Chapter 46: VIP of the Spectral Mansion Bank

Xia Tianqiong had once heard a legend.

As long as you had enough underworld currency, the Netherworld Bank would actively seek you out, invite you to deposit your money, offer various VIP services, and even take you on a tour of the nether realm.

At the time, he just thought of it as absurd hearsay, but he never expected it to be true.

The Netherworld Treasury Bank was a towering, pitch-black building with an archaic, solemn, and magnificent style. Like a massive mountain standing before him, it made anyone feel insignificant in its presence.

Xia Tianqiong looked up to observe the bank while a middle-aged man who claimed to be the bank manager stood nearby with a smile, not urging him at all.

However, the manager's gaze remained fixed on the piles of gold ingots surrounding Xia Tianqiong, filled with excitement.

If this underworld gold were deposited into the bank through its hands, it would secure a handsome commission.

After a brief moment, Xia Tianqiong withdrew his gaze and asked, "Are you here to invite me to deposit my money?"

"Of course, esteemed sir."

The bank manager immediately stepped forward a few paces, beaming from ear to ear until its eyes were practically squinted shut. "With so much underworld gold, it must be terribly inconvenient for you to carry and use. Depositing it with us ensures absolute safety while allowing you to withdraw whatever you need, whenever you need it."

"You mentioned earlier that there are perks for making a deposit. What kind of perks?"

"Once we step inside the bank, I will explain everything to you in detail. For valued guests like yourself, we have dedicated reception rooms that offer all sorts of delicacies and services."

"Very well, let's go inside and discuss it."

"Let me help you move this underworld gold."

The bank manager was extremely enthusiastic. With a flick of its sleeve, it instantly expanded, preparing to sweep the underworld gold on the ground inside.

Xia Tianqiong hurriedly stopped it, saying, "There's no need, I'll handle it myself."

He had no idea how heavy this gold was and was not comfortable rashly handing it over to a stranger.

He produced a bronze mirror, sucked all the gold into it, and then stepped into the bank first.

A hint of surprise flashed in the bank manager's eyes; this human actually possessed a spatial mirror domain.

In that case, he might not necessarily need to deposit his money in the bank to guarantee his safety. And even if he did deposit, he might not deposit very much.

With this thought, the bank manager made a silent resolution to find a way to retain this customer and persuade him to deposit all his underworld gold into the bank.

Consequently, the smile on its face grew even more amiable as it hurried ahead of Xia Tianqiong to push open the grand doors of the bank.

"Sir, after you."

Xia Tianqiong nodded with a smile and strode inside.

At this moment, he deeply experienced the truth that having money makes you a king, even in the nether realm.

The moment his foot crossed the threshold of the bank, he felt the surreal sensation of stepping into a bustling farmer's market.

As far as the eye could see, the thousand-square-meter hall was packed with all sorts of anomalies, densely packed and tightly knit, all standing in line to conduct their business.

Lively and clamorous, it was practically indistinguishable from a noisy market.

Xia Tianqiong stood at the entrance, observing the scene with great interest.

Terrifying human-shaped anomalies, animal-shaped anomalies with human heads and fish bodies, plant-shaped anomalies covered entirely in small red blossoms—every conceivable type of anomaly could be found here. It was far more extensive than the official anomaly museum established in his previous life.

While Xia Tianqiong was looking at them, they also noticed Xia Tianqiong.

One by one, they turned their heads to look over, their eyes brimming with excitement and fanaticism.

"A living human?"

"How could a human possibly come to the Netherworld Treasury Bank!"

"It's been so long since I've eaten human flesh, I'm dying of craving! Nobody better steal him from me, I saw him first."

Numerous anomalies grew restless, assuming this human had simply wandered in by mistake.

The bank manager suddenly took a large stride in front of Xia Tianqiong, looking at the crowd of anomalies with an imposing expression. "This is our bank's VIP guest. All of you behave yourselves and stay in line! Anyone who dares to act out will be thrown out."

With that roar, the anomalies instantly quieted down.

No anomaly dared to provoke a VIP of the Netherworld Treasury Bank, at least not on the bank's territory.

"Sir, please follow me."

The bank manager turned around and immediately put its smiling face back on.

It led the way in front while the anomalies consciously cleared a path, and Xia Tianqiong silently followed behind.

"Since this is your first time here, you have to enter through the main door. Once you become a VIP client, you can use the VIP teleportation passage next time and won't need to pass through here."

The bank manager explained as they walked.

Xia Tianqiong looked left and right, feeling as though he had entered a zoo.

Brushing past so many anomalies felt quite magical.

"Your bank business must be booming to have so many anomalies coming in to handle transactions."

"The ones in the main hall are just ordinary anomalies, dirt poor. They aren't here to make deposits; most of them are here to take out loans."

A clear undertone of disdain accompanied the bank manager's words.

In its view, ordinary anomalies could hardly be considered clients at all—they were just penniless broke bums with no value. Only clients capable of depositing massive fortunes were considered true clients.

Its attitude toward them differed vastly as well.

Passing through the hall and going through a small door, they arrived at a slightly smaller room.

There were only a dozen or so anomalies here, and their treatment was obviously superior to those outside.

Not only were there exquisite and luxurious tables and chairs where they could sit and wait, but various foods were also provided in unlimited quantities for anyone to eat.

Waiters stood nearby, ready to provide massage or feeding services.

Just as Xia Tianqiong walked in following the manager, an anomaly excitedly asked, "Manager Hu, is this a new gift added by your bank?"

The anomaly speaking had a human head but a dog's body, standing less than a meter tall, resembling a short-legged Corgi.

