Chapter 1: Owing Three Trillion, Creditors Beg Me Not to Die

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Yang Chen stood dumbfounded at the edge of the rooftop on the 33rd floor, a flood of memories not his own violently assaulting his mind. After a few seconds, everything returned to normal.

Piecing together these memories, Yang Chen understood why he was standing there.

He had transmigrated into a parallel world, inhabiting the body of another Yang Chen who shared his name. The original owner was the legal representative of the Four Seas Group, burdened with a debt of three trillion yuan. Creditors were clamoring for repayment, and the original Yang Chen, overwhelmed by despair, was about to end it all by jumping off the building.

Three trillion yuan! Even for ancestral tomb offerings, no one had ever burned that much money. What on earth did this lousy company do to owe such a staggering amount?

In reality, the original Yang Chen had nothing to do with the Four Seas Group. His fiancée, Zhang Xinyue, went on a drunken rampage and smashed a Rolls-Royce owned by Wang Sihai, chairman of the Four Seas Group. The couple couldn’t afford compensation, so Wang Sihai proposed that the original Yang Chen become the legal representative of the Four Seas Group. Not only would he avoid paying compensation, but he would also receive one million yuan.

The original owner, naïve and uneducated, foolishly agreed.

What happened next was predictable: the Wang family absconded with the funds, the Four Seas Group’s three trillion yuan debt defaulted, and creditors swarmed to collect their money.

At first, creditors wanted to liquidate the Four Seas Group’s assets to repay debts. But after an inventory, they found the company had at most 1.5 trillion yuan in assets, which would likely have to be sold at a 20-30% discount if quickly converted to cash. If the company were forced into bankruptcy liquidation, the theoretical debt shortfall would be nearly two trillion yuan.

Moreover, banks and institutional creditors would be repaid first, leaving other creditors empty-handed. Naturally, none of them agreed to the bankruptcy liquidation.

They had considered finding someone to take over the debt, but no one was willing to shoulder such a colossal liability.

In desperation, creditors sought to hold the legal representative, the original Yang Chen, jointly liable. They didn’t expect him to repay the debt but needed someone accountable to prevent forced liquidation.

Upon hearing that she might be responsible for three trillion yuan in debt, Zhang Xinyue stole the one million yuan and vanished without a trace.

The original owner lost all hope and stood on the rooftop of the 33rd floor.

“Damn it, this is pathetic!” Yang Chen cursed under his breath.

To stoop this low for a woman who then ran off with the money—what a disgrace.

Below, a crowd had gathered. On the outskirts were curious residents; closer in were the creditors.

Li Jun, branch manager of the Industrial and Commercial Bank in Jiangcheng, shouted, “Don’t jump! Let’s talk this through!”

Due to the strong wind, Yang Chen couldn’t hear clearly.

“What did you say? The wind is too strong; I can’t hear!” Yang Chen replied.

From the 20th floor, an elderly resident poked his head out the window to watch the commotion and said, “He said if you jump, you can talk to him properly.”

Yang Chen: “…”

Damn, are people in this world really this heartless?

Branch manager Li Jun, anxious, jumped up and shouted, “No! No! That’s not what I said! Don’t jump, don’t jump!”

The old man looked up and relayed to Yang Chen, “See? He’s afraid you can’t hear, so he jumped up and said, ‘Jump quickly, jump quickly.’”

“Damn it, do you think I’m scared?” Yang Chen snapped.

The old man turned his head and yelled down, “He says ‘Screw you, do you think I’m scared?’”

Yang Chen’s eyes widened. He hurriedly said, “Sir, if your hearing isn’t good, please don’t relay messages; it causes misunderstandings!”

The old man confidently responded, “Really? I heard it clearly and conveyed it accurately.”

Gao Han, chairman of the Urban Construction Group, shouted, “Don’t be so scared, come down quickly. It’s not that serious.”

The old man looked up again and told Yang Chen, “Hey, young man, I heard it right this time. The people below said don’t be afraid; come down quickly. It’s not that serious.”

Gao Han stomped his feet nervously and shouted, “No! No! I didn’t say that! Old man, don’t spread rumors! Someone, come quickly, go up and shut that old man’s mouth! Hurry, hurry!”

The police rushed up to find the old man. If he kept talking like this, something serious might happen.

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Although Yang Chen couldn’t hear what was being said clearly, he could tell the crowd was very tense.

Suddenly, an old man from the sidelines egged him on, shouting hoarsely, “Are you going to jump or not? If you have guts, jump! If not, I’ll look down on you!”

Gao Han immediately turned and cursed, “Who the hell said that? Encouraging someone to jump is punishable by law! You’re committing a crime! Arrest him, detain him immediately!”

Branch manager Li Jun also shouted towards the old man, “If anything happens to him, I’ll sue you until you’re ruined! If you don’t let me live in peace, then none of us will!”

The crowd instantly fell silent; the onlookers dared not speak.

Yang Chen now understood the situation more clearly and couldn’t help but curse the original owner again.

