The system interface glowed with new potential.
System: Money Wasting System (Level 4)
Host: Ye Xia
Todays Wasting Quota: 1,000,000 RMB
Conversion Rate: 10%
New Function Unlocked: Financial Instrument Wasting (USD-denominated).
New Function Unlocked: Basic Intelligence (Global).
Ye Xia's breath caught. One million RMB daily quota. A 10% conversion meant 100,000 RMB for her personal use every single day. But the most significant change was the new wasting function.
[Financial Instrument Wasting (USD-denominated): Host may now fulfill wasting quota by purchasing stocks, bonds, or other securities in USD. Crucial Rule: These instruments must be sold at a loss within 24 hours. Any profit generated will be deducted from the conversion amount. The primary goal is consumption, not investment.]
This changed everything. She could now channel the system's massive funds directly into the global financial markets, even if she had to intentionally lose money on the trades. It was a way to operate on a much larger stage without the logistical nightmare of buying physical goods.
The [Basic Intelligence (Global)] function had a higher cost—100 EXP per use—and a 30-day cooldown, but it could provide information from anywhere in the world.
Zurich was the goal, but with this new tool, another city called to her: New York. The financial capital of the world. If she was to understand her mother's legacy and learn to wield this new power, she needed to be at the heart of the machine. She could waste money on a grand scale there, level up faster, and use the global intelligence to learn more about the mysterious Yun family.
She modified her plans immediately. Paris to New York was an easy jump. She booked a first-class ticket on the next available flight, wasting another small fortune.
New York City hit her like a physical force—a roaring, vertical landscape of ambition and concrete. She checked into a suite at The Plaza Hotel overlooking Central Park, a blatant and perfect waste of money.
Her first order of business was to establish a presence. Using the system's funds, she hired a prestigious US law firm to formalize the US branch of Xing Guang Capital. Then, she opened a US brokerage account linked to the system.
The next morning, seated at a desk in her suite with a view of the park, she prepared for her first "wasting" trade. She had to buy a stock and sell it at a loss within 24 hours. She chose a volatile tech stock that was trending downwards. She used the system's funds to buy $150,000 USD worth. The transaction was approved.
She waited an hour as the stock continued to dip, then sold it all, taking a loss of $5,000. It was a tiny fraction of the quota, but it proved the concept.
[Partial quota fulfilled: $5,000 USD wasted. Remaining quota: 995,000 RMB equivalent.]
She spent the rest of the day making similar loss-making trades, quickly burning through the massive quota. It was exhilarating and strangely stressful, intentionally losing money after having worked so hard to grow her personal wealth.
[Ding! Daily task completed. 1,000,000 RMB successfully wasted. 100,000 RMB has been converted to your Personal Funds. 10 Experience Points awarded. Current Level: 4 (10/1000).]
The experience required to level up had jumped dramatically, but the daily financial gain was staggering. Her personal wealth grew by over $14,000 USD every day.
In between trades, she devoured the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, cross-referencing the information with her mother's notebook. She saw the world through a new lens. The names in the notebook weren't just names; they were titans who moved markets.
A few days into her New York stay, she decided to use the new [Basic Intelligence (Global)] function. She focused her query: What is the current stance of the Yun family patriarch regarding Ye Xia?
The cost was 100 EXP, a significant chunk. The information that flowed into her mind was brief but potent.
Patriarch Yun Zhi is aware of Ye Xia's existence. He considers her a minor curiosity, a "dead branch." However, a faction within the family, led by his second son, Yun Zhong, views her potential re-emergence as a threat to internal succession plans. Monitoring has been authorized.
A chill ran down Ye Xia's spine. She was being watched. Not just by Mo, but by a powerful, shadowy family that saw her as a threat. The "dead branch" comment stung, but it was also a relief. The patriarch himself wasn't concerned. But the second son was. She had an enemy within the Yun family she didn't even know.
This changed her strategy. She needed to accelerate her growth, to become powerful enough that she couldn't be easily brushed aside. New York was the perfect training ground.
She began to use her days more strategically. Mornings were for physical training—high-intensity workouts and martial arts sessions with a private instructor hired with system funds. Afternoons were for the markets, executing her wasteful trades while studying the patterns, learning the rhythms of global finance. Evenings were for deep study of her mother's notes and corporate law.
One afternoon, after completing her wasting quota through a series of deliberate bad trades on the Hong Kong exchange, she decided to use her personal funds to make a real investment. She bought a small position in a promising bio-tech startup she remembered would be acquired in a few years for a massive premium. It was a test of her memory in this new, global context. It worked; the stock jumped 8% on news of a breakthrough the next day.
She was learning, adapting, growing at an exponential rate. The ugly, bullied heiress was being forged in the fires of New York's relentless energy into a sharp, formidable player. But the city, she would soon learn, was also a place where paths crossed in unexpected ways.