Li Fang stared at the interface, dumbfounded.
The kid had done it. Pulled it back from the brink of no return.
He smartly diverted the excess Qi into a power conduit. Clearly, it's a dangerous and desperate move that could have easily blown out half the block's power grid, but somehow, he'd managed it.
A sudden, almost electric warmth flooded Li Fang's own system, a pure, refined stream of Qi flowing directly into his sealed dantian, bypassing the injunction for a fleeting moment before being absorbed and processed by the QFS and sent to his digital account.
It wasn't a massive amount. If he had to guess, maybe equivalent to 15, perhaps 20 Qi-Credits if he were to try and sell such pure energy on the black market.
But it was real, not just the dissipating direct Qi Manifestation. It was the fruit of his investment, a tangible return.
And more than the Qi itself, it was validation.
The core concept of this module, the risky loan model, worked.
He could provide the spark and if the borrower succeeded, he would profit. It was a symbiotic relationship, however skewed by the power imbalance and the AI's influence.
[Repayment Received. Net Gain: 18.5 QC]
[Loan Portfolio Performance (Single Asset): +37% ROI (Adjusted for actual Qi yield).]
[System Stability marginally improved.]
[Financial Cowardice Index Reduced to 65%.]
[Excellent risk assessment and execution, Host!]
[New Task Available: Portfolio Diversification. Current single-asset loan strategy carries unacceptable concentration risk. Recommend initiating additional 'Ascension Spark Loans' to at least 3-5 new, carefully vetted borrowers to mitigate individual default probability and stabilize income stream.]
The QFS's cheerful praise felt almost mocking after the terror he'd just endured. Thirty-seven percent ROI. Excellent risk assessment.
He'd been moments away from total disaster. But relief, potent and intoxicating, quickly washed over him, followed by a renewed, almost feverish urgency.
He didn't forget.
The municipal sensors in Phi-8 had been tripped.
IronOx_7 might have successfully broken through, but he'd also effectively set off a small, localized flare in Neo-Tian's digital darkness.
Investigators would be looking into that energy surge. Li Fang needed to sever any possible connection, to vanish before any karmic tendrils could lead back to him.
And, as the QFS pointed out, he needed more borrowers. One success was proof of concept, not a sustainable business model.
He moved with swift, practiced motions, sweeping his tools, the remaining Ghost Candles and his meager personal effects into a worn, synth-leather satchel.
He ran a hand across his workbench, triggering a hidden switch. A low hum emanated from beneath it as a small, QFS-assisted data degausser activated, wiping the container's minimal local memory logs. Purchase histories, communication fragments, anything that might link him to his recent activities.
He then initiated a low-level data fragmentation routine he'd learned during his soul-scavenging days, scattering meaningless code across the container's internal storage to further obscure any residual traces.
Staying in one place, especially after a successful but noisy operation, was a rookie mistake. And Li Fang, for all his desperation, was no rookie when it came to survival.
He slipped the satchel strap over his shoulder and took one last look around the cramped container that had been his prison and laboratory before easing open the reinforced door.
The pre-dawn gloom of the Lower Layers greeted him, the suffocating scenery obscured with the usual miasma of recycled air, stale street food, and damp despair.
The QFS overlay in his vision immediately highlighted known Muni-Patrol routes, CRB sensor dead zones, and potential temporary hideouts.
He needed a new base, somewhere even more anonymous, more off-grid. And he needed capital. The 18.5 Credits he'd just received would've been useful for personal recovery, perhaps even a tiny boost to his own sealed dantian if only QFS could somehow bypass the injunction. Alas, it was impossible. It got converted to liquid Qi-credits, joining his meager 25 Qi-credits in his account. Now, his actual, spendable balance rose to a pitiful 43.5 Credits after the interest payment.
But he needed food and water to replace what he abandoned. Luckily, another order came from Xun. He went to the same Waste Chute and dropped a Ghost Candle and his digital wallet swelled to 59 Qi-Credits.
After that, he plotted a course towards the Undermarket tunnels near Sector Sigma-5.
It was a sprawling, cavernous labyrinth of forgotten infrastructure and illicit commerce. A place so deep and chaotic that even Dao Broker Xun reportedly avoided it unless absolutely necessary.
It was dangerous, filled with desperate souls and hidden perils, but it also offered unparalleled anonymity.
He was halfway there, navigating a narrow, dripping maintenance corridor beneath a humming mag-lev transit line, when the QFS suddenly flared with a high-priority proximity alert. Its usual cheerful chime was replaced by a sharp, staccato warning.
[ALERT: High-Energy Signatures Detected!]
[Multiple Entities Converging on Host's Projected Path!]
[Designation: Unidentified Enforcement Squad (Probable Tier 3 Sect Security or High-Level Bounty Hunters).]
[Target: Unknown.]
[Trajectory Analysis: High Probability of Intercept with Host within 90 seconds!]
Li Fang froze mid-stride, flattening himself against a moss-slick wall. The entrance to a darkened, refuse-choked alleyway offering minimal concealment just ahead.
He peered cautiously around the corroded edge of the corridor opening. Down the broader thoroughfare it connected to, figures were moving with swift, unfaltering purpose.
They weren't the lumbering, easily identifiable Muni-Cops in their bulky blue armor. These individuals were clad in sleek, dark combat gear that seemed to absorb the dim ambient light of even the neon signage they passed by. Their forms were streamlined as if they had trained together for years. Their movements were too precise and too coordinated.
Their Qi signatures, even partially muffled by their gear, felt potent, disciplined. Something Li Fang could only ever dream of thanks to his sealed dantian.
They wore helmeted visors, glowing with faint, internal optical readouts that swept the sparse crowd of late-night denizens of this area.
Not after me, Li Fang thought as a cold knot formed in his stomach. They can't be.
IronOx_7's energy surge, while noticeable, shouldn't have attracted this level of response. This felt like a professional takedown squad, not a routine investigation.
The QFS updated, its analytical engines churning through Neo-Tian's most wanted databases, cross-referencing known bounties and enforcement protocols.
[Analyzing Target Profile…]
[Cross-referencing Neo-Tian Central Bounty Board, Sect Internal Affairs Watchlists, Corporate Security Directives…]
[Match Found: Xie Ruolan. Former Senior Analyst, Bank of Reincarnation (Karmic Ledger Division).]
[Current Status: Designated Fugitive.]
[Charges: Grand Embezzlement of Karmic Assets, Unauthorized Liquidation of Soul-Collateralized Securities, Sedition against the Void Sect Financial Hegemony, Conspiracy to Destabilize Spiritual Markets.] [Bounty Posted by Void Sect Directorate: 50,000 Qi-Credits (Alive), 10,000 Qi-Credits (Verified Termination).]