The morning sun in Hangzhou filtered through the trees along the university avenue. Chen Mo walked calmly, earbuds in, a soft hum of music accompanying his steps.
Inside his mind, the [Emotion Evolution System] displayed a quiet update.
Anger: 100%
Other Emotions: 0%
Warning: Imbalance detected.
He didn't panic. He never panicked. He simply adjusted.
His phone buzzed. A notification: Capital Authority: Daily Quota Active — ¥500,000 available.
Chen Mo tapped the screen, the numbers flowing like water in his mind. 40% single project limit. 50% loss protection. Enough to make ripples, just enough to test the waters.
He glanced at a nearby small café struggling with unpaid suppliers. Interesting.
Opening his notes, he typed:
"Step one: small leverage. Test the water. Observe reactions."
Outside, students passed by, chatting, laughing. Some glanced at him curiously. Not enough to matter. Not yet.
He stopped at a street corner. A deliveryman sped past, nearly colliding with a pedestrian. Chen Mo's senses didn't miss the tiny hesitation in the man's movement—the fear, the irritation, the embarrassment.
[Emotion Absorption: Activated]
Fear Points: +18
Anger Points: +7
He felt it not as chaos, but as clarity. Data flowed. Patterns emerged. Human weakness, human arrogance—every emotion a resource.
The café caught his attention again. Its owner argued with a supplier over payment delays. Zhang Rui's cousin, from the milk tea shop incident, was here. Small, petty. But predictable.
Chen Mo smiled—not the kind that revealed teeth, but a calm, quiet calculation.
Step two: escalate subtly. Regret and envy will do the heavy lifting.
By noon, he had invested a fraction of his quota. Minimal risk. Maximum observation. His phone tracked the reactions of employees, suppliers, and customers alike. Every annoyed glance, every sigh, every tiny misstep became evolution energy.
By the time the sun set, he was alone in his dorm, looking over the day's data.
System prompt:
Emotion Synergy Tip:
Regret and envy together accelerate skill evolution by 15%.
Chen Mo's fingers hovered over the keyboard. Small moves, subtle influence, long-term gain.
Outside, Hangzhou's lights flickered on, bathing the streets in orange glow. Silence wrapped around him, but inside, calculations ran faster than the rain ever could.
The legend didn't begin with chaos. It began with strategy. And Chen Mo had already started.