17: Chapter 17: The Pool of Resentment and the Exchange of Benefits

Although the first "safety-type" field mission brought back a miracle of zero casualties, it did not immediately extinguish the Resentment over Hengchuan Peak.

On the contrary, as a new day began, that sense of exhaustion from being exploited rebounded as the body relaxed.

In the cafeteria early in the morning, the porridge was still as thin as water.

"This life is impossible to live!"

A Disciple who had just finished the night shift slammed his bowl onto the table. "That safety mission yesterday, sure, no one died, but running through that SOP was more exhausting than killing ten Yao Beasts! The Formation couldn't be wrong, the route couldn't be wrong, I even had to file a report just to take a dump!"

"Exactly."

The person beside him chimed in, chewing forcefully on dry rations that were as hard as stone. "The performance System is like a knife hanging over our necks, and the safety tactics are like a whip lashing our backsides. We're alive, sure, but this is no way for a human to live."

"That scoundrel Shen Xingzhou..."

Someone in the corner cursed in a low voice, "He must be doing this to squeeze us dry, just to trade it for merit with the Law Enforcement Hall."

Curses filled the air.

All sorts of negative emotions hung over Hengchuan Peak like black clouds.

Shen Xingzhou crouched in a corner of the Scrapyard, listening to the complaints coming from afar. Not only was he not angry, but he was also staring intently at the progress bar that kept jumping on his System panel.

[Hengchuan Peak Total Resentment: 100% (Full)]

[Congratulations Host: Resentment Pool has been activated.]

Current available Resentment points: 842 points

With the appearance of this line of text, the System interface before Shen Xingzhou's eyes underwent a visible "qualitative change."

The previously grayed-out shop icon suddenly became glittering gold, filled with a dizzying array of exchange options.

[Resentment Shop (Trial Run)]

(Description: Consume Disciples' Resentment to exchange for facility upgrades or welfare for Hengchuan Peak. The more they curse, the better it gets.)

Cafeteria Meat Add-on (Three Days): 100 points.

Effect: Add minced meat to every meal of porridge, replace dry rations with white flour buns.

Low-Grade Healing Talisman (Batch): 200 points.

Effect: Distributed for free to Disciples with scrapes from field missions, half the price of those bought at the apothecary.

Dormitory Leak Repair: 300 points.

Effect: Repair all thatched cottages on the peak, ensuring sleep won't be interrupted by rain.

Peak-wide Night Lighting Upgrade: 500 points (System highly recommends).

Effect: Fully replace dim oil lamps with "Spirit Gathering Stone Night Lights," improving the brightness of the Cultivation environment.

Hidden bonus: Nighttime Cultivation efficiency increased by 15%.

Shen Xingzhou looked at the lighting upgrade priced at "500 points," and his eyes lit up.

He had always wanted to solve this problem. Hengchuan Peak was poor, and to save on lamp oil, it was pitch black everywhere at night. To save their eyesight, many Disciples could only Cultivate in the dark, with extremely poor results.

But to replace the lamps, where would the Spirit Stones come from? The Sect wouldn't provide them, and the Peak Master had no money.

Now, he could actually exchange for them using "curses"?

"This System..."

Shen Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh out loud. "The more they curse, the more I can exchange? This isn't a Resentment Pool; this is clearly a 'Leek Harvesting Converter'."

"Exchange!"

Without hesitation, he clicked on [Peak-wide Night Lighting Upgrade].

[Confirm exchange? Consume Resentment points: 500.]

[Current remaining: 342 points.]

"Confirm!"

That night, darkness fell.

The Disciples of Hengchuan Peak dragged their exhausted bodies back to their respective dwellings as usual.

Everyone was fumbling in the dark. Some washed their feet by moonlight, while others huddled together to read ledgers by the faint glow of firefly stones.

Everyone held a grudge in their hearts, preparing to continue cursing the next day.

However, just as the hour of Zi was approaching.

A strange thing happened.

The originally dim, rickety stone lamps on the mountain path suddenly lit up.

It wasn't the dim yellow light of fire, but a soft, bright, yet non-glaring milky-white cold light.

