The flickering image of the bounty notice hung in the stale, metallic air of the geothermal node chamber like a digital death warrant. 500 Qi-Credits. Not a king's ransom, but certainly enough to attract every desperate blade-for-hire, information broker, and rival scavenger crew crawling through the Lower Layers. Enough to turn their precarious existence into an open hunt.
Li Fang stared at it, the stylized image of a cultivator silhouette overlaid with the stark red characters for "INFORMATION REQUIRED – SUBSTANTIAL REWARD," and felt a familiar cold dread mix with a new, unfamiliar sensation. The weight of actual assets.
He checked his QFS overlay, the numbers a stark contrast to his recent history. His anonymous trading account balance sat at 543.7 Qi-Credits.
It wasn't freedom, not by any stretch of Neo-Tian's unforgiving imagination. Besides, 500 of those came from Xie Ruolan.
But 544 Credits… that was capital. It was breathing room, a thin buffer against immediate annihilation. There were options, however limited and dangerous. The raw, gnawing panic that had been his constant companion for years receded slightly, replaced by a cooler, more calculated pressure. He was no longer a helpless prey. He leveled up to be one with a small, hidden stash.
"Someone has noticed the ripples again. Seems like our 'Ascension Spark Loans' are stepping on the toes of the established… shall we say, financial service providers." He looked at Xie Ruolan, who was meticulously analyzing the bounty notice's metadata on her own console with her brow furrowed in concentration. "What is your assessment, Miss Xie? Has Void Sect finally sniffed around your trail and stumbled onto us?"
Xie shook her head without looking up from the cascading lines of code. "Unlikely. This isn't their style. Too public, insufficient reward for their scale. They deal in far higher stakes when they decide to eliminate loose ends."
Her fingers danced across the holographic interface. "The language used and the dissemination network… It smells local. A rival lender, perhaps, is feeling the pinch from an upstart competitor offering better terms and actual results. Someone whose turf we're inadvertently encroaching upon."
The QFS chimed in, its cheerful synthesized voice became a jarring counterpoint to the tension.
[QFS Analysis: Bounty origin signature partially obscured, routed through multiple anonymous Lower Layer data relays.]
[Linguistic analysis of posting suggests common minor Sect jargon or established bounty guild phrasing patterns.]
[Probability: Rival Financial Entity (Loan Shark Sect): 45%. Independent Bounty Guild Commission (acting on behalf of unknown client): 30%. Minor Cultivation Sect (Territorial Dispute regarding resource access): 15%. Other (Personal vendetta, mistaken identity, etc.): 10%.]
[Recommend acquiring definitive intelligence to accurately assess threat level and formulate appropriate countermeasures.]
"A loan shark sect," Li Fang mused, the words leaving a bitter taste. He knew their kind. They're not anything new in the lower layers. They're like gangs claiming a territory and taking advantage of the struggling cultivators. Predatory interest rates, brutal enforcement, lives ruined for a handful of Credits. If they were indeed the source, this bounty wouldn't be their last move.
"We need to know exactly who we're up against." He thought back to Dao Broker Xun's cryptic message about 'market turbulence'.
Had the broker anticipated this? Or perhaps even profited from placing the bounty himself for another client? With Xun, anything was possible.
"Not that surprising, Dao Broker Xun conveniently offered intel, for a price, as always." He accessed the secure channel to Lilypad-01, their newly established network node and pinged the flamboyant broker. "Bounty noted. Information has a price. Identification of issuer? Quote requested. Urgent."
While they waited for Xun's inevitable, extravagantly priced reply, they addressed immediate vulnerabilities.
"Security first," Li Fang decided, pacing the confines of the damp chamber. The old geothermal machinery loomed around them like sleeping metal beasts. "This node… It's hidden, but not impenetrable. If someone is actively hunting us, they'll start with wider scans." He addressed the QFS. "System, what are our immediate defensive upgrade options using the salvaged RH-7 components? And can we deploy some kind of misinformation subroutine to muddy the waters about the Qi infusion source?"
The obfuscation methods they deployed earlier were only to cloak themselves from the digital networks. But if they scoured this place physically, there's a chance for them to locate the node.
[Acknowledged. Analyzing available assets and environmental parameters.]
[Option 1: Integrate salvaged RH-7 electro-stun projectors into node perimeter defense grid. Provides a non-lethal deterrent against physical intrusion.]
[Initial Phase Integration Cost: 40 Qi-Credits.]
