Li Fang gritted his teeth. There it was. The power to potentially fix his biggest immediate problem. The sealed dantian. It was dangling right in front of him. However, the system was calling it a bad investment.
Of course it was.
Using it would leave him with zero capital, still massively in debt, and likely unable to generate more coins easily.
It was a trap, a temptation testing his desperation against the system's 'financial cowardice' clause.
"Fine. No eating the magic money." He sighed and looked back at the components he'd bought from Ji. Scramblers, capacitors… junk, mostly. "System, since you're pushing me to build an empire. Help me analyze these. Any potential?"
[Scanning Components…]
[Cross-referencing known schematics and market data…]
[Item 1: Data Scramblers (x3). Low-grade, civilian model.
[Function: Obfuscate local data transmissions.]
[Problem: Limited range. Minor instability detected.]
[Market Value: ~3 Qi-Credits each (Used). ]
[Item 2: Unstable Qi Capacitors (x5). Alche-Max Corp surplus.]
[Function: Store and discharge raw Qi.]
[Problem]High energy leakage. Prone to volatile discharge.
[Market Value: ~1 Qi-Credit each (Hazard Discount Applied).]
[Analysis: Components individually possess minimal value. Potential synergy detected in combining Qi storage with data obfuscation for niche applications.]
[Probability of Profitability via Standard Resale: Low.]
Li Fang frowned. Niche applications? He thought back to his scavenging runs, to the chatter on underground forums, to the constant cat-and-mouse game lowlifes played with municipal surveillance systems and sect enforcement patrols.
Privacy was a luxury commodity. And energy… energy was everything.
An idea sparked in his head, something born from an ugly and desperate mind.
Those capacitors leaked energy. Raw, unstable Qi. What if he could regulate that discharge, just slightly?
And maybe… use the scramblers not to hide data, but to mask the energy signature itself?
"System," He called to the air again. "Calculate the energy output of one capacitor discharging over, say, five minutes. Can the passive Qi income be used to create a modulating field, something to smooth the power curve?"
[Calculating…]
[Passive Qi stream (0.00001 Qi/sec) is insufficient for sustained high-energy modulation. However, it can power a micro-regulator circuit for pulsed, low-amplitude discharge stabilization.]
[WARNING: Capacitor instability poses a significant risk of catastrophic energy release (Explosion).]
[Probability: 18.7%.]
Li Fang ignored the warning probability. Eighteen percent was practically safe by Lower Layer standards. Even 50% was acceptable.
"And can the scrambler mask the signature of that pulsed discharge?"
[Affirmative. Low-grade scramblers can obfuscate minor, localized Qi fluctuations from standard municipal sensors (Tier 1-3). However, it is insufficient against dedicated Sect-Corp or Celestial Revenue Bureau scanners (Tier 4+).]
Good enough. CRB Auditors wouldn't waste Tier 4 scanners on random energy spikes in Theta-12 unless someone filed a complaint. His potential customers weren't auditors, they were people trying to avoid them.
With that, he started working. His fingers were surprisingly nimble despite the lack of refined Qi flow.
Scavenging taught him precision mechanics out of necessity. He carefully pried open a capacitor casing and winced at the acrid smell of leaking energy.
Using salvaged micro-tools and a soldering iron powered by a scavenged battery pack, he began integrating components.
He used the system's faint Qi trickle, guided by instinct and the QFS's subtle analytical prompts appearing in his vision to etch a rudimentary control circuit directly onto the capacitor's core.
[Optimal Junction Point Detected…
[Warning: Energy Flux Imminent… Recommend Minor Capacitance Shielding…]
It was an extremely delicate, dangerous work. One slip, one surge, and the capacitor could blow, taking his container and a good chunk of his face with it. But did he have any other choice? He had to gamble.
Hours passed. The lumen strip flickered, died, then sparked back to life. His negative karma playing its usual tricks.
The city's noise was a constant backdrop.
And then finally, he had it. A crude device, barely larger than his thumb.
A leaky capacitor jury-rigged with a scrambler and a micro-regulator powered by his QFS's passive income.
He held it carefully like a treasure artifact he had dug from the Data Tombs.
"System. File Designation: 'Ghost Candle.'. Analyze function."
[Device: Ghost Candle (Prototype).]
[Function: Provides a small, localized aura of stabilized, low-signature Qi for approximately 30 minutes per capacitor charge. Useful for short-term masking of personal Qi signatures from basic surveillance or for providing minimal ambient energy for delicate spiritual tasks requiring neutrality.] [Estimated Production Cost: ~4 Qi-Credits (Components) + Minimal Host Energy.
[Potential Market Value: Dependent on target demographic and perceived utility.]
Li Fang allowed himself a grim smile. Who needed this? Anyone needing to meditate without attracting attention in Qi-saturated areas.
Petty criminals who are looking to mask their approach. Low-level cultivators who need a 'clean' energy source for practicing delicate techniques without interference from ambient city Qi.
It wasn't much, but it was something nobody else was selling because it was too unstable and low-margin for established players.
Now, he had to find buyers.
He couldn't exactly put up a holographic ad. CRB or any Sect-Corp enforcers would immediately seize him. He needed the grey market, the whispers, the network.
He needed someone like… Dao Broker Xun.
He checked his QFS interface.
[Debt: still astronomical.]
[Time left: ~60 hours.]
He'd spent hours building one prototype, using up one capacitor. He needed to make more, and sell them fast.
He pinged a burner comm implant he kept for emergencies, sending an encrypted, untraceable message to a known contact point for Xun: "Seeking market consultation. Product: Novelty low-signature Qi source. Discreet. Urgent."
Minutes later, a reply flashed in his vision, stylized and flamboyant.
"Intriguing! The winds of profit whisper your name, little spark. Meet me at Pillar 7, Midnight Market level, when the moon is digitally simulated. Bring samples, not sob stories. I have no market for that! ~DX"
Li Fang looked at the four remaining capacitors and the two scramblers. He needed to turn these into profit, enough profit to make a dent in his interest payments, maybe even buy more components.
He needed seed money for the next hustle, whatever that might be.
He glanced at the Spiritual Coin, still safely tucked away. Using it felt like cheating, like skipping steps.
But the system's warning about financial cowardice echoed. Was hoarding this single coin cowardice? Or was using it recklessly the real folly?
[Host Decision Point Detected: Leverage Existing Capital (Ghost Candles) vs. Hoard Primary Asset (Spiritual Coin).]
[Risk/Reward Analysis Underway…]
"Shut up, I know what you're going to say!" Li Fang muttered tiredly as he gathered his newly crafted Ghost Candles.
He'd try it his way first. The hard way. Selling desperation tech to desperate people in the neon-drenched underbelly of Neo-Tian.
If this didn't work... well, the Spiritual Coin wasn't going anywhere. And neither, unfortunately, was the ticking clock of his Divine Foreclosure.
He slipped out of his container, melting into the shadowed walkways, the crude Ghost Candles feeling heavy in his pocket, each one a tiny gamble against oblivion. The market awaits him.