Its appearance was so comical that Xia Tianqiong couldn't help but let out a snicker.

"Human, how dare you mock me! I am going to devour you alive."

The human-headed dog particularly detested being mocked and flew into a rage on the spot. It yelled at the bank manager, "Manager Hu, how much do I need to deposit to take this human away? Name your price, and I'll deposit it right now!"

There were other anomalies in the room who also hadn't tasted human flesh in a long time, and they chimed in eagerly.

"Just this one human? I want him too!"

"Manager Hu, I'll deposit ten million, give him to me!"

"Now that the two realms are connected, can't your bank bring over a few more humans so that those of us unable to descend to the mortal world can also taste what a human is like?"

The dozen or so anomalies actually began arguing over Xia Tianqiong.

The bank manager offered an apologetic smile to Xia Tianqiong and explained in a low voice, "In our bank, large deposits come with complimentary gifts. They mistook you for a gift, so please don't take offense."

With that, it gave a light cough. "Everyone listen to me. This human gentleman is not a gift; he is our bank's VIP guest. I must ask you all to show some respect."

The room suddenly quieted down, and a dozen gazes turned toward Xia Tianqiong in disbelief.

Especially the human-headed dog, which tilted its head and sized Xia Tianqiong up and down.

"Just him being a single human, how can he be a VIP guest of the bank? Could it be that he possesses a vast amount of underworld currency?"

"Now that the nether realm is connected to the mortal world, humans can naturally possess underworld currency as well. With underworld currency, one can become a client of our bank."

Manager Hu still maintained professional ethics and didn't say too much.

It continued leading the way forward, escorting Xia Tianqiong onward. "This is merely the junior VIP lounge. I'll take you to the intermediate VIP lounge."

Hearing this, the human-headed dog's eyes lit up brightly.

Everyone knew the rules of the Netherworld Treasury Bank: one had to deposit at least one billion underworld notes to attain junior VIP status. To attain intermediate VIP status, the deposit had to be at least ten billion.

Could this human really possess that much underworld currency?

Not only the human-headed dog, but every other anomaly present wore an expression of astonishment, finding it hard to accept this fact.

Xia Tianqiong followed Manager Hu straight across the junior VIP lounge and toward the next door.

Suddenly, a dog's bark rang out from behind.

"Woof woof woof!"

A sense of crisis washed over him.

He jerked his head around to see the human-headed dog opening and closing its mouth as ripples spread outward in circles.

This was a sonic wave attack!

It actually dared to casually attack and injure someone! And right inside the bank!

Shocked and furious, Xia Tianqiong was about to retaliate when he heard Manager Hu roar, "Impudent! This is the Netherworld Treasury Bank!"

Its voice carried a certain invisible force.

With that single shout, the human-headed dog's sonic waves were instantly shattered.

"Liu Changming, do you have a death wish, daring to disrupt the bank's rules?"

Manager Hu was furious. Xia Tianqiong was a major client it had personally brought in; if any mishap befell him and he chose not to deposit his money here, it would be a catastrophic loss.

The human-headed dog, named Liu Changming, offered a ingratiating, sheepish smile.

"Since this human is so wealthy, he must be someone extraordinary. I was just joking to test his strength. Manager Hu, please don't be angry; I certainly didn't mean to break the bank's rules. Look, I didn't actually harm him, otherwise the power of the rules would have torn me to shreds long ago."

Anomalies were forbidden from harming humans without cause—this was an ironclad rule of the nether realm that no one dared to violate.

It had indeed only wanted to scare him and hadn't dared to launch a genuine attack.

Manager Hu secretly glanced at Xia Tianqiong's expression and, seeing that he wasn't overly angry, finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Even trying to scare him is strictly prohibited."

"Hehe, it won't happen again next time."

The human-headed dog's attitude in admitting fault was exemplary, leaving Manager Hu with little room to say more, especially since it was also a bank VIP client.

"Apologies for startling you. We will offer you appropriate compensation later."

Manager Hu bowed its head to Xia Tianqiong in apology, its attitude sincere.

Xia Tianqiong was quite satisfied with this and decided not to pursue the matter further. "It's fine, let's keep moving quickly!"

He followed Manager Hu through the next door and entered the intermediate VIP lounge.

The moment they left, the human-headed dog revealed a bizarre smile, no longer concealing the greed in its eyes.

The intermediate VIP lounge was not particularly large, but it contained only a single set of tables and chairs, indicating that it only served one client at a time, making it obviously superior to the junior lounge.

Manager Hu cordially invited Xia Tianqiong to take a seat. No sooner had he sat down than pretty female waitresses served tea and various foods.

Most anomalies preferred consuming raw flesh and blood—not only human flesh but also the flesh of other creatures. Consequently, the food provided by the bank included plenty of fresh meat and even the brains and internal organs of certain creatures.

Xia Tianqiong merely frowned slightly, and Manager Hu immediately picked up on it, turning to sharply scold the waitress.

"How could you serve such filth? Clear it away immediately and replace it with human food."

The female waitress was tall with voluptuous curves, boasting a pair of long legs that reached higher than Xia Tianqiong's waist.

Her face, however, was plump with a hint of baby fat, and most importantly, she sported a pair of snow-white rabbit ears that were fluffy and twitched occasionally, making her appearance both adorable and seductive.

Xia Tianqiong recognized her at once as a rabbit spirit anomaly, evolved from a rabbit.

Possessing little combat power of her own, she was nonetheless a type of anomaly deeply adored by male anomaly hunters in his previous life.

The rabbit spirit looked at Manager Hu and then at Xia Tianqiong, appearing somewhat bewildered. "Manager Hu, what is human food?"