[Option 2: Deploy Misinformation Subroutine 'Chaff Cloud v1.2'. Generates randomized, low-level Qi signature bursts across a designated sector, creating 'background noise' to confuse basic energy scanners and karmic sensitives attempting to trace specific infusion patterns.
[Estimated efficacy against Tier-1/2 scanning: 60-70%.
[Cost: 20 Qi-Credits. Total Immediate Cost for both: 60 Qi-Credits.]
Sixty Credits. More than his recent earnings.
But what was the alternative? Being found?
"Do it," Li Fang authorized. "Both options. We need layers of protection. Both digitally and physically. We cannot be complacent."
Xie Ruolan also nodded from her corner, supporting his decision.
The transaction processed instantly, slashing his balance to 483.7 Qi-Credits.
From the salvaged RH-7 components piled in a corner, small indicator lights flickered.
Faintly, Li Fang could hear the almost inaudible whirring of capacitors charging as the stun projectors integrated with Lilypad-01's rudimentary security network, their targeting apertures hidden in alcoves Xie had identified.
Simultaneously, the QFS confirmed the 'Chaff Cloud' was propagating and seeding confusing energy signatures across their immediate sub-sector and several adjacent ones. It was a small comfort from another digital smokescreen.
As swift and as expected, Dao Broke Xun's reply arrived not long after he finished inspecting the newly installed stun projectors and adjusted them according to the QFS suggestion.
The broker's message popped up onto Li Fang's QFS overlay with his ostentatious personal glyph. "My generous Spark! Punctuality in seeking enlightenment is always appreciated! Do you need the architects of this crude public appeal for your innovative head on a platter? Identification of said esteemed party is a mere trifle, a simple exercise in navigating the delightful labyrinth of underworld whispers. My fee for such clarity in these turbulent times? A modest 150 Qi-Credits. A pittance, truly, for peace of mind and strategic advantage! Standard terms apply, of course. Time is Credits, as they say! ~DX"
One hundred and fifty Credits. Nearly a third of Li Fang's remaining capital. Dao Broker Xun knew how to price his information, especially when desperation was a factor. But ignoring the threat, flying blind against an unknown enemy, was no longer an option dictated solely by poverty. It was now a strategic choice – and a patently foolish one.
He knows we need it," Li Fang muttered helplessly, already knowing his decision. "Authorize payment, System."
[Transferring 150 Qi-Credits to Dao Broker Xun's registered escrow account…]
[Confirmed. Host Balance: 333.7 Qi-Credits]
The Qi-Credits vanished from his balance and he could feel the sting of losing a large capital. After a small win, he was forced to spend this much. But it was better than not knowing who they're dealing with. He still had those active loans and they could still get more borrowers after this was dealt with.
Almost immediately, a heavily encrypted data packet, stamped with Xun's mark, arrived in Lilypad-01's secure inbox. Xie Ruolan decrypted it swiftly. Her usual composure tightened as she scanned the contents.
Pressing her lips together, she announced, "The Crimson Abacus Syndicate.
Her voice was devoid of its earlier analytical detachment. It carried a distinct edge of distaste.
She projected the core information onto a shared display. It showed the Syndicate's insignia – that blood-red abacus – their known territories, key personnel, and a summary of their typical operations.
"A mid-tier loan shark operation, but notoriously aggressive. They control three sub-sectors near our current operational radius. Known for their ruthlessness, rapid expansion through violence and intimidation. Also… 'creative accounting' that inevitably leaves borrowers in inescapable debt cycles."
She highlighted a specific section in Xun's report. "They specialize in high-interest, short-term Qi-Credit loans, often collateralized against a cultivator's future potential or even their spiritual core itself. Defaulters are frequently seized, their karmic debt forcibly transferred, and they become 'karmic bondsmen' or, in other words, bond slaves. They worked off their debt in the Syndicate's other hazardous enterprises."
She looked at Li Fang with her sharp gaze. "Our loan model, which offers fair terms and actual empowerment, directly competes with their predatory recruitment pool. We're not just taking their potential customers, we're also offering an alternative that exposes their entire business model as exploitative."
Not the Void Sect, as Li Fang had initially suspected. Not some grand, shadowy organization from her past. Instead, it was a more mundane, yet intimately dangerous, local threat. The kind of brutal street-level power that thrived in the Lower Layers. Organized, territorial, and undoubtedly willing to use extreme force to protect their turf and eliminate competition.