The underground chamber stank of rust, old ozone, and plastic decay.
But it was mine.
I called it the Burrow, and after a full day of silent work—scrubbing old relay panels, rerouting ancient cables, stacking crates in orderly rows—it finally resembled a micro trade hub.
Not much, but enough.
I installed a solar-battery pack I'd bartered from a scavenger who didn't ask questions. Plugged it into the main relay column, and for the first time, lights flickered back to life.
Flickering. Weak. But alive.
Just like me.
As the system stabilized, I reviewed my inventory:
2 Light Filters
1 Drone Panel
2 Units of Bio-Tissue Gel
1 Portable Fusion Spark (promised to a buyer)
1 Scrap Encryption Core
Most of it would be gone by the end of the day.
The real win was that none of it was stored in plastic sacks behind old ducts anymore.
It was shelved. Tracked. Sorted.
EEP SYSTEM UPDATE[Inventory Organization Bonus Activated: +2% Efficiency][Tradepost Progress: 3% > 8%]
Step by step.
That night, I returned to my public routes in Sector 9, but something felt… off.
Too many people looking twice.
Too many quiet mutters as I passed.
It didn't take long to confirm why.
Jorren, the freelance medic, intercepted me near the biowaste heaps.
"You sellin' real meds?" he asked low, his face nervous. "Word's spreading. Someone saw the seal on your last shipment. Not street-bootleg. Real sector-stamped."
I froze.
Only a handful of items in Rhys-N7's trade log came with pre-collapse certification stamps. It boosted their value—but it also made them traceable.
"Who saw it?" I asked.
Jorren looked around, then whispered, "Some fixer. No name. But he asked around. Wants to meet."
I ran.
Not away—but straight to the Burrow.
And that night, I activated a new system function:
EEP Upgrade Request: Trader Assistant (Prototype AI / Organic Candidate)Requirements:– 1 Secure Tradepoint (Proto Accepted)– 3 Trusted Buyers– 50 Earth Credits– Trade Volume ≥ 20
Status: Requirements Met[Would you like to proceed with assistant acquisition?]– [YES]– [NO]
I tapped YES.
Choose Assistant Type:– AI (Basic Functions Only)– Organic (Recruit a local human, bonded under trade contract)
I hovered over "Organic."
I had someone in mind.
Her name was Yena. Street-savvy, sharp-tongued, and quicker than anyone I'd met at slipping through crowds without being seen.
I'd traded with her once—scrap for smoke tabs. She made a profit off me, and smiled while doing it.
I found her the next morning, gambling near a scrap fire.
"You working for anyone?" I asked.
She narrowed her eyes. "I work for me."
"Want better pay?"
She studied me. "Is this about the gel?"
"…Maybe."
"I heard someone wants you dead," she said casually.
I didn't flinch.
"Which is why I need eyes. Hands. And someone who can disappear when the heat comes."
She smirked. "You pay double up front, I'm in."
By sundown, Yena was at the Burrow—sorting, logging, and cleaning like she'd always been there.
She wasn't bonded by the system yet. Not officially.
But she was watching. Learning.
And more importantly—
she wasn't asking dumb questions.
I assigned her Level 1 access.
Just inventory and basic trade comms.
Enough to help.
Not enough to betray.
That night, a message appeared in the system.
PRIVATE TRANSMISSION: TRADER RHYS-N7"Heard from a ghost node that someone traced your gel units.Word of advice:Stop selling stamped goods.Or scrub the marks first.You're not high-ranked enough to survive sector attention."
Then a second message followed—this time from Kerys.
"You'll attract Tier-4s with that kind of heat.Get your post licensed fast.Or you won't make it to Tier 4 yourself."
The race was on.
Not just to build.But to survive what I'd already built.
Current Status:
Kai now holds 6.4 Cosmic Units and 58.2 Earth Credits. His Tradepost (The Burrow) is active at Level 1 with a storage capacity of 50 units. Tradepost Progress: 8%. His newly recruited assistant, Yena, has joined under a provisional local contract, giving Kai minor boosts in sorting speed and buyer management. He now manages five regular clients, and has drawn the attention of external traders and at least one unknown fixer. His rank remains 3, but is on the cusp of Tier 4.
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