Chapter 123 – Planning the Bank

Chapter 123 – Planning the Bank

As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the bank’s facade. Upon entering the bank’s main door, they found themselves in a spacious hall. Numerous virtual panels lined the walls, and Cheng Yang knew these panels functioned similarly to the ATMs from before the apocalypse.

In the center of the hall’s inner section stood several private offices, each exuding an air of luxury in their decor.

Cheng Yang pointed to the central office and said, “Wang Lu, that will be your workspace from now on.”

Wang Lu quickly walked over. The layout inside bore some resemblance to modern offices, though not a single piece of electrical equipment could be seen. Instead, a highly magical virtual screen rested on the desk.

This screen displayed numerous permissions and settings options that Wang Lu could modify and configure. However, the most fundamental settings required confirmation from Cheng Yang, the lord, before they could take effect.

Cheng Yang didn’t need to operate within the bank itself. He could handle everything from the territory altar, as all buildings in the territory had a dedicated control panel there accessible only to him.

After Wang Lu familiarized herself with the environment, Cheng Yang instructed, “I’ll transfer 70,000 spirit energy points to you shortly. Open up loans to all citizens. Set the maximum loan amount per person to their daily income, with a cumulative loan limit not exceeding two days’ worth of income. The maximum repayment period should be 10 days. Once you submit these settings, I’ll approve them immediately.”

Wang Lu nodded, then asked, “What about the interest rate?”

Cheng Yang thought for a moment before replying, “Set the daily interest rate at 1%. For loans where the interest amounts to less than 1 spirit energy point, round it up to 1 point.”

Wang Lu hesitated, “Isn’t that a bit high?”

Cheng Yang explained, “It’s not that high. In fact, it might increase in the future. Different groups will have different loan ratios. After all, these aren’t peaceful times. The mortality rate among combatants is much higher than before the apocalypse. There will inevitably be some bad debts, and the lending risk is quite substantial. I wouldn’t be surprised if daily interest rates reach 5% in the future.”

Wang Lu suddenly understood, but then asked another question, “Lord, what if someone defaults on their loan?”

Cheng Yang smiled, “That won’t happen. The reason I had to establish this bank before opening lending services is that it operates under divine rules. Anyone who borrows spirit energy from the bank enters into a contract supervised by these rules. When the agreed repayment time comes, the spirit energy will be automatically deducted from their personal account. If they die in battle, their account balance will first be used to repay the debt. This rule is effective no matter where the borrower is.”

Wang Lu felt reassured. After all, if the bank had too many bad debts, even high interest rates wouldn’t help.

Cheng Yang continued, “The bank will also offer deposit services. Let’s set the interest rate at 0.1% for now, though I doubt many people will deposit money at this stage.”

Wang Lu nodded. She was well aware of the current spirit energy situation in the territory. Most people barely had enough spirit energy for daily use, let alone any surplus to deposit. Of course, Cheng Yang was an exception – his current spirit energy reserves would shock many people.

Cheng Yang then transferred 200,000 spirit energy points from his personal account – funds he had previously extorted from Yuan Jianze.

Seeing such a large sum suddenly appear in the bank’s reserves, Wang Lu was startled. She remembered Cheng Yang had mentioned transferring 70,000 points, not 200,000.

Noticing her confusion, Cheng Yang explained with a smile, “These 200,000 points are my personal deposit. You’ll need to pay me 200 points daily in interest. The 70,000 I mentioned earlier is territory spirit energy, part of the territory’s funds. The bank’s profits will be used to grow this portion of the territory’s capital.”

Wang Lu finally understood, though she couldn’t help but marvel at Cheng Yang’s ability to accumulate spirit energy so quickly.

After leaving Wang Lu to manage the bank, Cheng Yang headed to the territory altar. There, he transferred another 70,000 spirit energy points from the territory’s funds to the bank, bringing the bank’s total reserves to 270,000 points.

Cheng Yang did some quick calculations. If all these funds were loaned out (excluding bad debts), the territory could generate 2,700 spirit energy points daily. After deducting his interest and potential bad debts, the net gain would likely be around 2,000 points.

