I was born in the gutters of Old Sector 9, the kind of place where dreams didn't die—they were never allowed to exist in the first place.
The sky was always gray, choked by smoke from collapsed towers and the dust of forgotten wars. We didn't have sunsets here. Just curfews and sirens.
My name is Kai, and last night I earned exactly two credits collecting rusted processors from a pile of melted junk. I spent one on food and the other to bribe a gang brat not to stab me for my boots.
By morning, I was broke. Again.
I woke up beneath a broken neon sign that flickered between "MEAT" and "EAT." It buzzed like it might fall on me any day now. Honestly, I hoped it would. Might be faster than starving.
The day started like any other—desperate. I wandered toward the scrapyard, eyes scanning the edges for anything the pickers hadn't already stripped. A glimmer of metal, a spark of salvage, a miracle.
That's when I saw the body.
It was half-buried under some broken panels near the fence. Looked fresh. The crows hadn't touched it yet. That meant two things: the gangs hadn't found it, and whatever was on him might still be worth something.
I crept closer, heart thudding.
The guy wasn't from around here. He wore a strange robe, torn and scorched, with symbols that glowed faintly on his chest. One of his eyes was cybernetic—and shattered. In his hand, he clutched a coin.
Not a credit chip.
A coin.
I stared. It was about the size of a button, black as obsidian but veined with gold lines that pulsed faintly—like something alive. Carefully, I reached down and pried it from his fingers.
The moment I touched it, the world… shifted.
[Epoch Exchange Protocol Detected.][Authenticating Galactic Coordinates…][No Active Bearers Detected Within 10,000 Light Years.][Eligibility: Confirmed.][Binding Initiated…]
I stumbled back, nearly dropping the coin. My vision blurred. Then a glowing interface blinked open in front of me—hovering in the air, projected from nothing.
[You are now the Sole Trader within Galactic Sector Z-934.][Warning: Only one bearer of the Epoch Exchange Protocol may exist within a radius of 10,000 light years.][Transfer impossible. Termination of host will deactivate system permanently.]
"What the hell…?"
I looked around. Nothing changed. The scrapyard still stank of burnt plastic and piss. The corpse was still dead. My stomach still ached with hunger.
And yet—something had changed. Inside me.
A glowing circuit pattern etched itself into my wrist. Gold lines shimmered beneath my skin like fire caught in glass.
[Epoch Exchange Protocol Activated.][Initializing Basic Functions…]– 1x Trade Interface– 1x Item Codex (Locked)– 1x System Log[Note: Starter resources unavailable. All credits must be earned.]
"Earned," I muttered. "Figures."
[Current Account: 0 C.U. (Cosmic Units)][EEP Rating: None]
So that was it. No sudden wealth. No cosmic starter pack.
I laughed under my breath. Of course. Even the miracle system from space wanted me to hustle for it.
Typical.
Still… something inside me stirred. If this was real—really real—then I wasn't just another rat fighting over scraps anymore.
I had something no one else did. Not in this city. Not on this planet. Not within ten thousand light years.
[EEP Trade Channel: Locked][Requirement: Upload first item to database.]
Item?
I looked down at the corpse again. The robe was scorched, but some kind of metallic badge was still pinned to it. Carefully, I unfastened it and held it up.
[Analyzing…][Item Detected: Starwoven Badge (Damaged)][Rarity: Common (Foreign)][Trade Value: 2–4 C.U.]
Upload to Trade Interface?
I clicked yes in my mind.
The badge vanished in a flicker of blue light.
[Item Uploaded.][EEP Rating: Initiated.][Awaiting Trade Requests…]
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then—
[Incoming D.T.R. (Dimensional Trade Request):]– Requestor: Lixa-Vo of the Twinned Moons– Offered: 3 C.U.– Seeking: "Starwoven Badge (Damaged)"
I stared.
Someone, somewhere, out there—wanted the junk I'd just looted off a corpse.
I accepted the trade.
The badge flickered out of my inventory.
A second later, a faint hum passed through me. My system log updated:
[Transaction Complete.][+3 Cosmic Units][EEP Rating: 1 (Scavenger Trader)]
Three. Cosmic. Units.
Still broke. But no longer penniless.
I grinned.
This wasn't some game where the main character gets handed a kingdom by Chapter One.
I was still poor. Still hungry.
But for the first time in my life, I had something more dangerous than money.
A way out.
And I would claw, fight, and trade my way to the top — one item at a time.
Let them come. Let them chase.
Because I am the only trader within 10,000 light years.
And I just opened for business.
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— S.A.