My Borderline Supervillain-Slash-Hero System

A voice called out in protest. "Asphalt! This is too much! You know even those from Super Families don't carry that kind of money around. Are you trying to make things impossible for everyone?"

A murmur of agreement spread through the crowd.

Asphalt waited calmly, letting their frustration rise before dropping the next part of his plan.

"You're right," he said at last. "I am making things difficult for everyone."

The crowd stilled.

"My team opened the only gate to this Ruin—at a great cost. If anyone wants in, they must donate. If not, stay where you are."

A pause.

Then, he grinned.

"But… I do have a solution."

Everyone's heads turned. The commotion died.

Zane's eyes widened slightly. Ah… here it is. The climax. The final bait of this whole performance.

He grinned wide.

Asphalt caught his eye—and returned the grin knowingly.

"Now… do you get me?" Asphalt asked and passed the paper he just read.

Zane looked on the paper and saw that it was blank. He couldn't help but gave a short laugh. "You're a great teacher. I can only bow to your baiting scheme."

Asphalt turned to the crowd with a confident grin. "Here's the catch. My team recently established a private bank within the Academy. We're calling it the People's Bank. And yes—if you don't have the cash right now, we're offering loans. The interest rate? Practically negligible."

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a thick bundle of papers. Handing it to the students closest to him, he said, "Take one each and pass the rest around."

The crowd moved quickly. Within moments, everyone held a form in their hands.

Zane leaned in, raising a brow. "You came all prepared… as if you knew this would happen."

"Of course," Asphalt replied smoothly. "I'm always ready for this kind of situation. And thanks to you, the timing was perfect to squeeze out the most succulent juice from all this effort."

Zane squinted. "You came up with a whole banking scheme on the fly… and you didn't even discuss the name with the team. People's Bank?"

Just then, the twins arrived and sat beside them.

Har scowled, his voice full of complaint. "Yeah—People's Bank? That's the dumbest name ever. I don't agree with that at all."

"Shut up," Dar snapped. "No one's asking for your opinion."

Then she turned to Asphalt, her expression switching to a charming smile. "Brother Asphalt, even though the name is absolutely awful, I don't really care what you call it. But the ownership—our shares—that should be discussed with the whole team, right?"

"Of course, of course," Asphalt replied diplomatically. "We're a team, after all. Everyone will get their fair share."

Then he stood again, addressing the crowd with clarity and authority.

"My dear batchmates, the forms you've received are simply a Memorandum of Understanding. Just fill out your name, address, and sign where required—don't forget your right thumbprint. Once that's done, you're free to pass through the gate."

A murmur ran through the crowd as students scanned the fine print on the forms.

For the most part, the conditions were accepted—except one line.

A student from a noble house raised his voice in protest. "This is daylight robbery! A 37% annual interest rate?! And the principal you're demanding is already insanely high! Why don't you just quit being a student and open a black market loan business?!"

Voices of agreement echoed around him.

Zane turned toward Asphalt, curious to see his reaction.

One look was enough.

This guy doesn't care in the slightest.

Zane chuckled internally. He's not going to back down. Not an inch. Let's see how this plays out.

Another student called out, "Asphalt! Be reasonable. Drop the interest rate to 10%, like the public banks!"

Asphalt shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah. Whether you sign or not, that's entirely your choice. I'm not forcing anyone."

Then his tone turned sharp.

"You all have fifteen minutes to fill out and return the M.O.U. to me. If you're even a second late, I'll double the principal amount."

He glanced at his smartwatch. "Time starts now."

Panic broke out instantly.

The crowd turned chaotic once more. Students scrambled to read, fill, and sign their forms. The pressure was immense. They didn't even have the luxury to think it through carefully.

It was simple:

Sign and enter the gate—or don't sign and stay behind.

In the end, no one could afford to be left out.

There were ten thick bundles of papers. One by one, the crowd submitted their signed agreements to Zane and his group.

They had no choice.

Zane and the others smiled, fully aware that they were on the path to becoming very rich.

Just as Asphalt was about to move all the application forms toward himself, the twins glared at him suspiciously.

"Hey, trust me on this," Asphalt said.

But trust was a luxury when dealing with a wild card like him.

Zane finally stepped in. "How about this? I'll keep the M.O.U.s for now—until we formally open the bank in the Academy. What do you say, Har? Dar?"

Har was quick to frown. "That's not fair. We should divide them equally."

Asphalt chimed in, "Fine. We'll split it this way—I'll keep the documents from the Superfamilies and Noble Houses. Zane keeps half from the ordinary students, and the other half goes to the twins."

Dar was about to explode, but Zane raised a hand to stop her.

"Asphalt, that's still not right. I used my family heirloom to open the gate. I'm happy to do it—especially with your clever setup and the twins providing security. But if anyone should hold the M.O.U.s for now, it should be me."

He turned to the twins. "What do you think?"

Har scratched his head, not comfortable with politics. He looked at his sister for help.

Dar thought carefully. In the end, she knew Zane was right. He had done most of the work—and most importantly, if she had to choose between trusting Zane or Asphalt, it wasn't even a debate.