41: Chapter 41 Liquidation Day and the Birth of the Trader

Twelve hours after Lin Yuan evacuated from Luoxia Mountain.

Inside the hideout, the bitter taste of medicine had not yet dissipated, and the chill of the soul seal ebbed and flowed like the tide. faith reserve: 5.3. godhood loan countdown: 16 days 21 hours. Zhao Wuyong's 'Inquiry and Risk Warning Letter' lay quietly on the Lingxiao interface, with less than four hours left before the deadline.

Lin Yuan stared at the small text that read 'Failure to verify by the deadline will be deemed a default, and forced liquidation will be initiated,' and suddenly remembered the non-performing asset disposal case he handled in his first year of work—a manufacturing company on the verge of delisting, hunted by short-selling institutions, with management kneeling at the bank's door begging for an extension. He had thought it was a dead end at the time.

Only at this moment did he truly understand: a capital dead end is never about dignity; it is only about how many chips you have left.

The Lingxiao talisman vibrated. Boss Qian's voice was extremely low: 'Brother Lin, there is unusual activity at Tianji Pavilion. Your personnel file, spiritual energy characteristics, and recent activity trajectory have been accessed by the Risk Management Department of Lingxiao Capital—not at Zhao Wuyong's level, but by the core decision-making layer.'

Lin Yuan's gaze narrowed: 'Specifically, who?'

'Codename "The Chess Player", real name unknown. Rumors in the circle say he is one of the five founding members of Lingxiao Capital, in charge of the top-level design and risk hedging for the godhood loan business. He never gets directly involved in individual cases; when he acts, it is always a systematic layout.' Boss Qian paused. 'You have been seen by him.'

Been seen.

Not targeted, not being chased for debt—but seen.

Lin Yuan's spine stiffened slightly. The most terrifying thing in the capital market is never a short-seller's hunt; it is not knowing when you became a data point in a macro-hedging strategy, or when you were written into some invisible profit and loss statement.

He was silent for three seconds, then spoke: 'Help me send a reply. The content is as follows—'

Fifteen minutes later, Zhao Wuyong received a formal reply from Lin Yuan.

It was not a plea for mercy, not an explanation, and not even a repayment plan.

It was a 'Preliminary Proposal on Securitization of Divine Assets and Tiered Transfer of Forward Faith Income Rights'.

The core of the proposal: Based on the expected faith income of the 'God of Involution Termination and Blessing Optimization' for the next twelve months, it designed a senior/subordinated tiered structure, transferring 70% of the income rights to specific investors to recover funds in advance to repay the godhood loan principal and the first installment of interest.

At the end of the proposal, a line of small print was attached:

'Appendix: If Lingxiao Capital doubts the qualifications of the underlying assets, I am willing to accept a "dynamic bet"—with my godhood as collateral, if the faith growth rate does not reach 30% in the next thirty days, the valuation will be discounted by 20%; if it exceeds expectations, the excess earnings will be split 50/50 between both parties.'

Zhao Wuyong stared at this proposal for a full three minutes without speaking.

He had been doing godhood loans for ten years; he had seen those who begged on their knees, those who fled in panic, those who fought with their lives, and even those who tried to bribe him.

—He had never seen a trainee god submit an asset securitization plan to a creditor.

And he had never seen anyone dare to propose a "bet" to Lingxiao Capital.

He encrypted the proposal layer by layer and sent it to the codename that never replied to any emails.

Three hours later, the codename replied with only three words:

'Invite him.'

The same night. A windowless tea room somewhere in the west of the city.

For the first time, Lin Yuan met someone who truly represented the will of Lingxiao Capital, other than Zhao Wuyong.

The other party was not the investment banking elite in a suit and leather shoes he had imagined, but a middle-aged man wearing a grey Zhongshan suit with frost at his temples, his eyelids lowered like an old god statue taking a nap. There was no tea or fruit on the table, only a projector and two copies of an electronic contract.

'I have read your proposal.' The middle-aged man spoke, his tone as flat as if he were stating the weather. 'The expected rate of return is too optimistic, the geopolitical risk exposure is not disclosed, and the most fatal loophole—you have not hedged the operational risk of Taoist Mo's continuous devaluation of your divine assets.'

Lin Yuan did not argue. The other party was right.

'But I still came.' The middle-aged man raised his eyes. In that instant, Lin Yuan felt that he was not looking at a person, but at a risk model. 'Because you did the only thing right: you let me see the forward value.'

He said slowly: 'In the eleventh year of Spirit Qi recovery, what is the fundamental contradiction of the God Realm capital market?'

Lin Yuan did not answer. He knew the other party was not asking.

'It is that the supply speed of high-quality divine assets cannot keep up with the monetization speed.' The middle-aged man's tone remained flat, but the content was like an ice pick. 'Traditional divine roles are monopolized, nine out of ten emerging divine roles die young, and existing assets are repeatedly securitized, tiered, packaged, and traded—have you ever drunk a cup of tea named "Wenchang Xingjun Education Income Rights ABS"? 3.7% annual yield, AAA rating, the underlying assets are the wishes of three hundred parents of tutoring class students.'

