The smell of ozone and plasma lingered in the garage-turned-trade-hub.
Kai leaned back against a crate of recharged battery cells, eyes on the digital sales interface. His node's inventory was nearly empty again.
Trade Summary – Cycle 3 CompleteKryptonFiber Tools – SOLD OUT (Profit: +6.2 C.U.)AtmosTech Filters – SOLD OUT (Profit: +4.8 C.U.)Nutrient Paste – Remaining Units: 1/12 (Profit: +2.1 C.U.)
Net Gain: +13.1 C.U. | +22.5 Earth CreditsReputation Tier: Noticed → Recognized
Yena sipped synthe-caf from a cracked mug.
"You're moving goods faster than local black markets," she muttered. "You'll get raided soon."
"Let them try," Kai said. "We'll move faster."
He tapped into the Velvet Exchange.
Available Stock Options – Trader Rank 3 Access
BioGlow Soil Enhancer (Cost: 6.8 C.U.)
Sky-Loom Fabric (Self-repairing clothes, Cost: 9.5 C.U.)
Erosynth Medkits (Banned in 12 systems, Cost: 7.2 C.U.)
Gravity-Lock Boots (Cost: 8.9 C.U.)
He chose all four. His plan was simple: rotate inventory every cycle, test demand, and avoid pattern recognition.
But he wasn't the only one planning.
[3 Hours Later]
The power flickered.
Then the back wall exploded inward.
Three masked figures stormed in—one with a stun baton, another with a data spike, and the third holding a makeshift EMP grenade.
Local thugs.
But not amateurs.
They made it to the crates in seconds.
Kai barely got the Chain Barrier Protocol active in time.
Defensive System Activated: Trader Node Barrier – Class I– Damage Absorbed: 84%– Intruders: Incapacitated
The last one groaned on the floor, twitching from feedback. Yena kicked the grenade aside.
"You're officially worth killing," she said.
Kai stared at the fractured wall, the scorched wiring.
It was beginning.
The next morning, a stranger waited outside the node.
She wore a flowing cloak woven with astral threads—literal constellations shifting across the surface. Her skin glowed faintly blue, her eyes like twin nebulas.
Not human.
Not local.
But real.
"I am Lysir of the Veilborne," she said. "From Sector I-94, ten million years removed and ninety-nine hundred light years from here."
Kai blinked. "That's impossible. The Chain only chooses one trader per 10,000 light years."
She tilted her head.
"Indeed. So why are there two of us?"
Inside the node, she explained.
"There are... glitches. Moments when the Chain fractures. Branches fork. Anomalies like you and I overlap. I came here seeking the anchor that caused the break."
Kai frowned. "Anchor?"
She placed a small obsidian shard on the table.
It pulsed with a red glow. Chain script hovered over it.
[Anomalous Chain Fragment: Echo of Origin]– Tradeable: No– Reactive: Yes– Linked to: Trader Kai (Earth Sector)
"The Chain believes you're an origin point. That you're not just a participant, but a variable."
Kai stared at it.
"I didn't ask for any of this."
"Neither did I. But the Chain is changing… and you're at its center."
She rose.
"When the Velvet Council hears of this, they'll come. They don't like unpredictables. Especially those who profit too fast."
After she left, Yena spoke.
"She was lying."
"About what?"
"About being here by accident. She came to gauge you. Maybe warn you. Maybe eliminate you later."
Kai said nothing for a long time.
Then: "Good. Let them come."
He opened the interface and activated Trade Node Expansion – Tier II.
Cost: 10 C.U.Gain:– Inventory Slots: 3 → 6– Node Barrier: Class I → Class II– Node Control Interface: Manual + Autonomous Trade Handling– Feature Unlocked: Passive Credit Conversion (10% Efficiency)
New products flowed in. His node lit up with activity.
People lined the streets. A buzz began to build in the district.
The sole trader of Earth was becoming something else now.
A ripple in the Chain.
Current Status (Narrative Format):
Kai's Gutterspine Trade Node has survived its first sabotage attempt. With his inventory diversified and his barrier upgraded, the node is now gaining real momentum in Earth's underground economy.
Kai's Cosmic Units have risen to 38.7, and his Earth Credits now total 133.4. With Trade Node Expansion Tier II unlocked, he can now stock more goods, defend against threats, and earn passive income from automated sales.
But Lysir's visit has opened a terrifying question: Is the Chain broken—or is Kai something it accidentally created?
And if the Chain is aware of this glitch…
How long until it sends something to fix it?
📌 Author's Note:
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— S.A.