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Wang Tie drank two large glasses of water before he could catch his breath.

Lin Feng pulled him into the tent and had Zhang Qian stand guard outside to prevent anyone from getting close.

"Tell me, what happened?"

Wang Tie wiped his mouth, sat on the cot, and spoke in a deep voice.

"Li Ming's family owes a lot of money, you know? It's loan sharks. He was forced by his family to come to the North to risk his life."

Lin Feng nodded. He had heard about this on his first day in the Northern Territory.

"After you left a while ago, the Seventh Defense Line was relatively peaceful for a period of time. That kid Li Ming is quite promising. Relying on the combat techniques you taught him, he farmed monsters in the rifts, accumulated a lot of magic cores, and broke through to the fifth level of Martial Apprentice."

Wang Tie paused.

"But the high-interest loan his family owes has ballooned to 800,000 yuan in principal and interest."

"Eight hundred thousand?" Lin Feng frowned.

"Yes, interest compoundes, it just keeps growing. The debt collectors have come all the way to the North and are blocking the camp entrance."

Wang Tie's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Four martial artists, the strongest of whom is a sixth-level martial artist. They're always squatting outside the camp, surrounding Li Ming as soon as he comes out."

Where is Chen Lie?

"Instructor Chen said it was a private debt dispute and the military couldn't intervene directly. He kicked those people out of the camp, but they refused to leave, and the area outside the camp wasn't under the military's jurisdiction."

Lin Feng leaned against the headboard, tapping his knees with his fingers.

"and then?"

"In order to repay his debts, Li Ming desperately tried to crawl into the cracks. He would crawl into one during the day and another at night, even sacrificing his sleep."

Wang Tie gritted his teeth.

"Three days ago, he entered an E-level rift and hasn't come out yet."

The tent was quiet for a few seconds.

"Three days?"

"Three days." Wang Tie's voice was hoarse. "The respawn cycle for the beasts in the E-level rift is seven days. When he went in, the beasts in the rift had already respawned once. He was only at the fifth level of Martial Apprentice; going in would have been suicide."

Lin Feng remained silent.

Entering an E-level rift at the fifth stage of martial arts is indeed a matter of life and death.

But Li Ming wasn't the kind of person to act rashly; he was driven to desperation.

Do you know whose money he owes?

Wang Tie hesitated for a moment.

"I've checked."

He pulled a crumpled copy of an IOU from his pocket and handed it to Lin Feng.

The IOU was addressed to four characters.

Zhao's Money Shop.

Lin Feng stared at that word.

Zhao.

It's the Zhao family again.

"Zhao's Money House is an enterprise under the Zhao family of Qingzhou, specializing in usury, with branches in several counties around the northern border." Wang Tie lowered his voice, "When Li Ming's family borrowed the money, they didn't know that the Zhao family was behind it. By the time they found out, it was too late to pay it back."

Lin Feng placed the IOU on the bed, stood up, and took a few steps.

He thought about Li Ming.

On their first day in the North, Li Ming huddled in the last row of the vehicle, his pants completely wet from wetting himself.

On the night of the beast tide, Li Ming trembled in a corner, unable to even hold his knife steady.

But later, he stepped forward.

I want to go too.

"I don't want to be bullied anymore."

When Li Ming said those two sentences, there was a stubborn look in his eyes.

That stubbornness is very much like my original self.

Moreover, Li Ming had helped him.

When they were on the seventh line of defense, Li Ming helped them guard and stand guard, and he never asked for a penny more than his allotted money.

Although Li Ming was weak when entering the crevice, he never failed.

To be honest, Raymond Lam is not a great philanthropist.

He hadn't originally intended to get involved in such matters.

The 800,000 yuan high-interest loan is Li Ming's own business.

The people of the North each have their own troubles and their own messy affairs, too many to manage.

But the Zhao family...

He has already dealt with this surname twice.

The first time, it was Zhao Tianxiong. The deputy commander, who was involved in reselling military supplies, had his throat slit by Zhao.

The second time, Zhao Yuan and Uncle Fu, the direct descendant of the Zhao family and the spiritual master's bodyguard, died in the crack.

Zhao Kun, the second elder of the Zhao family, led a group to investigate the case, but was driven away by Li Zhenguo.

Now it's the Zhao family again.

"Wang Tie".

"Um?"

"Where is Li Mingjin's crack?"

Wang Tie suddenly looked up.

"Twelve kilometers northwest of the seventh line of defense, designated E17."

Lin Feng picked up Lieshan.

"Let's go, let's get them out."

Wang Tie jumped up.

"I knew you'd take care of it!"

"Don't be too happy yet." Lin Feng pushed open the tent door. "Let's get them out first."

He stepped out of the tent and ran into Zhang Qian.

"Sergeant Lin, are you going out?"

"Go to the Seventh Line of Defense."

"Oh? You just got back..."

"Please tell Commander Li for me, it's a personal matter."

Zhang Qian opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back.

He's used to it.

Lin Feng and Wang Tie left the camp and headed towards the seventh line of defense.

On the way, Lin Feng asked a question.

"Are those martial artists who came to collect debts still outside the camp?"

"Two left, but two are still here, refusing to leave. They're saying they'll fight Li Ming to the bitter end if he doesn't pay back the money."

"Eight hundred thousand, and the interest is still rising?"

"Yes, it increases by 20% every month."

Lin Feng did the math.

A monthly interest rate of 20% adds up to 240% over a year.

Eight hundred thousand becomes one million nine hundred and twenty thousand after one year.

This isn't lending; this is leeching.

"Once you get there, go find Chen Lie first and tell him what happened. I'll handle those two debt collectors."

Wang Tie nodded and quickened his pace.

The two reached the seventh line of defense in less than an hour.

At the entrance of the camp, two middle-aged men were squatting against the wall playing cards.

One is a fourth-dan martial artist, and the other is a third-dan martial artist.

Seeing Wang Tie return, one of them looked up, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, and asked casually.

"Oh, you're back again? Your brother hasn't crawled out of the crack yet. Should we burn some paper money for him?"

The other one burst out laughing.

Wang Tie clenched his fist, but Lin Feng pressed down on his shoulder.

"Go find Chen Lie first."

Wang Tie glanced at Lin Feng, nodded, and quickly entered the camp.

Lin Feng walked up to the two debt collectors.

"Is this the kind of money Li Ming owes you, and you're here to collect it?"

The man with the grass in his mouth looked up at him.

Who are you?

"His friend."

"Friends?" The man with the grass in his mouth scoffed. "He has plenty of friends, but none of them have ever paid off his debts. And you're here to plead for him too?"

"I'm not pleading for them."

Lin Feng squatted down to be at eye level with the two of them.

"I have a question for you."

"Is the owner of your Zhao Family Money Shop from the Zhao family of Qingzhou?"

The man with the grass in his mouth paused for a moment, then puffed out his chest.

"Yes, it's a business owned by the Zhao family. What's wrong? Shouldn't you be more discreet now that you've heard the Zhao family's name?"

Lin Feng nodded.

"The Zhao family."

He stood up.

"That's perfect."