Back during his early days as a scavenger, Li Fang once thought of replacing his arms with cybernetics. Those top-of-the-line products of Sect-Corps that had been forged by known artificers. Unfortunately, that ended up as nothing but a thought or a forgotten dream when he realized he'd never climb out of debt. His earnings were only enough for him to get by. His only hope was to stumble upon an artifact that could be sold for thousands of Qi-Credits or memory crystals with mostly intact skills inside. But with the aura of misfortune wrapped around him, he could already be considered lucky not to be in constant accidents.
"Enough reminiscence."
The scuttling grew louder ahead of him. Around a bend, a dozen Skitterers swarmed, their multiple red eyes the only indication in the dim light filtering from a distant grate. They chittered as they sensed his presence before surging forward.
Li Fang didn't panic. He'd faced worse, after all.
He backpedaled slightly as he looked for a chokepoint. He spotted a section where a support beam narrowed the passage and moved there to stand his ground..
The first Skitterer lunged, its venom-tipped mandibles snapping at him. Li Fang brought his pipe down in a sharp arc, crushing its head with a sickening crunch.
Two more scuttled up the walls, trying to flank him. He kicked out, sending one tumbling. He then pivoted to another angle and used the pipe to deflect the pounce of the other, its claws ended up scraping uselessly against the plasti-steel.
"Shit! You're always this persistent. Are you always starving? Why not cannibalize each other?" He spat as he maneuvered to deal with the one gnawing at his pipe and waited for the next ones.
Li Fang fought with grim efficiency as he relied on his years of honing his scavenger's agility and knowledge of weak points from his past encounters. Each blow was aimed to incapacitate and break open their shells.
With a lack of martial arts or any combat skills, he moved like a street fighter, using the cramped environment to his advantage and turning their numbers against them.
One tried to latch onto his leg. He shook it off and stomped hard, feeling its carapace crack. Then he shoved another into the path of its own packmate, the two colliding in a tangle of legs and snapping jaws.
The fight was short, brutal, and messy. When it was over, half a dozen Skitterers lay twitching or still, their slimy fluids staining the grimy floor. The rest sensed that he was a tougher-than-expected prey and quickly retreated into the deeper darkness.
Li Fang was breathing heavily and his arm ached from the strain but he was largely unscathed, save for a few minor scratches on his cloak, legs, and arms.
"Damn it. I should've been more careful in picking a path."
After wiping the Skitterer gore from his pipe, he continued to his destination.
Several minutes later, he successfully arrived at the area.
The designated dead drop was a rusted utility locker behind a defunct noodle stall.
As he approached, the QFS timely pinged him.
[Proximity Alert: Two Unidentified Individuals exhibiting covert surveillance behavior.]
[Location: Rooftop, 60 meters northeast.]
[Energy Signatures: mid Qi Condensation Stage cultivation, cybernetic enhancements consistent with loan shark sect enforcers – cheap and efficient but with poor durability and prone to defect.]
[Conclusion: Possible Crimson Abacus scouts or loan shark scouts looking for new prey.]
Having gotten the intel without looking up, Li Fang didn't break his stride.
He nonchalantly approached the drop point, placed the Ghost Candle pouch in the locker as per Xun's instructions, then retrieved the pre-arranged payment chit. A physical, untraceable token like his last payslip or Xie Ruolan's 500 Qi-Credit chit.
His balance effectively recovered to around 350 Qi-Credits if he added the few passive Micro-Skim transactions the QFS completed in the background.
As he turned to leave, he deliberately 'fumbled', dropping a worthless data-slate. He bent to pick it up and used that moment to scan the rooftop indicated by the QFS.
He caught a glint of light. An optical lens. Two figures, cloaked and blended well with the grimy architecture. They weren't watching his dead drop specifically, but they seemed to be observing the general flow of people around a nearby, heavily trafficked entrance to the Gamma Data Bazaar.
'Are they from Crimson Abacus? They do have eyes on the ground. Not just blind network probes,' Li Fang thought.
He needed a closer look to be certain but approaching directly was too risky.
After weighing his choices and with the quick thinking leveraged by QFS suggestions, he made a short detour to a path circling back the way he came from. Once he left their range of surveillance, he ducked into a narrow side alley, cluttered with overflowing refuse bins and discarded cybernetic limbs too damaged to be repaired.
The QFS highlighted a corroded maintenance ladder leading up the side of an adjacent hab-block, facing the roof where the scouts surveilled the area.
Years of scavenging in Neo-Tian's Lower Layers had taught Li Fang a thing or two about unconventional traversal. The ladder rungs were usually too slippery with grime and synth-oil, some loose enough and were prone to accidents. He ascended carefully, testing each hold. Near the top, one rung gave way with a groan of tortured metal.
Li Fang caught himself with one hand, gritting his teeth against the strain as his other hand scrabbling to reach a projecting pipe.
He dangled precariously with the alley floor became a dizzying drop below. By luck, he found a solid handhold on dead wires jutting out of the building and hauled himself up safely.
Upon reaching the rooftop, he emerged behind a cranky ventilation unit that offered good cover.
From this vantage point, he had a clearer view of the two scouts.
"Confirmed." He muttered upon recognizing the crude red abacus insignia faintly visible on their cloaks when the wind shifted.
One was scanning the crowd with enhanced optical implants, while the other seemed to be monitoring a handheld device, likely cross-referencing faces or energy signatures with a watchlist.
They're not just looking for unusual Qi spikes, Li Fang realized. They're actively hunting specific targets or perhaps, profiles provided by an informant.
He needed to know more about their capabilities, their patrol patterns.
Staying hidden, Li Fang activated one of his remaining Ghost Candles v1.3 with the extended duration.
He used it the way it was intended to this time, not an improvised flashbang to fish Xie Ruolan out of the net the Void Sect cast.. Soon, a subtle Qi signature masked his presence, making him practically invisible to the prying eyes of Neo-Tian's system. Even optical implants would have a hard time locating him unless they focused on his signature and caught the ripple of his movements.
With that, he carefully skirted the edge of the rooftop, using the QFS to map the scouts' lines of sight and sensor sweeps.
After a few minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for. A discarded comms relay dish, angled perfectly towards the scouts. He carefully placed a tiny, QFS-provided audio/visual bug onto the dish's surface and camouflaged it with a smear of rooftop grime.
With the bug transmitting to Lilypad-01, he went back to the rooftop and near the slippery ladder, sliding down on it and leaving the area quietly, leveraging the remaining duration of his Ghost Candle.
He'd gained valuable intel, but the close call on the ladder was a reminder of the physical risks. "Once this ticking time bomb disappears, I have to work on my physical fitness. Sealed dantian shouldn't be an excuse not to pursue an improvement in my physique."