EEP ALERT: Tradepost Application Now AvailableStatus: Application ReadyRequirements:✅ Proto-Post Kai-001 (Operational)✅ Assistant Hired (Provisional Organic Contract)✅ Minimum Assets Reached (Credits + CU ≥ Threshold)⬜ Regulatory Inspection (Auto-Triggered Upon Submission)
"Once I hit submit," I murmured, "there's no turning back."
Yena tossed a ration bar at me from across the Burrow.
"Then hit it already," she said with a smirk. "You've got better things to do than hide in an abandoned relay station forever."
I stared at the submit button.
[Submit Tradepost License Application?]– [YES]– [NO]
I tapped YES.
Application Submitted.Estimated Inspection Arrival: 48–96 Local HoursRecommended: Prepare Facility and InventoryWarning: Unauthorized Goods Must Be Removed or Concealed
So the countdown had begun.
Forty-eight hours, maybe more.
I had to make Kai-001 look like more than a scrapper's den.
I spent most of the next day hauling crates, installing dummy shelving, setting up item logs, and—most importantly—scrubbing the sector-stamped goods Rhys warned me about.
Yena was a lifesaver. She managed the inventory, disguised serial codes, and even traded our remaining Bio-Tissue Gel to a contact off-station to prevent local tracebacks.
Every time she moved, the system pinged.
[Assistant Bonus: +4% Inventory Efficiency][Assistant Bonus: +3 Buyer Loyalty Retention]
She wasn't system-bonded yet, but it was clear: Yena was an asset.
Just before nightfall, I received a message from an unfamiliar contact:
User: VETRI-4X"Heard you're applying for a license.Be careful.Tier-4 Traders protect their turf like warlords.If they sniff out a new trader post before approval,they may send someone to 'inspect' ahead of time."
Noted.
I disabled the external beacon on Kai-001.
From now on, buyers would need to ping through encrypted channels. No random walk-ins.
But the real challenge came the next morning.
One of my regular buyers—Telsa, a mechanic who usually bought drone parts—sent an urgent request:
"I need twelve coolant cells. Fast.My workshop's overheating and my supplier bailed."Payment offered: 28 Earth Credits + 1 High-Density Core
It was a serious trade.
But I didn't have coolant cells.
Not locally.
I could either decline… or risk my first bulk import run.
I checked the EEP network.
Rhys had five cells available.
Kerys had six.
A third trader—unknown to me—offered two more at a steep markup.
That gave me thirteen total.
Just enough.
I pinged them all.
[Purchased: 13 Coolant Cells – Total Cost: 36.5 C.U.]
That left me with less than 1 Cosmic Unit.But if I could make this trade work…
It would prove I could handle volume.It would impress the regulators.It would mark me as more than a scavenger with a lucky streak.
Yena watched me pack the shipment.
"You nervous?"
"No," I said. "I'm broke. That's worse."
By noon, I delivered the coolant to Telsa's workshop personally.
She inspected them all. Carefully.
Then she smiled.
[Trade Complete – 28 EC + 1 High-Density Core Received][Bonus: Buyer Rated Transaction 5 Stars – System Reputation +1]
More importantly—
[Tradepost License Progress: 8% → 14%]
It was working.
I was building a real business.
One trade at a time.
That night, I crashed on the floor of the Burrow. I didn't even make it to my crate-bed.
Yena tossed a blanket over me without saying a word.
In the darkness, the system pinged one final message before I slept:
EEP RANK ALERTRank Upgrade Pending...Tier-4 Review in Progress.Licensing Inspection Inbound – ETA: 30 HoursRemain Alert. Competitor Traders May Test Your Stability.
Current Status:
Kai has 0.4 Cosmic Units and 79.3 Earth Credits. He now holds 1 High-Density Core, equivalent to ~20 credits in barter. Kai's Tradepost License Application is active; inspection will arrive in less than 2 days. His assistant Yena remains provisional but has granted a total of +7% inventory speed and +3% buyer loyalty. The Tradepost (Kai-001) is at 14% progress, with 5 regular buyers and 2 potential Tier-4 traders observing him. Kai is broke—but trusted. And trust, in this world, is currency.
📌 Author's Note:
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— S.A.