The intelligence report system proved easier to implement than expected, but harder to maintain than anticipated.
Within a week, I'd established a network of information sources—Huiyue's merchant contacts reported on trade movements and economic trends, Uncle Qingsong's farmers shared observations about travelers and unusual activities on the roads, household servants collected gossip from market visits, and our guards noted security concerns during their patrols. Liu Ruyan coordinated the collection, organizing raw information into coherent reports that I could analyze and compile.
The first report to Bai Wuchang covered bandit movements in the eastern valleys, merchant disputes affecting trade routes, and rumors of a minor clan preparing to default on debts. Nothing earth-shattering, but actionable information he could use to position his gang advantageously.
He'd sent word back: "Adequate. Continue."
High praise from someone like him.
But by the third week, the accumulated strain was becoming obvious to everyone except, apparently, me.
"You need to eat," Liu Ruyan said, holding out a bowl of rice that had long since gone cold while I worked on the week's intelligence compilation.
"I will. Just need to finish analyzing the merchant movement patterns. There's a correlation between—"
"Hanxing." She set the bowl down with enough force to make me look up. "When was the last time you slept properly? Or took a full meal? Or went more than an hour without working on something?"
I tried to remember and couldn't. The days had blurred together—compiling intelligence reports, managing forge production schedules, coordinating with Frost Wolf deliveries, handling regular customer orders, planning mine improvements that kept getting delayed by other priorities.
"I'm managing," I said, which wasn't an answer.
"You are barely conscious half the time. This one found you asleep over your desk three times this week. Your hands shake constantly. And yesterday you had a nosebleed that lasted twenty minutes."
"The system integration causes nosebleeds sometimes. It's not—"
"It is concerning. Very concerning." She knelt beside my chair, forcing me to meet her eyes. "Hanxing, this one has watched you push yourself repeatedly to the edge of collapse and beyond. But this is different. You are not recovering between efforts anymore. You are accumulating damage."
"I don't have time to rest right now. There are deadlines, obligations, commitments—"
"That will continue whether you rest or not. The world will not end if you take a day to sleep properly and eat full meals."
"But the intelligence report is due tomorrow. And the Frost Wolf delivery schedule needs confirming. And Wenxuan needs input on the revised budget. And—"
"And this one will handle the intelligence compilation from your notes. Sister Huiyue will manage the Frost Wolf schedule. Second Brother can make budget decisions without you for one day. The clan survived before you arrived and will continue if you take time to recover."
The words hit harder than intended. The underlying message—that I wasn't as indispensable as I believed—carried uncomfortable truth.
"I'm not trying to be indispensable," I said quietly. "I'm just trying to help."
"This one knows. But helping while destroying yourself is not actually helping. It is just slower suicide."
The blunt assessment made me flinch. "That's dramatic."
"Is it? You collapsed unconscious for three days after one negotiation. You can barely walk without support. Your Memory Treasure Vault integration is at ninety-three percent but your body is failing faster than the system improves. What happens when integration completes? Will your body survive the final threshold?"
I didn't have an answer. The thought had occurred to me—each integration milestone took physical toll. The jump from eighty-nine to ninety percent had caused overwhelming cognitive load and temporary collapse. What would happen at ninety-five percent? At one hundred?
"The system has safety protocols," I said, not sounding convinced even to myself.
"Does it? Or does it simply prioritize integration over the host body's long-term survival? You treat it like a tool, but what if you are the tool it is using?"
That philosophical question had haunted me since the ninety percent threshold. The Memory Treasure Vault provided information and capabilities, but I'd never questioned its ultimate purpose or whether my survival was actually one of its objectives.
Before I could respond, urgent knocking interrupted us. Wenxuan entered without waiting for invitation, his face pale.
"Hanxing, we have a problem. A serious problem."
I pushed myself to standing, ignoring the way the room swayed slightly. "What happened?"
"The mine. There's been a collapse in one of the lower shafts. Uncle Qingsong and three workers are trapped. The structural damage is extensive—the whole lower level is unstable."
My enhanced analysis kicked in automatically, running through rescue scenarios and complications. "How long have they been trapped?"
"Two hours. We've been trying to clear the debris but every attempt causes more settling. The mining supervisor says without proper support structures, we risk total collapse that would kill everyone down there."
