How did they suddenly start calling each other brothers?

Perhaps because Li Ang's tone was too sincere, his attitude too earnest,

the ghost couldn't help but ask, "Did you take out a campus loan too?"

"More than just took one out."

Li Ang's expression was solemn as he began to fabricate a story with a straight face. "Starting from my first year of high school, I've been scraping together small loans from all sorts of lending platforms.

At my peak, I had accounts registered on over a hundred apps, maxed out thirty or forty credit cards, and received countless enthusiastic phone calls day and night.

Every city I've drifted to has had underworld brothers looking for trouble with me."

The high school student living on Hinode Island opened his mouth. "You too..."

"Little brother, since we're both down on our luck, why not tell me your story?"

Li Ang used his skill of speaking human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts, and familiarly put his arm around the other's ice-cold shoulder,

producing a cigarette from who knows where and handing it over.

The other party subconsciously took the cigarette but didn't smoke it. Instead, he hesitated and began to introduce his story.

Hinode Island has had a so-called "borrowing culture" since ancient times, with a common saying: "Edoites don't keep money overnight,"

meaning Edo people don't save money for the next day, that is, live for the moment. Whenever they run out of money, they borrow it.

These loans are all short-term, with extremely high interest rates, such as 10% every ten days, 20% every ten days, or even 50% every ten days, or 10% per day.

In the 1970s, the American concept of pre-consumption was introduced to Hinode Island, allowing the borrowing culture that had previously belonged to the middle class to enter the lower class.

At that time, Hinode Island's rapid economic take-off also promoted the prevalence of this extravagant trend of advance consumption.

With the support of institutions such as the Financial Services Agency, the Japan Legal Support Center, the National Consumer Affairs Center, law firms, and banks, various lending companies sprang up like mushrooms after a rain. Among them, there were many companies specializing in *gaolidài* (high interest loan) business.

Hinode Island also has laws stating that "interest rates exceeding a certain value are invalid." Some *gaolidài* companies clearly tell their clients before lending that the interest is 50% every ten days.

If they can't repay, they can even call the police and don't have to repay—but most borrowers are unwilling because they can't live without continuous loans.

The ordinary high school student named Ishida Inamori in front of Li Ang was one of the victims.

At first, he just borrowed money to buy a brand-new smartphone because of vanity. Unexpectedly, after he couldn't repay the money, he was bewitched to borrow money from another lending company to repay the loan.

He didn't expect that he couldn't repay the money again. Ishida Inamori, with the "awkward and petty" characteristics of the Hinode people, didn't confess to his parents but hardened his heart and went to the casino, hoping to achieve a comeback through good luck.

Naturally, he lost everything, even his pants, and owed nearly a million yen.

As the interest continued to roll and grow, the anxious and desperate Ishida Inamori finally ushered in the day when the truth was revealed to his family.

Ishida Inamori's parents were just ordinary working class, and they couldn't repay so much money at once. The debt collection company constantly sent fierce-looking burly men to Inamori's family and even near the school to carry out various threats.

"If you don't have money, hurry up and sell blood, sell kidneys, sell eyeballs. If you can't bear to, sell your house. In short, you must repay the money on time!"

All kinds of pressure led Ishida Inamori to a dead end. One afternoon, he hung an electric wire on the railing of the dormitory bed...

The banknotes laid on the floor of this corridor were from teenagers who, like Ishida Inamori, were forced to a dead end by *gaolidài*.

Li Ang patted Ishida Inamori on the shoulder sympathetically, took out a cigarette from who knows where, and began to talk about the past,

"Compared to me, you guys are much luckier."

"Lucky?"

Ishida Inamori clenched his teeth, his eyes revealing a hatred as sharp as a knife. "I was forced to death by those people! There is no one more hateful or cunning in the world than them!"

"Young man, there are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens. Compared with those real P2P lending scams, the *gaolidài* companies in Hinode Island are just children playing house."

Li Ang smiled and said, "P2P lending scam companies hire many legal experts to try to circumvent the law.

For example, if someone comes to borrow 5,000, with a monthly interest of 2,000,

the *gaolidài* will write an IOU saying they borrowed 7,000, with a monthly interest of 3,000.

If they don't repay, they will write another IOU saying they borrowed 10,000, with an interest of 5,000.

Like this, interest rolls on interest, and the borrower has no chance to turn over. The *gaolidài* company will then bewitch them to continue borrowing from other companies to fill the gap.

The amount on each contract doesn't look high, but there are all kinds of messy consulting fees, service fees, and management fees, which add up to an explosion.

After a few rounds of kicking the ball around, the small amount has rolled into a big snowball, and there is no way to recover.

What's even better is that the *gaolidài* company can legally eat up the borrower's house through notarized entrustment and judicial auction, and can also use litigation to convert illegal debts into legal ones.

