Chapter 74: Time to Repay the Debt

Jiang Feiyu invited Chen Meng to dinner, and Chen Meng was well aware that Jiang Feiyu’s salary probably wasn’t very high. After all, as an enforcement officer in the Bureau, their main compensation wasn’t money, but merit.

Therefore, Chen Meng didn’t choose an expensive place, settling instead for a roadside barbecue stand.

Jiang Feiyu smiled, and even ordered a few bottles of beer.

“Brother Jiang, what did you mean earlier about Deputy District Chief Han?” Chen Meng asked casually.

“Oh, you don’t know yet?” Jiang Feiyu grinned, skewering some enoki mushrooms for himself. “This morning, the Bureau released an internal notice about personnel changes. Captain Han Hao is being transferred from his current post as team captain to serve as Deputy District Chief of East District in Jiangzhou.”

“Deputy District Chief of East District?” Chen Meng muttered. “That’s a promotion, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is. The district chief seat in East District is currently vacant, so Captain Han is essentially acting as district chief now. His position is equivalent to a major captain in the Bureau. The key point is, there’s an unwritten rule in the Bureau: to become a district chief, one must be a Level Four Divine Body. So think about it, consider it carefully,” Jiang Feiyu said lightly.

Jiangzhou has five districts. Most other cities are similar. These five districts are east, west, south, north, and the central district, which is also called the LC District—where Jiangzhou was originally founded.

As for Chen Meng’s family, they actually live in East District, on its outskirts.

Chen Meng pondered for a moment, his expression growing serious. “But Han Hao is only a Level Three Divine Body. He’s taking a post meant for a Level Four. Isn’t that a case of having virtue unworthy of the position? Oh dear, maybe I should warn him. As the saying goes, when your virtue doesn’t match your position, misfortune follows.”

“Pfft!”

Jiang Feiyu nearly spat out his beer, staring at Chen Meng in astonishment. He couldn’t fathom where Chen Meng got such a peculiar line of thinking. “What nonsense is that? ‘Virtue unworthy of the position’? Captain Han is about to advance to Level Four Divine Body.”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Chen Meng.

“Oh, is that so?” Chen Meng muttered, then his eyes lit up. “Han Hao is now the head of the Enforcement Bureau in East District. As his nephew, does that make me the child of an official?”

Jiang Feiyu eyed Chen Meng oddly, sensing something off. Since when did you qualify as the child of an official?

“Come on, eat up, and order more if it’s not enough,” Chen Meng said cheerfully, watching Jiang Feiyu, who was so stunned he almost thought Chen Meng was the one hosting.

By the time they finished eating, it was nearly ten o’clock.

Chen Meng grinned, “Brother Jiang, could you give me a lift home?”

Jiang Feiyu wheeled out his enforcement motorcycle from the side. “No problem. I’m a Divine Body—this little bit of beer doesn’t count as drunk driving. Hop on.”

…

When they reached the residential complex, it was close to eleven.

Chen Meng felt truly changed. He could hear the faint chirping of crickets in the distant grass, see the management regulations posted on the wall inside the security booth, and smell the aroma of instant noodles wafting from the fourth floor.

“So this is what it means to be a Divine Body?” Chen Meng murmured. His entire physical state had improved dramatically. He closed his eyes, reaching out to grasp at the air, as if something tangible existed there. But when he opened his eyes, there was only emptiness.

“It’s going to rain,” he muttered. The stars’ glow faded, and dark clouds rolled overhead.

This was the power of perception—the ability to sense danger, to detect changes in nature and the rhythms of life. Humans possessed these abilities innately, but now they were magnified many times over.

“So this is the Divine Body,” Chen Meng smiled, feeling at ease as he walked toward his home.

From today onward, he was like a fish leaping in the sea, a bird soaring through the mountains; the greatest obstacle to his advancement no longer existed.

He returned home, placed his fingerprint on the scanner, and the door opened.

Even after advancing to Divine Body, his fingerprint remained unchanged. As his Divine Body level increased, even his biological form would change, and altering his fingerprint would become trivial.

He opened the door and found the lights on inside.

On the sofa, his father and mother sat on opposite ends. Hearing the door open, they both jumped up reflexively.

“Son, you’re finally home!” his mother exclaimed, her voice trembling with excitement. His father was equally animated.

“Well? Did you make the breakthrough?” his father asked, his mother’s face full of anticipation.

“I did. From today, I’m a Divine Body too,” Chen Meng nodded. “Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom. Without you, I couldn’t have advanced so quickly.”

Yes, without the startup capital I swindled from you, I couldn’t have accumulated knowledge points or achieved successive merits.

His parents, unaware of this, felt nothing but pride.

But Chen Meng suddenly noticed his mother’s expression changing.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” he asked, puzzled. His father was frantically giving him meaningful looks, but Chen Meng couldn’t decipher them.

Had he done something outrageous?

Chen Meng was still searching his memory when his mother snorted, “Chen Meng, you really are your mother’s good son. You even dared to borrow money secretly from your second uncle and the others?”

His father coughed, “It wasn’t that much. Maybe he really needed it.”

“Needed money?” his mother drew out the words. “If he needed money, why not come to us? Would we refuse him? He borrowed from relatives, all of them—what on earth was he doing?”

She picked up the feather duster beside the sofa.

Chen Meng jumped in alarm, “Mom, don’t be rash, please. Say whatever you want after I kneel down.”

With that, Chen Meng dropped to his knees.

His parents stared, stunned, while Chen Meng boldly confessed, “Mom, I was wrong.”

He’d known he couldn’t hide this forever, but didn’t expect it to erupt so soon. And today he’d even suggested his parents visit his grandmother—he’d truly dug his own grave.

His father, now helping to smooth things over, managed to calm his mother.

“So tell me, why did you borrow money?”

“To become a Divine Body.”

“Then why not ask us directly?”

“I was embarrassed. Didn’t want to trouble you.”

His father rolled his eyes, unable to believe a word.

“And what are you going to do about the borrowed money?” his mother finally asked.

“I’ll repay it. I promise,” Chen Meng assured her. Seeing her expression soften, he added, “When your son succeeds in the future, I’ll help our relatives as much as I can—if I can’t help, I’ll do my best.”

“You finally understand,” his mother sighed. “There’s more than seventy thousand left in the family account. If you need it, I’ll have your father withdraw it tomorrow. As for the borrowed money, if you can’t pay it back, we’ll cover it for you.”

Hearing this, Chen Meng was deeply moved.

That night, lying in bed, he reflected on all that had happened. Then, as he glanced at his system interface, he was suddenly taken aback.