Chapter 57: The Credit System

Hearing the notification, Shi Ji was utterly baffled. He had no idea what it meant.

All he wanted was to get some food, but now he was faced with this strange obstacle. 

There were many people around, and Shi Ji wasn’t the only one who heard the notification. Everyone’s attention turned to him. 

A kind girl standing behind him in line spoke up, “Hey, you’re not wearing the school uniform. Are you new here?”

Shi Ji looked at her and nodded. “Yes, I am.”

“Oh, I see. At our academy, the cafeteria uses a credit system to determine meal eligibility. For example, this section with the 100 points sign is for students with 100 credits or more. If you have less than 100 credits, you can’t get food from here. As long as your credits exceed the number posted, you can get your meal. Otherwise, you’ll need to find a section that matches your credits. I think your credits might be lower than this section requires.”

She was very detailed in her explanation, and Shi Ji finally understood. Yesterday afternoon, there was no such division, likely because the credits hadn’t been assigned yet. 

But today…

Realizing he only had 60 credits, which was just the passing mark, he looked over to the far corner of the cafeteria and saw a section labeled “60” with fewer people in line.

Feeling frustrated, he turned to the girl and thanked her, “Oh, thanks.”

Soon after, Shi Ji joined the queue in the 60 credits section. There were only seven or eight people in line.

It didn’t take long before he had his meal in hand.

Standing there, he looked down at the tray. It contained a bowl of clear soup with a few green leaves, two plain buns without filling, and a small dish of pickles.

“Uh… What the hell? Is this all I get for 60 credits?”

Shi Ji couldn’t believe his eyes.

He glanced over at the 70 credits section, which offered soy milk, stuffed buns, and fruit. Just a 10-credit difference, but the quality was vastly better.

People say that food is essential for life. If this was what he had to eat, he was bound to be frustrated.

At Yinshuang Academy, the meal quality tied to the credit system was a source of frustration for many. The system was designed to motivate students to improve. The more they worked, the better their meals would be. A few meals of plain buns and pickles were tolerable, but it was unsustainable long-term.

In short, the cafeteria food was free, but the quality depended on the number of credits a student had.

Sitting at a small table, Shi Ji propped his head on his hand, looking dejectedly at the plain buns and soup. He had no appetite at all.

He suddenly remembered how, at the start of the practical task, Lin Xinyan had spent a lot of time explaining the importance of the task and repeatedly emphasized the significance of credits. At the time, he had just laughed it off, paying little attention, only knowing he had to complete at least one task to pass with 60 points.

Faced with the current credit-related issue, Shi Ji regretted not taking her advice seriously.

At the start of each semester, students primarily earned credits through practical tasks. Helping the community earned them the passing mark of 60 points. Additional tasks provided 1 point each, while tasks involving violence or dealing with anomalies earned between 5 and 10 points. More credits meant better benefits.