"Get Master Han and Liefeng. Han understands structural stress from forge construction. Liefeng has the physical strength we need. And send for—" I paused, my vision suddenly blurring. "Send for..."
The room tilted sideways.
I woke to voices arguing above me.
"—absolutely not! He collapsed just standing up, you cannot possibly suggest—"
"But he's the only one who might know how to—"
"Then he can provide advice from bed! He is not going to the mine in this condition!"
I opened my eyes to find myself back in bed, Liu Ruyan standing between me and Wenxuan like a protective barrier.
"I'm awake," I managed.
Both of them turned to me. Wenxuan looked relieved. Liu Ruyan looked furious.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Fifteen minutes," Wenxuan said. "You collapsed mid-sentence. We carried you here."
"The mine. Uncle Qingsong—"
"Still trapped. Liefeng and Master Han are assessing the situation now, but they need guidance on safe excavation approach. The supervisor says conventional methods are too dangerous given the instability."
I tried to sit up. Liu Ruyan pushed me firmly back down.
"You are not leaving this bed."
"People are dying—"
"And you dying alongside them helps no one!" Her voice cracked slightly. "Hanxing, please. You can provide advice from here. Send instructions through Second Brother. But you are in no condition to travel to the mine."
She was right. I could barely sit up, much less make the half-hour journey to the mine and then contribute meaningfully to rescue efforts.
"Fine. Wenxuan, bring me paper and writing materials. I'll diagram the structural concerns and stabilization approaches. You can take them to Master Han and Liefeng."
For the next hour, I worked frantically, using my remaining daily search to query mine rescue techniques and structural stabilization. The information came clearly—how to identify load-bearing points, where to place temporary supports, how to sequence excavation to minimize further collapse risk.
I drew diagrams with shaking hands, wrote instructions in handwriting that deteriorated as exhaustion mounted, explained principles to Wenxuan who memorized them to relay verbally.
"This should work," I said finally, handing over the last sketch. "Tell Master Han to focus on establishing these support points first, then clearing debris in this sequence. It's slower than conventional approaches but safer."
Wenxuan took the papers and hurried out. Liu Ruyan remained, her expression troubled.
"You used another search," she observed. "How many do you have left today?"
"None. That was the third."
"And you have used maximum searches every day for two weeks straight."
"The obligations require it. The intelligence reports, the production coordination, now the rescue—"
"The obligations are killing you." She sat on the edge of the bed, her composure finally cracking. "Hanxing, this one has tried patience. This one has tried gentle persuasion. This one has tried firm insistence. Nothing works because you simply will not stop. So this one is begging now. Please. Rest. Actually rest, for multiple days, before you destroy yourself permanently."
I looked at her face—the exhaustion in her eyes, the fear beneath her determination, the way her hands trembled slightly as she gripped the blanket. She'd been as relentless as me, just in a different direction. Supporting my constant activity while desperately trying to moderate it.
"I'm scared," I admitted quietly. "If I stop, if I rest properly, everything might fall apart. The clan's recovery is fragile. The partnerships are new. The obligations are complex. I'm the only one who sees how all the pieces connect."
"You are not the only one. You are simply the only one who believes you must do everything personally." She took my hand carefully. "Your siblings are competent. Your parents are wise. Master Han understands the forge. Uncle Qingsong knows the mine. Merchant relationships will not collapse because you rest for a few days. And if some things do fall apart—perhaps those things were not actually sustainable anyway."
The Memory Treasure Vault interface flickered:
'MEMORY TREASURE VAULT'
'INTEGRATION STATUS: 93% COMPLETE'
'DAILY SEARCHES EXHAUSTED: 3/3 USED'
'WARNING: USER SHOWING SIGNS OF SEVERE EXHAUSTION'
'PHYSICAL METRICS: DECLINING DANGEROUSLY'
'COGNITIVE FUNCTION: IMPAIRED'
'RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE CESSATION OF ALL NON-CRITICAL ACTIVITIES'
'ESTIMATED TIME TO PERMANENT DAMAGE IF PACE CONTINUES: 2-4 WEEKS'
'NEXT INTEGRATION MILESTONE (95%): UNSAFE TO PROCEED IN CURRENT CONDITION'
The system was warning me. For the first time, it was explicitly saying the pace was unsustainable.