“Damn it, what was he thinking? Why would he want to die? Owing someone thirty thousand yuan, I’d beg the creditors for more time. Owing three trillion, the creditors should be praying every day that I don’t die. They should be the ones scared, not me,” Yang Chen muttered.

At that moment, a mechanical voice echoed through his mind.

“Ding! Detected host’s good mentality. System ‘Why Should I Repay Debts I Incurred By My Own Skill’ seeking binding…”

A system?

Here it comes, just as expected.

With a name like that, so hardcore, if I don’t take off with such a system, then who will?

“Bind! Bind!” Yang Chen quickly said.

“Host command received. System binding initiated.”

“Binding…”

“Binding complete!”

“Congratulations, host, you have bound the system ‘Why Should I Repay Debts I Incurred By My Own Skill.’ Click to view system introduction.”

Yang Chen used his mind to click and check the details.

The system’s name said it all: when creditors come after Yang Chen for repayment, and he refuses, the system will reward him with various benefits, including—but not limited to—skills, technology, items, money, and more.

Yang Chen could freely use the system’s rewards to invest, spend, or repay debts.

Obviously, the system didn’t encourage him to be a deadbeat; it required him to use his abilities to earn money and solve the problem.

At this moment, the system issued another reminder.

“Although the system is bound, the host must complete a task to activate it. Activation task: acquire 67% of the shares in Four Seas Group held by Wang Sihai and Tong Jiamei. Completion rewards host with skill ‘Guaranteed Profit on Every Purchase.’”

The task aimed for Yang Chen to obtain a controlling stake in Four Seas Group, so that when he grows and strengthens the company, he reaps the greatest benefits.

Even if the system hadn’t given this task, Yang Chen would have done it anyway.

Four Seas Group was delisted. Wang Sihai and his wife had fled. Acquiring that 67% stake was not impossible—just required some effort.

Now came the test of acting skills.

Yang Chen dangled his legs, sitting on the railing. The creditors below panicked instantly.

“Don’t be impulsive! Don’t be impulsive!”

“Let’s talk this through!”

“Don’t jump! If you do, the property value of this whole building will collapse. Our family wealth for three generations is tied up in these apartments. You can’t ruin us!”

“I’m begging you on my knees, don’t jump! If you do, my career is over!”

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“I’m on my knees too, please don’t jump. Come down and let’s talk. Everything can be negotiated.”

…

There really were people kneeling—everyone was terrified that Yang Chen might die.

Just as Yang Chen thought, as long as he lived, these debts were merely outstanding payments. If he died, no one would take over Four Seas Group, and these debts would become bad debts.

To have 1.5 trillion yuan in liquidatable assets yet owe three trillion yuan—there must be some shady dealings. Could those who issued the loans withstand an investigation?

This financial bomb must not explode, or they would all be in deep trouble.

Yang Chen could hold this secret over their heads forever.

Once he understood their mindset, Yang Chen could make demands.

“You all come up here and talk to me!” he shouted.

Thanks to a helpful resident relaying messages, the creditors hurried up to the rooftop.

Yang Chen, still sitting with his legs dangling over the edge, calmly looked at the creditors begging him to come down.

After they finished speaking, Yang Chen said, “I was a fool to fall for it. Wang Sihai, that old bastard, tricked me. The three trillion yuan debt of Four Seas Group has nothing to do with me. I’m a high school dropout with no ability to repay. Just have mercy on me. Okay?”

Branch manager Li Jun quickly said, “It’s okay if you can’t repay it, but you have to stay alive. You must live for at least three more years. Okay?”

Li Jun’s three-year term would end then; he might be promoted, transferred, or resign. Whether the debt exploded after that was no longer his concern.

“Right, right, if you can’t repay, it’s fine. We never expected you to. We just need you to exist. Understand?” Gao Han, chairman of Urban Construction Group, added.

Whether the debts could be recovered didn’t matter; they only hoped the crisis wouldn’t erupt. But private creditors had different views.

“That won’t do! You have to find a way to lead Four Seas Group to make money and repay debts. Hundreds of our workers are waiting for their wages.”

“We supply batteries to Four Seas Motors. Because we haven’t been paid, we’re on the brink of collapse. Hundreds of workers haven’t been paid for half a year. No matter what, you have to find a way to make money and repay the debts.”

“I’m so wronged! I regularly send female celebrities for Wang Sihai to play with, but Four Seas Group even cheats our company artists out of their hard-earned money. If I can’t get the money back, how do I face the artists? No one has ever been pimped out like this before.”

…

Yang Chen stood up, one foot dangling outside the railing. “Forget it, I might as well die. How could a powerless nobody like me possibly earn enough to pay off so much debt?”

The creditors panicked again.

“No, no, no!”

“Let’s talk it through!”

“Are you guys crazy? First, get him down safely before talking about anything else.”

“You can make any deal you want, just don’t die.”

“Right, right, as long as you don’t die, everything’s negotiable.”

…