Inconsequential. Unlike Li Fang, who would probably take anything he could get his hands on, Xie Ruolan seemed to have a baseline. If his loan model ended up being about the exploitation of the desperate cultivators, she'd probably part ways with him right there and then or she might not be as passionate when coming up with the plan for the portfolio diversification.
He took a deep breath as he attuned himself to the weight of the decision and the responsibility for these untraceable funds.
He accessed the anonymous trading account he'd set up earlier, funneled through Lilypad-01's secure network. Then, he carefully transferred the 500 Credits from the physical chit into this digital account.
Following the QFS's precise instructions, which exchanges to use, what price points to target and how to split the orders to avoid undue attention, he began placing buy orders for Grade-2 Shimmering Path Mana Batteries.
460 Qi-Credits vanished from his account in a flurry of near-instantaneous transactions, leaving him with a nerve-wracking balance of 40 Credits.
He now 'owned' several thousand aging, slightly used mana batteries, scattered across various holding accounts in Neo-Tian's digital commodity underbelly.
Now, they have to wait.
Arbitrage and waiting for its numbers to rise above the buying price felt profoundly different from waiting for loan repayments, which were tied to individual human effort and unpredictable cultivation breakthroughs.
This was market timing, pure and simple. Impersonal. Abstract. Less personal risk if it failed, perhaps, but also entirely dependent on cold data, predictive algorithms and the reliable purchasing habits of a distant Outer Rim supplier.
He watched the market tickers on the QFS overlay, wherein each fractional percentage point change was becoming amplified by his own anxiety.
While they waited for the market to move, notifications trickled in from the Project Gilded Lily's active loan portfolio. Such a welcome distraction.
[Borrower Update: 'StaticBlade' (Jian Hao - Technique Catalyst Loan) reporting successful Qi refinement using Principal infusion and embedded Purity Attunement Data.]
[Breakthrough attempt to Qi Condensation Stage 5 anticipated within the next 48 hours. Current Vitals: Stable.]
[Borrower Update: 'Gutter Rat' (Arena Fighter - Gig Fuel Advance) reports successful mastery of 'Iron Tortoise Shell' defensive technique. Upcoming unsanctioned bout is scheduled in Sector Zeta Undercity Arena.
[Probability of Contract Fulfillment (Payout Share of Winnings): Currently assessed at 65%.]
[Borrower Update: 'Sump Scrapper' (Exterminator - Gig Fuel Advance) reports successful completion of Sector Kappa Sump Pit spirit-vermin extermination contract. Client verification of contract fulfillment pending.]
[Estimated Repayment (Flat Fee + Percentage): Imminent upon verification.]
Things were moving on multiple fronts. Their fledgling, high-risk lending operation was showing signs of life, generating potential future income streams, validating their disruptive model.
Each success was a small victory against the crushing weight of Li Fang's own debt and the indifference of Neo-Tian's established powers.
Xie Ruolan, meanwhile, wasn't idle. Having secured the initial capital, she turned her formidable analytical skills to other targets.
Using Lilypad-01's secure network access, she began compiling detailed analyses of minor Sect-Corp financial reports, quarterly earnings statements, and internal memos that occasionally leaked onto black market forums or were sold by disgruntled employees. She was hunting for vulnerabilities, for signs of weakness in the city's established financial edifice.
"Look at this," She said after a while as she projected a complex, multi-layered financial chart onto a relatively clean section of the dusty warehouse wall. It detailed the recent performance of the 'Radiant Fist Sect'. A minor, aggressive Sect-Corp specializing in personal security services and low-level enforcement contracts.
"Their publicly filed quarterly earnings report shows declining revenue and shrinking profit margins, which they attributed to 'increased market competition'." She highlighted several lines of expenditure. "But their internal, leaked expenditure logs show that their spending on Spiritual Enhancement Consumables, mainly combat stims, temporary Qi boosters, and aggression-enhancing alchemicals for their enforcers, has nearly tripled in the last two cycles. They're likely juicing their enforcers to maintain contract performance and secure new clients in a competitive market, burning through their capital reserves at an unsustainable rate."
While Li Fang tried to spin his head around it, the QFS instantly cross-referenced Xie Ruolan's analysis with its own data streams.
[QFS Analysis: Radiant Fist Sect financial trajectory indicates high probability (82%) of short-term liquidity crisis within next fiscal cycle (approximately 60-90 days).]
[Significant risk of default on outstanding bonds. Potential for hostile acquisition by larger competitors or vulnerability to disruptive service models offering more cost-effective enforcement solutions (e.g., freelance 'Gig Fuel' enhanced cultivators.]
"They're desperate," Li Fang mused after comprehending the more understandable analysis of the QFS. The Radiant Fist Sect was exactly the kind of organization that preyed on weakness, yet here was evidence of their own internal rot. "Could they be potential clients for… larger-scale Qi infusions, if we framed it as operational support? Or are they a prime target for a short-selling strategy, betting on their Mandate Index to collapse?"
"Too risky, on both counts, for now. Also, they don't deserve our loan models, no matter how big a client they can be," Xie Ruolan cautioned immediately as her banker's prudence kicked in. "Furthermore, shorting even a minor, aggressive Sect invites direct, physical retaliation. Their enforcers might not be CRB auditors but they are still dangerous. And lending to them? It would be like pouring water into a sieve unless you could secure ironclad, soul-bound collateral, which we are certainly not equipped to enforce at that level. They would likely default and then try to seize our assets, if they could find them."
She paused for a moment, likely cross-referencing her data to the QFS analysis that Li Fang relayed. "For now, the Radiant Fist is simply data. A case study in unsustainable growth and internal vulnerability. We observe, we learn, we wait for less direct opportunities. Or if… you became too desperate for it and ignored the higher-than-normal risk."
"Right. One step at a time." Li Fang scratched his cheek before turning around, approaching his makeshift workbench.
As the minutes stretched, each tick of the exchange feed was a small torment. Li Fang couldn't just sit idly by. His nerves wouldn't allow it. He turned to the familiar, grounding task of assembling more Ghost Candles. His fingers remained nimble from years of scavenging and delicate salvage work. They moved with practiced ease, soldering micro-circuitry onto the leaky Qi capacitors he'd bought in bulk from Old Man Ji before he migrated out of his container.
This device was what he used to whisk Xie Ruolan away from the powerful Void Sect Internal Affairs Directorate Enforcers. It could definitely be handy for both of them again in the long run. Who knows? He might be able to eventually build an assembly line for it in another abandoned factory and turn it into his initial product for a true enterprise.