Moreover, because the relevant accountability model is unclear, even if the person in charge of the *gaolidài* is caught, it is difficult to hold them accountable according to strict and powerful legal provisions in the short term.

In other words, in the eyes of cultured, law-abiding *gaolidài* hooligans, the cost of crime is terribly low, and the potential profits are enough to make people rush forward one after another.

If I told you that there was an online consumer loan provider that made a fortune by eating human blood buns and was listed in America, and its total market value was炒 (chǎo – speculated) to nearly 10 billion US dollars, you definitely wouldn't believe it.

Back then, I was forced to run away because I borrowed a small amount of 2,000 yuan, and ended up chatting and laughing with the old brothers on the forum.

What 'You'll only win if you work hard, you'll only get rich if you bet big', 'If you want to get rich, bet heavily', 'Which kid cries every day, which old brother loses every day'.

Three or five bottles, military physical training, blindly press a zero on the card number, it's all about fate,

In the end, I had no choice but to be paralyzed on the bed with the Sanhe Gods."

Li Ang spoke all kinds of underworld slang, patted the stunned Ishida Inamori on the shoulder, and said with emotion, "You are not alone. There are thousands upon thousands of people in this world who are as miserable as you, or even more miserable.

Campus loans are untouchable. Once you get involved, you will be doomed forever."

Ishida Inamori swallowed hard, completely forgetting that he was going to harm Li Ang just now. "Then we... is there really no way?"

"A way... it's not that there isn't one."

Li Ang thought for a while and patted Ishida Inamori on the shoulder. "Inamori-kun..."

"Li-ge, just call me Ishida."

Ishida Inamori said sincerely.

"Okay, Ishida," Li Ang nodded and said hesitantly, "You... are a ghost, right?"

"Yeah." Ishida Inamori nodded, his mood a little low. "Ah, when I think about it carefully, I really am letting my parents down."

"Yes, Ishida, you abandoned your parents and sought liberation on your own. It really is an irresponsible thing."

Li Ang first rebuked him and immediately said, "However, since things have already happened, there is no turning back. Ishida, take this briefcase of money and give it to your parents.

The US dollars inside are not consecutive, and they are absolutely safe. You can use them with confidence."

Ishida Inamori took the briefcase, immediately relieved the coldness of Li Ang's arm, and his expression was very moved. "Li-ge..."

"We're both down on our luck. Seeing you,

it reminds me of myself."

Li Ang said with great emotion, "Ishida, have you ever thought about retaliating against those who killed you?"

"Who? *Gaolidài*?"

Holding the briefcase, Ishida Inamori was a little melancholy. "After discovering that I had become a ghost, I also wanted to take revenge on them, but those who do *gaolidài* business are all fierce gang members.

Once I leave this school, my magic power will be immediately weakened, and I can't assassinate a strong man full of baleful aura."

Li Ang smiled. "If assassination is impossible, you can always do some pranks."

Ishida Inamori was stunned. "Pranks?"

"That's right."

Li Ang nodded. "For example, when no one is around, you can splash red paint on the *gaolidài*'s doorstep, draw on their doorstep with excrement, and write 'Repay debts'.

In the middle of the night, frantically knock on the windows of their second floor.

Take the toilet brush out and put it in their refrigerator, puncture their car tires..."

Li Ang rambled on and on, telling Ishida Inamori a lot of insidious tricks, leaving this ordinary youth stunned.

"Moreover, since you are a ghost, they can't catch you at all. Even if the top members of the *gaolidài* company can spend a lot of money to hire *yinyangshi* (Onmyōji) or something to protect themselves, they can't protect their subordinates."

Li Ang induced him. "By using the resentment and hatred on the gang members, you, as a ghost, can not only increase your magic power but also protect those unfortunate people who have encountered the same fate as you, so that they don't end up on a dead end."

"But..."

Ishida Inamori said uncertainly, "Is it really okay to do this? I always feel..."

"He who harms others will be harmed by others!"

Li Ang said righteously, "No matter how they use 'contract spirit' to whitewash themselves, they can't change the fact that they are eating human blood buns.

Ishida, don't you want to act as an envoy of justice and uphold justice in the dark?!"

Ishida Inamori was moved by Li Ang's righteousness and nodded heavily. "Yes! Li-ge, I'll listen to you!"

"Very good,"

Li Ang nodded with satisfaction and gently punched Ishida Inamori on the shoulder. "DC has Batman, Marvel has Iron Man. You, as a Hinode Island superhero, should also have a code name."

Ishida Inamori asked, "Like?"

Li Ang smiled. "Since it's a code name, the primary purpose is to hide your real identity. In the future, you can pretend to be a ghost from South Korea, named 'Gao Li Dai Xia' (High Interest Loan Knight)."