[Authorizing Loan Disbursement: Contract 'Catalyst-JH-001'
[Principal: 80 Credits Equivalent Pure Qi + Grade 3 Purity Attunement Data. Manifesting Qi…]
[Embedding specific resonance patterns mimicking Alchemical Purity Pill (Grade 3) effects via modulated frequency infusion…]
[Transferring energy stream via secure quantum-tunneling protocol to target coordinates (Jian Hao residence)...]
[Transfer Complete.]
—
[Monitoring Borrower 'StaticBlade' Vitals (Remote Passive Scan)...]
[Successful Qi reception confirmed.]
[Borrower initiating meditative refinement sequence…]
[Contract 'Catalyst-JH-001' Active.]
[Loan Portfolio Diversification Initiated.]
Once the transfer was completed to StaticBlade and the monitors went live, Xie Ruolan sat back down again. Following her meticulous vetting process, cross-referencing data fragments and assessing risk profiles, they identified two more immediate candidates from the list.
One was 'Gutter Rat'. A rough and ragged cultivator scraping by in Neo-Tian's brutal underground fighting circuit. Most likely illegal arena bouts where accidents were prone to happen.
He needed a small 'Gig Fuel Advance'. 50 Qi-Credits worth of high-purity Q to survive an upcoming match against a favored opponent, offering a hefty percentage of the winnings if he pulled off an upset. The risk was high, but the potential return was quick and substantial. Based on his declared pot, it'll be more than 50 Qi-Credits ROI.
The second was 'Sump Scrapper'. A Qi Condensation Stage 2 cultivator taking on a lucrative but dangerous multi-day contract to exterminate mutated spirit-vermin in the toxic Sump Pits beneath Sector Kappa. She needed a similar Gig Fuel Advance just to sustain her Qi shields for the duration.
Both loans were carefully offered, negotiated via the anonymous platform, and disbursed using the QFS's manifestation and transfer capabilities.
The contracts were digitally and spiritually sealed, logged securely within Lilypad-01.
Li Fang watched the QFS interface, the 'Active Loan Portfolio' display now showing three distinct contracts alongside IronOx_7's recently fulfilled one.
Their total 'invested principal', all manifested energy and backed by nothing but the QFS's mysterious power source, was now significant. It was well over 100 Credits equivalent. Yet, his actual Qi-Credit balance remained dangerously low. Barely 40 Credits.
The disconnect felt increasingly precarious. He was lending out hundreds while personally hovering on the edge of insolvency.
"Alright. Now that I've taken a deep breath. This feels… unreal," Li Fang admitted as he sat down, leaning back against a cold, dusty metal pillar. The noises from the Lilypad-01 were now a constant presence.
"We just authorized hundreds of Credits worth of pure energy, embedded alchemical properties into it, signed binding spiritual contracts through the repurposed brain of a repo drone, all from an abandoned hole in the ground beneath the city."
"Welcome to high-risk, unregulated finance, Li Fang," Xie Ruolan replied as she packed away her comm unit. Her work for the moment was done.
With a serious expression devoid of any triumphant spark despite their successful setup, she continued, "This is where fortunes are made, or where empires, and individuals, crumble into dust overnight."
She met his eyes with an intense gaze. "What you've created here, what your system enables… it is powerful and mysterious. It bypasses centuries of established control, ignores traditional resource limitations. It's the kind of disruption that foundation pillars of society, like the Bank of Reincarnation or the Major Sect-Corps, are designed to detect and extinguish."
She paused to let the weight of her words sink in. "Which means when they notice. And they will notice, eventually, if you continue to scale. They won't send Repo-Hounds looking for unregistered tech. They'll send High Auditors from the CRB with soul-piercing warrants. They'll send elite Enforcer cadres from the Sect-Corps with orders to liquidate disruptive elements. They'll send entities from the Bank capable of rewriting your karmic ledger directly. Or worse…"
"What's worse than having a ticking Divine Foreclosure warning over an inherited debt? I've already reached the lowest while they sat pretty comfortably at the top. Let me try to claw my way up there, alright?" Li Fang grinned, making Xie Ruolan's eyebrows twitch a little. For the first time, other than her reaction to his audacity to rescue her and offer her partnership, she had a genuine look at the young man's character.
Surviving the next 24 hours for Li Fang wasn't the end game. It was safer to say that it was his entrance exam into a much deadlier arena.
He felt the familiar pressure tighten but now it was overlaid with a chilling new anxiety. The weight of his growing, invisible portfolio built on manifested energy. The risk tied intrinsically to strangers' successes and failures, and the certain knowledge that he was deliberately poking the monolithic, slumbering beast of Neo-Tian's financial-spiritual complex.
Just as this realization settled, the QFS chimed with a new alert, not a threat detection, but an analysis update.
[System Performance Update: Current Active Loan Portfolio Risk Profile: Moderate-High (Concentrated in Qi Condensation Tier, Limited Diversification).]
[Projected ROI: Variable (15-45% based on individual borrower success probability)]
[Current Net Qi Flow (Repayments vs. Manifestation Cost): Insufficient for sustainable Host debt management under existing karmic interest parameters.]
[Recommendation: Accelerate borrower acquisition rate (Requires increased vetting resources/speed) OR explore alternative, supplementary revenue streams.]
[Opportunity Detected: Market analysis indicates temporary arbitrage potential in low-tier spiritual component markets (e.g., discarded capacitors, expired warding charms) using QFS predictive analysis algorithms.
[Requires initial liquid capital investment (~50 Qi-Credits).]
Li Fang looked at Xie Ruolan, relaying the system's recommendation with a wry smile, "My associate suggests playing the market. Small-time component arbitrage. Says it needs about 50 Qi-Credits as capital. I have 40."
Xie raised a delicate eyebrow. "Day trading salvaged capacitors and expired talismans? That's… decidedly small scale compared to manifesting Qi."
"Maybe," Li Fang countered, looking at his own meager 40 Credit balance. "But the system says it doesn't rely on waiting for borrowers to succeed. It generates liquid Credits faster. Even small amounts add up."
A thoughtful expression crossed Xie Ruolan's face. She put a hand on her chin, tapping it gently as she went into contemplation.
"There might be… one way," She said slowly but reluctance was present in her voice. "Extremely risky. It requires accessing systems I swore I'd never touch again."
"I thought you were locked out of everything?"
"This one's different. I have to call in a marker I never wanted to use." She looked down at the data-case. "There's information stored in here. Heavily encrypted, partitioned away from the Void Sect evidence. However, it contains operational data from my time managing… certain discreet funds at the Bank. Secure routing codes of dormant slush fund accounts used for transferring sensitive assets off-ledger centuries ago, perhaps forgotten during system migrations."
She glanced up at him with a sharp gaze, hinting at a waning, "Maybe, just maybe, enough to access a small, truly forgotten account. Enough for your arbitrage gamble capital."
Accessing Bank of Reincarnation systems, even dormant, forgotten ones? Even with Xie Ruolan's expertise, it sounded like willingly walking into the Void Dragon's lair to steal a single scale. But the clock was ticking relentlessly towards zero. Financial cowardice wasn't an option the QFS tolerated. And Li Fang needed that capital. And right now, she seemed to be willing to part with it.