Immediately after, the pillars in front of the thatched cottages, the edges of the martial arts training grounds, and even the entrance to the latrines lit up with glowing points embedded in the stones.

The entire Hengchuan Peak looked as if it had been sprinkled with stardust, instantly becoming clear and illuminated.

"What the f*ck?"

A Disciple who was fumbling in the dark for his socks froze. Seeing the pair of socks in his hand suddenly become clearly visible, he thought he had opened his Heavenly Eye.

He rushed out of the house and looked up.

He saw these sparkling little lights all over the mountain, illuminating every corner in vivid detail.

"Are these... Spirit Gathering Stone lights?"

A sharp-eyed Disciple exclaimed. "Just one of these costs at least ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones! How could our peak afford this?"

"Did we strike it rich?"

"Does this mean we don't need to make sacrifices anymore?"

Voices of surprise rang out in every corner.

The pitch-black, oppressively depressing Hengchuan Peak actually exuded a hint of... warmth tonight.

Some even discovered under the lights that they could clearly see the small characters in their Cultivation Technique books without having to bring them up to their noses.

"This light... it looks so comfortable."

Someone sat on the threshold, staring blankly at the light before them, their eyes suddenly reddening.

"So bright."

The next morning.

This excitement reached its peak. Because everyone had slept well (not woken up by the cold, nor oppressed by the darkness), their mental state was significantly better.

At the peak-wide assembly.

Shen Xingzhou stood on the high platform, looking at the pairs of eyes below that, while still suspicious, were clearly much brighter.

"I know what you are thinking,"

Shen Xingzhou said bluntly. "Who gifted last night's lights? Is there some conspiracy? Are we supposed to trade our lives for them?"

The crowd below went quiet, everyone staring at him.

Shen Xingzhou smiled and pointed to his own head.

"These didn't fall from the sky, nor are they charity from me."

"These are things you earned yourselves."

"Earned?" Everyone looked at each other.

"Yes, earned."

Shen Xingzhou held up a finger. "These past few days, you've cursed me, cursed the System, cursed this damned life, and you cursed quite fiercely, right?"

Someone blushed and wanted to lower their head.

But Shen Xingzhou said loudly: "Well cursed! You were absolutely right to curse!"

"Our Hengchuan Peak has established a new 'Resentment Conversion Mechanism.' Simply put—the more Resentment you have, the more energy this mechanism collects."

"Last night's 500-point lighting upgrade was exchanged using your Resentment points."

Shen Xingzhou spread his hands. "In other words, that was welfare you cursed into existence."

The whole place was deathly silent for three seconds.

Then, it erupted into a buzz of disbelief.

"Cursed into existence?"

"We can get lights just by cursing a couple of times?"

"Senior Brother Shen!"

In the crowd, Su Ciyao lazily raised her hand, a playful smile on her face. "Next time you exchange for welfare, can you tell us in advance? I curse very loudly, does that count as double?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

The originally tense sense of opposition seemed to dissolve eerily in that instant.

"It counts!"

Shen Xingzhou also laughed, pointing at Su Ciyao. "For such constructive cursing from Senior Sister, I'll count it as triple!"

"Hahahaha!"

The laughter grew louder.

Looking at Shen Xingzhou, everyone felt for the first time that this "black-hearted foreman" didn't seem so detestable after all.

At the very least, he had turned those invisible, intangible sufferings into visible, tangible lights.

"However..."

Shen Xingzhou changed the subject, adding seriously, "Although Resentment can be exchanged for welfare, the ultimate goal is not to let us comfortably curse in the streets."

"It is to let us live like human beings."

"With the lights on, books should be read clearly; with the path leveled, steps should be taken faster."

"Welfare is an aid; doing the work well and surviving is the foundation."

The laughter gradually subsided.

This time, no one complained about "brainwashing."

Because when they were Cultivating under the lights last night, they had indeed felt the smooth circulation of Spiritual Qi.

Just after the peak-wide assembly ended, the System popped up a notification again.

[Current remaining Resentment points: 342]

[Partially automatically converted to "Restructuring Points": 3 points]

[Uses for Restructuring Points:]

Repair small functional Formations.

