Chapter One: Microloans Aren't Really Loans

“Mr. Chen, your credit limit has been exceeded. Please check the details…”

“Son, let’s stop playing this game. Every round costs tens of thousands. No matter how much family wealth you have, you can’t afford to squander it like this. If you keep going, our whole family will have to scrape by!”

“Mom, trust me. The Deep Sea Company just released a new dungeon—the Shibuya Incident. Someone sold me insider information. I’m going all in this time. I’ll definitely make a big profit and win back all the equipment I lost before!”

“Sigh…”

Pain. A sharp pain in his head!

Countless fragments flooded into Chen Lai’s mind like a torrent, causing his skull to pound unbearably.

What’s going on? Wasn’t he driving just now? Did the truck coming the other way flash its high beams and dazzle him?

Opening his eyes, Chen Lai felt disoriented. After a moment, a smile crept across his face.

This wasn’t his home. His rented apartment in the Magic City wasn’t furnished like this. He must have been transported to a different world, just like other travelers.

A spoonful of broth—

The fragments in his mind were real, memories originally belonging to this body.

This world was roughly the same as Earth in his previous life, the only difference being a peculiar game company: Deep Sea Company.

This company was a global giant, a Tesla of the gaming world, almost monopolizing the entire industry. Why? Because their games let players experience the world firsthand!

Every world felt so real. The passage of time inside the game matched reality at a one-to-one ratio. The storylines never repeated, and the characters were intricately logical…

Most importantly, as a company specializing in “search, fight, retreat” style games, every precious item you brought out from the game could be exchanged for money!

Virtual goods converted into real gold and silver! Did games like this exist in his past life?

Such a game naturally drew countless players rushing in. Office workers and students would dive into Deep Sea games during breaks to earn some cash. Those with talent could become professional gold diggers!

Gold diggers were like the 20th-century gold miners of old San Francisco—a single key item could make them overnight millionaires.

The original owner of this body, Chen Lai, was a graduate who aspired to be a professional gold digger in Deep Sea games. After college, he immersed himself in gold digging…but unfortunately, he had no talent!

“Mr. Chen, your quick loan is overdue. If you don’t repay, our company will take legal action to collect…”

His phone vibrated with messages, but Chen Lai paid no attention. These debts were all from the original owner—small loans amounting to over a hundred thousand yuan… all sunk into Deep Sea games!

Yes, all spent on the game! Deep Sea’s games required upfront battle gear fees to enter dungeons, and costs varied between dungeons. Ordinary ones cost thousands, but secret dungeons had tickets priced at fifty thousand!

“Damn it, not a penny earned and still dreaming of being a gold digger. This original owner was truly ruined by the game.”

Chen Lai’s mood was sour as he took out his phone and unlocked the screen.

An intrusive ad immediately popped up: a vast azure ocean with an iceberg’s tip above water and a dark expanse beneath, evoking countless imaginations.

[Deep Sea Company—We Only Do Reality]

“Heh, that’s an interesting slogan,” Chen Lai smiled. Such a tagline would never be dared by game companies in his past life.

Just as he was about to close the ad, his finger hesitated.

The original owner owed so much money. His mother had used all her savings to help repay debts. Some of the money that should have gone to repayment was diverted to buy insider information and gear for the next dungeon.

Insider information, new dungeons… it all sounded like a scam.

Chen Lai didn’t believe in insider tips. If such information were real, the seller would keep the profit instead of selling it to him.

Unfortunately, the original owner had already become addicted and couldn’t extricate himself.

“Deep Sea Company… let’s take a look. The gear’s already bought. The original owner had no gaming talent, maybe I do?”

With that thought, Chen Lai tapped the iceberg in the ad, and the webpage immediately shifted.

[Curse, Resentment—The Collection of Humanity’s Negatives]

[True Friends, Sincere Feelings—The Eyes of the Gods Are Sealed]

Two red lines leapt from the screen, powerfully capturing the viewer’s attention.

A subway slowly approached from afar. Nearby passengers waiting to board stood up, lining up at the barrier. Each wore down jackets and scarves—winter, it seemed.

The next moment, time froze. Laughing young men and women, weary office workers—their lifting feet were suspended in mid-air.

A pair of eyes appeared on the screen—beautiful, sapphire blue, emotionless, staring at those beyond the screen.

“Limitless Void,” said the eyes’ owner.

White fingers intertwined as if old TV static waves filled the vision, from light-years away down to cellular division—countless streams of information immobilized the viewer.

The screen went black; all fell silent.

[New Secret Dungeon: The Shibuya Incident—Now Open]

[Entry Battle Gear Fee: Fifty Thousand Yuan]

“Whew—whew—”

Chen Lai felt like he could finally breathe again.

Those eyes could blank out his mind through the screen?

Satoru Gojo, you sly devil!

Yes, Chen Lai recognized the owner of those blue eyes—it was the true protagonist from the manga he had read in his past life, Jujutsu Kaisen: Satoru Gojo!

And this so-called [Shibuya Incident] dungeon was just a climactic chapter from that manga.

“So, in this world, no one knows about Jujutsu Kaisen? No one knows the story?”

Chen Lai was stunned. What kind of third-rate novel trope was this?

Switching to another search engine, Chen Lai looked up Jujutsu Kaisen.

Zero results.

It really didn’t exist here. Maybe because it had become “reality” in this world.

If that’s the case, Chen Lai wasn’t sleepy anymore. He alone knew the story? Then he could exploit it to his fullest advantage and rake in a fortune!

With that thought, Chen Lai checked his bank card to see how much gold he could still withdraw.

The original owner’s mother had given him 120,000 yuan to pay off debts.

Fifty thousand went to settle a nearly exploded loan, twenty thousand bought the so-called insider info, and the remaining fifty thousand was the entry battle gear fee.

Chen Lai frowned.

Fifty thousand? What good was that? If you’re going to do this, do it big!

Already destitute, yet not daring to gamble big—how could he turn his fortunes around?

Downloading a slew of flashy loan apps, Chen Lai recklessly borrowed a huge sum more!

Using loans to pay loans, borrowing to fund further borrowing!

He’d crossed worlds; what was there to worry about? All in!

With a flurry of actions, Chen Lai raised the balance in his bank account to around 100,000 yuan.

That was the limit—the maximum he could borrow with just his diploma.

“Time to log in and show my real skills!”