Chapter 2: First Sale, First Lesson
The dagger felt alien in Li Wei's hand.
It was not the weight—it was lighter than it looked, perfectly balanced. It was the hum. A low, thrumming vibration that traveled up his arm, a sensation of contained violence waiting for a command. It felt more alive than any tool he'd ever held.
Across from him, Zhang's face was a perfect mask of stunned confusion. His sneer had melted away, replaced by a slack-jawed stare. His eyes, previously full of lazy cruelty, were now wide, flicking between Li Wei's determined face and the glowing green blade.
"W-What is that?" Zhang stammered, taking an involuntary step back. "Where did you get that, you trash? Did you steal it?"
The old Li Wei would have flinched, cowered, explained himself. The part of him that was still Kenji Tanaka, the office worker, screamed to de-escalate.
But the hum of the dagger sang a different song. A song of leverage.
"It's a down payment," Li Wei said, his voice steadier than he felt. He shifted his grip on the hilt, and the dagger's hum pitched slightly higher.
Zhang's bravado, fueled by the presence of his friends, began to trickle back. "A down payment on your beating!" he growled, though his eyes stayed locked on the blade. He took a threatening step forward, his own hand reaching for the simple iron sword at his hip.
Li Wei's mind raced. He's going to rush me. I don't know how to fight. This thing could be a fancy paperweight for all I know.
Panic surged. He did the only thing he could think of. He pointed the dagger in Zhang's general direction and willed it to work.
Nothing happened.
Zhang grinned, his confidence returning. "Ha! You don't even know how to use it! You really are usele—"
Li Wei, acting on pure instinct, slashed the air in front of him in a desperate, wide arc.
The dagger screamed.
It wasn't a sound of metal, but of air being torn in half. A visible blade of condensed, shimmering wind shot from the tip, slicing through the space where Zhang had been standing a moment before.
SHIIING!
It hit the stone wall of a nearby storage shed with a crack that echoed through the courtyard. A clean, foot-long gash appeared in the solid rock, dust puffing out like smoke.
Silence.
Absolute, dead silence.
Zhang was on his backside, having scrambled backward so fast he'd tripped over his own feet. His face was pale, all color drained. His two friends were frozen, their eyes wide with terror.
Li Wei stood, chest heaving, the dagger still humming in his hand. The power of it was terrifying. Exhilarating. He'd never felt anything like it.
A new notification flashed in the corner of his vision, unnoticed until now.
[ Rental Timer: 23:58:17 ] [ Remaining: 23 hours, 58 minutes, 17 seconds ]
The timer. The penalty. A thousand spirit stones he didn't have. Or his life.
The thrill of power was instantly doused by a cold wave of pragmatic fear. This wasn't a gift. It was a loan with diabolical interest.
He looked at Zhang, who was still cowering on the ground. The power dynamic had not just shifted; it had been inverted.
"Get up," Li Wei said, his voice quiet but firm.
Zhang flinched but slowly got to his feet, not taking his eyes off the dagger.
"You will tell no one what you saw here," Li Wei commanded, pouring every ounce of his former managerial authority into the words. "If you do, the next blade won't miss the wall. It will come for you. Do you understand?"
Zhang nodded frantically, a desperate, jerky motion. "Y-Yes! I understand! I won't say a word!"
"Good. Now get out of my sight."
Zhang and his friends didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled away, disappearing around a corner faster than spirit-hares.
Li Wei was alone again. The adrenaline faded, leaving him shaking. He looked at the gash in the stone wall, a permanent monument to the new rules of his life.
He needed to get this thing back. Now. But how? The system had given him no instructions.
As if on cue, the air behind him in the deserted courtyard shimmered. Not with the clean light of the dagger's summoning, but with a darker, solidifying energy.
Li Wei spun around, raising the dagger again.
A figure stood there. It was a head taller than him, made of polished, dark iron plates etched with faintly glowing blue runes. It had no visible face, only a smooth, helmet-like head. It stood perfectly still, radiating an aura of immovable, silent power. In its hands, it held a massive halberd that looked like it could cleave a horse in two.
A status bar appeared beneath it in Li Wei's vision.
[ Celestial Vault Guardian Unit - Type: Iron Sentinel ] [ Combat Strength: Early Foundation Establishment ] [ Directive: Asset Security & Contract Enforcement ] [ Status: Active ]
The Iron Sentinel didn't speak. It didn't need to. It simply took one step forward, its heavy footfall making no sound on the dirt, and stood between Li Wei and the rest of the world.
It was the most beautiful and terrifying thing he had ever seen.
The system's final message for the chapter appeared, glowing calmly in the midst of the chaos.
[ Welcome to your new vocation, Shopkeeper. The Celestial Vault awaits its first customer. ]