The hidden module continued to blink silently.
Galactic Artifact Chain – 1/17 UnlockedProgression Requires: Next artifact detection or event triggerCurrent Location: UnknownRelated Keyword Trace: "Memoria Cluster | Old Earth Origin"
No option to interact. No clear destination. Just a breadcrumb.
I turned away from the screen, mind churning.
"Seventeen artifacts?" Yena said, her voice tight. "What happens when you collect them all?"
"I don't know," I replied. "But I think the system doesn't either. It's not offering a reward... just progress."
Yena looked thoughtful. "Maybe it's not a reward. Maybe it's a test."
That chilled me more than I'd admit.
But I couldn't let it distract me completely. We still had to eat. And more importantly… we had to keep selling.
New Listing Series: "Earth Memory Packs"
Yena's idea was deceptively simple.
"People don't always want one rare thing," she said. "Sometimes they want a taste. Something emotional. Something… collectible."
So we curated boxes.
Each "Earth Memory Pack" contained:
1 physical artifact (coin, badge, fabric)
1 data chip with restored pre-war content (movie, article, song)
1 scent-infused relic (sealed with vintage oils or perfumes)
It took time to assemble each pack, especially sourcing the scents. But when I posted the first three…
Buy Request: Fulfilled – Client [TRAVELER_K9]Units: 2Earnings: +10.0 C.U.
Buy Request: Fulfilled – Client [NOVA_ARCHIVIST]Units: 1Earnings: +5.0 C.U.
System Notice: You are gaining traction. Demand has increased for Earth Origin collectibles.
And just like that, we had a new market niche.
But something strange happened next.
A flood of search pings hit our listings.
Most of them from a region flagged as "Unstable Node – Memoria Fringe."
I tried to access it directly.
Warning: You do not have transit permissions for Memoria Fringe.Clearance Required: Tier-5 Trader + Verified Pathway Key
A dead end. But the keyword matched what the system tagged in the Artifact Chain:
"Memoria Cluster | Old Earth Origin"
I sent a manual query to one of the few traders I'd seen sell in that zone. Someone named Orax Tinveil—Tier-5, Flagged as "Temporal Merchant."
Minutes later, a reply came:
ORAX:"So you've seen it too. The Chain.""Be warned, Earthling. The Chain is not just trade. It's memory. And memory bites back.""You want access to Memoria Fringe?""Bring me a Mind-Shard. Pure. Not fractured. I'll open the path."
Mind-Shard?
No idea what that was.
But I had a lead. And more importantly, I had another mystery to chase.
While I researched shards, Yena kept the memory packs flowing. Within a day, we'd sold seven more and received a message from a Tier-5 buyer:
Client [VEILCOLLECTOR]:"Your packs are elegant. Authentic. I'll take 5 per cycle. Double price. But you must not disclose my identity."
Of course, I agreed.
Because by now, I understood: in this cosmic market, secrecy had value.
That night, the system dropped an alert.
New Passive Unlocked – "Cultural Resonance"– Items with emotional or historic ties have 5% higher CU gain on average– Increases buyer retention by 10%– Grants access to "Memory Trade Tags"
Yena whistled. "You're becoming a specialist."
"Not just that," I said, staring at our growing transaction list.
"I'm becoming a brand."
But it wasn't all smooth sailing.
One buyer—tagged as "RELICRAZOR"—sent a rejection.
"Your item stirred a false memory in one of our kind. We will not buy from you again. You have been flagged."
When I checked their region… it was outside normal trade space. A red-zoned empire called Vix-Orak Core, known for mind-hybrid traders.
Apparently, even memories had politics.
Still, the balance sheet didn't lie.
We were growing. Faster than ever before.
And even as danger crept in… so did opportunity.
Current Status (Narrative Format):
Kai's balance now stands at 60.3 C.U. and 91.7 Earth Credits, with over a dozen Earth Memory Packs sold and his "Relic Whisperer" brand starting to gain interstellar reputation. He's unlocked the Cultural Resonance passive and made contact with a mysterious Tier-5 trader, Orax Tinveil, who may hold the key to accessing the Memoria Fringe, a region tied to the Galactic Artifact Chain.
He's received his first permanent blacklist warning from a buyer species sensitive to emotional disruption, and he's discovered that his products may do more than sell—they may provoke memories long buried.
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