He paused: 'But how many of these wishes will actually be fulfilled?'

Lin Yuan's heart contracted sharply.

'The bubble in the God Realm is bigger than any financial crisis in the human world.' The middle-aged man showed an expression for the first time; it was an extremely faint, almost self-deprecating smile. 'The only difference is: when the human bubble bursts, shareholders jump off buildings; when the God Realm bubble bursts, trillions of faith evaporate, the gods attached to them fall in batches, the believers' spirits collapse, the Spirit Qi backlashes against the Earth Veins, and the spiritual energy order of half of Asia needs to be rewritten.'

'And you—' He looked at Lin Yuan, 'Your "God of Involution Termination and Blessing Optimization" divinity does not rely on existing wishes, does not manufacture false expectations, and even helps believers optimize behavioral paths and improve real output. This is not a bubble; it is incremental growth.'

He pressed the projector.

First page: 'God Lin Yuan: Preliminary Assessment Report on Asset Quality'

Red title: 'Potentially extremely high risk' — soul seal not removed, Taoist Mo's vendetta not terminated, godhood loan overdue probability over 60%.

But the second page, blue title: 'Scarcity Rating S-level'.

Excerpt of evaluation reasons:

'The divine role direction is highly coupled with contemporary real pain points, and the faith conversion efficiency far exceeds traditional wish-type gods. It has the potential for cross-class, cross-region, and cross-cultural expansion. If the survival cycle exceeds three months, it is expected to become the only emerging divine asset in the last five years that achieves faith self-growth rather than investment-driven growth.'

Lin Yuan saw the signature abbreviation at the bottom: W.X.

The codename of "The Chess Player", the initials.

The middle-aged man retracted the projector: 'I didn't invite you here today to talk about your little divine breath. 30 faith points are not even enough for Lingxiao Capital's daily administrative expenses.' He looked at Lin Yuan directly for the first time. 'It was W.X. who asked me to ask you a question—'

'Are you interested in becoming a trading counterparty of Lingxiao Capital, rather than a debtor?'

The tea room was silent for a full five seconds.

Lin Yuan heard his own heartbeat, from intense to calm. He did not ask "What do you mean," because he had already understood.

This was not a creditor coming to the door; it was a headhunter.

Not liquidation, but recruitment.

—No, not even recruitment. It was an invitation to a chess match.

He was silent for a long time, then spoke: 'The prerequisite for being a trading counterparty is that I am qualified to be at the table.'

'You are already at the table tonight.' The middle-aged man's tone was without ripples. 'Not every trainee god dares to send a bet clause to Lingxiao Capital, and not every debtor on the verge of liquidation can kill two Black Fiends under the pursuit of Taoist Mo. Everything you did that night at Luoxia Mountain—someone saw it.'

He was referring to "The Chess Player".

Lin Yuan did not deny it, nor did he be humble. He just looked at the blank clauses of the electronic contract and asked: 'What is the cost?'

The middle-aged man seemed to have been waiting for this sentence for a long time.

'The cost is: you must truly enter the game.'

'You think Taoist Mo is just a demonic cultivator who refines evil artifacts? He is a remnant of the old god order, a tombkeeper of the era when "faith is power". You destroyed his Black Fiends, cut off his rituals, and he hates you to the bone—but do you know why he hasn't acted personally yet?'

Images of the cave entrance at the Summer Palace flashed through Lin Yuan's mind. The instability of the ten thousand infant banner, the tremor of the vein-locking nail, the "backlash rate of 17.3%" mentioned by the doctor.

'Because he is held back by something more important.'

'Not held back.' The middle-aged man corrected. 'It is regulation. Lingxiao Capital has united with six God Realm financial institutions to implement "abnormal transaction restrictions" on all godhood accounts under Taoist Mo's name—any large-scale faith transfer or spiritual energy exchange he uses will be warned, frozen, and investigated by the system. He dares not act personally, because once the direct connection between his divine sense and the ten thousand infant banner is exposed, it confirms the felony of "stealing Earth Veins with evil artifacts and harming believers". No matter how corrupt the God Realm law is, he is not yet qualified to step on the bright red lines.'

For the first time, Lin Yuan saw the layers of this game clearly.

Mr. Mo didn't want to kill him; it was that the cost of killing him had become so high that it had to be calculated.

And what raised this cost was not Lin Yuan himself, but the "system" of Lingxiao Capital.

'You are not saving him.' Lin Yuan said. 'You are raising Gu. Using Taoist Mo to grind my survival rate, using me to pressure Taoist Mo's backlash cycle. Bilateral bets, two-way hedging.'

The middle-aged man did not deny it. He even nodded slightly: 'Your financial thinking is indeed stronger than the average trainee god.'

