Breakthrough Crisis

The hours following the loan disbursement to IronOx_7 stretched into an eternity, each tick of Neo-Tian's simulated chrono-cycle echoing the frantic thumping within Li Fang's own chest.

The confines of his repurposed storage container, usually a cramped but familiar den, now felt like a cage. He had resumed assembling the Ghost Candles he'd previously halted production on. With practiced, almost mechanical precision, his fingers moved to finish them.

However, his mind was far away from his location, tethered to the fate of a stranger in Sector Phi-8.

The 25 Qi-Credits remaining in his digital wallet felt like a lead weight, a clear reminder of his precarious financial footing.

He'd managed to sell two more Ghost Candles through Dao Broker Xun's shadowy network earlier, netting him a meager 34 Credits. This time, he didn't need to look for him at Pillar 7. He was just directed to an abandoned Waste Chute and left the product there as the broker decided to operate by orders instead, possibly to prevent more contact with him.

However, it had been just enough to appease the insatiable hunger of his Qi-Credit debt interest for a single cycle, a temporary stay of execution from the Omni-Credit Sect Corporation's looming spiritual foreclosure that would probably be enacted by the Auditors of the Celestial Revenue Bureau.

A single misstep, a single day without scrounging enough to cover that interest, and the penalties would compound, pushing him faster towards that final, terrifying notice. The foreclosure clock, an invisible guillotine blade hanging over his existence, now showed less than thirty hours.

Every resource and every shred of hope he had was now pinned on IronOx_7. On a faceless cultivator whose only connection to Li Fang was a desperate plea on a dark-net forum and a contract forged in mutual desperation, underwritten by a rogue AI with an appetite for empire-building.

If IronOx_7 failed his breakthrough, if the manifested Qi proved too potent or his foundation too weak. Li Fang wouldn't be hurt by the loss of the Direct Qi infusion but he had to find another borrower who could complete the contract.

The QFS interface, a constant, shimmering presence in his vision, helpfully outlined the probabilities:

[Monitoring Borrower 'IronOx_7'...]

[Vitals: Elevated, consistent with high-exertion Qi circulation.]

[Ambient Qi Fluctuations (Sector Phi-8, vicinity of Borrower): Significant, escalating.]

[Breakthrough Attempt: Assessed as actively in progress.]

[Probability of Success (Advancement to Qi Condensation Stage 3): 62.4%]

[Probability of Catastrophic Qi Deviation (Including potential bio-detonation): 11.8%]

Li Fang gnawed on his lower lip until he tasted blood.

Sixty-two percent. In the cutthroat gamble of cultivation, those weren't terrible odds.

He'd seen cultivators invest their life savings in alchemical pills with far lower success rates. But the 11.8% chance of catastrophic deviation… that was the figure that haunted him.

Qi deviation wasn't a gentle fizzle. It could mean crippling spiritual backlash, meridians shattered beyond repair, a descent into mindless rage, or, in the worst cases, the cultivator's body literally exploding like an overripe Qi-melon, showering the surrounding area with tainted energy and shredded flesh.

If IronOx_7 went supernova, the resulting energy surge would be a beacon in the Lower Layers, an undeniable anomaly. Muni-Patrols would converge, their sensors tracing the origin. Sect Enforcers, who were always keen to assert dominance, would lock down the area. And the Celestial Revenue Bureau with their omnipresent auditors and karmic investigators, would descend like vultures, dissecting the event, looking for unregistered energy sources, illegal cultivation practices, anything that upset the carefully controlled spiritual economy of Neo-Tian.

Li Fang, as the originator of the infused Qi, however anonymously, would be linked through the subtle karmic resonance, his already precarious situation becoming instantly, irrevocably terminal.

He tried to distract himself, focusing on the delicate work of calibrating the Qi stabilizer within a Ghost Candle casing.

He'd been tinkering with the design, trying to increase its active duration from thirty minutes to a full hour, perhaps even reduce the minor instability that gave it the hazard of chance explosion.

More efficiency. Better product. Higher potential profit margin. It was the kind of thinking the QFS encouraged. Relentless optimization, or so he wanted to believe so.

But his hands trembled slightly. His usually precise soldering work became less steady. His focus kept snapping back to the QFS feed, to the fluctuating vital signs of a stranger whose fate was now inextricably linked to his own.

IronOx_7's Qi signature, displayed as a complex waveform on the QFS overlay, spiked erratically.

It plateaued for a tense moment, then surged again. This time with a violent, uncontrolled intensity. It looked less like a cultivator advancing and more like one desperately battling an internal inferno.

[WARNING: Borrower 'IronOx_7' experiencing uncontrolled energy resonance!]

[Breakthrough process destabilizing!]

[Energy signature exhibiting chaotic harmonics!]

[Probability of Success dropping rapidly: 48.2%...]

[41.5%...]

[35.0%...]

[ALERT: Unsanctioned high-energy surge detected near Borrower's registered location! Detected Tier-2 Municipal Sensors have been activated in Sector Phi-8! Local Enforcer Net pinging alert status!]

"Damn it! Damn it all to the Void!" Li Fang swore aloud, the half-finished Ghost Candle clattering from his nerveless fingers. He slammed his fist onto his rickety workbench.

The kid was losing it. He'd pushed him too hard, given him too much pure Qi too fast.

IronOx_7's foundation, likely built on scavenged, low-grade cultivation manuals and diluted energy supplements, clearly wasn't robust enough to handle the unadulterated pure Qi the QFS had manifested.

This was his fault. His desperation, his reliance on the system's aggressive strategies…

He envisioned the scene: Muni-Cops swarming Phi-8. Enforcers kicking down doors. CRB auditors arriving with their cold, calculating eyes and soul-reading devices.

It was over. All his planning, his small victories, were about to be erased because he'd been reckless.

Then, just as he was bracing for the QFS to announce IronOx_7's catastrophic detonation or the arrival of an arrest warrant hologram, the feed shifted unexpectedly.

[Stabilizing Factor Detected…]

[Borrower 'IronOx_7' initiating emergency Qi diversion protocols…] [High-Risk Maneuver: Channelling uncontrolled Qi overflow into an external, non-biological environment (Localized Power Conduit)...]

[Extreme stress on conduit integrity…]

[Partial success…]

[Energy surge dissipating…]

[Borrower Qi signature re-stabilizing…]

[Condensing…]

[Consolidating…]

[SUCCESS! Borrower 'IronOx_7' has successfully broken through to Qi Condensation Stage 3!]

[New Qi Capacity Measured: +78% from baseline.]

[Calculating Repayment based on contractual terms…]

[Spiritual Contract 'Ascension Spark Loan v1.0' Fulfilled!]

[Repayment Clause Activated: 20% of Breakthrough Energy Release (Calculated as 20% of measured net Qi capacity increase).]

[Siphoning Initiated via resonant karmic link…]