"What if integration to ninety-five percent kills me?" I asked. "What if my body can't handle the next threshold?"
"Then we stop. We stay at ninety-three percent. The capabilities you have now are sufficient. You do not need more power if gaining it costs your life."
"But the final integration might unlock something crucial—"
"Or it might kill you, making all previous integration worthless." She squeezed my hand. "Hanxing, please listen. You are not a tool for the system to use. You are a person this one—that this family—cares about. Your life has value beyond your utility."
Distant voices approached—multiple people, moving quickly. The door opened to reveal Father, Liefeng carrying an unconscious Uncle Qingsong, and Master Han supporting two injured workers. They were filthy, exhausted, but alive.
"The rescue worked," Father said. "Your instructions were exact. Master Han says the structural analysis was perfect—we cleared the debris without further collapse." He looked at me with an expression mixing gratitude and concern. "You saved them. But son, you look worse than they do."
Uncle Qingsong was conscious now, coughing and disoriented but aware. "The boy's drawings... worked. Every support point... exactly right." More coughing. "But next time... maybe come to the mine... instead of almost dying... to send instructions..."
"This one has forbidden him from leaving bed," Liu Ruyan said firmly. "And this one is enlisting family support to enforce that prohibition."
Mother entered behind the rescue group, took one look at me, and her expression transformed from worry to determination.
"Liu Ruyan is absolutely right. Hanxing, you are confined to bed rest. Minimum three days, possibly more depending on the physician's assessment. No work, no reports, no consultations. Your siblings will handle everything."
"But Mother—"
"No arguments. You have saved this family repeatedly at great cost to yourself. Now the family will save you by forcing you to actually rest." She turned to Liu Ruyan. "This one trusts you to ensure he obeys. Use whatever methods necessary."
"This one accepts that responsibility," Liu Ruyan said with satisfaction.
I wanted to protest, to argue about obligations and deadlines and the fragility of our success. But looking around the room—at Uncle Qingsong alive because of analysis I'd provided, at Liu Ruyan's exhausted determination, at Mother's protective firmness, at Father's grateful concern—I realized they were right.
I'd been operating as if the clan's survival depended entirely on my constant effort. But the clan had survived before me and would continue after. My role was important, but not indispensable. And destroying myself to maintain the illusion of indispensability was stupid, not noble.
"Three days," I agreed. "But someone needs to handle the intelligence report for Bai Wuchang."
"Second Brother will deliver it," Mother said. "From your notes, he can compile something adequate."
"And the Frost Wolf delivery schedule—"
"Sister Huiyue manages that constantly. She does not need your input for every shipment."
"And the budget revisions—"
"Will wait three days," Mother interrupted firmly. "The world will not end. The clan will survive. You will rest."
After everyone left except Liu Ruyan, silence settled over the chamber. Outside, the afternoon sun was beginning its descent. Inside, I felt the weight of accumulated exhaustion finally acknowledged.
"This one is proud of you," Liu Ruyan said softly. "Admitting you need help is harder than being strong."
"I don't feel proud. I feel like I've failed."
"You have not failed. You have recognized limits before hitting them catastrophically. That is wisdom, not failure."
The Memory Treasure Vault flickered one more time:
'MEMORY TREASURE VAULT'
'USER DECISION: REST PRIORITY ACKNOWLEDGED'
'INTEGRATION PAUSE: INITIATED'
'REMAINING AT 93% UNTIL USER PHYSICAL CONDITION IMPROVES'
'ESTIMATED RECOVERY TIME WITH PROPER REST: 1-2 WEEKS'
'NOTE: SUSTAINABLE PACE MORE VALUABLE THAN MAXIMUM PACE'
'USER SURVIVAL PROBABILITY WITH REST: 94%'
'USER SURVIVAL PROBABILITY WITHOUT REST: 67%'
Even the system agreed. Rest or die.
The choice was surprisingly easy once I stopped fighting it.
"Wake me for meals," I told Liu Ruyan. "And if there's an actual emergency. But otherwise..."
"Otherwise this one will ensure you sleep properly for the first time in weeks." She dimmed the lamps, adjusted the blankets, settled into her chair. "Rest now, Hanxing. The world will still be here when you wake."
I closed my eyes and let exhaustion finally claim me completely.
---