Currently, all combatants in Phoenix Village were part of the military. Under unified operations, Cheng Yang maintained absolute superiority over opponents. Combined with the constant presence of priests and potions, casualties remained minimal. Thus, the current profits were approaching 2,500 points daily.

This proved to be an effective method for increasing the territory’s spirit energy reserves. Compared to asking combatants to donate spirit energy, this approach benefited both parties. However, if combatants wanted to increase their contribution points, they would need to make contributions through donations or other means.

Cheng Yang’s personal account still held over 110,000 spirit energy points, plus the 10,000 he had lent to Liu Hao and others for quadruple cultivation speed. The total approached 130,000 points. He didn’t plan to deposit these in the bank, as he needed them to activate eightfold cultivation speed.

Over the next four days, Phoenix Village continued its steady development. While the number of combatants didn’t increase, their strength improved dramatically.

Among the nearly 2,000 combatants, many from the earliest batches of recruits had advanced to mid-level apprentice rank, numbering about a hundred. These individuals all held management positions in various military camps, ranging from deputy commanders to squad leaders.

The main reason more hadn’t advanced wasn’t lack of spirit energy for higher cultivation speeds, but rather insufficient funds to support quadruple cultivation for all combatants.

However, the situation was improving. The combatants turned their attention to the public resource accounts Cheng Yang distributed daily. Since squad leaders could allocate these funds, after consulting Cheng Yang, they pooled 1,000 spirit energy points. Following Cheng Yang’s earlier method, five squads would combine resources and take turns activating quadruple cultivation speed.

This arrangement allowed about half the combatants to access quadruple cultivation speed. However, most combatants still couldn’t fully sustain this level of cultivation, leading to a surge in the bank’s business.

A 1% interest rate seemed reasonable to these combatants. They understood that even if borrowing allowed them to advance just one day earlier, that extra day would more than cover the interest. Moreover, maintaining quadruple cultivation speed effectively doubled their progress.

Through the military system’s formal operation and the bank’s utilization, Phoenix Village had fully activated its spirit energy economy, maximizing its potential. Combined with the 300,000 spirit energy points extorted from Yuan Jianze over three days, the Phoenix Bank’s reserves became exceptionally robust.

Additionally, after distributing military salaries and public spirit energy each day, about 50,000 to 60,000 points remained, which Cheng Yang also deposited into the bank. This brought the bank’s total funds to nearly 800,000 points.

However, it would be a mistake to think that maintaining an army was a profitable way to accumulate spirit energy.

Cheng Yang’s current calculations didn’t include equipment distribution, soldier death benefits, or future resources that might enhance strength.

Equipping soldiers was particularly costly. Outfitting a single soldier with a full set of black iron apprentice-grade equipment cost nearly 1,000 spirit energy points, while bronze-grade equipment was even more expensive.

Death benefits could vary greatly. Cheng Yang believed in treating those who served Phoenix Village well, so he implemented generous compensation policies. Fortunately, fewer than ten combatants had died so far, mostly inexperienced recruits. Thus, the compensation payments under the recently established system remained manageable.

As for future strength-enhancing resources, they represented a bottomless pit. No one knew what might appear or how much it would cost. Therefore, accumulating a substantial reserve of spirit energy was undoubtedly necessary.

The past four days brought other gains as well. The territory had accumulated over 7,000 cubic meters of wood and 5,000 cubic meters of stone. However, these quantities were still insufficient to complete Phoenix Village’s final structure – the level three wall. As for building the road from East Mountain Village to Phoenix Village, the 5,000 cubic meters of stone were barely a drop in the bucket.

Meanwhile, Phoenix Village’s two subsidiary settlements continued their steady development. Both Xianghe Village and East Mountain Village had reached level 3, with their profession statues nearing level 4.

Each subsidiary settlement now boasted about 800 combatants, forming a considerable force.

However, advancing these settlements to level 4 would prove challenging, as cultivating three low-level warrior-rank combatants was no easy task.

PS: Seeking monthly votes and subscriptions. (To be continued…)