Open micro-functional modules of the System.

Trial small-scale rule changes (effective only within this peak).

"Restructuring Points..."

Shen Xingzhou pondered this new concept. Resentment points were a one-time consumable (exchanging for meat, repairing lights), while Restructuring Points were more like "hard currency," capable of changing rules and repairing infrastructure.

"Since that's the case..."

He cast his gaze toward that dilapidated Scrapyard.

The outer defensive Formation there had long been as riddled with holes as a sieve, and Loose Cultivators from outside often snuck in to steal scrap metal, and there were even Disciples who pilfered it themselves.

"System, I want to consume 2 Restructuring Points to repair the outer defensive Formation of the Scrapyard."

"Also, add an 'Anti-theft Identification' feature. As long as it is property under Hengchuan Peak, no one can take it out without my approval."

[Confirm consumption: 2 points.]

[Project: Scrapyard Security Upgrade — Executing.]

Hum—

A visible pale golden ripple instantly covered the entire Scrapyard.

The previously broken Formation Plate lit up again. Although it wasn't as magnificent as the main peak's grand Formation, in Shen Xingzhou's eyes, it was like a golden safe door.

"That's better."

Shen Xingzhou clapped his hands. "Our meager assets can finally be guarded."

A few days later, in the cafeteria.

Because Shen Xingzhou had exchanged for "Cafeteria Meat Add-on" again, today's porridge had oil droplets floating in it, and the buns were hot.

Two Disciples were chatting while eating.

"Don't you find it strange?"

One of them said with a smile while poking at the minced meat in his bowl. "Every day when I wake up now, I can't wait to curse Shen Xingzhou twice. Even if I'm not that angry, I have to make up a couple of curses."

"Not for anything else, just thinking that if I curse a couple more times, maybe I can exchange for a softer pillow next month."

The other Disciple rolled his eyes, stuffing his mouth with a bun. "No matter how hard you curse, in the end, you still have to risk your life on field missions."

"But still..."

He swallowed the bun and sighed contentedly. "At least now when we come back from risking our lives, there's meat to eat and lights to see."

"Before, it was risking our lives working for the King of Hell; now, it's like working for a 'black-hearted boss.' Even though the boss is black-hearted, he feeds us."

"Haha, right, being fed is the most important thing."

Shen Xingzhou saw this subtle change in mindset.

The Resentment hadn't disappeared; it was just that the desperate, lifeless Resentment had turned into a kind of "complaint" that carried the scent of worldly life, and even a bit of self-deprecation.

Everyone no longer felt like a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered, but rather like a "corporate slave alliance" finding joy in suffering and sharing a common enemy.

Resentment was turning into cohesion.

Just then, the System in Shen Xingzhou's mind gave the final project report.

[Hengchuan Peak Resentment Utilization Rate: 20%]

(Note: The higher the utilization rate, the higher the quality of the converted resources.)

[System Suggestion:]

"Currently, Resentment collection mainly relies on 'System passive perception,' which is low-efficiency and has a lag."

"It is suggested to establish an 'Official Complaint Channel' to guide Disciples to actively and directionally output Resentment, improving collection efficiency."

[Plan Reference:]

Establish [Anonymous Complaint Box] / [Tree Hole Stele].

Content to be collected: complaints about the System, insults about leadership, grievances about life.

Reward mechanism: Every high-quality complaint collected rewards a small amount of survival points.

Shen Xingzhou looked at this suggestion, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

"Official Complaint Channel?"

"Is this... really serious?"

But then he thought again, looking at the faces in the cafeteria that finally had a bit of color.

"Who cares if it's serious or not."

"As long as I can turn this Resentment into nourishment for us to survive, never mind a complaint box, I'll even build them a big stage for cursing if I have to."

"System, start the project."

"Our Hengchuan Peak will establish the entire Sect's first 'Complaint Office'."

[Project established: Hengchuan Peak Official Complaint Channel.]

[Expected effect: Resentment collection efficiency increased by 50%.]

[Bonus effect: The host may have their psychological trauma area increased from being cursed, please be mentally prepared.]

Shen Xingzhou: "..."

This damned world.