CHAPTER 450: CHAPTER 450: HIGH-LEVEL SOUL DEVICE

Regarding this indenture of servitude, Ji You deeply rejects it from the bottom of her heart.

However——

As the saying goes, a mere penny can stump a hero; poverty is the root of all sin. For a pauper like Ji You, affording the cost of repairing spiritual power in the short term is simply impossible.

Therefore, she can only seek external help.

Moreover, rather than turning to those whose hearts have turned black, who would love nothing more than to strip you of your flesh and bones for profit, Teacher Mu Jianling is certainly trustworthy. Just looking at the contract list drafted by Teacher Mu Jianling, the responsibilities and obligations Ji You has to bear are said to depend on Teacher Mu Jianling’s mood, but in reality, isn’t it just like having no responsibilities and obligations at all...

This contract, while it looks like an indenture of servitude, is actually nothing but a roundabout way of Teacher Mu Jianling taking care of Ji You.

Ji You complains with her mouth, but her heart is actually so touched that she doesn’t quite know what to say.

Why would she deserve this?

Suddenly——

She received a heavy knock on her head, and as Ji You looked up, she met Teacher Mu Jianling’s slightly squinted eyes, "Will you sign or not?"

Ji You: "..."

Ji You said softly: "I...I haven’t fully considered it yet."

With a tone full of intimidation yet spoken indifferently, Teacher Mu Jianling said: "What place did you get in the online competition? Can you make it to the finals? When do you plan to make up for the difference in price between the Candy Beans and Cloud Mist Tea? Or perhaps, are you planning to stop progressing right here? If you’re willing, I can process your department transfer right now, letting you focus on your Material processing with peace of mind..."

That way, it would prevent Ye Hong, that annoying old geezer, from mysteriously causing trouble all the time.

Ji You opened her mouth, "Teacher... that... we agreed to settle the difference between Cloud Mist Tea and Candy Beans after the online competition, didn’t we?" That’s... still half a month away.

Teacher Mu Jianling lifted her tone slightly: "Oh—since you won’t be able to complete it anyway, isn’t it better for me to collect the debt now to avoid it turning into a bad debt later?"

Ji You: "..."

Ji You retorted softly: "How can you be so sure that I won’t be able to complete it? There’s still half a month left." As she said this, Ji You gave Teacher Mu Jianling and Dr. Luo a smug look and said, "Plus—this might scare you, but I’ve entered the top 11 in the East District. Just one more step and I’m firmly in the finals."

Teacher Mu Jianling said: "Oh—only 11th place, huh."

Dr. Luo said: "Oh—not in the finals yet."

Ji You: "..."

Ji You’s mouth twitched, "I... I won’t talk to you guys about this anymore."

Teacher Mu Jianling, with her arms crossed at the elbows, said: "Then let’s talk about repaying the money. The three Candy Beans you bought on credit from me the day before yesterday, plus the previously bought Candy Beans and Cloud Mist Tea at a low price... that totals 5,000,250 credit points. Seeing that 250 looks quite pitiful, I’ll just round it down, let’s call it a clean 5 million. When do you plan to repay it?"

Ji You’s mouth dropped open: "5...5 million! When did it become so much?"

Teacher Mu Jianling raised an eyebrow, "Hmm... would I ever con your credit points?"

Sweat formed on Ji You’s forehead: "That... probably not..." After all, those two items, especially the Cloud Mist Tea, were indeed priceless treasures, and the price Teacher Mu calculated was actually quite fair.

It’s just that—

She can’t pay it back.

Thinking about the balance in her purse, Ji You feels nothing but bitterness.

Dr. Luo listened on the side, taking great pleasure in her misfortune, and with a smile suggested, "Hurry up and sign an indenture of servitude with your teacher, and be done with it once and for all."

Ji You: "..."

Ji You was somewhat incredulous: "Can the debt really be settled just like that?"

Mu Jianling, with arms crossed, said coldly: "Think you can easily get out of it? In your dreams! A contract is a contract, and the debt must be repaid."

Ji You pursed her lips and said, "Then I won’t sign it."

Mu Jianling nodded: "Okay! I’ll process your department transfer right away."

Ji You: "..."

Ji You quickly said, "I’ll sign! Sign! Sign! I’ll sign it right now!"

To be honest, Ji You really enjoyed fighting, loved the feeling of piloting a Mecha, and loved drifting through the vast Star Sea... What’s more important was that only by learning to fight, could she protect herself and her friends in the future...

So, giving up her studies in the Combat Department was out of the question.

Mu Jianling shoved the contract over and said, "Sign it!"

Ji You glanced at it and, without a word, signed her name.

Mu Jianling stuffed the signed contract into her Space Button, clapped her hands, and said, "Alright, my part is done. Dr. Luo, it’s time for you to arrange her treatment."

Dr. Luo, looking at Mu Jianling’s feigned indifference, sighed slightly and said, "Jianling, rest assured. With me here, she will be hopping around in no time."

Mu Jianling said gruffly, "I’m not worried about her."

Dr. Luo: "Alright, alright... you’re not worried about her at all."

Ji You, with her bright eyes, listened to the conversation between the two instructors. Then, sensing that Mu Jianling noticed her eavesdropping, she immediately turned her head, pointed at Ji You, and said abruptly, "Stuff this kid into the Repairing Chamber and isolate her for now. I don’t want to see that annoying face."

Ji You: "..."

Then, without any chance to resist, Ji You was forcibly pushed into the Repairing Chamber by the medical robot. When the chamber closed, the robot even thoughtfully set it to silent mode.

All the sounds from the outside were blocked by the door.

Ji You was somewhat speechless.

Outside.

Dr. Luo asked with a grave expression, "Are you really going to let the kid use a High-level Soul Device?"

Mu Jianling’s tone remained flat, saying, "It’s no use keeping it around, might as well give it to her."

Dr. Luo opened his mouth as if to persuade, but didn’t know what to say.

Mu Jianling lifted her gaze and looked out the window, speaking softly, "Don’t look at me like that."

Dr. Luo averted his eyes, hesitated, and then asked, "Is it... the Soul Device he left for you?"

Mu Jianling was taken aback for a moment, but soon regained her composure and said, "Yes."

"I didn’t expect... it to be the one he left you. I..." Dr. Luo thought Mu Jianling would deny it, but she admitted it so straightforwardly. He felt slightly emotional and unsure what to say, or whether he should persuade Mu Jianling to take it back. After a while, Dr. Luo finally said, "Since you’ve made up your mind, then let the kid have it."

Mu Jianling’s gaze was still somewhat vacant as she said, "Leaving it with me is ultimately pointless. I’d rather give it to Ji You. That child seems unreliable but is more hardworking than anyone. If this extinguishes her hopes, I wouldn’t be able to bear it."

Saying so, Mu Jianling took something off her neck and handed it to Dr. Luo.

Dr. Luo looked up and was mildly startled. Hanging on a fine Little Red thread was a small, exquisite ring.

Mu Jianling said, "This is it."

Dr. Luo didn’t know whether to accept it or not.

Mu Jianling’s face was cold as she explained stiffly, "Don’t misunderstand, this is not a token of love between him and me. I’ve been wearing it close to me because a High-level Soul Device needs to be nurtured by Spiritual Silk to prevent collapse, so that’s why I wore it."