'What about after entering the game?' Lin Yuan was not led astray by him. 'What do I need to do?'

'Three things.'

'First, within seven days, complete the standardized rating of your divine assets. You need to provide at least three complete corporate Optimization cases, over fifty effective faith connections, and a "divine role expansion roadmap" that can be verified by a third party. This is the admission ticket to the table.'

'Second, stop passive defense. Taoist Mo is your devaluation risk, but also your opportunity. His ten thousand infant banner, vein-locking nail, the Earth Vein network of the Summer Palace—these are illegal assets without any compliant transaction records. If you can get "evidence of control" or "proof of illegal refining" for any of these, Lingxiao Capital can legally freeze all his godhood-related accounts and conduct forced auctions. 30% of the auction proceeds will go to the evidence provider.'

Lin Yuan's fingers tightened slightly. This was using a borrowed knife to kill, and also an interest binding.

'Third.' The middle-aged man paused, his tone showing a very subtle change for the first time. 'Dr. Li Cian, you should know her.'

Lin Yuan's heart sank. Dr. Li.

'She is W.X.'s daughter. Twenty years ago, she broke with her father due to her opposition to Lingxiao Capital's "faith monetization" ethical framework, lived in seclusion among the people, and specialized in intractable diseases related to spiritual energy erosion.' The middle-aged man said. 'She saved you and helped you suppress the soul seal. She never asks Lingxiao Capital for help and refuses any of our resources. But—'

'She has an old injury, right?' Lin Yuan asked.

The middle-aged man did not answer, but silence was the answer.

'W.X. does not ask you to do anything.' He said. 'He just saw the Earth Vein Arts mark she left in your file. He knows she is still using the things he taught her to save people. That is enough.'

The tea room returned to silence.

Lin Yuan looked at the contract, the blank clauses like lines of bets waiting to be filled.

He thought of Lin Wei. Thought of her leukemia, thought of that still distant spirit marrow, thought of his heartbeat when he signed the godhood loan.

—Actually, there was never any choice.

It was not a question of whether to enter the game or not. It was that he had already been in the game, but had always thought he was a pawn on the chessboard that could dodge.

A pawn cannot dodge anything.

Only The Operator can.

He spoke: 'Contract duration.'

'This is not a debt contract; there is no fixed duration. As long as your godhood does not fall, your assets do not go bankrupt, and you are not forcibly liquidated, you are a long-term trading counterparty of Lingxiao Capital.' The middle-aged man said. 'Of course—you can also choose to terminate at any time. As long as you can bear the cost.'

The cost. Lin Yuan did not ask what the cost was.

He picked up the electronic pen and signed his name at the end of the contract.

The spiritual energy fluctuation authentication passed, the contract generated a unique hash value and was stored in the God Realm financial regulatory chain.

[Ding—You have established a "strategic trading counterparty" relationship with Lingxiao Capital]

[The original "godhood loan Bet Agreement" remains valid, but the repayment method can be negotiated and adjusted to tiered transfer of income rights]

[You have unlocked divine role permissions: divine asset standardized rating, cross-institutional credit inquiry, limited quota leveraged financing]

[Warning: Trading counterparty relationship does not exempt any default risk and does not provide additional force protection]

[Warning: soul seal not removed, Taoist Mo remains an active opposing party]

[Warning: You have entered the secondary table of God Realm financial games. Further upgrades require accumulating chips yourself]

The system prompts were calm and cold, like the extinguished projector in the tea room.

The middle-aged man stood up and pushed an encrypted storage device to Lin Yuan.

'This is the clue to all illegal asset transactions that Taoist Mo has handled in the past thirty years—the part that can be found. The four items marked in red involve the original installation agreement of the Luoxia Mountain vein-locking nail twenty years ago.'

He walked to the door, stopped, and did not look back.

'W.X. said, you are not the smartest god he has ever seen, nor the most talented.'

'But you are a person who would set up a four-fold array at Luoxia Mountain, personally bury thirty landmines, and then sit in the center of the position waiting for people to come and kill you.'

'This kind of person is not suitable to be a chess piece.'

The door opened, the door closed.

Lin Yuan was left alone in the tea room.

He sat alone for a long time before opening the storage device.

The first red mark, timestamp: twenty-one years ago.

Transaction type: Long-term lease rights transfer of Earth Vein node.

Transferor: Summer Palace Management Office (legal entity qualification cancelled).

Transferee proxy: Li Cian.

Lin Yuan's pupils shrank.

—Twenty-one years ago, the vein-locking nail installation license agreement signed in the name of Dr. Li.

He suddenly remembered what Dr. Li had said:

'Luoxia Mountain is a Heartbroken Land.'

'I was also a person in the game once.'

The night outside the window was deep. The godhood debt countdown was still ticking silently.

But for the first time, Lin Yuan felt that he finally saw a corner of the chessboard.

Not as a chess piece.

—But as the person about to make a move.