The term "kill zone" has been trending online recently—it originally comes from gaming terminology, describing a situation where a character's health bar is nearly depleted and is instantly defeated by a combo attack. But now, it is used to depict a harsher reality: when your savings, income, or credit fall below a certain critical point, the entire economic system can cascade into collapse, sliding down into a debt abyss.

The reason this metaphor has gone viral is fundamentally because it hits too many people's pain points—financial fragility has become a widespread anxiety.

Looking at the situation in the U.S. makes this clear. On the surface, Americans' average income isn't low, but how difficult is real life? Data shows that 37% of Americans can't even come up with $400 in emergency funds. The so-called "living paycheck to paycheck" is not just a phenomenon among young people; even many high-income groups are teetering on the edge of a financial cliff.

Where is the problem? Structural imbalance. The three mountains of healthcare, education, and housing are suffocating many. Especially the healthcare system—an unexpected emergency can drag the middle class into a financial crisis. Some describe it as a "gentle killer"—it sounds mild, but in reality, it is deadly.

Then there's student loans. The total student loan debt in the U.S. has already surpassed $1.7 trillion, with an average debt per person exceeding $37,000. Many graduates need ten or twenty years to pay off their loans, money that could have been used for investment, entrepreneurship, or asset accumulation.